Saviours

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by Dustin Pinney

 

The last survivor screamed as the creatures brought him to the ground, reached through his flesh, pulled away his lean meat, snapped apart his ribcage, gripped his lungs, and dug out his final breath.

They devoured him without pleasure, leaving nothing but red and bone.

Now, the undead were without purpose. The Earth forced them from the soil to consume and cleanse its surface of the dangerous parasites threatening to destroy it. The task was completed.

The ground opened up. The saviours of Earth collapsed and were welcomed back into their final resting places.

All was as it should be.

Dustin Pinney

Dustin lives and writes in upstate New York. He has been more involved with zombie things than he ever expected and is surprised by how much he enjoys it.

Watch Where You Step

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by Jodi Jensen

 

“Mom! Dad!” Kelly’s shouts were met with a clattering noise from the other room. She raced toward the kitchen. “Mom? Dad? Let’s go!” Her foot hit the tiled floor and she slipped, landing her on her butt. “What the he—”

Feet shuffling, her mom turned, dead grey eyes staring, jaw chomping.

Kelly scrambled backward. Her hand smacked the sticky floor and something smashed beneath her palm with a pop.

Her stomach lurched as she glanced down.

An eyeball…

Her dad lay on the floor next to her, empty eye socket gaping, throat gurgling.

Fuck…

He reached for Kelly’s leg.

Jodi Jensen

Jodi Jensen is the author of time travel romances and speculative fiction short stories. With a passion for old cemeteries, historical buildings and sweeping sagas of days gone by, it was only natural she’d write about all the places that sparked her imagination.
Twitter: @WritesJodi

Time and Decay

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by Zoey Xolton

 

Rayne’s heartbeat thundered in her ears until the world fell away, and there was nothing but her shuddering, panicked breath, and the steady, hypnotic rhythm of blood roaring through her veins.

Plastered against a cold concrete pylon, hidden in the shadow of the interstate bridge, a hoard ambled by just feet away. There were hundreds of rotters, maybe a thousand; all stumbling along in an endless procession of decay.

The gurgling, rasping moans unnerved her, and she unconsciously side-stepped—a plastic bottle crushing underfoot. The crunch brought the hoard to an immediate stand-still and she froze.

Her time was up.

Zoey Xolton

Zoey Xolton is a Best Selling Australian author of Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror. She is also a proud mother of two, and is married to her soul mate. Writing is her greatest passion. Her debut short story collection ‘Darkly Ever After’ can be found on Amazon!
Link: www.zoeyxolton.com

New Beginning

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by Melinda Pouncey

 

It began with a worldwide contagion.Warning signs were ignored, governments slow to respond. It spread rapidly, overwhelming resources, crashing economies. Then, just as quickly as it started, it was gone; and most of the population with it.

They didn’t die, that would have been a mercy. Instead, they lingered on, blind, pale, walking corpses shut up in their homes, afraid to come out into the light. We left them there. We were used to living rough. Now in scattered communities far from the plague ridden cities, we share, we work together.

I never knew there were so many stars.

Melinda Pouncey

Melinda Pouncey is a retired psychologist who enjoys exploring the complexities and scope of the human imagination. She has written numerous short stories and poems in a variety of genres and is, most recently, focusing her attention upon horror and fantasy. Melinda has several drabbles in Black Hare Press anthologies.

The Last One Alive

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by Andreas Hort

 

Every day they trudge around the city on their endless journey for satiation of their hunger. I can imagine their suffering; I’m starving, too. Only not for flesh. For human contact. For the last six years, day after day, I’ve had no one to talk to but myself. I… I think I might be the last person alive.

But there’s a way to satisfy my hunger.

They always travel in packs, you know? They’re never alone. So, I’m gonna head out now, to join them. I’m terrified. Of the teeth, the pain… but I’m more terrified of another day alone.

Andreas Hort

Andreas Hort resides in the Czech Republic. In his free time, he writes and takes steps toward his goal to move to an English-speaking country. His works have been published in several anthologies. He likes chatting with people with similar interests, so feel free to get in touch:
https://twitter.com/TheAndreasHort

Obey

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by Paul J Scribbans

 

“Harry! You promised Dad!”

“I won’t shoot, I’m just using the scope.”

