Zombie Slayer Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Katz, Gayle

  “Jane!” another familiar voice yelled out. “That was my hit!”

  Mayor Jane Cote strode into the light. “Is everyone all right? Who’s alive anyway?”

  Charlie had jumped up out of her seat and discarded the ropes. Owen ran to check on Fay, but she was long dead. The rats were still securely in their cages. Sergeant Bourne came over looking at her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he yelled.

  Jane put her gun away. “What am I doing? Your job, obviously. You had a direct hit five minutes ago. Instead, we had to listen to five minutes of her ranting.”

  “Well, mystery solved,” said Charlie. “Say, where is Zan?”

  “Probably at the hospital by now. Wanda attacked her husband,” explained Owen.

  “Whoa, that’s one messed up family,” said Charlie.

  “Uh, what are those sounds?” asked Jane.

  The next thing they knew, two dozen zombies were struggling to walk down the stairs. Some fell and kept on rolling, until they hit the bottom.

  “Oh, err, I think I forgot something,” said Charlie.

  zzz

  Stewart hadn’t heard from the teens for a while, so he decided to head to the factory. All was quiet outside, but that didn’t mean anything.

  He was getting a bit worried. He’d deciphered something else from the “_ / c” symbols in the spell book. It hadn’t been there before. He knew that the spell book revealed information when it was most needed. He needed to get there fast, as he knew the zombie invasion was close.

  zzz

  “Oh, no problem,” said Charlie. “I have them under my control.” She walked confidently up to the zombies coming down the staircase. As she watched, they seemed to become more pungent. The guy closest to her had his ear and nose fall off. It was like they were suddenly decaying more rapidly.

  “Zombies! Stop! Assemble in that room to the left!”

  But the zombies didn’t listen to her. They kept on coming closer to the humans.

  “Why isn’t it working?” cried Charlie. “I should be their zleader!”

  “What the hell is happening?” cried Owen, running around and taking down the first zombie.

  “Shit! There are like two dozen here,” said Bourne. “Better brace yourselves!” He began firing his gun.

  zzz

  Owen, Charlie, and Jane took down the zombies that managed to escape the gunfire. Soon there was such a large pileup that no more zombies could get to the group.

  “Damn! Out of bullets,” said Sergeant Bourne.

  “That’s fine. We can get the rest,” said Charlie, stepping on the back of one of the zombies. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling kind of sleepy.” Then she tumbled to the ground.

  “Charlie!” cried Owen. “Get up! Now’s no time for a nap!”

  Jane and Owen struggled to climb over the zombies, while Sergeant Bourne was patting himself down, trying to find another round of bullets.

  Jane still had a loaded gun, but she didn’t have a good sightline.

  Charlie was lying on the ground, comatose. There were three zombies hovering over her, getting closer.

  Owen saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Something, or someone, leapt off the side of the staircase’s banister.

  It was Stewart. He quickly stabbed the zombie closest to Charlie in the head. It went down. Then he took out the next two, and then looked up.

  “Hi, Stewart!” called Owen.

  There were only a few zombies remaining, so they were quickly dispatched. During this time, Bourne was having a temper tantrum with his gun. He threw it on the floor and kicked it against the wall. Then he called for backup from his radio, even though none was needed.

  “Wow! Good job, everyone,” said Stewart. “Did you call for an ambulance too?” he asked Sergeant Bourne.

  “Yep, already did that.”

  Everyone hovered around Charlie.

  “What on earth happened?” asked Owen. “This is all a bit too bizarre.”

  “I know what happened,” said Stewart. “But I’ll explain after we go to the hospital.”

  zzz

  A few weeks later, Zan was lying on her bed, fully dressed. She had a blanket on top of her head. There was a light knock on the door.

  “Come in,” she called. She sat up and pushed the blanket aside. “Dad! You should be resting!” She rushed over to help him to the bed.

  “I’m fine, dear. How are you feeling? Do you need me to get you a prescription for something?” He sat down on the bed beside her.

  “No, thanks. I stay away from drugs, though I might have some wine at dinner.”

  He smiled. “Anyway, we haven’t had a chance to talk yet.”

  She shrugged. “It’s not necessary. I know exactly what happened.” She looked down.

  “I’m just trying to process it all. I’ve been chatting to friends on the phone. I’ve been told that your mother wasn’t on shift at the hospital as much as I thought. People just assumed she was doing volunteer work or something and didn’t question it much.”

  “It all comes together,” said Zan. “There was one time last year when she came home exhausted from the clinic. She said she wished she’d never gone to medical school.”

  Dad smiled sadly. “You know we met in medical school? She had been about to change to political science, but I talked her out of it.

  Zan looked at him. “Really? I had no idea.”

  “Yep. I feel I’m somewhat to blame.” A tear ran down his cheek.

  She put an arm around him. “No way, not at all. The choices she made were not our fault.”

  “Anyway, medical school was a struggle, but we both made it through. After we got our first jobs, we got married.” He paused for a bit, while Zan listened. “I’ve been going through your mom’s stuff. It seems like she still had a heavy interest in politics. I even found a letter from the mayor encouraging her to get involved.”

