As the kids left the classroom at the end of the period, everyone except for
Arthur, Francine, Sue Ellen, and Brain made a wide berth around Zombie Buster
as if he had the plague.
The undead rabbit boy sighed as his four friends tried to console him. "They think I'll eat their brains and turn them into zombies," he lamented. "I guess I can't blame them."
"But that's only in the movies," Sue Ellen pointed out. "According to voodoo beliefs, you have to put a curse on someone to turn them into a zombie. It's not you they should be afraid of, it's whoever did this to you."
"And we're gonna find out who that is," said Brain confidently.
"And we'd better hurry," Francine added. "We don't know how many years Buster can go without food."
Buster groaned pathetically.
Morning recess came along, and Buster's four friends continued to provide him with their company while the other kids superstitiously avoided him.
"It's a good thing you're not decomposing," Arthur remarked as he and the others wandered about the playground with Zombie Buster. "Otherwise you'd stink really bad right now."
Then they stopped all at once. Several yards ahead, they beheld a terrifying sight--Rattles the bully was intimidating a second-grade poodle boy into turning over his candy bar. "Uh, let's not go that way," Francine recommended.
"Why not?" Arthur responded. "Sue Ellen can beat him up."
"Let's just tell the principal," Sue Ellen suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Brain led the way as the others followed...
...except for one.
"Hey, where's Buster?" wondered Francine.
She, Arthur, Sue Ellen, and Brain turned around. To their horror, they saw Zombie Buster standing boldly between Rattles and his young victim.
"I've put up with your bullying for too long," said Buster defiantly. "Now that I'm a zombie, I'm gonna put a stop to it."
"Oh, that's a really scary mask," snarled Rattles as the little poodle boy ran away crying. "By the time I finish with you, your face will really look like that."
"Do your worst," Buster challenged him. "You can't hurt someone who's already dead."
"Buster, stop!" cried Sue Ellen as she raced toward the scene with Brain, Francine, and Arthur.
Alas, it was too late.
Rattles lashed out with a well-aimed right hook, striking Buster in the left eye. The rabbit boy fell back and stumbled, but quickly recovered his footing. Assuming a defensive posture once again, he boasted, "I didn't feel a thing."
"Feel this!" bellowed Rattles, launching his left fist into Buster's nose. Once again the zombie boy recoiled from the impact, but within moments was on his feet again, none the worse for wear. His four friends stood by helplessly, fearing dire physical harm if they intervened.
Rattles' consternation grew as he hurled punch after punch at Buster's face, only to watch his tireless opponent confront him again and again, grinning condescendingly.
Then suddenly, Buster's grin revealed fewer teeth than before.
"That's it!" roared Sue Ellen. When Rattles' arm retracted from its latest punch, she grabbed it and twisted it behind his back in a tae kwon do hold. The bigger boy struggled to break her grasp for a few seconds, then wised up and flung himself on his back, knocking Sue Ellen to the ground and crushing the wind out of her. He leaped to his feet, angrier than ever and determined to wipe the increasingly toothless smile from Zombie Buster's face.
Sue Ellen lay in the dirt, bruised and gasping, her pride injured more than anything else. While Arthur and Francine helped her to stand, Brain watched the altercation motionlessly, wondering if Buster would ever stop acting the role of punching bag and take the offensive.
Then, as Rattles drew back to deliver another punch, Buster glanced over at Brain...and had an idea.
Raising his arms and widening his eyes, he let loose with a terrifying shriek:
"BRAINS!"
Rattles' fist slowly dropped to his side. Terror enveloped his face.
"BRAAAAAIIIIINSSSSS!!!"
Buster lurched forward, stretching his pale hands toward the frightened Rattles. The bully turned and fled, screaming bloody murder.
Once Rattles had disappeared behind a corner of the school, Buster lowered his arms and started to laugh, a chilling zombie laugh. His mirth ceased when Francine grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a scowl angry enough to split hydrogen atoms.
"You idiot!" she shouted. "Look at you! You've lost half your teeth! Rattles could've knocked your head off and you wouldn't have felt it!"
"What do I need teef for?" lisped Zombie Buster. "I can't eat."
"That's not the point," Francine continued, more calmly than before. "If you can't feel pain, then you have to be extra careful."
