Once Upon a Zombie 01 The Color of Fear by Billy Phillips & Jenny Nissenson

Author:Billy Phillips & Jenny Nissenson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: zombie, apocalypse, Paranormal
ISBN: 9781935668343
Publisher: The Toon Studio Press
Published: 2015-10-01T07:00:00+00:00

The cramped tunnel soon opened out into a wide, cavernous pit. A large entryway with a narrow stained-glass skylight above allowed rays of sunlight into the cave, enlivening the space with blues, violets, and reds. More glowworms lined the walls, providing ample hues of greens. Candles mounted in bronze sconces on the cave wall shone yellow candlelight. All these colors together gave unexpected life to the cave.

The second surprise was that the cave itself was a luscious underground garden. Unlike the zombified plant life above-ground, the flora here was far from struggling. Vines full with tomatoes and cucumbers climbed the walls. Bean plants with stems chock-full of beans grew in abundance out of the ground. Clusters of grapes in purple, green, and red hung from the ceiling. Passion fruit vines clung to shoots of corn and artichokes and tall sunflowers. Pumpkins and carrot greens carpeted the floor. There were cloves of garlic, wasabi plants, and thick horseradish roots. Lettuces and kale and purple-and-yellow chard sprung from pockets of soil between other plants. Even a lemon tree grew here.

Caitlin didn’t know much about plants, but she was pretty sure peppermint was growing somewhere too—minty fumes scented the cavern.

“Wow, this place is like a garden of earthly delights,” Natalie said. She ran her finger along a vine. “So where’s the caterpillar? Looks like the only things here are plants and glowworms.”

At the far end of the cave, they noticed a long sofa with purple pillows and a large decorative mohair blanket spread out cozily.

Wisps of the minty smoke wafted from a stick of incense perched on a mushroom near the sofa. The mushroom, Caitlin noticed, was as tall as the bookshelf in her bedroom, and even wider.

“Ahem,” came a small voice.

The girls approached the mushroom. Seated on top of its cap, sipping tea from the smallest porcelain teacup Caitlin had ever seen, was a three-inch-long, royal-blue caterpillar.

“You must excuse me,” the caterpillar said. “I was not expecting you for another minute and thirty-seven seconds.”

He dug one of his pin-size hands into the mushroom cap and pulled up a chunk of mushroom. He took a bite, chewed, and … began to inflate! He steadily increased in size like a carnival balloon, inflating and growing and expanding.

“Ah, three feet precisely,” the caterpillar said. “Or 91.44 centimeters. A very good height indeed.”

He reached under his mushroom and pulled out a new, more appropriately sized teacup and chair. Using one of his spare lower hands, he poured himself a fresh cup of tea. Minty steam rose from the cup and filled Caitlin’s nostrils.

Yup. Teacup. Definitely not a hookah.

The caterpillar’s face identified him as old, solemn, and wise, though ashen from the zombie affliction. Tiny spectacles were fixed firmly on the far tip of his nose, making him look like a distinguished scholar, and he wore a thick tweed vest and bow tie.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Amethyst Bartholomew, but do please call me Amethyst. No need for formal titles, considering our current state of affairs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.