Hailey
would have loved you.
She
loved animals and wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. No doubt, she
would have been ecstatic to have a pig as a pet. I felt the sadness creep back
into me, into where the anger had just consumed me.
I
looked down at the pig and he back up at me. It could have been my imagination,
but it seemed like he sympathized with me.
“It’s
gonna be okay pig,” I said out loud. “We’re gonna make it through this.”
I
began to walk back towards the house, stopping by the road that led into our
property.
“Soon
Uncle Josh is gonna be here, pig. And he’ll know what to do.”
The
pig snorted in reply.
“What
am I going to call you?”
He
grunted and snorted again.
“How
about Hank? Hank the Hog?”
It
grunted, and I swear, swayed its head no.
“No?
Well, how about Bacon? I’m promise we won’t eat you Bacon.”
It
snuggled its little head into my chest, as if in agreement with my naming.
“Okay.
Bacon it is then.”
We
made our way back to the house, but I stopped to look at the dirt road one last
time.
C’mon,
Uncle Josh. You gotta get here.
I
went inside and showed everyone our new pet.
END
OF CJ’S STORY
In
a few more page turns, Amazon will give you the opportunity to rate and review
A
New Darkness
.
You
want to do this.
People
will be all like:
“I
didn’t know that guy could read!”
Or
“She
has really good taste in books and I trust her opinion!”
All
of these things are good, for both you and me. For me, because more people will
read this book. For you, because you will look super cool and extremely
knowledgeable when it comes to zombie literature. (Is that a thing? I don’t
know.)
Anywhosen,
leave a review and let others know what you thought! Amazon will also give you
the chance to share via social media (whatever that is). This is extra-credit
and will not be on the final, but it wouldn’t hurt your grade, if you know what
I mean. Winky-face.
When
he’s not writing about himself in third-person, Josh Vasquez lives in Savannah,
GA with his wife Laura. It is currently zombie-free.
He
says, “You’re welcome.”
Feel
free to email him what you liked, disliked, or any questions about the story at
[email protected]
He checks this email
weekly, but will make the best effort to get back to you. If you want, he will
add you to his contact list and send you updates about his work. He promises
not to spam you or fill your inbox with cat pictures.
Everybody
I thanked the first go around
Xavier
Martinez, for not only coming through with one great cover, but
many
great covers to choose from
My
beta readers
Pandora
Radio
Stephen
King, Chuck Palahniuk, and Hugh Howey
Johnny,
Sean, and Dave at the Self-Publishing Podcast, you guys were my writing group
Coffee
Music
artists like P.O.D. and Lecrae, for not always playing by the rules when it
comes to being “Christian” artists
My
mother-in-law, who I am sure, will never read this. Here’s to me writing something
without gore and inventive uses of the “f-bomb”
To
my child in my wife’s womb, your “nubs” at 8 weeks are freakin adorbs
To
my wife, thank you for the many hours you let me have tapping away in the
corner of our tiny little apartment. You mean the world to me. Sorry for killing
your character off.
To
you, the readers. Your reviews, comments, and emails kept me going when I could
barely form a functional sentence together
And
lastly, to Jesus, my Lord and Savior. And I say that not to be trite, but in
all sincerity. It has taken me a long time to understand what it means to
follow you, and I still barely know what I’m doing. I am thankful for your
grace and love. Thank you for the gifts you have given me. Ultimately, may
people see you, not me.