Dead Chaos - Book 1 - Zombie Apocalypse

Dead Chaos - Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The infected male stood beneath the tree for hours, gaping ravenously at the creature above. He’d chased the squirrel until it sought sanctuary from him on the branches. While scratching in an attempt to climb up, his nails tore from the repeated motion but no blood flowed.

Frustration

Hunger

The dark of night blinded the infected and he stumbled away until he came to a clearing where the moon lit his way.

Seek

Hunger

A mountain lion crept into the clearing, sizing up its potential meal, sniffing the brisk night air, trying to determine what kind of creature it had found. Dead flesh, beyond what it preferred, filled its nostrils and the cat’s instincts warned against feeding on the rotten, diseased man. The zombie neared the large cat, groaning in anticipation.

Feed

The animal snarled in warning but its high-pitched scream only excited the infected. Confused, the mountain lion darted away to find new prey. The zombie lurched into the dark woods again, in the direction the animal had bounded.

Follow

It stumbled into several trees before it sunk to the ground in an inactive state. At daybreak, it again had light to continue the hunt. For weeks the infected man wandered the mountains. His solitary meal during that time was a dead bird he happened upon after it fell from a towering spruce. He tore into it voraciously, crunching bones and all. The flesh was satisfying only until the small feast was over. Unrelenting hunger returned, driving him on.

After several weeks of travel, the zombie came upon a house. The sight, different from the forest it had become accustomed to, drew the infected. Circling the building, the back door was open and it clumsily climbed up the back steps. The filthy kitchen it entered was empty, as were all the other rooms the zombie explored.

Pictures on the walls of the family who used to live there captured the biter’s attention.

Food

Reaching out, the zombie pawed at the wooden frame, stroking distorted fingers against the glass-covered images.

The zombie struggled for an hour to find a way out of the house. Still unsatisfied, it resumed its trek through the wilderness, occasionally changing course as the land or sounds of nature dictated. He encountered a highway strewn with the occasional car and traveled east on it. Passed by a vehicle driving the same route on the second day, the zombie was encouraged to stay the course.

Seeing figures in the distance, he picked up speed, eager to feed on flesh. As the male zombie neared the group, it recognized its own kind. Not flesh to eat, but other infected with the same never ending drive to feed.

With mutual urges, the infected male joined the horde, passing up the weaker of the group to take his place at the front. Walking alongside the blonde female zombie, he came over a rise. Down below, buildings spread out across the horizon. As they descended into the city, hordes passed going the opposite direction, trickling into the Rockies. The pack walked for hours and hours until they came upon a swarm numbering in the tens of thousands. This throng surrounded a stadium. Inside, a group of survivors bided their time.

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Book 2 of the Dead Chaos series

Playing Havoc - coming July/August 2014

available at Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Smashwords