The Dead Years (Volume 1) Read online

  The Dead Years

  Volume 1

  Jeff Olah

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2013 by Jeff Olah

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, locations and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events or locales is merely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Jeff Olah

  Author Notes

  THE DEAD YEARS

  For as long as I can remember, the shows and movies that have had the biggest influence on me were the ones in which I felt I knew the characters. They seemed like family or really close friends. I knew them, what they liked and what they didn’t. These shows were heavily character driven and I couldn’t get enough.

  I hated when these shows would wrap for the season and would just about need to be sedated after the series finale. The really good ones stopped production while the show was still on top. I nearly always wanted them to continue and felt the characters could do more. This effect cannot be overstated.

  My favorite show LOST did this to perfection. They put people from varying backgrounds and cultures in desperate situations and showed you how they’d react. Sometimes you got what you expected and most times you were thrown for a loop. They developed these characters over six seasons and by the time it all ended, I felt like a whole group of friends walked out of my life, all at once, never to return.

  My goal with The Dead Years is this…

  To create exciting characters you care about, some of which you will grow to love and others you may despise.

  I am going to throw these characters head first into impossible situations just to see how they react. I am going to put them through hell and back, because living in this new world isn’t going to be easy.

  I hope you will stay with us for this journey and have as much fun with it as I know I will.

  Please consider leaving a review for The Dead Years on the site you purchased it from, it means the world to me and helps to further the development of coming volumes.

  The characters and I thank you in advance!

  VOLUMES?

  The Dead Years will be written in short Volumes, Usually less than 100 pages and will rely on YOU the reader to help guide this Post-Apocalyptic journey. I WANT to hear from you on Facebook. I want to know what your thoughts are. I want to know what characters you love, which ones you hate, where you would like to the story to go and why.

  The Dead Years is NOT another “Zombie Book.” The Dead Years is going to tell the stories of those individuals left behind in this new hell that has become earth and the challenges they will face living with the infected and each other.

  The goal is to release at least one volume each month.

  If you would like to be notified as each new volume is released, please be sure to connect with me on Facebook as this is where I will be posting any news, information and release dates.

  Dedication

  To my beautiful wife Caroline.

  Thank you for always believing in me no matter how many insane ideas I came up with and for being my live in editor. You have shown me what life can offer when you find your soul-mate.

  To my wonderful daughter Jessica.

  Thank you for showing me that if you work hard NOTHING is impossible. I am thrilled to call you my daughter and proud of every one of your many accomplishments.

  To YOU the reader.

  Thank you for supporting The Dead Years.

  There are many books out there and if you’re reading this, you took a chance on me and I am eternally grateful. I hope you enjoy the journey we are about to go on and ask that you stay in touch with me. I welcome your thoughts and ideas of where you would like to see the characters and storyline go from one book to the next. I am writing these books for YOU and no one else.

  Contents

  Contents

  Copyright

  Author Notes

  Dedication

  Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  What’s Next?

  1

  No one knew how or where it all began. There were only rumors at first, spreading from one city to another. The infection took hold quickly. Many that became victims of the first wave were caught off guard by the unusual behavior of those infected. Millions perished with each day that passed and the number of survivors continued to dwindle as they desperately searched for places free of this hell.

  The devastation was almost immediate. Law enforcement fell, utilities powered down and civilization was shattered within the first few weeks. With no structure left in the world, the few remaining sought to band together to fight and survive in this new existence.

  They had no other choice…

  Mason looked out over the floor in between sets and was somewhat caught off guard, also a little amused as “Every Breath You Take” by The Police started up through his headphones. He hadn’t heard this for quite some time and figured his phone must be cycling through the deep reaches of his enormous playlist.

  Just as the chorus set in, the music muted signaling a call was coming through. Mason pulled the phone from his pocket to check who was calling. “April” he said aloud. He figured there must be something else she needed to bitch at him about and he wasn’t going to ruin another workout just to satisfy her need to belittle him. He hit decline and lay back on the floor for another set of crunches.

