My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road (30 page)

Chloe’s nose touched my cheek. I rubbed the top of her yellow head. She was my responsibility now.

“If we hadn’t seen that rifle,” Mom said, “we wouldn’t have known you were down there.”

“Good thing you left it,” Dad said. “You’re the smartest kids.”

“That had to be one hell of a facility.” The stranger took off his headgear. It was hard to see him in the dark. His voice and the firelight was enough to remind me who they belonged to.

“Mason!” Jewel said it before I could.

He chuckled. “I’m not that easy to get rid of, kid.”

The driver door opened. A woman joined us. Her short red hair matched the glowing fire behind me. “You were right about your kids,” Sam said. “They can hold their own.”

Even with my family holding me, my world spun.

What was Sam doing here? “What’s going on?”

“We found Sam after we contained the city,” said Mason. “We were looking for you when your parents showed up. We also saw what happened to the radio. Sanders messed with the frequency for some reason.” He looked over his shoulder. “What happened here?”

“Where’s that slime ball?” Sam spat at the sidewalk.

I glanced at Jewel. “He died. He saved us.”

I’m still not sure why I covered for him. Sanders caused all of this. He was the one who infected the world with hungry Vectors. He may not have deserved it, but through me, history might forgive him.

“What a mess,” Dad said. “I can’t believe this.”

“Did Sanders have a cure?” Sam asked.

Jewel looked at me, waiting for me to answer. “No,” I said. “There’s no cure for this.”

“What about Kaylynn?” Dad asked.

Chloe whined. Jewel and I had no heart to answer.

Mom wrapped her arms around us. “I’m sorry.”

“If we’d gotten here sooner . . .” Mason growled.

“It may not have changed a damn thing, but at least this wasn’t a lost cause.” Sam held her hand out to me. “I was in a bad place too, Jeremy. No hard feelings?”

I clasped her hand. Sam raised me to my feet.

She did the same for Jewel.

“Let’s not talk about this,” Mom said. “They’ve been through enough.”

Thank you, Mom.

“Well,” Sam said. “We found your kids. With Sanders and his research up in smoke, we have nothing else to do here. We’d better get back to David City.” She bit on her lip and looked at Dad. “Sure you won’t stay with us? You’ve more than earned your keep.”

Dad shook his head. “We appreciate your help Samantha, but we’ve burdened you folks enough. We have plans of our own, better stick to them. If we find others or a better refuge, we’ll let them know.”

“I hope you find this refuge.” Sam winked.

Mason tipped his head. “Let’s cross paths soon.”

As promised, they left enough gas for us to fill our explorer to the brim. Luckily for Dad, I had the keys.

We waved farewell to Sam and Mason before we threw our gear into the family car. Mom shook her head at my lip. She came back to me with a first aid kit, bandaged me up and warned me not to touch it. Before long, Dad had the Explorer full. We sat in our seats.

The car started. We picked up where we’d left of, heading for the cabin in the Colorado Rockies. Dawn hit the horizon a few hours later. Nothing seemed real to me, inside or outside. Everything that had happened to us was like a dream, making me question if it ever happened. Dad encouraged us to sleep. Like we could. Chloe sat between Jewel and me, resting her head.

For the longest time, I held my sister’s hand. My other grasped my .45. After all we had been through, it would be a while before I let go of her—and my memory of Kaylynn. She was in my thoughts as I stared out the window, watching a Vector walk along the road.

Jewel leaned next to me. “
Was
I infected?”

“Yeah,” I whispered back. “The vaccine worked.”

“You think I’ll have any powers, like Kaylynn?”

“I have no idea, Jewel.” I glanced up to see if Mom and Dad had heard us. They were too busy looking at the road ahead. “They’ve worried about us enough. If they knew what happened, it would just complicate things.” Jewel seemed to agree. “Let’s keep it a secret.”

She nodded and leaned back to her side of the family car. I still had questions about the Vectors and what Sanders had said about Jewel’s recovery. His smartphone had the answers, but it had no power.

We had to find a way to juice it up later.

I traced my thumb over the eye of Kaylynn’s dragon pendant that she left with me, knowing I would never see her again. It made me wish there was an afterlife, where I could see her—and she could see me.

She believed in me. I swore to believe in her. As the sun rose, Dad started to sing
Here Comes the Sun
.

Mom laughed, and then Jewel plugged her iPod into the stereo so the real Beatles could lead the chorus. They sang along. I was too busy looking for something to eat. I checked the back for snacks. We had chips and a granola bar. I wasn’t in the mood for any of that stuff. Except, there was
one
thing that I was hungry for . . .

I looked up. “Do we have any jerky?”

A ghost, a princess, and an adventure

beyond life and death...

Buy it now
on Amazon!

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.
All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.
But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.
Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.
Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

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If you enjoyed The Undead Road, please consider leaving a review. It helps other readers discover great books, and it only takes a minute. It’s the best way to say “thank you” to any author.

Since I was a young lad, Zombies have always been my favorite monster. I never imagined that I would write about them one day, or that my early readers would enjoy my take on them. To these readers I give thanks for their guidance in helping me find Jeremy’s voice and their feedback that provided meat (and brains) to this story. To my critique group for the honor and dread of reading the early drafts in all their glorious roughness, and for showing me the ropes in self-publishing.

This book wouldn’t exist without the support of a terrific family who can’t wait for whatever I write, no matter what the subject is. Thank you for your patience and love. I do this for you more than myself.

David Powers King
was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to be a writer. He is the co-author of the YA fantasy novel
WOVEN
, published by Scholastic. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He currently lives deep in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

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Copyright
©
2016 by David Powers King

Published by Dashboard Books

All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author.

Cover Design by
Steven Novak

Interior Design by
Lindzee Armstrong

Edited by Reece Hanzon