How It All Goes Down
- The person who attacked Nick turns out to be the bully football player, Stone Blakemoor.
- You could say Nick is between a stone and hard place.
- Nick and Stone's struggle is broken up when Caleb Malphas emerges from the shadows.
- Nick acts like we're supposed to know who this is, but this is the first time Caleb has ever been mentioned.
- Caleb sends Stone off, saying that "the animal in your is no match for the demon in me" (9.16). We doubt he's speaking in metaphor.
- Then Caleb tells Nick that Bubba and Mark are putting on a Zombie Defense class, and they decide to go together.
- Nick is suspicious. Caleb has never been mean to him before, but he's never been nice, either.
- Caleb explains, "My enemy's enemy is my friend" (9.36). But he won't say who is enemy is. Some explanation.
- Nick calls his mom to tell her he's going to Bubba's, and off he goes with Caleb.
- At Bubba's shop, Madaug is there. And boy, does he have new to share. He created the zombies.
- How did Madaug do it? He created a video game called Zombie Hunter, and anyone who plays it turns into a zombie.
- "A specific sequence of light and sound can actually alter brain waves" (9.144), he explains. O rly.
- Well, whatever—we believe the guy. It almost worked for Pokémon, after all.
- Madaug wanted to reprogram Brian, Zombie Zero, to stop bullying him. He didn't know it would turn Brian into a zombie.
- But that doesn't explain why so many people have become zombies so quickly.
- Speak of the devil, zombies attack.
- Oh, wait, false alarm. Banging at the door is a group of zombie hunters: Tabitha, the babe from before, and Eric, Madaug's brother.
- Our heroes arm themselves with weapons from Bubba's shop to fight zombies.
- Nick heads on patrol with everyone else, but he soon separates from the group, because he's clearly never seen a horror movie before ever.
- Sure enough, Nick's soon attacked by Kirstie Alley.
- Oh, sorry, we meant that Nick is attacked in an alley, just like at the end of the last chapter.
- Nick, stay away from alleys.