Promotional Sample
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
Mission, Texas
Copyright 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0998996516
ISBN-10: 0998996513
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
Table of Contents
The Martian Ones
(1)
The Four Pioneers
(31)
Love in the Garden of Eden
(68)
Martian Harvest
(105)
Cannibal Rises
(118)
#ZombieApocalypse
(127)
Bonus Track: Astro-Zombies
(136
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
#ZombieApocalypse
Bring me the Martian ones back home, the President stated emphatically as he took his
seat in the Oval Office. No matter the cost. The people demand a feel-good story. They want to
feel like they are wining again! By bringing back the Martian colonists we will boost our nation's
morale, which will get us a step closer out of this recession.
His audience of one was a NASA official who was in charge of briefing the President on
anything involving the Mars Four Corporations colonization efforts (in partnership with NASA)
on Mars.
Mr. President, said the NASA official. There is just one thing to consider before
bringing back the crew, sir.
Whats that?
That it may not be at all possible to accommodate them anywhere in the public sphere
other than at one of our maximum-security facilities...uh, to contain any possible contagion, sir.
Well that won't work. I need them to be accessible to the American people. Americans
need to be able to not only see them but touch them and stand next to them taking selfies and all.
You get me?
Yes, sir, Mr. President. Absolutely I understand. But there is, the NASA official hesitated
briefly, ...a very critical issue at hand that we just cannot be certain how to handle.
What exactly are you talking about?
Well, we have discovered a certain kind of...what seems like...a bug.
A bug? Hows that possible? I thought you nerdy scientist-types agreed there was no life
on that planet.
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
Technically there isnt, sir, the official said coyly as he adjusted his undersized sports
jacket and straightened his bifocals.
...You see, what we have discovered is what you could essentially call a fossil. It could
present a problem when exposed to Earth atmosphere.
Ok, let me get this straight. You are worried that a fossil will present a problem here on
Earth. But who the hell asked you to bring back any fossils from Mars? I specifically told you to
bring back the Martian colonists only.
Oh, of course, sir. My apologies for not explaining myself thoroughly. See, these fossils
are essentially microscopic and, what's worse, they are ubiquitous.
What the hell does that mean? Speak to me in plain English, damnit! What exactly is the
problem!
Well, sir, it means they are microscopic and there are so many that they are practically
everywhere on the Martian atmosphere. The fact that they are so tiny is what presents a problem,
since they can literally penetrate any suit or equipment our astronauts use on Mars. We are
almost certain that these microscopic fossils will also be present on or even inside the colonists
themselves. And the problem with that, sir, is that these critters might not be fossils
altogether...They might be a kind of living dead organism.
The President had so-far exercised some restraint, allowing the NASA official to voice
their concerns. But the last statement made the President's blood boil. He lashed out at the
official saying,
What kind of sci-fi bullshit have you brought to me today? You expect me to scrap these
plans based on your weak evidence about some goddamn microscopic fossil from Mars? Get the
fuck out of here!
Forgive me, Mr. President but I feel that I must give you a full accounting of exactly
what it is that we are worried about, sir. See, as I mentioned, they appear as fossils to us only
because it seems they have been inactive for who knows how long. But there is another theory
floating around among our scientists
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
The official paused as he noticed the President quite visibly losing all remaining patience.
He began to breath loudly, spreading his nostrils wide and tightening his lips. This produced
what would have appeared to the gullible as a smile, but in actuality, it was the Presidents way
of inadvertently announcing that he was about to rise to his feet and charge on them, like a
demon bull. The official had seen that reaction before so he knew he didnt have much more time
with the President.
He sped up his report saying, In closing, some scientists have noted that there is reason
to believe those microbes to be in a hibernation-state. There is no telling if they went into
hibernation after the end of life-bearing conditions on Mars, or if they are recent arrivals who
would be totally revived here on Earth, since they are--or were at one point--carbon-based beings
dependent on oxygen, water, and other conditions that give life its impetus.
Look here, you two-bit scientist nerd. There is no way this mission is going to be
stopped by some pansy-ass, pencil neck like yourself. You listen to me carefully, and listen
good. You will say nothing to anyone else about what we discussed here today, you got it?
Because if you do...," the President threatened as he rose to his feet and reached across, grabbing
the official by the neck tie pulling him closer until he had him splayed across the Presidential
desk, "I will make sure that you and everyone you love are thrown into the darkest, ugliest hole
in the ground where no one will ever hear your screams and nobody will know of you again. And
I will personally come pay you a visit every birthday and major holiday you got left in your
miserable nerd life just to ram my foot all the way up your ass. You got that!!!
