By DeboraDyess
Anna decided that a 4D theater was not the place to be during the beginning of a Zombie Apocalypse.
She and her friend, Marco, had managed to snag two spots on the front row when they first came in. "It's our lucky day," she said as they slid into the seats and Marco nodded in agreement.
The theater went dark and a title flashed across the screen: Escape From The...' with slash marks across what might have been, at some point, the name of their pretend pursuer.
"Well," Marco said, "that's about as ambiguous as it gets."
The film started and the audience found themselves in an abandoned tunnel, riding a runaway mine train. As the title implied, something stomped and snorted behind them, dinosaur-growling every few feet. With each snarl, air puffed against the top of their heads. Their seats shifted with the film, jerking from side to side, swaying and rocking forward as the train on the film pitched down a sudden, steep tunnel. Cold air blew in Anna's face and she squealed in mock fear.
The door to the theater exploded open as the train entered a series of dizzying curves. Anna squinted over at the sudden shaft of light to see who had shown up late. She widened her eyes and gasped.
A zombie stood in the doorway, illuminated by the alternating light from the movie. He seemed to lick his misshapen lips as he looked at the theater full of campers.
For a second, the hair on the back of her neck prickled, but then she decided it was just another of Camp Atoll's famous 'special moments'. So it wasn't a dinosaur chasing them in the movie, after all. It was a zombie! No doubt zombies would appear from every door now, scaring the bejeebers out of the younger campers. Anna had no doubt that there were staff members dressed as undead creepers hiding in the back, just waiting for their cue to rush down the aisles. Despite herself, she smiled. It was ridiculous and kind of hokey, but it was going to be a blast.
The zombie jumped on top of the kid nearest the door.
"Look! Gross!" Anna poked Marco in the ribs, laughing.
Her friend swung his head toward where she pointed. "Awesome! That's cool! How are they doing that?"
"Special effects, I guess. That and a whole lot of make-up."
Anna watched a split second longer and realized that the boy involved in the attack had cut in front of her at breakfast that morning. He didn't work for the camp and the staff had never included a camper in their antics. Anna had begged to be part of one the year before but was told it was strictly against policy.
Kids sitting near the boy were screaming, scattering away from that area. They were climbing chairs and over other kids if they got blocked in. And they weren't faking. Terror filled that side of the theater.
Anna took a sharp, shuddery breath as she realized it was real. It was impossible, but somehow it was real.
The chair beneath her lurched as the pretend train derailed and she used its arm to hurl herself out and into a standing position. "Come on!" she yelled at Marco. "Out, out, out!"
Marco must have realized the same thing at the same time. He was up and moving half a step ahead of her. He grabbed Anna's hand and jerked her toward the emergency exit.
Several kids were following them, Anna saw, but others sat in their seats, completely sucked into the ending of the film and unaware of anything else around them.
"Come with us if you want to live!" Marco yelled at one of his friends.
"Hasta la vista, baby." The boy answered in a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation.
Anna drew in a big breath. "Fire!" she screamed so loudly that it made her throat hurt. "There's a fire!" She knew it was wrong, but if she yelled 'zombie', she figured most of the other campers would just laugh and ignore her.
She and Marco burst through the doors into the sunshine and paused a second, trying to let their eyes adjust to the sudden change of light. They didn't stand still long though. Terrified kids pushed out around them. Panic filled the air with screams and tears.
She started running.
"Where are we going?" Marco ran beside her, passed her, and took her hand again.
"I don't know! I don't know! Anywhere but here!" As she tried to think of a plan, Anna stumbled on a rock. She was glad Marco tightened his grip on her hand. He kept her from falling and getting trampled by the kids behind them. Or eaten by an undead-thing.
"The helicopter pad!" Marco yelled. "We'll go there! I bet one of the grown-ups knows what's going on! I bet they're evacuating the island already!"
Anna's bestie/bunk-mate, Isabel, caught up with them. "No!" she cried. "I don't think so! That was Mr. Davidson! That monster... It was Mr. Davidson!"
Anna snuck a glance behind her. Other kids were running out of the theater, scattering in all directions like fireworks exploding in the night sky. As she looked, the zombie came out of the emergency exit, too. He snatched at the kid closest to him, missed, and turned to chase her. The girl screamed, dodged, and managed to get away.
Anna wanted Isabel to be wrong. She wanted her to be wrong more than anything she'd ever wanted in her whole life. But that was Mr. Davidson. It looked like him, and at the same time, it didn't look like him at all.
His face had become a strange gray-white and his eyes looked like hollow sockets. His mouth hung open like a gate on broken hinges, except when he snapped at one of the fleeing campers. He gave chase, loping along with a strange, shuffling gait.
As Anna watched, his head seemed to kind of wobble like it had lost its balance on his neck and he began to moan. He sounded like an animal caught in a trap or like ... a zombie in one of those movies her parents never let her watch.
Mr. Davidson-Turned-Zombie reached out again and grabbed hold of a kid who'd tripped on the same pile of rocks that had almost put her on the ground. Anna looked away.
"What if all the grown-ups are zombie-fied?" Isabel huffed as she asked the question. Isabel loved to read and sing, and she had said since the first day she and Anna met in kindergarten that she hated to run, sweat, or do any kind of exercise. She ran ahead of them now only because Anna pushed her forward every few steps.
Anna thought about how far they had to go to get to the other side of the island and the hoped-for escape on a helicopter. Would Isabel make it that far?
She repeated Issy's question to Marco, yelling to be heard over the screams of kids and the zombie.
"Don't know, don't care," Marco answered shortly. "We're going to find a cell phone, call for help and meet whoever comes to the helipad."
They ran past the Atoll Photo Place. Just yesterday, the trio had taken Wild West pictures there. The girls had dressed as saloon girls and Marco had been the sheriff.
"Isn't it awesome that they took our phones on our first day here? Such a great idea." Anna had parted with hers reluctantly, even though she knew the rules and actually enjoyed being 'unplugged'.
"Oh, yeah," Isabel responded. Sarcasm slowed her voice. "Great idea. We'll have to leave a comment about it on the questionnaire they pass out on the last day of camp."
Marco surged ahead of the girls, pulling them along as he ran. "You may not have noticed, but I have a feeling that this is the last day."
They cut across the little town that made up the heart of Camp Atoll, where Anna's mom and dad sent her every year for six weeks during the summer. It had always been her favorite place in the world...until about five minutes ago.
She heard more screams from behind them. Another blasted from the Atoll Arcade, just to their right. The three of them veered left, almost like they were running as one.
"Phones are a great start, Marco, but we're going to need food and water and a good plan to get across the island. That helipad is a long, long way from here. It's got to be almost 20 miles."
"Eighteen plus," Marco corrected.
Anna took a second to wonder how he knew that but continued. "How are we going to get that far, dodge zombies, and not get eaten by the BlandgaShen?"
Marco glanced at her with something close to a combination of confusion and disgust and pulled a little on her arm as he ran. "First of all, the BlandgaShen isn't real. It's just a story the staff made up to scare us around the campfire at night."
"Yeah?" Isabel huffed. "Well, until a few minutes ago, zombies weren't real, either."
They passed Tia's Taco Shack, Anna's favorite restaurant in Atoll Village. She jogged along beside her two best friends. The BlandgaShen was supposed to be a part mountain goat, part alligator, and part man. Right now, with what she'd seen behind them, she'd face that monster rather than ever see Mr. Davidson again.
She saw someone running toward them. The staffer didn't run like she, Isabel and Marco were running. It shuffled along with the same stiff gait that Mr. Davidson used.
Another zombie!
| Author Notes |
This is part one of chapter one. The Great Zombie Escape is a chapter book for children ages 8-12.
Feel free to be honest with your critique. I have thick skin and want honest reviews that will help me improve the story. :) Hope you keep reading! |
By DeboraDyess
The woman, or what had at least started off as a woman, had just turned onto the south end of the street and seemed to be coming from the direction they were supposed to be going.
Without thinking, Anna ran for the inside of the nearest store. She dragged Isabel and Marco with her. At first, Isabel tried to pull away, but then she saw the zombie, too, and ran fast enough to get a little ahead of Anna.
Anna quit worrying that she might not make it to the helipad. Fear was a great motivator. Isabel ran like an Olympic sprinter. So did she and Marco.
They ducked into the building and looked around. The Laser Tag Parlor!
"Perfect!" Marco pushed past the Staffer manning the entrance. "There are lots of places to hide in here."
The Staffer held up a hand to stop them and fake-smiled, obviously bored with the day and with his job. "Sorry, sport. Still seven minutes until the next group can go in. You can wait in the snack bar. Our special today is mint chocolate chip ice cream. Yum, right? Or get a water. We don't want you to get dehydra--"
"Move!" Anna had already helped herself to a bottle of water set out for campers to take at will but didn't even open it before she pushed past the Staffer, Marco, and Isabel at her heels. "There's something bad out there," she said as she entered the darkness of the interior. "Really bad. You need to hide, too!"
"Oh, no! Did you kids run into the BlandgaShen?" The Staffer smiled.
"We're not stupid!" Marco shouted over his shoulder. "It's a zombie! There are lots of them! You need to hide!" He shoved Anna and Isabel into the darkness and whispered, "Stick together. We're going to hide, then get out of here. We're going to make it to the helipad. I promise! We're all three going to make it!"
The trio dashed up the stairs to the second, and then the third floor of the play-arena. They ducked into a tiny hiding space that was only a couple of feet from a slide that led to the ground floor.
They'd all spent hours in the Laser Tag Parlor since their arrival at the camp three weeks before, and held their breath, just like they did when they were playing laser tag. This time, though, there was no game. This time was for real.
A red light hit Marco in the forehead and he crouched down a little more.
"No fair," a voice cried from the darkness. "You're not wearing a vest or a helmet! That's cheating! How am I supposed to get points for shooting you if you're not suited up?"
"Get over here!" Anna imagined her loud whisper sounded a little like a drill sergeant. "Get over here! Your life depends on it!"
Kids on the second level screamed.
"My life? Who are you trying to kid? I only have a few more minutes in here and –" His words were cut off by a loud moan and a shrill scream.
Anna half-stood from her hiding place to peek. A zombie had entered their area. The boy she'd been trying to help stood frozen, staring at it, screaming his head off.
Marco studied as much of the ground floor as the view down the slide allowed. "I think the first floor is clear," he said. "I'm going first. If you don't hear me getting caught, follow as fast as you can." He took a deep breath and jumped down the slick escape route.
After a second of listening, Anna motioned to Isabel. "You go! I'm right behind you!" She darted to the scared boy, grabbed him by the shirt front, and yanked him forward just as the creeper lunged toward him. She dragged him to the slide, forced him onto it, and followed, the zombie still snatching the air where they'd been only a heartbeat before.
"Go, go, go!" Anna yelled as her feet hit the ground in the snack area.
Kids were running in every direction, and Anna was reminded of their first encounter with a zombie, what seemed like forever ago. Some of the campers looked stunned, some terrified.
One girl, sitting at the snack bar, just kept eating her mint-chocolate chip ice cream cone. She laughed, enjoying what she thought to be just another activity put on by Camp Atoll.
"Run or you're a goner!" Anna yelled at her as she sped past, pulling the new kid and trailing a few feet behind Marco and Isabel.
The girl didn't run.
She was a goner.
Anna and her band of escapees ran to the end of the street and turned toward a grove of tall trees.
"We'll take cover there until we can figure out what to do." Marco's voice was louder than it needed to be.
| Author Notes |
If you're just jumping into this chapter book for young readers, welcome! This is part 2 of chapter 1, so you haven't missed much. Feel free to go back and read, and I hope you join us for the rest of the adventure. :)
Than you for reading. |
By DeboraDyess
They all gasped for air as they crouched in the wooded grove, surrounded by trees, the greenest grass Anna had ever seen, butterflies, and...a nightmare. Anna realized they were less tired and more scared of what had just happened. They had to be, she thought, because if they were exhausted from running just that little bit, there was no way they could ever make it to help.
"There's no such thing as zombies. There's no such thing! Zombies? No, no, no! You have to be wrong..." The laser-tag-boy was muttering under his breath, shaking his head. Tears began to roll down his pale, freckled face. "No way, no how...No zombies."
Marco separated a clump of weeds, making a peephole to watch the road. "Looks like a zombie, acts like a zombie, sounds like a zombie. Darn sure eats like a zombie. Maybe it's a zebra. Or maybe they threw a costume party and just forgot to tell us about it, and forgot to tell us that we were the snacks."
"It could have been costumes," the boy said. His voice broke at the end of the sentence and he bit his lower lip. Sweat and tears began to catch on the bottom rim of his glasses and he pushed them up, wiped his face with his hand and put them back into place.