"The sensation of pain is essential to the survival of any species," said Brain academically. "Without it, you could be seriously injured, maybe even permanently disabled, and you wouldn't realize it until it's too late."
"Let me demonstrate by pulling off your ears," offered Francine, reaching up and wrapping her fingers around Buster's ears.
"No!" cried Buster with alarm.
"What's the matter?" Francine taunted him. "Are you afraid it'll hurt?"
"Okay, okay," said Buster meekly. "I get your point."
Francine let go of Buster's ears, and they headed off to the classroom along with Sue Ellen, Arthur, and Brain.
----
"I'm thorry, Mom," said Zombie Buster to his mother when he returned home accompanied by Arthur and Francine. "I got in a fight at thchool. I shouldn't have done it, but I thought I was indethtructible."
Bitzi shook her head in disgust at the sight of Buster's damaged smile. "This will cost a fortune at the dentist," she lamented. "Did you recover all the missing teeth?"
"Yeah, Mom," replied Buster, showing his mother a small plastic bag he had obtained from the school cafeteria.
As Bitzi snatched up the tooth-filled bag and went to the phone to make an emergency call to the dentist, Buster led Arthur and Francine to the living room and sat on the couch with them. "Let'th watch a little Bionic Bunny," he proposed, grabbing the remote control and switching on the TV. "Now that I'm a thombie I don't need thleep, tho I can watch TV all night if I want."
"Don't let Mr. Ratburn hear that," Arthur warned him. "He'll give you more homework."
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Bionic Bunny as he gazed upon a warehouse floor covered with pterodactyl eggs, many of which were hatching. "This looks like the work of my nemesis...Dr. Fowl!"
"I've seen this one," said Arthur wearily. "Let's watch something else, Buster. Buster?"
Turning his head, Arthur saw that his friend was staring single-mindedly at the TV screen. He didn't move or change his expression.
"Buster? Hello?" Arthur waved a hand in front of the zombie boy's face, but he did not respond.
Suddenly Buster pushed himself off of the couch and walked robotically out of the living room. "Where are you going?" Francine called after him, but he paid no heed to her voice or any of his surroundings. Within seconds, he had exited the condo and closed the door behind him.
"Come on, Francine," said Arthur, hastily flinging himself off the couch. "We'd better follow him."
TBC
The undead rabbit boy sighed as his four friends tried to console him. "They think I'll eat their brains and turn them into zombies," he lamented. "I guess I can't blame them."
"But that's only in the movies," Sue Ellen pointed out. "According to voodoo beliefs, you have to put a curse on someone to turn them into a zombie. It's not you they should be afraid of, it's whoever did this to you."
"And we're gonna find out who that is," said Brain confidently.
"And we'd better hurry," Francine added. "We don't know how many years Buster can go without food."
Buster groaned pathetically.
Morning recess came along, and Buster's four friends continued to provide him with their company while the other kids superstitiously avoided him.
"It's a good thing you're not decomposing," Arthur remarked as he and the others wandered about the playground with Zombie Buster. "Otherwise you'd stink really bad right now."
Then they stopped all at once. Several yards ahead, they beheld a terrifying sight--Rattles the bully was intimidating a second-grade poodle boy into turning over his candy bar. "Uh, let's not go that way," Francine recommended.
"Why not?" Arthur responded. "Sue Ellen can beat him up."
"Let's just tell the principal," Sue Ellen suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Brain led the way as the others followed...
...except for one.
"Hey, where's Buster?" wondered Francine.
She, Arthur, Sue Ellen, and Brain turned around. To their horror, they saw Zombie Buster standing boldly between Rattles and his young victim.
"I've put up with your bullying for too long," said Buster defiantly. "Now that I'm a zombie, I'm gonna put a stop to it."
"Oh, that's a really scary mask," snarled Rattles as the little poodle boy ran away crying. "By the time I finish with you, your face will really look like that."
"Do your worst," Buster challenged him. "You can't hurt someone who's already dead."
"Buster, stop!" cried Sue Ellen as she raced toward the scene with Brain, Francine, and Arthur.
Alas, it was too late.
Rattles lashed out with a well-aimed right hook, striking Buster in the left eye. The rabbit boy fell back and stumbled, but quickly recovered his footing. Assuming a defensive posture once again, he boasted, "I didn't feel a thing."
