Follow You into the Dark

By H Carlin

When the Zombie outbreak hits, Kay was all alone. She lost everyone she ever loved. Two years later, she breaks her #1 rule of self-isolation. She rescues a man near death, only to find out it's the famous, Hollywood hunk Jake Star, aka Adam. Except this man is battered and broken. Is Kay willing to let down her walls in order to help him become whole again? Will Adam prove to her that he's here to stay and can be trusted? They will both have to trust one another to survive this dangerous, new world together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: H Carlin
• Release date: Aug 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005237172

H Carlin

I'm reader turned author that enjoys young adult, paranormal,fantasy, and all fiction! Ebook authors inspire me to write.

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Follow You into the Dark

By H Carlin

Published by H. Carlin at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 H. Carlin

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Chapter 1

It’s been almost two years since she’s seen another human being. That’s probably what drove Kay to the point of desperation. There she was, zipping her golfcart up and down the streets right before sunset listening again for that plea for help. She knew she had heard someone shouting for help yesterday while she was scavenging houses for food. It’s what brought her back there the next day. She broke her rule to never scavenge the same place two days in a row. It drew too much attention. It brought unwanted company: drifters or the undead.

That being said, technically she has seen a human in the last two years. Except that said human was undead. Yes, undead, as in they were bitten and came back to life as a walking ghoul trying to rip apart anything alive they can sink their teeth into. Yeah, that kind of undead. Kay had been surviving surprisingly well up until now. Some might even say flourishing…if anyone was alive to give her such a compliment. Oh, there were other survivors too. None of which Kay wanted anything to do with. She had a few run-ins with people claiming to be friendly and others not-so friendly. Kay had been in the back office of her little hardware store when the virus hit her small town about an hour east of Sacramento. Earlier that week, news broke of a zombie-like virus hitting the East Coast and sweeping across the country. People in her town were preparing, but it hit before anyone could even get a good night’s sleep. It was hard to believe how serious this virus was until Kay saw it with her own eyes.

From her office window, she noticed people outside running suddenly by the store. That was unusual for her little sleepy little town, so she knew something was wrong immediately. She went to lock up her now empty store just before a group of men shoved inside right passed her. Kay bit her tongue, figuring they were looking for safety. After locking the door, she quickly made her way behind the front counter, which at least gave her a barrier between them. That’s when she noticed them whispering at the back of the store as they avoided eye contact with her. Kay had a gut feeling that they were up to no good. She reached under the cash register and let her hand rest on her shotgun while flicking the safety off.

Okay guys, as much as I like your company, you have to go, Kay spoke loud enough for them to hear her in the back.

They turned to face her and started walking to the front of the store. They spread out slightly like they were about to trap a wild animal. 

Or...why don’t we have a little fun first, The man in the middle said with a sly grin on his face. Fuck. Kay’s stomach dropped. She had never used her shotgun before, but there was a first time for everything. Without hesitation, she pulled her shotgun out from beneath the counter and hoisted it up, pointing the barrel in their direction. Her hands shook as she aimed the barrel at man who talked first.

I said go, now! she shouted and held her gun steady. They all stopped and took a small step back.

Awe, girl. We all know you ain’t gonna shoot that g- Kay cuts him off with a loud bang. She aimed her gun right next to his foot and pulled the trigger. The guy screams in agony as the buckshot peppers his foot and leg. The other men stare in shock at their friend.

I said get the fuck out, now! I won’t say it again, Kay tells them firmly. They scurry to pick up their maimed friend and quickly leave out the front door.

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That had been Kay’s first and immediate experience with people after the outbreak hit. Needless to say, she wasn’t too excited to repeat that experience. Since then, she had been robbed twice and almost raped while scavenging for food. Her machete and pistol had been her saving grace on many occasions and often deterred people from coming near her. Kay usually had an accurate gut-feeling when it came to first impressions. She had met a few individuals who weren’t bad, but there was no reason for them to stay together. While she mourned the loss of her loved ones, she wasn’t willing to risk her life to make a new friend. Kay felt safer on her own.

As one year passed, Kay found peace in her solitude. While people were picked off by the undead, Kay managed to build a little safe haven in her small home. The undead were least active during the day under the hot sun, so that’s when Kay did all of her work. She scavenged by picking through abandoned houses and stores looking for food. Eventually, she grew tired of all the canned goods and planted a crop in her small backyard. She didn’t have much land, but what land she did have was surrounded by a 6ft fence, allowing her some protection. She also took over the neighbor’s yard to acquire goats and chickens. It was risky having animals because they could be noisy and draw attention, but she was sick of just surviving. She wanted to live. That’s why she put the livestock in the neighbor’s fenced yard, furthest away from her home.

