Before The Shores Of The Dead: The Complete Collection

by Hilden, Josh

  “Little, I’m sorry you haven’t heard from your mom, but I need to ask you a question.” She heard him take a deep breath. “Have you seen or heard from any of my family?”

  She didn’t respond, how was she supposed to tell him?

  “Scarlet, have you seen my family?” he asked again. Panic filled his words.

  “I think that your Mom and Dad are dead, Kyle,” she said calmly. She was doing her best to be a rock he could lean against even if they were separated by miles.

  She heard Kyle, Kyle who’d saved her in the park and told her she was pretty when her mouth was full of metal, start to bawl like a baby.

  “Kyle, are you there?”

  “Little, how do you know they are dead?”

  The sounds of moaning and banging could be heard in the background.

  “SHIT!” Kyle swore on the other end.

  “Kyle, where the hell are you?” she asked, he was scaring her.

  “Benny and I are locked in the employee bathroom at Toys “R” Us. There is a dead girl that used to fuck me on the other side of the door, and Benny is unconscious from a blow to the head,” he said then started to laugh at the insanity of the situation.

  There were more wails and pounding noises.

  “Oh knock it the fuck off you spiteful bitch!” Kyle yelled as he laughed.

  “Jesus Christ Kyle, can she get at you?” Scarlet asked terrified more for his safety than her own.

  “Nah, we’re safe in here. When I’m quiet for a while she will just start scratching at the walls again.” He sighed and then continued, “How do you know they are dead Little?” he asked again. This time his voice was considerably calmer.

  “Your dad pulled up to the house at about eight, I was up here in the attic and I can see your whole house from here. When he got out of the car he was stumbling. Kyle I could see red all over the front of his shirt.” She stopped unsure how to continue.

  “Just tell me Scarlet… please,” he said.

  “Kyle, your Mom came out of the front door and took him by the arm. She led him into the house. About twenty minutes later I heard screaming.” She was sobbing now. “The screams lasted for a few minutes and then I heard two gunshots. That was the last thing I heard Kyle, and I never saw anything else I swear. The house has stayed dark the entire time and the power is on in the entire neighborhood.” She was relieved to have gotten that information off of her chest.

  “Thank you, Scarlet,” he said.

  “For what?” she asked confused.

  “For telling me, not knowing would have been a thousand times worse than knowing.” He paused for a second then asked a question, “Have you heard from Jennifer? Do you know the name of the guy she was going to see today and where they were going?”

  “Not since this morning,” she replied evasively.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” he asked sounded suspicions and irritated.

  “Look Kyle… I promised I wouldn’t tell. She’s my best friend.”

  “Little, for the love of Christ what aren’t you telling me?” he was yelling now.

  She started to cry again, this time in frustration.

  “She’s pregnant Kyle. She had a doctor’s appointment today,” Scarlet’s voice went flat and emotionless as she made the pronouncement.

  Kyle went silent.

  Finally he asked, “How long has she known about this?”

  Scarlet was saved from further answers. She heard the distorted voice of Benny Millette in the background of the echoy restroom. “Three months, we have known for three months, but she is closer to four months along.”

  Scarlet spoke up, “Is that Benny? Kyle is he okay?”

  Kyle didn’t answer, instead he asked another question. “Scarlet, do you think you will be safe for a while?”

  “I guess,” she said then quickly added, “but I can’t stay here, I am going to have to leave soon.” She was terrified and all of that fear was coming back to her now that her revelation of Jennifer’s secret was finished.

  “Just stay hidden for a few hours. I’m coming for you.” He sounded like the old Kyle again. The young man she would have followed into hell, the only man she would ever love.

  As she hung up she was weeping once more, this time with relief. Kyle would come for her. She knew and believed that more than anything else in the universe.

  For the next hour she stayed locked in the attic and spent the time trying to think of anything but the living dead walking around outside. She had to control the fear or it would eat her.

  You’ve survived things more horrible than most people would have been able to before this happened, you’ll make it through all of this!

  She didn’t believe she was hearing the sound of her mother truck until it was nearly at the house. The muffler on the Parker family truck was more holes than muffler and Scarlet was always able to hear her mother coming two blocks away. She’d been in such a deep state shock that she’d never realized what she was hearing until it was almost too late.

  Mommy!

  Scarlet sprang up and ran down the attic stairs. Throwing the door open she bounded out onto the second floor and bolted for the main stairs.

  She heard the sound of her mother inserting the keys in the lock and clicking it open.

  Taking the steps three at a time she’d reached the door just as it was opening.

  “Mommy!” she exclaimed opening the door and making a gesture to pull her mother inside so she could secure the door behind them.

  The moan saved her.

