Abandon (20 page)
Authors: Stephanie Dorman
The trek to the house took an hour with all the military gear, and explaining the situation to a stunned Kevin, Jake and Jenna took another two. Eventually, they had convinced everyone that the right move was to go where they knew other survivors were and suggested that everyone begin packing. Annalise had been the ringleader of the movement and packed the kitchen and living room with surprising efficiency. He understood her motivation. Meredith was her best friend, at times her only family, and if she was out there somewhere safe, Annalise was going to find a way to get there. He really hadn’t had a choice in the matter.
Staring at all the bags in the hallway Cort was reminded of the morning he left DC. Only this time he had Annalise by his side. They had made memories here, both good and bad, and he would miss this place as they made their way to Harrisonburg. He grabbed a bag and heaved it over his shoulder to take out to the cars.
Annalise noticed his hesitation in getting the bags and stopped directing everyone else to walk up to him. “You almost ready?”
“I’m going to miss this place,” he responded, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead.
She chuckled softly, and twisted her head to return the kiss on his cheek. “I know, but now we get to go out in the great wide world and fight zombies. Isn’t this what you always wanted?”
He had imagined this for years but standing outside, he didn’t know anymore. Would they be able to survive? Would he be able to protect everyone? The fantasy in his head was nothing like the situation he faced now. With sudden clarity, he realized he had romanticized everything. “Yeah, I guess it is...”
Authors Note
I started writing this novel in a dark period in my life and I needed an outlet for all the depression I feeling in my heart. 25,000 words and one weekend later I had the outline to this story. In a month, it became what you just read.
I am going to self-publish this as an ebook shortly and I don’t know what will happen after that. It could languish in the annals of books that go unread and unappreciated or it could skyrocket to a best seller that takes the world by storm. (Hey, if 50 Shades of Gray and Twilight can...)
What I do know, is that I have a couple people that I need to thank for giving me the encouragement to actually complete this. So, in no particular order, thank you to:
My mother, who read my first real short story when I was in 6th grade and cried. She always encouraged me to write, and share my words with the world.
My father, who when I told him I was going to publish this as an ebook, didn’t laugh, but instead encouraged me to follow my dreams. (He’ll probably never read this though.)
Mary, whose response upon reading the first 25,000 words was, “Your novel is thebomb.com.” I know your favorite book is 50 Shades of Gray so it’s setting the bar kind of low, but thank you for believing in me.
Marybeth Mulhall and Terry Koch, my editors. Without you guys, I never would have published this because I would have had to shove needles into my eyes. (I am still pretty sure that is less painful than self editing.)
Amr, who was my inspiration for this story. I will always hold out some sort of hope that we will find our way back to each other, without all the death and destruction that followed Annalise and Cort in this story. I also look forward to the day that you finally realize your dreams and publish your own novel.
And finally, to you, the reader. If you’ve made it this far you’ve gone on a journey with characters that I have grown to know and love. Thank you for giving them a chance, and me. There may be one of you, and there may be many, but I appreciate everyone of you.
Stay tuned for the next book in the installment where I get into the really fun parts of zombie killing and a couple sexy nights under the stars.
Stephanie Dorman
About the Author
Stephanie Dorman lives in the D.C. area and, when not writing, performs polka variations of billboard top 10 songs at subway terminals using her (patent pending) one woman band music suit (this consists of an accordion harmonica, cymbals, jazz flute and full drum set among other instruments. All told the suit weighs 150 pounds and Stephanie has several trained helper monkeys and a shopping cart to move it around). She is a self-described "Polka Visionary" and pursues writing as a means of turning polka into a popular genre of music.
Stephanie Dorman can be contacted by looking at a mirror in a darkened room and repeating the words "Candy man" three times slowly. Unfortunately this methodology seems to result in a large number of unsolved murders and anyone contacting Stephanie this way does so at their own risk.
To learn more about Stephanie check out her personal blog at
http://www.howmanyfrogs.com
.
If you liked “Abandon” you’ll love “Savior”
Coming in Spring 2013
For more information about the series, visit the website:
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