by James D Dean
The sound that interrupted me was not human.
The screeching roar that suddenly erupted from within the woods belonged to no man or beast I had ever heard. It was as if hell itself had opened up and its herald had sounded its first trumpet. The air stilled as my breath was stolen from my lungs.
A second bestial howl joined the first, and then a third tore across the barren fields. Soon the air seemed to vibrate with horrific screams from every possible direction. I wanted to run, but my feet were not getting the “hey, run you idiot!” message. I was fixed where I was, those screams burrowing into the fear centers of my brain.
Like someone flipped a switch, the air grew silent, the world around me becoming oppressively still and cold. I looked toward the house to see Chris had stopped dead in his tracks. Joe had emerged from the bus, and even Lexi stood stark still. They all stared toward the woods, waiting to see what new horror the apocalypse was about to deliver to our front door.
Six creatures stepped out from amongst the trees. They were about thirty feet apart from each other, faces transfixed on the barn. In unison, all six stopped about fifteen feet from the tree line. It was hard to see from so far away, but it looked like a mix of male and female of all ages standing like statues at the edge of the field.
As if a dam had broken, a vast ocean of dead flesh spilled out of the woods. They were shoulder to shoulder, moving across the snow covered ground like an army on the march. Growls and moans filled the silent void as the mass poured from the woods. Gaps opened up where the six creatures stood, the massive army of the dead flowing around each of them.
Without rhyme or reason, the sea of corpses came to a stop, packing their bodies close to the original six. Each one of the originals stood still, arms at their sides. The dead grew silent again, the type of quiet I only heard once before…when they were hunting. None moved, swaying back and forth on the field as if waiting for the order to attack.
That order was given.
In unison, all six original monsters let out a bellow that almost emptied my bowels right then and there. The multitude advanced, shambling and shuffling, crawling and clawing, using every possible mode of ambulation to start their coordinated attack.
“Dan!” Chris screamed over the deafening roar of the advancing horde. “We! Are! Leaving!”
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Check out Abandon All Hope or begin with book one.
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