Elsa's knees dug into his back as she pulled on his neck. The woman knew her stuff.
He let himself fall backward, praying he'd crush her. The stars in his eyes from her painful grasp didn't give him many options.
“I should have walked her out the door. Then I would have won the bet,” he thought as he hit the carpet.
Things happened so fast he couldn't keep up. Elsa hung on but flipped around from his back to his front as he fell backward. He landed on the hard carpet and she let go for a brief second, but re-mounted him from the front. This time she straddled his neck so her powerful legs trapped his head.
He was looking up at his beautiful killer.
“Nice try, John. It restores some faith in my decision to bring you into my circle, though you ended up failing all around. Most people do. Half the people are below average, all the time, don't ya know? You can take comfort you have a long line of failures marching before you.”
His face was probably beet red, though he couldn't voice a witty retort. It didn't matter. Her thighs were crushing him.
“Good help is so hard to find, but I'll muddle through this.” She hunched over, bringing her face as close to his as she could. “I'm taking your soldiers, John. I'm taking them into the wild and I'm going to use them up. I needed all your boys outside the fence so these dumb townies had no idea you were going to abandon them. And, since you won't be alive to explain the nuance, they will curse your name until they're all dead, too. Two problems solved, with the bonus that the fault is all yours. You will be forever known as the general who killed Cairo. Maybe they'll make a monument after this is all over.”
She didn't wait for a reply, though she called to someone outside the room. “Zeke, I need you to dump the general out in the pit after I get all the soldiers beyond the highway. I want these people to have his body handy so they don't come looking for him.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
We leave this dump in five.
###
Musings of an Author
Thank you for reading Zombies vs Polar Bears! I'll be working on book 6, Zombies Ever After, by the time you're reading this message.
This book, like all my books, came out of my keyboard in ways I didn't expect. The three main characters keep trying to find ways to split up, and I keep trying to find ways to keep them together. But the Zombie Apocalypse calls each person differently. To survive, though, we all need someone we can count on absolutely. For Liam, that person is Victoria. I think she feels much the same way. That's why the next book is titled the way it is. Can these two kids grow up and have a happily ever after when zombies are on every street corner? We shall see.
Please allow me to call out a good friend in this space. Brent L. has pre-read each of my books before I released them, essentially ensuring that I wasn't putting big shotgun holes in the continuity, or story. He has been a beta reader, a critic, and a great supporter of my work. If I had ten more of him I would probably be a bestseller. He's that good! If you would like to join my team and help fashion the story and beta read the earliest versions of future books, please look me up. For now, thank you Brent!
I hope you are enjoying the ride!
E.E. Isherwood, June 19, 2016
About the Author
E. E. Isherwood has penned two books about post-apocalyptic driving, five books about zombies, and several short stories from both genres. He has designs for many more tales. His long-time fascination with the end of the world blossomed decades ago after reading the 1949 classic Earth Abides. Zombies are just a handy vehicle which allows him to observe how society breaks down in the face of such withering calamity. Fast cars can also help it along.
Isherwood lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and family. He stays deep in a bunker with steepled fingers, always awaiting the arrival of the first wave of zombies.
Find him online at www.zombiebooks.net.
Books by E.E. Isherwood
E.E. Isherwood currently has five books in the Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse universe. He also has a series of high-octane post-apocalyptic stories called the Revolutions Per Mile series. Visit his website at www.zombiebooks.net to be informed when future titles are launched.
The Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse series
Since the Sirens
Siren Songs
Stop the Sirens
Last Fight of the Valkyries
Zombies vs. Polar Bears
Zombies Ever After [September 17, 2016]
***
Book 1: Since the Sirens [BUY ON KINDLE]
When 15-year-old Liam goes to stay with his ancient great-grandmother for the summer, he immediately becomes bored around the frail and elderly woman. He spends most of his time at the library texting friends, playing video games, and reading dark novels. But one morning stroll changes everything as the Zombie Apocalypse unloads itself directly into his life. Now he and his 104-year-old guardian must survive the journey out of the collapsing city of St. Louis while zombies, plague, and desperate survivors swirl around them.
Book 2: Siren Songs [BUY ON KINDLE]
After escaping the chaos of the collapsing city, teens Liam and Victoria are faced with a difficult choice. Do they try to find Liam’s parents or defend their suburban home from refugees and the infected? They find new allies to hold things together, even as the government appears increasingly impotent in the face of a mutating virus. And why is a representative of the CDC trying to enlist Liam’s 104-year-old grandma to his cause?
