Chapter 10

Chapter Ten Falling. Then a painful SNAP feeling around my ankles —like how I imagine a crocodile might chomp. Then a weightless, stomach-flipping swinging. So that happened. You just had to go for the slicer. Shi Booby trapped us. A classic door-in the-floor.

"Why?" June asks. "And where are we?" I twist my body to look up. I see the hole that we just fell through, now about eight feet above us. Not much light shines down. But I can see the four long ropes that currently hold us. And what looks like a gigantic pirate wheel or something, mounted on the ceiling. This room is strangely deep. Not like a regular basement. "Old smugglers' home," Dirk says. "We're near the docks. They had tunnels that led all over town." "My flashlight!" Quint says. Of course he has his flashlight with him. Because who leaves their house without a flashlight? It better not be another zombie ball we see.... He fishes into his pocket, pulls out the lamp, and flicks it on. A beam of light slices straight up through the darkness. "It's a gear," Dirk says. "It controls the ropes." My nose tickles. A smell is wafting up from below. I know that smell. I don't want to look—but I have to. I reach out, grab Quint's flashlight, and he directs the light down. "Zombies..." June says softly.

If Evie Snark were a regular villain who wanted to do us in, she'd just, y'know—DO US IN. But she seems to be taking her moves straight from the Indiana Jones or James Bond playbook. No question: She's impressive. We're dealing with some sort of queen geek... Suddenly, a rumbling. "I've got a bad feeling about this," I murmur. GRRRMMMM... "It's the gear above us!" June says. "It's turning!"

Quint gasps. "And as it's turning, we're being lowered!" There's a short moment where no one says a word—and then all of us are talking over one another. The general idea is: OH NO THIS IS BAD WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOW. Quint's flashlight flashes across the zombie faces below. Oh, great—illuminated terror, just what we need. They began snarling, snapping, and —worst of all—reaching upward, with sick, shriveled hands. "There are five zombies down there!" Quint exclaims. "There are going to be nine zombies down there if we don't stop this!" June says. I paw at the rope. Useless. I reach for the wall. Too far. "HOW DO WE STOP IT?" "Newton's cradle!" Quint exclaims. "Individually, we can't reach the walls—but by transmitting our force through one another, we might—" "Yeah, yeah, sure!" I say, cutting off Quint. "Whatever it is, let's try it!"

Quint pushes off my shoulder and swings back into me. I slam into June and she plows into Dirk. Then it's back the other way—the force carries through us, and Dirk swings out and out— "GOT THE WALL!" Dirk exclaims. He grips the wall. His feet kick. But then— CRASH! He loses his grip and comes flying back. We all bounce around—then sag. "That did not work...." I mutter. Lower and lower we go. The long, gnarled arms of the zombies reach and reach. Closer and closer... It feels like all is lost. "Jack," Quint says, sounding suspicious. "What is inside your instant-inflate donut raft? It's supposed to be empty! For inflating!" I sigh. "Well, if these are gonna be my last words to you, bud, I guess I should probably tell you the truth. I ignored your inflatable donut raft advice. I filled mine with food. It's a food tube." Quint glares. "I don't need a human airbag around my butt, OK?" I say. "It's not helpful! But food is helpful.

Who knows what sort of awful winter showdown trap we could end up in! We need food to survive if we end up trapped inside some freezing building for days, surrounded by zombies!" I'm watching the zombies get closer and closer —but Quint still wants to talk about airbags! "What sort of food is it?" Quint asks. "Um. Gum..." I say. June erupts. "GUM?! Gum's not even food! If you're stuck somewhere for days and need to survive, the WORST FOOD to bring is gum." "I was craving Big League Chew!" I defend myself. "Also, when you're starving to death, gum is the best food because it lasts longer." "Gum's not food!" Dirk roars. "Gum is food! It goes in the mouth, it's food! And the chewing tricks your mind into thinking you're eating! It's science!" "THAT'S NOT SCIENCE!" Quint roars. "GUM IS—" "Just what we need!" June suddenly exclaims. We all cock our heads toward her. The zombie howls echo. There's not much time.