Zombie Project (6 page)

“But I don’t know how to fish,” said Madison.

Maude walked over to the table where the Aldens were sitting. Jake was sitting at the other end of the table with his friends Caleb and Abby. The teens were talking about zombies again.

“Can you help Madison catch our dinner?” Maude asked Jake.

“Sure,” said Jake. “We’ll all help her fish.” He looked at Abby and Caleb. Abby smiled and Caleb nodded.

“Thanks,” said Maude. “Now I have to clean up lunch and get ready for dinner.”

Maude went back into the kitchen and turned on her radio. Golden oldies music filled the room. Then Maude started singing.

Madison came over and sat at their table.

“I caught a fish yesterday,” said Benny.

“You did?” said Madison. “I hope I can catch one, too.”

“I’ll take you fishing at the zombie’s spot,” said Jake. “I always catch a lot of fish there.”

“The zombie’s spot?” said Madison.

“The place where the zombie legend began,” said Jake.

“Zombies rock,” said Caleb. He moved his hands in a drumming motion.

Abby pretended to hold a microphone. “Zombies!” she sang out.

“Zombies?” said Madison. “Count me in.” She reached into her bag and moved her hand around. “Wait a minute.”

What is she looking for?
Jessie wondered.

“I can’t find my camera,” said Madison. “I must have left it in my other bag.” Madison pushed back her chair and stood up. “I want to take a picture of the place where the zombie legend began. I’ll go and get my camera before we go fishing.”

“Okay,” said Jake. “We’ll wait for you here.”

“Good,” said Madison. She quickly walked out of the lodge.

“What are
we
going to do after lunch?” asked Violet.

Henry patted his pocket. Then he put a finger up to his lips. Violet nodded her head.

“Oh, I get it,” whispered Benny.

“Let’s go back to our cabin,” said Henry. “Then we can talk.”

“Before we go back,” said Jessie, “I want to stop in the gift shop. I promised Mrs. McGregor I would look for wind chimes.”

“Wind chimes?’ said Violet.

Jessie took an envelope out of her back pocket. “Mrs. McGregor says they sell wind chimes here. She wanted to give them to Grandfather for Christmas.”

“So it’s a secret,” said Henry.

“We can keep a secret,” said Benny.

“Of course we can,” said Violet.

The small gift shop was at the front of the main lodge. While Jessie and Violet looked at the wind chimes, Henry and Benny walked around the store. Maybe there was a clue to the zombie legend here.

Then Benny saw the chocolate bars. They were right next to the cash register.

“Henry, do you have any money for snacks?” said Benny.

Henry laughed. “You just ate, Benny.”

“I always have room for dessert,” said Benny.

Henry looked at the sign under the candy. Then he reached into his pocket and took out some coins. “This should be enough,” he said.

“Thanks,” said Benny. He picked up the chocolate bar and handed it to the clerk behind the register.

While Benny paid for the chocolate bar, Henry looked at the wall next to the cash register. It was filled with magazines. Some had celebrities on the cover. Others were about the news. Then there were the sports magazines. On the cover of one, there was a man hitting a golf ball with a club.

“Wait a minute,” said Henry. He took the small wooden nails out of his pocket. “I know what these are. They’re golf tees.”

By this time, Jessie and Violet had found the wind chimes that Mrs. McGregor wanted. They were standing behind Benny at the cash register.

“They’re what?” asked Violet.

“They’re golf tees,” repeated Henry. He showed the golf tees to Violet and Jessie.

“Who plays golf in the woods?” asked Jessie.

“Lots of people do,” said the clerk. “There’s a big golf course just down the road.”

“Do you sell these golf tees here?” asked Henry. He showed the clerk the three golf tees.

“No, we don’t sell those here,” said the clerk. “See the markings?” The clerk pointed at a small arrow on the side of the golf tee.

“I didn’t notice that before,” said Henry. He turned over the other two golf tees. They also had small arrows carved into them.