"Feel this!" bellowed Rattles, launching his left fist into Buster's nose. Once again the zombie boy recoiled from the impact, but within moments was on his feet again, none the worse for wear. His four friends stood by helplessly, fearing dire physical harm if they intervened.
Rattles' consternation grew as he hurled punch after punch at Buster's face, only to watch his tireless opponent confront him again and again, grinning condescendingly.
Then suddenly, Buster's grin revealed fewer teeth than before.
"That's it!" roared Sue Ellen. When Rattles' arm retracted from its latest punch, she grabbed it and twisted it behind his back in a tae kwon do hold. The bigger boy struggled to break her grasp for a few seconds, then wised up and flung himself on his back, knocking Sue Ellen to the ground and crushing the wind out of her. He leaped to his feet, angrier than ever and determined to wipe the increasingly toothless smile from Zombie Buster's face.
Sue Ellen lay in the dirt, bruised and gasping, her pride injured more than anything else. While Arthur and Francine helped her to stand, Brain watched the altercation motionlessly, wondering if Buster would ever stop acting the role of punching bag and take the offensive.
Then, as Rattles drew back to deliver another punch, Buster glanced over at Brain...and had an idea.
Raising his arms and widening his eyes, he let loose with a terrifying shriek:
"BRAINS!"
Rattles' fist slowly dropped to his side. Terror enveloped his face.
"BRAAAAAIIIIINSSSSS!!!"
Buster lurched forward, stretching his pale hands toward the frightened Rattles. The bully turned and fled, screaming bloody murder.
Once Rattles had disappeared behind a corner of the school, Buster lowered his arms and started to laugh, a chilling zombie laugh. His mirth ceased when Francine grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a scowl angry enough to split hydrogen atoms.
"You idiot!" she shouted. "Look at you! You've lost half your teeth! Rattles could've knocked your head off and you wouldn't have felt it!"
"What do I need teef for?" lisped Zombie Buster. "I can't eat."
"That's not the point," Francine continued, more calmly than before. "If you can't feel pain, then you have to be extra careful."
"The sensation of pain is essential to the survival of any species," said Brain academically. "Without it, you could be seriously injured, maybe even permanently disabled, and you wouldn't realize it until it's too late."
"Let me demonstrate by pulling off your ears," offered Francine, reaching up and wrapping her fingers around Buster's ears.
"No!" cried Buster with alarm.
"What's the matter?" Francine taunted him. "Are you afraid it'll hurt?"
"Okay, okay," said Buster meekly. "I get your point."
Francine let go of Buster's ears, and they headed off to the classroom along with Sue Ellen, Arthur, and Brain.
----
"I'm thorry, Mom," said Zombie Buster to his mother when he returned home accompanied by Arthur and Francine. "I got in a fight at thchool. I shouldn't have done it, but I thought I was indethtructible."
Bitzi shook her head in disgust at the sight of Buster's damaged smile. "This will cost a fortune at the dentist," she lamented. "Did you recover all the missing teeth?"
"Yeah, Mom," replied Buster, showing his mother a small plastic bag he had obtained from the school cafeteria.
As Bitzi snatched up the tooth-filled bag and went to the phone to make an emergency call to the dentist, Buster led Arthur and Francine to the living room and sat on the couch with them. "Let'th watch a little Bionic Bunny," he proposed, grabbing the remote control and switching on the TV. "Now that I'm a thombie I don't need thleep, tho I can watch TV all night if I want."
"Don't let Mr. Ratburn hear that," Arthur warned him. "He'll give you more homework."
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Bionic Bunny as he gazed upon a warehouse floor covered with pterodactyl eggs, many of which were hatching. "This looks like the work of my nemesis...Dr. Fowl!"
"I've seen this one," said Arthur wearily. "Let's watch something else, Buster. Buster?"
Turning his head, Arthur saw that his friend was staring single-mindedly at the TV screen. He didn't move or change his expression.
"Buster? Hello?" Arthur waved a hand in front of the zombie boy's face, but he did not respond.
Suddenly Buster pushed himself off of the couch and walked robotically out of the living room. "Where are you going?" Francine called after him, but he paid no heed to her voice or any of his surroundings. Within seconds, he had exited the condo and closed the door behind him.
"Come on, Francine," said Arthur, hastily flinging himself off the couch. "We'd better follow him."
TBC