Countdown to Oblivion
Page 21
Neither man heard the yelling from the hallway as the noise from the shots in the enclosed office nearly destroyed their hearing.
Hank stepped out from behind the desk and shots ricocheted off the doorjamb. He returned fire and felt Wally pull him to the corner with him. “Stay out of their fire!”
Hank fumbled with the spare magazine he carried and tried to reload his pistol. Another form stepped into the doorway and Hank dropped the magazine as he thrust his pistol toward the intruder. Nothing happened when he pulled the trigger, but Wally’s gun belched fire in the darkness and the second man fell, grasping his chest.
Hank searched in the darkness for the dropped magazine and nearly pissed himself when a voice ordered them to show their hands. He froze and glanced to Wally who was also caught off guard. Both men slowly stood, holding their weapons out at arm’s length.
“Where’s Savage?” the man yelled.
Hank shook his head and was about to say that he had no idea who that was when the man collapsed at their feet. He looked up and saw Roger standing over the body. “Let’s go, boys. The cavalry has arrived.”
The three men walked towards the front of the building and stepped out into the cool night air.
“Squirrel?” Simon asked.
Roger looked and saw him on his knees beside the box truck, both hands bound behind his back. Hatcher stood over him, his pistol pressed to the base of Simon’s neck, a radio in his hand. “Fall back. We have the target. Leave the rest to the Zulus.”
“What are you going to do with him?” Roger asked.
Hatcher looked down at the man at his feet. “That depends on whether your friend Mike survives.”
Roger’s eyes widened. “You mean you might let him live?”
Hatcher shot him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I never said that. But there are ways to die that are very painful and take a very long time.”
Roger nodded. “I like that idea.”
Simon began chuckling and eventually broke into full-on laughter. Roger stepped closer and lifted him by his leather vest. “What’s so funny, psycho?”
Simon continued to laugh, then suddenly sobered. “You can’t kill me you idiot.”
Hatcher stepped next to him. “Wanna bet?”
Simon laughed again and hooked his chin behind Hatcher. “You need me to deal with them.”
Hatcher and Roger both turned and saw a line of motorcycles coming up the road and approaching the hospital. The sound of their V-Twin engines reverberating off the buildings in the area.
Simon pulled himself to his feet and squared his shoulders. “I called for the rest of the guys when the pickup took off in this direction. I figured they had to be heading to the hospital.” He broke into a toothy grin. “Looks like I guessed right.”
Hatcher groaned. “Son of a…”
Caldera The Series
For years, the biggest threat that Yellowstone was thought to offer was in the form of its semi-dormant super volcano. Little did anyone realize the threat was real and slowly working its way to the surface, but not in the form of magma. Lying deep within the bowels of the earth itself, an ancient virus waited.
Recently credited with the extinction of Neanderthal man, the virus erupts into a crowded Yellowstone. The park is packed with sight seers and party goers during a benefit concert who are all now fodder for the ancient rage virus.
Follow along as Park Rangers and local Sheriff’s find themselves overwhelmed with a park full of infected human cannibals.
Recently credited with wiping out the Neanderthals, an ancient virus is released within Yellowstone National Park and quickly spreads. A desperate plea for assistance reaches the military, but are they coming to help those battling for their lives or to wipe out every living thing in an effort to prevent a second mass extinction?
Follow along with a select group of individuals as they fight for survival. Can they avoid the infected? Can they evade the military called in to help? Can they trust each other?
Will humanity survive the raging cannibals that erupt from within?
Months after an ancient rage virus erupts from the depths of Yellowstone, survivors find themselves scattered. Clinging to life in clusters, hiding from the infected and scavenging from the remnants of humanity, life has evolved to mere survival.
The United States government has attempted to reestablish itself in the last safe place on earth…an offshore flotilla of naval vessels. The last of the CDC’s disease researchers work tirelessly to find a cure, but the virus keeps mutating. They need the original strain from Yellowstone.
Only one man knows the park well enough to escort the military to the source of the virus. Daniel Hatcher is called upon once more to face the threat of Yellowstone. Follow along as they try to survive ground zero.
