Zombie Buster looked neither to the right nor the left as he trudged mindlessly
along the sidewalk, toward a destination known only to himself.
About a block behind him, Bitzi slowly tailed him in her Volkswagen, with Arthur and Francine belted into the back seat.
"Maybe now we'll find out who put the zombie curse on him," said Francine hopefully.
The tedious pursuit went on for about an hour. Driver after driver came up behind Bitzi's slow-moving vehicle, honked rudely, and passed on the left.
"Doesn't he ever get tired?" wondered Arthur. They had reached the center of town, and Buster still marched on ahead of them, his pace unflagging.
A few minutes later, Bitzi watched as her son made a right turn into a store. She recognized it as Toys-4-U, where she and Buster had often visited to shop for playthings.
"He went into the toy store," Arthur noted. "Hmm. He started turning into a zombie right after he bought that robot toy."
"I'll drop the two of you off here," said Bitzi. "Watch the store and make sure he doesn't leave."
She stopped in the busy street to let Arthur and Francine jump out of the car and take up positions on the sidewalk. A few minutes passed, and Buster didn't appear. Then Bitzi, who had found a parking space, joined the pair and led them into the Toys-4-U store.
Upon entering, they were greeted by the garishly dressed goat man who Arthur recognized as Mr. Fillmore, the shop's proprietor. "How can I help you?" he asked with a silky voice.
"We, uh, just want to browse," said Bitzi evasively.
"As you wish," answered the goat man in the red suit.
Bitzi and the two kids started down one of the toy-strewn aisles. "That guy's creepy," Francine remarked.
They wandered to the back of the store, where Arthur noticed that only a handful of Mezmo toys remained in the display he had seen earlier. They stood motionlessly, as if their batteries had run down.
There were three doors in the back wall of the Toys-4-U shop. One led to the men's room. One led to the women's room. The third bore a sign saying, EMPLOYEES ONLY.
Bitzi motioned for Arthur to look in the men's room, and then, to be thorough, gestured for Francine to check the women's room. When the two kids came back Buster-less, the rabbit woman came to the conclusion that Buster could have gone in only one direction...
"May I help you find anything?" asked Mr. Fillmore, who had walked up to them from behind.
"Er, yes, you can," replied Bitzi, suspecting that the goat man would most likely keep his eyes trained on them. "I'm looking for my son. Eight years old. Long ears. I saw him come into your store."
"Hmm," mumbled Fillmore, scratching his tiny beard. "I believe I saw a boy fitting that description a minute or two ago. He came in, looked around a bit, and left. He had a rather gaunt appearance."
Bitzi glanced down at Arthur and Francine, who shook their heads.
She winked playfully at them.
Turning back to Mr. Fillmore, she reached up and picked a deck of magic cards from the shelf. "I think he would love these," she said idly, making sure to position her body between Fillmore's beady eyes and her two young companions. "He's always trying to figure out the magic tricks they do on TV."
As Bitzi distracted the store owner, Arthur and Francine tiptoed through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door and started to quietly close it behind them.
But Fillmore was too observant...
"Stop!" he cried out. "Don't go in there!" Discourteously pushing Bitzi aside, he rushed toward the door, shoved it open, and marched through. Frightened for the children, Bitzi ran through the doorway after him.
Arthur and Francine found themselves in a stock room with shelves full of crates and toy boxes. Attached to the ceiling were several flourescent lights, about half of which were buzzing and blinking.
In the middle of it all was a shocking sight. Buster, his expression devoid of emotion, was on his knees, scrubbing the dingy stone floor with a sponge in his hand, a pail of soapy water sitting next to him.
"Buster!" exclaimed Francine. "What are you doing?" The rabbit boy didn't look up or answer.
"He's...he's working," stammered the unbelieving Arthur.
Before they could reflect any further on the bizarre development, a pair of strong hands grabbed them and turned them around. The stern face of Mr. Fillmore glared at them, the points of his horns looking sharp and deadly in the flickering light of the stock room. "You are not supposed to be in here," he growled threateningly.
