The Smoky Corridor

56

The Donnelly brothers had been working with Seth’s new zombie for more than a month.

“How come he only obeys you?” groused Joseph.

“Because I was the first human soul he came across after he got zombie-bit, I guess.”

Joseph balled up his fist like he was going to give his little brother a good walloping. “You’ll make him do whatever I tell you to make him do, right?”

“Sure, I will. You’re all the family I got, Joe.”

“And don’t you forget it, boy-o! We’re never gonna let some grown-up get the better of us again, are we?”

“No, Joe. We’re gonna get the better of them!”

Joe swung out his arm, but instead of punching his brother, he draped it over Seth’s shoulder. “You and me. We’re all we got. Together, we’re gonna make some dumb grown-up pay for what that Mr. Cooper done to us.”

“Then can we move on, Joe?”

“Maybe.”

“I’d like to meet my mom and dad.”

“I said maybe! First we need us our revenge!”

“Okay. How do we kill a grown-up so we can head home?”

Joseph gestured at the steam boiler. “See that thing? It used to be on Captain Pettimore’s paddle wheeler.”

“Sure, I remember. Mr. Cooper told us all about Pettimore.”

“Why you think the captain put it down here so deep in his tunnels?”

Seth shrugged. “To heat the place?”

“Nah. He’s dead. Don’t need no heat. Use your noggin, dummy.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You died too young. Didn’t get to be as smart as me.” Joseph walked over to the cold furnace. “See, we’re real close to where the captain hid his gold.”

“I know,” said Seth, who didn’t like it when his big brother said he was dumb. “I’ve seen it.”

“Well, think about it. The chamber on the other side of that door there, the one the chimney pipe winds its way over to? That there has to be one of the captain’s most ingenious defenses.”

“How’s it work?”

“Easy. His zombie chases a treasure hunter into this room; the man sees that chamber, runs in to hide. He slams the door shut, thinks he’s safe. Meanwhile, the zombie lowers that lock bar, ambles on back to the boiler here, and sets in to stoking the furnace beneath the water tank. Zombie gets a real nice fire goin’ with all that wood stacked up …”

“And all the smoke goes up the chimney and over to the locked chamber!”

“Bingo! The treasure hunter chokes, suffocates, and dies—just like we did.” Joseph winked. “Your zombie gets to feast on smoked brains!”

Now Seth started training his zombie to do the things Joseph wanted done. Loading firewood into the fuel doors underneath the boiler tank. Greasing the hinges on the lock bar outside the smokehouse-chamber door.

“You do a good job,” Seth told his zombie, “and I’ll let you go upstairs for some real tasty treats.”

“Yep,” added Joseph, “all the kid brains you can eat! A whole school of ’em.”

The zombie drooled.

“But you don’t get nothin’ but dried-up old carcasses and bones until we get us our revenge! Tell him, Seth!”

“You heard my brother?”

“Yes, master.”

“Good,” said Joseph. “Now, any Son of Daniel Boone will tell you, when setting a bear trap, the first thing you need to do is make sure it doesn’t look like a trap to the bear!”

“Open that door for us,” said Seth, indicating the heavy wooden door below the angled smokestack pipe.

The zombie opened the door and stepped into a small room, six feet wide, twelve feet long. The door on the far end was closed.

“That’s it! You still got those fire sticks?”

The zombie pulled the box of matches out of his tattered trousers.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” shouted Joseph.

The Donnelly brothers’ simple trap was set.

Now all they needed was one grown-up dumb enough to stumble into it.

The way they’d been dumb enough to trust that murdering liar Mr. Cooper.