“I wish it was sooner,” Felicity complained. “My lower back is killing me, and this kid kicks in his sleep – kinda like his dad. Plus, I'm always hungry, and I'm up all night going to the bathroom.”
“All part of the joys of parenthood,” I said. “I hear we won't be sleeping for the next three years or so, either.”
“Small price to pay for such a miracle,” Felicity said, smiling at me and rubbing her stomach.
“Have you decided on a name yet?” Benji asked.
“We're gonna call him Simon,” Felicity said. “In honor of the man who gave his life for our family.”
Music burst out around us as the band started up again. People were playing acoustic guitars and anything else they could find, while a very talented guy led out with a harmonica. Soon our friends were laughing and dancing. Felicity came over and pulled me to my feet, forcing me onto the dance floor. Sonya and Moto were right behind us. We danced and celebrated well into the late afternoon, at which point Felicity and I managed to slip away and take a stroll down by the water. We sat at the shore, Felicity leaning into me, watching the waves as they gently rolled in, not saying a word, with my hand softly caressing her belly. A feeling of warmth and peace radiated through me.
We made it, I thought. I can't believe we actually survived the zombie apocalypse.
My heart swelled with love and gratitude for all that I'd been given. I'd come through the darkest times imaginable, and been given so much to be thankful for, including the love of my life.
My dad was right, I thought. Nothing is more important than family.
I kissed Felicity on the crown of her head, and she gently squeezed my hand. We stared out over the water until the sun began to set, excited for the first time about what the future held.
-THE END-
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my loving and supportive wife, Angie who always pushes me to go after my dreams and to never give up. You keep my inspired. I love you very much.
Thanks also to Shana Festa, Troy Fuss, Kymi Faith, Rick Peterson, Sharon Stevenson and Dave Gammon. Thanks to the Salerno family for their love and support. Mahalo to the Hālau Hula O 'Imi 'Ike for always supporting my writing career.
Thanks to my hardworking editor Patricia Bains-Jordan. Thanks to Shawn King for creating my Laughing Crow Media logo. Thanks to Alan Mathews for formatting. Thanks to Christian Bentulan for the new updated cover.
To my incredible readers, thank you for pushing me to create more new work!
I love receiving feedback from readers and the best way to provide that is with a review. Amazon reviews are a huge deal for indie authors. They help us get our books noticed while competing against big publishers with books that cost $12.99 or more and have slick marketing campaigns! In fact chances are one in five that you found out about this book because other readers bought and reviewed it. So if you have a moment, and you like getting great books at cheap prices, please leave a review. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just honest. Thank you!
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About the Author
Devan Sagliani was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from UCLA. He is the author of the Zombie Attack series, The Rising Dead, A Thirst For Fire, Saint Death, and the Undead L.A. series. Devan also wrote the original screenplay for the movie HVZ: Humans Versus Zombies. He writes a bimonthly horror column for Escapist Magazine called Dark Dreams. In 2014 he cofounded the At Hell's Gates horror anthology series with Shana Festa, which donates all proceeds to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund to help wounded soldiers and their families.
Devan is an active member of the Horror Writer's Association. His fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Million Writers Award. In 2012 his debut novel Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde won Best Zombie/Horror E-book on Goodreads. It was also voted as one of the 15 Best Zombie Novels of 2015 by Ranking Squad.
He currently lives in Venice Beach, California.
Connect with Devan on social media:
http://www.twitter.com/devansagliani
www.facebook.com/ZombieAttackRiseOfTheHorde
Read his columns on The Escapist:
www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/darkdreams
Sign up to receive the latest news about the Zombie Attack series and other projects by Devan at www.devansagliani.com.
To learn more about AT HELL'S GATES, visit www.athellsgates.com.
Also by Devan Sagliani
The Rising Dead
A Thirst For Fire
Undead L.A. 1
Undead L.A. 2
Saint Death
At Hell's Gates: Existing Worlds
At Hell's Gates: Origins of Evil
At Hell’s Gates: Bound By Blood
Zombie Attack! Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 70