The Midnight Lightning Club

Lily pressed her eye to the telescope, her heart pounding with excitement. She was the best spy in the whole neighborhood, or at least that's what she told herself every Saturday night. The Midnight Lightning Club was her secret society—just her, her little brother Max, and their dog Biscuit.

"Agent Max, report!" she whispered into her walkie-talkie (which was really just a banana wrapped in foil).

"Agent Max here! I see something weird in the garden!" Max's voice crackled back.

Lily grabbed her flashlight and crept downstairs, past sleeping parents, out into the cool night air. Max stood pointing at the old oak tree, where something was definitely moving. Something lopsided and green.

"Is it a monster?" Max whimpered, hiding behind Lily's leg.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning split the sky! BOOM! The thunder shook the ground. And there, illuminated by another brilliant flash, they saw it: a zombie.

But not a scary zombie. It was wearing a polka-dot bow tie and holding a wilted daisy. It stumbled forward, groaning softly.

"B-b-b-brains?" it asked hopefully.

Lily stepped forward bravely. "We don't have any brains, but we have cookies!"

The zombie's face lit up. "COOKIES?" It smiled, revealing very clean teeth. "Oh, thank goodness! I've been wandering for hours looking for snacks. I'm Zed, and I'm actually a birthday party zombie. My zombie suit is SO uncomfortable, and I got lost coming home from Tommy's party."

Lily and Max looked at each other and burst out laughing. Zed wasn't a real zombie—just a kid named Zed in an amazing costume!

"Want to join our spy club?" Lily asked.

"Only if I can have a cookie," Zed said.

As they sat on the porch eating chocolate chip cookies by flashlight, the three new friends planned their biggest mission yet: finding Zed's way home. Sometimes the scariest things turn out to be the best adventures—and the best friends.