"We -- saw -- them -- eat -- a --girl." Marco separated each word to give it emphasis. "We saw them eat a girl. I wish it was a costume party, bud, but nobody can pull that off and make it look that real right in front of you. Right in front of you. You saw what we saw. It wasn't costumes. It was the real deal."
Anna shot Marco a 'shut up' look, which he didn't see because he had never looked away from the dirt road. She reached out and touched the younger boy's arm. He was trembling. He began to shake his head.
"We have to have seen something else -- something more ... reasonable." He looked from Anna to Marco and then to Isabel. "Please tell me there's a reasonable, logical explanation. Please."
"Maybe we're dreaming," Isabel whispered. She closed her eyes, as if willing herself to wake up.
"We're all having the same dream at the same time? Group hypnosis?" Marco shook his head. "Impossible."
"Unlike zombies," Anna muttered.
Isabel ignored her. "No." She studied Marco's face as she spoke. "I'm dreaming and you're just in my dream." She bit her lower lip, looking hopefully in his direction. "You've always said I have a strange imagination. What did I eat for dinner last night? Let's see...Maybe there was something wrong with the crab."
"I don't feel like a dream, though." He spoke without looking away from zombie-watching.
Anna shook her head. "Me, neither. Maybe you're in my dream."
Isabel looked down at her hands. "If I am," she said, "would you please make my hands stop shaking? I can't make my hands stop shaking."
As if cued by Issy's comment, the new kid began to wring his hands and Anna could see the panic in his eyes. He adjusted his glasses and began to work his fingers again, nerves making it impossible for him to be completely still. "I have to ... We have to ... We need to go and ... We should..."
She squeezed his arm. "We need to calm down and think," she said firmly.
The boy nodded his head. "Yeah. That. That's what we need to do. Think..."
"Let's start with your name. What's your name?"
The laser-tag-kid hesitated and stared blankly at her, as if he'd forgotten even the simplest things about himself.
"I'm Anna, this is Marco and that's Isabel." Anna hoped the prompting would help.
"Oh. Of course. It's...It's very nice to meet you and thank you for...for...helping me back there." He looked at Anna, pale and scared silly, but he tried hard to smile in spite of it.
Anna smiled back.
"I'm Randall," the boy said, obviously relieved that he remembered. "Randall Timmons."
Marco frowned and glanced away from the road, the first time he'd allowed his focus to wander from watching for brain-suckers. "Randall Timmons Dining Hall? That Randall Timmons?"
The boy shook his head. "No. That Randall Timmons was my grandfather. I'm the third."
"That's a lot of Randalls," Isabel said, softly.
"It's my first time." Randall looked intently at Anna, as if she were his salvation. "You have to be ten to come, even if you're me. It's my first time to come." He shoved thick glasses up and wiped ferociously at a tear that had stopped for a minute but then started to leak out of his eye again. He sniffed loudly.
"Well, Third, you picked a heck of a time to come to camp." Marco turned his attention back to the road.
Randall didn't seem to hear him. "I've been counting down the summers since I turned five and realized what was waiting for me here and now ... this."
"None of us knew what was waiting for us this year. Some freak horror movie script that isn't fake." Marco didn't bother to look at the group to speak.
Only ten, Anna thought, and all alone. She had turned 13 in March and Isabel, the month before. She knew Marco was 14. They celebrated his birthday every July 4th at the camp, with him bragging that the firework displays were really just for him.
She and Isabel had grown up together. Their first year at camp, Issy had been teased mercilessly after a volleyball game. Isabel's performance during the game had been far from good. Some older guys began to call her names and, when Anna jumped in to defend her, they lit into her, too. But when Marco barked at them to stop, the teasing died like a fire hit with ice water.
The three had been best 'camp friends' since. They'd become friends outside of camp, too, with Anna and Issy video chatting Marco at least once a week. Now the three did almost everything as a group at Atoll.
As hard as all this was on the three of them, how much harder would it be for a ten-year-old who had never experienced the camp and knew no one?
Anna watched him as she thought. She bit her lip, afraid he might burst into tears. Would that attract the zombies? "It's okay," she whispered. "We're getting home -- I promise. It's okay, Randall."
"You can't make promises like that!" Randall said. "No one can."
Marco hushed them and motioned them to move further back into the woods. As they slid into the tree line, they heard the moaning of a zombie. It sounded close.
Birds above them fell silent, then flew away, spooked by the unfamiliar noise.
Anna peaked up from behind the bush where she'd hidden. The zombie had left the dirt road! It stumbled a little, but then corrected its path ... toward them! "It's coming," she whispered and then said, louder, "It's coming!"
| Author Notes |
I'm not at all a zombie person. A friend challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and write something I'm completely unfamiliar iwth. I even had to look at images online to know how to describe them! (And no, I didn't watch any of the Walking Dead series! lol) A game is supposed to follow, although...lol
Thanks so much for reading! |
By DeboraDyess
The zombie seemed to hear her. It quickened its pace.
Anna pushed Randall toward a tall tree with plenty of good climbing branches. "Climb!" she ordered. She grabbed Isabel and shoved her toward another good tree. "Climb!"
"Run!" Marco ordered.
"Climb!" Anna yelled.
Isabel and Randall were frozen, their hands on branches, Randall with one foot up on the tree. They looked from Anna to Marco like they were watching a tennis match, unsure of who knew more about zombie-dodging.
"Climb!" Anna yelled as she glanced at the approaching zombie. It was close -- no more than a couple of dozen yards away.
"Run!" Marco yelled. "They were people once; they can climb trees, too! We have to outrun them!" He grabbed Anna's hand but she shook him off.
A zombie moaned from somewhere deeper in the woods. The one coming at them from the road moaned back. Were they communicating? Could one zombie be calling to another? Maybe they were working as a team, surrounding the foursome, trapping them with nowhere to go.
Marco looked into the trees and then shot a glance at the road. Communicating or not, they were about to be surrounded. "Climb!" he yelled. "Climb now!"
The four shimmied up trees close together. Randall climbed more slowly, struggling to get hold of branches that would get him out of reach. He began to cry, almost sobbing as he stretched as far as he could and still missed the limb he was aiming for.
"Stop that!" Marco barked. "You're wasting your energy. Put that baby-junk into climbing! You gotta hurry!"
The zombie got closer and the second one grunted from not too far away.
"Climb, Randall!" Isabel yelled.
"Climb!" Marco roared. "Climb, Third, or you're gone!"
"Climb, climb!" Anna was screaming so loud that her throat felt raw and she watched with horror as the zombie got beneath Randall and took a clumsy swipe at his foot.
The boy pulled it out of the way just in time. He didn't stop, but kept climbing up until the branches were so thin that they swayed beneath his weight.
The zombie stared up at him, not taking his eyes off the boy.
"Leave me alone!" Randall's voice squeaked with fear. "Go away and leave me alone!"
The zombie didn't move. It moaned and bared its teeth at him.
Marco looked at the others, trying to figure out why the creeper was so fascinated with Randall. "Third!" When Randall didn't look his way, he pulled a small branch from the tree he sat in and threw it at the boy. It missed, but it caused Randall to tear his eyes away from the monster below. "Third, you're the only one in bright colors. We're all in white camp shirts, but yours is red. Take it off and let's see if that breaks his concentration."
Randall didn't even act like he'd heard Marco. He dropped his gaze back to the creeper.
"Third! Third!" When the boy still didn't pay attention, Marco looked around for something else to throw at him.
Bushes began to rustle near them and the zombie staring up at Randall shifted its gaze there. It growled and took a step away from the tree.
The four stared down.
A second zombie entered the small clearing. It ran at the first, lunged at it and the two started to fight.
Anna hid her eyes, but she could hear the awful noises of them tearing each other apart. She could hear Randall crying in the tree next to her and Isabel gasping every few seconds.
She realized that she hadn't heard Marco. She knew he'd made it up the tree he'd been climbing, but ... Had he fallen? Could the noise of the fight below her be about who got him as their lunch? Anna shuddered.
She opened her eyes just long enough to see him balanced on a branch a few feet away and then shut them tight again.
Another zombie cried out from somewhere down the road to the town. She heard the zombies beneath her grunt and braved a look down.
The two walking dead were looking in the direction of the moan. One had lost a hand and part of its face; the other seemed to be missing some of its scalp and lip. Both began to trudge toward the road, evidently in search of the other zombie.
The foursome watched in silence. After the monsters disappeared from view, Anna looked around. No other zombies in sight, she saw in relief. She exhaled, not even aware that she'd been holding her breath.
"What do we do now?" Isabel stage-whispered.
She and Randall looked from Marco to Anna. Anna looked at Marco. They shrugged at the same time.
"Well," Randall said, moving his glasses again to mop tears with the bottom of his shirt, "we can't just sit in the tree for the rest of our lives. I'm hungry."
"Hungry?" Anna's voice showed her surprise. "After that? You're hungry after the Zombie War we just witnessed?"
Randall looked at her in irritation. "For one thing, you didn't witness it. Your eyes were closed the whole time. For another, my stomach didn't witness the fight, either. I'd planned to get a hot dog when I finished my turn at laser tag. I was hungry then and I'm still hungry now. Maybe hungrier, even."
"Then we should go," Marco decided. "Those zombies were headed toward the town and we need to go back -- "
"No!" Randall cut him off. "We're not going back to that laser tag place! No. Please! We can't!" His voice, tight and high-pitched, got louder as he spoke.
"You're right. We're not." Anna looked firmly at Marco. "Because that would be stupid. And it would be suicide."
Marco rolled his eyes and made a face. "You think I'd go back there? Of course we're not going back there. We're going back to the dorms. There are some things there we have to have if we're getting out of here alive."
"Like what?" Isabel craned her neck to look all around them, as if she expected a zombie to jump out from behind every tree and bush. It might not have surprised her to find one sitting on the branch next to her.
"Water, food, blankets for the night ... if we can make it 'til night. We need to break into the director's office and get a cell phone, too."
Anna thought for a minute. "And maybe we can call for help from his office. I've heard the cell phones won't even work from here but he has a landline. I remember it from when I checked in there."
"But it's away from the helipad," Isabel said.
"True." A little branch had been poking Anna's leg since she'd settled into the tree. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to ease the pressure. "But it won't matter if we can't make it there without the stuff from the dorms." She had a sudden thought. "Know what else I'm going to get while we're there? My bow and arrows."
Isabel looked excited and leaned toward Anna. The branch she was sitting on swayed a bit, and she pulled her body weight back toward the trunk, hugging it tightly. "Yeah! That might be good! Three-year camp champ in archery. Maybe you can ... Can you kill a zombie? I mean, since they're already ... dead and all...Can you kill one?"
Anna shrugged. "No time like the present to find out." She thought of Mr. Davidson and the girl eating ice cream at the laser tag parlor. It made her sad to think of them as dead. It made her even sadder to think of them as undead.
Marco shifted his body, preparing to climb out of the tree. "So, we're down, then."
Everyone agreed, but no one moved. They stared down at the left-behind zombie parts. The hand, lips and scalp lay lifeless -- really lifeless -- beneath them.
"Will they re- ... re- ... reannim ..." Randall hesitated. "Come back to life?"
"Re-animate." Marco supplied the word with a shake of his head. "No. I don't think so. Probably not."
Anna looked at him. "Which is it, Marco? No, I don't think so, or probably not? It's a pretty important question."
"How am I supposed to know that?" Marco snapped. "Who made me the boss of all of us, anyway? How am I supposed to know about this any more than you're supposed to know about this?"
Anna was afraid that his loud, angry voice would bring the zombies back. "Be quiet!" she hissed. "No one thinks you're supposed to know more!"
"It's just that you're not ..." Isabel made a face like she couldn't think of a nice way to say what she was thinking. "It's just that ... Well, Marco, you aren't from a neighborhood like mine and Anna's and Randall's. You're from a ... Your neighborhood is more ..."
"I'm poor, is that what you're trying to say?"
Isabel blushed.
"Well, Issy, I'm going to tell you something you may not know. There are no zombies in poor neighborhoods, either. A scholarship into a camp for rich, spoiled brats doesn't make me a survival expert."
"Spoiled brats?!" Randall quit looking at the dead zombie parts for a second and shot an angry look at Marco.
"I didn't mean that, Marco. I just meant that you have to be more aware than we do. You have to be more on your toes. That makes you more of a survival expert than me, at least."
Anna stared down at the hand. "Did that finger just move?" she whispered.
All four focused their attention on the zombie left-behinds. No one dared move.
Including the hand.
"I think it might've just been a shadow," Marco said after a long pause.
"Or a leaf blowing by," Randall suggested.
"So then, let's get down and get to the dorms."
