So I wait for the light and search for the brightest spot
Even if some are against you, most are not.
I looked at Sarah Anne. “Wow, that’s beautiful.” She was staring just past me, as usual. Her board was still in her hand, but she didn’t say anything.
I held Sarah Anne’s poem up to the sky, where the sun was just rising. “I don’t think we should stay here anymore. I think we should go back to school and see if this is really true. Everyone is probably just starting to gather for Field Day, and we should go. Okay?”
She waited for about a minute before answering.
OKAY.
And we began the long walk back, to the people who were against us, and the people who were not.
When Sarah Anne and I walked up to the school, I noticed two things right away.
The first was a big sign taped to a fence near the jungle gym.
FIELD DAY TODAY! COME ONE, COME ALL!
The second was that there were police cars all over the place.
We had reached the edge of the softball field when I first saw the police cars, and I froze. Bill and Jenny were standing by the front doors, talking to Mrs. Huggle.
I started walking away.
“I don’t want to see them,” I said to Sarah Anne. “They will be so angry with me. They won’t understand.”
She tugged my arm until I stopped walking. Then she tugged my arm again and turned me around.
The next thing I knew, three people started rushing toward us. I didn’t recognize them, and I immediately got scared again. But it wasn’t me they were looking for, it was Sarah Anne. Two adults, who were probably her parents, were the first to reach us.
“Sarah Anne, honey!” cried the woman. “Where have you been? You scared us half to death!”
“Almost all the way to death!” said the man. “We were petrified!”
They grabbed her and hugged her so hard, I was surprised that she didn’t cry out in pain. The third person was a boy, who looked a little younger than her. As he waited for his parents to finish hugging Sarah Anne, he turned to me. “Do you know my sister?”
“A little.”
“Did you rescue her?”
“Absolutely not,” I told him. “Actually, I think it’s the other way around.”
Sarah Anne’s parents released her, and the boy looked up at his sister.
“Don’t leave again,” he said.
She took out the board and handed it to her mother, who held it as Sarah Anne wrote.
I WON’T.
I suddenly heard a yell: “THERE HE IS! DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!”
Mr. Brantley had spotted me.
Everyone started running in our direction. There must have been at least ten policeman, ten soldiers who were dressed like Mr. Brantley, plus a bunch of teachers, parents, and students. And Bill and Jenny. And Lester. And Kiki. And Evan.
Mr. Brantley reached me first. He had an angry look on his face and a big sling on his arm. For a few seconds, I was actually relieved he was okay. He was Evan’s dad, after all—even if he did want to give me the Salt Melt.
“Surprised to see me?” he said coldly.
“I—I wasn’t sure. I thought … maybe you were hurt. Or still paralyzed.”
“Takes more than a Zombie Zing and a broken arm to keep me down,” he said. “They designed those things to only last a few minutes anyway. Just long enough to scare the heck out of people, without actually hurting them.”
I stared at him in shock. “How—how do you know what a Zombie Zing is?”
“It’s my job to know.” Then he grabbed my arm, and I knew I was in real trouble.
“HE HAS RETURNED!” Mr. Brantley announced to the crowd. “BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU—THIS THING IS NOT HUMAN. THIS THING IS NOT A BOY. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CREATURE!” He looked at me and shook my arm hard. “Tell them who you really are,” he sneered.
I kept my head down. I couldn’t bear to look at anyone, especially the Kinders. “My name is Norbus Clacknozzle,” I said. “I am … a zombie.”
The crowd gasped.
“SEE, I TOLD YOU!” yelled Mr. Brantley. Then he looked at me and snorted. “You must have known you couldn’t have gotten away with this forever.” I didn’t have time to answer him, though, because as soon as Bill and Jenny reached us, they made a protective circle around me.
“Stay back!” Bill shouted. “You have no right to hurt this boy! He is young and innocent, just like all the other children at this school!”