Then it was Fillmore's turn to be forcibly flipped around. By yanking on one of his horns, Bitzi brought the goat man's face level with her own. "What have you done to my son?" she demanded angrily.
The shop owner's lips spread into a malicious smile. Bitzi, expecting an answer that wouldn't please her, released her grip on his horn.
"So you're the boy's mother," he said with devilish glee. Behind him, Arthur and Francine tried to arouse Buster from his dutiful trance, but the zombie boy only scrubbed obliviously.
"That's right, I am," Bitzi replied firmly. "And whatever you did to him, I want you to undo it, now."
"It's not that simple, Bitzi Lynn Baxter," said Fillmore, leading Bitzi to wonder how the man she hardly knew could recite her full name. "You see, Buster and I made a bargain. He got the toy he wanted, and I got his soul."
"His soul?" Bitzi's eyes bulged with astonishment. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, I see," replied Fillmore, as if reading Bitzi's thoughts. "You don't believe in an afterlife. Very well, let me put it another way. The soul is the motive force, the anima, the 'je ne sais quoi' that separates a human being from a mere puppet on a string."
"I don't care how you define it," said Bitzi with outrage in her voice. "Just give it back to him. You have no right to take my son's free will away and make him your slave." Arthur and Francine, having failed to release Buster from his spell, hurried to Bitzi's side as if to lend her support against the sinister goat man's arguments.
"When I last checked," Fillmore continued, "the laws of the state and nation said nothing about trafficking in souls. Therefore I have the right, by default, to take possession of any soul that is offered to me freely, and to dispose of it as I see fit."
"But I never taught him about souls!" exclaimed the increasingly emotional Bitzi. "He didn't know what he was giving up!"
"An unfortunate oversight on your part," said Fillmore coldly.
Now determined and furious, Bitzi marched past the smug goat man, kicked over the bucket of cleaning solution, grabbed Buster by the tips of his ears, and dragged him to his feet. The boy's hollow eyes stared into space unfeelingly, and he remained silent.
Mr. Fillmore stepped closer to her. "I have total power over him," he boasted, his voice rising to a triumphant pitch. "His free will is mine to give or take as I please. He valued a ridiculous toy more than his very soul, and now he shall pay the price...for all eternity!"
He looked back and forth, and seemed pleased with the expressions of defeat and abject horror on the faces of Bitzi, Arthur, and Francine.
Suddenly the spell over Buster's mind broke, and his pallid face once again showed emotion. He dropped the cleaning sponge and watched his hands as he wiggled them about, relieved at having freedom of movement once again.
Mr. Fillmore flashed Bitzi a friendly smile. "Or until he works off the $17.95," he concluded. "Whichever comes first."
Zombie Buster took a few halting steps. He glanced at Bitzi, Arthur, and Francine, who were now staring at Fillmore with confusion and disbelief in their faces.
----
Buster remained a zombie for a week and a half. During that time he went to Mr. Fillmore's toy shop of his own volition, and helped to clean the stock room and the main floor. As he never tired, he also assisted in moving crates and toy boxes between the delivery trucks, the stock shelves, and the displays.
When the time had passed, Mr. Fillmore lifted the zombie curse and restored Buster to his normal self. He suffered no ill effects, other than some slight pain in his teeth due to the dental work that had been done while he was still a zombie.
Bitzi relished the ritual of tucking her son into bed that evening, happy that the strange zombie experience had ended.
"Mom?" Buster called out as she was about to shut off the light.
Bitzi turned. "Yes?"
"I really want one of those new Stretch-a-Sketch toys," said Buster enthusiastically. "Maybe if I go back to Toys-4-U, Mr. Fillmore will turn me back into a zombie and make me work for two weeks, and then I can get one for free."
Bitzi sighed. "We're never going back to that store, Buster. In fact, I'm going to write a newspaper article and expose that fiend."
But she never had a chance to do so, as Toys-4-U went out of business the next day, and Mr. Fillmore was never again seen in Elwood City.