  Mason ran through his next set like a man on fire and lost all focus of the world around him. He often used his outside frustrations to fuel his high intensity workouts in the gym. This proved to be an effective tool in that he was able to push off his problems and at the same time get into top shape. The down side to all this was that his workouts, coupled with the time spent training clients fueled the fire that resulted in his and April’s separation three months ago.

  Rolling forward and standing from his final set, Mason was surprised to see the weight room almost empty. He turned and noticed at least thirty people gathered outside the owner’s office and as he got closer, he saw there was at least half that amount inside the office.

  They seemed to be intently debating something as others hurried out the front exits of the gym and were headed for their cars. Mason asked one of the female on-lookers what was happening and just as she began to answer, his phone started to buzz indicating he was getting a text message.

  Again it was April.

  Looking back at the woman standing directly in front of him, now appearing irritated, Mason said “I apologize, what did you say?”

  “The old folks home.” She said.

  “Yes…” Mason followed.

  “They’re killing each other… LOOK!”

  Mason pushed his way through the diminishing crowd inside the office to get a glimpse of the television now directly in front of him.

  The reporter standing in the hallway was in the middle of his report when he was overtaken by what appeared to be three individuals, all of whom were at least eighty years old.

  Someone in the crowd said “I am not sure what the hell they’re taking, but I want some.” “Damn, I have never seen people that age move so fast.”

  The news station cut away just as the threesome
overtook the reporter. The footage was disturbing in that it appeared as though they were not just attacking the reporter, but trying to devour him. The first crazed senior appeared to bite the reporter on the neck or face and just as they cut away it looked as though the others had the same intention.

  The station went to a commercial and Tom the owner switched to another station covering a mysterious virus plaguing an emergency room with the same sort of crazy behavior, this time it wasn’t senior citizens. The cameraperson appeared to be running from the hospital and dropped the camera just as he was trapped on all sides by the angry horde.

  Mason looked over at Tom and watched as the remaining members either headed toward the doors or to the locker room fearing the unknown. Tom stared at the screen a minute longer watching as the cameraman was torn to shreds by nothing more than the hands and mouths of the rabid individuals.

  “Tom!”

  “Yeah, what?” Tom said as though coming out of a fog.

  “What the hell is happening?”

  “How on earth would I know?” “It’s on every damn station though… check it out.”

  As Tom flipped from one station to the next, every station, even the local cable channels had coverage of these bizarre events taking place. Some of the network channels had started to go dark and this appeared to concern Tom.

  “Mason, I’m closing up for the day. I need to get home; my wife is probably flipping out. I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. If you want to stay you can lock up, otherwise let’s go.”

  “That’s fine.” Mason said. “I’m going to grab my bag and I’ll just be a few minutes behind you.”

  Heading back toward the locker room, Mason turned and looked as Tom reached the front door.

  “Tom, take care, I’ll call you later.”

  Mason pulled the phone from his pocket and looked down remembering he had put April on ignore. “Great,” He said.

  Opening April’s text it read: Check the news, I am really scared – PLEASE CALL ME!!!

  Mason sat in front of his locker and dialed April. Being the only remaining soul inside the gym felt a little creepy and not just because of the earlier images he had seen on the news. He always hated being here alone especially when it was dead silent and being here mid-afternoon with the place empty was just weird.

  “Mason!” April answered on the forth ring.

  “I’m just leaving the gym now.” Mason said.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “Home… why?”

  “Can you come here?” April asked. “I’m really scared and I need you.”

  “Where is Justin?” Mason asked.

  “He’s in school, I just checked out the window and everything is quiet.”

  Mason had never heard April this worried. He figured he would try to set her mind at ease.

  “I’m on my way to your place. Stay put and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “I will.” April said, sounding a little less stressed.

  “Mason?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I just spoke to my Dad.”

  “Oh yeah, what did HE have to say about this?”

  “He didn’t say very much, although he made me promise him that we would get out of the city. TODAY!”

  2

  April hung up the phone and walked to the oversized bay window in her master bedroom. The home she purchased eight years ago with Mason was supposed to be her dream home. Instead it now reminded her of how hard she had been on him and how much she let her father influence those bad times.