They climbed down the trees together, moving much slower than they'd climbed up. As Isabel's feet hit the ground, they heard a high-pitched, agonized scream.
Anna had heard the phrase 'blood-curdling' before but had never completely understood it. Now she'd heard it enough for a lifetime. The sound of terror in the cry made her heart pound so loudly she could hear it in her ears. Her blood seemed to become sluggish, then race through her veins like a tiny track team. She felt light-headed and fought the instinct to run. She grabbed Marco's arm and held on for dear life. Someone, either Randall or Isabel, grabbed hers with equal force.
"What was that?" Isabel whispered in her ear.
Someone in trouble," Marco replied. He didn't sound scared or upset at all. It was almost like he was saying, 'pass the pepper' at the lunch table.
"If they're in trouble...does that mean zombies?" Randall had moved beside Anna, which meant the fingers digging into her arm belonged to Isabel.
"Zombies or camp cockroaches," Marco replied. "I'm not betting on the cockroaches."
Anna shot him a look. How could he be so calm?
"Shouldn't we go help them?" Randall asked.
No one answered for a minute. It was hard to think about someone they might know needing them while they hid in the woods. Then Anna shook her head. "I think we have our hands full helping each other."
"But you helped me, back in the Laser Tag Parlor. You kept me alive. Without you I'd be...one of them. Or food for one of them. How does that work, anyway?"
Anna shrugged. It was true. She hesitated for a minute. "But, Randall, you were right there. I didn't go running out to save you. I just...reached out and grabbed you. We don't even know where that person is or if they're still a person."
Finally, Marco motioned them to follow him and they slipped out of the tree line, making no sound that might attract the zombies they feared were lurking nearby.
They moved forward as one unit, almost like their legs were tied together. A creeper howled from somewhere as they made their way down the dusty path to the dorms and they ducked off the road once more. Anna scanned the place they hid for good climbing trees, a better hiding place or somewhere to run. There weren't any. She tried to devise a plan, but her brain seemed to be frozen. A lot of good a frozen brain would be for a zombie, she thought. That made her almost smile at her weird mind. She was beginning to think like Isabel.
The howling moved away from them and they slipped back to the road.
Anna toyed with the idea that maybe she really was dreaming, that she'd wake up any minute on the bunk above Isabel and whisper the dream to her as they dressed for breakfast.
But she didn't.
She watched Marco, trying to be as brave as him. She refused to let her mind wander ahead of them and imagine what waited for them in the dorm area.
She'd find out soon enough.
| Author Notes | I'm not really a zombie fan, never seen but a single episode of the Walking Dead and was traumatized for life by World War Z. But a friend of ine dared me to write this, to step out of my comfort zone and make a kid appropriate zombie book. So... |
By DeboraDyess
"Where are the guys?" Isabel whispered in Anna's ear. "They should be here by now!"
Anna nodded, just like she had the last seven times Issy asked her that question and made the same comment. "I know, I know. I'm sure they'll be here any minute. We just had one dorm room to go to. Marco and Randall aren't bunkmates. They had to go to both rooms, and they're not even on the same hall."
"Do you think the zombies got them?" Isabel leaned her head against the wall they were hiding beside. "Oh, I hope the zombies didn't get them."
Anna thought about the creepers they'd seen as they hurried to and then through their room. Two had been staff -- Mr. Hansen, the director, and one of the kitchen workers. The kitchen helper always winked and joked with the campers as they were served. Everyone loved her. Not anymore. The other zombie had been a kid she'd seen in the dining area and in one of the craft activities she'd signed up for. But she really didn't know her well. She didn't even know her name. It made her sad that she hadn't even taken time to find out the girl's name.
"Marco's too smart to get caught," she whispered back to Isabel. "He'd never let that happen, and Randall is ..."
Anna thought about how little she knew about their new group member. She knew nothing except his name, age and a tiny bit about his family. "Marco is too smart for that," she ended, lamely.
Anna looked over the pile of items she and Isabel had foraged from the room they shared with two other girls. They'd slipped into the room, hoping that they'd either find their roommates or find it empty. Before today, that had always been the only two options, but now there was another -- zombies.
She'd snagged a change of socks, a pair of jeans, her sunscreen and bug repellent, a bandana to tie her hair back, her stash of trail mix, a chocolate bar, chips and water. She'd tied the bandana around her neck and stuffed all the rest into her backpack. She held her bow and a quiver full of arrows at the ready, glancing constantly through the long line of plate-glass windows that looked over the courtyard between the dining hall and the dorms.
She took a minute to look at Isabel's stack of goods. It looked pretty much the same as hers except for...
"Why did you bring your bowling ball?" she whispered to Issy. She wasn't sure why she whispered, except that the thought of her voice echoing in the empty hall gave her the willies.
Her friend twisted her hair with her left hand, which she always did when she felt silly or wasn't sure of her answer. "You're good at archery. I'm good at bowling. I thought that ... I don't know. It's the only heavy thing I have, and I might be able to ... maybe ... knock one down with it or something."
Anna had a mental image of Issy rolling the ball toward a bunch of zombies, of the ball striking the first one at just the right angle. The zombie wobbled and fell, knocking all the others over. Issy always did a funny-looking happy dance when she got a strike. As Anna visualized the silly dance and toppling zombies, she --
"Run!"
The heavy double doors exploded open in the quiet hall and Marco and Randall slammed into the dining room, bolting forward with their backpacks slung over their shoulders. The doors clicked shut behind the boys.
"Run! Hide! Go, go, go!" Marco pushed Randall ahead of him, screaming at the top of his lungs.
The girls grabbed their gear and started for the door that led to the front of the building, the road and, eventually, to the helipad.
"No!" Randall yelled. "Come with me!"
Anna hesitated and looked past the guys and into the courtyard. Three zombies were lumbering their way through the flower garden and trees, heading toward the cafeteria, eyes fixed on the boys. They weren't moving as slowly as the zombies she'd seen earlier. One reached out and slapped at the creeper nearest him, but instead of starting to fight, they just growled at each other and kept coming. Her brain raced. Were they newer zombies and so they could move faster? Had they been zombies longer and had adapted to their new state of being? It didn't matter -- they were a much bigger problem.
A howl from the front yard tore her attention from the three monsters chasing the boys. There were zombies out the other door, too!
"Come with me!" Randall repeated. He ran to the stage that took up one end of the dining hall, waving frantically for them to join him.
Marco followed, so Anna and Issy fell in behind them, ducking behind the heavy, dark blue curtain that hid the stage area as the first set of zombies pushed through the glass doors.
"There better be more to your plan than this, Third, or we're toast." Marco gasped for breath as he spoke.
Randall motioned the others to follow and led them down a narrow, dark passageway. They could hear the zombies entering the stage area behind them.
Anna wanted to ask where they were going, but the thought of her words bringing the zombies closer stopped her. She tried to listen behind them to see if she could figure out where the monsters were, but couldn't.
Randall turned another corner that led them to a wall.
"What?" Marco whispered loudly. "What the heck, Third?"
"A dead-end!" Issy gasped.
Anna felt her heart sink as the sound of zombie footfalls drifted toward her.
They were in the passage!
She turned, pulling an arrow from the quiver and notching it into her bow. She'd pulled back the arrow, sighting in on the curve where the zombies would first appear when someone touched her shoulder.
| Author Notes |
Thanks for reading! Please be brutal - if you see an error, point it out. Have a suggeston or think there's something that doesn't feel quite right? Let me know.
Many thanks for your time! |
By DeboraDyess
Randall turned another corner that led them to a wall.
"What?" Marco whispered loudly. "What the heck, Third?"
“A dead-end!" Issy gasped.
Anna felt her heart sink as the sound of zombie footfall drifted toward her.
They were in the passage!
She turned, pulling an arrow from the quiver and notching it into her bow. She'd pulled back the arrow, sighting in on the curve where the zombies would first appear when someone touched her shoulder.
“Come on,” Randall whispered. “Move fast, or we’ll get caught!”
Anna glanced at him, trying to keep her aim true to her intended target. "I'm almost ready to shoot you right now, Randall, so --" She stopped.
Part of the wall had swung open to reveal a room. A dim emergency-light showed Marco and Issy were already inside, looking relieved and scared. Even Marco finally looked spooked, his bland, everything’s-going-to-be-just-fine expression melting away now that there might be some kind of shelter from the monsters behind them.
Anna ran in, too, and Randall pushed a button as he entered the small space. The wall slid shut. He turned and smiled at the group. “They can’t get in,” he said. “My grandfather built this to withstand hurricanes and all kinds of horrible events. He…he may have been a little paranoid and eccentric, but he had lots of money, so no one cared. They just built what he told them to and didn’t say anything about him being weird. I'm glad it's where my dad told me.”
"You mean you didn't know for sure it was here?" Marco sank into a chair near him, squeezed his eyes shut, and then looked at the boy.
Randall shook his head and then said, "I mean, I kind of knew. I knew where it was supposed to be but I've never been here before, remember?"'
"I'm glad you got it right, Randall. Thank you. I think you saved us.” Issy sat on the arm of the chair Marco had taken.
“So … this is kind of like a bomb shelter?” Anna asked.
“Kind of. Not bombs, probably, because who would bomb an island like Atoll, with nothing but a kid's camp and a few year-round residents? But a shelter for pretty much anything else.”
“Hopefully,” Isabel said, “that includes - “
The four fell silent as the zombies ran into the wall that separated them from their intended prey. They beat on the wall, hitting it again and again. The wall didn’t move. It didn’t even vibrate. Their furious pounding was muffled, like it was coming from a different area. Finally, the zombies gave up, moaning as they shuffled away to find other victims.
Randall smiled. “Safe and sound,” he said as he turned on an overhead light.
Anna looked around. The room felt small with the four of them crowded in, but it would have been plenty big for one old man. There was a television mounted on one wall, a refrigerator and big, old-fashioned microwave, a couch that opened into a bed, board games and cards, and a desk, complete with writing paper, pens, and a typewriter. The faintest scent of bacon had followed them in from the hall, but mostly the air smelled stale, like no one had breathed it in a long time. It made Anna think of all the mummy movies she’d watched at her cousin’s house. Not that they needed mummies, too.
Her scan of the room included the guys' gear. They both had backpacks stuffed with a blanket, bottled water, and snacks. Besides that, Randall had a skateboard.
"What's with that?" Anna pointed. "Are you planning on outrunning a monster on it?"
The boy looked a little sheepish. "I happen to like that skateboard. My mother gave it to me for my last birthday and then she got sick. And I'm pretty good at it, too. If I had to, I bet I could outrun a zombie. Maybe. It could happen, I think."
Anna wondered if his mother was waiting at home for him or if that skateboard would be the last gift she ever gave him. She decided not to ask.
“Cell phones.” Marco held his hand out and looked at Anna, impatience showing in his dark eyes.
She shook her head. “We couldn’t get there. The passage had a zombie in it and the director…I think he was guarding his office.”
“And you didn’t tell him what’s going on? Anna! He has to know! If he’s going to call for help, he has to know!”
Issy broke into the conversation. “He already does. Believe me – he knows first-hand.”
“He wasn’t guarding the office from the zombies.” Anna sighed, hating to deliver the news the boys had to hear. “He was guarding it for them. Or at least, as a zombie, he didn’t want to leave it any more than he did as a person.”
Randall bit his lower lip and looked away.
Marco lowered his head for a second. He seemed to be wrestling with his feelings, trying hard to keep them from boiling up and exploding. “Okay,” he finally said. “No phones. Is there a phone in here? Get up, Third. I need your help.”
They all looked around, but there was no sign of a phone or even a phone jack.
Marco gave up looking for it last. He finally picked up the television remote control. “Let’s see if the rest of the world is in on this or if we’re just special.”
“It won’t work.” Randall pointed to a large black box connected to the television. “It only plays movies and, if I remember right, Grandfather only watched old black and white shows that aren’t even on anywhere else. And westerns. Grandfather loved westerns.”
"I'm sure that will be very helpful," Issy said.
Marco ignored her. He pointed to the black box beneath the TV. “What is that?”
“It’s called a VCR. It’s how they used to watch movies. It plays these weird tape things. They're probably around here somewhere.”
Marco tried the TV, anyway, but Randall was right. A screen full of static greeted him and, no matter how many channels he checked, didn’t give them anything else.
"Let's see what's in here.” Anna looked at the refrigerator, took the few steps toward it, and swung it open. “There’s no food in here! There’s only a bunch of sodas.”
"Anything Grandfather had would be spoiled, anyway. There might be some freeze-dried astronaut food in the cupboard. But he was only a few yards from the dining hall. And if he wanted food, he'd go out there. That's what I'd do."
"Astronaut food?" Issy smiled. "What is that -- a Mars bar? Moon Pies?"
