Book Name: North to Zombieville
Series: Zombieville
Book: One
Release
Date: May 18, 2016
Blurb:
The year is 2028, and Dallas
and Raleigh Jenson are torn apart when a worldwide zombie apocalypse ravages
their home of Townsville, Australia. After a year of searching, Dallas, a
former Australian army rifleman, finally reunites with Raleigh, but it’s not
like old times. Not only do they have zombies to contend with, but also other
humans, changed by desperation and willing to do anything to survive.
Dallas and
Raleigh have changed too. So much so, that Dallas struggles with the idea that
Raleigh no longer needs or wants his protection. But they will need to rely on
each other and find strength in their love as they are forced to evade zombies
and watch their friends die. As they fight for their lives in a brutal
landscape where every supply and every step toward a potential cure is a battle
to the death, only their trust in each other can keep them from perishing.
Pages or Words: 67,114 words
Categories: Horror, M/M Romance, Science
Fiction
Excerpt:
A loud
crash and screams from downstairs made them pull away. The diners on the top
floor were glancing around worriedly, some of the men showing caution as they
stood, but making no move to head downstairs and see what was happening.
Raleigh
frowned toward the stairs. “What was that?”
Dallas
narrowed his eyes and stood, taking Raleigh with him. The screams were filled
with pure fear. It wasn’t just downstairs, though. Distant shrieks echoed
through the street as well, but when Dallas glanced over the balcony railing,
he couldn’t see anything odd. A crowd had formed on the sidewalk and they were
peering around the street in confusion. Glass shattered, and then a rush of
people scrambled out of the Strand Delight. One lady fell on top of the glass,
her legs dragging over the shards, but whatever scared her was more important
than the pain she obviously felt from the glass, because she kicked off her
high heels and got to her feet to run again.
Car
horns and crunching noises similar to pieces of metal colliding with each other
filled the air. A car accident, maybe? But there was more than the sound of one
accident. It put Dallas on high alert.
“Raleigh,
stay here.” Dallas moved toward the stairs.
“Dallas,
I’m coming with you.” Raleigh started to follow him.
“No! I
said stay here, and I mean it.” It came out as an angry growl. He hadn’t meant
to snap, but if something was going on downstairs, he didn’t want Raleigh in
the middle of danger. He had defense training; his husband didn’t. “Please,
baby, stay here,” he said, softer than before.
Raleigh
hesitated and then nodded. He took a step back toward his seat. Dallas felt
eyes on his back as he descended the stairs.
The
sight he found nearly made him retreat. Tables were upturned, the glassware and
utensils scattered over the floor. Bodies lay on top of each other, blood
oozing from holes and torn skin. An older lady’s body was askew in the middle
of the room, covering a young boy who couldn’t have been older than ten. His
body was twitching, but his neck was in pieces, chunks of meat torn from his
jugular. The people left standing were screaming or running toward the exit.
The
people who had fallen didn’t look right. Their faces had deep gashes, with
blood gushing from their cheeks and down their chins. With some, their mouths
drooped on one side, their gums dark and bloody. Their eyes were lifeless, as
though they were dead on the inside.
People
on the streets ran into the restaurant, pausing as they saw the bodies on the
floor start to move and shift as though they were puppets on a string, only
missing their master. Upon taking in the scene, they’d run out again.
It all
seemed absurd, like a B grade movie that didn’t even make it to the cinemas.
Dallas frowned, taking a step up on one of the stairs, farther away from the
scene. He stared at one of the women, who rose, her face scratched up badly.
“Ma’am,
are you all right?”
She
didn’t respond, only groaned in an animalistic way. She started to stumble
toward Dallas, her left leg dragging behind her. Her foot was bent backward and
she was putting all her weight on her very twisted and broken ankle.
“Ma’am,
are you all right?” Dallas repeated, but she ignored him, continuing her walk
toward him.
Diners
from upstairs came rushing past him, shoving him roughly out of the way.
“No!
Don’t go out there!” But it was too late. They weren’t listening to him—fear
controlled their every movement.
This had
to be a nightmare. It was the night before their anniversary and he was still
in bed, he had to be.
He
wasn’t watching the lady, and she managed to catch him off guard and shove him
to the ground. She slammed herself on top of him, her teeth bared as she dived
toward his neck. He raised his elbow, slamming it into her face. She let out a
pained squeal and her head jerked back, making her neck crack loudly. But that
still didn’t deter her. This time, she went for his arm.
Over the
lady’s shoulder, Dallas saw a man clambering out of a door. The man paused,
glancing around the room, obviously searching for something. Survivors. Dallas opened his mouth to
ask for help at the same time the woman grabbed a piece of wood from a broken
table and slammed it against his forehead. Dallas’s head smashed hard against
the floor, and his vision flickered for a moment.
By the
time he looked again, the man was gone. Dallas would have to deal with the
woman on his own. Using all his strength, he shoved at her twitching body, and
she went flying backward into a broken chair. She shrieked as Dallas struggled
to stand. His legs felt like jelly beneath him.