  She’d heard enough of them through the windows to recognize the moan of the dead. The one loosed from her mother’s mouth was a heartbreaking chill inducing wail of pain and hunger. Looking into her mother’s flat dead eyes and snapping jaws Scarlet knew that even if she survived this she’d never be the same again.

  “Mommy?” she whispered pulling away and stepping back.

  Mrs. Parker stepped into her home arms outstretched and all of her attention on her daughter. The thing which had once been a woman was hungry with only one desire… to feed.

  Scarlet scrambled up the stairs. She was running on instinct and adrenaline. She had a single goal, get back in the attic. After she accomplished that she could consider her other options.

  Behind Scarlet her mother moaned and began her clunky ascent of the stairs. There was no real chance her mother would catch her, unless of course she stumbled like little Annie Phelps, but the terror was real and total. She easily gained the open door to the attic but then stopped and turned. Her mother was shuffling off of the stairs and beginning to make progress down the hall.

  I could just wait. I could wait, let her bite me, and then we could walk out of the house together. I wouldn’t be alone anymore. We could walk the land and go anywhere we wanted.

  Her mother continued towards her, hands outstretched with that eerie moan filling the house. Scarlet backed through the doorway but didn’t close the door, she watched the slow steady progress of her mother.

  She would be so ashamed of me if I gave up. Even bitten she tried her hardest to get home to me and here I am ready to give up and die.

  Her resolution firmed and slowly she closed the door. “I love you mommy,” she said as the door clicked shut and she engaged the lock. She remained in the attic with her mother knocking around the house until Kyle and Benny arrived and the three of them left together.

  Now

  “That’s my story,” Scarlet finished. “I think you know the rest.” She wiped an errant tear from her eye. “We all have out horror stories about that day and I’m sure I’m far from the only person who considered ending it. But the guilt still pulls at me. I’m not looking for absolution, I don’t believe in that. I think I just needed to tell my story.”

  “In the old days we had people who specialized in listening. I don’t think we can afford that anymore.” Willis Jordan took her hands in his. “That is part of the reason I founded the church. I hadn’t given a shit what Rome h
ad said for years before the dead rose. I believe in good works and one of the best is just being there for people to talk to without judgment. No closed doors, no confessions, and no damned penance.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hands back.

  “The church is here to help and serve the people regardless of their beliefs, the people are not here to serve the church.” The vehemence in his voice was inspiring. “That’s why I’m going north. Those boys and girls are going to need somebody they can talk to.”

  Scarlet rose and wrapped her arms around him then kissed him on his bearded cheek. “You are a good man Willis, they are going to be lucky to have you up there.”

  He hugged her back.

  Outside the sounds of children playing in the last of the light could be heard. It was quiet and peaceful on the island but they all knew darkness was coming. They’d had their moment of calm between the storms but now the clouds were once again building and they knew soon they would be called upon to stand as a bulwark between the light and dark.

  The End

  The first part of the second Shores of the Dead Trilogy will be released in Summer of 2015.

  A Call to Action!

  If you will forgive me, and even if you won’t, I am going to take a few minutes of your time before you dive into your download.

  I am an Indie Writer. This means that I am either self publishing my work or I am being published by a small company and not one of the “Big 6” publishers. I enjoy being independent, I can write what I want when I want with little to no oversight from above.

  It also means I am doing all of the heavy lifting for myself.

  That is the part I enjoy the least. I don’t enjoy constantly spamming social media with information on my latest work, but it is a task I have to do.

  “But Josh” you ask, “What can I do to help you out?”

  The answer is very simple. I have a short list of things you can do to give me a helping hand.

  Share information about my work with your friends and family

  Like, review, and rate my work on Amazon and Goodreads (of course if you don’t like something I would prefer you not leave negative feedback)

  Finally you can sign up for my mailing list (link below) to keep up with the latest goings on with me and my work

  I look forward to producing more products that you can enjoy and I anticipate a long and happy reader/writer relationship!

  - Josh Hilden

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  When I was born on August 3, 1976 in the great state of Michigan the hills shook and the sky was swept with fire. These were portents of the greatness for my future that was written in the stars ... I'm still waiting for that greatness.

  My name is Josh Hilden and I am many things. I am a husband, a father, a son, a friend. These are all important things but at my core I am an artist and the medium that I work in is words. I am a writer of Role Playing Games, short stories, essays, poetry, novellas, and novels.

  In the everyday world I can be found spending time with my family and friends. I have been married to my lovely wife Karen since September of 1996. We have six amazing children. We tend to be a family of unabashed geeks and gamers who were geek before geek was chic.

  If you are really interested in me I am very active online with a personal and a writing blog along with a plethora of social media outlets. All links are available at my website (www.joshhilden.com). If you have any questions or just want to chat hit me up!