Charlotte glanced uneasily at her older brother. She’d learnt the hard way to obey her parents; Harry wasn’t. Her mother told Charlotte to be quiet last year. She disobeyed and her mom died terribly.

In the gorge below their father was stalking a zombie; machete ready to cleave its skull.

“I reckon I could take it!”

“No, Harry!”

It was too late. The shot shattered the silence. Their father’s knee exploded, and he went down screaming. The children watched in horror as the zombie devoured their incapacitated father.

Paul J Scribbans

Paul J Scribbans is a writer who has lived his entire life in the Lake District, UK. His working background is in Information Technology and he didn’t start writing seriously until his early forties. Apart from writing, he enjoys reading and absorbing himself in the local countryside with hobbies such as trail running and hiking. His genres are Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror which adopt strong environmental and survival themes.

Surprise!

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by Maxine Churchman

 

Sylvia, the bride-to-be, gasped when she saw the highlight of her hen weekend. Charlotte had done well; organising events on the small Caribbean Island to keep everyone partying. Now, at the end of their last meal, a huge pretend wedding cake was wheeled in and sat in the centre of the dance floor. Everyone watched as Sylvia threw the catch.

Laughing changed to screams as the zombie leaped from the cake; pinning her down. She smelled rotten meat as it bit into her face. The last thing she saw was the grinning face of Rob’s ex-fiancé, watching from the crowd.

Maxine Churchman

Maxine Churchman is a mother and grandmother from Essex UK. Her hobbies include reading, hiking, yoga and more recently writing. So far she has concentrated on dark drabbles and short stories but hopes to make progress on a Novel in 2020.
cccmaxine.blogspot.com

Kill the Messenger

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by Shawn M. Klimek

 

Kendra hurried back to the shelter to share the bad news. Dr. Armstrong’s serum had backfired. Despite early hopeful signs, all those treated had eventually regressed. Worse, the contagion seemed to have evolved a new vector. Armstrong had seemed about to explain when he tried to bite her instead. Was it airborne now? She didn’t dare wait to find out.

She banged on the shelter door. “It’s Kendra! Quick! Let me in!”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes!”

“Wounded?”

“No!”

As the door latch clicked, she suddenly couldn’t remember why she had come. But then the smell of flesh called her inside.

Shawn M. Klimek

Shawn M. Klimek is an award-winning writer and poet based in Illinois, credited with more than 150 published works of speculative fiction, horror, and humor. Find a complete index of these (plus bonus reads) on his writing blog, http://jotinthedark.blogspot.com, or follow his ongoing writing and publishing adventures on Facebook @shawnmklimekauthor.

This Is Where It Ends

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by Wondra Vanian

 

Everyone knows where it started. This is where it ends.

Seven people are gathered around the fire in a draughty old cabin. They don’t look it, but they’re all that’s left of humanity.

For the next twelve and a half minutes.

That’s how long it will take the shuffling horde to trudge through the snow. After that…

The survivors aren’t fighters; haven’t even seen a zombie since before little Xander was born. They believe they’re safe.

For another nine minutes and twelve seconds, they are. They’ll enjoy the last minutes of Xander’s fifth birthday celebration.

The last minutes of humanity.

 

Wondra Vanian

Wondra Vanian is an American living in Wales with her husband and their army of fur babies. A writer first, Wondra’s also an avid gamer, photographer, cinephile, and blogger. She has music in her blood, sleeps with the lights on, and has been known to dance naked in the moonlight.
https://www.wondravanian.com/

One

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by Chris Bannor

 

For three days my brother and I ran.  We screamed, pushed and pulled, and fought until we were free.  We were both drained, and the house had seemed safe enough.  Distant enough.

They crept in while we slept.

My brother opened his eyes moments after me and I could see the fear.  He heard them too.  There was no escape this time.

“The gun has two bullets,” he whispered.  I’d lied.  There was one.

He was too soft-hearted to pull the trigger anyway, so he never knew.  I was the only one left alive when the zombies began to feast.

 

Chris Bannor

Chris Bannor is a speculative fiction writer who lives in Southern California. Chris learned her love of genre stories from her mother at an early age and has never veered far from that path. You can follow Chris on Facebook @chrisbannorauthor