The Zombie Saga (Book 2): Burn The Dead (Purge) (16 page)
Amelia, never leave
your brother’s side. And never change. You don’t deserve any of this.
Josh, stay innocent.
Don’t let this nightmare change you.
I wish I had time to
say goodbye, but I don’t.
There’s no time for
anything. I’ve done everything I can. Help will come for them.
But not for me.
My shift is over.
pilogue
I
know I’m limping severely, but the pain in my knee has vanished. I don’t
remember how I made it outside, but I did. I look down at my foot—it’s bleeding
heavily. I pat the side of my neck. More blood. But again—I don’t feel any
pain…
* * *
As I drag my leg along the
pavement, past the parked cars, I see Necs walking beside me. Women, children,
men, almost a perfect blend of humanity, lost to this horrifying disease in the
space of a day. Each one has no interest in my flesh…
* * *
I can no longer remember
where I’ve been. I still know my name. It’s Catherine. Catherine Woods. And I
remember the faces of my friends, my family. But that’s it. I have no idea
where I am or what the hell I’m doing here…
* * *
The stench of decay is all
around me, getting thicker, as if my sense of smell is getting stronger. The
pack of Necs that walk beside is growing with every blackout, with every…
* * *
I see lights up ahead. And
people. A wall of people. With guns. The Necs start to sprint towards them. I
follow, but without the speed. Shot after shot hits the dead, dropping them to
the concrete. Some of them have made it to the people, sinking their teeth into
their exposed skin. There’s blood.
Lots of blood…
* * *
I’m alone. I’ve wandered
into a strange garden. Don’t know what happened to the other Necs. Most of them
scattered. My thoughts are slipping away by the second. But I still know my
name. It’s Catherine. Catherine Woods….
* * *
I’m standing by a large
window, trying to see inside a house. Suddenly a little girl looks back at me
through the glass. She has long black hair to her shoulders. She’s afraid of
me…
* * *
I see a man. Her father
perhaps? He’s afraid of me. I no longer see the darkness of the garden. All I
see is red.
I’m hungry
. I chase the man to the back door of the house…
* * *
The little girl—she’s
terrified. She’s holding something. A weapon. It looks like a golf putt. I
don’t feel the pain as she drives it into my face, splitting my nose open. All
I see is
flesh
. I try to bite down on the man’s arm but he fights back.
I’m so close.
So hungry
…
* * *
Something sharp pierces
the back of my skull. A bullet? I don’t feel the pain. I barely feel anything.
The red has vanished. The night has returned. But not for long. As I crash onto
the ground, I stare up at the stars…
* * *
I hear the voice of the
little girl. “
I know what I want to be when I grow up,
” she tells her
father…
* * *
My eyes shut and the
darkness comes. But I still know my name. It’s…
From Steven Jenkins
BURN THE DEAD: RIOT
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Steven Jenkins was born in the small Welsh town of Llanelli,
where he began writing stories at the age of eight, inspired by '80s horror
movies and novels by
Richard Matheson
.
During
Steven's teenage years, he became a great lover of writing dark and twisted
poems
—
six of which gained him publications with
Poetry
Now, Brownstone Books
, and
Strong Words
.
Over the
next few years, as well as becoming a husband and father, Steven spent his free
time writing short stories, achieving further publication with
Dark Moon
Digest
. His terrifying tales of the afterlife and zombies gained him
positive reviews, particularly his story,
Burning Ambition
, which also
came runner up in a
Five-Stop-Story
contest. And in 2014 his debut
novel,
Fourteen Days
was published by Barking Rain Press.
You can find out more about Steven Jenkins
at his website:
www.steven-jenkins.com
www.facebook.com/stevenjenkinsauthor
twitter.com/Author_Jenkins
Workaholic developer Richard Gardener is
laid up at home for two week’s mandatory leave—doctor’s orders. No stress. No
computers. Just fourteen days of complete rest.
Bliss for most, but hell for Richard… in more ways than one.
There’s a darkness that lives inside Richard’s home; a presence he never knew
existed because he was seldom there alone.
Did he just imagine those footsteps? The smoke alarm
shrieking?
The woman in his kitchen?
His wife thinks that he’s just suffering from work
withdrawal, but as the days crawl by in his solitary confinement, the terror
seeping through the walls continues to escalate—threatening his health, his
sanity, and his marriage.
When the inconceivable no longer seems quite so impossible,
Richard struggles to come to terms with what is happening and find a way to
banish the darkness—before he becomes an exile in his own home.
"Gripping, tense, and bloody scary. The
author has taken the classic ghost story, and blended it faultlessly with
Hitchcock's Rear Window."
COLIN DAVIES
DIRECTOR OF BBC’S BAFTA
WINNING: THE COALHOUSE
"Fourteen Days is the most purely
enjoyable novel I've read in a very long time."
RICHARD BLANDFORD
THE WRITER’S WORKSHOP
& AUTHOR OF HOUND DOG
Available at:
and all other book retailers.
Robert Stephenson
makes his living burning zombies
—
a
job that pays the bills and plays tricks on the mind. Still, his life is
routine until one day his infected wife, Anna, shows up in line for the
incinerator, and Rob must cremate the love of his life.
In a race against the clock, he must find his
four-year-old son Sammy, who is stranded in a newly quarantined zone, teeming
with the walking dead, and crawling with the Necro-Morbus virus.
Does Rob have what it takes to fight the
undead and put his broken family back together?
Or will he also end up in the incinerator
—
burning with the rest of the
dead?
“If
you’re looking for a fast-paced zombie read, I highly recommend Burn the Dead
by Steven Jenkins (5-STARS)”
K.C. FINN
READERS’ FAVORITE
Available at:
and all other book retailers.
Listen
closely. A creak, almost too light to be heard…was it the shifting of an old
house, or footsteps down the hallway? Breathe softly, and strain to hear
through the silence. That breeze against your neck might be a draught, or an
open window.
Slip into the pages of
SPINE and you’ll be persuaded to leave the lights on and door firmly bolted.
From Steven Jenkins, bestselling author of
Fourteen Days
and
Burn the
Dead
, this horror collection of eight stories go beyond the realm of terror
to an entirely different kind of creepiness. Beneath innocent appearances lurk
twisted minds and scary monsters, from soft scratches behind the wall, to the
paranoia of walking through a crowd and knowing that every single eye is locked
on you. In this world, voices lure lost souls to the cliff’s edge and illicit
drugs offer glimpses of things few should see. Scientists tamper with the afterlife,
and the strange happenings at a nursing home are not what they first seem.
So don’t let that groan
from the closet fool you—the monster is hiding right where you least expect it.
“If
you love scary campfire stories of ghosts, demonology, and all things that go
bump in the night, then you’ll love this horror collection by author Steven
Jenkins.”
COLIN DAVIES
DIRECTOR OF BBC’S BAFTA WINNING: THE
COALHOUSE
Available at:
and all other book retailers.