by Rose Wynters
Phase One: Identify
By Rose Wynters
Territory of the Dead, Book 1
Copyright Notice:
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events listed in this book are products of the author's imagination, or used fictitiously.
Phase One: Identify (Territory of the Dead, Book 1)
All Rights Reserved
© 2013 Rose Wynters
Book Cover Image Credits:
The risen dead man, © Triff, 2013
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
No parts of this book may be used, duplicated, copied, or reproduced without written permission from the author, with the exception of small quotations used in reviews or articles.
This e-book has been provided for your personal enjoyment only. Sharing or posting it publicly is strictly prohibited.
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http://www.RoseWynters.com
Other Books by Rose Wynters:
The Endurers:
Once upon a time the world was just a black void. Then one day man came, but he wasn't alone. He was followed by an ancient evil, a scourge determined to steal his soul. Centuries passed. Humanity did all it could to protect itself against the evil ones, but they weren't equipped to fight this battle. Instead, all they could do was pray that Hell didn't set its eyes upon them.
It got to be too much. Something had to be done.
Born out of desperate need, warriors were chosen. Immortality was granted to those strong enough to fight the battle that would never end. No longer mortal, these men have stood in the path of dark and horrifying evil, bearing the load when there was nobody else that could.
It's all coming to an end. Time has ran out for humanity...
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Book One: Rubenesque Rapture
Book Two: Curvaceous Condemnation
Book Three: Delicate Devastation
Wolf Town Guardians:
Wolf Town Guardians - Born to walk this world as both wolf and human, these men take their role as protectors very seriously. Enjoying sensual pleasures as they please, this group of alpha werewolves are the finest when it comes to protecting their hidden settlement.
Guardians are the masters of self-control, taking pride in their authority and hard, muscled bodies. That all changes at the first scent of their mates. Their control snaps. The mating heat begins.
This is their stories.
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Plus-Sized Romance
Book One: My Wolf King
Book Two: My Wolf Protector
Dedication:
Here's to Uncle Ty. With his infinite knowledge of guns and kick-butt attitude, zombies would rue the day they ever crossed his path.
Prologue
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The constant and repetitive sound of the cash register was putting me in a trance as I continued to scan the items from the pile lying on the moving belt. It was almost closing time at the small grocery store I worked at, but you wouldn't be able to tell it by the line of customers waiting. At this time of night, you'd think they'd rather be anywhere but here.
You'd think wrong, though. It was the end of spring, the weather at that small margin of bliss between cool and comfortably warm. The night had just a touch of coolness that blew through the automatic glass doors every time they opened. It was fanciful I know, but I imagined I could scent spring on the very air.
It was a time of romance, at least for everyone else but me. I'd just graduated from high school, and was still not sure where I was going after that. The economy hit hard in my family, and there was no money for college.
Truth be told, I really didn't mind. At least, I really didn't mind about not starting college that fall. I was tired of school. I wanted adventure, fun, and freedom, not necessarily in that order. I was eighteen, ready to spread my wings and fly.
I knew I'd never find that working as a checkout girl, but at least this job gave me some spending money. It was incredibly boring though, and definitely not something I'd want to do for the rest of my life. You see, I have dreams. I want to be rich and famous, I just haven't figured out how I'm going to get there.
The customer cleared her throat and gave me a pointed stare, pulling me from my musings. The mountain of groceries on the black belt were gone. Even lost in my thoughts, I'd managed to scan and bag them up.
She had her hand extended with a stack of coupons, waiting for me to take them. Just great, I thought, but pasted a smile on my face. The customers behind her glared, impatient with the wait. Usually that meant they weren't very happy by the time they reached me.
Unfortunately, I was the only cashier that night. It's sad to say, but that isn't uncommon. Jim, the manager and owner of this small town grocery, wasn't big on hiring employees. He's the type of man that expects his workers to do the jobs of two people instead of one. By the end of my shifts, I'm always dead on my feet.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see him glaring at me from his “box” as I liked to call it. His pale cheeks were mottled with red, the bald area on his head shining brightly underneath the artificial light. He was thick-set with thick lips that were currently tight with annoyance. It was obvious he blamed me for the line of customers backed up.
His office was a wooden enclosure next to the glass doors, with steps leading up to it. Personally, I thought Jim had some type of God complex and it made him feel big to lord himself over everyone. You wouldn't ever catch him at the cash register, doing something as common as scanning the groceries for his own store.
