Perseverance:
A Zombie Tale
James
Lacey
Publisher:
23 House Publishing
Pages:
324
Genre:
Horror
Book
Description
It
didn't happen the way it was supposed to...
I
am a teacher. At least, I was before it all happened, before I was
forced to survive. I taught social studies at the high school. I was
also the coach of the school's successful debate team. It was a cold
Saturday in January when I heard the first rumor of trouble...
You
know, pop culture had defined the zombie apocalypse time and time
again, all coming from the minds of horror writers, film producers,
and video game designers. Who knew that when it really happened, it
wouldn't be anything like they all predicted. Oh sure, the dead
reanimated, and they were certainly hungry for living flesh...but
what were the mysterious red-eyes, zombies that moved faster than
their stumbling counterparts and seemed to not only communicate, but
to exert some kind of control over the others.
"James
Lacey takes the classic zombie story that we all know and love, and
then twists it off into the new directions and unexplored territory.
Perseverance is fresh, exciting, and edge-of-the-seat spell-binding."
-
Samantha Murphy, 13 Nights of Blood: Legends of the Vampire
About
the Author:
James
Lacey lives in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
When not writing, he works with disabled adults and children as a
paraprofessional and Special Olympics coach. James also enjoys
hiking, camping and watching football.
It's
a Zombie Baby video spoof
http://youtu.be/ZQhG2GC9xbY
It
is close at hand...
Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:
let
all the inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the LORD
cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
A
day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness,
as
the morning spread upon the mountains:
a great people and a
strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, even to the years of many
generations.
A
fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth:
the
land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness;
yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Joel
2:1-3
When
it happened I was excited – at first. I was a fan of the movies,
the books, the games...all of it. So when those first reports came on
the television and hit the net I was probably the most excited person
on the planet. I mean, you always wonder “what if” when you see
it in films, but then to have it actually happen, it really gets you
going. That is, until they’re banging on your front door. Or the
door of someone you really, truly care about. Someone you love.
That
is when the excitement fades to fear. The fear can turn to horror.
But right before that there is a brief moment where human instinct
takes over and you choose to either fight or run. You don’t think,
you just act. That is how I’m still alive. And it is probably why
she is dead.
My
story is not a happy one. It is not about heroics or unity or the
fight to persevere. It is the story of survival. The only thing a
person could really do during the crisis. It is the story of trying
to protect someone you love and failing. It is a story of love,
friendship and ultimately death. I’m not holding back. I am going
to tell you everything. For some, this story will be harder to read
then it was to write. For others, it won’t. Either way, this is my
story. This is my account of the zombie apocalypse.
I was
trying to be reassuring and bring my students back to the mood they
were in before we stopped to eat, which not many were doing. But I
knew there was something big going on.
I
could hear the words “bioterrorism,” “widespread” and
“thousands dead.” I could hear people talking about countries all
over the world. CNN had this gorgeous new anchor,
Rebecca
Mailey and I had a sort of boyhood crush on her. I was 29 and still
entitled to fantasize about celebrities. So when she was the one who
sent a chill down my spine, I thought it was sort of ironic and could
not help but laugh. I’ll never forget the colorless look on her
face when she uttered, “We are now getting scattered reports of
incidents here in the United States.”
I
never finished booting up my laptop. My instincts told me to get
everyone out of the rest area and back on the bus. It was a quiet on
the way home. I told everyone to call their parents and let them know
that they were okay and would be home soon. As we boarded the bus two
police cruisers went speeding in the opposite direction, sirens
blaring. It was unnerving, given what we just heard. The rest of the
ride home was dead quiet.
“It’s
happening everywhere.”
“What
is?”
“This...thing.
People are dying. Riots happening
everywhere.
They said that there are drugs in the water supply that makes you
want to hurt others. Then they said it wasn’t drugs, but a massive
psychological event caused by a solar flare or something. Another guy
said it’s been happening for a few weeks, but until now the
government had it bottled up. And then...”
“Keith.”
I had to stop him. The talking heads on TV had him all turned around.
“Yeah?”
“Take
a breath. Clearly they don’t really know what is happening. So the
question remains. Now, what do you know for sure? What do they know
for certain? Think simple, Keith.”
“I
don’t know. People are killing each other, I guess. They haven’t
really said why or how, just that it’s happening.”
That
part bothered me. If it were a terrorist event, then someone would be
taking credit by now. If it were a disaster, then they would know the
cause. Not knowing information...that is when I became hooked. That
is when it became...interesting.
I
looked up at the clock on the microwave. It was almost 10 AM. I
really slept in late. I went and checked my cell phone. Seven missed
calls? I realized then that I still had the phone on silent from the
tournament. One call from Keith’s mom. Two
from
my parents? That was odd. Four from Ashley. Damn...I had promised to
go over early this morning. She’s probably pissed right now. I went
back into the bedroom and turned the TV on as I checked my voicemail.
“Hi,
it’s Keith’s Mom. Sorry I’m home so late. Thanks for watching
him.”
All
over the country people are fighting against...
“It’s
mom. Calling to see if you’re okay. Call me back.”
Military
response is beginning to organize...
“I
need you! Now! Please hurry! Call me back!”
We
have confirmed video reports of...
“Why
aren’t you answering?! Oh good...I hope...call me back...”
Rising
from the dead and attacking...
“They’re
outside! Help me! I need you! I need to hear your voice!”
All
over the world people are coming back from the dead and killing
others.
“I
love you...Mom! Look out!” There’s a crash of glass on the phone.
Stay
indoors. Lock your doors. Board up your windows. Do not go outside.
No
words on the last message...just another crash and the sound of a
scream.
I
was paralyzed.
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