The Zombie Who Loved Baseball

Leo's favorite toy was a tiny green zombie named Zed. Zed had messy black hair sticking up like he'd just woken up, and he always wore a bright blue baseball cap backward. But Leo knew Zed's secret – at midnight, Zed came alive!

One night, Leo peeked through his fingers and saw Zed stretch his little plastic arms. "Hey Leo!" Zed cheered. "Want to play?" Leo's dad had left his iPhone on the nightstand, and Zed tapped the screen. Baseball game!

"I LOVE baseball!" Zed shouted, grabbing Leo's baseball from the toy box. "Want to play catch?"

Leo giggled as Zed tossed the ball – and missed completely. The zombie's plastic arms weren't made for throwing. But that didn't stop Zed from trying again and again.

"You need a bigger hat to see the ball!" Leo suggested, putting his favorite baseball cap on Zed's head. It slid down past Zed's eyes.

"I can't see anything!" Zed laughed. "Perfect!"

They played until Leo's eyes grew heavy. "Same time tomorrow?" Zed asked, adjusting his hair.

Leo nodded, closing his eyes with a smile. Some zombies weren't scary at all – some just wanted a friend to share baseball games with.