The Zombie in the Basement Read Online Free Page A

the subject. “So, we’re really gonna do this? We’re really gonna sneak into that old house?”
    “ You bet, and I brought the tools to do it, too,” Ricky said and reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight and a Swiss Army knife.
    Eric took the Swiss Army knife and held it in his right hand, staring at it. Then he opened it, showing Ricky the corkscrew, nail file and clippers. It was the clippers and nail file he pointed at.
    “ So what’re you gonna do with this, do the zombies nails?”
    “ No,” Ricky said defensively. “I’m not.” He swiped the knife from Eric’s hand and pushed the items back into the housing, then he pulled out the small, three inch knife with the tip of his index finger and thumb.
    “ I’m gonna use this to pry open the basement window so we can sneak in. Then the flashlight will let us see what’s in there.”
     
    “ Well, duh,” Eric said, making a face.
    Ricky frowned at his friend again. He knew he was being made fun of.
    “ Let’s just go, okay?” Ricky asked.
    “ Fine,” Eric said and the two boys headed off.
    From a nearby tree, the owl watched the two boys walk into the shadows, and with the boys gone, it flew off once more, searching for that tasty mouse or rodent.

 
    CHAPTER 6
     
     
    A FEW MINUTES later, the two boys were standing at the wrought iron fence again, the darkness all but wrapping them in a cocoon of ink. The streetlight on the sidewalk in front of the old house was out and the next working one was three doors down.
    Both boys glanced at one another, neither wanting to admit they were scared.
    “ So, do we climb the fence again?” Ricky asked, remembering what happened last time.
    “ Maybe,” Eric said. “But give me a second to look around first.” He padded off to the right as Ricky watched him leave.
    Ricky stood alone in the darkness, staring at the old house. It looked much worse at night. There were two spires on each side, like bell towers, and the windows seemed to leer at him like big square eyes. The over-
     
    grown trees and shrubs now resembled hands and arms, all reaching out for some unwary child foolish enough to fall into their clutches. Though trying to be brave, Ricky felt his stomach fill with butterflies and he was beginning to think this was a bad idea.
    A really bad idea.
    Suddenly, a hand fell on his let shoulder and he jumped, holding back a scream that would have woken the neighborhood if it was sleeping.
    “ Relax, it’s just me,” Eric stated as he stepped in front of Ricky.
    Ricky, glad his friend couldn’t see his face, tried to smile, though it didn’t work very well.
    “ I know that dummy, I was pretending,” Ricky said.
    “ Sure you were, tough guy,” Eric replied. “Come on, I found us a way into the yard.”
    “ You did? Where?”
    “ Just come on,” Eric said, as he turned and walked away. “It’s easier just to show you.”
    Not wanting to be alone anymore, his heart still beating a mile a minute, Ricky jogged after his friend, all the while trying not to look at the old house.
    “ Check it out, there’s a hole in the fence,” Eric said as he pointed to where one of the bars had broken free of the fence. The metal welds had weakened from rust and it was easy for Eric to push in on it.
    “ How’d you find this?” Ricky asked.
    “ Luck, really. I just started testing some of the bars. Figured maybe one of them wasn’t attached or something. After all, this fence is old, like twenty years, easy.”
    Ricky only nodded. To a ten-year-old, a twenty-year-old iron fence seemed like it was ancient.
    “ So,” Ricky said. “Who goes first?”
    “ I’ll go; why, you gettin’ second thoughts now?”
    “ No,” Ricky replied with a wave of his right hand. “I was just askin’.”
    Eric stared at the dark visage of his friend and then turned and slipped through the hole in the fence, his back rubbing the left bar. If he wasn’t so skinny, he wouldn’t have been able to fit, but