I exhaled deeply as I finished scanning the last coupon. The woman gave me a sharp look of annoyance, as if I had no room for complaint. Really, what did she expect? Was I supposed to grovel and thank her for allowing me the honor of scanning her precious coupons ten minutes before closing time?
Apparently so. “You know, young lady, it wouldn't hurt you to smile at your customers and thank them when they offer you their coupons. I don't think I've ever had such poor customer service. I don't have to shop here, especially with this kind of attitude.” She was working herself up into a rage, her expression full of self-righteous indignation.
I didn't reply, but instead pushed the total button. Some of the customers in line groaned, while others shifted in impatience. They really didn't want to be further delayed by her rant. She slammed a hundred dollar bill down on the counter. “Where is your manager? I want to speak with him now.”
I pointed towards Jim, as he straightened his shoulders and attempted to look professional. I could only imagine the holier-than-thou attitude he would have as he sympathetically agreed with her. Around here, I could never do anything right, or so it seemed.
I didn't see anyone else standing around though, willing to put up with his crap. If I didn't need the money so badly, I'd walk out the door faster than he could blink. I was tired of the humiliation, and tired of being blamed for the lines just because he was to tight to hire on adequate staff.
I was silent as I quickly made her change. Really, what could any person say? She was mad due to reasons of her own, something that really didn't concern me. With one last glare she huffed, and moved on in his direction. She never made it, though.
It would have been worth the complaint and subsequent chewing out I would have received, if the events of the night just wouldn't have happened. I would later look back on this night and pray that things had ended differently. You can't change events that are completely out of your control, though.
Even so, anything would have been preferable to that one
moment when you find your reality has just been blown to pieces and would never be the same again. That's assuming you live to survive it.
She was halfway to Jim, her teased, hairdo bouncing, when it happened. A loud, panicked scream tore through the night, originating somewhere from the parking lot in front of the store. Even through the thick glass, we could hear it loudly. It sounded like someone was being murdered. I immediately stopped scanning, turning in an attempt to see what was happening.
A body slammed against the glass, face and palms pressed to the surface. It was a horrid sight. His pupils were red and crazed, his face extremely pale and dirty. Dark red blood was smeared across his cheeks and chin. The man stood still for a moment, just watching us with his crazy eyes. Something reanimated him. He slid his palms down the clear, clean glass, leaving a trail of bloody streaks.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the blood. As odd as it sounds, I felt irritated. My stunned mind couldn't accept the reality of what I was seeing. I'd just cleaned that glass when I first came in on my shift today. Knowing Jim, he'd make me clean it again before I could go home. After he chewed me out, of course.
I shook my head in aggravation, lost in my thoughts. Dimly, I heard one of the customers ask, “What in the hell is that?” It pulled me back to the present.
Nobody moved, to stunned to do anything but watch. Even Jim stared at him, his jaw slack from shock. The man started pounding on the glass with enough force to cause them to shake. It was obvious he was looking for a way in. I shook my head at his idiocy, and wondered why he didn't just use the door.
The sound of repeated gunfire broke the silence. It sounded like a war zone outside of the walls of the store, and panic immediately set in. The customers abandoned their purchases and shopping carts, running straight toward the automatic doors.
“Don't go out there,” I yelled out, suddenly afraid for the man outside to figure out the way in. For whatever reason, so far he hadn't. To my way of thinking, if someone isn't in their right mind enough to figure out how to get into a store, they didn't have any business being there in the first place.
The customers ignored me, the first one getting close enough to activate the automatic door feature. With horrified shock, I watched him step through and into the outside world, but he didn't get any further. The crazed man grabbed him roughly and immediately bit his face.
Nobody stopped to help him, to desperate to save themselves. As the other customers raced away, I watched a man slowly ate to death. There was simply no other way to describe it. Screaming, he tried to fight, but it was no use. Red-eyes was strong enough to lock him into place as he quickly tore chunk after chunk of flesh out of his struggling body.
With a gasp, I put both hands over my mouth and attempted to not vomit. My stunned mind simply couldn't comprehend what it was seeing. I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, one that I couldn't wake up from. After another minute or two of screaming, the customer grew silent, his body limp.
I knew he was dead, but it didn't stop the cannibalistic actions of the wild man that had hold of him. With loud smacks, he chewed every exposed section of flesh until finally he had his fill. At least, of him.
His red eyes swung in my direction. Without a second glance, he released the dead man's body. It hit the ground with a loud thump, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. He was already dead, but even if he wasn't, there wasn't a thing in this world I could do for him. My death was waiting in those red eyes as well, if I didn't figure out how to save myself in the next few seconds.
