The North: A Zombie Novel (24 page)

JOURNAL ENTRY: 19 NOVEMBER 0337 HRS ZULU

 
I’m taking Cruze to Carlsbad Farms – that’s the best chance she’s got of saving her leg and hopefully her life. We’re splitting up what’s left of the team. Sid is now in charge and his team is going to take that Coyote into a hide on the eastern side of the river. From there, they’ll go on a long range reconnaissance patrol. They’re going to check all the grid references on that field message pad I took from the spotter who helped kill Kate Dawson.

They’ll radio me information on Sunray’s assets. I’m going to have to divulge the location of this resistance base. But what Sunray doesn’t know is that Sid will be watching him mobilize. He won’t come into Carlsbad without having conducted his own reconnaissance first. That gives me seventy two hours to link up with the resistance and set up a diversion. Something to keep his recce elements busy while the resistance plans to attack Sunray’s rear: that’s where Sid’s team will come in. Everything rests on Sid finding where Sunray is going to mass for his eventual attack. If we can hit him from the flanks when he’s mobilizing, there’s a chance we can save Jo and kill Sunray while we’re at it.

He’s expecting me to follow his orders to the letter and that’s what I’m going to do – I’ll just feed him information that I want him to know. Enough to draw him into a kill zone so that we can take him out.

We’ve loaded Cruze into the G-Wagon and I know that we’re likely being watched – Sunray isn’t stupid. He will dispatch a team to follow me from a safe distance – that’s what I’d be doing if I were in his shoes. I’m going to have to figure out my next move once Cruze and I are on the road. In the meantime we’re going to head east. We’re going to follow the highway across miles upon miles of empty, snow covered farmland. We’re going to make it across the border and I’m going to find this resistance base called Carlsbad Farms. With a little luck, Cruze will survive the trip.

Less than a week out of the creep infested city and we’ve lost two of our people, we’ve lost both our vehicles and my sister has been taken. Sunray is on our tail. We’re out-gunned, outnumbered and we’re running out of time. We have to make this work. We have to find Carlsbad farms

Somehow we have to save Jo.

The North
is the first in an anticipated trilogy. I hope you liked the story enough to consider reading the next installment entitled
Insurgency
. The last book will be called
The Peacemaker
. My goal is to publish the second book in October 2015 and the final book in October 2016.

I guess I’d better start writing if I’m going to keep on schedule.

Yes, there will be zombies. Yes there will be losses, so don’t get too attached to any of the characters because they might not make it to book three. (What can I say? It’s the end of the world!)

Thanks to my wife Cheryl for putting up with all my shouting at the computer as I wrote this installment. Thanks to Sharon Stogner for all her help. Thanks to Wayne Simmons for suggesting I self-publish this story even though I had a couple of offers on the table at the time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sean Cummings is the author of five other books ranging from traditional urban fantasy (
Shade Fright, Funeral Pallor
) to a blend of dark fantasy and superheroes. (
Marshall Conrad: A Superhero Tale
)

2012 saw the publication of Sean’s first young adult novel.
POLTERGEEKS
is a rollicking story about teen witch Julie Richardson, her dorky boyfriend and a race against time to save her mother’s life. The second in the series is called 
STUDENT BODIES
. Both are published by Angry Robot Books and are available at bookstores everywhere.

He lives in Saskatoon Canada with his wife and two lazy cats that don’t earn their keep.