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“You could try by simply digging your claws into their eyes,” I suggested. “That way they won’t see where they’re going, and will be a lot easier to catch.”

“Humans tend to protect their eyes, though,” he said. “So that might not work either.”

I had to admit Brutus was making a lot of sense when he talked zombie-fighting strategy like this. Then again, brute force is his hallmark.

“So what do you think about Grandma Muffin having another baby?” I asked.

“I don’t like it, Max,” he confessed. “It’s going to create a lot of trouble for everyone involved. First off, Gran may think she’s as fit as a twenty-five-year-old but she’s not, so who’s going to end up having to take care of that baby? Marge and Tex. And I don’t think that’s fair on them.”

I stared at the cat. Often I see Brutus as an airhead bully, but today he was on fire.

“I agree with you wholeheartedly,” I said therefore.

“Yeah, and also, that baby is going to attract a lot of attention. In fact that baby will soak up attention like a sponge. And where will that leave us? They’ll neglect us, Max.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Though I’m sure Odelia would never let it come to that.”

“Oh, yes, she will. Just you wait and see. Once that baby is born, they’ll forget we even exist, and then we’ll go days without having our food bowls replenished, our litter boxes cleaned out, and even for our water bowls to be filled with fresh water from the tap. We’ll be fending for ourselves, Max, and I’m not sure I like that particular prospect.”

I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but I could see he had a point. Between work and taking care of a baby, our humans’ attention would be on the baby, not cats.

Not a fun prospect!

We’d ventured deeply into the park by then, the zombies still lumbering on, with no obvious destination in mind.

“I wonder where they’re going,” I said.

“Maybe back to the graveyard?” said Brutus. “That’s where zombies live, you know.”

“I’m sure these are not really zombies. They’re simply two men who look like zombies. Either they’re dressed up as the walking dead, or they’re really sick people.”

Brutus considered this, then said,“Nah. They’re zombies and they need their heads bashed in.”

We were crawling through the undergrowth and the zombies were making a beeline for the beach. Hampton Cove park isn’t all that far from the beach, and judging from the way they were going, they were looking to go for a nice refreshing swim.

“I hope they’re not going in the water,” said Brutus, following the same line of thought. “I can’t swim.”

“Neither can I,” I admitted.

We were out of the park now, and had arrived on the boardwalk, but instead of stopping to take in the sights, the zombies staggered down onto the beach proper and moved in the direction of the ocean, whose waves were gently lapping the sandy beach.

We were still following along, though with less and less enthusiasm.

“They’re going in, Max,” said Brutus. “They’re going to take a swim!”

And so they were. Both zombies had reached the waterline and stumbled in, the water soon reaching their knees and still they weren’t stopping.

Brutus and I had stopped short of getting our paws wet, though. We’re all for accomplishing our missions, but we draw the line at getting wet.

So we watched on as both zombies waded out farther and farther, and soon were lost from view.

“Do you think they’ll drown?” I asked.

“Moot point, Max. Zombies are already dead.”

“Touch?.”

And as we started the long trek back to the park, I glanced over my shoulder. The full moon cast its pale light across a peaceful ocean, but of the two zombies there was no trace. They’d been swallowed up by the waves.

And this mystery had just become a little mysteriouser.

Chapter 15

Later that night, when Odelia had finally returned home, she and the others were greeted by an irate Grandma Muffin, standing out on the porch.

“You took my camera crew!” the old lady cried, shaking her balled fist. “That’s my camera crew and you took em!”

“Um, actually we volunteered,” said Libby. “We couldn’t resist filming a zombie, and we did!”

“Two zombies,” said Jonah, holding up two fingers in case his meaning wasn’t clear.

“Who cares about some stupid zombies! You have to be here, with me, all the time! That was the deal!”

“But you’re not even pregnant yet,” said Libby. “There’s exactly nothing to film.”

“Nothing to film? You have to film me!”

Libby gave her a confused smile. Clearly she wasn’t all that happy with her assignment. “We can’t film you all the time, Vesta. That’s not how it works. We outline certain key scenes, and we film those.”

“Yeah, if we have to film you every minute of every day, we’re going to have a lot of wasted footage,” Jonah agreed.

“Wasted footage? How dare you talk about my life as wasted footage! Every minute of every day is an important minute, and a minute people at home will want to watch!”

“People at home? We’re filming a promo video for Clam’s clinic,” said Libby. “The only people who’ll see this video are Doctor Clam’s prospective clients.”