Randall opened the cabinets near the TV. Stacks of pre-packaged food awaited them. "Father says they don't taste good, but they're food." He started picking them up, one-by-one, to read the labels. He wrinkled his nose.
Issy picked up a book and blew the dust off its cover. “How long has it been since anyone’s been in here?”
“My dad came in with Grandfather when he was a little boy, but…." Randall squinted as he thought. "I guess it’s been a long time.”
“So we’ll just sit this out here!” Issy said. She sank onto the couch and sighed, then looked concerned. “Is there a bathroom?”
“Right there, Is.” Marco pointed to a door near the television set.
“No,” Randall said. "That's not right."
“No?” Issy looked at the door and then back to Randall. “No, what? That’s not a bathroom? Or your grandfather’s secret hide-away doesn’t have one? How could a secret hide-away not have a bathroom?”
“That's not the bathroom. It's over there." He pointed. "That goes outside."
"How could you possibly know that?" Anna asked.
"My father showed me a blueprint of this place ... last year, I think. At any rate, I thought it was interesting. I had it framed and hung in my room at home. I look at it every night as I go to bed. And that's the bathroom." He pointed as he spoke. "That door goes outside."
Anna and Marco exchanged looks. Anna asked, “Can the zombies get in here from there?” just as Marco asked, “Where does it go?”
Randall pointed at Anna. “No.” He shifted his finger to point at the middle of Marco's chest. “Don’t know. It dumps out in the woods, somewhere. I’ve never been in here, remember? I’ve just heard stories and looked at blueprints. My father used to tell me that Grandfather would get overwhelmed with all the people around here and he’d duck into the Oval Office, that’s here, and then, if it got really stressful, he’d take the tunnel into the woods and just decompress out there. Then, once he felt better, he’d take the tunnel back into the room and reappear in the dining hall.”
“You had a weird grandfather, Third.”
“Maybe,” Issy said, “but he saved our skins.”
Anna smiled. "Our brains. He saved our brains."
“Let’s rest here for a few minutes.” Marco studied the door leading to the woods, as if he could determine where it led by thinking about it hard enough. “We’re going to need it before we start for the helipad.”
Issy sat forward. “Before we start to the … Why are we still going to the helipad? Why aren’t we just waiting here for help to arrive? We have everything we need! Astronaut food, a bathroom, old TV shows, and westerns...”
Anna and Randall looked from Issy to Marco, like they were watching a tennis match, part two, and Issy had just volleyed the ball over the net. They waited for Marco’s response.
“What if help never comes?”
Issy frowned. “It will.”
Marco looked at Randall. “Third, does anyone else know this place is here?”
“My father knows. And my grandmother, of course."
The older boy looked back at Issy. “What are the odds that his dad or Grams is going to come looking when all this is over? Not a lot, I’d guess. They'll just assume that their poor little Randall got turned into a zombie, they'll mourn for him and put his pictures up all over their mansion and have a statue built for him or whatever. But odds are that they won't come looking."
“Or what if they nuke the island to get rid of all the zombies?” Randall added.
“What if, what if, what if! “ Issy sounded like she was about to lose it. “What if everyone at home is a zombie already? What if there is no help coming, ever? What if we’re the last kids on earth? What good will it do us to get to the helipad then?”
Anna thought of her mom and dad, her little brother, and the baby sister that had only joined their family in the fall. It made her sick to her stomach to think of them as zombies. She shoved the thought out of her head. “We’re not the last people on earth, Isabel. That’s … that’s ridiculous!”
“Zombies are ridiculous! This whole conversation is ridiculous!” Issy burst into tears. Her sobs filled the secret room and seemed to press against the walls.
Anna sat down beside her and pulled Issy against her shoulder. She patted her friend on the back with tiny, gentle pats, just the way her mother and grandmothers did for her when she needed it. After a minute, Issy sniffed loudly and sat up. Anna resisted the urge to look and see if she’d slobbered or snotted on her tee-shirt.
Randall attempted to smile at the girls, doing his best to be brave. “We can’t stay here, no matter what the rest of the world is doing,” he said softly. "Only astronaut food and sodas, remember? And I'm not allowed to drink sodas.”
Issy started to laugh, began to hiccup, and shook her head. “Okay, I guess we go.”
Marco half-smiled. “Some spoiled rich brat you are,” he said to Randall. “Even I get to drink sodas.”
| Author Notes | Thank you for reading. I know, I know...A secret bunker in the dining hall is a bit out there. But this is a zombie book, remember? The whole thing is a bit out there! lol |
By DeboraDyess
Anna had been afraid that the tunnel would be dark and full of spiders. As they stepped through the doorway, leaving the safety of Randall’s grandfather’s office behind, she felt the muscles in her neck tighten and her heart start to thud in her chest. It drummed faster and faster as she glanced behind her at the bright light of their brief refuge.
She sucked in one last breath of the air from the hidden room. She expected her next breath to be musty smelling, or dusty smelling or even smell so old it made her choke, like she’d seen on a science fiction movie once.
She should have known better.
The long tube that led them from the hidden room in the Randall Timmons Dining Hall to the woods surrounding the camp was lighted, had wooden walls, floor, and ceiling and it smelled like the inside of a cedar closet.
Anna inhaled and smiled. Good ol’ Mr. Timmons! She patted Randall on the back. “This is nice,” she whispered. "I think I love your grandfather." The sound of her voice bounced around a bit inside the tunnel. She fought back the urge to yell, “Hello!” and wait for the echo.
They walked for a few minutes in silence, and then Randall dropped his skateboard to the wooden floor and took off.
"Oh, no way..." Marco muttered. He looked at Anna and Issy. "He thinks he's going to win, does he? No way!" He broke into a run to catch the boy.
"Win what?" Issy said. She laughed. "Hmm...I wonder what the prize might be. Boys! I think I'll let one of them win. " But she started to jog, bouncing her heavy bowling ball bag against her leg as she did so.
Anna joined her and matched her pace. "Leave that thing, Issy. It's going to slow you down. Between that and your backpack..."
Isabel shook her head. “If it gets to be a problem, I will. But..."
"You won your trophies with that one." Anna knew the whole story. She'd cheered Isabel on during a series of tournaments. Some of their friends, who thought bowling was just for old guys, wouldn't even go. But Is was proud of the trophies she'd won and had them displayed in a case at her home. "Just don't keep it longer than you should," Anna said, jogging slower than she usually did to stay beside her friend. "We can always come back for it later if you have to leave it."
Isabel looked at her, shocked. "I'm never coming back here, Anna! Never."
And Anna realized that she wouldn't, either. This would be their last adventure at Camp Atoll, whether they made it out or not.
They caught up with the boys at a wide area of the tunnel that lasted about four feet before the cedar-lined hallway continued. The place held a plush recliner, end table, and reading lamp. Randall had plopped down on the recliner, playing with his skateboard with his feet. Marco leaned up against the wall. The lamp didn't seem important since the whole hall was lit, but a book and pair of reading glasses sat on the table that held it, so Anna decided it was an old person thing.
"Nice of you to join us," Marco said in his dry, humorless voice. It was the tone he used when he was teasing. He tapped his foot like he was impatient and looked at his wrist, even though he didn't wear a watch.
"Nice of you to wait," Issy replied, mirroring Marco, even down to the way he held his head and his hand motion. She smiled as everyone laughed.
"Pretty plush for a way-station," Randall observed. "Grandfather really was eccentric, wasn't he."
Anna looked at the few furnishings and guessed they probably could buy most of the ones in her bedroom with what the old man had spent for just this small area. She noticed that a book laid face-down, open to whatever page Randall’s grandfather had been reading the last time he rested in the chair. She read the title:
Zomburbia by Adam Gallardo
She read the title again under her breath and shot a surprised look at Issy.
"That's kind of creepy," she said, pointing.
Her friend shrugged. "The whole day has been kind of creepy, Anna."
"You're both acting like a girl." Marco didn't seem to even think about the book. He started walking and turned his attention to Randall, who fell in step beside him. “ Hey, Third,” he said as they started forward again, “what’s the mini-living room for?”
"Sitting," the boy answered, and then smiled. “Grandfather was pretty old, and he took lots of breaks. He was almost 50 when my dad was born. I just barely remember him.”
Marco glanced at Randall, eyes wide with surprise. “Fifty? Really? Wow! My dad was just barely 20 when I was born. His dad was just a little older than that when he came along. My Pops became a Pops before yours even had a kid!“
Randall shrugged. "Everybody's different, I suppose. I never thought about it when I was a kid, but most of my friends have younger grandfathers, too. My grandmother is much younger, so I guess that's why it worked out the way it did."
"Younger, huh? A lot younger?" Marco tried to keep his mouth straight and not smile. "So, was she some kind of movie star or something?"
"No. Why would you think she was a movie star?" Randall shifted his hold on the skateboard and looked up at the older boy.
"You know, an old rich guy and a beautiful, young movie star. It's kind of a weird love match."
Anna smacked Marco in the back of the head again, but he kept talking.
"Kind of suspicious ..." Marco looked down at his new friend, hoping he knew it was all in fun.
Randall frowned, but not at Marco's lame comment. He looked into the passage ahead of them. “We should be about halfway.” He pointed to a water fountain and another fancy recliner. “I’m right. Father said Grandfather had a water fountain put in at exactly the halfway mark so he could refill his water bottle or glass or whatever people drank out of back in those days. And there'll be a few more resting spots now. The farther he walked, the more he needed to rest. He always wanted to have cold water at hand. Icy water or wine.” He chuckled, and then decided the joke might not be as funny as he’d thought.“There will be another fountain as we reach the end.”
“Water, right?” Issy asked. “Not some weird, rich person wine fountain?” She smiled at Randall to let him know she was just trying to lighten the mood, just like he had tried a moment before.
Marco snorted. “You act like you’re not a weird rich person.”
Issy looked surprised and slowed her pace. “What? We’re not rich,” she said after a second and then hurried to catch up.
“Rich is a matter of perspective, then.”
Anna tried to think about that, how to Marco she and Issy certainly were wealthy, but to Randall’s family, they were probably middle class. She tried to focus on that thought, but scary, crazy ideas were racing through her head – mummies coming out of side passages, a huge underground maze where the four of them would be trapped and wandering forever, the ghost of Randall Timmons the First popping out of the ceiling, looking for the water fountain but crying for wine – and she couldn’t make them go away.
She shuddered. “I hope we’re farther along than half. I’m getting so creeped out that I’m not sure I can go on.”
Issy grabbed her by the arm. “My sweet claustrophobic friend,” she said, smiling in the low light.
Anna knew that it was Issy who was scared of small places, and squared her shoulders, determined that if her friend could pretend to be brave, so could she.
| Author Notes | I'm trying to divide each actual chapter in half to make it more profitable to read. If you're hanging in there with me, thank you! I appreciate all the good feedback I've been getting. :) |
By DeboraDyess
They finally came to a staircase.
"Stairway to Heaven?” Marco asked. "Anyone heard that old song? One second thought, that's probably not what I want. "
His tone was so dark that Anna could understand why his mom would pop him on the ear for it. She’d never met his mother, but Marco had told her that, since he could remember, his mother would tap his ear when his humor got too harsh. She imagined she’d want Anna to follow the tradition for her, so she tapped Marco lightly on the left ear. He looked at her, startled at first, but then realized why she did it and grinned.
“No ... Just up to the woods, like I said before.” Randall had missed both Marco’s dark humor and Anna’s playful gesture. He focused on the staircase, concentrating on what he'd heard about it. “If I remember correctly, Grandfather had this lead up into what appears from the outside to be an old, hollow tree. There will be a latch on the inside of the exit, but once we leave, we’ll need a key to re-enter.”
“A key which you don’t have.” Issy stated the obvious.
“I don't.” Randall looked at the older kids, his eyes wide with the thought of what might happen when they left the safety of the tunnel. He looked way younger than ten-years-old.
“Well, Third, who goes up – you or me?” Marco looked intently at the young boy and then sighed. “Me.”
“Wait a minute!” Anna interrupted. “Why is the choice just between you two guys? Issy and I are perfectly capable of … of ....”
“Hush, Anna.” Issy put her hand up. “Let’s argue about girls’ rights later. I don’t want to go first, and I’m sure you don’t, either. And besides, Marco is faster and stronger than we are. He’s smarter, too, if you think about it.”
"I only made a B in linear functions, and I really don’t understand the Pythagorean theory. Not sure that I’m the smartest cookie in this box.” The older boy smiled slightly.
Anna knew for a fact that Marco thought he was the smartest cookie in any box. She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t even know what those are!” Randall said quickly.
That made Marco laugh. Randall joined in, as did Issy. Anna laughed last, and it felt so good not to be scared or worried for a minute that they laughed a lot longer than the comments deserved.
