Zombiekins - Kevin Bolger [8]
When the sixth graders had gone, Stanley searched their empty classroom . . . the rest of the hall . . . the boys’ bathroom . . . .
But there was no trace of Zombiekins anywhere.
Stanley was baffled. It was as if Zombiekins had just vanished. The rest of the classroom doors were closed, and he’d checked everywhere else it could possibly...
Unless . . .
No . . .
Stanley tried to push the thought from his mind. It was too, too awful.
Not that. . .Anything but that . . .
12
A MOMENT LATER, STANLEY FOUND HIMSELF sneaking into the girl’s bathroom. He kept his eyes trained on the floor and shaded them with one hand so he wouldn’t accidentally glimpse anything too psychologically damaging. He knew he must be surrounded by millions of tiny girl germs and made a note to decontaminate himself at recess by rolling in some dirt.
But it wasn’t long before Stanley’s curiosity started to get the better of him and he peeked around between a couple fingers . . . .
Stanley had always expected it would be like his Mom’s bathroom at home—little flower-shaped soaps you weren’t supposed to use, frilly towels that were only for show, that thick perfumey smell that always made him sneeze . . . .
But actually it was a lot like the boys’ bathroom. He started to relax a little.
And that’s when the door to the hall swung open behind him!
Stanley spun around in a flood of embarrassment—which quickly turned to terror—
For there, standing in the doorway, was Knuckles!
“I thought I smelt you sneaking around in here,” Knuckles grunted. “Weirdo.”
“I-I was just looking for something. . . .” Stanley stammered.
Knuckles took two menacing steps toward Stanley and the door closed behind him. The noise it made in the echoey bathroom was like the stone door to a tomb slamming shut.
“You shouldn’t be in here, Nudelman,” he sneered, coming closer. “What if something bad was to happen to you? Ha, ha. . . .”
Stanley backed away in terror, cursing himself for letting Knuckles catch him off guard twice in the same day. But before Stanley could slip past Knuckles by creating a diversion, flee the building, change his name and move to Australia, Knuckles grabbed hold of him again.
And the next thing Stanley knew, his head was wedged under Knuckles’ armpit and he was staring down into a gleaming white toilet bowl.
“You know,” Knuckles said in a reflective tone, “I almost feel bad about this. . . .”
“R-r-really?” Stanley squeaked, a faint hope stirring inside him.
“Naw,” Knuckles sneered, pushing Stanley forward.
What happened next was all a blur. One moment Stanley was staring helplessly down at his own terrified reflection getting larger and larger . . .
Then a weird noise rang in his ears:
Stump!—scri-i-i-i-i-itch . . .
Knuckles stood up, yanking Stanley back. They both froze, listening. The noise echoed around the room like a rubber ball bouncing off all the walls. When it finally died out, they heard it again. Only this time it was closer:
Stump!—scri-i-i-i-i-itch . . .
Whatever was making the strange noise was in the next stall over—and sounded like it was dragging itself toward them!
Then they saw it....
Stump!—scri-i-i-i-i-itch . . .
From under the partition between the stalls it came . . . Staggering slowly toward them . . . Moving stiffly, with a pronounced limp . . . .
It was . . .
Zombiekins!!!
Obviously.
Like, duh.
Still, it was a shock. Even Stanley found the sight of it a little unsettling: The cold, dead eyes . . . the fierce, sharp fangs . . . the one floppy bunny ear. . . .
“Hey, isn’t that your doll?” Knuckles snorted in a mocking tone—but Stanley heard a nervous tremor in his voice too. “Why’s it following us like that?”
Knuckles backed out of the stall, dragging Stanley with him. Zombiekins just turned sharply and continued lurching in their direction.
“I-I don’t know,” Stanley replied. “I never even realized it was battery-powered.”
Soon they were backed up against a wall and Knuckles was holding