Zombie Dog Read Online Free

ears.
    It had almost been like Bear was protecting Jake, pushing him away from something dangerous. But hemust just be hungry and hurrying Jake along , Becky thought. There can’t really be something wrong with the old house, can there?
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    â€œUno!” Noah shouted, holding his last card up. Game play went around the circle again, and he slammed the card down in triumph.
    Becky laughed and started to gather the cards together. Everybody had gorged on the burgers and hot dogs her parents had grilled up, and then they’d settled on the porch to talk and play games as the sun set. Jake and the Kolodny kids were kicking a ball back and forth in the yard, Bear galumphing around after them, barking happily.
    Next to Becky, Tonya turned away from the finished card game and blew bubbles at the younger kids from a bottle of bubble liquid she’d found on the porch. Danielle and Peter both jumped to smack at the bubbles floating over them, and Jake grabbed the opportunity, kicking the ball past them into the makeshift goal they’d set up near the fence.
    â€œGoal!” he shouted, holding his arms up in victory. “GOALLL!!!”
    â€œYour little brother’s cute,” Tonya said.
    â€œOh, he’s a total character,” Becky told her, rolling her eyes. “For Halloween, he’s already decided he wants to be a ninja vampire cat. Who plays soccer. I know it’s still more than a month away, but he likes to plan things.”
    Tonya giggled. “I guess he’ll need the time if he’s going to put all that together.”
    â€œHe’s got it all figured out,” Becky told her. She picked up the pencil she’d been using to sketch with earlier and pulled over a piece of paper. “See, the ninja mask goes over his face with the cat ears on top of his head. Vampire teeth, obviously, and fake blood coming from the corner of his mouth. Cat tail and a cape. And he’s carrying a soccer ball. Totally simple.”
    Tonya inspected the sketch. “Oh, now it all makes sense. I’m sure every person who opens the door to him will be like, ‘Of course! A ninja cat vampire soccer player!’ I was always just a witch or someone for trick-or-treating, and now I realize I was missing out.”
    â€œI know,” Becky said. “I spent three Halloweens in elementary school dressed as a pirate, when I could have been, say, an undead pirate cheerleader rock star.”
    Next to Nate on the other side of the table, Robin was talking to Noah about the cheerleading squad. “Everyone knows that their coach lets the girls already on the team decide who gets to join,” she said. “If they want to get treated as a sports team, they have to act like all the other sports teams, which means whoever does best in tryouts makes the squad. It’s either a sport or a popularity contest, but it can’t be both.”
    Her eyes were bright and intense with conviction behind her glasses: Anything Robin believed, she believed a hundred percent. She spread her opinions widely and often talked everyone else around to her point of view. It seemed pretty likely that the cheerleading tryouts would soon be run differently. Robin always knew everything and told everyone everything.
    â€œKnowledge is power,” Becky had heard her say once. “And if everybody knows what you want them to know, you can change the world.” Becky wasn’t sure if Robin was the world’s biggest gossip or a total force for social justice.
    Nate glanced toward Becky, just the barest flick of his brown eyes, but Becky wondered if he had read her mind, because he suddenly said to Robin,“Can you believe that everyone at school was teasing Becky because she lives next to the old McNally house?”
    â€œBecause of all the ghost stories?” Robin looked outraged. “That’s awful!”
    Bear had been chasing the soccer ball the younger kids had kicked in the