Against All Odds by Natale Ghent

yelled.
    The conveyor continued to roll, the creature convulsing and clawing at the air as it struggled to life. At the end of the conveyor, the oozy thing tumbled to the floor, shuddering and shivering, the sticky film covering its body beginning to dry. The creature staggered in an attempt to stand, then looked around, dazed, its dark, expressionless eyes blinking against the cold, blue light.
    “It
is
Itchy!” Boney hollered. He began pounding on the window. “Itchy! Over here! We’ve come to help you!”
    Samantha grabbed Boney’s hands. “I told you, it’s not Itchy!”
    The creature slowly turned its empty eyes toward Boney. Raising its arm, it pointed, menacing and vacant, then dropped its jaw and emitted a terrifying shriek. Analarm began to blare, and, in an instant, the doors of the shiny steel lockers burst open, revealing hundreds of red-haired clones.
    “Oh crap,” Squeak said.

C HAPTER E LEVEN
T HE D ISRUPTOR
    “W e have to get out of here—now!” Samantha said.
    A high-pitched whistle shrilled, and the Itchy clones jolted to life as though struck through by a bolt of electricity. Together they pointed at the window where Squeak and Boney stood, then began shrieking as they swarmed from the building.
    “Run!” Samantha shouted, dashing down the path toward the tracks.
    Boney darted after her, his arms and legs pumping like pistons.
    “Hey, wait up!” Squeak yelled, his messenger bag pounding against his legs as he flailed along the path.
    The hordes of Itchy clones surged after them, demonic mouths gaping, the ground shaking from the impact of their feet.
    “They’re too fast!” Squeak wailed.
    “Keep running!” Boney screamed.
    Ahead of them, Samantha skidded to a stop and began digging through her bag. She pulled out a little black box with a big red button and held it up. “Come on!” she yelled to Boney and Squeak. “Don’t look back!” She waved them on, and the two boys raced down the path with all their might.
    Boney glimpsed over his shoulder and saw the tide of Itchys swelling and rising behind him. “They’re gaining on us!”
    “Run faster!” Samantha ordered.
    Boney and Squeak streaked past her, running until they could see the train tracks at the edge of the woods. The boys turned just in time to see Samantha swallowed up by the wave of clones.
    “She’s gone!” Squeak cried.
    All at once, a deep pulse shot through the air. It struck Boney and Squeak in the chest, knocking the wind from their lungs and sending them thumping to the ground. The clones sputtered and stalled, eyes lifeless, mouths opening and closing like confused goldfish. They gathered in a big ragged herd, bumping aimlessly into each other, little meeping noises emanating from their slack lips.
    Squeak sat up, rubbing his head. “What happened?”
    Boney looked at the listless clones. “They turned into zombies.”
    The Itchys began to slowly retreat, moving robotically in a line toward the warehouse. At the centre of the group stood Samantha, still holding the little black device in the air.
    “Samantha!” Boney and Squeak called out. They scrambled up and ran to where she was standing.
    “Are you okay?” Squeak asked.
    Samantha continued holding the device in the air until the Itchys were out of sight, then shoved it into her bag. “I’m fine,” she said.
    Squeak turned to Boney. “What part of ‘it’s not Itchy’ didn’t you understand?”
    “I’m sorry,” Boney said, removing his earplugs. “I freaked out.”
    “I’ll say.”
    “I’m fine,” Samantha repeated, as though getting swarmed by clones was a daily event.
    “What was that device you used?” Squeak asked in a loud voice.
    Samantha removed the sponge plugs from her ears and pulled the little black box from her bag. “I call it the Disruptor.”
    “What?” Squeak said.
    Samantha pointed to her ears, signalling to Squeak to remove his earplugs.
    But Squeak just stared back like a quizzical mouse. “That’s not