Zombie Killin' Blonde Read online

  Zombie Killin’ Blonde

  A Magi Saga Tale

  By

  Andrew Dobell

  The book is Copyright © to Andrew Dobell, Creative Edge Studios Ltd, 2019.

  No part of this book may be reproduced without prior permission of the copyright holder.

  All locations, events, and characters within this book are either fictitious or have been fictionalised for the purposes of this book.

  Acknowledgements

  For my Grandfather, who was a continual inspiration and support, I miss you, and this is for you.

  Thank you to my wife and family for their love and tolerance and help. You make everything worthwhile.

  Thank you to my old gaming friends, you guys have inspired this story more than you can know. I have some of the best memories from those hours sitting at the gaming table.

  Thank you to my Editors Julie Hall, CP Bialois, and Hanna Elizabeth. Your input has been fantastic, thank you.

  Dedication

  For my boys, my kids, I love you!

  Language

  I’m a British author living in Britain, and I write in British English with British spellings. ;-)

  Booklist

  For full list of Andrew Dobell's Books, visit his website at;

  http://www.andrewdobellauthor.co.uk/booklist

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Booklist

  Table of Contents

  About This Book

  Prologue

  Twilight of the Living

  Careful What You Wish For

  Zombie Killin’ Blonde

  Preppers

  First Steps

  Blocked

  Threes company

  Escape

  Travels

  Refuge

  Onwards

  Acid

  Final Friend

  Upstairs

  Author Note

  Booklist

  About This Book

  Zombie Killin’ Blonde was written to be a fun, tongue firmly in cheek, rip-roaring adventure through the start of a Zombie Apocalypse, told through the eyes of two young survivors and their friends.

  The book is part of the Magi Saga, a vast, sprawling universe of books that take place over several genres.

  If you’re familiar with the Magi Saga and its story, then this tale takes place after the events of Maiden Voyage, but before Liberation: Wasteland Road Knights 1.

  In fact, this book serves as a kind of prequel to the Road Knights series.

  But fear not, this book is very much a stand-alone and can be read and enjoyed entirely on its own.

  Enjoy.

  Prologue

  Lazlo stood at the window, looking out over Midway city beyond the glass. His gaze wandered over the towers that rose from the gritty streets below. People went about their business, walking, driving, working. Going about their day to day lives. They were unaware of him or the future that awaited them.

  He’d been working up to this for years. Finding that book on the crashed ship had changed everything. Years of research, trying to decipher it by learning another language from the thing in his head.

  It had taught him how to read it, how to understand the book, something which was crucial in making the ritual work apparently.

  He’d show the world who he was. He’d show the world, a world that didn’t treat people like him fairly, he’d show it who truly had the power. The Whisperer had shown him the way. Guided him towards this moment. A moment of greatness and power.

  It felt like it had been a long time coming.

  From here, he’d be able to watch as the effect of the ritual spread through the city. He’d be able to watch the chaos ensue and fill the streets.

  He felt quite sure it would be wonderous.

  ~Are you going to stand at that window all night?~ the voice in his head asked him. Whispered to him.

  ‘No,’ he answered, feeling a little angry that the Whisperer was trying to get him to do this before he was ready.

  ~Then, when will you get to work? You know what to do.~

  ‘I am saying farewell to the world as it is,’ he answered.

  ~Urth will never be the same again, all because of you,~ the Whisperer hissed.

  ‘It’s more than it deserves really,’ Lazlo muttered.

  ~As you say…~ the Whisperer replied.

  Taking one last look at the world as it currently was on the other side of the glass, Lazlo turned away from it and looked back into the room. On a raised pedestal in the middle of the room lay the book, open on the desired page. Around it, seven people knelt on the floor, a mix of men and women, all of them naked and bound at the wrists and ankles with duct tape. He’d also gagged them with the same tape to keep them quiet.

  The ones that were facing him looked at him in fear. He could already smell the acrid stench of urine from those who had pissed themselves in fear.

  Sad, pitiful things, and a necessary sacrifice to make the ritual work. Walking over, he threaded between two of the figures and made his way to the pedestal and the book. He glanced over the strange text. He was familiar with these words now, he knew their meaning and their power.

  Looking up, he peered at the faces of these terrified sacrifices, their eyes wide in fear. Many of them had been crying. Their expressions were pleading with him, desperately asking him to be merciful.

  Did they not know, did they not realise that this is precisely what he was being? Cruelty would be to let this world continue as it was. To let the injustice continue. Better to enact change now. Bring this corrupt world to an end, kill it swiftly, mercifully, so that they might start again.

  People would die. But, that could not be avoided. People needed to die. Otherwise, the change wouldn’t happen. If the same people continued to live on, then things would just continue as they had been doing.

  No, it was better this way. Wipe the board clean, make a fresh start. The world would be better.

  ~Now, we come to it. Now, we make our mark on the world,~ the Whisperer stated in his mind.

