The Zombie in the Basement Read Online Free

as he turned to face the sink, and the mirror mounted to the wall above it, that he stared at his visage, only now it was distorted from the steam of the shower.
    He felt his blood run cold and his heart stop as he gazed at the face of the zombie again. The skin was mottled gray and the eyes were wide open, the cheeks having drops of what looked like raindrops.
    Wait a second…raindrops?
    Then reality set in and he realized he was staring at his reflection in the mirror, the steam droplets on the surface looking like they were on his face.
 
    He felt silly now. He’d gotten scared by looking at
    his reflection!
    He decided right then he would keep this secret to himself. No one ever needed to know he was stupid enough to scare himself after taking a shower.
    Feeling refreshed, despite the scare, he headed off to his bedroom to get dressed for dinner.

 
    CHAPTER 5
     
     
    THE SUN WAS just beginning to set as Ricky crossed the street and stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac. His stomach was pleasantly full with his mom’s pasta and garlic bread. He and his parents had enjoyed a nice dinner, his father chatting with him about school, and then to his mom about work. When dinner was through, they had gone off to do grown-up stuff and Ricky was free to go and meet Eric
    In all the houses around Ricky, he could see lights on, the thin illumination sneaking out between closed curtains and drapes.
    No one else was about. Mothers and fathers had returned home from work, the small rush hour now forgotten, and all along the cul-de-sac, families gathered to watch television, play games on the computer or read a book.
    Ricky felt alone as he stood in the growing shadows, wondering if maybe what he and Eric were going to do was crazy. After all, he was just a kid? He wasn’t a monster hunter.
    And a zombie was a serious thing. If it bit you, you could die, or worse, you could become one of them. He imagined himself as a zombie, face pale and eyes blank. He would go to school still, his shambling walk carrying him to the school doors. He would sit in class, drooling, his mouth sagging, as the teacher went on about numerals and fractions, then he would go to gym. They would play tug of war and he would accidentally get his arms pulled off when the other team won, but he’d be fine. He was dead, so there was no pain. After a quick trip to the nurse where he would get his arms sewed back on, he would then go to lunch. While the other kids ate pizza and fish sticks, Ricky would snack on the brains his mom had packed. Then he’d wash it down with a juice box.
    Then he’d go home, do his homework, watch some television, and then go to bed, to do it over again the next day.
    He gave that some thought. He did that every day pretty much, so in the end, being a zombie wouldn’t really be that much different from being a regular kid.
    An owl hooted from a nearby tree, its eyes catching the waning light and glowing softly. Ricky stared at it, hearing it hoot, and he felt the slightest chill go down his spine. Perched on the branch, the owl looked menacing. The shadows wrapped around it, giving him the feeling it was a bird of prey. He imagined shaped talons ready to rip and tear his soft flesh, the beak that would attack his face.
    But then the clouds cleared and the owl was in full view and it was just an owl again. It hooted one last time and flew off, searching for a tasty mouse or other small rodent, but then landed in another nearby tree.
    Ricky shivered and shook off the chill, feeling silly. He heard footsteps coming from around the corner and his heart beat faster, but then Eric appeared, smiling widely.
    Ricky frowned. “Took you long enough,” he snapped, but he was really mad at himself for getting scared over a stupid owl.
     
    “ Sorry,” Eric replied. “My mom said I couldn’t go out until my homework was done.”
    “ Well, fine, but still, I was waiting,” Ricky said.
    Eric brushed his friend’s reply off and changed