First Night: End Storm Short Story #3

By Maz Marik

In the aftermath of a catastrophic explosion that transformed most of the population into bloodthirsty and violent monsters, a ragtag gathering of survivors make their way towards a place of safety in a nearby forest.

Kyle just wants to hide, but finds himself the reluctant centre of events during a rescue mission. Does he have what it takes to be a hero?

Alice is on the move, searching for survivors, but how will she cope when confronted with scenes beyond her worst nightmares?

END STORM: WHEN THE END BEGINS, WHERE WILL YOU RUN?

First Night is the thrilling 14000-word conclusion to the mini-trilogy that began in The Gathering and Second Chance, and that runs parallel to the start of the novel End Storm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maz Marik
• Release date: Sep 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301215256

Maz Marik

Maz Marik is a horror author from England. Born in the small town of Threapwood, he grew up in the Midlands and has also lived in the USA, the Caribbean, Spain, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt.He currently lives in the south of England, a setting he has employed for his debut novel End Storm, which was published as an e-book at Amazon and Smashwords on December 1st 2012.

Book preview

First Night

End Storm Short Story #3

Maz Marik

Copyright © 2013 Maz Marik

Smashwords edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from this store, where they can also discover other works by the author. Thank you for your support.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Please note this novel was written in Britain by a British author, and therefore uses British spelling and grammatical conventions.

Cover design © 2013 Ish Ferris

mazmarik.weebly.com

Contents

First Night

Author’s Note

About the Author

First Night

Alice made a break for it and stopped between two lorries, just short of the central reservation. It had once been a busy A-road but now was stuck, like so many, frozen in time at the moment the world went crazy.

There had been movement in one of the vehicles as they passed over the crest of a hill, the barest hint of a desperate face, but only Alice had seen it. Am I the only one paying attention here? she had thought. Behind her, along the verge, the rest of the group had disappeared into the gloom, unaware that they were a member short.

After the carnage at the Mall, the group’s early thoughts of finding large clusters of survivors had faded somewhat, and then even more so as the sky continued to darken. Brian had said splitting up put the whole group at risk. But what was the point of heading somewhere safe if they left people in danger behind? So she had designated herself a roving search party of one, sometimes running off ahead, sometimes dropping off behind, but always on the move.

We can’t afford to leave anyone behind.

The heavy footsteps in the silence reminded her of how crucial it was to remain hidden. At least one of those things was stalking amongst the traffic. She had seen him – it? – in the distance back the way the group had travelled, dressed in a smart grey suit like the one her father used to wear in the old photos; sharp, but a little dated. The thing was tall, and looked like it had been athletic in its younger days. In a past life. With brown hair greying at the temples, it resembled a geography teacher more than a threat. Only the dried blood on its face and staining its jacket gave a hint of the truth. It took huge strides from car to car, but seemed to stop and check each one carefully.

Far from being frightened, Alice’s resolve to protect the passenger in the car was strengthened by the sight of this imminent danger.

Waiting until the thing had its head inside a van a few hundred yards away, she jumped up and ran to the small Peugeot, then crouched down and worked her way around to the driver’s door. The window was open just a crack, and she forced it down until she could unlock the door. Carefully, she opened it and climbed inside, her finger to her lips.

The passenger seat was not occupied, but was piled full of shopping; packets, boxes and bottles. Puzzled, Alice leaned across to check the back seat, then froze when she felt something being pushed against the back of her head.

She had seen enough terrible films to know what this situation normally meant, but those movies were not generally set in suburban Sussex.

A gun?

*****

Kyle trudged along the verge, facing the ground as the orange-red glow of the twilit sky reflected in the wing mirrors of unmoving cars. A gentle fall of soft grey dust had accompanied them throughout their journey, like snow but without the