  He wished he could let others listen to the Whisperer’s words. He’d been his guide, affirming his view that the world was corrupt and needed changing. He knew others would flock to his banner then. He knew there were others out there who sympathised with him, who wanted the same for this world. It was only natural that others would share his views.

  Maybe this would bring them out of hiding. Maybe they had been waiting for a moment like this. Waiting for the world to change, to transform into something that would allow them to shine.

  Maybe he’d find them, and join with them?

  Maybe.

  Lazlo cleared his throat and looked down at the passage in the book, and in his clearest voice, read the passage aloud, being careful to pronounce each word correctly. The Whisperer had been quite keen on that point.

  The words, if he had heard them before he knew what they meant, would have sounded like utter nonsense to him. But he knew better now, and as his voice worked through those guttural sounding words, he could feel the power grow. He could feel the energy rush around him, and as he finished the last word, the figures around him looked like they had been hit with an electric shock as their bodies went ridged.

  They shook violently. Then one seemed to shrink as if all the water in his body was being sucked out of him. His skin grew wrinkled as it contracted all over him. The others were changing now too. One of them was bleeding from her eyes, nose, ears and mouth with an ugly gurgling sound. Another had deep cuts rip open all over him, while another seemed to boil, her skin bubbling up and popping. They all died horrific deaths all around him as he felt their souls pull out of them and gather into a rolling ball of energy
above the book, until it burst and shot out in a shockwave that spread out over the city, and around the world.

  Lazlo had ducked to the floor as an element of fear had taken root inside of him. The noise and energy were gone now, though, and silence filled this floor of the building.

  Around him, the seven dead bodies lay on the floor. Some of them still looked human, while others were little more than raw red flesh, blood and bone scattered over the ground. He could taste blood in his mouth. Looking down, he could see he was covered in splatters of thick, crimson liquid and shuddered for a moment.

  He’d need a shower.

  Standing up, he stalked towards the window. ‘Is it done?’

  ~It is done,~ the Whisperer intoned in his mind.

  Reaching the glass, he looked out over the city and down into the street below. People were walking, driving, going about their business. It seemed the same.

  ‘What’s going on? Why has nothing changed?’

  ~Oh, it’s changed. But, it will take time to become obvious.~

  ‘How much time?’

  ~Not much… Very little in fact.~

  It was subtle, but as he looked out over the city, over the Urth, with its sun setting in the west, he thought he could start to hear sirens. More than the usual amount of sirens. Had it started?

  Movement sounded behind him. Lazlo turned as fear of discovery filled him. Looking back into the room, seven figures stood where the dead bodies had been. A couple of them were little more than skeletons with chunks of flesh hanging off them, while others looked much more human. Most of them still had their wrists or ankles bound as well.

  He’d reanimated the corpses, but fear still gripped him. Had the Whisperer betrayed him? Was this how the Whisperer would repay his service?

  ‘What’s going on?’ Lazlo asked.

  ~This is the fruits of your labour,~ the Whisperer intoned, as he laughed in Lazlo’s head.

  Twilight of the Living

  Tris

  Tris rushed along the street, walking quickly, eager to get back home. He’d felt so guilty going to work today, but his mother had insisted. Bless her, he thought. She knew how important it was that he did not miss a day’s work. They needed the money, and as it was right now, he was the only one bringing money in.

  Normally, he’d stop by the library and look through the books in the engineering section, maybe do some reading there or check a book or two out, but his mom had been so much worse this morning.

  He’d pleaded with her to go to the hospital, but they both knew that they couldn’t afford it. They didn’t have insurance, and there was no way they could afford the cost of such a visit. His mom had insisted that a few paracetamol tablets would set her right again.

  She’d reassured him that she always felt worse in the morning. That she’d be fine once she got going.

  Tris knew it was a lie. She’d barely got out of bed for the last few days, and the wheezing sound she made as she breathed was heart-rending to hear.

  But, what could he do?

  They needed the money for rent and food, and there was never anything left over at the end of the month. Tris wasn’t sure how much longer they could keep this up really.

  It was late summer, and the heat of the hotter months was dying away, but Tris felt comfortable without a jacket on. It wasn’t cold at all, really. He soon rounded the corner and made his way into the projects where he lived. His block rose up into the late afternoon sky, one of several in the development, and there was the usual amount of kids and other residents out in the central courtyard between the buildings. Parents and their children played on the pitiful apparatus in the small play park. The climbing frames were covered in graffiti, but the kids didn’t mind. Other residents walked through the space or sat on low walls, talking. Tris kept his head down, making sure to keep his distance from one of the gatherings of youths he saw not too far from his building. These small gangs didn’t bother the residents too much, but Tris didn’t fancy making himself a target either.

  He slipped through the courtyard, just another resident going about his business and walked into his building, heading for the stairs. Several flights of steps later, he reached his floor and navigated the corridors towards his apartment, his mind on his mother and hoping that she was still okay.