Finally, Marco wiped his eyes and tried to stop. “Okay,” he said, still chuckling as he spoke, “time to go peek out the fake tree stump and see if we find real zombies. Not the way I thought I’d spend my day.” He spied a golf bag near the stairs and grabbed an iron.
“Going to shoot a few holes?” Issy was still fighting laughter.
“That would be nice,” Marco replied. “ What is it – a 9-iron? I’ve heard of those on the sports channel. But if I find a zombie up there, I may just wrap this around his neck instead of trying to hit a hole in one."
That put a stop on any remaining giggles. The thought of Marco fighting off a zombie with nothing but a golf club took all the snickers away.
Randall reached in the bag, dug around for a second, and handed him a different club. “Here’s a sand wedge,” he said. “Take it – it’s heavier. It’ll put up a better fight if it comes to that.”
The boys exchanged clubs.
“How about if I go, too,” Anna suggested, “and I can have an arrow at the ready, just in case.”
"You want to be my caddie? Sweet." Marco looked at the stairwell and shook his head. “It’s way too narrow. We’d probably just end up tripping over each other, falling down the stairs, and ending up stuck here for the duration of the Zombie Apocalypse. I wish your grandfather had been a big, fat ol' guy, Third. Then a couple of us could go up together.”
Randall nodded. “Me, too.”
“The good news is that, with me in the way, no zombie should be able to get down here without you knowing it’s coming.” He looked at the water fountain Randall had promised would be at the exit. “So, a quick drink for the road and --”
As he pushed the button on the fountain and bent to catch a mouthful of the crystal-clear water, Issy yelled, “No! Stop!” She darted forward and put her hand in the way of the flow of the water, blocking Marco from getting any of it.
Everyone froze and looked at her, Anna with her bow and arrow in hand, Randall half-turned to the stairwell, and Marco bent at the waist and looking slightly up at her.
“What if this is a virus or a germ or something?” Issy asked.
Anna didn’t like where Isabel’s mind was going. “What if what is a virus or germ?”
“The zombie thing. What if it’s a virus and it’s in the water?”
No one said anything. They all looked at the ice-cold stream, splashing off Issy's hand and just a few inches below Marco's mouth,
Marco stood up and took a step back from the fountain, looking at it as if snakes were swimming in the flow. Issy jerked her hand out of the water and quickly wiped it on the leg of her shorts.
Issy seemed to be thinking faster than she could speak. “What if … What if ... If it’s in the water supply … If somehow a virus or something got in the water supply ...”
“Then everyone who’s had a drink from the water source is contaminated.” Marco finished the sentence for her.
They looked at each other.
“When’s the last time anyone had a drink from a glass of water or a water fountain?” Anna finally broke the silence, asking what they all needed to know.
“I only drink bottled,” Randall said.
Issy looked around at the others, her eyes wide and scared again. “Me, too.”
Marco shrugged. “I had milk and juice with breakfast and a soda later on. Nothing since mid-morning.”
Anna dug around in her backpack, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to him. “Have one of mine,” she said. “I haven't had a drink from anywhere except a water bottle, either.”
“I have my own." His expression changed suddenly and his dark eyes narrowed, as if someone had flipped channels on a TV. "Wait! Does ice count?” Marco looked scared and worried and tried hard to cover it up with a fake-calm face. “I had ice in my drink when we were in the theater.”
Anna blinked. In the low light, she wondered if they’d notice if Marco was starting to turn into a zombie, or if they’d even have time to notice a change.
Issy answered Marco’s question. “The freezing process would probably kill the virus. Probably, I think.”
Marco nodded, still not looking sure. “Okay, then.” He swung the sand wedge up and over his head, pointing it to the door hidden at the top of the narrow stairs. “I’m off for a round of golf. Does anyone think I can do 18 holes and break par? Anyone? No?”
Anna swallowed a knot of fear in her throat. She had to be brave and confident for Randall and Issy, and even for Marco. She pulled an arrow from the quiver and notched it in her bow. “You yell and drop back down here if you see anything. Pull the door shut after you. I’ll be ready, just in case. We can always try again later after the threat has passed.”
Marco nodded, tight-lipped.
Issy hugged him, a short, sudden hug that surprised both of them and showed her nervousness. She smiled at him, trying to down-play her terror. “Go get ‘em, Marco.”
“Go get ‘em, nothing. I’m going to go avoid them.” Marco’s tone was light, but his face was completely serious.
“Good luck,” Randall whispered.
Anna grabbed Marco by the arm as he started up the stairs. He paused but didn’t look at her. He kept his gaze upward, to the door that led to the outside. Anna squeezed his arm, hoping that that told him all she wanted to say: be safe, good luck, don’t be dumb, come back if you need to, you're important to me …
And then he was up the stairs, mounting them so quickly that Anna barely had time to aim just above his head, trying to adjust with each step he took.
They all stood, holding their breath as they heard the old latch squeak as Marco turned it. Their eyes were locked on the bottom of Marco’s legs. He took the final step up. The smell of trees and grass and wet earth filled the tunnel. Bright light shot in and the threesome squinted against it.
And then they heard the scream.
| Author Notes |
Be ruthless! Be vicious! Be honest, please. :)
All reviews welcome, but if you're not a weird-book-lover, please don't bother reading. Come on...It's a zombie book for kids! lol |
By DeboraDyess
"Was that Marco?” Anna cried out. “Marco? Marco?” She readied the bow and noticed the arrow was shaking against the string. “Marco! Oh, God, please, please ...”
She heard the door at the top of the staircase squeak shut and watched him turn, watched his legs as he came back down the stairs and eased up on the arrow only when he appeared, finger over his mouth.
“Shhh!” he said. “It wasn’t me. There are a couple of unfriendlies up there, but it wasn’t me they were after. I think it was the swim coach.”
Randall shuddered. “They got Bryan?” He squeezed his eyes shut, squinched his face up, and tried not to cry. “They got Bryan."
"Who is that?" Issy asked.
"The swim coach! I’ve known him my whole life. He came to my first birthday party – we have pictures. He gave me some water toys and one of those little plastic pools, even though we have a regular pool in the backyard. He hasn't missed one of my birthdays … ever.”
Anna watched Randall for a second. It had never occurred to her that, for him, the staff was more than just someone he’d bump into or take a class from during the summer. Some of them had been working for the Timmons family for years – certainly for Randall's one decade of life. She imagined them getting together for birthday and Christmas parties, for winter vacations, or spring break at the beach. How many of these staff-turned-zombies had Randall grown up with?
Issy put her arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Maybe they missed him.”
“You heard him scream!" The boy shrugged her arm off and moved out of her reach. His voice rose in pitch and volume with each word. "Of course they didn’t miss him. They didn’t miss him.”
“Not necessarily,” Anna said. She realized she was using the same soothing voice she used with her baby brother. “The first zombie I saw, I was screaming my head off, and it didn’t get me. It freaked me out, but it didn’t get me. And the first zombie you saw didn’t get you, either. I’d say their scream-to-capture rate isn’t so good.”
Isabel nodded. “They do seem to be kind of slow and … not so smart.”
“Stupid,” Marco said.
“I’m not allowed to say ‘stupid’,” Issy sounded almost embarrassed to admit that.
Marco smirked and sat on the second-to-bottom stair. “I think that, in the case of zombies, it’s allowed. If you get in trouble for it let me know. I’ll talk to your folks."
Randall began to wring his hands but tried to smile. He still looked sad and scared, but not quite as bad as a minute before.
“So,” Marco said, “how long do we wait until round two?”
Everyone hesitated.
It was Randall who broke the silence. He put his hands to his sides and forced his face to relax. “I say we try right now. If the zombies didn’t get Bryan and he ran off, they chased him. That means they're gone from here. If they're still there, you can just pull the lid shut again, right?"
Marco rose and smiled down at him. “Good guy,” he said. “Brave, smart choice.”
That made Randall smile, too. His real smile was completely different than his fake one.
Marco crept up the stairs again, golf club in hand. Anna notched and aimed an arrow. Issy and Randall held their breath as the older boy swung the door of the fake tree open.
“All clear,” he stage-whispered to the group. “Come on up.”
“I’ll go next,” Anna said. “That puts two of us up there with weapons.”
Issy sighed. “A golf club and a bow and arrows. Not exactly the weapons of champions.”
“They’re the weapons of my champions,” Randall said. He smiled at Anna. “The weapons of my heroes.”
Anna didn’t know what to say. She felt the corners of her mouth curve up, as if there was no fear inside her, no danger waiting for them. Randall was too cool. She reached out to pat his back and he grabbed her arm, squeezing it the way she had done to Marco just a few minutes before.
“We’re going to be fine.” She turned her hand so that she could grab hold of him, then let go and grasped Issy’s hand for a second, too.
“Come on, come on!” Marco hissed, trying not to attract the attention of whatever might be wandering the woods around them.
Issy hugged her, but held on for longer than she had with Marco. “Be safe,” she said. “Love you, bestie.”
“You, too.” Anna looked up the stairwell, saw Marco silhouetted in the sunlight, and started the climb.
The staircase wasn’t long, but it seemed to grow with each step she took. Anna didn’t dare look back to Issy and Randall; she might chicken out and scamper back to safety.
As Anna stepped out of the tree-stump-exit, Marco did one more quick scan of the area around them. There was nothing. He called down, “Next,” like he was taking orders at a pizza place or a coffee shop. He didn’t sound scared at all, and that made Anna feel suddenly like they really were going to get away.
“No zombies?” Issy’s voice floated up from the tunnel.
“Not yet.” Marco glanced down, irritated. He put his attention back on the woods around them, but spoke down the tunnel opening to Issy. “I’m sure if you hang around down there long enough, though, we’ll see one any time.”
“Ladies first,” Randall said.
“Thanks a whole, whole lot.” Issy grabbed her stuff and ran up the stairs. She hurried like she was headed for a party instead of into the middle of the scariest thing anyone had ever faced. Like Marco and Anna, the minute she reached ground level, she peered into the woods, ready to run like Bullseye if she saw anything that even kind of looked like a zombie.
Randall came up right behind her and stared down the stairwell. “Are we sure?” he asked without looking at his friends.
“I don’t think we have a choice.”
Anna nodded. “Marco’s right. We can’t stay here with no one knowing where we are.”
“And nothing to drink but that nasty generic soda.” Issy poked Randall in the ribs. “Hadn’t your grandfather ever heard of name-brand?”
“A penny saved, I guess.”
Anna looked down the brightly lit stairwell as Randall slowly lowered the hinged top. She felt a little panic as it closed. That escape was gone.
| Author Notes | Thank you for reading! It's a little silly, but it's intended for young, reluctant readers. :) Hope you enjoy. |
By DeboraDyess
Issy bent to pick up a stick as the boy shut the trap door. She straightened, looking surprised and irritated. “Why did you do that?” she asked, staring at the fake trunk.
Randall blinked, eyes still adjusting to the light. “Because we’re all out.”
“But, Randall! We could have put a stick in the door to keep it open in case we needed it!”
Anna cocked her head to one side. That would have been smart. She looked at Marco, who was evidently having the same thought.
“Why didn’t you mention that in the tunnel, while we were talking about the key?” Marco sounded almost angry, but Anna knew he was irritated with himself and not with Isabel or Randall.
“Because I thought it was pretty obvious that we’d do it. Are you telling me you didn’t think of it?” Issy snapped at Marco. It was unusual for her to snap at anyone, and her face turned pink with her frustration.
Randall ignored both of them. He hoisted his gear onto his back. “We don’t have time to worry about what might have happened. We have to just worry about what could happen. And we could get caught out in the open arguing. I goofed and I’m sorry. Now it’s done. Which way?” His voice sounded high and tight again, just like when he was so upset before.
“It’s not your fault, Randall,” Anna said. She felt bad for him. “We all goofed.”
“I said I don’t care about what happened, and I don’t. I want to get home to my parents and my grandmother. Now, which way?”
Marco put his hand on Randall’s shoulder, steering him, and grabbed Anna’s hand. Anna took hold of Issy. They moved forward as one toward the tree line.
“Let’s find some cover first,” Marco said. He squeezed Randall’s shoulder. “Any idea where we came up?”
Everyone looked at Randall, who shook his head. “I’ve never had to think about that before. And it’s my first time here, so I don’t know anything about anything on this whole island.” His voice let everyone know he felt their expectations were too much.
It really wasn't right of them to expect him to know more than they did, Anna thought. She tried to imagine the pressure he felt, being the grandson of the founder, trapped in an impossible situation. “We’ll figure it out,” she assured the boy.
“How?” Whatever bravery Randall found in Marco's earlier compliment evaporated like drops of water on a hot pan.
