City of Brotherly Death

City of Brotherly Death Vampires, Revenants, and Zombies from Philadelphia

Excerpt from “One Last Favor” A mob of figures headed for the patient cubicles. In the next instant, the sound of bloodcurdling screams and tearing flesh assaulted her ears. Tara recognized the sound, having assisted with surgeries. Desatnick pulled out his gun and fired. His bullet flashed through an elderly man’s chest. Despite the bullet size, he did not bleed. No blood? Tara gasped at the sound, huddled against Chris’s shoulder. Doesn’t he have any? The man dug his finger into the hole and withdrew the bullet, loosening green pus. “Shit,” he muttered in a gravelly voice. He leaped at Desatnick. Before Desatnick could fire again, the figure snatched his gun and tossed it aside. Its bony hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed. Tara and Chris hugged each other, screaming. They’re dead, dammit, she kept thinking. What are they doing here? Maybe they picked up some virus that turned them into zombies. Just like in the Night of the Living Dead documentary she’d watched in her Literature class. They reeked like carrion. They were dead, after all. Dead people weren’t supposed to come back to life. Apparently, someone forgot to tell them that. The crunching of bones and smacking of lips were punctuated by ear-splitting shrieks. Something wet rolled into Tara’s knees. A glance at the floor gave her the source. Geysers of blood from Desatnick’s wounds sprayed the floor and flowed under the desk. If Scarlett was here, she’d fight. Tara nudged the doctor’s shoulder. “Chris,” she whispered through panting lips, “if we stay here, we’re good as dead.” Chris nodded with agreement; his shoulders trembling, green eyes wide and fearful. “You’ve got that right. But we need weapons. There’s a fire extinguisher on the left wall, by the cubicles.” Tara pressed her face against the desk panel, scanning the wall for a potential weapon. There it was, an extinguisher hanging by the first cubicle. “I see it,” she whispered. “Lucky for us, Desatnick insisted on keeping these things in every room. We’ve got oxygen tanks in the storeroom, too. Think we can grab some protection and run while these zombies are busy with Desatnick and his patients?” “I think we can if we go out the back, through the kitchen. That’s where I’m heading.” Tara eased from under the desk, followed by Chris. She snatched the extinguisher while Chris made a beeline for the storeroom. She sprinted to the hall, hugging the extinguisher under her arms, Chris ahead of her. Minutes later, strong, skeletal hands clutched her by the shoulders. Tara wrenched free, ripping the collar from her uniform. She walloped her assailant on the head. His skull cracked open, spilling fluid resembling Cream of Wheat. Tara spurted ahead, hoping to catch up with Chris, but he was gone. Clattering footfalls sounded behind her as three of the creatures chased her down the hall. Whirling around, she aimed the nozzle at her assailants. Gray smoke swirled, providing an effective screen between Tara and her attackers. She ducked inside a soiled utility room. The door had a combination lock, but such devices wouldn’t stop the walking dead. Where could she hide? If there were live humans around, these monsters would smell them. The laundry chute. No doubt their brains had rotted, and they’d never think to search the laundry room. Tara keyed in the combination and crawled inside the chute. Hands gripping the door rim, she dangled her feet. The drop had to be twenty feet. Pounding at the utility room door. Those creatures smelled her. Any second, they’d break in and see her fingers on the rim of the chute door. She let go, screaming all the way down. She landed on a mountain of dirty linen. Landing on that soft pile spared her from broken bones. She scurried away from the chute and nestled between bags of soiled clothes. Surely the dirty linen smell would camouflage her scent. She’d have to remain intact if she wanted to escape. Later, she would search for Chris Atkins and see if she could team up with him. He had become a good work buddy, someone she could trust with her life. For now, her best chance for survival lay in sitting tight and waiting until the beasts had either satisfied their hunger or given up to hunt somewhere else. A tall, wasted man dropped from the chute. She’d underestimated them. Hadn’t she told herself that combinations wouldn’t stop the dead? This one landed in the same laundry pile she had. Something had eaten away half of his gray-complexioned face. He slithered toward her, his hands outstretched. A brief look at the other stories Bad Seed – Disowned by her father, Susan drowns herself in work and booze after her fiancé dies in a car wreck. On New Year’s Eve, when her loneliness is at its worst, a battered corpse calls her name. Her fright turns to dismay when she recognizes him as a former employee whom she’d fired. Night Fighters – A terrorist group targets the Philadelphia hospitals. They hire Todd to lure victims. One day, he picks on the wrong person, never realizing that the dead have mobilized their own army against terrorists. Garden of Souls – Skeletal figures climb out of a patch of soil near Diane’s apartment building, terrifying Diane. She later learns that a family of five died in a hit-and-run accident near her home. Suspecting her ill-tempered boyfriend, she confronts him. But the dead victims have their own agenda.

