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left and my neck popped. My chin tucked down and my hands crossed and rubbed my triceps before exploring the length of my arms.
    As I stared in disbelief, my blue-gray eyes came to life. My previously frozen lips crept into a small, lopsided smile. Then, my legs began propelling my body forward, awkwardly, lurching rather than walking . . . without me.
    ****
    I’d been robbed. My bodyhijacked. My first thought was to call 9-1-1, but without fingers and a voice, that option was pretty much hosed. I spun around the hall, frantic, helpless. Then, footsteps echoed from behind me. I whipped around.
    “There you are.” Brynne clutched a hall pass in her left hand and approached my body, which had come to a slouchy halt, arms stretched out in front. So totally Night of the Living Dead .
    Oh, the horror! Had I somehow become a zombie? Was this my reanimated corpse moving about?
    But my spirit was still alive. Right? So someone—or some thing —else was controlling my body. But what? How? All I could think was, I’d been zombied .
    “Where have you been? I was worried,” Brynne added.
    Whatever had zombied me took a gawky step back. “Y-You can see me?”
    Weird. My voice sounded the same even thought I wasn’t the one using it.
    Brynne pulled her mouth to one side. “Um, yes.”
    “You can hear me, too?” My body’s voice was a high-pitched squeak. The “thing” cleared my throat, then crooked a finger at Brynne. “Come closer.”
    I watched in horror as my hand—the zombie’s hand—stretched toward Brynne. Run!
    Brynne stood still, watching without fear as my fingers reached for her neck.
    No! I barreled toward my body in a furious rage. Hot sparks smacked against me and I tumbled backward.
    My body fell backward onto the floor, sprawling into a contorted mess.
    Ha! Take that, you freakie zombie. Nobody messes with my friends.
    Instead of running away while she had the chance, Brynne knelt beside my body, and put a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.
    Its eyes widened, then turned to stare at Brynne’s hand where it was touching my arm. “I can feel you.”
    “That’s good, I guess.” Brynne pressed her lips together. “So you’re not hurt?”
    The thing made my head shake.
    Brynne exhaled audibly, then glanced down at the floor. “What happened? Did you slip on something?”
    It was insanely frustrating that she had no clue she was in danger. That something had taken over my body. I felt powerless. There was absolutely nothing I could do, but hover above them and watch in horror.
    “Where are we?” The zombie made my arm gesture around the hall.
    “Oh, Amy.” Brynne placed a palm against my forehead. “Did you hit your head when you fell? Do you have amnesia?”
    “Amy?” My brows furrowed. “Is that my name? Are we friends?”
    “Of course we’re friends.” Brynne held her index finger up in front of my body’s face and moved it back and forth. “Follow my finger with your eyes.”
    It shook my head. “Tell me where I am.”
    “We’re at school. You must have bonked your head when you slipped.” She started feeling my skull. “Do you have any bumps?”
    It brushed her off, then pushed to its feet and stood upright. Without wobbling, this time. “Which school? What’s the name?”
    “San. Felipe. High.” Brynne pronounced every syllable as if giving a reading lesson to a kindergartener.
    It scratched my temple. Its hand-eye coordination seemed to be improving. “That’s in the bay area just outside of San Francisco, right? We’re still in California.”
    Brynne stood, then peered into my eyes. “Yes, we are. Good job. You’re starting to remember things.”
    My body looked annoyed with her. I hated to say it, but I was too. Couldn’t she tell that wasn’t me? We were BFFs and she was supposed to be my smart friend.
    I watched as my body walked forward, this time more steady and less zombie-ish, and tested one of the double doors, pushing it open, then