The weeks ticked by, and Kay’s crops grew. Her hard work had finally paid off. She still scavenged for nonperishable foods, but it was nice to finally have some fresh produce. She still made several runs a week looking for food, but the rest of her time she spent fortifying her home. She acquired an abandoned golfcart for transport. It was perfect for its quietness and squeezing into tight places. She could speed through town without being heard. She made runs to her own hardware store to gather materials. She worked nonstop on her home. Her fence was taller, her windows had shutters, and her doors were reinforced. She even covered her roof in solar panels to allow her some power.

At the end of the day when she collapsed in her bed, she let her guard down. She would cry softly into her blankets as the loneliness and the weight of the world pushed down on her. She would think about her foster mom, Maz, who lived in Florida. That was one of the first states hit by the outbreak. She knew there was little chance she survived. She thought about her friends here in town, Steven, Aiden, and Anne. None of them made it. Then, she thought about her fiancé, Jeff. The thought of him left her feeling nauseous. Not only was he dead, but Kay had been the one to kill him. After she left her store that first day, she went straight to his home to check on him. His door was ajar, and she heard a moaning growl from inside. She palmed her machete that she had brought from the store and slowly entered the home. When she yelled out for Jeff, there was an immediate shuffling of footsteps and growling noises coming toward her. When he came into view, Kay could tell right away something wasn’t right. It was Jeff, except it wasn’t really her Jeff.

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff! she yelled at him desperately to stop him from charging at her. It didn’t work.

He lunged at her throat with his hands and teeth. She kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling back before he could reach her. His eyes were cloudy white with blood leaking down the sides. There was a garish bite on his neck oozing pus, while his skin was grey and looked paper thin. Tears slid down Kay’s face as she raised the machete high above her arms. She had no choice but to kill him or else he would keep attacking her. She closed her eyes and swung her machete.

Though she adored Jeff, she thought about him less and less because her mind always brought her back to his last horrible moments. 

The faint sound of a shout for help shakes Kay from her memories. She slams on the brakes to get a better listen.

Help! She hears it again but fainter this time. Whoever the person was, they were probably exhausted from shouting. Kay narrows the location down to four houses at the end of the street. Parking her golfcart for a quick escape, she grabs her handy machete and holsters her pistol.

The first house is a bust. It’s clearly been abandoned, and the kitchen is bare, void of any food. The second house is another bust. The house is empty except for two corpses, which Kay quickly avoids. When she makes her way to the third house, she eyes the sun getting closer to the horizon. Now is not a good time to be caught outside. The undead would be wandering the streets soon. Some could be out already, and the person shouting for help would be drawing attention. The undead were mostly dormant during the day unless they smelled a person, fresh blood, or heard loud noises, like gunshots. But at night the undead actively roamed and hunted in the streets. They would start coming out soon, and Kay did not want them following her back to her house. This would have to be her last house today. She would sweep it quickly and race back to her small home across town.

Upon approaching the third home, she quietly steps over the unhinged door leaning against the frame. All is quiet except for a repeating dull tapping noise coming from somewhere within the house. Her hackles immediately rise, and she grips her machete tighter in preparation. Quietly but quickly, she searches the house, finding no signs of life. When she reaches the living room, it’s covered in blood. It looks like the aftermath of an attack, and not very long ago; a few days to a week.

The tapping sound is louder now but still muted, like it’s coming from another room. She already checked all the open rooms, except for one closed door in the hallway. As she approaches the closed door, she can tell the noise is louder. Preparing to swing her machete, she opens the door slowly. Miraculously, the door doesn’t squeak, which allows her to enter silently. She draws to a halt when she sees a staircase going down into a basement. She can see the faint glow of a dim light at the bottom of the staircase.

The longer she waits, the more daylight she wastes. Taking a silent, deep breath, she starts gently stepping down the stairs. Her eyes are alert, seeking any signs of movement. Kay knows the noise was coming from this basement, so she’s fully prepared for an attack. This wasn’t her first rodeo. As she reaches the bottom step, her senses are assaulted by several things. She immediately pinpoints the tapping sound is coming from around the back of the staircase out of her view. Her eyes scan the rest of the room quickly. She sees a large bloody spot on the floor to the left of the basement indicating another attack. At the center of the basement, there is shelving with stored supplies and food. She makes note of this for a future trip. As she scans further in the dim light, all thoughts of food forgotten.

Are those prison bars? She scans over the right corner of the basement and can only determine that it’s some type of holding cell...like a cage. Was there undead in there? She searches swiftly through the cracks of the bars looking for any signs of life. The bars are dirty and bloody looking. It’s hard to see anything past the bars in the dim light. Her eyes pass over the cell again and halt in shock. She sees the briefest shine of someone’s eyes as they blink open slowly. Someone was laying on the floor in the cell, and whoever they were, they were not okay.

She steps off the final step into the basement and cringes when she steps on an empty candy wrapper. Immediately the thudding noise stops, and she hears the shifting of feet. She