A bizarre disease is turning the world into zombies…but Donovan isn’t turning. He’s developing strange psychic abilities. And he’s not the only one.
Age Rating: 18+
The Zombie Prophecies by Adam Sigrist is now available to read on the Galatea app! Read the first two chapters below, or download Galatea for the full experience.
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1
A bizarre disease is turning the world into zombies…but Donovan isn’t turning. He’s developing strange psychic abilities. And he’s not the only one.
Age Rating: 18+
Original Author: Adam Sigrist
His shirt buttons had surrendered to a pale, bloated stomach which had expanded nearly to the point of bursting.
Jagged stretch marks spread across his body and in some places the tinged green skin had cracked open yielding thick, black blood from each seeping wound.
His oversized gut jiggled over the waist of his jeans as he plowed blindly through the underbrush.
He registered the world through faded gray eyes, his jaw slacked and his tongue lolling between his teeth as he stumbled over rocks and roots. The sound of traffic grew louder in his shriveled ears as the trees became sparser.
He broke the light forest behind a row of tall brick buildings and waddled through the darkness of a damp and pungent alleyway. A moan escaped his lips as he recognized the trappings of civilization.
“Not much farther now.” A voice in the man’s skull reassured him.
The grotesque, sweaty man tripped over a bag of garbage, which split open. Wheezing, he stumbled to the ground.
“Hello?” A person’s voice echoed against the brick walls and the man felt excitement surge in his chest. “Is anyone down there?”
The man groaned as a woman came sprinting towards him. “Contain yourself,” the voice demanded as he reached for her.
“Oh my God! Are you okay?” The woman grabbed his hand and struggled to help him to his feet.
The man simply stared at her and moaned, gnashing his jaws under half-chewed lips. He stepped closer and grabbed hold of her arm.
She screamed and struggled as he pulled her towards him. His fat tongue dripped with saliva as it hung from his mouth.
Her cries intensified as the man bit into her neck but the voice in his head protested. “Not now!” it said. “Continue forward. You have a job to do!”
The man tossed the woman aside. She bled and writhed in the loose garbage, her screams now a hollow gurgle. Tears stained her face and she held tight to her tattered neck.
Unconcerned with her plight the swollen man continued down the alley. Daylight assaulted his eyes as he stepped onto the sidewalk shocking nearby pedestrians.
He swiped at them as they rushed past or backed away from his monstrosity. Two men attempted to restrain him as a third rushed to his victim’s aid.
“You’re stronger than them, fight them off!” the voice demanded. Emboldened by the command, the man snapped his bloody jaws at his captors.
Thick, red liquid clung to his chest as he pushed onward, only slightly hindered by the man on each arm.
As he reached the curb the men released him unwilling to be pulled into traffic as he lurched into the road. A car honked and swerved to miss him, nearly hitting an oncoming sedan.
Angry screams erupted from the busy street corner. The blood-covered monster of a man shuffled to the center of the lane.
“Mister! The light!” a boy called from the sidewalk.
The man turned to stare at the boy and his tousled orange hair. He yearned for that young delicious morsel and his strained bowels grumbled in hunger. He imagined that freckled flesh slipping down his throat.
A minivan swerved around him and crashed into the opposite side of the road, sending a tremor along the pavement underneath the man’s blistered feet. Glass shattered. People wailed.
“Focus!” the voice in his head said. “Stay still. Don’t move now.”
He licked what remained of his lips as he struggled to obey the compelling orders. His primal desire urged him to eat the boy, to feel those tender muscles tearing between his teeth. But that distant voice was undeniable.
The boy called frantically as the air horn of an eighteen-wheeler blasted from the man’s right side. He turned in time to see the large grille of the vehicle as it slammed against him.
With a sudden feeling of sweet release, the man’s distended belly split on impact. Congealed, dark blood exploded from the tearing flesh, followed by yellow fat and putrid intestines.
Then, finally, the dust.
A glittering cloud of dust poured from the man’s exploded torso. It lingered in the air, each particle moving with purpose.
The boy inhaled and felt sand in his throat while other witnesses clasped their faces with frightened and trembling hands.
The misty powder quickly dispersed and was carried on wind currents as it sparkled in the morning sunlight.
People on the sidewalk questioned their belief in God, fearing and wondering what they’d just witnessed. Some whimpered quietly to themselves as they coughed clouds of silver powder, watching it like puffs of frozen breath.
