Chapter 25

chapter twenty-five Dozens of crab-creatures wearing vehicular shells stampede toward us. Hundreds of neon green goo-slime canisters glow like fireflies. Skaelka's leading the charge in her own souped-up Carapace. "We'll catch a ride with these dudes!" I say. But Skaelka must have a different idea, because she's not slowing down. Instead, she ducks inside the Carapace and— FLING! The vehicle shell flips off—and we see the body beneath it. It's slimy and crab-like. Skaelka lies atop it, holding tight, as the Carapace's tiny, agile legs scurry forward at breakneck speed. June looks out the back window. "Is Skaelka gonna stop, or...?"

"NOT STOPPING!" Skaelka shouts. "BATTLE WAITS FOR NO MONSTER!" Just moments before hitting us, the Carapace dips its head and gets close to the ground. Skaelka leans forward, hugging the creature tight. "Brace yourselves!" I shout. The Carapace slips beneath Big Mama, lifting it up. June dives into the backseat as Skaelka pops up, pulling herself through the twisted metal and into the driver's seat.

Hello, do you mind if I drive? "FOLLOW THAT TENDRILL!" Quint barks, pointing ahead. Skaelka steers Big Mama down the boardwalk, dodging rubble and jutting wooden planks. She has a crazed grin on her face as she spins the wheel back and forth. "Um, Skaelka," I ask, leaning forward. "The wheel doesn't actually do anything, right? The car is just a shell."

"The wheel is only for looking cool," she replies. "But the pedals give us speed!" I glance down—Big Mama has no floor—it's like something from The Flintstones. Skaelka stomps her foot on the pedal, pushing it down into the creature's fleshy back. The Carapace YELPS and speeds forward.... "Well, that works," June says. Up ahead, Thrull is watching. He scowls and swings his war hammer, bringing it crashing into a huge HONKY-TONK HAMBURGERS sign and— SMASH! It pounds the boardwalk, metal shattering, giant plastic burger exploding! "We're gonna hit it!" I shout, but Skaelka jerks the gear shift, stomps the gas pedal, and—

SLEEP We sail over the rubble, then—WHOOMP! We hit the ground hard, and the Carapace's lower body picks up little pieces of splintered wood, which, man—that has gotta hurt, but it presses forward, catching up to the Tendrill. "I need to get up there," I say.

do it for Bartle. I can direct the assault from here. You know, while not so drives. Yes, not so. That is me. "OK, time to get our zombies back..." I say in my coolest action hero voice, 'cause I'm about to do cool action hero stuff— YANK! Thrull's tail-arm grabs hold of me, and I'm plucked from the passenger seat so hard that I actually tear through the seat belt. I spin in the air and flop down the mossy green Tendrill. The zombies are all embedded within the Tendrill's pulsating, moving form. One gnarled