Book 3: Stop the Sirens [BUY ON KINDLE]
Liam and his parents are reunited at last, but the matriarch of their family has been taken to a covert CDC location for medical experiments. Liam wants to mount a rescue operation, but they must first reach a refuge, endure warring government agencies, and learn Grandma’s location—not to mention survive a world awash in zombies. With Victoria at his side, Liam finds his fortitude bolstered by her faith. Together they begin to unravel the mystery of the zombie plague.
Book 4: Last Fight of the Valkyries [BUY ON KINDLE]
Liam, Marty, and Victoria are rescued from St. Louis. Now safely in the defenses of the town of Cairo, IL, they are once again free to look ahead—into the headwinds of the Zombie Apocalypse. Liam is separated from his parents, Mel and Phil are missing, and Grandma's status as a sane person is very much in doubt in their new town. But when Liam finally realizes what's on the chip given to him by Colonel McMurphy, he sees the way forward. Always with an eye toward saving civilization, he takes his first steps in that direction.
Book 5: Zombies vs. Polar Bears [BUY ON KINDLE]
Liam is more resolved than ever to solve the mystery behind the zombie plague. He now has several clues—some gleaned at great personal cost—about the zombies, although he remains unsure who's behind the creation of the plague. Was it the secretive National Internal Security division as he was originally told, or was it the Patriot Snowball movement as reported by remaining government officials? Everyone has an opinion, but the truth might lurk within his own family. Meanwhile, Grandma Marty remains in Cairo, Illinois. She is confused by her strange dreams by night, and afraid of what she hears over the great defensive levees of the town by day.
Book 6: Zombies Ever After [PRE-ORDER ON KINDLE][September 17, 2016]
"Operation Renew America" is the massive convoy escaping the desolation of the East Coast. As it nears St. Louis, the Polar Bears gear up for a fight. There are tanks in the streets of St. Louis. Combat aircraft buzz the Arch. But Liam wants none of that. His heart is smitten by Victoria, and, though he knows it sounds corny, he wants to get back to her and continue the quest for the cure by her side. But Victoria meets an old foe during her time alone at her University. When Liam returns, and when he finds out where she's gone, his mission becomes very simple: pursue the girl he loves. Along the way he has to ask whether there is anything close to a storybook ending inside the Zombie Apocalypse.
COMING SOON
The My Zombie Apocalypse
series
These short stories explore characters from the Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse world.
Liam
What if Angie had gotten to Grandma Marty on Day 0? How might that have changed Liam's life as the Zombie Apocalypse began?
Jones
As far as we know, Officer Jones fell to his death during a heroic rescue of many of his fellow citizens. But what if he survived his crash?
OTHER TITLES
The Revolutions Per Mile series
A new series of driving adventures from post-apocalyptic author E.E. Isherwood.
Book 1: Post Apocalyptic Ponies [BUY ON KINDLE]
When the world ended, Perth Hopkins was one of the lucky few. She jumped in her father's sports car and drove like a girl possessed to escape the nuclear fires. Today, years later, she drives as a high-speed courier between the small farming towns in the breadbasket of a new nation. She's learning the rules of the road in the safe interior—the pony pastures—but she craves the speed and danger of the interstate. Those routes are run by the older girls... When one of those girls shows up in her life, she's forced to consider whether she really wants to see what's over the distant horizon.
Book 2: Post Apocalyptic Mustangs [BUY ON KINDLE]
Perth is tossed into the high-speed world of "The 70." Interstate 70 was once a major artery across the United States, but what's left of it in Kansas has become a dangerous route traversed by brave couriers carrying pieces of the Old World between the surviving towns. Perth's driver, Jo, claims she is the best of the best of the couriers remaining on the highway and she wants to introduce Perth to how things work by doing a simple run from Hays to Salina. But Perth quickly suspects she's been seduced into being her co-pilot for an entirely different destination.
Book 3: Post Apocalyptic Chargers [2016]
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All these books are self-published. Self-publishing runs on word of mouth. Your review on the product page is that word. It's like fresh blood to my zombies. It keeps them going. It makes them stronger. At the risk of hurting a horse, I'll mention once more to please consider taking a few moments to pen a brief review of my book on Amazon. Just a few words of encouragement will help me write many more adventures.
Review or not, you've already shown your support when you invested your time and treasure in this tome. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for purchasing and reading Zombies vs Polar Bears.
E.E. Isherwood
Connect with E. E. Isherwood
Thank you for being a reader of my work. I value your support more than I can say. I also love interacting with fans. To contact me, yell at me, become a beta reader, or find more stories about the end of everything, look for me online:
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eeisherwood
Like my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/sincethesirens
Visit my website: http://www.zombiebooks.net
Zombies vs Polar Bears: Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse, Book 5 Page 30