“Oh my God, Matthew?” A woman in various layers of animal print shrieked from across the street. She ran to the boy and the strangers on the curb looked wary. “It’s okay, I’m his neighbor. Matthew, it’s me, Heather!”
Matthew turned to Heather and wailed, falling into her arms as the others on the sidewalk gathered themselves.
Heather patted Matthew’s back and made soothing sounds for him, swinging him back and forth gently as he cried into her shoulder.
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2
The old floorboards creaked as Donovan paced. He straightened a painting then realigned the coffee table with the sofa. He noticed a spot in the corner and got on his knees to investigate.
“I don’t think she’s gonna inspect the corners,” Jasper said, “she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to care.”
“You don’t know her like I do. Everything needs to be perfect.”
“It is, everything’s perfect. You have your fancy appies, and mildly expensive South African wine.”
“I should have got the white.” Donovan picked up the bottle he’d left on the table. “I think she likes white. I can’t even remember! How messed up is that? I can’t even remember if my best friend likes red wine or white.”
“It doesn’t matter now. You got the red. I like the red.”
Donovan felt his stomach churn. If Jasper liked the red there’s no way Vicky would. “I should’ve got the white.”
He started pacing again, twisting his hands into a tangle of knuckles. He felt Jasper’s strong grip on his elbow and turned to the man.
“You’re getting worked up over nothing,” Jasper said, “you don’t wanna melt down right before she gets here, do you?”
The back of Donovan’s throat began to itch and swell. He scratched at his neck and inhaled deeply through his nose. “I just–it – I…” He shook his head and collapsed against Jasper’s chest. “I need this to be perfect.”
“I know.” Jasper stroked the back of Donovan’s head as they drew closer to each other. “And it will be, I promise.”
“I wish Heather wasn’t sick. Vicky always liked Heather. Heather would have–” Donovan’s face paled as he thought of his boyfriend and best friend trying to engage in a conversation. “Evened things out.”
As Jasper opened his mouth to respond, the doorbell rang. “She’s here!” Donovan leaped into the air and turned to the stairs. “She’s here, she’s here, she’s here.”
He felt lighter and heavier at the same time as he rushed to answer the door.
Halfway down the stairs of his second-floor flat, Donovan felt a rotting plank of wood crack under his weight. “Damn,” he said as he crouched to inspect the damage.
From his lower vantage point, he could see Vicky standing outside the front door. She had her back to him, her head was shaking and her finger was in the air. She was angry, even without hearing her he could tell that.
Moving further down the stairs revealed the target of Vicky’s aggression–a tall, dark-skinned man whose shocked expression quickly turned to a hollow smile when he saw Donovan through the door.
As Donovan turned the knob, Vicky spun around and composed herself. She screamed and Donovan felt himself freeze as she wrapped him up in a huge hug. “I can’t believe I’m here! I missed you so much!”
“Noah.” Donovan nodded over Vicky’s shoulder at the man. “Didn’t realize you were coming too.”
Vicky laughed and spoke up before Noah had a chance. “Yeah, well, we both needed a night away from the kids.”
“Kids!” Had it really been so long since he’d seen Noah? “You have a–”
“Ha!” Noah laughed as Donovan led the way upstairs. “No! I just help my sister out a lot. Her little guy’s a lotta work.”
“That’s nice.” Donovan smiled at his old friend, then turned back to Vicky. “And your little brat? How’s she?”
There was a moment of hesitation, Vicky couldn’t hide it no matter how hard she tried. Her mouth dropped just a little, her eyes darted to the floor and in a flash, she was smiling again. “She’s my shining star.”
“Right.” Donovan pushed open the living room door and noticed Vicky’s eyes roll toward the ceiling.
“Hey.” Jasper waved from the couch.
“Oh, hi,” She said and her shoulders slumped.
Jasper was chewing his lip, but as Noah entered the room Donovan saw him perk up. “Noah! I didn’t know you were coming.”
“When Vicky invited me–”
“Invited you?” Vicky flopped into a chair. “I barely mentioned it and you were all ‘Ooo, let me come, I wanna come.’ How could I stop you?”
“What? That’s not–”
“Is that wine I see?” Vicky cut Noah off again and Donovan could see him grinding his teeth.
“You already had three drinks before we came.”
“Just shut up!” She didn’t look at Noah as she said it but still, her expression was cold enough to freeze the room.
