Caldera 5_United We Fall

by Heath Stallcup

  The shot went wide and ricocheted off of the deck. Rob tried to pull his arm from her grip and Carol was knocked into the bulkhead as a dark blur pounced onto the guard’s prone form.

  Carol watched a fuzzy dark form tear into the guard that she had befriended as her vision blurred and went dark.

  She couldn’t hear the screams that echoed off of ship’s hallways as consciousness slipped away.

  Simon stared at the two story building, his instinct telling him that this was a very bad idea. He reached for a bottle that wasn’t there.

  “Hell of a time, to run out of hooch.” He worked up a mouthful of saliva and spat it onto the sidewalk. “If they’re in there, why ain’t they coming at us?”

  Sinner shook his head. “No idea.” He glanced down the street toward the house they had just left. “I’m still trying to figure out why the others ran instead of attacking.”

  Simon glanced back the way they had come and shook his head. “I’m really not liking this.” He stepped back from the building entrance, toward the truck. “It’s nearly dark. Pretty soon we won’t be able to see them coming at us if they decide they want a snack.”

  Sinner lifted the field glasses to his eyes again and peered at the entrance. Deep in the shadows he could see movement.

  A LOT of movement.

  “Uh…Simon?”

  “What?” Simon pulled the truck door open and rifled through the center console. “I know there’s another bottle in here somewhere…”

  “Simon!” Sinner backed from the curb and onto the street. He dropped the binoculars and pointed. “I think they’re coming.”

  Simon chuckled to himself. “They ain’t even breathing hard yet…HEY!” He lifted the bottle of cheap whisky and held it in the air triumphantly. “Look what I found!”

  Sinner turned and bolted for the driver’s door. “Move! They’re coming!”

  Simon turned and peered over his shoulder. A wave of grey-white bodies poured from the front of the building and he scrambled to climb into the truck while Sinner pulled the transmission lever into drive and floored it.

  Simon held on to the front of the seat and window opening of the open door, his feet dragging the pavement as Sinner spun the truck hard and pointed it in the other direction.

  “Let me…get…in!” Simon struggled, his feet sliding out from under him.

  Sinner slowed the truck and reached across the console, grabbing Simon by his leather jacket and dragged him back into the cab. A quick glance in the rear view mirror had him pressing the accelerator again.

  “What the flying fuck was—”

  Sinner grabbed his jaw and spun his head around so that he could see the flood of bodies running down the street behind them. “THAT’S what!”

  Simon swallowed hard and pulled his door shut. His hands shook as he dug in the floor for the bottle of hooch. “Don’t leave them too far behind. We need them to follow us to the local’s place.”

  “No shit.” Sinner clenched his jaw, his eyes straining in the quickly dimming light. I just hope we get there before the sun goes down.”

  “What difference does that make?” Simon turned and saw the last licks of light painting the western horizon.

  “Because if I have to turn on the headlights, the Cagers will know we’re coming.”

  Simon nodded, his body still pumping adrenaline. “Good point.” He scanned the cab of the truck and came up smiling. He lifted the pint bottle of brown liquor and snapped the lid open. He blew his breath out hard and lifted the bottle to his mouth. “I’m glad you’re smarter than you look.”

  Sinner scowled at him as he took a long pull. “Yeah, I’m more than a pretty face.”

  The truck tilted as Sinner took a corner a little too quickly and Simon held on to the open window frame. “Easy there, big boy. We don’t want these assholes snacking on us instead.”

  “I know what I’m doing.” Sinner ground his teeth as the street came into view. He slowed the truck and watched as the Crazies increased their speed, doing their best to catch their prey.

  “I just hope those two assholes got the damned fence cut like they were supposed to.” Sinner turned and looked at Simon. “Now how are we supposed to do this and nobody die?”

  Simon’s face went pale and he stared at Sinner open mouthed. “Fuck.”

  “What?!”

  Simon slid low in the seat, his shoulders slumping. “We were supposed to have a getaway car standing by. Then rig the truck to drive through the fence on its own…while we drove off in a different car.” He turned and gave Sinner a weak smile. “Then the Crazies do their part and chase the truck into the yard and…” He shrugged.

  Sinner slowed the truck and stared at him wide eyed. “You didn’t think to share that before now?” He turned his attention back to the road. “We are SO screwed right now.”

  Simon gave him another weak smile. “Oops?” He cackled as he lifted the bottle to his lips and drank greedily, praying to numb whatever pain might be coming.

  Sinner growled low in his throat as the back of the warehouse property came into view. The fading sun forced him to turn on the headlights. In their periphery he could see a gaping hole cut in the fabric of the chain link fence. “I can’t believe I agreed to follow you again.”