“That’s a special brand,” said the clerk. “They only sell those at the pro shops. They’re too expensive for our customers. We only carry these.” He pointed at a box on the shelf behind the counter.

“Do people play golf at the lodge?” asked Violet.

“No,” said the clerk, “but some of our guests like to visit the golf course down the road during their stay. We keep these in stock just in case.” He took the box off the shelf and put it on the counter.

“You know, there’s big charity golf tournament going on this weekend. That’s why we only have this one box of golf tees left. Did you want to buy it?”

“No, thanks,” said Henry.

“Okay,” said the clerk. “Here is your bag, miss.” He handed Jessie the bag with the wind chimes. “And your change.”

Jessie put the change back in the envelope for Mrs. McGregor.

“Thank you,” said Jessie.

“That was helpful,” said Henry as they walked out of the shop.

“But what does it mean?’ asked Violet.

“That zombies play golf,” said Benny.

Henry laughed and then he said, “I’ve never seen
that
in the movies.”

“The zombies in the movies are always chasing someone,” said Jessie. She pretended to lurch like a zombie. “That’s the only game they play.”

“So zombies don’t play golf,” said Violet. “That’s a relief.”

“We’ll find out who is really doing this,” said Jessie. “Let’s go back and look at the trail again.”

“Good idea,” said Henry.

“I have my camera ready,” said Violet. She patted her pocket.

Benny led the way as they walked on the trail out to the old fishing lodge.

“Slow down, Benny,” said Henry. “We have to look for clues.”

“What are we looking for?” said Benny.

“You’ll know it when you see it,” said Jessie.

The children could hear someone laughing. They followed the sound down the trail. Who could it be?

As they walked around the turn, they heard the laughter again. It was Madison. She was standing by the river with Jake, Caleb, and Abby. The Aldens moved behind a bush. They didn’t want the teens to see them.

“It’s hopeless,” said Madison. “I just can’t get the hang of this.” Then she laughed again.

“I can help you,” said Jake. He took the fishing pole from Madison and tied her lure to the end of the line.

“Here you go,” said Jake. He handed the fishing pole to Madison.

“Thanks for your help,” said Madison. “Though I doubt I will catch anything.”

“Our zombie is good luck,” said Jake. “We always catch fish out here.”

Benny looked out at the river. Abby and Caleb already had their lines in the water.

Madison put her hand on Jake’s shoulder. “That’s good to hear,” she said. Then she held up her fishing pole. “What do I do next?”

“Hold the pole in your hand like this,” said Jake. He held his own fishing pole up. Then he flicked his wrist back and the line flew back over his shoulder.

“Okay,” said Madison. She stood up and moved her pole just like Jake did.

Benny watched as the two fishing lines landed on the ground behind Jake and Madison. Wait a minute! Part of the grass and dirt by the river was flattened, too.

“Psst!” said Benny. He pointed at the flattened grass and dirt on the ground behind Madison.

Violet reached into her pocket and took out her camera. She zoomed in the camera and took a picture.
Click!

“This looks like the other place,” whispered Violet. “The zombie must be real.” She showed them the picture. The dirt and grass looked exactly the same.

Violet held the camera up and took another picture.
Click!

Then she looked at the camera. “See these bushes?” said Violet. “They’re all smashed down in one spot.”

“Where?” whispered Henry.

Violet stood up and pointed at the bushes farther down the trail.

“The zombie starting dragging his victim over there,” said Benny.

“Yes, it’s just like the last time,” said Jessie. “I wonder if there really is a zombie. No, that can’t be right.”

Henry stood up tall and looked over the bushes. “It goes from the trail all the way to the porch,” whispered Henry.

“The zombie took the body in the old fishing lodge?” said Benny. “But no one lives there.”

“Not so loud,” said Henry. He pointed at Madison and the teens fishing by the river.

Henry turned and whispered to Violet. “Can you take some pictures of the trail?”