He
stared at her in confusion. How did she keep getting up? It was impossible. But
this entire thing was impossible.
“Dallas!”
Raleigh’s
voice. He had to get back to his husband. He spun on his heel, but before he
could get anywhere, a hand grabbed his ankle and he fell forward.
“Dallas,
where are you?” Raleigh’s voice was on the verge of desperation. “Dal!”
“Raleigh!”
Dallas called back, but the sound of a car horn close by drowned it out.
As he
opened his mouth to call out again, whatever had grabbed him clawed up his
trousers. He twisted and stopped in shock. A man this time, but he looked worse
than the lady. He was older, with a receding hairline, but his forehead was
peeling and blood was cascading down the side of his head. Only part of his
teeth remained in his mouth, and even those were halfway out of his gums. To
top it off, he only had half a body. From the waist down, there was nothing but
his insides dragging behind him.
“No, no,
no. I don’t want to go!” Raleigh’s voice sounded distant among the screams from
outside. “He’s alive! No. He’s alive!”
“Raleigh!”
Dallas shouted again, but as before, his voice was lost in all the other noise.
Anger
and anxiousness welled in his chest, and he let the emotions take over. He
kicked at the man holding him, slamming his boot into his face. The man
squealed as his skull shattered under the force of Dallas’s kick. His body went
limp and he released Dallas.
Rising,
Dallas quickly retreated back upstairs to Raleigh and made his way toward the
balcony. He paused when he found it empty.
Fear
curled in his belly, his skin tingling. “Raleigh?”
He was
met with silence.
“Raleigh?”
But
still he got no answer. He spun around, surveying the dining room.
“Leigh,
where are you?” He looked out toward the street. More and more people ran out
of the restaurants along the Strand, and very quickly the streets filled with
running, screaming people. He had no fucking idea what was happening.
Dallas
ran to the railing, looking over the balcony. It was then that he realized
there was a ladder leaning toward the railing. Raleigh must have climbed down
it.
Dallas
took two steps at a time. His feet hit the ground and he desperately scanned
his surroundings. He pulled out his phone and rang Raleigh. It went straight to
message bank. He angrily pressed the End Call button.
“Raleigh!”
The
scared crowd ignored him for the most part, though a couple shoved him hard as
they ran past. Some tried to get into their cars, but with too many people in
the streets, they couldn’t go far. A couple of drivers tried to nudge people
with their vehicles, but it only had negative effects. Some of the people in
the streets were just like the woman in the Strand Delight. Their eyes were
dead, their faces and any other exposed skin bloody and scratched.
One of
the men nudged with a car spun around, eyes flashing a dark red as he slammed
his hands on the hood. The hood made a crunching sound, and the man screamed,
spit flying from his mouth as he pounced on the crumpled hood. The woman in the
car shrieked and jumped out, kicking off her heels and running down the street
with the mobs. But the man obviously wasn’t going to allow that. He ran after
her. He wasn’t fast, but he was fast enough to catch her. He grabbed her by the
hair, jerking her backward. She screamed again, but he threw her on the ground
and tore at her neck like a starving cannibal.
Dallas
made to move toward them, but the woman’s scream turned into a gurgle and then
nothing. It was too late. Dallas could have saved her life, but he hadn’t. He
couldn’t. He needed to find Raleigh. He needed to protect his husband.
“Raleigh?”
His voice cracked under the strength of his roar. Yet it was barely audible
over the cries of fear filling the street.
The
woman from the restaurant dragged herself out of the Strand Delight. She
stretched out toward Dallas, a stupid grin on her face that caught bloody teeth
flashing at him.
Dallas
acted on adrenaline. He ducked beneath her arms, spinning until he was standing
at her back, then grabbed her head, twisting it hard and quick until her neck
snapped and she fell to the ground, lifeless.
He
dropped to his knees, his stomach churning in fear and desperation as the need
to vomit slammed into him. But he held it in.
“Raleigh….”
he whispered, biting his lip hard. He needed to find his husband.
Something shone in his eyes from under the lamplight and he
immediately zeroed in on Raleigh’s phone. He grabbed it, tapping it
desperately, but it was dead. “Dammit!” he growled. “Raleigh, where are you?”
Buy the book:
Meet the author:
Meg
Bawden was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. She’s loved stories
since before she can remember and has always enjoyed creating characters of her
own, even if it did begin with drawing faces on toilet rolls and giving them
names. Wiring has always been a passion of hers and she’s loved the M/M genre
since 2004, the first book she read being Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.
Writing
M/M since 2007, Meg has never had the confidence to attempt publishing her own
stories, but in 2015, she decided that it was all about to change thanks to the
amazing friends she’s made in the M/M genre and their support and
encouragement. So watch out world, Meg Bawden is coming out to have some fun!
Where to find the author:
Twitter: @megbawden
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover
Artist: Brooke Albrecht
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