  Simon laughed and slapped his arm. “To be honest, neither can I!” He laughed as Sinner pulled the steering wheel and pointed the truck toward the opening.

  Simon sat up and braced his hand against the cab of the truck as the tires hit the cement curb and the front lifted from the ground.

  “YEE-HAWW!”

  Caldera The Series

  For years, the biggest threat that Yellowstone was thought to offer was in the form of its semi-dormant super volcano. Little did anyone realize the threat was real and slowly working its way to the surface, but not in the form of magma. Lying deep within the bowels of the earth itself, an ancient virus waited.

  Recently credited with the extinction of Neanderthal man, the virus erupts into a crowded Yellowstone. The park is packed with sight seers and party goers during a benefit concert who are all now fodder for the ancient rage virus.

  Follow along as Park Rangers and local Sheriff’s find themselves overwhelmed with a park full of infected human cannibals.

  Recently credited with wiping out the Neanderthals, an ancient virus is released within Yellowstone National Park and quickly spreads. A desperate plea for assistance reaches the military, but are they coming to help those battling for their lives or to wipe out every living thing in an effort to prevent a second mass extinction?

  Follow along with a select group of individuals as they fight for survival. Can they avoid the infected? Can they evade the military called in to help? Can they trust each other?

  Will humanity survive the raging cannibals that erupt from within?

  Months after an ancient rage virus erupts from the depths of Yellowstone, survivors find themselves scattered. Clinging to life in clusters, hiding from the infected and scavenging from the remnants of humanity, life has evolved to mere survival.

  The United States government has attempted to reestablish itself in the last safe place on earth…an offshore flotilla of naval vessels. The last of the CDC’s disease researchers work tirelessly to find a cure, but the virus keeps mutating. They need the original strain from Yellowstone.

  Only one man knows the park well enough to escort the military to the source of the virus. Daniel Hatcher is called upon once more to face the threat of Yellowstone. Follow along as they try to survive ground zero.

  Months after an ancient rage virus erupts from the depths of Yellowstone, survivors find themselves battling not only the infected, but each other. Predators prey on the weak and strength comes only in numbers.

  Government researchers are working tirelessly to find a cure, but time is running out. Over 90% of the world’s population is dead or infected and the number climbs daily.

  Follow a select group of survivors as they fight t
o carve out an existence while defending themselves from rage fueled cannibals and roving bands of marauders.

  Infected Ragers on one side, Marauders on the other, Hatcher and his people find themselves pinned between a rock and a hard place.

  On the off-shore Navy frigate Kauffman, an infected researcher threatens the lives of everybody onboard the new floating CDC laboratory.

  Within the infected, certain disturbing traits are observed that cause survivors to question everything they thought they knew about the virus that devastated mankind.

  In the battle for supremacy, who will come out on top?

  Coming Soon!!

  About the Author

  Heath Stallcup was born in Salinas, California and relocated to Tupelo, Oklahoma in his tween years. He joined the US Navy and was stationed in Charleston, SC and Bangor, WA shortly after junior college. After his second tour he attended East Central University where he obtained BS degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He then served ten years with the State of Oklahoma as a Compliance and Enforcement Officer while moonlighting nights and weekends with his local Sheriff's Office. He still lives in the small township of Tupelo, Oklahoma with his wife and three of his seven children. He steals time to write between household duties, going to ballgames, being a grandfather to five and being the pet of numerous animals that have taken over his home. Visit him at heathstallcup.com or Facebook.com for news of his upcoming releases.

  From the desk of Heath Stallcup

  A personal note-

  Thank you so much for investing your time in reading my story. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment and leave a review. I realize that it may be an inconvenience, but reviews mean the world to authors…

  Also, I love hearing from my readers. You can reach me at my blog: http://heathstallcup.com/ or via email at heathstallcup@gmail.com

  Feel free to check out my Facebook page for information on upcoming releases: https://www.facebook.com/heathstallcup find me on Twitter at @HeathStallcup, Goodreads or via my Author Page at Amazon.

  Also by Heath Stallcup

  My stories so far: The Monster Squad Series

  The first saga:

  Humanity has spent its time enjoying a peace that can only be had through blissful ignorance. For centuries, stories of things that go “bump” in the night have been passed down and shared. When creatures of the night proved to be real, the best of America’s military came together to form an elite band of rapid response teams. Their mission: to keep the civilian populace safe from those threats and hide all evidence of their existence.

  This time, they face the largest threat ever to rise against mankind as it prepares its own twisted Apocalypse. The only thing standing in its way is the Monster Squad. Man and monster will fight side by side in an epic battle to the death to try to defeat an evil so great, it could only have been created by the hand of God Himself.

