Forever, Tiva

By Gail Smith

In a post-apocalyptic world, Tiva is running for her life when she stumbles across three survivors who save her from a horde of those things, whatever they are now. The creatures aren't people anymore. They're…infected. Struggling to find food, she soon realizes luck was on her side when Russ and his crew welcome her into the safety of their warehouse.

 

It seems not many survivors remain in what's left of the world, so they figure they'd do better to stick together. Besides, Russ hasn't known the love of a woman in a long time, and he and Tiva immediately feel the connection.

 

As the days pass, the crew takes turns keeping watch for the undead. Russ and Tiva vow to be there for each other should they get bitten. If the inevitable should happen, it wouldn't be much of an afterlife, wandering aimlessly and killing innocent people.

 

Will Russ and Tiva get their happily ever after? Or are they destined to be undead like the rest of the world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Mooney
• Release date: Oct 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781953797230

Gail Smith

Gail Smith earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan and taught for several years. She and her late husband raised four children. She lives in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Book preview

one

Run! Ruuun!

The scream of warning came from somewhere up ahead. Tiva didn’t take the time to search for its location. She took off running toward the screamer.

A shot sizzled by her, so close she’d swear she could almost feel the heat coming off the bullet. There was the sound of it hitting something wet, and then that something hit the street behind her with an equally squelchy noise.

More shots were fired. Tiva continued running, but her burst of speed was at an end. She had no energy left.

Stumbling to a halt, she managed to make it around a dumpster before she collapsed. Almost immediately a pair of hands reached down to grab her. She struggled, lashing out at a face with her bat when a hand came up to stop her, and a voice hollered, I’m a good guy! Lemme help you!

Gasping for air, she let him haul her to her feet as more gunshots rang out. Together they hurried for the makeshift barricade she’d noticed earlier. A rattling sound indicated a chain link fence being opened far enough to allow them inside. As soon as the two of them slipped inside, the gate closed, and a length of chain was threaded around the cement posts.

Tiva made it three more steps before she collapsed onto the ground. Dropping her bat, she hunched over and buried her face in her hands. A bottle of water appeared in her field of vision. Thanking the person, she unscrewed the lid and downed nearly half the contents.

Lifting her face, she found herself facing three men. The grizzled older man stood with his arms crossed over his chest. The one perched on top of a ladder and holding a rifle looked barely out of puberty.

The one crouched in front of her peered closely at her. Are you alone?

She recognized his voice as the one who’d told her to run. Yeah.

How long you been on your own? the grizzled man asked.

Umm, several days. Five, I thi— No, six. Six nights. Sherman… She drew a deep, shuddering breath.

Who’s Sherman? Your boyfriend? the man in front of her asked.

She shook her head. Some guy I met in Dannerville.

What happened to him?

She shook head again, her eyes cast downward. He went to go look for food and never came back.

Have you been bit? the gruff man demanded. Russ, check her for bite marks.

Tiva held out her arms before the man in front of her, whose name apparently was Russ. He took her by the wrist and quickly examined both arms. Taking her by the left elbow, he gave her a little tug, indicating he needed her to stand. I need to check you all over, he explained.

I haven’t been bitten. I’m just weak.

From hunger, from the looks of it. Tommy, go get her a sandwich or something, Russ ordered the younger man. The boy crawled off the chair and vanished into a building.

Russ gave her a little tug. C’mon. It’s just a few more steps inside. We gotta get out of the line of sights of those things.

She managed to limp alongside him as he led her inside a dark building. With the exception of a few candles burning, the place was filled with shadows, but that wasn’t anything new. The world hadn’t seen electricity for months.

He helped her over to a chair where he parked her. Tiva stared more closely at the guy looking her over. How’d you know I wasn’t one of them?

For one thing, you weren’t acting like one of them, the gruff guy quipped, slamming the door shut behind them. "For another, it was obvious those things were following you."

She peered at the grizzled older man. I knew there were a couple back there. I thought I could stay ahead of them.

Russ snorted. "A couple? How about seven?"

She gave him a wide-eyed look of disbelief. Seven? She felt the blood draining from her face. At the same time, things started turning hazy and dark.

Russ grabbed a shoulder and held onto her to keep her from keeling over face-first onto the cement floor. He took the water bottle she still clutched