“Make one move and you’ll be arrested for treason!” Mr. Brantley said. “I’ll see to it myself!”
“Then so be it. But before you take me away, I need to tell these people what’s really happening here.” Jenny held her hand up to hush the still-buzzing crowd. “A few years ago, the government set up a top secret division of the military, which they labeled Project Z. It was a laboratory built deep in the heart of the Arizona mountains, called the Territory, where a group of top scientists gathered to regenerate a series of afterlife humans.” She paused for a moment in front of the silent crowd. “In other words, zombies.”
“This is nonsense,” sputtered Mr. Brantley, but someone in the crowd said “Quiet!” and someone else yelled “Let her speak!” Mr. Brantley’s face turned red, but he fell silent.
“Go on, Jenny,” said Bill, quietly.
“The goal of the project,” said Jenny, “was to create a population of zombies similar to those created in popular culture, such as movies and television, and then unleash them onto an unsuspecting public. This would cause panic, and the public would then turn aggressive toward these outsiders. The government thought it would be a much-needed boost for national morale if we were to suddenly confront a common outside enemy, and mercilessly defeat it.” Jenny glanced at Bill, who nodded at her to keep going. “The zombies were going to be released into the general population within the next year, and of course would have been systematically, and eventually completely, wiped out. But a few weeks ago, several of them escaped. All were quickly caught and returned to the Territory, except one. And you know what? That single, escaped zombie ruined everything.” Jenny paused and put her hand on my shoulder. “Because he turned out to not be scary at all. He turned out to be a wonderful little boy.”
All eyes turned to me, as people tried to absorb this shocking information.
“That’s the craziest story I’ve ever heard!” shouted someone in the crowd.
“Ridiculous!” yelled another.
Mr. Brantley held up his hand, and the crowd went quiet. “As regional commander of the National Martial Service, I can assure you all that this story is absurd, right out of a science fiction movie. There is no such project!”
“There is,” Jenny said, quietly. “I know this for a fact.”
“HOW?” said Mr. Brantley, raising his voice. “How could you possibly know this?”
There was a pause, as Jenny gathered the strength and courage for what she was going to say next.
“Because I was the lead scientist on the project,” she said.
I stared at her. “You were?”
She nodded. “Yes, I was. My firm, J. K. Labs, developed the technology and the software.” Then she took my cold face in her warm hands.
“I made you,” she said.
The crowd gasped, then fell silent. The only thing you could hear was a plane buzzing faintly in the sky.
“The identities of the scientist team members were kept so top secret that no one knew who we were.” She looked at Mr. Brantley. “Not even the regional commander of the National Martial Service.”
Mr. Brantley’s face went white as he realized that Jenny was telling the truth—she had run the secret lab.
Bill looked at me. “We couldn’t tell you,” he said. “It was too dangerous. But yes, Jenny worked there until a year ago, when she realized exactly what the secret project was for. First, she decided she didn’t want to be a part of it. And then, she decided she’d try to do whate
ver she could to stop it.”
Evan and Kiki both stared at me in shock.
“Is it true?” sputtered Kiki.
“Are you really … a zombie?” Evan asked.
I stared at the ground. “Yes.”
“And your fake name is Arnold Z. Ombee?” Kiki asked. “That’s the best you could come up with?”
I didn’t look up, but I nodded. “I didn’t want to give up who I really am.”
Evan shook his head over and over. “Well, it’s such a dumb fake name for an undercover zombie, it’s actually perfect.”
“I guess it’s not,” I said. “Look around you. Everyone here knows who I am now, don’t they?”
“Well, yeah,” Evan said.
“With all due respect,” Mr. Brantley said, “that’s a touching story, and you’re a very courageous woman. But regardless, we’re not talking about a human boy here. We’re talking about a zombie. And zombies do not belong in the general population, no matter how friendly they might be.”
“That’s right!” hollered a voice from the crowd. “You don’t belong here! Go back to where you came from!”
