Zombie Dog Read Online Free Page A

waning light. Suddenly, he lost his footing and crashed sidelong into the fence between Becky’s house and the McNally house.
    â€œBear!” Becky called, but he was on his feet again in a second, shaking himself. Then he froze, staring at the fence. His shoulders stiffened, and the fur along his back began to bristle.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with Bear?” Jake asked. He and his friends had stopped moving, their game forgotten.
    There was a low rumble of thunder, and Becky glanced up nervously at the sky. Black clouds had covered the sun, heavy and ominous, though it had been clear a moment before. Goose bumps rose on Becky’s arms.
    Then they all heard what was upsetting Bear, though it was almost inaudible at first. A throaty, pained moan was coming from the other side of thefence. Gradually, it got louder and louder, becoming a deep, mournful howl.
    Becky felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle: The sound was almost unearthly, like nothing she’d ever heard before. It didn’t sound like a regular dog’s howl — it was much wilder, more frightening, and sadder.
    Eventually, the sound died away, trembling and wavering, becoming a moan again, and finally fading.
    As it stopped, Bear snapped out of whatever had been keeping him frozen and bolted across the lawn and up the porch steps. He dove under the table, knocking an empty chair over with a bang . A second later, Becky felt his head land in her lap. He was whimpering softly, and she rubbed his ears comfortingly, even though she felt sick herself. Something’s wrong , she thought anxiously. Something’s really wrong.
    Thunder cracked again from the black clouds overhead, and Danielle Kolodny began to cry. Both she and her brother ran out of the yard, heading for their own house down the street.
    â€œWhat was that ?” Tonya asked after a second, wide-eyed.
    â€œI have no idea,” Becky said helplessly. “Maybe another dog?” She didn’t think so, though, not really. But what else could it have been?
    Noah snorted. “A werewolf, maybe.”
    â€œI’m going to head home,” Tonya said, and there was a little tremor in her voice. “It’s getting late, anyway. Thanks for dinner, Becky.” She got to her feet.
    â€œI’ll come with you,” Noah said, and Robin got up, too.
    A minute later, all three were heading down the street, away from the McNally house. Noah and Tonya were whispering to each other, their heads together, and Becky saw Robin pull out her cell phone, no doubt ready to spread the story all over school.
    As they headed back to their normal houses on their normal street, Becky found herself wishing she could go with them.

“Mom, you don’t understand,” Becky said, as her parents did the dishes. “It wasn’t just a regular noise.” At the table, Jake nodded, his face solemn. They’d been trying to tell their parents about the eerie howl that had come out of the McNally yard, but with one look at her mother’s skeptical face Becky knew they hadn’t been able to get across how very scary it had been. The kitchen was warm and brightly lit, so normal and safe that it was hard to explain just how wrong everything had felt outside.
    â€œIt was probably a stray cat in the yard next door,” her mother said reasonably. “Let’s keep an eye out, and if we see it, we can try to catch it and take it to the animal shelter.”
    â€œBear was really scared, too,” Jake said, his face stubborn. “He wouldn’t be scared of a stray cat.”
    Their father’s eyebrows rose. “Wait, Bear was there? What was Bear doing when the noise started?”
    â€œHe wasn’t doing anything!” Becky said, feeling defensive. She folded her arms across her chest. Her parents exchanged a glance. She should have known that they would find a way to make this all about Bear.
    â€œHoney,” her mother said firmly,