Dead Men Walking

By Duncan Ralston

Alamo ain't your typical prison.

Inmates used to catch fire on Old Sparky at Alamosa County Prison. Now they reanimate.

They call their Death Row "Z Block" because everyone there is a dead man walking. Even the guards.

This is an alternate version of the NOVELETTE included in the collection Video Nasties.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duncan Ralston
• Release date: Sep 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386106029

Duncan Ralston

"Author of the cult smash-hit Woom and Ghostland and more than 15 other books that aren't the cult smash-hit Woom or Ghostland. His debut collection was blurbed positively by the legendary Jack Ketchum. In 10 years of publishing, Duncan Ralston hasn't won or been nominated for sh*t outside of screenwriting awards, and is definitely not bitter about it. For 7 FREE dark fiction short stories/novellas including the prequel to GHOSTLAND, ""The Moving House,"" signed copies of Woom, bookplates and merch, please visit www.duncanralston.com."

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DEAD MEN WALKING

a short story

Duncan Ralston

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These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

SHADOW WORK PUBLISHING

Copyright © 2016 by Duncan Ralston

All rights reserved.

Also by Duncan Ralston

Gristle & Bone (collection)

Salvage (novel)

Wildfire (novella)

Woom (novella)

Where the Monsters Live (novella)

The Method (novel)

Video Nasties (collection)

Ebenezer (novella)

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DEAD MEN WALKING

So, I guess I'm your official welcome wagon, huh? Welcome to Alamosa County Prison. You wanna fit in around here, just call it Alamo, like the rest of us.

Little crazy on your first day--I know how it is. It gets easier. They don't get any less ugly out there, you just get used to it. Helps when you're a little bit ugly yourself, like me.

I wasn't fishing for compliments, bro, but thanks, I guess. I see that uniform they got you is a little tight in the middle, huh? Nice bonus. Got you walking the Block lookin like the Pillsbury Dough Boy on your first fucking day, that ain't gonna be good for the way those animals respect you out there. You get a nickname your first day, that thing sticks, man.

I ain't trying to pick on you, you seem like a good kid. Just a little thick in the middle, that's all. Probably helped you on the football field, and maybe you think it's gonna help you here. It ain't about size though, man: it's about authority. Some dudes got it, some dudes don't. You got that look, though. Like you might just make it through your first day in one piece.

Now we've got a little time, let me tell you something: there's a special kind of quiet around Z Block a few minutes before dawn. If you're lucky, the crazies and the loudmouths might just shut the fuck up and give you a little peace and quiet for a bit. Even hard cons needed their beauty rest, I think, and for some reason they seem to need a lot more of it on mornings we got an execution scheduled. On Day Four--that's the day we escort these guys down the row, maybe Warden Cole filled you in on that when you interviewed, or maybe he hoped I would--on Day Four the silence sometimes lasts up to an hour, if you're lucky.

That's why I work the night shift, man. That, and the overtime, I always say. And sure, a little extra cash in the pocket helps out around the house,