THE END
About a block behind him, Bitzi slowly tailed him in her Volkswagen, with Arthur and Francine belted into the back seat.
"Maybe now we'll find out who put the zombie curse on him," said Francine hopefully.
The tedious pursuit went on for about an hour. Driver after driver came up behind Bitzi's slow-moving vehicle, honked rudely, and passed on the left.
"Doesn't he ever get tired?" wondered Arthur. They had reached the center of town, and Buster still marched on ahead of them, his pace unflagging.
A few minutes later, Bitzi watched as her son made a right turn into a store. She recognized it as Toys-4-U, where she and Buster had often visited to shop for playthings.
"He went into the toy store," Arthur noted. "Hmm. He started turning into a zombie right after he bought that robot toy."
"I'll drop the two of you off here," said Bitzi. "Watch the store and make sure he doesn't leave."
She stopped in the busy street to let Arthur and Francine jump out of the car and take up positions on the sidewalk. A few minutes passed, and Buster didn't appear. Then Bitzi, who had found a parking space, joined the pair and led them into the Toys-4-U store.
Upon entering, they were greeted by the garishly dressed goat man who Arthur recognized as Mr. Fillmore, the shop's proprietor. "How can I help you?" he asked with a silky voice.
"We, uh, just want to browse," said Bitzi evasively.
"As you wish," answered the goat man in the red suit.
Bitzi and the two kids started down one of the toy-strewn aisles. "That guy's creepy," Francine remarked.
They wandered to the back of the store, where Arthur noticed that only a handful of Mezmo toys remained in the display he had seen earlier. They stood motionlessly, as if their batteries had run down.
There were three doors in the back wall of the Toys-4-U shop. One led to the men's room. One led to the women's room. The third bore a sign saying, EMPLOYEES ONLY.
Bitzi motioned for Arthur to look in the men's room, and then, to be thorough, gestured for Francine to check the women's room. When the two kids came back Buster-less, the rabbit woman came to the conclusion that Buster could have gone in only one direction...
"May I help you find anything?" asked Mr. Fillmore, who had walked up to them from behind.
"Er, yes, you can," replied Bitzi, suspecting that the goat man would most likely keep his eyes trained on them. "I'm looking for my son. Eight years old. Long ears. I saw him come into your store."
"Hmm," mumbled Fillmore, scratching his tiny beard. "I believe I saw a boy fitting that description a minute or two ago. He came in, looked around a bit, and left. He had a rather gaunt appearance."
Bitzi glanced down at Arthur and Francine, who shook their heads.
She winked playfully at them.
Turning back to Mr. Fillmore, she reached up and picked a deck of magic cards from the shelf. "I think he would love these," she said idly, making sure to position her body between Fillmore's beady eyes and her two young companions. "He's always trying to figure out the magic tricks they do on TV."
As Bitzi distracted the store owner, Arthur and Francine tiptoed through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door and started to quietly close it behind them.
But Fillmore was too observant...
"Stop!" he cried out. "Don't go in there!" Discourteously pushing Bitzi aside, he rushed toward the door, shoved it open, and marched through. Frightened for the children, Bitzi ran through the doorway after him.
Arthur and Francine found themselves in a stock room with shelves full of crates and toy boxes. Attached to the ceiling were several flourescent lights, about half of which were buzzing and blinking.
In the middle of it all was a shocking sight. Buster, his expression devoid of emotion, was on his knees, scrubbing the dingy stone floor with a sponge in his hand, a pail of soapy water sitting next to him.
"Buster!" exclaimed Francine. "What are you doing?" The rabbit boy didn't look up or answer.
"He's...he's working," stammered the unbelieving Arthur.
Before they could reflect any further on the bizarre development, a pair of strong hands grabbed them and turned them around. The stern face of Mr. Fillmore glared at them, the points of his horns looking sharp and deadly in the flickering light of the stock room. "You are not supposed to be in here," he growled threateningly.
