Read Online Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies by Martin H. Greenberg - Free Book Online

the fleeing creature changed. The slithering was replaced by the sound of feet. No, Godfrey thought, not feet. Claws.
    From out of the darkness, the creature half slithered, half crawled out from behind the bookcase, adjusting quickly to its newly formed feet.
    “Is that . . . ?”
    “Lizzie,” Godfrey finished. “Yes.”
    The gold of her body was deeper, her scales far more pronounced now that she was two hundred times her original size, but there was no mistaking the creature
that had been Godfrey’s pet. Besides the feet, there was another new addition—a long, muscular tail that flicked books off the shelves as it flashed back and forth. Gone was the kind face he had known these past few years, replaced by deep-seated venom in its eyes.
    “Let’s go,” Chloe said, but Godfrey stood transfixed, looking for a hint of recognition in the creature’s eyes. Chloe grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him off to the safety of another aisle to her right.
    “No, wait . . .”
    Chloe ignored him and continued pulling at him until they were safely out of the creature’s sight. “Haven’t you ever heard about curiosity and the cat?”
    Godfrey peeked around the corner. Lizzie was still there, watching him.
    “I think we have more of a St. George and the Dragon situation here, actually. Maybe if we could make it to the stairs . . .”
    Godfrey ran off across the aisle, or tried to. Before he was even halfway across, Lizzie let out a burst of flame, and Godfrey was forced back to the same side, but down a different aisle. He stopped, dropped, and rolled to make sure nothing was on fire but other than the wave of heat that had hit him, he seemed unharmed.
    “Dammit,” he shouted, then remembered Chloe was standing just on the other side of the bookshelf between them. He composed himself and shouted over to her, “This isn’t my forte! We’re researchers, librarians. We try to leave the extraordinary affairs to the people upstairs.”
    The half-walk, half-slither of the creature started up the aisle toward them. A shiver of fear ran up his spine. While he tried to shake it off, Godfrey heard Chloe straining herself in the next aisle over, and then saw
the upper part of one of the book cases move ever so slightly.
    “Godfrey, get over here!” Chloe called out. “We’ve got to stop it before it sets the whole place ablaze. I can’t do this by myself. I can’t get enough strength behind this to topple it over onto her. You have to help me.”
    Godfrey checked the aisle. Lizzie was closing on them slowly but surely. He dashed out into the aisle and down the one Chloe was in before Lizzie could react.
    “Help me with this,” Chloe said.
    Godfrey shook his head, leaning it back against the bookcase. “I can’t. None of this is Lizzie’s fault. She’s not malicious. It’s the book she ate. The Diobolica Arcanium is making her do this . . .”
    Chloe grabbed him by the shoulders. “That may be, but you have to let go. Whatever that . . . thing is now, it’s not your pet anymore. We have to stop it. I’m not sure about you, but I know I don’t want to die!”
    Godfrey nodded. Chloe was right. He had known it all along, but hearing her say it gave the idea substance.
    He edged toward the main aisle. Lizzie was in a pocket of shadow, little flickers of flame showing where the corners of her mouth were.
    “Heeeeere, Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie,” he clucked out.
    “For heaven’s sake, Godfrey, it’s not a cat.” Chloe stepped to the nearest shelf and pulled two books from it, clapping them together over and over. “The thing wants paper, paper and magic.”
    She stepped out into the aisle, putting the bookcase between herself and the creature, baiting it.
    “Don’t let her roast me,” Chloe said. “I’m trusting you on this one, God. It’ll put a real damper on that date of ours.”
    Godfrey pressed himself to the bookcase, testing his
strength against it. He felt that it would topple at his shove. At