A bunch of kids cheered. And some parents, too.
“QUIET!” Bill roared. “He will stay here with us! We are his family now! We are taking care of him!”
Suddenly there was screaming coming from all directions, as people crowded around us. They were saying all kinds of things.
“Zombies don’t have families!”
“The government knows what’s best!”
“Show some compassion!”
“You’re breaking the law!”
“Leave him alone!”
I looked at the Kinders and saw fear in their eyes. We started backing up, but there was nowhere to run.
“You see?” Lester shouted. “I knew this would happen! I knew it! You guys always want to do what you think is right, but you don’t think about the consequences!”
Nurse Raposo and Mrs. Huggle came running over to us. “We can help,” Nurse Raposo said. “My car is right over here. We can make a run for it and drive you home before anything else happens.”
“And then what?” Jenny said. “Run away? Move to another state? Another country? Or should we just let them take him away, banish him to some government installation where we’ll never see him again? No. We’ll stay right here.”
“Let them arrest us right here at this school, if they have to,” Bill added. “We won’t back down, and we won’t run.” He turned to Lester. “And, son, I understand how you feel, I really do. But we’re not doing what we think is right. We’re doing what we know is right.”
By now, the crowd was closing in, and Mr. Brantley was still holding me tight.
“Stop it!” Kiki screamed. “Everyone, stop! This is crazy! Leave him alone!” But no one was listening to her.
“It’s okay,” I told her. “Thanks for trying. It’s okay.” I turned to Evan, who looked like he was about to cry.
“If you hadn’t come to my sleepover, none of this would have happened,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m not mad at you. You’re my friend.” And I flicked him on the neck to prove it. He tried to laugh and flicked me back.
“The Flicker,” I said.
“Ghostie,” he said.
And right then, his father pinned my arms behind my back. “IT’S OVER,” Mr. Brantley announced. “Everyone step back, please. This time, it’s really, truly over. You’re coming with me so we can sort this out.”
I knew what sort this out meant. He didn’t want to give me the Salt Melt before the whole school. He was going to do it somewhere else. Then he was going to have me shipped back to the Territory.
“Good-bye,” I said to the Kinders. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”
I closed my eyes, waiting for Mr. Brantley to take me away. I was ready for whatever was going to happen. I was ready to return to whatever I’d been, whoever I’d been, before I began this crazy, in-between existence.
And then, a deafening yell pierced the air.
The arguing and hollering and crying and commotion stopped. Everyone looked around to see where the sound was coming from.
There was another piercing yell. Mr. Brantley let go of me.
People started moving away, making a path for someone to walk through. I couldn’t tell who it was at first, and then I saw her.
Sarah Anne. Holding her head up high. And looking straight at me.
This time, when she screamed, people heard her.
Sarah Anne came up next to me, then stopped. Standing with her were her parents and Ms. Frawley, her aide. Sarah Anne held her right hand out. Ms. Frawley took out the letter board and held it up.
Everyone was silent as Sarah Anne’s fingers began to fly.
ARNO
She stopped suddenly and made an erasing motion on the board. Then she started again.
HOW DO YOU SPELL YOUR REAL FIRST NAME?
“N-o-r-b-u-s,” I said.
She nodded her thanks and started again.
NORBUS IS MY FRIEND.
She took a deep breath, then continued.
PLEASE DON’T HURT HIM.
Then she put her hand down, walked over to me, and held my hand.
Everyone was completely still and silent. A confused look crossed Mr. Brantley’s face as he glanced around. “Whose child is this?” he called out. “Please come claim her.”
Sarah Anne’s mother stepped up. “This is my child,” she said. “And she’s never had a friend in her whole life. Please don’t take him away from her.”
“I know this is hard,” Mr. Brantley said, trying to sound calm. “But it’s not my decision. This is government policy. This is the law. He needs to go back.” His hand clamped back down on my arm, as he began to walk me toward his car. People on both sides of the argument were yelling, but we just kept walking. We were about two steps from the car when one last voice was heard.