"Well," Issy said, huffing a bit as she shifted her bowling bag to the other hand, "we know the helipad is on the north side of the island. So if we can figure out which way we think we're walking, we can adjust our course and … just go the other way. We’ll probably have it wrong, so we’ll just do an about-face and get it right.” She laughed at her joke.
"Does moss grow on the north side of trees?" Anna looked at Marco, hoping for an answer.
He chuckled. "Don't ask this city boy. All I know is that graffiti grows on the underside of an overpass. I never made it to a Scout meeting. Too busy getting in trouble."
Anna started to ask about what kind of trouble Marco managed to get into, and it occurred to her how weird that conversation would be with the four of them half-jogging toward a grove of trees to avoid an encounter with zombies. Come to think of it, any conversation would be weird under those circumstances. The whole situation was weird.
"Hey, Third, why don't you show us some fancy skateboard tricks."
Randall shook his head." Out here in the grass, the only fancy trick I could do is a fancy fall on my behind."
Marco laughed out loud. "Behind," he said, mimicking the boy’s tone and accent,
"Well, what do you call it?" Randall asked. He looked a little put out that the older boy found him so amusing.
"Something that I'm pretty sure Isabel isn't allowed to say."
“It’s hot out here,” Isabel commented, wiping sweat from her face. She acted like she didn't hear Marco, but her cheeks flushed red at his words.
Randall cast a glance upward, as if noticing the sun for the first time. “It’s July. I guess it ought to be hot. I’m not normally out hiking in it, though.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
Anna and Marco glanced at each other. Neither of them mentioned to Issy that they’d tried more than once to get her outside to hike, boat, or play sports with them. It wouldn’t have changed the temperature, but it might have made this day a little easier for her.
“Look!” Issy cried, excitement perking her voice up a bit. She pointed to the closest group of trees, perfect for climbing and surrounded by tall weeds. “That shade looks like a great spot to figure out where we are!!” She picked up her pace and managed to get ahead of them, the bowling bag bouncing against her leg as she half-stumbled, half-ran toward the shade.
Marco stopped walking. “Shall we join her, my lady?” He did an elaborate mock bow to Anna.
“Certainly, sir.” Talk about weird conversations! She grinned.
“Good grief…” Randall said under his breath, which made the other two laugh.
The three of them hurried to catch up.
Anna saw the zombie at exactly the same time Isabel saw it. It was an old guy that Anna didn’t recognize, maybe a staffer she hadn’t met, or a resident of the small island village that had nothing to do with Camp Atoll. It stepped from behind the trees as Issy reached them and grabbed at her.
“Issy!” Anna screamed. She was just more than a yard behind her friend, but too far to yank her out of the creeper's reach.
“Zombie!” both boys yelled in unison.
Isabel jerked backward, too afraid to even scream. As the zombie grabbed for her again, she swung her bowling ball bag as hard as she could into the zombie’s stomach.
It fell and landed in the grass beside Anna's feet.
She froze, the zombie only inches from her legs. It noticed her and turned its attention from Isabel to his closer meal choice.
Everything seemed to switch to slow-motion in Anna’s mind. Randall began to scream. She felt Marco grab her arm so tightly that it hurt. As he started to snatch her out of harm’s way, with her wondering why it was taking so long, the zombie managed to get hold of her leg. It opened its mouth, leaned toward her and –
Whack!
Isabel caught the zombie on the side of the head with the heavy bag.
It let go of Anna’s leg as it slammed backward into the grass.
Anna sucked air in, trying not to let the darkness that threatened her mind take over. “Is it going to get up? Is it? Is it getting up?” She could hear the words, screamed from her throat, but couldn’t make herself shut up.
"Shhh..." Marco let her arm go and hugged her tight for a half-second before he shifted his concern to the zombie.
They all stood transfixed, staring down at the undead man lying at their feet.
“I killed him!” Isabel whispered. “I think I killed him.” She burst into tears.
“You didn’t,” Marco said flatly. “He was already dead. He wasn’t even a he anymore. He was an 'it'. All you did was save Anna from becoming one of them. And maybe all of us. Who knows what could have happened.”
Randall dropped to his knees, checking Anna's leg for any sign of injury. "Did it get you? Did it bite you? Scratch you? Anna, did it?"
Anna shook her head. "No." She sounded like she'd run a 5K, breathless and suddenly exhausted. “Is it really … dead?”
The zombie wasn’t moving.
“Its chest isn’t moving. But do they breathe?” Marco bent to get a closer look, but then pulled back some, just in case.
No one answered. No one knew.
Issy dropped the bowling ball bag. “I don’t want this anymore,” she said.
“Issy –“
Isabel put her hand up to silence any protest. “I get it. I do. But I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want to see it ever again.” She started to walk away.
Anna, Marco, and Randall exchanged glances and fell in behind her.
“I hope we’re headed north,” Randall muttered.
| Author Notes |
I may not be the zombie fan that most authors who write to this genre are, but I am a fan of kids, and of kids reading. I hope this hits the spot. Please be ruthless in your review. :) I need the critique and feedback.
All previous chapters will also be a 'paying read' to allow those just joining us to get caught up! |
By DeboraDyess
| Author Notes | Thank Y'all for reading! We're just over half way through the book, now. Any suggestions? |
By DeboraDyess
| Author Notes |
This is the second half of 'Nighttime in the Zombie Zone'. It starts in a weird place, I know, but that was a pretty good spot to divide the chapter. My apologies! :)
Thank you for reading, critiquing and giving me hard, honest feedback. :) |
By DeboraDyess
Anna jerked awake just as Marco put one hand over her mouth, grabbed her arm with the other, and shook her.
“Shhhh! Wake up! You're having a nightmare. Stop screaming!” he ordered. His whisper was urgent and he looked scared. “We have to go! You wake Issy. I’ll get Third. It’s close – really close.”
Anna sat up like she was being launched off the ground by electricity and scooted the two feet to Isabel as quickly as she could. “Is!” she shook her friend awake.
Issy’s eyes fluttered open and, for just a second, she smiled at Anna. Then memory smashed through the gentleness of sleep and her expression changed. She stared up at the dark trees above them and shifted her gaze to Anna. “Sour milk,” she whispered. “Zombies!”
Her voice was too loud, Anna knew. She put her finger over her lips. “You have to be quiet!” she said softly. “It hasn’t found us yet, but it’s close. Get your stuff. We've got to get out of here fast.”
Issy nodded.
Anna extended a hand and helped her friend sit up, reached back for her gear, and pulled the backpack onto her shoulders. Grabbing the bow and quiver of arrows in her hand, she realized the crickets all around them had fallen silent. Anna scanned the area near them in the first rays of dawn.
The bushes a few yards away shook.
She raised her bow, notched an arrow, and stared ahead, certain she was fixing to find out if the 'undead' could become the 'just-dead'.
A fox ran out of the bush and leaped over Marco’s backpack as he reached for it. Marco jerked his hand away and nearly toppled over. The fox never slowed down. It jumped the log next to Anna and raced into the woods on the other side of the small clearing where they’d taken refuge for the night.
Anna glanced away long enough to watch the terrified animal run through their camp but immediately re-focused on the dark woods it had come from. Her hand wasn’t shaking at all this time. She felt as steady as if she were out in her own backyard, practicing with a target.
Marco tapped her on the arm. “Let’s try to make a run for it,” he whispered. “It isn’t moaning or running, so it still doesn’t know we’re here.”
"Just a nice morning stroll? Wonderful." Anna nodded. She rose to a crouch and began to back away from the clearing, still aiming at the place the zombie would most likely appear.
Marco kept his hand on her arm, guiding her as they moved, using Grandfather Timmon's golf club to clear the weeds so she didn't trip. Once he felt like they were far enough away not to get caught, he whispered, “Now!”
The group broke into a run, jumping underbrush and dodging low-hanging branches. Occasionally, Anna would glance back; still no sign of the zombie. Maybe something else had spooked the fox, she thought.
They reached a small creek. Randall, who was in the lead, turned and ran along its bank for a minute. Seeing that it was shallow enough to cut through, he veered to his left and straight into it. Splashing water everywhere, he high-stepped across.
Issy followed. She slipped as she reached the far bank and went face-down into the mud at the edge of the water. “Augh!” she yelled. She sat up and started to wipe the slimy goo off her face but froze.
A moan floated through the woods from behind them.
Anna and Marco, dashing across the narrow channel of water, grabbed her by her upper arms and dragged her up as they ran. She caught her footing and sprinted with them like she'd been running every day of her life. Her wet sneakers squished with each step. “I’m sorry!” she sobbed as she ran beside them. “I’m so, so sorry!”
“They’re not super fast,” Marco said, pushing the girls ahead of him. “I think we’re still okay."
The monster moaned again. Anna shot a look back at Marco, who nodded that he'd realized it, too. It already sounded closer.
Ahead of them, Randall jumped over a fallen log and ducked under large branches from a neighboring tree. He had to use his hand to steady himself against the tree trunk to pull off the jump-and-duck technique successfully. Issy and Anna followed him, using his method to make sure they made it safely. Marco glanced behind them as he jumped the log, missed ducking the branches, and caught a thick one across the side of his head as he ran.
He grunted softly and went down hard, falling backward into the log and sliding onto the other side of it, landing on the back of his head and shoulders.
It took Anna a few steps to realize she didn't feel his hand in the middle of her back, pushing her to go faster. She looked back and saw his legs draped over the log. She reversed direction. “Marco!” she cried, hoping not to attract the creeper behind them. "Marco!”
Issy and Randall circled back, too, kneeling beside their fallen friend.
"Is he okay?” Issy asked in a whisper. She touched the side of Marco’s head. “No blood,” she said, looking at her fingers. "He's already got a big goose-egg, though. Look at the bruise! How does anyone bruise that fast?"
Randall kept his eyes on the area behind them, taking over for the older kids as if he fell into the role naturally. “Get him on his feet,” he ordered. “We don’t have much time.”
| Author Notes |
Thank for reading!
I'm not a zombie fan, but writing this has been such a hoot. :) Y 'all stay safe and healthy and be blessed. |
By DeboraDyess
Anna tried to remember her first aid course. She didn’t have any idea of what to do. All the information she’d so carefully learned for babysitting leaked out of her memory like someone had drilled holes in her brain. Even if she had an inkling, she didn’t have any supplies. She shook Marco’s shoulder gently, trying to wake him without hurting him or making him cry out. “Wake up, Marco, Wake up!”
He didn’t move.
“Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man!” Issy whispered. “What are we going to do?”
Marco arched his eyebrows as if willing his eyes to open. They did, finally, slowly, and he groaned. He reached for his head and put his hand against his temple. When he looked at Anna, his eyes were unfocused. “What stupid thing did I do?” he asked.
“Not allowed to say ‘stupid’,” Issy said softly, without thinking.
“You fell … or ran into a tree … or something.” Randall didn’t look at Marco. He pointed in the direction they’d come from. “But it’s still coming. Can you get up?” His brave demeanor faded and he blinked several times and pushed his glasses up, trying to get it back. “You can get up, right, Marco? Because it’s still coming. So what do we do? What do we do, Marco? Anna? 'Cause I don't know.” He shook his head, sending sweaty, brown hair into his face. "We gotta go, Marco. Get up." He sounded less than convincing.
“We need to get you moving.” Anna tried not to think of the zombie. Before she could face that thought, she had to get Marco, Isabel, and Randall to safety.
The older boy seemed to be trying to catch up with what was going on. “I ran … into a tree?” He frowned. “Why would I do that?” He stared into the branches above him, looking past the trio who knelt beside him.
“Marco,” Anna said, firmly, “where are you?”
Marco looked blank and shifted his gaze back to her. He shrugged, barely moving his shoulders.
“Are you at home?”
“No …”
“Are you at school?”
“Why ... would I be ... at school?” Marco's voice was soft, almost too quiet to hear.
“Where are you, then?” Anna tried to keep her voice calm and level. She looked up at Isabel and then glanced at Randall. Issy was watching Marco. Randall had resumed his watch-dog stance.
Marco drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m at camp. There’s something wrong, isn’t there? Something … terrible.”
Anna nodded. “And it’s coming this way. We have to get you up and hidden, or in a tree or somewhere. Anywhere but here.”
Clarity hit Marco’s eyes and he began to shift, pulling his long legs off the fallen tree and struggling to his feet. “Zombies.” He breathed the word. “There's a zombie coming.”
“Yes,” Anna said, tugging at his arm. “So it’s time to hide.”
As Marco stood, he swayed unsteadily. “No,” he said. “It’s time for the three of you to run. Get out of here. Go on! Go!” He pushed Randall away from him but nearly fell again when the boy refused to move.
