“Today, you really cannot be seen and you really must not be heard. If they hear you, they will come to see you. If they see you, they will catch you. If they catch you, they will bite you. If they bite you, you will die and become a monster just like them. If you don’t want to be a monster, you have to be very, very, quiet.”Can the very young and the very old survive?When the zombie apocalypse … survive?
When the zombie apocalypse started, four generations of the Hastings family gathered in a modest house on the outskirts of Atlanta. Two of those generations went out to get food leaving behind the youngest and oldest of the family. That was days ago. With food running low and his great grandchildren getting hungry, great-grandfather Bill Hastings sets out into a crumbling world with his great grandchildren in tow.
One of our heroes is an 80-year-old Vietnam veteran and the other two are his ten and twelve year-old great grandsons. Can his experience and their speed and dexterity help a whole van full of younger children survive?
A custom van, guns, skateboards, and horror!
This short story has a custom van, gun battles, skateboards, and horror. When zombies threaten experienced and physically fit fighters, readers can get complacent. But, when the most vulnerable among us are threatened, the horror is palpable. Every generation has to bring their strengths to the struggle.
A spoiler free part of the Zombie Complex neighborhood!
The action in this short story occurs in the same general neighborhood as Alexander Pain’s novel, Zombie Complex, but you can read with assurance that this short story is spoiler free. It won’t spoil any plot points. If you enjoy this short read, join the neighborhood and join fight! You’ll definitely want to check out some of Alexander’s other works.more
Reading about the old Bill Hastings who had arthritis dealing with the zombie attack was really cool.
Though the story was dark, there is enough humour to light up the moments. Enjoyed it.
I am not a zombie fan. But I am an Alexander Pain fan. Even though he writes on a subject that I’m lukewarm on at best I really enjoy his stories. His characters are so well-developed I’m drawn in from the first page and held to the last. In this short an eighty-year old must keep his great-grands safe from zombies. One of the things I enjoyed the most in this short: in one scene, his grandsons use skateboards to outrace the zombies. I recommend this read for zombie fans and anyone that just wants to lose themselves in a great short story.
After his adult children fail to come back from a supply run, eighty-year-old Vietnam vet Bill Hastings is forced to take his great-grandchildren out to look for food themselves, right into a zombie-infested world.
This short story handles the vulnerabilities of the children well and also the limitations of their great grandparent. He has all the skills, but his body just isn’t up to the task anymore. He also has to attempt to teach them how to survive in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, but they mostly don’t understand. I enjoyed his musings about the situation and his frustration with the children, this story had a bit of dark charm to it.
As he finally readies the children into his van and heads off to the grocery store, the story kicks into high gear with plenty of action. Does everything go well for the old man and his grandkids? Check it out yourself, it is a short read at twenty-two pages and very worth the time.
I’m not a big zombie fan. I don’t watch the TV shows and I don’t generally read the books. One exception to that rule for me is the zombie world created by author, Alexander Pain. I was first introduced to this author’s work when I came across him on Twitter. He seemed to have a unique sense of humor and it piqued my curiosity enough to read his short story, Zombie Cage. It was a chance worth taking. I liked it well enough that I purchased and read his novel Zombie Complex: The Battle for Chattahoochee Run. Again, a home run! So, when I saw this new short story, I assumed it would be another excellent read. It was.
Having read the novel, I was already familiar with the Atlanta suburb neighborhood where the action takes place. It’s not necessary to have read the novel first to enjoy this short tale, but you will probably want to add it to your list once you’ve had a taste of Pain’s unique take on zombie storytelling. This is not just a bunch of zombies killing people. His approach is to add warmth and humor to the characters. It really ramps up the fun while you root for the good guys to prevail over the undead, who are trying to make them their next meal.
The story is about survival at its core. Grampa needs to feed his grandkids, but they are running low on food. The kids parents braved the new, zombie infested world to grocery shop, but no one has heard from them since they left the house days before. With no other choice, Grampa loads up the kids and they head out on the adventure of their lives. Plenty of zombie action packed into a mere 22 pages. If you’re a fan of zombies or just like reading a fun, action packed story, you will be thoroughly entertained as you romp alongside grandpa and the kids as they take on this neighborhood full of zombies.