Yes, sir. Y-yes, Mr. President, sir, responded the official, the fright having caused the blood
from his skin to retreat, leaving him looking pale, shuddering, and unable to breath properly.
What was most horrifying to the official was the graveness in the severity of the
President's threat. He believed every word of it. He knew the President had meant what he said in
the most literal sense. He was certain inasmuch as he had seen it in the abyss of the President's
eyes, where there was nothing, not even a soul, but only darkness. The wide-eyed official
trembled as he slowly stepped backwards towards the door waiting for the President to dismiss
him with the usual wave of his hand.
The rest of the tragic tale about the first outbreak of the unknown virus played out like a
series on television. The first stage of the outbreak started with the President on a public news
conference welcoming the Martian colonists. For television viewers, it may have appeared quite
normal with the exception of the awkward, lethargic movements of the Martian colonists. They
all seemed dumbstruck...static; as if they had trouble hearing the President as he welcomed them
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
home, trying to shake their hands. They hardly smiled. The reporters vied against each other
fervently trying to get the exclusive, but the Martians ones simply stood there, completely
disinterested, looking past them.
News correspondents on-site stood stiff, bewildered at what was unfolding. Some looked
at the cameramen shooting live and at their producers for direction. They soon realized that there
was no option but to turn it back to anchorwomen or men at their corresponding studios. The
anchors quickly had to bring in so-called experts, specialists, and doctors--anyone whom they
might have standing-by to comment as to why the Martians seemed to be acting so strangely.
The doctors and specialists had similar diagnoses: the Martians were quite possibly experiencing
a certain kind of space lag, and some mild version of PTSD after having been on Mars for two
years and suddenly being brought back to Earth.
The second stage of the outbreak followed with TV camera crews capturing images of the
Martians being paraded through Fifth Avenue in New York. Then a scene of chaos erupted after
the astronauts collapsed in the middle of the procession, seemingly affected simultaneously by
something in the air. Emergency personnel attended them immediately. They seemed to recover
but something about them didnt look right. They began to attack the emergency responders, then
the public at large. Everyone started running for their lives, trampling each other and the camera
crews who were still filming the unfolding panic in the streets. Police officers pulled their guns
and unloaded them on the Martian crew at will, but they seemed immune to bullets and,
therefore, unstoppable. They overwhelmed the police. The people they attacked fell dead but
then got back up after some moments and joined the Martians in attacking all living humans.
Back at the White House in Washington, an aide to the President came urgently running
down the hall toward the oval office. He knocked rapidly and entered before getting the go
ahead. The aide had a message of national security importance, therefore, the President would
understand him taking the liberty to let himself in... or so he hoped. He found the President
sitting on his chair seemingly looking out the window as if in deep contemplation.
Mr. President. I have urgent news, said the aide at the back of the chair which
completely concealed the Presidents head. All he could see was the Commander in Chiefs bare
knees, which protruded through the bathrobe he was wearing.
There has been an incident on Fifth Avenue, sir. There is chaos spreading everywhere.
What should we do? The generals have asked us to get your approval to enact martial law so they can
go in and quell the mayhem.
The aide moved closer. As he did this, he noticed the President holding his phone in his hand, and on
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
Promotional Sample
the screen the aide spotted the Presidents Twitter profile. He apparently was in the middle of a
tweet. But his thumb seemed to hesitate to finish the message and post it.
Sir...," the aide said, slowly inching toward his boss. "Mr. President?
The President remained silent. The aide reached the chair, and noticed the leader of the free
world seemingly frozen in his seat. He delicately touched the backrest to swivel the chair around to
face him. As he did, he noticed that the President looked strange. A festering, orange slime oozed
down most of his face and his eyes had a greenish hue. Those eyes seemed to be looking past the aide
and off into space. Dead. But suddenly they readjusted and stared straight at the official.
Without warning, the President (or the thing that used to be the Commander in Chief of the
United States) leapt from the chair tackling the aide to the floor and devouring his face. Soon the
aide, too, had turned into a deformed--beyond dead, but not quite living--creature bearing all his teeth
as the flesh from his face, including his nose, were gone. White House staff and cabinet members
found themselves under attack by the aide and the now Zombie-in-Chief, as he walked down the
halls, bathrobe wide open, exposing his naked body in search of the living. On the screen of his
phone, which was still gripped in one hand, was the Twitter feed trending:
#ZombieApocolypse
For more visit: [Link]
Copyrighted Material
Not to be used for commercial purposes without consent of copyright holder.
