(Revenge and Zombies)
Sci Fi Romance, Suspense, Action & Adventure
Date Published: September 29. 2023
Rory and Tessa have managed to work together to survive the island, but now
they have an even bigger task at hand. Together, they must find Bennett and
the missing zombie before the virus can take over the mainland.
Easier said than done. The mainland Tessa knew before is a different world
from the one that exists now. A mysterious plague taking over the poorer
population has people nervous, and Rory and Tessa will have their work cut
out for them. Will they be able to stop Tessa’s virus before
it’s too late?
EXCERPT
Copyright ©2023 Torri Heat
It was silent out on the water. The kind of silence that screamed in your
ears, demanding to be heard. The kind of quiet that raised the hairs on the
back of your neck and created trails of goose bumps along your arms. It
spoke of a storm brewing in the distance, of an imbalance in the
scales.
The last time it was this quiet was after my father died, when the laughter
had died off, when I had snuck out from under the table I was hiding beneath
and ran to cradle his body. Afterwards, I knew I had been screaming from the
soreness of my throat, and the way I gasped for air. But during those
moments, before the paramedics showed up and carried his body away, it was
silent. Completely and utterly silent. There was only the screaming quiet in
my ears, surrounding me in a way I thought I would never experience
again.
Until now, on the boat. Rory was at the wheel, frowning as he stared into
the grey skies. We hadn’t spoken since the rush to the boat, and that
had been in mostly short sentences.
“Untie the rope for me.”
“Hand me that oar.”
“Push off.”
And getting to the boat had been too loud as we snuck past the small hordes
of zombies that had spread out across the island. Luckily, since we had
arrived at the safe zone, everything had quieted down. The zombies that had
been at the door soon gave up and spread out, and we knew that it was now or
never to make our move. Joe had loaded us up packs filled with supplies and
food — whatever the safe house had to spare. We probably had enough to last
the two of us a week on the mainland, maybe two if we stretched our rations.
A week to find Bennett, the zombie, and make our mind up about what would
happen next. I wasn’t sure yet if we’d return to the island
together, or go our separate ways. Right now, our minds were on the next
steps, and the next steps alone. We needed to find Bennett and that zombie.
There was no other way around it. If he managed to release it into the wild,
the whole thing could be a complete disaster.
There was a reason I liked science. I liked reasons. Logic. I liked there
to be answers to my questions if I worked hard enough. Two plus two always
equalled four, and I had a plan in place for how I wanted to spread the
virus. Bennett releasing one random zombie into the wild was not how my plan
was going to go and could ruin a lot more than just my revenge. I needed to
stop him before that happened.
As for Bennett when we found him… well. Unfortunately in my line of
work, there were some things I needed to do, and this was one of them. But
Bennett was a liability, and I couldn’t afford to have him running
around any more than I could have that zombie running free. I’d take
care of him when and where we found him.
The skies were darkening, and the wind was picking up, bringing my silence
to an end. Reality was flooding in, and I still needed to figure out what
our plan of action was. I pointed to the grey beach in the distance.
“I think we should try there!” I called over to Rory, yelling to
be heard over the screaming wind.
He turned to look at me, the boat cutting sharply over a wave that splashed
us both with cool water. “What?”
I pointed again. “There! Try there!”
Rory nodded and turned the wheel in the direction of the small beach. It
wasn’t the largest dock Bennett could’ve gone to, but it was
definitely the closest and easiest, which if I was bringing a zombie on my
own to the mainland is what I would’ve gone for.
The wind blew through my hair, and I grabbed for the elastic wrapped around
my wrist. Twisting my hair into a tight braid, I watched Rory as he
controlled the boat easily, as if he had been doing this all his life
despite the increasingly choppy water. I wondered what was going through his
head at this moment. Did he regret coming with me? Or maybe this was just
his way of getting back to the mainland, and he’d dump my ass as soon
as we touched ground, maybe even sending the cops my way. Not like I needed
him, really. I was certain I’d be able to find Bennett without
Rory’s help. I had been finding my way in this world alone since I was
young, and nothing had changed now.
But it might be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off, since I no longer
had James. A real, live sounding board. I didn’t need him to have
pointless conversation with. I’d rather save my breath. But to see if
my ideas were on the right track or not? Yeah, that might be nice.
I’d have to wait and see what his plan was once we got the boat to
the mainland.
About the Author
Torri Heat has always loved control. Her mind was blown when she discovered
she could control entire worlds through story writing. Throw some steamy
romance in there, and it was pretty close to perfection. Torri loves dark
heroes who ride off into the sunset on their motorcycles, fierce heroines
who can fend for themselves, and a sprinkle of the paranormal to keep things
interesting. When she’s not creating alternate realities you can find her
managing her three ring circus of kids and animals.
Find all of Torri’s books and sign up for her newsletter at her
website, or follow her on social media. You can also leave reviews!
Contact Links
Author on Facebook: @torriheatwrites
Authoron Instagram and TikTok: @torriheat
Publisher on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @changelingpress