As luck would have it, I didn't have to. As I watched, a gun exploded and a bullet hit him straight in the side of the head. When it did it took out a huge portion of his skull, leaving a gaping hole with brains and blood oozing back out. He remained standing for another second, before falling down next to the man he'd killed.
I'm ashamed to say, I never gave another thought to Jim. I just wanted to survive. The truth was, he wouldn't have thought of me either. I wasn't even sure he was still in the store. My car keys were in my pocket, and I dug them out as I raced out into the night and into a completely different world.
Even though it was dark, the parking lots gave off enough light to see the chaos outside. Bodies that looked like they belonged in graves were running, chasing down the living to grab them and feast. Once they fell, they didn't get back up again. Screams filled the night air, interrupted only by the sound of occasional gunfire.
The world had gone mad. I could see people attempting to break into the houses lining the streets next to the store. Whether they were living or dead, I couldn't tell. I had only one thought on my mind, and that thought was survival.
Keeping close to the wall, I quietly made my way around to the side where employees parked. So far, I hadn't been noticed. That didn't stop the fear that was causing me to shake, though.
If nothing else, I was a realistic person. I knew if a zombie got their hands on me I was a goner. There was no way I was big enough or strong enough to fight off one of those things. When I reached the car and got in, I gave a huge sigh of relief.
I wanted to get home to my parents as soon as possible. I was terrified one of those things would reach them before I could. This late at night, they were probably already in bed. They wouldn't even know the danger they were in.
It had only taken me a minute to realize some cold, hard facts. Number one, I'd just seen my first zombies. Number two, there was no way to stop what was happening. Number three, the odds were I'd never live to see my nineteenth birthday. Life was over before I'd ever even got the chance to live it.
On that note, I started the car and tore off through the parking lot.
Chapter 1
I pulled into the driveway in my little car, but didn't stop there. Instead, I made a sharp turn to the right, pulling right up in the grass in front of the door. Our residential neighborhood was a lot quieter than the main part of town, but I'd still passed zombies on my way here. I wasn't chancing a late-night stroll from the garage.
The headlights of my car was a dead giveaway to any zombies close by. Quickly, I shut them off and surveyed the area. So far it was quiet, no red eyes glaring at me in the darkness. Turning off the interior light before it could come on, I grabbed my purse and threw the door open.
As I ran up the steps, the front door opened. Someone had been watching and waiting for me to get home. As soon as my foot hit the top step, my mother grabbed me and pulled me in.
“Thank God, you're alive,” she said, her voice thick with worry. She pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly. “We were trying to call you, over and over again. When we didn't get an answer, well, we thought the worse. Your dad was about to go out and start searching.”
I thought of the last place I saw my phone. It was lying underneath the cash register at the store, and there it would remain. It wasn't like I'd be returning for it. Having a cell phone was the least of my worries now. I had no intentions on being separated from my parents again.
I watched my dad shut and lock the door before turning around to look at us. He was tall and stocky, with graying hair and a round face. He was pleasant looking, with a cheery, boisterous personality to match. So it made this night all the more horrific when I looked down and saw the rifle gripped tightly in his hands.
The nearly invisible age lines on his face were creased with stress. His face was pale, dreadfully so. I disentangled myself from my mom and walked over to him. “Dad,” I said, my voice sounding as terrified as I felt. I hadn't cried until now, but suddenly I couldn't stop the tears that flooded my eyes and face. “What is happening out there?”
He released a long sigh, the noise loud in the silence of our home. It was obvious my parents were on their way to bed when all hell broke lose. He was wearing his usual cotton pajamas, but had a robe on. My mom was wearing a long nightgown. It was what she called her granny gown, but she definitely wasn't a grandma. I was their only child, and I didn't have any children. After all, I was o
nly eighteen.
We heard a loud crash from somewhere close by, and my mom jerked in reaction. It was followed by screams and the sound of gunshot. Dad went into the living room quickly and turned the lamp off, casting the room in shadows.
Silently, Mom and I followed him over to the large, picture window that looked out over our front yard. We didn't live in the elite part of town, but we didn't live in the worst part either. Houses here were anywhere from twenty to forty feet apart. I couldn't see anything moving in the darkness, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything out there. The zombies were just hidden, waiting to leap out at us when we were least expecting it.
More screams erupted from somewhere down the street, as someone called loudly for help. She didn't scream for long, though. It ended as abruptly as it started, and a chill raced down my spine. I knew what that meant. She was dead.