Chapter 7

Chapter seven, By the time Papa Pete reached me, I was totally frozen with fear. "Whoa there, Hankie," he said, throwing his big strong hand on my shoulder. "What's gotten into you?" "That d-d-dog," I stammered. "He wants to eat spider brains. Or squirrels. Or maybe even mine!" "Oh, you mean Dexter," Papa Pete said. "No way. He just likes to relax under the tree and bark at the squirrels. He's here every day." As Papa Pete talked, I noticed that the dog had stopped barking. I let myself turn around and look at him. He wasn't chasing me. In fact, his tail was wagging. I looked at McKelty, who

had a huge grin on his thick face. "You lied," I said to him. "That dog isn't a zombie." "Oh yeah?" he whispered. "Just wait until dark and his eyes start to glow. You'll see what I mean." With that, McKelty walked toward the basketball courts. "Now what is this all about?" Papa Pete asked. I opened my mouth and all my fear came out in one giant wave of words. "McKelty said that tonight there's going to be a huge zombie invasion. And that Meatbag is going to attack you. Papa Pete, what if zombies take over the city? What if they live in my building? What if they're in my bed right now, just waiting for me to come home?" Papa Pete held up his hand. "Okay, let's take a deep breath and just slow down here," he said. "First of all, zombies are make-believe. They don't really exist, except in stories and movies and TV."

"But, Papa Pete," I argued. "Nick McKelty pointed out three zombies right here in the park. One guy's face was being held on by just a bandage." Papa Pete looked at me and scratched his chin. "I can see that I'm not going to talk you out of this very easily," he said. "So I have a wonderful idea. Let's go to the library." "Great idea!" I said. "I'll bet libraries are zombie-free zones. It's probably hard for them to read when their eyes are sliding out." "Boy oh boy, your imagination is really flying," Papa Pete said. "But I have a cure for that." "Do I take it with a spoon?" "No, it's called facts, Hankie. The best cure for fear is to have the facts, nothing but the facts. I say, let's go to the library and look up zombies. I think real facts will calm you down and make you feel better." I held Papa Pete's hand tight. We left the park and headed up 78th Street past my

apartment building. At Amsterdam Avenue, we turned left and walked the two blocks to the library. "I love this place," Papa Pete said, holding the big wooden door open for me. "It's got the delicious smell of books." "I like the smell of books, too," I said. "I just wish they weren't so hard for me to read. It's fun to check them out with my library card, but

then when I get them home, they scare me. Which reminds me—can we look up zombies, please? Right now?" Papa Pete walked me up to the desk where a woman was sitting on a high stool, wearing a T-shirt that said, Open a book, open your mind. In front of her was a sign that read: MS. LOPEZ, HEAD LIBRARIAN. "Excuse me, Ms. Lopez," Papa Pete said in his quiet library voice. "Can you help us find some information about zombies?" "Of course I can," she answered. "They don't call me Info to Go for nothing. Follow me."

She took us to the research section on the second floor. "You can find the history of zombies in the encyclopedia," she said. "Would you like to read that on the computer screen or in the actual book?" "My grandpa says that books smell delicious," I said. "So I'll go for the book." Ms. Lopez pulled out the Z volume of the encyclopedia and put it on the reading table. She opened it to ZOMBIE, and then turned to Papa Pete. "While your grandson is reading, is there something special I can help you find?" "Well, I was just thinking about starting a bowling league. Do you happen to have the official bowling league handbook?" "Of course, it's in the sports section. Let me show you." "Hankie, I'll be two shelves over in the