Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen I know gas. I know THE CREATURE'S POWER. And YES, I WATCHED THE TOWN. YOU ARE CORRECT-THE TOWN WILL BE GONE. If GUST COMES HERE. "Wait, hold up, really?" I say. "I was just saying that in hopes of getting you out there." Warg's head dips. Frost dots her strange, loose face. "Your town will be overrun by the undead. An

endless army. Ghazt is...... The General. The General of the undead." June stammers. "You mean... he, like, leads zombies?" "Not leads," Warg says. "Controls." Now I understand why Evie had thousands upon thousands of zombified action figures. It was her way of planning, plotting.... And I understand, now, why Evie wants Ghazt, specifically. Why she's not content with the Cosmic Servants already on Earth, why she's not just trying to bring .e...c. himself here. Because she wants something that can control the thousands and thousands of zombies. "Take this," Warg says. She plucks a single eyeball from her body and pushes it into my hands. "These globular organs are why Bardle sent you."

YOUR FRIEND MUST DRINK THE JELLY FILLED CENTRE BEFORE HE IS FULLY UNDEAD THAT WILL REVERSE THE ZOMBIES. WAIT, What? No, why? As I'm holding the eyeball, I realize I only thought this far. I only thought about figuring out how to get Dirk fixed. And where do we go now? Where did she take him? Her house, right? But I'm not so sure. She brought the Louisville Slicer with her. Home is where she kept it! And she needs to be with the artifact in order to carry out her nefarious plan....

Quint's watch is tick, tick, ticking. And there's no way to stop it. No way to stop time. The moment the zombie bit Dirk, things got rolling. I can hear her voice, ringing in my head: "In one moment, I'll have all that I need. And then Ghazt will be here. As easy as A-B-C...." I spin around. "The ABC Block Smasher Cinema! That's where she's taking Dirk. That's where this is all going down. I'm sure of it." June's jaw is tight. She sighs. "That is miles from here. Many hours of walking...." My heart pounds. No way. No way. We didn't make it this far to not finish. I mean—I've got an oversized eyeball in my hand. You don't waste oversized eyeballs! But June's right. We're miles from our destination. We need, like, a... "Christmas miracle," June says, softly—and she points... And there I see Bardle, Skaelka, and Rover running toward us. Our own Christmas miracle.

JUNE QUINT FOR YOU. FOUND THIS WHILE CLEANING UP FROM THE BATTLE. It's a card. June's hands tremble as she opens it. Quint peers closer. I read over their shoulders. June, Quint— Merry Christmas! I feel lousy that you have to wait until spring to answer the radio call. If you want to get to the big city and try to find your family, you should get to do it now.

So I built this. I'm not sure what Jack's gonna do—but I'm staying put. I fit here. Hard to explain. I didn't know it, yet, when we were planning to leave. But the holidays showed me. I have better friends here than I ever had before the Monster Apocalypse. I'll finish the engine this week! Promise, guys. Merry Christmas! Dirk I look up. I don't totally understand. Behind me, Quint and June are in shock. I look in Rover's eyes. And then I notice something in his mouth—a big giant Dozer bone. And attached to that bone—rope! Like an old-timey sled dog! And I see what he's pulling. "It's Big Mama!" I say. "But Big Mama isn't Big Mama anymore," June says. "She's like—Sled Mama! Or the Big Sled!" Quint grins. "No, no, I got it. She is..." -SNOW MAMA!