The Black Heart Crypt

Malik seemed to be having a hard time taking the black heart apart.

Zack and Zipper were both watching every move he made. Even the ones that didn’t seem to work. Pieces weren’t coming out of the puzzle at the same pace they had when Malik tore the thing apart the first time.

“Everything okay?”

“Zack?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t perform well under pressure.”

“Right,” said Zack, backing up toward the clock face. “So me and Zip will just wait over here. Give us a holler when you’ve got the black heart core. We’ll just be waiting.…”

“Zack?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re pressuring me again!”

“Sorry.”

Malik swiped some sweat out of his eyes.

Zack figured he’d better not say anything else.

So he peeked through the hole in the glass and checked out the action over by the school bus.

He wished he hadn’t.

Jack the Lantern was leaping from the back of the bus onto the black horse, using Azalea as his human shield!