  The second saga:

  An ancient evil is awakened by a naïve pawn. Planned centuries in advance by fallen angels, the reign of Lilith is put into motion. With a legion of demons at her command, she plans to enact her revenge upon the world’s largest religious group before thrusting herself center stage and taking her seat upon the throne as Queen of the World.

  With threats coming at them from every angle, the Monster Squad turns to an ex-member to form a new team—a team made up of the most unlikely warriors to hunt down and face the Demon Queen.

  However, when it comes time to remove the Queen in this grand game of chess, will they be able to sacrifice their own game pieces to do it?

  Caldera Trilogy

  For years, the biggest threat Yellowstone was thought to offer was in the form of its semi-dormant super volcano. Little did anyone realize the threat was real and slowly working its way to the surface, but not in the form of magma. Lying deep within the bowels of the earth itself, an ancient virus waited.

  Recently credited with wiping out the Neanderthals, the virus is released within the park and quickly spreads. A desperate plea for assistance reaches the military, but are they coming to help those battling for their lives or to wipe out every living thing in an effort to prevent a second mass extinction? Can humanity survive the raging cannibals that erupt from within?

  Whispers Trilogy

  How does a sheriff’s department from a small North Texas community stop a brutal murderer who is already dead and buried?

  When grave robbers disturb the tomb of Sheriff James ‘Two Guns’ Tolbert searching for Old West relics, a vengeful spirit is unleashed, hell bent for blood. Over a hundred years in the making, a vengeful spirit hunts for its killers. If those responsible couldn't be made to pay, then their progeny would.

  Even when aided by a Texas Ranger and UCLA Paranormal Investigators, can modern-day law enforcement stop a spirit destined to fulfill an oath made in death? An oath fueled by passion from a love cut down before its time?

  Forneus Corson

  Nothing comes easy and nothing is ever truly free. When Steve Wilson stumbles upon the best-kept secret of history’s most successful writers, he can’t help but take advantage of it. Little did he know it would come back to haunt him in ways he’d never have dreamt… even in his worst nightmares.

  With his life turned upside down, his name discredited, his friends persecuted, the authorities chasing him for something he didn’t do, Steve finds himself on the run with nothing but his wits and his best friend by his side. When a man finds himself hitting rock bottom, he thinks there’s little else he can do but go up… unless he’s facing an evil willing to dig the hole deeper. An evil in the business of pitting men against odds so great, they risk losing their very souls in the attempt to escape…

  Mind Trip

  These are just some of the dark and twisted ideas that have run through the mind of Heath Stallcup over the years. Join him in a journey to the darker side of short story fiction. Mobsters intent on ruling the world reveals that sometimes you just can’t go home. The release of a zombie virus and the ramifications of trying to hide it. Sometimes reality isn’t what you think it is. Those noises in the attic may not be rats… Dwelling on the past can be introspective but refusing to let go will skew your reality. You know you are about to die. You want nothing more than to protect your loved ones. In a fever induced delirium you lead the threat away from those you care most about.Hunter Trilogy

  Born of Viking stock, careered into the Swedish Navy, Sven Ericsson finds himself in the fabled New World. Away from the restraints of society, the young Northman is dragged into long nights of debauchery; nights that lead him into the waiting arms of a dark beauty who will change his very nature forever. Fighting his new unnatural status, Sven steers clear of humanity, skulking along the fringe of society, and filling his inhuman need with the blood of the outcasts or the easily forgotten. A shadow among the shadows...until extraordinary events, centuries later, force him to emerge from the dark. A mishap of his own making pits Sven Ericsson into a moral quandary that will remind him what it means to be a warrior. He is a killer. A fighter.

  And a Hunter of his own kind.

  Check this YA Zombie thriller from JJ Beal.

  Lions & Tigers & Zombies, Oh My!

  The cold war has heated up again. This time the battle will be fought in every street of America.

  Trapped in a major city, hours from their small town country home, a team of young girls find themselves cut off from everyone they know and left to fend for themselves as the world spins out of control.

  With nothing but their wits, their softball equipment and their friendship to hold them together, they face incredible odds as they fight their way across the state. Physical, emotional and psychological challenges meet them at every turn as they struggle to find the family they can’t be sure survived. How much more can they endure before reaching the breaking point?

  Also From DevilDog Press

  Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo

  Nemesis by Suzanne Madron

  Prey: Blood of The Ancient
s By Tim Majka

  All That Remain By Travis Tufo

  From The Ash By Dave Heron

  Mossy Creek A Maggie Mercer Mystery By Jill Behe