Transcript of this chapter:

barlow: Well, this certainly wasn't here yesterday.
alex: Yeah, it rose to the top of the marsh sometime last night. They're using the cover of night to launch their attack.
barlow: They?
alex: Zombies! This is obviously an assault vehicle for the zombie invasion!
barlow: Assault vehicle? It's just an old circus wagon.
alex: Right! And those zombies we've been fighting recently are what remain of the Brimley and Bumbershoot Circus of Amusements. Circus zombies!
barlow: Alex, have you actually SEEN a zombie come out of this wagon?
alex: Well, no, but I'm sure they're nearby.
barlow: Look around you. No zombies. Those zombies we've seen lately move at like two feet per hour.
alex: Not ALL zombies are so slow. Sometimes, a zombie will come along who's fast and clever and very dangerous.
eliza: Oh, I thought I heard voices.
barlow: Good morning, Eliza.
eliza: Be careful around this part of the marsh. This environment is very unstable right now, as you can see from this debris coming to the surface.
eliza: Come to think of it, WHY are you even here? This is an endangered habitat for hundreds of rare species.
barlow: Oh, uh... Alex was just explaining that this debris was left by zombies.
eliza: Of, really? Zombies... yeah, I'd expect that from a simple-minded fool. Of course you should realize that there's a rational explanation for any phenomenon that doesn't rely on the supernatural.
barlow: Did anyone see this thing come up?
alex: I don't think so, unless the botanist or one of Turnip's friends were up late last night.
turnip: Nobody of my species saw it come up. We were all snug in our nestings.
alex: I first saw in an dawn this morning, when I was making my morning rounds.
barlow: Morning rounds? Seriously, Alex, I'm the demon-hunter around here. You don't need to do that.
barlow: Why would circus zombies be invading?
alex: Well, obviously they have a grudge against our town. After all, we did kill them all during the Circus War.
alex: Then again, demons like Crystal will naturally attract evil things. She might be to blame, too.
barlow: So it's Crystal attracting them?
alex: That would be the most logical solution, don't you think?
barlow: Alex, logical solutions aren't something people usually associate with you, but in this case you might have a point.
barlow: Darn that girl! I thought we'd cleaned up the last of the zombies a while ago. Maybe this wagon came up on its own.
barlow: When was that war?
alex: Barlow, didn't you pay any attention in school? Our town's culture was largely shaped by the Circus War and the events of that time.
barlow: I never paid attention to that stuff, because I never expected to be staying in this town.
alex: I'll refresh your memory. The Circus War was found in 1896, and only ended when the entire Brimley and Bumbershoot Circus sank into the marsh. It was built over the marsh, you know.
barlow: Why was there a war?
alex: Why is there any war? They were evil, of course. An entire circus of evil, and now they're an entire undead circus of evil.
alex: They would've defeated us, you know. They were really close to winning the war and sending Spider Cliff down into the chasm, but we were saved in the last minute by the greatest hero the town has known...
barlow: Oh, enough about Alistair Bigly Bean, already.
alex: Alistair Bigly Bean was the greatest person ever to lead Spider Cliff! The greatest mayor, the greatest demon-hunter. You should be so brave.
barlow: Yeah, yeah...
barlow: What proof do you have that there's zombies here?
alex: Well, I have three pieces of proof...
alex: First, there's this wagon. Obviously, it wasn't here yesterday. We would've noticed it. It's also now empty, but it would be the perfect vehicle for an invading zombie. They drove it right up here.
alex: Secondly, there's this line of old stuff littered about. It's all circus-related stuff. Obviously, they dropped things as they headed towards that pole.
alex: And third, there's that pole. There are scratches all the way up it, suggesting that something clawed its way to the top, and then walked along that wire into town.
alex: So what would claw its way up a pole, and walk on a wire? Obviously, there's only one thing... a circus-trained zombie.
eliza: He can't be serious, can he? That's an absolutely ridiculous way to explain what happened here.
barlow: What's your experiment about?
eliza: As you know, my main topic of study is a particular plant that only grows here in the marsh and surrounding areas.
eliza: I'm doing a study where I'm measuring the daily growth of various specimens throughout the area.
eliza: With enough accurate data, I should be able to find the optimal conditions for growing them in captivity.
barlow: Eliza, how can you explain what happened?
eliza: Oh, this isn't so unusual, and it's entirely explainable in a scientific framework.
eliza: This old wagon was brought to the surface by gasses formed from decaying plant life. Nothing supernatural about it.
alex: What about all this stuff scattered about? It must've been brought out of the wagon.
eliza: Right, but not by zombies. The gasses that brought up the wagon obviously seeped into the cavity, and when it reached the surface, the gas pressure blew open the door and scattered this stuff all around.
barlow: and the scratches on the pole?
eliza: These scratches are consistent with a number of large rodents. It was probably a striped wood-scratcher looking for termites.
eliza: So, you see? All easily explained. I can't change the minds of the most feebleminded amongst us, but I can offer a reasonable solution for the rational-minded.
barlow: I think Alex is on to something. You can't always explain away everything with science.
eliza: Barlow, you're a bigger fool than Alex is... because you should know better!
alex: So what's our next step?
barlow: Nothing. If there are any zombies around here, they'll show up sooner or later.
alex: Barlow, I think you're taking an awfully big risk by not taking action sooner. You're going to regret it.
barlow: I agree with Eliza on this. I don't see any signs of any zombies.
alex: Oh, sure. You'll take that view because it means you don't have to go zombie hunting. Whatever path is easiest.
barlow: Heh, Exactly.
alex: You just watch. You're going to regret not taking action sooner.
barlow: I don't really agree with either of you.
alex: What?
eliza: You see another solution?
barlow: No, I just don't want to make any decisions just yet.
eliza: How hard is it to make a decision, Barlow? It's not like there's anything wrong with accepting the plausible solution, or even Alex's stupid zombie theory.
alex: Yeah, Barlow, you're going to regret procrastinating on this.