“There it is, again,” he whispered to himself.
“Trouble?” Drew asked as he looked up from his lady's underwear catalogue that passed as reading material given to them by the management.
“No,” he replied tersely.
He flicked a red switch on one of the electrical gadgets sitting next to the computer screen. During training they said it could be used to nudge the remote units, kind of like a dog's shock collar.
“Back off,” he commanded the screen. After he said it, he realized his voice would bring Drew over.
The zombie held firm as it stood on the hill. The truck stop was a hub of activity, but Vince couldn't figure out why the zombie was there, or why it wouldn't leave.
“At least there's no security at that one,” Drew said from over his shoulder, “but you should get him out of there. Those truckers are packing, I guarantee it.”
Vince grunted, not wanting to otherwise acknowledge that his runner was right.
“What the hell?” he said. The security wasn't there, but they were on the highway as if they'd just left. “Those Humvees are all driving away.”
“That's weird,” Drew agreed in a serious voice.
Interference buzzed in his ear. It got louder until he had to tilt his headphones up, so they weren't right over his ears.
Someone was going to notice the zombie if he didn't get control of the unit.
“Get off the damned hill,” he said as he spoke into the mic. No one could say for sure the zombies understood language, but the black suits let on there was anecdotal evidence at least some of the subjects did what they were asked. Vince panicked a little because the zombie was in the worst possible position to be shot down and a replay of the tapes would show that he did nothing to move him off that hilltop.
He suddenly needed his weasel partner.
“Go get the cap'. Go!”
“I should get the block captain?” Drew asked in surprise. “Why don't you just pull him back?”
Vince wasn't in the mood to argue with the guy.
“I never thought of that, you ass! Just friggin' go! This thing is not under my control. It's not my fault.” He knew it wasn't good to blame someone else for his problem, but he wasn't taking the fall for what was obviously a glitch. The sooner the block captain knew, the sooner he'd be off the hook for whatever followed.
Drew moved to the open cell door, but still watched the screen.
“If you don't get the captain right this second, it's going to be your fault this thing got capped. Comprende amigo?”
Drew ran out of the cell with hot feet.
On the screen, the interference got worse. The audio feed went out first, but the visual feed dropped a few seconds later. It wasn't the typical headshot because those dropped the feed, and the system went dark at the same time.
This was something else.
He came to the conclusion something cut the signal, but the zombie was almost certainly still standing where it was. Assuming it wasn't shot dead right away, it would probably try to find the nearest person and kill them.
Vince thought about the implications of that and decided he didn't really care. The people who put him in prison were out there. Maybe that zombie would kill one of them for him. He suddenly found himself wishing it all the best in that effort.
“I guess you're free,” he mumbled into the mic.
A new voice punched through the interference for just a second. “Mother?”
“Hello?” Vince replied.
Static.
He stared into the blank screen for another sixty seconds until the block captain and the warden ran into Vince's cell. The little bastard brought them both to cover his own ass.
Vince spun around in his chair to face the music.
He figured he'd soon be free, too.
###
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading all seven books in the Since the Sirens series. I’ve written something like 30 other novels since I wrote the first word of this series, and I’ve loved every one of them, but these stories remain some of my favorites. I think much of the reason is they’re set in my hometown of St. Louis, which makes every location meaningful to me as both a reader and the author. Any trip I take through the city elicits memories of scenes I placed in the books.
Another reason these are so interesting to me is because the story is far from over. I was tempted to write a few more chapters and slap them at the end of book 7 as part of this box set, so it wouldn’t end on a cliffhanger, but that would only create confusion in the minds of readers who already bought the books separately. I didn’t want to force them to buy the box set just to see more of the story. That’s not how I do business.
However, the story is frozen at a moment in time where Liam and his friends and family come face to face with one special zombie watching them from afar. I fully intend to pen book 8 and continue the journey, and I do hope you’ll become a fan and follow my newsletter to learn when it will hit bookshelves. Reader interest, in the form of emails, Facebook posts, and reviews, is how I decide which book to write next. If you liked this story, and want more, please leave a review!
For now, thank you again for spending time in my world.
EE Isherwood
January 12, 2021
E.E. Isherwood’s other books
Minus America – After an event sweeps from coast to coast, nearly everyone in mainland USA disappears. Only piles of clothes remain. Can the last Americans survive long enough to learn how it happened? Five books.
Impact (co-written with Mike Kraus) – A post-apocalyptic thriller about an asteroid slamming across the heartland of America. Six books.
End Days (co-written with Craig Martelle) – A post-apocalyptic adventure about a father and son on opposite ends of a continent ravaged by a failed science experiment. Four books.
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse – A teen boy must keep his great-grandma alive to find the cure to the zombie plague, but what if the only people immune are those over 100? Seven books.
Amazon – amazon.com/author/eeisherwood
Facebook – www.facebook.com/sincethesirens
My web page – www.eeisherwood.com
That’s all the time I have. The next book calls to me!
Since The Sirens Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 215