Zombie Pets Need Love Too

Discarded by its human and turned into a zombie by an evil witch, a worn stuffed animal escapes into the forest and searches for someone who will love it. After a stranger slams a door and children flee from its stitched face, the Zombie Pet finds Mica awake and frightened in his bedroom. When the Witch and her crows come tapping at the window, the Zombie Pet stands guard while Mica closes the curtain. Mica welcomes it to stay, showing that care and courage can help two lonely, frightened companions feel safe.

Zombie Pets were loyal loving stuffed animals that were discarded to the dark forest by their human who no longer wanted them and drove away. The Zombie Pet lay among the wet leaves, listening to their car fade, until a shadow crossed the path.

The evil witch who lives in the forest found him. Her silver braid brushed its face as she carried it to her forest house. There she muttered a spell, and the stuffed animal became a zombie, its fabric worn and stitched. The Witch kept him as her pet, close enough to touch but never close enough to love. One night, she loosened her grip to reach for a candle.

The Zombie Pet slipped free and ran into the forest. Branches scraped its fabric as the Witch called her crows from the roof. Rook, with a crimson ribbon, swooped between the trunks. Caw, wearing saffron yellow, followed with a harsh cry. The Zombie Pet ducked beneath a fallen branch, but the beating wings kept coming.

The Zombie Pet escaped the crows and wandered far beyond the forest. It wanted a human who would love it and care for it. At the first house, it reached for the door. Someone glimpsed its stitched face and slammed the door so hard that dust jumped from the step. The Zombie Pet waited, but the door stayed shut.

The Zombie Pet followed the sound of voices to a playground. Perhaps someone there would want to take it home. It stepped out beside the swings, and the children screamed. Their footsteps rattled across the path as they ran away. The Zombie Pet stayed where it was, while an empty swing creaked back and forth.

That night, the Zombie Pet found an open door and heard someone whispering upstairs. Mica lay awake in blue pajamas, watching a shadow stretch across the bedroom wall. "Please stay on," he told the bedside lamp. The Zombie Pet crept in and sat beside the bed, close enough for Mica to see its stitches. Mica pulled the blanket to his chin, then made room beside him.

Tap. Tap. The Zombie Pet trembled, but climbed between Mica and the glass to look outside. The Witch stood there, reaching toward the latch. Beside her, Rook and Caw tapped at the pane, their crimson and saffron ribbons flicking. They were the very crows she had sent after her Zombie Pet. Mica reached for the curtain while the Zombie Pet held its place. The tapping grew faster.

The Zombie Pet pressed against the window and would not move. Mica pulled the curtain shut, and the tapping stopped; through a gap, they saw the Witch and the crows retreat into the forest. Mica tucked the worn stuffed animal under the blanket and hugged it close. "You can stay here," he whispered. Beside the glowing lamp, Mica smoothed the stitches that the Witch had made.