The Zombie Plagues Dead Road: The Collected books. (185 page)

The pain had begun in his shoulder
blade. A deep ache, probably caused by the seat, Bear had thought,
but a few moments later it had grown much worse. Deep stabbing
pains that seemed to shoot completely through his chest from back
to front. Then he had felt the rhythm of his heart stumble, falter,
become erratic. He had managed to lean forward, but he had no
words. The pain was too much by that point. He had sagged back into
the seat. Candace had alerted the driver and got him to
stop.

He had been gone before they had
dragged him out of the truck to do CPR. He had watched as Candace's
tears had fallen and she had willed him to come back, knowing it
was in vain. And although he had expected he would feel sadness at
his own passing, sadness at her tears, he did not. It was a fact.
He was gone, and she would soon be gone a s well, the others too.
It was part of the cycle, and so there was no loss to mourn.
Mourning was for the living who did not fully understand the cycle
of life. On this side of life the things that only seconds before
had seemed so important to him were meaningless.

Candace stood from the ground and
pushed her hair from her face where it clung in sweaty clumps.
Tears streaked her face, mixing with the sweat. Her heart began to
slow its rhythm as she sucked in deep lungfuls of clean, cold air.
Her chest hitched as she tried to suppress another sob. It was no
use she sagged against the truck and let the sobs come
unchecked.

~

She stood waiting just around the bend
in the road, a slim figure in the swirl of snow. He nearly froze
when he saw her. He had expected it, but only after it had
happened. Something to get used to about death, he mused. The
information was all right there. You knew it when you needed to
know it. Nothing was withheld.

It had been too many years since he had
seen her. Too long since he had held her. The snow swirled and
leapt, following the wind. She raised one hand and waved. He began
to walk once more.

MAJOR CHARACTER BIBLIOGRAPHY

~

ANNIE

Annie came to the others after being
rescued from Sin and Murder, two gang members, in a gun battle that
left two people dead (Book One). Annie's rescue is what set off the
battle between the North side and the Public Square crews, and that
ultimately dragged Mike, Candace and the others into the
fight.

Annie was in school before the world
went crazy, that's the way she thinks of it, the world went crazy.
As the series matures Annie becomes one of the major characters.
Even early on, in the first book, you can see her willingness to
speak out, to be involved, and you can see her loyalty. Annie is
still a child, sixteen , when the series starts.

Although it isn't expressly written it
seems clear that it was Annie who kept Brian and Janelle safe in
the midst of the violence and chaos they were forced to live
in...

~

BEAR

Bear is the leader of the Outrunners
just as Mike is the current leader of the Nation. Bear will lead
the Outrunners through all the coming books. He, Beth, Billy and
Pearl are the heart of the team. As the books progress, Mike
Collins himself will take a turn as an Outrunner.

Bear came from New York where he lived
with Donita before the plagues began. He is loyal. He is a loner
and prefers to be. He and Donita were a couple, although she no
longer remembers that life and he does not know what has become of
her. He and Beth have formed a relationship that they will need to
depend on.

In later books the Outrunners will have
their own place in the Nation society. They will live somewhat
apart from the others, and an air of awe and mystery surrounds
them. Bear does his best in the future to reinforce
that.

It is Bear and the Outrunners that will
become the bridge between The Nation and its biggest rival, The
Fold. It is also the Outrunners who will eventually unravel the
mystery of how the Zombie Apocalypse became to be. They will
protect The Nation, search out weapons and stock piled foodstuffs,
and they will fight the Zombie Plagues. Bear is the key to all of
it. The one man who lives on the edge and likes the view there.
With Beth he is the major force behind the Outrunners, who keep the
Nation safe and allow the society there to live in relative peace
in the valley.

~

BETH

Beth is quite often Bear's voice of
reason. She is not the sort of woman who feels a need to be helped,
or told what to do. She is a leader. She has strong opinions. She
doesn't consider the loss of her arm to be a disability.

In many ways she is very much like
Candace, Strong, Independent, Secure in her abilities. She is an
important part of the Outrunners, not just a figurehead. And she
will become an important part of The Nation. She is a singer,
lyricist and that will bring her into closer contact and friendship
with Candace who enjoys the same things. She misses L.A. Sometimes,
but she loves Bear and the life they have, along with the security
The Nation provides its peoples.

~

BILLY

For the time being, Billy will remain
wherever Bear is. He is very loyal to him, The Nation, and the
Outrunners. In the novel Billy Jingo we learn much more about him
before the plagues, where he came from, what his life was before
the apocalypse.

Once Billy met Pearl his goals, plans,
and future outlook began to change. He realized he finally had
someone that he needed, not just wanted. And he realized that that
need was returned to him from her.

In the future books the two of them
will have their own goals and plans that may eventually take them
away from the Nation.

~

BOB

Bob doesn't say much about Bob. What we
know comes from Janet, or observed behaviors and talents that are
related to us from other characters.

We Know it is Bob who has the dream to
start the Nation. His dream is not a new dream he has had it for
years, believed in it for years. I wonder if Bob was thought of as
fanatical back in the old world. He probably was.