  “Really? That’s crazy,” said Zan. “The mayor always seems to pop up in our lives.”

  He frowned. “Yep, not sure what the mayor is up to. Anyway, she played me the fool for months. What a way to get out of working at the clinic. And that Dr. Arora must have been tempting her with dreams of power and money.”

  “Right.”

  “Anyway, I can’t say it enough. I’m truly sorry for getting mad at you. Your mother kept on playing up how you should be a musician and not pursue a medical career like we had done. I mean, look where we ended up. That’s not the kind of life we want for you. The pay is good though.”

  “Please, Dad, no apology needed. Now, I think you need to get some rest.” She followed him back to his room, and then headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner. She was actually starting to feel better now.

  zzz

  Everyone was seated in Stewart’s living room. He didn’t have enough places to sit, so Owen and Zan were on the floor.

  “How is your dad?” asked Owen.

  “He’ll be fine,” said Zan. “No thanks to Mom.”

  “Hey, sorry I took off,” said Owen.

  “No, I handled it. You were needed at the factory.”

  Mayor Jane Cote was seated on the chair beside them. “I can’t begin to express how sorry I am,” she started saying. “I had no idea that was someone’s mom.”

  “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know,” said Zan, accepting a tissue from Owen.

  “So, just what did happen?” asked Bourne. “I thought I was running around in circles investigating Jane’s financial crimes.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Well, apparently, Charlie did something bad in Seattle that caused her to be their zleader,” explained Stewart.

  “No way!” said Owen, in amazement.

  Jay fidgeted. “How is that even possible? Those zombies should have all died when Charlie killed their zleader.”

  Charlie stood up. “He’s not explaining it right. It was Gran who performed the spell, not me. Do you think I wanted to be a zle
ader?”

  Stewart waved at her to sit down. “OK, calm down. I don’t know much about this spell. It revealed itself at the right time, which is often the case with magic. However, I didn’t think Charlie would go down that path and abuse the privilege. You should have just had the zombies kill each other. Then, come back home, and that would have been that.”

  Charlie sighed. “Was it that simple, when I knew there were still zombie outbreaks in Portland? I thought that I could call the zombies to Portland, and they would attack any zombies here, under my command.”

  Owen whistled. “That is some plan.”

  “But it didn’t work,” said Zan.

  “Well, not exactly,” said Charlie. “The spell worked for some time, but then it faded away.”

  “I think that’s why Charlie collapsed at the end. She was exhausted. If the spell had not released her, she would likely have turned into a zombie herself,” said Stewart. “The spell book revealed that last bit of information to me, so that’s why I raced to meet you at the factory.”

  “That’s why I was so worried, after I had performed the spell in Seattle,” explained Gran. “I thought that would happen, but then Charlie came back and she seemed fine. And she certainly never revealed to me that she was a zleader.”

  Zan spoke up. “But why didn’t the zombies all die in Seattle? Was that part of the spell?”

  “Exactly,” said Stewart.

  “Oh, but the zombies at the factory were deteriorating. I mean, more than usual, after a century and a third, that is,” explained Owen. “They seemed to be falling apart before our eyes.”

  Stewart nodded. “Yes, the spell was up and even if you hadn’t taken them down, they would eventually have been reduced to nothing.”

  “Whew, good thing it was temporary,” said Charlie.

  Stewart stood up. “Well, don’t think that I’m pleased with you, Charlie. You could have been hurt. Others could have been hurt. You didn’t tell your secret to Gran, or to me. I’m very angry with you.”

  “You and me both,” said Gran.

  “It’s so funny, because we thought the zleader wannabe was the mayor,” laughed Owen.

  “Um, no,” said Jane. “Little did you guys know I was trying to work undercover to find out more about the zombies. I didn’t get very far. I kind of liked that Ray guy, and was saddened to discover he was a crook.”

  “Perhaps it’s time to retire as a rookie detective and go back to being the mayor,” said Jay.

  She glared at him.

  “I am wondering though,” continued Jay, “how did Zan’s mother end up being a zleader wannabe?”

  Zan shrugged. “I guess that’s why I’d seen so little of her the past year. She was telling us she was working the ER and the clinic all this time, but she was lying.”

  “How’s it going between you and your dad?” asked Charlie.

  She shrugged again. “He’s apologized to me. He said she was fuelling his anger. He said he’ll just shut up from now on and let me do what I want.”

  Stewart sat down again. “I’m so glad you weren’t at the factory with us.”

  “OK. So one thing I need to get straight,” said Owen. “Mayor Jane isn’t embezzling funds then?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “No,” said Jane. “It’s true I was doing some creative bookkeeping, but it was strictly for zombie crime fighting. A city needs additional resources when it’s being plagued by zombies. I’ll come clean tomorrow and present to the council that we need to be more open with the zombie infestation in this city. There should be no more hiding. We need an open budget.”

  “I can’t believe I wasted all that time,” mumbled Jay.