“Impossible,” Issy said the word they were all thinking. “You can’t run.”
“I can’t, you can.” He shook everyone’s helping hands off of him. “Now, go.”
Randall stepped up onto the fallen tree, making himself the same height as Marco. “That’s not happening. We’re not leaving you and we’re not letting you get turned into … one of them.” He lost his balance, caught himself on Marco’s arm, and added, “See? We need you too much.”
Marco looked behind them. He sniffed the air. “But I can't keep up. And I won’t slow you down.” He shoved Randall off the tree. This time he managed to stand firm. “I mean it. Get out of here! Go on, all of you! Anna, take them to the helipad, right now!” He kept his voice down, as under control as always, but it still felt like he was screaming at them.
Anna grabbed her friend's hand. “We’re not leaving. So either we figure this out – quickly – or we all get turned. Or donate our brains to zombie-lunches.”
Marco looked at her, sizing her up. He bit the inside of his lip and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he nodded. “Well then, we’d better think of something fast, Anna. Because that thing back there won’t wait on us to come up with some genius plan. It won't be impressed by your loyalty. It'll just come in here and ....”
"We're climbing a tree,” Issy said. She pointed Randall to one a few feet away. “That one is yours; this one is mine.” She scampered over to the tree she’d chosen and made her way up. "Hussle, Randall. I bet I can be up before you can." She found her spot far above even a tall adult's reach.
As she and Randall settled into safe spots, Anna turned to Marco. He swayed heavily to one side, overcorrected, and almost fell. Anna grabbed him and steadied him. She bent and picked up the golf club he'd been carrying, gave it to him, and said, “We’re not climbing. We’re hiding.”
He looked down at her. “Listen, Anna, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I do. But you can’t hide from these things.”
“Yes, we can. We did earlier. Yesterday when we hid out in the weeds on our way back to the dorms, remember? We can hide!”
“Anna – ”
“Don't ‘Anna’ me! We’re hiding!” She looked around, considering their options. Most of the area was filled with tall trees, perfect for Issy and Randall but impossible to get Marco into. She frowned, feeling fear fill her, trying to force her to run. Stay calm, she ordered herself. Taking a quick second to draw in a lung-full of air, Anna squeezed her eyes shut, and opened them again. “There.” She pulled Marco gently toward a grove of smaller trees that bent together, almost making a natural teepee. It was surrounded by heavy underbrush.
Marco stumbled toward it, moving a little like a zombie himself. He ducked into the opening and settled in against a tree trunk. He made himself as small as possible to leave her room, pulling his big feet up nearly under his knees. “This isn’t safe,” he murmured.
“I know, but it’s going to have to do.” Anna squatted and wiggled backward until she was partly sitting on his feet and her back touched his knees.
"Creeper alert," Issy stage-whispered from her perch. She pointed.
The sour milk smell filled Anna's nose.
The monster lurched into sight, stumbled a couple of times as it tried to navigate the tree that Marco had landed on, and finally made it over. It paused, turned …
And started straight toward Anna and Marco.
| Author Notes |
If you've just joined us, welcome! If you've been reading the whole time, thank you.
I"m not a zombie fan, but wrote this in response to a challenge made by a friend. I've had an absolute blast writing, developing the characters and plot. I'm working on a game board to go along iwht the book, and that's a lot harder than writing! lol. Maybe I should challenge my friend to do that part...hmmm.... Please feel free to leave criticism. I'm good with it. It's the only way the story will get better. Y'all all stay safe and be blessed. : |
By DeboraDyess
| Author Notes |
Thank you for reading! We're near the end of the book, so if you'eve just joined us, feel free to go back and get caught up. For the next week or so, the earlier chapters will be 'paying'. :)
Please feel free to be honest and critique with a harsh eye. I look forward to any suggestions or correstions. Blessings, Y'all! Deb |
By DeboraDyess
“Issy? Issy! Answer me, Isabel!” Anna could feel fear driving her forward, imagination taking her places she didn’t want to go.
Everyone was yelling her name, crashing through the tall weeds and bushes that crowded around them, dodging trees, and jumping large rocks. Anna dragged Marco for several feet but then let him go so she could run faster. She passed Randall, whose face was pale with fear. She had to get to her friend before it was too late, before ...
“Issy! Isabel!”
Isabel didn’t answer.
Oh, please God, Anna prayed silently as she ran, please don’t let them get her! Please don't let her be--
A helicopter flew from the area north of them, over their heads and out of sight. Its blades and engine were so quiet Anna wouldn't have known it was there if it hadn't flown directly above her. Anna felt her mouth fall open and half-turned as she ran, watching it for a second. Then it was back to Isabel, back to a rescue.
“Isabel Grace! Answer me!” Anna rounded a bend in the animal path they were running along and stopped in her tracks. Randall bumped into her, knocking her forward so that she had to catch herself with a hard step and a hand against a tree. She caught her balance and took a slow, more controlled step forward.
Issy was kneeling in the middle of a clearing, crying, her head in her hands. Her long hair was draped against the rocky ground "No!" she sobbed. "No, no!"
There were no zombies in sight.
“Isabel?” Anna knelt slowly beside her. She looked up at Randall, who stared down, his face frightened and owlish. He pushed his big, round glasses back up where they belonged.
“Are you crying because the helicopter's gone?” Randall looked over the treetops, hoping it might be coming back for them. No such luck. There was nothing up there except a couple of birds and one puffy cloud.
Tears streamed down Issy’s face as she looked up at Randall. “Yes, the helicopter! Didn’t you see it? It's gone! It left us! It left us.” Her final sentence was whispered, not the loudish, dramatic whisper she was known for, but a sad sound of defeat.
Anna nodded. “I saw it.” She tried not to feel the despair that enveloped Isabel.
“Then where are we going? What are we going to do? We've come all this way for nothing. Nothing! I can’t do another night on this island, Annie. I cannot! They're going to get us. The zombies are going to get us!”
Isabel hadn't called her 'Annie' since they were in third grade. Anna looked at Randall. Nothing he could do hid his devastation. Tears puddled at the bottom of his glasses, leaking out in slow dribbles. His attempt to look brave only made him look younger and more afraid.
And Marco …
“Marco?” Anna looked behind them. There was no sign of him.
Isabel stood, looking back, too, shoving hair out of her eyes. "Where is he? Did we lose him?" She swiped the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t see him at all. But I don't smell anything, either,” She sniffed the air again, loudly this time to show that she was trying.
“Me, neither.” Randall frowned into the darkness of the trees where he’d last seen his friend. “But that doesn’t mean Marco doesn’t.”
Anna started running back. She'd left him. He was virtually defenseless and she'd just left him there alone. Some friend I turned out to be! As important as Isabel was in her life, Marco was the same and she'd left him.
Randall caught her and grabbed her arm. "Let's go a little slower," he suggested. "We need to make sure of what we're heading into."
Anna hesitated, slowing her steps as she spoke. "Okay," she said, "but we still have to hurry."
She started to jog, not as fast as before because she was sliding the bow off its position on her shoulder, getting ready to fight again if need be. She hadn't thought of it in her insane rush to get to Issy, but Randall was right. It had been a dangerous mistake. She wouldn't make it again.
It was a good thing she wasn't running fast. As she rounded a bend in the path, she nearly ran into Marco. He was coming toward them, moving slowly. He leaned heavily on Grandfather Timmon's golf club, using it as a cane with the head of it in his hand. His face looked about three shades lighter than normal and he was chewing his lip against the pain. His free hand pushed against the side of his head and it almost looked like he was trying to hold it in place.
Relief washed over Anna like the unexpected summer storms that periodically hit the island. Her knees felt weak suddenly, and her head spun. She shook it slightly, stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around his waist. After a couple of seconds, she let him go and stepped back to examine him. "Are you okay?"
Marco didn't nod or answer. "Isabel?" His voice was tight and raspy.
Isabel jogged around the bend to join them, as if summoned by her name. "Did you see the helicopter?"
Randall took in a deep breath, trying to sound like he was unscathed by it leaving, but his voice cracked as he spoke. "Looks like we're on our own for a while longer, I guess."
"We need to re-group," Marco said. He pointed with the make-shift cane. "Let's go ahead and move out of these woods. If I remember right, there's a bit of open field surrounding the helipad, and maybe even a small building of some kind near it. We can keep watch easier there. No unpleasant surprises." He sounded exhausted, like the small distance they'd covered since his injury took everything he had.
"No place to hide, either." Randall said what Anna was thinking. "Trees have been pretty good to us so far."
"If we see anything coming toward us, we'll head for the opposite side and climb to get away. But we don't need anything sneaking up on us." Marco pulled all his authority into those sentences and looked down at the boy.
"Sounds like a plan." Anna wanted to hear Marco say he was okay. She wanted to ask him until he answered. Instead, she turned and started to jog. She'd taken about three steps when Isabel stopped her.
"Can we not run for just a bit?" Isabel pleaded. "I haven't run this much in the last three or four years … combined."
"And I just ... can't." Marco sounded both disgusted and embarrassed that he needed to slow down. "But if … something happens, I want you guys to take off, understand? Not like earlier, either. for real -- take off."
No one disagreed, but no one agreed, either. They wouldn't leave him again and they all knew it.
| Author Notes |
Thank you for reading. I welcome your honest, critical reviews. And I'm hoping there won't be anything to fix and you'll all LOVE it, but... lol. Just give it to me straight!
Blessings, Y'all. Stay safe and healthy. |
By DeboraDyess
The foursome started walking north, although the only reason seemed to be that they'd worked so hard to make it this far. Every once in a while, they heard a zombie moan or one of those awful shrieks that had almost de-treed Isabel earlier, but they all sounded far enough away not to cause fear. At least, not very much fear. Other than that, it was like a normal camp hike. Birds sang, bugs buzzed around them, and flowers smelled sweet and light. The sound of their boots and shoes crunching across small rocks and breaking twigs on the grassy ground were their only distractions.
"We're like those kids in a horror flick," Issy said, finally breaking the silence.
“Too close to real, Is,” Anna said.
Randall either ignored Anna or didn’t hear her objection. "The ones where the only one to survive is the blonde-headed girl?" he asked. "Not a fan of those."
"I used to like them," Marco said. He frowned slightly at the effort it took just to voice his opinion about poorly done horror movies. "Don't think I'll be watching them anymore, though. It’s not as much fun to live it as to watch it."
"None of us are blonde." Anna meant the observation to sound funny, but it didn't. It sounded like a depressing admission that the zombies would win.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing this isn't a horror movie, then." Isabel's cheery comment sounded a little too fake to be believed by any of them.
They reached the edge of the woods and stopped, staring out into the wide, open area that had been cleared for helicopters, the island’s primary transport to the mainland. It felt dangerous to step out of the cover of the trees.
"Remember that scene in Hunger Games?" Randall asked, peering into the sunlit area like it held poisoned air. "The one where all the good stuff is stacked in the middle of a field that looks just like this? Except that it's actually an ambush and not just a place to get food and weapons, right?"
Anna looked at the clearing. Randall was right. "Aren't you a little young to know about Hunger Games?"
"We're all a little young to know about it," the boy said. "But it was on TV last month and I watched it with Lily, my nanny."
Anna decided to let the 'nanny' comment pass. She glanced at Marco, who was biting his lip, either to keep quiet or because his head was pounding again.
"It wasn't an ambush," Issy corrected. "It was just a dangerous place. They had to get the supplies in the center, but they knew the other teams were just watching to pick them off."
Randall studied the clearing. "I wonder if the other team is watching now," he muttered. He took a tiny step backward, retreating ever so slightly into the tree line.
"This isn't The Hunger Games, Third." Marco scanned the sky. He sighed heavily and allowed his eyelids to slide shut.
"Tell that to the zombies."
Anna watched Marco closely as he opened and closed his hand. The golf club had to be hurting it by now and, she realized, before long it wouldn’t be enough to keep him on his feet. He was heavier than she thought he would be when she first slipped her arm around him to help him walk. Even with Isabel on the other side, how far could they go if they were carrying him? How fast could they move if they needed to?
Marco straightened. "Okay, let's--" he started. A butterfly landed on his hand. He glanced down at it and looked at the others. "How bizarre is it to have butterflies and undead creepers on the same island?"
"Do you think zombies are smart enough to stand watch over a field? Do they remember about the helipad?" Unimpressed with the butterfly, Randall looked from Marco to Anna and then Isabel. If he was hoping for comfort or assurance, he didn't find any. They were all wondering the same thing.
A zombie moan sounded from behind them, not as far away now as it had been just a few minutes before. The foursome exchanged looks with each other and all looked behind them. There was nothing in sight…yet.
| Author Notes |
Thank you for reading!