Bob has knowledge of farming, living
off the land, herbs, food that can be harvested from nature and how
to do it. Bob has that knowledge because he took the time to learn
it from his Native American brothers. He has taught a great deal to
Janet, but it will be Bob that everyone depends on to know what to
do in almost every situation: Farming; Living off the land; Herbal
medicines; Preserving meat; making leather. The list goes
on.

Bob is trained as a mechanic, but he is
one of those people who know how to do almost anything they put
their mind to. If Mike is the leader, Bob and his knowledge are the
backbone.

Bob is very laid back. He is
uncomfortable with praise. He is against violence, but when it came
down to it in the standoff that ended in Annie, Janelle and Brian
being freed, Bob didn't hesitate to kill the gang member Murder.
Tom was still thinking about the situation. Bob sized it up and
reacted. That speaks to Bob's character, consistency. It can be
seen in almost everything he does.

~

CANDACE

Candace Loi would have started her new
career as a dancer on the 11th of March had the world stayed the
same. She had been working at a club on the north side of the city
of Watertown New York run by organized crime. She had danced a few
times, but had been relegated to tending bar because the club
manager did not want her to throw her life away on
dancing.

Her Grandmother Pan (Deceased) had
lived in Watertown for years. Candace had Lived in Syracuse where
she hoped to follow her father into Law Enforcement. She couldn't
afford the college courses so she moved to Watertown where she
believed she could dance, save the money for college, and no one
would be the wiser.

She is Nineteen at the beginning of the
series. She is strong willed, knows what she wants, and goes for
it. She is an excellent shot, but on more than one occasion she
showed restraint, didn't shoot when she could have. The few times
she has killed someone she had no choice. Even so she didn't
hesitate.

Her confidant early on is Jan. Jan took
her under her wing. But once Patty comes into the picture she and
Candace begin a relationship that grows in unexpected
ways.

The most commented thing about her is
her tattoo that begins on the back of her left hand, flows up her
arm, across her breasts and then down across her stomach and
beyond.

The second most commented upon thing
about her are her looks influenced by her father who was African
American and her Mother who was Japanese.

She wants to be pregnant, she can see
herself as a mother, and she sees salvation for the world in
children. She is a musician, singer/songwriter. She was told more
than once that she could have made it as a musician. She, once they
are somewhat settled down, but even as they travel, begins once
more to write music and lyrics.

She and Mike Collins are the two main
characters in the novels.

Other Information

In the Novel Billy Jingo Candace has a
small part as a cashier in a grocery store.

In the Novel Alone she also has a small
part as a cashier in that same store.

In the novel Kat and Pat she has a
small part as a dancer that reveals a little more about her first
few months in the club than chapter one of the first book shows
us.

~

JESSIE

Jessie Stone brings a real doctor to
the nation. She is level headed, pragmatic, and straight forward
when it comes to her needs and her beliefs, but she also has a
humorous side.

Jessie was serious when she told Mike
that she wanted him. And, although Mike turned her down she did not
change her mind. The feelings she had did not go away, in fact they
grew stronger as she came to understand the leader of the Nation as
he guided them back to the valley.

She set out from Washington State to
form a haven like the Nation. She and her followers called that
place The Fold.

The months ahead will determine
Jessie's place in the Nation , and quite possibly change several
relationships in the process.

~

MIKE

Mike Collins is the leader of the
people and remains the leader through nearly all the
novels.

We know Mike used to do Web Design
work, that he had a great deal of money in the old world, but that
he was unhappy (He says so in retrospect). He had no girlfriend and
was pretty much wrapped up in making money that he didn't need. He
just socked it into a bank account and left it there, when he
explains this towards the end of book one he gives the impression
that knowing that money was there (He talks about a few million
dollars) was a big deal to him, as though it may have ruled his
life.

Mike didn't set out to be the leader.
It was the dynamic formed by the relationship with Candace that
pushed him into that role. As though the relationship bought the
responsibility with it. Later in the series the role is a bigger
responsibility than he wants to handle. The people he's responsible
for number in the thousands, and continue to grow.

Mike is mixed race, Native American,
White, African American. He spent some time on the streets as a
kid. Candace is his first real love.

Later in the series Mike will go
through many changes, first trying to find himself, then trying to
find his place in life. His search may take him away from
Candace.

Other Information

In the novel
Alone
Mike has a small
part finishing up some computer work for one the main
characters.

~

PATTY

Patty comes into the series in the
first book and becomes Candace's best friend immediately. She
admits in her diary writings that she has never had a friend like
Candace.

She doesn't tell us much about her life
in the old world. Married, divorced and married again and that was
on the verge of failure too.

She talks about Ronnie in some of her
writings as if he is all she ever wanted, but in some of her
writings she's not so sure. In a few of her writings she seems to
be hinting at some sort of realization she has come to too late.
That may become clearer in the later books.

In any case she is completely devoted
and loyal to Candace, and she plays an important part in the lives
of all the characters right to the end of the series.

Patty plays one of the
Title Roles in the novel
Kat and
Pat.
In that book she reveals a great deal
about herself in her previous life.

~

PEARL

Pearl comes to us from England. She
doesn't say how she happened to be in the United States when the
apocalypse started.

She made her way to The Nation with
another group of people and met Billy shortly after. It is only
after she is there for some time that she reveals information that
she has about the apocalypse.