THE END

By Brandon Valdez

Sitting quietly alone on the roof of his family's new home his scoped 308 leaned against the half wall in front of him. He has 2.45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, one on each thigh. His jeans are dirty and beginning to tare, his shirt soaked in 3 days of sweat and he hasn't slept in just over a week. He

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brandon Valdez
• Release date: Sep 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737926016

Book preview

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ISBN 978-1-7379260-0-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-7379260-1-6 (eBook)

Copyright © 2021 by Brandon Valdez

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

Prologue

Sitting quietly alone on the roof of his family’s new home, his scoped 308 leaned against the half wall in front of him. He has 2.45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, one on each thigh. His jeans are dirty and beginning to tare, his shirt soaked in 3 days of sweat and he hasn’t slept in just over a week. He is worn and tired. He knows his family and new friends are sitting just below him scared counting on him to get out of this warehouse and survive this, whatever this is, but his eyes keep coming back to this sea of snappers below him and the bright glow of what used to be Oklahoma City burning in the distance. The dead remains of what once was the human species. It’s like a bad dream or even a b movie. The military crumbled at the stress of fighting the dead, but not before it had destroyed the city in an attempt to contain this event.

How did this happen? He says just loud enough for his ears to pick up the sound. He begins to remember just a week before he was waking up in his bed to his kids jumping on him and trying to get him to come downstairs for his birthday breakfast.

Suddenly a military 7 ton pulls up beside the warehouse. Need some help? A familiar voice comes from the back of the vehicle. Daemon is that you? Sam yells back to the voice in the 7 tons bed.

Chapter 1

S am, wake up honey, His wife Carroll calls to him. She has long black hair and the sweetest voice Sam has ever heard. Hey sleepy head, the kids are waiting on you.

About that time Sam’s 7-year-old daughter Kate runs in and jumps up on the bed. Wake up daddy She giggles as she begins to bounce. Sam laughs as he wraps his arms around her and begins tickling. His 5-year-old son James comes running in and grabs the sheet to climb up on the bed with his dad and sister. Yeah daddy, wake up we made breakfast for you, he announces with pride and begins to help his sister who is now laughing so hard she is turning red. Sam grabs both of them in a big hug and just over his laughter he manages, alright, alright I’m up, I’m up.

Ok daddy, Kate says, let’s go watch cartoons she continues pulling on her baby brother. Yeah!!! he replies excitedly, and they run out of the room still smiling and laughing. His wife smiles at him and turns to follow the kids.

Sitting up in his bed, Sam rubs his eyes and looks around the room as he slowly stands, why do I feel so old. I’m only thirty, he thinks to himself. His body aches, knees, and back are worn from combat patrols and hikes with 150 pounds or more on his back. His shoulder hurts from where a bullet ripped into it, just missing his bones. He raises his gaze to see a picture of himself in his Marine cammies, getting promoted to Sergeant. A smile crosses his face. That was a good day, he thought to himself. Just below the picture was his warrant of promotion. She was so proud he thinks of his wife. He scans to the left slowly to a collage of pictures of him with his unit on his last tour in Iraq. His smile quickly fades as he scans through the pictures and remembers the men he lost. I was lucky, all I got was this bullet. He thinks as he gently rubs his shoulder. Father keep them safe and happy with you, he says a quiet prayer for them as he passes the picture to go into the bathroom.

He finishes showering and gets dressed. Jeans, always jeans with a leather belt they are tough and good in all weather. Thick cotton hiking socks they wick the sweat away, keeping his feet dry in case he has to run or walk long distances. Steel-toed boots with padded instep support that protect his feet and are good in all terrains. A t-shirt to start the layers on his torso because it is important to wear layers in case he gets hot or stuck in the cold. A button up shirt untucked with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearm and