Metahumans vs the Undead: A Superhero vs Zombie Anthology
Page 19
Coughing against the dust that coated his mask, Axiom-man pulled it down, exposing his face to the fresh air.
His arm hung limp at his side. A fresh streak of pain shot through his shoulder. Adrenaline pumping, the need to escape and seal off the tunnel having overwhelmed him, he didn’t realize it had been dislocated.
Shouting from the pain, he knew he had to figure out how to fix it, but not before dispatching the dead stumbling toward the blast site below. Batting most of the dust off his mask with his good hand, he pulled it back in place over his face, and flew close to the creatures and picked them off with his energy beams before going higher in the sky, surveying the town below.
Cradling his arm, his muscles tensing all over from the pain, he didn’t know how much more he could take.
He spotted a couple more straggling undead below and took them out. On the horizon, coming in between a mountain of rock that had been blasted in half way back when the roads were built, were a couple of tanks, military jeeps, a truck and something else that he couldn’t make out this far away.
Finally, the cavalry had arrived.
Flying over as fast he could, he landed on the roadway far enough from the lead tank for it to stop. Its engine rumbled, shaking the ground. A moment later, the top hatch to the tank opened and a soldier decked out in full gear popped his head out.
“How bad is it?” the soldier asked.
It wasn’t the greatest question to broach what was happening, but at least Axiom-man was able to provide them an answer. Wincing, he said, “Better. Most have been sealed off in a tunnel near the mine.” I hope. He pointed toward the tall red mineshaft in the distance. The soldier must have seen the dust still floating on the air because the man nodded. “But there are a few stragglers. Was able to stop a bunch of them, but a full sweep of the town and surrounding area needs to be conducted otherwise we run the risk of one or more getting away. The cops . . . all dead.”
The soldier nodded again then put his walkie to his mouth. Axiom-man grimaced beneath his mask, the pain growing so much it was all he could think about and couldn’t hear what the soldier was saying.
His arm . . .
“Hey!” the soldier shouted.
Axiom-man looked up at him.
“You all right? I thought you were bulletproof”
He took a deep breath. Not quite. “I’ll live.”
The soldier thumbed over his shoulder. “Got a medical jeep back there. Go get fixed up then help us ensure this town goes on lockdown until the threat is eliminated.”
Not caring that he was getting an order, he simply nodded, floated a couple feet off the ground, and went toward the jeep with a female soldier sticking her head out the passenger side window and waving him down.
Behind him, the lead tank rumbled its engine and continued down the road. Some of the other jeeps followed. The tank in the rear rounded the vehicle he was next to.
The woman asked, “Never thought I’d see the day when this would happen.”
“Don’t think that. Besides, no one would’ve imagined—”
She looked at him crossly, as if he just insulted her personally. “I did.”
As firmly as possible, he said, “Waiting for something like this to happen means you expect the worst, means you’ve lost hope.” He didn’t mean to lecture, but his shoulder hurt so bad he wasn’t in the mood for anything else negative.
“I don’t—”
“The world’s a different place now,” he said, thinking back to the Doorway of Darkness and how its emergence into the world changed the fabric of existence, opening up possibilities of disaster even worse than what he went through tonight. He floated back to the ground.
“I guess you’re right,” she said. “The dead’ve come back to life. Know how?”
“No,” he said. “Not completely, but I think whatever the answer is, it lies in that mine I sealed off. The real question is if you want to open it to find out.”
“Pandora’s Box.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
She stepped out of the jeep and felt up and down his arm, his shoulder.
“It’s dislocated,” he said.
She called for a couple of soldiers to come down and help her put it back in place. “This is going to hurt.”
“Just get it over with,” he said.
Gunshots echoed from the town. The blast of the tank went off, thunder on the air.
The soldiers grabbed him, one in the front, one in the back. Without even counting it off, the one in front pulled his arm down and forward, then pushed it back up while the other soldier held him firm. With a loud, dull thuck, white pain shot through his arm and shoulder, all sensation gone from his hand and arm.
“Thanks,” he said, though wasn’t sure if he actually said the word.
The soldiers let go of him and he teetered on his feet.
“You okay, bub?” one of the soldiers asked, a big guy at least two-hundred-fifty pounds.
“No, but I’ll manage,” Axiom-man said.
The soldier helped steady him.
Thanking them one last time, Axiom-man rose into the air and headed back toward the town.
He had a job to finish.
Author Bios
Eric S. Brown is the author of numerous books including the Bigfoot War series, The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies, Season of Rot, and World War of the Dead to name only a few. His short fiction has been published hundreds of times in the small press and beyond. He lives in North Carolina with his family where he continues to write tales of hungry corpses, blazing guns, and the things that lurk in the woods. Visit him online at ericsbrown.wordpress.com
Frank Dirscherl was born in 1973 and has been working as a librarian since 1992. As well as being a writer, he is also a comic book lecturer, amateur history buff and publisher of Trinity Comics, where he writes the multi-Ledger-nominated The Wraith comic book series. Cult of the Damned is his third novel. His previous works, The Wraith (filmed in 2005), Valley of Evil, and the non-fiction, The Wraith: Eyes of Judgment - The Official Script Book & Movie Guide, all published by Coscom Entertainment. He’s also contributed to a variety of pulp anthologies and edited a non-fiction book on independent filmmaking. He lives on the south coast of NSW, Australia, with his wife Jennifer. For more information on Frank and The Wraith, please visit www.frankdirscherl.com and www.the-wraith.com
Lorne Dixon lives and writes off an exit of I-78 in residential New Jersey. He grew up on a diet of yellow-spined paperbacks, black-and-white monster movies, and the thunder lizard backbeat of rock-n-roll. He is the author of the mummy thriller, Eternal Unrest, The Lifeless, Snarl and the mash-up, Hound: Curse of the Baskervilles.
A.P. Fuchs is the author of many novels and short stories, most of which have been published. His most recent books are the first three installments in the Blood of my World vampire series: Discovery of Death, Memories of Death, Life of Death. He’s also author of the zombie novels, Possession of the Dead and Zombie Fight Night: Battles of the Dead, in which zombies fight such classic monsters as werewolves, vampires, Bigfoot, and even go up against awesome foes like pirates, ninjas, and . . . Bruce Lee. He is also known for his superhero series, The Axiom-man Saga, and the author of the shoot ’em up zombie trilogy, Undead World. Fuchs lives and writes in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Visit his corner of the Web at www.canisterx.com
Anthony Giangregorio is the author of 36 novels, almost all of them about zombies, and has edited over 25 anthologies. His work has appeared in Dead Science by Coscom Entertainment, Dead Worlds: Undead Stories Volumes 1-7, and Wolves of War by Library of the Living Dead Press. He also has stories in End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology Vol. 1-5, the Book of the Dead Series Vol. 1-6 by LDP, Zombie Zoology by Severed Press, two anthologies with Pill Hill Press and Metahumans vs the Undead by Coscom Entertainment. He is also the creator of the popular action/zombie series titled Deadwater, and his action/ horror novel, Dead Rage, is being optioned for a movie. Check out his we
bsite at www.undeadpress.com
Keith Gouveia is a writer for today’s reader, delivering action and intrigue from the opening page. One of his current writing projects is an origin tale for Midnight Angel. While you wait, check out his collection of eleven startling werewolf tales, Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy or The Black Cat and the Ghoul, his continuation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale. And if it’s Fantasy you crave, grab a copy of his newest release, The Goblin Princess. His website is www.keithgouveia.com
Joe Martino is the founder of JGM Comics and the creator of Shadowflame and Ripperman. He has been creating and publishing comics since 1996. He is a father of two, writer, penciler and musician. You can see more of Joe’s work at jgmcomics.com and arcana.com
The idea of Nightcat first came when J.L. MacDonald was in her early teens and it would be close to a decade before she gained enough courage to write a novel about the superheroine. Since then she has completed a second Nightcat novel and is well on the way to finishing the third. Jennifer works full time as a computer programmer and in addition to typical geek hobbies, she enjoys woodworking, sewing, painting, playing the guitar and fiddle as well as playing with her three Jack Russell Terriers, Taz, Willow and Echo, who are quick to lend a paw with whatever help they think she requires.
Rhiannon Paille was never a normal girl. She tried, but she couldn’t get rid of the visions, the voices in her head, and the hallucinations. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site, www.rhiannonpaille.com
Gina Ranalli is an award-winning author living in the Seattle area. Her books include, Praise the Dead, Unearthed, House of Fallen Trees and Dark Surge, among others. You can visit her on the web at www.ginaranalli.com
After a 17-year fencing career, J.B. Robb served for 22 years as an army officer in the Canadian Forces Reserves. Both a certified management accountant and a chartered accountant, he works as group controller of Fifth Avenue Collection, an international fashion jewellery company. He and Donna, his wife of 35 years, have two grown children. Knight of the Zombies is his first published story.
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