Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie Read Online Free Page A

books,” he said, “libraries in creepyhouses always have secret passages.”
    Henry frowned. “Secret passages?”
    “Sure, you know, hidden doorways,” Keats said. “We just have to pull on the right book, and I bet a way out will open up.”
    “There are thousands of books in here,” Henry said. “But it can’t hurt to try.”
    The cousins got to their feet. They started sliding books on and off the nearest shelf. Nothing happened.
    Maybe one of the books on the higher shelves would do the trick. Keats climbed up onto one of the wide railings. It was a little soft but held his weight.
    Keats pulled on book after book. Still no sign of a secret door. Suddenly the railing he was standing on started to move. It twisted and turned under his feet.
    Keats dropped the book in his hand. He jumped down to the floor.
    “Was that an earthquake?” Keats asked.
    “More like an earth
worm
,” Henry said. “A big one.”
    He pointed at what Keats had thought was a railing. The thick tube was sliding around with squishy, glooping sounds.
    “That’s not an earthworm. It’s a giant bookworm!” Keats cried.
    As if to prove Keats right, the worm pulled its head out of a nearby book. It didn’t have eyes or ears. But its mouth was as wide as a watermelon. The worm chomped down on another book. It tore off part of the cover and chewed slowly, like a cow with a mouthful of grass.

    Keats looked around the library again. There were at least six more giant bookworms tunneling through the books. Each one was as long as a minivan. They must have gone still when the boys burst into the room. But now they seemed to realize the cousins weren’t a threat and went back to eating.
    And as they ate they made gassy sounds like
Gloop! Shoolllop!
    “Oh man,” Keats said. He pinched his nose.
    “That’s totally disgusting,” Henry agreed. “They don’t look dangerous. Unless they want to
stink
us to death.”
    Keats started to put back the book he’d dropped. Then he noticed the title.
    “Spells—No Wand Needed,”
he read out loud.
    “Great!” Henry said. He took the book and flipped to the middle. “Let’s try one. It couldhelp us get out of here. This spell sounds good. It’s called Egg-cellent Idea!”
    “Wait a second,” Keats said. “We shouldn’t mess around with this stuff.”
    But it was too late. Henry was already reading the spell. “ ‘Put the cluck right up there or the yolk will hit our hair!’ ”
    Blip!
A live chicken popped into the air in the middle of the library. It was about six feet off the ground. It clucked and laid an egg. Henry stuck out his hand and caught the egg before it hit the ground. Flapping its wings, the chicken fluttered to the floor.
    “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Henry asked. “I just made a chicken appear out of thin air! How cool is that?”
    The chicken started strutting around the library, pecking at the floor. It clucked again. Then, with a
blip!
, the chicken vanished.
    Keats took the egg from Henry. “Well, when we want an omelet, we’ll know what to do. But how is that spell going to help us against the zombie?”
    “Okay, you’re right,” Henry said. “Let’s find another one.”
    Before they could look for a more useful spell—
    Ker-thunk! Crash!
    Keats dropped the egg in surprise. It smashed on the floor.
    “What was that noise?” he asked.
    “That was the sound of a hole being made in the kitchen wall,” Henry said. “You know what that means?”
    For a second Keats couldn’t talk. He knew exactly what that sound meant.
    The shark-headed zombie was inside the house!

THROUGH THE WALLS , Keats heard the zombie banging around the kitchen. Pots and pans clattered. Glasses shattered. Then there was a huge
WHAM!
that made him jump. Keats figured it was the refrigerator being tipped over.
    Henry and Keats looked at each other with wide eyes. Up until this moment, they had felt safe from the zombie. But now it was inside the house with them.
    Henry