Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse

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Authors: Donna Burgess

Tags: #Fantasy, #Horror, #Young Adult

BOOK: Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse
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Solstice

First Edition

Published by E-Volve Books

Copyright ©2012 Donna Burgess

http://donnaburgess.com

Cover illustration copyright © 2012 by Nathalia Suellen

http://lady-symphonia.deviantart.com/

 

Edited by Red Adept Editing Service

http://redadeptpublishing.com/editing-services/

ISBN: 9781476141343

Discover other titles from E-Volve Books at

http://e-volvebooks.com

 

 

 

 

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

 

Solstice

 

Table of Contents

December 20

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

December 21

Chapter 3

December 22

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

December 23-26

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

December 27-29

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

December 30

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

December 31

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

January 1

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

January 2

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

January 3

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

January 6-10

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

January 15

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

February 1

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

February 5-11

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

February 12

Chapter 47

February 13

Chapter 48

March 7

Chapter 49

March 15

Chapter 50

March 16

Chapter 51

March 18-May8

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Epilogue

About the Author

More from E-Volve Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life is a dreadful thing sometimes. And the most dreadful parts are the ones that refuse to let go. They hang on, claws out like an angry cat, no matter how much you try to shake free. It rends the flesh, leaves scars—some plain for the world to see, others hidden. Often the unseen ones are worse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Stockholm, Sweden

 

 

 

“Melanie? I know you haven’t left yet.” The voice coming from the laptop was much too chipper for that time of morning.

Melanie opened her eyes against the intrusive glare of winter sunshine seeping through the blinds. What time was it? She looked at the clock. 8:11. Kira, her flatmate, was either already up and on with her day, or else she had not returned the previous night. Most likely the latter. Since Kira had landed a steady guy, she spent most of her time at his place. Melanie enjoyed having the place to herself, so it was “Good riddance,” as far as she was concerned. Melanie hopped from the bed, snatched her frumpy robe from the back of the desk chair, and pulled it on as she hurried across the cold floor to the bathroom. She rinsed her face, then patted it dry and drew her hair back into a ponytail. She considered applying a little makeup. She looked positively deathly, and mirrors didn’t lie.

Tomas called again, and she moved to her desk, clicked the touchpad, and maximized the calling screen. Tomas’s grinning face floated into view, and Melanie’s pulse quickened. For a moment, she wished she had used a little makeup or wore a less frumpy robe, or maybe had forgone the video calling, at the very least. She wiped at her eyes again.

“I’m up.” Nervously, she straightened the minor chaos on her desk: the framed photo of her adoptive family—Tomas, his wife Leila, and their five-year-old son Christopher—a stack of textbooks, a figurine of Minnie Mouse, and a Symbicort inhaler.

Tomas leaned toward the screen and squinted. “You’re taking your meds, aren’t you? You look a little tired.”

“You really know how to charm a girl,” she responded, wishing again that she had dabbed a little concealer under her eyes. She picked up her rescue inhaler and shook it at the webcam. “Yes, I’m taking my meds. I’m a grown woman, you know.” She smiled. “Actually, I haven’t needed it much since getting away from Leila.”

Tomas laughed. “I can imagine. Sorry.” He glanced somewhere behind him. “There in a moment,” he shouted, and then turned his attention back to Melanie. “Christopher’s excited over you coming home. So am I.”

Home.

“And Leila?”

“She's not especially excited over anything concerning me, lately.” He paused. “It’s going to be fine. Really. Just like before you went away to university.”

“I suppose.”

Melanie could hear Christopher in the background. “Hi, Melanie!” Then, “Dad, hurry up! Eat with me.” The morning bustle of the household seemed so warm and so far away. But she always felt warm when Tomas was near, despite Leila’s uncompromising presence.

“I need to go, Melanie. I’ll meet you at the rail station tomorrow.”

He signed off before she could say anything else. She sat there a moment, staring at her monitor, wishing she could go back in time, just for the holidays, and huddle near the fire in the presence of people who loved her. Of course, there was Tomas. Good-hearted Tomas who tried so hard to make her feel she belonged. She loved him for many reasons, but that one was high on the list. She wondered if his obligation to her father would ever waver.

Sighing, she straightened the items on her desk once more and then went to take a shower.

 

 

 

***

Trollhättan, Sweden

 

Tomas pulled on his sneakers and snatched up Bo’s lead. At the rattle of the leash, the German Shepherd trotted to Tomas’s side. “Ready, big guy?”

He needed to get out of the house for a while. Leila had already started up about Melanie coming for the holidays. He couldn’t understand how she could resent the girl, and for what? Simply being born? Living when her parents perished on holiday in the States?

Harold Helstad had first been Tomas’s professor in architecture and design, and then his best friend and mentor for more than half his life. What could he have done? Turn the man’s only child away to strangers? Harold and his wife had been quite along in years when they had the girl. Their other blood relatives were either dead or disassociated.

He stepped out into the frigid morning, careful on the slippery driveway, even as the dog pulled, eager to take off. Breath plumed from his lips like pale smoke.

“Hurry back, Daddy.”

Tomas turned back toward the house. Christopher had opened the front door just enough to press his small face through. He knew Leila’s sour mood affected Christopher, even though she tried to hide it. It had been three weeks since Leila had asked for a divorce. She had been seeing someone else for over a year, and not very discreetly. But Tomas would rather die than leave his son to be raised by another man. A weekend father. The thought sickened him. He was determined not to leave the house. Maybe she would soften, given time.

“Not long, son. Go back in. You don’t want to catch a cold.” He blew a kiss and pretended to catch the one Christopher returned, then waited until his boy was back inside with the door closed. Suddenly, an irrational fear hit him—what if he never saw his son again? Stupid, those thoughts, but he had quickly come to understand it was a common thing among parents, especially ones considering divorce. Perhaps his own parents had sometimes feared the same.

He remained a moment longer, looking at his home. How warm it appeared. One side of the structure was set deeply into a large hill, so the house seemed to be a part of the landscape, rather than an intruder of it. The front faced the sun, what sun there was that time of year when the days were so short. Large windows lined the façade facing the road, reflecting snow and more snow.

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