Read Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse Online
Authors: Donna Burgess
Tags: #Fantasy, #Horror, #Young Adult
Solstice: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse (34 page)
Melanie pulled on her coat and left him there. She didn’t bother taking a gun with her.
In the back of her mind, she hoped the Ragers would find her. She prayed death would be swift.
Chapter 53
London, England
Melanie was gone, and maybe that was for the best. She’d left unarmed. Likely, the Ragers had her. Was she one of them, or was she dead? Leila all over again, but this time it hurt more. No matter, he supposed. He didn’t want to see it happen. He would remember her as he wanted.
He could finally let go.
He tore down the wall that disguised the apartment, and then he returned and ripped the heavy blankets from the windows. He turned on every light in the place, lit every candle.
Next, he picked up the pistol. He went through his bag, brought out a stack of photos, and sat down, his back against the wall. Christopher at the zoo. His first trip to the beach. Pretending to ride Bo, his smile like an angel, his small, perfect teeth showing, his blue eyes crinkled at the corners.
God, he just wanted his son back. If he could go back to his life before Solstice, only for a few moments, he would happily give his life. The warmth of his son’s breath on his cheek when he held him, the kiss of sunshine on his face. Even Leila—scowling, unhappy, cheating Leila.
Tomas cried, wetting the photos and wiping them dry with his palm. Bo came to him, claws clicking on the wood floor, and sat down close, his chin resting on Tomas’s leg.
Tomas waited, the pistol within reach.
***
They came in a storm of howls and shrieks, their footfalls on the stairs and then in the hallway like gunshots. Bo stood at attention, his ears pricked, his tail straight. He growled deeply. There were four of them. The largest was a man of about Tomas’s age, blond hair and perhaps once handsome. He appeared to be the leader of the little group. The other three were smaller—two men and a woman, younger at the time of their deaths. The moved around the flat, spastic, faces a shade of gray that only came with death. Their eyes were the color of the new fallen snow.
Tomas tucked the pistol behind his back.
They smelled of rot. Bo barked.
The largest one came and loomed over Tomas. His face had torn at the corners of his mouth, the mark of the Ragers, leaving him wearing a permanent grin. “Here’s the killer of monsters,” the leader sneered.
The woman lurched around the apartment, into the bathroom, the kitchenette, the bedroom. “Where’s the other one?”
Tomas raised his head. They hadn’t gotten to Melanie yet?
He reached behind his back and wrapped his fingers around the handle of the gun.
The leader kneeled, his white eyes drilling into Tomas’s. He touched Tomas’s face, traced the jaw line, his ragged fingernail scraping painfully.
“We should make this slow and painful. Make him pay,” one of the other Ragers commented.
Bo leapt at him and then backed away, whimpering as the Rager raised his hand.
“No. Not this one,” the leader croaked. “This one, I’d prefer to have on our team.”
Tomas swallowed. The Rager’s foul breath blew cool into his face. The Rager’s jaw dropped open, revealing incredibly sharp, yellowing teeth. He lifted Tomas’s chin.
Tomas brought the gun around, pressed it to the soft flesh beneath the Rager’s chin, and fired. Putrid blood and brain matter rained down. The monster fell back like a bag of rocks. The others howled and converged on Tomas, but he fired quick and accurately; he had gotten plenty of practice. In four shots, the other three lay truly dead.
Tomas jumped to his feet. He clipped Bo’s leash onto his collar, reasoning that the dog might pick up her scent and lead him to Melanie. Together, they went out into the cold darkness.
***
Melanie hid inside an office mall a half a block away from the pitiful home she had made with Tomas. The nausea was almost crippling, but it was more from fear than from the pregnancy. Outside in the alley, she had vomited again and again, until there was nothing else. Finally, she dry-heaved until her back and ribs ached. Taking a chance, she’d entered an insurance office that still had most of the front display window intact. She was so cold and exhausted. She just wanted sleep.
She wished the Ragers would just come and finish things. She had no interest in going on without Tomas.
