Read Life Among The Dead (Book 2): A Castle Made of Sand Online
Authors: Daniel Cotton
Tags: #apocalypse, #postapocalyptic, #walking dead, #ghouls, #Thriller, #epic, #suspense, #zombie, #survival, #undead, #living dead, #Horror, #series, #dark humor
Life Among The Dead (Book 2): A Castle Made of Sand
A PERMUTED PRESS book
Published at Smashwords
ISBN (Trade Paperback): 978-1-61868-2-765
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-61868-2-772
Life
Among
the
Dead
2
copyright © 2014
by Daniel Cotton
All Rights Reserved.
Cover art by Dean Samed, Conzpiracy Digital
This
book
is
a
work
of
fiction
.
People
,
places
,
events
,
and
situations
are
the
product
of
the
author’s
imagination
.
Any
resemblance
to
actual
persons
,
living
or
dead
,
or
historical
events
,
is
purely
coincidental
.
No
part
of
this
book
may
be
reproduced
,
stored
in
a
retrieval
system
,
or
transmitted
by
any
means
without
the
written
permission
of
the
author
and
publisher
.
Table of Contents
Section IV. Music to Survive By
Section V. If You Want Blood
Section VI. Dead on Arrival
Section VII. The Suicide King.
It’s
a
week
with
too
many
Wednesdays
. Dustin Barnes grumbles to
himself as he sits in his beat-up old car outside of work. He is
fresh off his ninety-day probationary period, but his supervisor
told him he had to work the weekend. Merely seven days in and
already he is exhausted. To make matters worse, he’ll probably be
on for the next two weekends as well.
Twelve
days
straight
will
be
bad
enough
, he thinks.
Three
weeks
without
a
day
off
will
kill
me
. The very notion of
entering the depressing place is enough to make him sick. The noise
and the grime, the smell and the monotony.
Kelly Peel’s voice is the only thing making
his day even slightly bearable. He’s a closeted fan of hers, and
it’s far better than the country music the radio stations will only
pick up when nicer weather chases away the early morning chill.
The only plus he can see about this job is
Cynthia. Cynthia works third shift, and the high point of his day
is the short time he sees her. She always has a smile for him, and
greets him by name before she changes out of her work boots and
clocks out. After that, his day at the factory will be
downhill.
He’s early this morning, which strikes him as
funny when he considers his shift starts at 5 AM. Typically, he
rolls into the lot last and has to hunt for a parking space between
arriving first shifters and those on third who haven’t left yet.
But rowdy neighbors fighting woke him around 3 AM
,
so he figured he might as well get up. He is happy that the extra
time allowed him to get his thick black hair just how he likes
it.
Sitting in his rattling Altima, he ponders
his options. Go make time with Cynthia, or take the day off.
Cynthia's a bit older than he is, but has legs to die for, and he
figures the single mom may find it flattering.
Too
much
work
. The choice that looks better by the second
is leaving.
Dustin realizes he won’t be losing any money
since he has earned his first ‘floating holiday’ having survived
the probation period.
I
can
just
call
out
, he rationalizes.
I
worked
all
weekend
on
overtime
.
It’s
money
in
the
bank
!
But
where
do
I
spend
my
day
off
? He
knows exactly where to go,
Hannah’s
. More specifically, he
is going to Ray’s Records--his favorite place in the world. He
worked there before here, but he was fired for stealing. He took
everything he could from the store, including a sound system more
valuable than the car he listens to it in.
The place won’t be open for hours, but he can
only hope his code for the back door is still good. The manager is
a lazy sort of man who should be on vacation according to his
buddy, Brandon. Brandon still works there since his own pilfering
is kept small, and they can hang out all day practicing.
With
our
gig
coming
up
we
can
sure
use
it
.
Dustin and Brandon, along with two friends
from high school, are in a band called the Dogs of War. They had
originally intended to call themselves the Four Horsemen, but three
of them couldn’t decide on who got to be called War or Death, and
none wanted to be Pestilence. Famine was easily given to Vicky,
whose frequent bouts with anorexia has left her with a waif-like
frame and gaunt features, but her addiction to diet pills makes her
a fierce drummer.
This’ll
be
great
! he
thinks as he puts his ‘shit box’ into gear and turns his system up
after switching the disc. Classic metal replaces Kelly Peel’s
infamous ‘Rooster song.’ The bass shakes the ground as he pulls out
of the lot, leaving his job behind. He isn’t too far from Hannah’s,
so he’ll have to call out from the store phone since his cell was
deactivated for lack of payment. He drives cautiously, having
noticed an unusual amount of people out running this morning, and a
lot of cops and ambulances. It seems like almost every street is
bathed in red and blue flashing lights.