Then it was Fillmore's turn to be forcibly flipped around. By yanking on one of his horns, Bitzi brought the goat man's face level with her own. "What have you done to my son?" she demanded angrily.
The shop owner's lips spread into a malicious smile. Bitzi, expecting an answer that wouldn't please her, released her grip on his horn.
"So you're the boy's mother," he said with devilish glee. Behind him, Arthur and Francine tried to arouse Buster from his dutiful trance, but the zombie boy only scrubbed obliviously.
"That's right, I am," Bitzi replied firmly. "And whatever you did to him, I want you to undo it, now."
"It's not that simple, Bitzi Lynn Baxter," said Fillmore, leading Bitzi to wonder how the man she hardly knew could recite her full name. "You see, Buster and I made a bargain. He got the toy he wanted, and I got his soul."
"His soul?" Bitzi's eyes bulged with astonishment. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, I see," replied Fillmore, as if reading Bitzi's thoughts. "You don't believe in an afterlife. Very well, let me put it another way. The soul is the motive force, the anima, the 'je ne sais quoi' that separates a human being from a mere puppet on a string."
"I don't care how you define it," said Bitzi with outrage in her voice. "Just give it back to him. You have no right to take my son's free will away and make him your slave." Arthur and Francine, having failed to release Buster from his spell, hurried to Bitzi's side as if to lend her support against the sinister goat man's arguments.
"When I last checked," Fillmore continued, "the laws of the state and nation said nothing about trafficking in souls. Therefore I have the right, by default, to take possession of any soul that is offered to me freely, and to dispose of it as I see fit."
"But I never taught him about souls!" exclaimed the increasingly emotional Bitzi. "He didn't know what he was giving up!"
"An unfortunate oversight on your part," said Fillmore coldly.
Now determined and furious, Bitzi marched past the smug goat man, kicked over the bucket of cleaning solution, grabbed Buster by the tips of his ears, and dragged him to his feet. The boy's hollow eyes stared into space unfeelingly, and he remained silent.
Mr. Fillmore stepped closer to her. "I have total power over him," he boasted, his voice rising to a triumphant pitch. "His free will is mine to give or take as I please. He valued a ridiculous toy more than his very soul, and now he shall pay the price...for all eternity!"
He looked back and forth, and seemed pleased with the expressions of defeat and abject horror on the faces of Bitzi, Arthur, and Francine.
Suddenly the spell over Buster's mind broke, and his pallid face once again showed emotion. He dropped the cleaning sponge and watched his hands as he wiggled them about, relieved at having freedom of movement once again.
Mr. Fillmore flashed Bitzi a friendly smile. "Or until he works off the $17.95," he concluded. "Whichever comes first."
Zombie Buster took a few halting steps. He glanced at Bitzi, Arthur, and Francine, who were now staring at Fillmore with confusion and disbelief in their faces.
----
Buster remained a zombie for a week and a half. During that time he went to Mr. Fillmore's toy shop of his own volition, and helped to clean the stock room and the main floor. As he never tired, he also assisted in moving crates and toy boxes between the delivery trucks, the stock shelves, and the displays.
When the time had passed, Mr. Fillmore lifted the zombie curse and restored Buster to his normal self. He suffered no ill effects, other than some slight pain in his teeth due to the dental work that had been done while he was still a zombie.
Bitzi relished the ritual of tucking her son into bed that evening, happy that the strange zombie experience had ended.
"Mom?" Buster called out as she was about to shut off the light.
Bitzi turned. "Yes?"
"I really want one of those new Stretch-a-Sketch toys," said Buster enthusiastically. "Maybe if I go back to Toys-4-U, Mr. Fillmore will turn me back into a zombie and make me work for two weeks, and then I can get one for free."
Bitzi sighed. "We're never going back to that store, Buster. In fact, I'm going to write a newspaper article and expose that fiend."
But she never had a chance to do so, as Toys-4-U went out of business the next day, and Mr. Fillmore was never again seen in Elwood City.
THE END