She moved to a back office, mindful of stowaway Ragers and rats, and discovered a small, dusty sofa. The cold had made the aerosol cans stored in the cleaning cabinet burst. The chemical stink of window cleaner permeated the air, giving her an instant headache. She considered moving somewhere else, but she didn’t feel like it. She lay down on the couch and pulled up her knees, making herself as small as possible. Slipping one hand under her head, she closed her eyes.
Sometime later, she heard footsteps in the hallway. She lay motionless, her throat threatening to close up, her chest tightening. She waited. A light wavered through the mottled glass office door.
Then, she heard the familiar click, click of claws on hard floor, making her scan the darkness. The cold touch of Bo’s nose against her hand startled her for a moment, but it was as familiar as the caress of an old friend. Beginning to cry, she stroked his velvety ears.
Then, Tomas was there, his large shape framed in the doorway, his flashlight trained on her and the dog. “Melanie?”
He rushed to her and pulled her up into her arms.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.
He kissed her, and for the first time in months, Melanie felt warm.
Epilogue
Tomas found an atlas and determined the least populated area of Britain. He’d left the notion of hunting Ragers behind in London. Outside, the snow blew most of the time. The skies swirled, the color of a fresh bruise. For a while, they had considered returning to Finn and Colleen’s place, but neither of them wanted the disappointment if things were no longer the same.
The house they settled on was well hidden and well stocked. Tomas took a generator from a hardware store in the village nearby, and they made a home. He didn’t mention Christopher. They simply lived. They saw no other survivors, although Melanie thought she had seen candlelight wavering in a window once when they had entered the little township to search for food. She didn’t mention it to Tomas. If she had, she doubted he would’ve done anything about it. Nevertheless, the idea of another human, although faceless, gave her comfort. Perhaps there was hope.
She’d started leaving a small clock radio on all the time. The white noise of the empty airwaves was somehow pleasant. Sometimes she thought she heard voices hidden behind that hiss of static.
Since Solstice, she’d lost track of the months, but the size of her stomach gave her some sense of passing time. She couldn’t stand to sleep on her back. The pressure of the baby against her spine was terribly uncomfortable, but lying on her side wasn’t much better. It wouldn’t be long. The idea of delivering a child into this darkness terrified her, but Tomas was her rock. They would be all right. He slept pressed against her back, his body warm and firm. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, trying to ignore the discomfort of her pregnant body.
Just as she was about to tumble off the steep cliff into real sleep, a voice—a true voice—broke the constant static of the airwaves.
“
This is Zombie Radio X. Is there anyone out there?”
About the Author
Donna Burgess lives with her husband, daughter, son, many cats and one goofy Golden Retriever in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. When she is not writing, she can be found on her longboard, behind a good book or on the soccer field. She is the president of E-Volve Books. She holds a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Journalism and is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing.
Visit her on the web at:
http://www.facebook.com/horrorgirldonna
and on Twitter @horrorgirldonna
More from Donna Burgess and E-Volve Books
Twenty years ago, Susan Archer witnessed the brutal murder of her beloved twin brother.
Now, the murderer, Devin McCree, has returned. Although Devin is a “Deathwalker,” Susan soon discovers that he is not the monster she has feared for so long. In fact, she realizes she is incredibly attracted to him.
Meanwhile, psychotic former Nazi vampire hunter Kasper has resurfaced from the depths of the past and is out to set the record straight with Devin.
Leaving her old life behind, Susan joins Devin on his run from Kasper.
Set against a shabby, Dystopian landscape, “Darklands: A Vampire’s Tale” is a violent tale of survival, bloodlust, and two people trying to hang on to the last shreds of their humanity.
Breaths in Winter: The Complete Collection of 32 Tales of Horror
Thirty-two tales of horror from acclaimed author Donna Burgess. Enter the world of vampire, zombies, ghosts and people who aren't quite sane. Travel the darkest roads, from the American South to the Chernobyl contamination zone and find out what lies in wait. FOR MATURE READERS.
This is a compilation of the short-story singles listed, including,
Breaths In Winter, The Dancing Water, The Dead Girl's Blog, Abigail, Scarecrow John, Twilight Poison
and many others.
Total word count is approx. 116000 or 368 pages.
Table of Contents