  As he walked, passing the bank of elevators, one of them dinged and opened, and a girl wandered out and turned to walk the same way he was going, walking slightly ahead of him.

  He recognised her right away. It was his neighbour, Dani. She’d been living next door to him and his mother for a while, and to Tris, she was perfection.

  On seeing her, his heart did a backflip and his breath caught in his throat. She glanced back at him, noticing he was there. She offered him a half-smile before she looked away.

  Tris went to say something, but his nerves got the better of him, and he clamped his mouth shut, suddenly terrified of saying something stupid.

  Dani was gorgeous, and he’d been admiring her from afar for months now. He’d said hi to her occasionally, but they’d not exchanged more than a couple of words each time. And yet, he found himself thinking about her all the time, especially after whenever he’d seen her.

  He’d not known her name for the first few weeks she’d been living here and only found out because his mother had run into her and said hello. Apparently, they’d spoken for a few minutes, and she’d found out that her name was Dani. His mother had already urged him to ask Dani out a few times.

  ‘Just go and knock on her door,’ she’d say. ‘Ask if she’d like to go to the cinema with you.’

  He hated his mother talking to him like that. He didn’t want her getting involved in his private life. He wanted to speak to Dani, of course. He’d wanted to say something, anything to her for a while, but the right time never seemed to present itself. Plus, he was terrified of saying the wrong thing, and then she’d never want to speak to him again.

  As she walked ahead of him, nearly close enough to touch, her long, platinum blonde hair bounced around her shoulders as she walked. She wore a denim mini-skirt, ripped tights, ankle boots and a denim jacket. She also carried a small backpack and held a plastic bag in her right hand. He noticed that the bag had the logo of the local comic book store on it as it knocked against her leg and twisted towards him.

  She liked comics???

  His heart fluttered, and his breath caught again. His pretty neighbour liked comic books! If she wasn’t already perfect in his eyes, she was now.

  She turned the next corner, and he followed, making their way towards their apartments at the end of the hall, and couldn’t help letting his eyes wander over her, watching the skirt crease around her butt as she walked.

  Did she know he was looking at her? Did she know he liked her? He wondered if she thought he was following her or stalking her? He didn’t want her to think that. Did she realise he was her neighbour?

  Fear gripped him. He was scared of talking to her, but also scared that she might think he was a psycho killer or something.

  Before he knew it, words tumbled out of his mouth in an attempt to stop the visions of terrible scenarios that were bubbling up in his head.

  ‘Hi… Er, um, Dani. Hi Dani. Just… You know, heading back to my apartment, like you…’ He cursed silently to himself. He sounded like such an ass.

  She looked back at him, the look on her face wasn’t one that comforted him as she processed his comment. ‘Um… Yep,’ she replied and looked away.

  Tris rolled his eyes to himself, knowing he’d messed it up. ‘Damn it,’ he chastised himself under his breath, quietly enough that she wouldn’t hear.

  ‘How’s your mom?’ Dani asked.

  Tris’ eye snapped open as he stopped at his apartment door. She was looking at him, waiting for an answer, and suddenly he knew what it felt like to be a small animal on the road, watching as a pair of headlights bore down on it.

  Tris opened his mouth to answer, but the words wouldn’t come, a
nd for a second, he stood there dumbfounded.

  She was talking to him. Dani, the goddess from next door, was talking to him. She had piercing blue eyes and high strong cheekbones that contributed to her very defined features. Others might think her strong features gave her an odd look, but not Tris. To him, she was perfection.

  As he stared at her, he realised that a few more seconds had passed, and he suddenly found he couldn’t remember what she’d asked him.

  ‘Um, sorry, what?’ he answered her, feeling like an idiot.

  ‘Your mom, how is she?’

  ‘Oh,’ he answered her, his words finally coming as he enjoyed the sound of her voice. It was the first time he’d really heard her speak, but her question brought his wandering thoughts back down to the ground with a bump as he remembered his mother. ‘She’s, not well…’ he answered her finally, the light, friendly tone in his voice, now replaced with a more sombre note.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she answered, genuine concern in her voice. ‘I hope she gets better soon.’ She gave him a thin smile that warmed his heart.

  ‘Thanks,’ Tris answered, his mind in chaos as it bounced back and forth between the thrill of finally talking to Dani, and thoughts of his mother's condition, leading to another pause in their conversation.

  ‘Well, see ya later,’ she said and turned away, walking the few remaining steps back to her front door. She unlocked it and disappeared inside with a quick glance back and a brief smile.

  He raised his hand to say goodbye, but she was already gone, and he felt like a fool again as his hand slowly lowered.

  Sucking in a deep breath, he held it and then released it, forcing his heart rate to slow down. She was beautiful. He wished he’d been able to say more to her, to speak to her properly. Part of him briefly considered walking over and knocking on her door, before his mind spun off on a fantasy that maybe if he did. She’d open it and throw herself into his arms and kiss him before they retreated to her bedroom and made mad passionate love to each other.