Authors: Dirk Patton
“Now, Jackson! You’re out of time!” I said into the radio,
then dropped it into a deep cup holder molded into the dash.
I knew we needed to start moving to stay ahead of the herd,
but I couldn’t put the ambulance into gear. I was exhausted. Mentally,
physically and emotionally exhausted. This didn’t stop me from being able to
physically drive us out of there, but I felt like I had failed these people.
Most of the men and women still standing on the platform were shooters that had
stayed on the wall until the last minute. Shooters I had recruited. I’ve had
men under my command die before, and as I sat there I recognized it would
probably happen again and there wasn’t a damn thing I could have done
differently. That didn’t make it any easier and all I wanted to do was step
out of the ambulance and face the approaching herd and kill every single one of
the damn things.
Checking the mirror again I saw that the females had already
covered half the distance and more were pouring into the street at the
intersection. Looking back up I saw the train start to move. Several men in
the group were actually picking up the women who had fought with them and were
throwing them through the air to waiting hands that caught them and pulled them
to safety on the train. Three women were saved this way as the train picked up
speed, but a fourth fell just short and landed under the train car to be run
over by the steel wheels moments later. After that no one else tried.
There was movement at the edge of the group closest to the
swiftly approaching herd and I saw Sergeant Jackson step clear of the people
around him, face the infected and rack a shell into the chamber of the shotgun
in his hands. Another man I recognized as the vet who had lost an arm stepped
up beside him, a fire axe swinging lightly in his one hand. As one the group
turned to face the coming death, pipes and boards, anything they could find to
fight with in their hands. The train continued to pick up speed as the leading
edge of the sprinting females reached the ambulance and raced past me, focused
on the survivors standing under the train station’s lights. With the herd only
a few hundred yards away I could see Jackson raise a hand to his mouth a moment
before I heard his voice on the radio.
“Thank you, Major. I wanted you to know we got two train
loads of people to safety, and Ms. Betty and her kids were on the first train.
There’s still people in the town, but we saved thousands. Good luck to you.”
His voice was steady and strong. Less than a minute later the infected were
close enough for him to fire the first round from his shotgun, obliterating the
head of a female with long brown hair. I couldn’t stand to watch anymore and
dropped the transmission into drive and accelerated away, females pounding on
the sides of the ambulance and being crushed under as I drove. Tears streaming
down my face I kept my eyes forward as I passed the massacre at the train
station and sped away into the dark.
First and foremost I want to thank you, the reader, for
having parted with your hard earned money for this book. Without you this
wouldn’t be possible and certainly wouldn’t be as rewarding. I love to hear
from my readers and you can always email me at
[email protected]
. Also, like
the Voodoo Plague Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/FearThePlague
for info on upcoming books as well as some behind the scenes details on the
series and characters.
While I’m at it, thanks to the whole crew in Kirkland, you know
who you are. You guys are the best and I miss all of you!
Being an Indie author is both wonderful and a pain in the
ass. I enjoy the freedom of not having to force my work into a mold that will
satisfy a publisher, but I sacrifice the marketing and publicity that being
with a publishing house brings. I’m not a marketing guy and am probably
failing to do a lot of the things I should be doing to get publicity, or just
plain doing them wrong. That’s where you, the reader, comes in. The best
marketing in the world is word of mouth. If you are enjoying the Voodoo Plague
series, PLEASE write a good review for me on Amazon and Like the Voodoo Plague Facebook
page. Tell your friends and family. There’s a lot more to come in this world
I’ve created and I hope you’ll help me get the word out there to as many people
as possible.
I also want to thank my wonderful cover creator, Georgie
with Whispering Words Graphics. She does great work, which you can see, and
keeps me from neglecting such a critical first impression for you the reader.
You can contact her at
[email protected]
Last and most importantly I want to thank my biggest fan, my
beautiful wife Katie. Yes, the same Katie I’m fighting across the whole
continent to get to! Without your support, encouragement and unwavering faith
in me this never would have happened. I hope you know I’d fight just as hard
for you in real life. I love you!
Sappy shit aside, thank you again for reading.