American Revenant (Book 3): The Monster In Man (21 page)

Walking back to Jimmy, he paused briefly, looking down at the crushed
skull of the
AWARE
zombie.  He felt no pity, or remorse.  The sudden
rage had been washed away by adrenaline.  Looking at the gore smeared pink
shirt and the gaping hole in the creature's head he felt nothing. 

“You ok, Mike?”

“Yep, just fine.  Don’t think I want to waste time hating these things
anymore, though.  Kill them when I have to, but not going to waste any other
thought on them.”

“Good idea, brother.”

Mike laid the bloody hammer behind the truck’s seat so that no gore
would seep into the cloth and said, “Let’s get this last sign put up and get
home, I’m ready for lunch anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jimmy said with a smile.

Chapter
35

“So how are the new people doing?” Rick asked.

“Doing alright,” Gordy replied.  “It’ll take them a bit to get
accustomed to life around here, and it’s obvious those women went through
hell.”

“You think that Farron guy was telling the truth?”

“All three women seem to support his statement, so I’m inclined to let
it be.  You know as well as I do that life out there is bad, people will do
what they have to just to survive.”

“Doesn’t excuse cruelty, though,” Rick said.

“No, it doesn’t and we damn sure won’t tolerate it.”

Gordy stepped back, watching as support braces were being bolted into
the now-complete wall, admiring the work that everyone had come together to
complete.

“Turned out pretty damn good.”

“Yes it did, just wish Sam and Jack could have seen it finished,” Gordy
said sadly.

“I know, me too, Gordy.   Do you think the signs Mike and Jimmy put up
the other day will…”  Rick was cut off by the sound of the bell at the main
gate signaling newcomers. 

“Well, let’s go see who’s at the door,” Gordy said with a smile. 

Rick slid behind the wheel of the De Soto, with Gordy easing himself
into the passenger seat.  He sat his walking stick between his knees and said,
“On, Jeeves, drive.” 

“Smartass,” Rick said, laughing.

“Everyone’s gotta be good at something,”
Gordy said with a grin.

Minutes later Rick parked the car near the guard shack and slid out,
reaching back in to retrieve his rifle.  “Think there will ever be a time when
we don’t have to answer the door with a gun in hand?”

“I’d certainly like to believe that, Rick, but I doubt it, at least not
any time soon.”

Gordy and Rick met Dean and Becca beside the guard shack, together the
four of them watched as people walked down the road toward the gate. 

He hoped for something other than suspicion and violence. 

“I’ll be damned,” Dean said, “that’s a dog.”

“No shit, Watson,” Becca said with a straight face.

“Don’t you mean “Sherlock”? Dean asked.

“Uh, no way.  You’re Watson to my Sherlock, Scarface.”  Becca gave Dean
a bright smile.

A large German Shepherd on a short leash walked next to a man carrying a
small boy in his arms.   Behind them several paces walked a couple, a young man
with a scraggly, rough beard and woman, both looking worn, exhausted.

Gordy turned to Becca, “Is anyone staying in the house right now?”

“No, just Dean and I.”

“Someone want to go get Jan?  We’ll take these people into the house, get
them some food and water and they can get checked for bites and bugs.”

“I’ll go get her,” Dean said, heading for the car.

Gordy turned back to watch as the people approached and noticed at the
far end of the road another person, this one on a bicycle, turning onto Highway
E.

He felt no
threat, confident that they could handle whatever came down the road.

Gordy looked at his companions and smiled.  “Looks like it’s going to be
a busy day for Heritage.”

Copyright

America Revenant: The
Monster In Man

Copyright 2015
© John L. Davis IV

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may
quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

Trademarked names
appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with
no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

The information in
this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author
nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect
to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the information contained in this book.

This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental. 

           
Cover art, design, and layout courtesy of Emily Royal at
[email protected]
,
https://www.facebook.com/emily.jemphotographics
.

For the Reader

Thank you for reading American Revenant: The
Monster in Man, I hope you enjoyed it.  If you would like to say “HI”, leave a
note, or start a conversation, you can find me at
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This is where I ask you,
the reader, to go write reviews.  Reviews are helpful to both a new
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and leave your review at Amazon.

Thank you.

The Deds…

I could fill several pages with names, so I’m just
going to say thank you to my Mom and Dad for always believing in me and to my
amazing wife and wonderful daughters, for being amazing and wonderful.

I can’t forget the guys, and you know who you are. 
Another one is done, let’s go get a beer and celebrate.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR

John L.
Davis, IV is an avid reader who enjoys adding to his ever-expanding home
library and talking books with pretty much anyone at any time.  John lives in
Hannibal, MO, with his books, his wife -- Erica, daughters -- Astrid and
Hannah, and their much-loved pooch -- Pixie.

Here is
where you can find John on the internet:

Website:

 americanrevenantseries.com

Facebook:

facebook.com/AmericanRevenant

Twitter:

@AmRevenant

Goodreads:

goodreads.com/
John L Davis IV

           
He loves to hear from his readers, so
stop by and converse about life, love, and the pursuit of zombies. Can you
match book wits with this bibliophile? Come find out.