Back Jacket Blurb William Penn never suspected that his beloved Philadelphia would turn into the city of brotherly death. But that’s what’s happening in Philadelphia and other major cities. And it’s only going to get worse. The dead are coming—revenants, vampires, and zombies—people who have scores to settle with the living. So padlock your doors and pack up your guns and survival gear. If the dead passed because their funds, administrators, or heartless caregivers prohibited lifesaving treatment, they will come back seeking revenge. Their anger makes them hungry for flesh. So very hungry. Even vampires won’t be immune to the terrors of revenants and zombies. The collection of 12 tales will keep you awake at night and make you wonder if you’ll ever be safe again. Alexis – Vampire Edric, takes pity on an abused little girl, Alexis, and adopts her. When Alexis matures into a woman, his love develops into possessive obsession, and he kills her in a fit of anger. But some people just won’t stay dead. A Lesson on Suffering – Viola, a home health aide, specializes in eldercare abuse, especially after she suffers a back injury. One day, she goes after the wrong person, and the woman’s son, who happens to be a vampire, commandeers an army of walking corpses to go after Viola. Lorraine’s Life Preserver – Lorraine cares for her elderly father, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t please him. Her relatives come down hard on her, especially her niece, who is after the family’s money. Her niece tries to kill Lorraine by withholding her asthma medicine. Instead, she meets a Good Samaritan, a vampire, who turns her to save her. Now endowed with immortality, Lorraine pays a visit to her family…. Bad Seed – Disowned by her father, Susan drowns herself in work and booze after her fiancé dies in a car wreck. On New Years Eve, when her loneliness is at its worst, a battered corpse calls her name. Her fright turns to dismay when she recognizes him as a former employee whom she’d fired. Night Fighters – A terrorist group targets the Philadelphia hospitals. They hire Todd to lure victims. One day, he picks on the wrong person, never realizing that the dead have mobilized their own army against terrorists. Garden of Souls – Skeletal figures climb out of a patch of soil near Diane’s apartment building, terrifying Diane. She later learns that a family of five died in a hit-and-run accident near her home. Suspecting her ill-tempered boyfriend, she confronts him. But the dead victims have their own agenda. Death’s Dividends: Leila, a nurse, grieves when her boss cuts off her friend’s life support treatment when the patients’ insurance expires. Her friend Anna dies because she didn’t have the funds to pay. Instead, Anna comes back to life and forms an unholy alliance with Leila. The hospital’s administration made a huge investment in death, and now Anna, Leila, and their army of the dead are ready to pay out dividends. My other tales include “Alexis,” in which a revenant comes back to haunt a vampire. This goes with my biography: All of these stories have appeared in small press magazines. “Alexis,” “A Lesson on Suffering,” “Rebirth,” and “Lorraine’s Life Preserver” appeared in Margaret Carter’s The Vampire’s Crypt. Margaret doesn’t publish the magazine any more, but she turns out great vampire tales. Her website: www.margaretlcarter.com. The other tales have appeared in magazines such as Outer Darkness, The Midnight Gallery, Explosive Decompression The Black Abyss, Prohibited Matter, Classic Pulp Fiction Stories, and The Ultimate Unknown.