After a fraction of a silence, Donovan uncorked the bottle. “You had three drinks already?”
“Like I said, it’s my night away from the kid.” Vicky held her glass out without getting up from her seat.
Donovan felt something pull him back as he lifted the bottle. He looked at Vicky, then her glass, and finally tipped a bit of wine into it.
“Oh more than that,” Vicky said with a smile and Donovan poured in a drop more before turning to fill Noah’s glass. Vicky sniffed her drink and took a sip. “You only got red, huh?”
Donovan blushed as he sat next to Jasper. “Yeah, sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.” She smiled at him but it looked forced. “Where’s your roommate anyway? What’s her name? Heather?”
“She’s sleeping.” Donovan downed his wine and looked at Jasper for help. “Been sick all day.”
“Well, she’s been a little off all week, really.” Jasper seemed to pick up on Donovan’s distress. He positioned himself between the two friends, giving Donovan a chance to catch his breath. “Since the accident.”
Vicky put down her glass and pressed her hand to her chest. “Accident? What accident?”
“You know.” As Jasper wiggled his eyebrows Donovan couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s ability to distract from the tension at hand. “That fat guy who exploded in the street?”
Vicky’s eyes grew wide. “Was she there? Did she see it?”
Jasper nodded.
“You know, my boss’ sister knew the guy.” Vicky reached forward for an appetizer, she looked alive in the middle of such gossip.
“She says he started going crazy a couple months back, talking about meteors and fire. Then all of the sudden he just blew up like a whale.
“They said on the news he was full of powder or something? Like anthrax! What if Heather’s sick from it? What if we all get sick just being here?”
“It wasn’t anthrax.” Noah shook his head, ever the realist.
“It wasn’t anything. They tested all the witnesses and none of them showed any signs of breathing in a glittering powder, and they couldn’t find a single trace of it on any surface or even lingering in the air.
“It was some sorta mass hysteria. It was such a traumatizing event that–”
“Oh, right.” Vicky picked up her glass again and tossed the wine back in an almost violent way. “Cause Mr. Can’t-finish-nursing-school knows all about anthrax and shared psychosis.”
Noah sucked his teeth. He finished his drink just as quickly as his friends and everything went quiet. During the silence, a sound drifted in through the open window behind Noah’s head. “Is someone screaming out there?”
“Oh, that’s the neighbors.” Donovan moved to close the window. “The dad’s hardly ever home but when he is he’s always yelling. I feel bad for the kids but they never look hurt or anything, just kinda sad.
“The boy was in the accident too, ya know.” He wanted to change the subject back to something that would put a smile on Vicky’s face. “Heather said she found him all by himself, poor guy.”
Vicky seemed more than pleased to change the subject back to the accident. “You know, I’m pretty sure they’re talking about it on the news tonight.”
“Why?” Jasper asked and Donovan knew he was going to cross one of Vicky’s invisible lines. “Is there really anything left to say? Just let it go.”
“It’s a memorial!” Vicky reached the remote before Jasper and she flipped the television on. “To all the people who died! Have some respect.”
Donovan’s phone started ringing and he glanced at the screen. He recognized his sister’s name and ignored the call.
Vicky flipped through the channels as she continued speaking. “There were like, twenty casualties.”
“Nine.” Noah corrected but he went ignored.
“It was totally the worst crash the city’s ever seen!”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Third worst,” he said, but his words were entirely lost.
Donovan’s phone started to ring again and this time he turned the ringer off.
“It’s tragic and I wanna see what they’re gonna say.”
Vicky found the local station and put the remote down. She got up to refill her glass and glanced down at the flashing phone in Donovan’s hand. “Someone really wants to talk to ya.”
“It’s just my sister.”
“Maybe you should answer it?” Vicky drained the bottle into her glass and stood over him with her arms crossed.
“I don’t think so. What’s so important that sheneeds to talk to me right now, after all this time?”
“What was so important that you needed to see me today?” She sipped her drink and turned away. Donovan didn’t want to tell her it was all Jasper’s idea.
“Whatever,” he said, “it doesn’t matter.”
“It kinda does.” Vicky took another sip and grinned, her lips were turning purple. “Family matters, Donnie. I’d be lost without my mom.”
“And your shining star,” Donovan silently dared her to show just a moment of that emotional uncertainty she had displayed earlier. “You’d be lost without her too. Right?”
Vicky’s grin cracked for a split second before she nodded and agreed. “And my shining star.”
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