  Thinking back to the better memories they shared, she remembered that they decided on this home in particular because it overlooked not only the elementary but also the middle and high schools. She persuaded Mason that if they stuck to the budget she outlined they could literally watch their son grow from kindergarten to high school. She was sure her being overprotective did nothing to help their marriage. Mason would constantly let her know she needed to “loosen the reigns”, especially since Justin was only a few months shy of his fourteenth birthday.

  She desperately hoped Mason would arrive soon as watching the news all day and after talking to dear old dad was starting to freak her out.

  “I guess we were spared,” April said aloud as she looked out the window surveying both campuses, half trying to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about. No frantic people running around, in fact the area seemed overly calm.

  April made her way downstairs and into the kitchen just as the phone rang. She was sure it was Mason with some sort of an update, although checking the caller ID she noticed the call was coming from Justin’s cell.

  “Hello?” She quickly answered, trying to sounds as if she had not a care in the world.

  “Mom, something weird is happening.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “All the teachers and staff were called to an emergency meeting and they haven’t been back to the classrooms. It’s been almost an hour now.”

  “Where are you?” April said.

  “I walked out into the gym because the rest of the school is too loud. The other students are kind of just running around the halls.”

  “Mom, some of my friends are saying that there is a war that was started.”

  “Justin, I think they’re just trying to scare you.”

  “Well, what IS going on? Why are all the teachers gone? Why haven’t they come back?”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing. Just go back to cl…”

  “Mom they’re coming back, I gotta go.”

  April set the phone down and leaned back against the counter. She wanted Justin home and had to talk herself out of walking across the street to get him. She knew it would embarrass him and probably her as well.

  April decided she would head back to the bedroom and sit in the window and watch, that way she could ease her mind and at the same time she would be ready to move if anything changed.

  Even before she reached the window April could see both parking lots start to fill with cars. Knowing there was no performances going on at the middle school today she knew what was happening.

  These parents were just as alarmed at the events of the day as she was; they were just less concerned with what the other parents thought of them.

  “Screw it.” Deciding she didn’t care either, she dialed Mason again to let him know she was headed to the school to bring Justin home. She figured he could help her pack a few things and as soon as Mason arrived she would try to convince him that her father had some insight and they should heed his warning and head out of town.

  Mason’s phone went to voicemail once again. April, typically would just hang up, although she wanted him to know where she was if he got here before she got back.

  “Mason, it’s me, there is some weird stuff going on over at the school. I’m going over to bring Justin home. If you get here before I get back, the front door will be unlocked.”

  “Please hurry.”

  Before heading out, April grabbed for the television remote and powered it up. She promised herself earlier she would not watch any more coverage; although she wanted to be sure there wasn’t any new information.

  Most of the network stations were now off the air. April flipped through the last of the local stations and came upon a disturbing feed that was playing on a loop showing a crowd of deranged people stampeding two middle aged women trying to get into the grocery store. She had to turn away and instantly hit the off button before she witnessed another second.

  “What in the world is happening?”

  3

  April’s father was a great man, sometimes too great for Mason to even stomach. He knew April loved him, he also knew their marriage would continue to be an uphill battle as long as her father continued to add fuel to the fire.

  Putting that aside, Mason knew better than to doubt this man. He knew April’s father was some sort of military big shot; he just had no idea what kind. He figured it was better not to ask as it
would have just led to some sort of discussion about why he couldn’t measure up… it always did.

  Mason dropped the phone into his backpack and headed for the exit. Walking down the row of treadmills he made sure to turn down the lights in each section of the club. Rounding the corner and making his way out, Mason nearly tripped over the front desk chair as he couldn’t believe the events taking place in the parking lot.

  Through the giant glass windows that make up the front entrance of the club, Mason was horrified at what he was seeing. The club members and employees that had left only moments before were being run down and attacked by these savages that seemingly came out of nowhere. People were running, falling and literally being torn apart by these things.

  One of heavier men who only ten minutes before walked out the front door in a hurry to get to his car and vacate the area was now in a flat out sprint back toward the facility. He missed the step up onto the curb, went down hard and slide face first into the glass entrance. The doors being closed acted as a dead end for this man as three of those things were on him in seconds.