“If you take him away from me,” the voice said, “I don’t know what I’ll do.”
This time Mr. Brantley stopped.
Because the voice belonged to his son.
Evan stepped forward and stood right next to me. He looked up at his father.
“Arnold is my friend, Dad,” Evan said. “I used to be scared of zombies, like everyone else. But now that I know one, I realize that there’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s kind, and friendly, and not that different from us. I mean, at first I thought he was just another funny-looking kid.” He looked at me and smiled. I tried to smile back. “I met Arnold on the bus, and I annoyed him by flicking him in the back of his neck. But then he sat next to me in school, and we became friends. He stuck up for me in front of the other kids. He walked home with me and didn’t care about my leg. He eats nothing but jelly beans, and he runs funny, and his skin is almost see-through and he’s a genius in school, but other than that he’s a lot like the rest of us.”
Evan paused for a second. I realized that it had gotten completely silent. Sarah Anne was standing next to her mother, holding her hand, the same way Mr. and Mrs. Kinder had been holding hands when I first met them.
“Don’t take my friend away, Dad,” said Evan. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair to me, and it’s especially not fair to him.”
Mr. Brantley looked down at his son for a long moment. I could feel his grip on my arm loosen.
“Hey!” Kiki added. “Arnold is my friend, too, and a great kid! Everyone likes him.” She looked around. “Right, everyone?”
A few kids started nodding their heads. Then, a few more. Then, a few more. I couldn’t believe it.
“Arnold—er, Norbus—is my student,” Mrs. Huggle said. “One of the smartest I’ve ever had, in fact. I would like to continue teaching him, if you don’t mind.”
“He’s sweet and kind,” said Nurse Raposo. “It’s important for the other children to understand that we are all a lot more similar than we are different. We shoul
dn’t have to fight a common enemy in order to come together as a country.”
A bunch of people murmured their approval at that last comment. Then a girl emerged from the crowd, and it took me a minute to realize it was Darlene, Lester’s friend. The blue hair was the tip-off.
“Yo,” Darlene said. “This cool little guy is pretty much the most fashion-forward dude I’ve met in my entire LIFE.” She walked over to Lester and kissed him on the cheek. “And you kept his secret?” she said to him. “I’m, like, really impressed.”
“Yeah, well, you know, like, yeah,” Lester said, grinning like … well, like someone who’s just been kissed by the girl he likes.
“Dad?” Evan said. “What do you say, Dad? Can we protect Arnold? Can we keep him safe here?”
“I … I’m just not sure, son,” said Mr. Brantley.
It felt like Mr. Brantley was still trying to decide what to do when there was a rustling in the crowd, and I heard voices saying, “Make way!” and “Let me through!” Five seconds later, Ross and Brett emerged from the crowd.
Uh-oh, I thought to myself. So much for the happy ending.
They walked over and stood right in front of me. They looked me up and down.
“It’s Field Day,” Ross said. “Are you gonna play dodgeball with us, or what?”
A cheer went up from the crowd. Mr. Brantley looked down at me, then over at Bill and Jenny Kinder.
Then he let go of my arm.
“I never really got the point of this dang project anyway, to be honest with you,” he said. “Fine. I’ll take care of it. But nobody can utter a word about this. EVER.”
“Understood,” said Bill. “Understood.”
Mr. Brantley gave me a gentle shove, and I ran over to the Kinders, where they wrapped me up in a giant hug, even giant-er than the last one.
“Thank you, Bill,” I said. “Thank you, Jenny.”
“Norbus?” Jenny said. “Please call us Mom and Dad.”
Meanwhile, Evan was hugging his dad. “You’re the best dad ever,” he said. “The best.” Evan’s mom saw me and walked over.
“I had no idea what you’d been through,” she said. “Please forgive me.”
A Zombie Ate My Homework Page 11