“Sure,” said Violet. She leaned around the tree next to the bush where they were hiding.
Click! Click! Click!
Then she crouched back down.

Benny looked at the river again. No one was looking this way. He quickly walked to the next tall bush. Henry was right behind him.

Benny ran over to the trail. He looked left and right but saw nothing. So he walked around the next turn, and then he heard a crunch.

What was that? Benny stopped and lifted up his shoe. It was a golf tee. He turned it over. It had the small arrow on it. The zombie had been here!

Benny looked around. He saw another one! And another one . . .

Benny bent down to pick up three golf tees. They looked just like the other ones. Then Benny felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the zombie! Benny jumped up and started to run away.

“Benny!” whispered Henry. “It’s only me.”

Benny stopped. Then he turned and looked at Henry. Henry had taken the three golf tees out of his pocket. He was holding them in his right hand.

Benny walked over to Henry and held out his own right hand. The three wooden tees in Benny’s hand looked just like the ones in Henry’s hand. It was a perfect match.

B
ack at their cabin, the Aldens talked about their clues.

“What do we know so far?” asked Jessie.

“I saw a light in the woods at night,” said Benny.

“Twice,” said Violet. “It happened two nights in a row.”

“And there was a strange sound, too,” said Benny.

“Later, we found the expensive golf tees by flattened grass,” said Henry.

“Twice,” said Benny.

“And they’re not from the lodge,” said Violet.

“So someone brought the golf tees with them,” said Henry.

“The grass and dirt was flattened all the way to the fishing lodge,” said Jessie.

“But it wasn’t flat everywhere,” said Henry. “The flat part was only a foot or so wide. It wasn’t done by a mower or anything like that.” Henry knew his tools.

“Don’t you think the zombie was dragging his victim back to the fishing lodge?” said Benny.

“I haven’t heard about any victims,” said Jessie.

“No one is missing,” said Violet.

“So it’s not a zombie,” said Henry. “But what does all this have to do with the golf tees? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe it’s not supposed to make sense,” said Jessie. “It is a legend after all.”

“But why tell it?” asked Violet. “There must be something we’re missing.”

Benny’s stomach grumbled. “I know what’s missing,” said Benny. “We’re missing dinner.”

“Okay, Benny,” said Jessie. “Off to dinner we go.”

After eating dinner and s’mores by the fire pit, Violet wiped off her fingers and took the camera out of her pocket. Grandfather would love to see this. Everyone was telling stories.

Violet filmed the other guests sitting by the fire pit. The man who had gone off to paint that first morning was telling his wife about a beautiful spot he had found by the river.
I’ll have to go and see it for myself,
thought Violet.

The couple next to them had gone hiking on the trail that led all the way up to the waterfall. They were telling another guest all about it.

“And we saw them catch the fish we ate for dinner,” said the man.

“Fresh is best,” said the woman.

“I couldn’t agree more,” replied her companion.

Violet turned in a full circle around the campfire. It looked like everyone from last night had come back for another dinner outdoors.

Then she turned her camera toward Benny, Jessie, and Henry. They were sitting next to Jake, Caleb, and Abby. Caleb and Abby hadn’t been at the fire pit last night.

Violet filmed Benny as he made another s’more.

“Are you getting this?” asked Benny.

“You’re the star of the show,” replied Violet.

“A food show,” said Jessie.

“I like food,” said Benny. He took a big, hot, gooey bite, and then he licked his lips. Benny really liked s’mores.

Violet turned her camera back to the teens. They were talking about zombies again.

“And then the zombie comes up behind her,” said Jake.

Violet tapped Jessie on the shoulder and pointed to Jake. “Listen,” she whispered.

“And she screams,” said Caleb.

Jessie whispered Henry’s ear. “Listen.”

Henry quietly turned to listen.

“And she trips,” said Jake. “She’s so scared that she trips on a branch.”

“That will hurt,” said Abby.