I'm not a zombie fan; I've only seen one zombie movie in my whole life and had to go look at images onine to know how to describe them! But a friend challenged me to write in a genre I knew little to nothing about, so here it is! lol Zombie fans, please excuse the errors in my zombie lore. I figure mine is as good as anyone elses, though, since it's all made up, anyway! |
By DeboraDyess
As if they'd heard him call, a couple of the brain-suckers broke from the tree line, appearing on the far left. They were a full quarter of the way around the large clearing, but their heads whipped toward the kids. They began to move toward them. The zombie they'd heard behind them earlier screeched, far too close for comfort.
“Okay, that's it!” Marco yelled. “Run! Get out of here! Go! Get to the helipad!” He pushed Issy and Anna, the two closest to him. “Take Third and run!”
Instead, Anna grabbed Marco’s hand again and began to drag him along behind her, moving as fast as he allowed. He fought her for a minute, trying to jerk his hand away from her, but then Randall grabbed his other arm and Isabel began pushing him from behind.
The zombies were racing toward them, moving faster than Anna thought possible. Compared to the creepers they’d outrun earlier, these were on turbo.
"Oh, my God!" Randall gasped. "Look at them!" He tried to run faster, stumbled, and pulled Marco down to the ground. He was up in a flash, but Marco didn't move.
"Run!" Marco yanked his hand away from Anna. "Leave me! You won't make it hauling me along behind you!" He started to cry, and he leaned backward to make it impossible for Randall or Anna to get hold of him again. "Go! Please!"
Isabel came up from behind, scooping the big boy up like she was grabbing hold of a dog. "No way! We go, you go!" She wrestled Marco up to a full sitting position, holding him upright with her knees.
Anna grabbed his forearms and jerked him to his feet. He yelped in pain, but it didn't matter anymore. She made eye contact, wasting precious seconds. "We go, you go," she repeated.
Marco looked past her shoulder, to the quickly approaching undead-hunters. "Please, Anna ... Run..." He blinked several times, widened his eyes, and changed his focus.
What now?
She pulled on him and turned to continue their dash to salvation. Wind began to whip around them, blowing Anna’s hair into her face so that she could hardly see. With her free hand, she swiped the brown mop out of her eyes.
The helicopter had swung back toward them. It hovered for a second and then landed in the grass, not twenty yards ahead of them.
One of the soldiers in the chopper jumped out, waving them on. “Run! Come on!” He leaped back into the vehicle, still motioning them to move faster.
As if they needed his encouragement to do that.
Issy looked back, trying to gauge whether or not they would make it before the zombies reached them. She looked petrified, sheer terror filling her eyes.
Anna could see her friend's face, flushed bright red. Her breath came in raspy gasps and she sounded like an asthmatic having a fatal attack. No one else looked any better. “Keep going,” Anna ordered. She meant to sound firm but realized she could hardly be heard. If they didn’t reach the helicopter in time, if it lifted off before they made it, Anna knew none of them would have the strength to either fight or climb to safety.
â??Another zombie entered the clearing. Anna could see it on the far side of the chopper. The pilot saw it, too, and said something to the soldier who was yelling at them, reaching out of the helicopter to encourage them forward. The helicopter lifted a few inches off the ground and hovered there.
“No!” Randall yelled. “Wait!”
The sound of the zombies' moans was close, both the two that had entered the clearing as they did and the one behind them. They sounded excited, Anna thought, if a zombie could be excited. They certainly sounded like they were ready for a big meal.
Anna didn’t dare look back to see where their pursuers were. The one on the far side of the helicopter seemed to be confused by the noise the chopper was making. It stood motionless, moaning and wailing its anger.
They were only a few feet from the helicopter now.
“Go, Randall!” Anna croaked the words out, her throat dry from their dash toward safety.
The boy let go of Marco’s arm and sped ahead of them, climbing into the helicopter just after Isabel jumped aboard.
The zombies were right behind them now. The smell of sour milk made Anna want to puke. She glanced at Marco. His nose was wrinkled up and she imagined hers was, too. One of the creepers swiped at her, grabbed her hair, and tried to pull her backward. She shoved Marco forward and stumbled as he reached the helicopter.
She caught herself on the ground with her hands, vaguely aware of how soft the grass felt beneath her. Anna closed her eyes, anticipating the tearing and the pain as the monster grabbed her…
And nothing happened.
“Come on, Anna! Now! Hurry!”
It was Marco's voice.
Anna looked up. Marco was onboard the chopper, holding his golf club out like a lance. He’d planted it in the middle of the creeper’s chest, keeping it from reaching her. Isabel had her arms wrapped around his waist, leaning backward to keep Marco from falling out. The soldier had one of his arms.
The zombie, so focused on Anna, seemed unaware of the club but Anna could see the steel shaft beginning to bend. The zombie’s ribs were sinking, too, and she knew it was a matter of seconds before she became its next victim.
Randall jumped out of the chopper.
"No!" Isabel's scream was long and filled with agony.
| Author Notes |
We're nearing the end of this adventure. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing and sharing.
Thank you, also, for honest feedback. I appreciate the time and trouble many of you went to in order to give useful critiques. And to those who simply read and enjoyed, your encouragement has been invaluable to me. :) Blessings, peace and health! Deb |
By DeboraDyess
The zombie looked at Randall, snapping its teeth. It smiled.
Randall cocked his skateboard over his shoulder and, like the athlete he swore he wasn't, swung with all his might just as the golf club gave way. He connected with a blow that cracked the board, sending half of it a half dozen feet from the chopper.
The zombie stumbled backwardâ, howling.
The soldier reached out, grabbed Anna with one hand and Randall with the other. He pulled them into the helicopter, dropping Randall in the center of the craft and helping Anna scramble for footing.
The zombie darted to its feet and lurched forward, crashing to the ground where Anna had been only a millisecond before. It reached for her as the helicopter took off, snagging her shoe.
Anna felt the monster pull at her, felt her balance shift to drop her back to the ground. She held on to the soldier's hands as tightly as she could but felt her sweaty fingers sliding. Marco dropped the destroyed club and grabbed her arms. Her shoe came off as Marco threw his weight backward into the helicopter and pulled her all the way in.
The zombie pounced for her again. Randall threw his backpack out of the chopper's open door. It caught the creeper in the crushed chest and knocked it down to earth.
The helicopter lifted into the air.
Isabel and Randall joined their friends on the chopper floor, flopping down next to them, wordlessly staring up at the interior of the helicopter. Randall touched Marco's shoulder, careful not to bump anything that might hurt him. Isabel lay her head on Anna's stomach.
“Can anybody tell us what happened down there? I mean, there were zombies everywhere...” Marco didn't move from his place on the floor or look directly at the soldiers. He was cradling his head, his voice tense and so soft that his words were barely audible over the helicopter's blades.
“Our families...” Anna was almost too scared to ask but had to know.
“I don't know, miss. I was told the outbreak appears to be limited to this island. "All we know is that we're supposed to fly in and out to fetch as many of you out as we can..”
Her family was safe. "Thank God," she whispered.
Isabel reached out and squeezed her hand. "They're all okay."
The airman pulled four waters and a first aid kit out of a storage area. He handed the waters out to the kids and helped Marco sit up. After the boy had taken a big gulp of the cool water, the older man pulled a small penlight out of the kit. “Look at me,” he ordered Marco. He leaned toward the boy and flashed the light in and out of his eyes. "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, what's your pain level?"
"You're kidding, right?"
Marco didn't sound nearly as tough as Anna figured he wanted to. She said, "I'm betting a ten."
Marco grunted. "Yeah. except for the time that bridge fell on me."
Anna and the airman both smiled at that.
“Is one of you Randall Timmons?” The pilot glanced back as he yelled the question. He looked straight at Randall.
The boy raised a hand. “That’s me.” He adjusted his glasses.
“I'll need the rest of your names."
Marco ignored him. "Where are we going?"
"First, to a base where you'll be debriefed and examined --"
"To make sure we're not zombies," Issy said.
“-- and then we'll get you home as soon as possible."
“Look!” Isabel pointed downward. "Oh, my gosh! Look at them!"
From their height, they could see the entire clearing. Another group, this time three boys, a girl, and a grown woman, were waving at the helicopter, screaming and crying.
“Go back!” Marco said, pushing the penlight away from his face. “We can’t leave them!”
“Another chopper is less than one minute out,” the pilot said, loud enough for them to hear over the blades.
“They don’t have a minute!” Anna stared down as the zombies moved from the clearing toward the campers. Their speed was frightening.
“Do something!” Randall cried.
“We have to help them.” Anna looked at the airman. “Please!”
The pilot nodded. He steered the helicopter down and toward the creepers. The monsters jumped toward the craft, trying to grab the landing gear.
“Don’t let them get us,” Issy whispered. She grabbed Anna’s hand. "Please, please don't let them get us!"
The pilot maneuvered the chopper slowly to one side of the field. The three zombies who had threatened earlier followed, snapping and moaning. Two other creepers left the tree line to join them.
A second chopper appeared and landed at the helipad. The group on the ground ran to it, diving aboard.
Both pilots lifted up, leaving the brain-suckers moaning in a cloud of wind and dust. They steered the helicopters south and flew toward the mainland.
“Good-bye, Camp Atoll,” Randall said.
They heard the pilot speaking into the radio. “We have four more survivors,” he said, “including one Mr. Randall Timmons.”
Randall inched forward and tugged at his arm. The pilot looked back at him.
“I just wanted to let you know; I go by Third, now,” Randall said.
"You know that's a goofy nickname, don't you, Randall?" Anna smiled.
"It's kind of stupid," Issy agreed.
"You're not allowed to say 'stupid'," Ana, Marco, and Randall all said together.
Isabel started to laugh. The others joined in.
| Author Notes |
Okay, there it is. Not one of the kids fell prey to the evil undead. :)
Hope you enjoyed the adventure. I so appreciate all who read, whether from the beginning or the middle or end...wherever it caught your fancy. :) I'm not a fan of this chapter title. Any ideas? Blessings, Y'all. Deb |
By DeboraDyess
Hi, y'all!
I've changed the name of the book to 'Escape from Zombie Island' and have almost completed the editing process. I have discovered that writing a book blurb is almost as tough as writing a book! I decided to post this as a chapter just to get some input and suggestions from those of you who have (and may at some point) read the story. :)
I"m posting this with a book banner, so if you'd like to read or scan the chapters, you will get 'paid' just a bit, but it's better than nada. :)
Would this and the cover encourage you to pick this book up and purchase it for a kiddo in your life?
I'm going to be reaching out to those of you who read to see if you'd be interested in writing an Amazon review, so be prepared! lol
So...here goes...
A zombie apocalypse at Camp Atoll? How could such a thing happen at an exclusive summer camp for kids?
Campers Anna, Marco, Isabel, and Randall don't have time to wonder about that. They're too busy trying to stay alive. After escaping the nightmare of Fun Village, home of most of the camp's coolest activities, the foursome discovers that the entire area is swarming with the dread-undead!
Their only hope for rescue is the helipad, a whopping 18-miles across the island. They'll have to use all their skills and smarts to avoid the determined brain-suckers and get away. But will that be enough as they deal with zombies, injuries, and the most terrifying journey they can imagine? And, the scariest thought of all, will help be there when they arrive?
If you're a #WalkingDead family, Escape from Zombie Island will introduce your young readers to the world of the creeper on their own level, both academically and emotionally. Our heroes use items at hand -- skateboards, bowling balls, bow-and-arrows, and lots of teamwork -- to avoid the dangers they encounter. Fans of #TheLastKidsOnEarth will fall in love with the daring foursome of Atoll Island and maybe learn a thing or two about loyalty, fearlessness, and ingenuity.
| Author Notes |
If you haven't read the book, the book banner certificate will pay .10 for each chapter your scan and comment on. Hope you enjoy!
The blurb was a tough thing for me to write...Please be honest and NOT kind. :) Blessings and stay warm, Fanstorians! |
By DeboraDyess
Hi all ~
I hope you know how invaluable I find your comments, criticism, and encouragement as I write. If not, know it now.
Escape from Zombie Island is done and up on Amazon! Yay for us all, because I couldn't have done it without each of you who read and reviewed.
If you read the book, please pop over to Amazon and leave a review as a beta reader. You must state that you got a beta copy, and I consider this site my 'beta group site'. :) If you'd like a copy to keep, let me know and I'll send one to your email. Oh, and I also have chapters in audio. Know that they're NOT professional audiobooks - I recorded them in my office. You'll get to laugh at my accent, hear my pets' contributions to the tale and roll your eyes as I forget which voice goes with which character. lol
Again, thank you so much to everyone who caught dumb errors and encouraged me to continue until the final chapter.
Y'all done good! :)
Blessings!
|
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