  “Well, for now, the zombies should be under control,” said Stewart. “We found a cache of injectables and samples at the clothing factory. These have now been destroyed, along with all of the infected rats.”

  “Ugh,” said Zan. “Would that have even worked?”

  “Doubt it,” said Stewart. “The rats would probably have attacked and eaten each other first.”

  “I think it’s time for some rest,” said Charlie. “I’m going to sleep until school starts in September.”

  Epilogue

  ________________________________________

  Charlie got ready for bed. She felt really bad for Zan, not only for losing her mother, but also for finding out that her mother had been responsible for the second zombie outbreak. She was relieved that the mayor hadn’t been involved, even if she still didn’t really like her. A zombie fighting budget, sure, she laughed to herself. She had seen the jewels and designer suits that Jane wore. Anyway, not her job.

  As Charlie was lying in bed, she wondered if there would be any more zombies in Portland. Now that Wanda and Fay were dead, there should be no one left alive who would know how to make the zombies. Zan didn’t know much and she certainly wouldn’t be cooking up any more zombies as she was on their team.

  It had been crazy to be a zleader. The feel of power as she had sent them messages through her mind had been incredible. That was something she’d never get to experience again.

  She was about to fall asleep, but a concern popped into her head. Had the zombie vaccine that Wanda mentioned been destroyed by her team, or was it stored somewhere in the city?

  Thank You

  ________________________________________

  Thanks for reading my books! Life as a zombie slayer is a complicated one. So is being a writer, editor, proofreader and coordinating the cover design, book formatting, promotions, and everything else that goes into bringing a book to market as a one-person publishing company. The fact that you took the time to read my books out of all the ones out there makes me smile from ear to ear. Yep, I’m beaming! ☺

  With all that said, I write because of our collective hunger for intense zombie adventures that reach out and grab us! So if you’re up for more zombie antics, check out the next box set in the Slayer series.

  In the meantime, if you enjoyed the stories, one of the best ways to help me write more books is to leave a review on Amazon. It would mean the world to me!

  Tap here to rate and review this Zombie Slayer box set of books on Amazon. That's it! And while it’s not required by any means, I’d certainly appreciate it.

  My heartfelt thanks go out to you!

  Luv,

  Gayle

  CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE

  SNEAK PEEK! Below is an excerpt from the fourth book in the Zombie Slayer series, Conzpiracy.

  If you've been enjoying the series, the box set with books 4 - 7 is now available!

  Owen and Charlie were seated in Stewart’s apartment. It was still sparsely furnished, despite Stewart having lived there for almost one year now. Charlie had a look around. She guessed that the furniture came with the rental. She shrugged. It was just stuff anyway. She believed it was far more important to spend time with friends and family, and not get too attached to objects.

  “Hello? Earth to Charlie,” called out Owen. “We’re going to have a chat about things.”

  Charlie sat down on the couch with Owen. Stewart, their mentor, sat directly opposite them on a worn out, club-style chair.

  Owen yawned.

  “Sorry for keeping you up,” said Charlie in a mocking manner.

  “Oops, sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. Nightmares.”

  Stewart ignored the exchange. “Thanks for coming. You may notice that Zan isn’t here.”

  Charlie frowned. “That’s understandable. She must still be grieving the loss of her mother.”

  “I heard her dad is out of the hospital and recuperating at home,” added Owen.

  “Yes, that was very sad. I don’t think that Mrs. Goldberg had an agenda in the past, but unfortunately, someone at the hospital must have drawn her into the zombie conspiracy,” said Stewart.

  Charlie laughed. “It’s conzpiracy.”

  Owen chuckled too. “Anyway, didn’t we guess that it was Dr. Arora?” asked Owen.<
br />
  “Yes, most likely, but she has others working for her too,” said Stewart. “Anyway, something is up at the hospital. But for now, I’d like you both to stay away. This plot seems to be going much deeper. This isn’t your average zombie outbreak.” Stewart looked into Charlie’s eyes, hoping she’d understand.

  “Wow,” said Charlie. “I never thought I’d see the day that there would be something like a normal zombie outbreak.” She took a sip of her soda, and then frowned as she read the label. “I should be drinking diet soda, not this sugary stuff.”

  “Well, with this second, human-created zombie outbreak, it’s been more about eradicating the cause. The zombies themselves aren’t the issue. The issue is that there is a gang that has been actively running here since at least last spring.”

  Charlie put her unfinished soda back on the table. Owen had already finished his, so he pointed at hers. She nodded. He gratefully grabbed it and took a sip.

  “So, where do we start then?” asked Charlie.

  Stewart shrugged. “For now, we monitor the situation. See if anything weird happens.”

  “Because nothing weird ever happens in Portland,” said Owen. He laughed, and the others laughed with him.

  zzz

  “So, what are you doing now?” asked Owen. “We could grab a bite to eat.” They both walked back to their cars.

  She shook her head. “Nope, I actually have a date.”

  Owen stopped walking. “No way! I thought you weren’t going to date until you were 30-something.” He tried not to laugh.