Zack’s ears popped as they cruised to higher altitude, leveling off in the white cloud vapor of an otherwise clear blue sky.
Ding!
“Feel free to move about the cabin.” Their captain’s voice projected overhead.
But Zack didn’t feel like moving. He’d been awake for so long that his body was weary, ready to nap in the fresh-smelling leather seat. Twinkles plopped his head in Zack’s lap and sighed.
“Okay, guys…,” Rice called from the little kitchen at the front of the plane. “They got Muncharoos, which I think are like Cheetos, except with a kangaroo. From down undah, mate!” Rice did a weird Australian accent.
“What else?” Zoe asked.
“They also have chocolate-covered pretzels and…that might be it.”
“Chocolate pretzels are yum.” Zoe eagerly unlocked her tray-table.
“Bag of Muncharoos.” Zack yawned groggily.
“What’s the magic word?”
“Please,” Zack added. Rice didn’t move, waiting for Zoe.
“Now!” she insisted.
Rice grabbed the snacks, walked down the aisle, and dished out their orders before heading back to the kitchen area.
“I must say, dear brother, I’m much more fond of him when he’s being our servant.” Zoe laughed haughtily.
“URGLE SPLARGH KAH!” resounded from the pantry.
Rice screamed at the top of his lungs, and Zack shot up in his seat. A deranged zombie flight attendant had his buddy by the throat and was wringing Rice’s neck.
Rice grabbed the mutant flight attendant by the throat, too, and they waltzed in place like a zombie slow dance, gagging away.
“What the—?” Zack bolted down the center aisle.
“Help!” Rice coughed and sputtered, locked in the two-way stranglehold.
The zombie flight attendant thrust its face forward and snarled, spewing spittle as it frothed at the mouth like a rabid dog.
Rice’s eyes were bloodshot, road-mapped with red veins. Zack lunged at the duo and grabbed the zombie by the hair, pulling back as hard as he could. The flight attendant let go of Rice’s jugular and elbowed Zack in the nose. Zack fell back, and Rice broke free and toppled onto Zack.
The in-flight lunatic towered over the boys.
“Ahhhh!” Zack and Rice screamed together, holding each other like a couple at a horror movie.
All of a sudden, Zoe thumped down the aisle and threw a running haymaker with her right hand. BAM! She finished with a left uppercut. POP! The zombie dropped to the ground. Zoe rubbed her knuckles and shook her hand.
Rice massaged his throat and swallowed hard. “Tanx,” he rasped.
“My pleasure, Ricee-poo.” Zoe made a muscle and kissed it.
“C’mon, help me get rid of this thing.” Zack picked up the zombie by its ankles.
Zack and Zoe dragged the unconscious flight attendant to the back of the plane and tossed her in the coach bathroom.
Back in first class, they rode in silence. Zack sipped a soda, twitchy-eyed with sleep. He sunk his head into a pillow and drifted in his thoughts. He tried to settle into the throb of the jet, but whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw were floating zombie heads imprinted on the backs of his eyelids like a slideshow. He couldn’t stop thinking about his mom and dad locked up in the bank vault. Zombified.
Zack pulled the shade down on the too-bright window. Rice appeared with a little red fleece blanket and tucked him in. And finally, Zack dozed off into a dreamless sleep.
Hours later, Zack woke up with a start. He opened his shade and peered outside. The bright morning sun had been replaced with a somber late afternoon light, even darker as they hurtled into a thick cloud. The inside of the airplane dimmed.
Zack looked to his right. Rice was snoring, fast asleep. Zoe was standing over him with a Sharpie, preparing to scribble something on his forehead.
All of a sudden, the cabin started to shake and rattle as if there were an earthquake in the sky.
“Ozzie!” Zoe shouted up to the cockpit. “What the heck are you doing?”
The jumbo jet started to corkscrew, and Rice woke up suddenly. “We’re going down!” he shouted over the shriek of the juddering aircraft.
The FASTEN SEATBELT sign dinged on. Yellow oxygen masks dropped from the overhead bins. The snack cart flew out of the pantry, crashing down the aisle.
Twinkles bolted for Zack’s lap, his ears flat against his head. Zack, Zoe, and Rice sat back stiffly in their seats.
Zoe turned to the boys. “Before we all die I—I…I just want to say that I’m sorry for always being so mean to the two of you. I love you, little bro! There, I said it.”
“I love you, too, man!” Rice shouted to Zack.
“I love both you guys!” Zack closed his eyes and prayed they wouldn’t crash.
No one said anything as the airplane dipped and swerved in the thunderstorm.
CRACK! BOOM!
“Okay, so now you guys apologize to me,” Zoe said.
“For what?” Zack yelled over the rumbling chaos.
“For always being little nerd-mongers and provoking my meanness,” she explained. A hollow rumble of thunder sounded. Lightning zapped outside the windows.
“Okay, okay,” Rice said, terrified. “I’m sorry your face got all messed up.”
Zoe crinkled her brow, dissatisfied. “It has to be something you did, dorkus.”
The plane tilted suddenly, and everyone jerked.
“Fine!” Zack shouted. “When you busted through my bedroom door and tried to eat me, it felt kind of good to bash you over the head.”
“Hey,” Zoe said. “That’s mean!” She looked over to Rice. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”
All of a sudden, the airplane leveled off.
“Well?” Zoe crossed her arms, still glaring at Rice.
The overhead lights came back on, and the cabin repressurized. Rice said nothing and stuck out his tongue.
Ozzie’s voice came on over the loudspeaker. “Sorry, kids, just a little turbulence. There’s a storm a-brewin’. It’s gonna be a bumpy landing.”
