Pandora: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse (20 page)

Tommy had just speared a zombie through the mouth. The undead were now five deep when he heard an engine roaring. Pausing to look, he saw a battered SUV careen down the street and into the side road. The street was awash with zombies.

“Move the wire away! Move the wire!” he yelled to his men.

They pulled it away just as the Yukon hit the crowd of zombies at the small entrance.

“Screw the noise,” Tommy yelled. “Use your weapons now.”

The car tore through the opening, ripping off both side mirrors. A bright trail of sparks came flying off the left rim, now running on bare metal, scraping the asphalt.

The Yukon braked hard and swung sideways to a stop. Edward Lewis reached down and tried to drag the wire back over the entrance. It had snagged on something, and as he yanked it, a long-haired zombie grabbed him from behind. He spun in a circle, trying to throw the creature off, but couldn’t do it. The zombie opened his mouth and latched on to the back of Edward’s neck and bit down.

Tommy, Travis, and James were continually firing three-round bursts into the undead mass that started to pour in. The growing pile of bodies slowed the zombies down some. The doors to the SUV swung open, and everyone climbed out. Sean and Carol immediately fired at the undead coming in.

Jack ran over to Tommy. The sergeant looked at him, smiled, and yelled, “You just barely made it.” Looking back and seeing Private Lewis go down under a pile of bodies, he called out, “Everybody back to the boat! Let’s go.”

After firing the last few shots, they all turned and ran for the dock. Tommy threw a grenade into the SUV when he passed. As the group was expediently helped on board, Tommy turned and saw that there were
some fresher zombies coming through first. They ran to the boat, growling wildly. Firing at the lead zombies, Tommy tried to keep them away. James Williams threw off the last rope, and as the boat started to pull away, he ran up and jumped on board. The yacht was about six feet away when a caterwauling female zombie with half a face ran down the dock and jumped off.

She hit James as he was standing at the rail, and her momentum pulled the two of them over the side and into the water.

Tommy ran to the side and, struggling to get a shot at the grappling pair, yelled, “James, push her away.”

Before he could, the rest of the zombies came up, and at least five dove in on top of the two combatants.

As the yacht pulled away and into the Intracoastal Waterway, Tommy yelled, “James!”

There were a few splashes, and then James and the entire group of thrashing zombies sank into the water.

Fifteen minutes later Tommy, Sean, and Jack walked onto the bridge. They were heading north, looking for the first entry to open water.

After introductions, Tommy turned to Jake and said, “Where to, Captain?”

“I hear the Keys are nice this time of year. Fewer people too.”

Sean gave a melancholy smile and said, “That’s fine. Anywhere but here.”

The End

AFTERWORD

Hello again. I hope you enjoyed this story. This is a work of fiction, but like many fictional works, it is grounded in reality.

I’ve always believed that the more fantastical the premise, the more realistic the basic facts should be. In this case, if you are to believe in zombies (and why shouldn’t you? I do), the rest of the narrative should ring true. A willing suspension of disbelief can stretch only so far. The comet Pandora was based on the real comets Ison and Siding Spring. Ison had a near miss with Mars, and Siding Spring is predicted to come even closer to the red planet. It may even collide with Mars. Google it. Asteroids are known to carry alien microbes. Yes, you may Google that too. The resulting world situation also was based on current geopolitical facts and policies. So…colliding comets, alien viruses—hmm, not so much fiction after all. And zombies? Well, who knows?

To quote Fox Mulder, “Look to the skies.” And the next time you read about one of those bath salts–crazed cannibal incidents, think about it: what are the authorities not telling us? Could be the start of…well, you know.

Richard McCrohan

September 2014

Clifton, New Jersey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard McCrohan is a sixty-three-year-old first-time author. Ever since he sat in a darkened theater at the Jersey Shore during a midnight showing of
Night of the Living Dead
in 1969, he has been an avid zombie fan. He has collected hundreds of zombie novels and enjoys reading them all. Richard also is a retired optician, a fourth-degree karate black belt, an artist, and a video gamer, and now author. He lives with his wife, Linda, and their two small dogs in Boynton Beach, Florida.