Months after an ancient rage virus erupts from the depths of Yellowstone, survivors find themselves battling not only the infected, but each other. Predators prey on the weak and strength comes only in numbers.
Government researchers are working tirelessly to find a cure, but time is running out. Over 90% of the world’s population is dead or infected and the number climbs daily.
Follow a select group of survivors as they fight to carve out an existence while defending themselves from rage fueled cannibals and roving bands of marauders.
About the Author
Heath Stallcup was born in Salinas, California and relocated to Tupelo, Oklahoma in his tween years. He joined the US Navy and was stationed in Charleston, SC and Bangor, WA shortly after junior college. After his second tour he attended East Central University where he obtained BS degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He then served ten years with the State of Oklahoma as a Compliance and Enforcement Officer while moonlighting nights and weekends with his local Sheriff’s Office. He still lives in the small township of Tupelo, Oklahoma with his wife and three of his seven children. He steals time to write between household duties, going to ballgames, being a grandfather to five and being the pet of numerous animals that have taken over his home. Visit him at heathstallcup.com or Facebook.com for news of his upcoming releases.
From the desk of Heath Stallcup
A personal note-
Thank you so much for investing your time in reading my story. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment and leave a review. I realize that it may be an inconvenience, but reviews mean the world to authors…
Also, I love hearing from my readers. You can reach me at my blog: http://heathstallcup.com/ or via email at heathstallcup@gmail.com
Feel free to check out my Facebook page for information on upcoming releases: https://www.facebook.com/heathstallcup find me on Twitter at @HeathStallcup, Goodreads or via my Author Page at Amazon.
Also by Heath Stallcup
My stories so far: The Monster Squad Series
The first saga:
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Humanity has spent its time enjoying a peace that can only be had through blissful ignorance. For centuries, stories of things that go “bump” in the night have been passed down and shared. When creatures of the night proved to be real, the best of America’s military came together to form an elite band of rapid response teams. Their mission: to keep the civilian populace safe from those threats and hide all evidence of their existence.
This time, they face the largest threat ever to rise against mankind as it prepares its own twisted Apocalypse. The only thing standing in its way is the Monster Squad. Man and monster will fight side by side in an epic battle to the death to try to defeat an evil so great, it could only have been created by the hand of God Himself.
The second saga:
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An ancient evil is awakened by a naïve pawn. Planned centuries in advance by fallen angels, the reign of Lilith is put into motion. With a legion of demons at her command, she plans to enact her revenge upon the world’s largest religious group before thrusting herself center stage and taking her seat upon the throne as Queen of the World.
&nbs
p; With threats coming at them from every angle, the Monster Squad turns to an ex-member to form a new team—a team made up of the most unlikely warriors to hunt down and face the Demon Queen.
However, when it comes time to remove the Queen in this grand game of chess, will they be able to sacrifice their own game pieces to do it?
Caldera Trilogy
* * *
For years, the biggest threat Yellowstone was thought to offer was in the form of its semi-dormant super volcano. Little did anyone realize the threat was real and slowly working its way to the surface, but not in the form of magma. Lying deep within the bowels of the earth itself, an ancient virus waited.
Recently credited with wiping out the Neanderthals, the virus is released within the park and quickly spreads. A desperate plea for assistance reaches the military, but are they coming to help those battling for their lives or to wipe out every living thing in an effort to prevent a second mass extinction? Can humanity survive the raging cannibals that erupt from within?
Whispers Trilogy
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How does a sheriff’s department from a small North Texas community stop a brutal murderer who is already dead and buried?
When grave robbers disturb the tomb of Sheriff James ‘Two Guns’ Tolbert searching for Old West relics, a vengeful spirit is unleashed, hell bent for blood. Over a hundred years in the making, a vengeful spirit hunts for its killers. If those responsible couldn’t be made to pay, then their progeny would.
Even when aided by a Texas Ranger and UCLA Paranormal Investigators, can modern-day law enforcement stop a spirit destined to fulfill an oath made in death? An oath fueled by passion from a love cut down before its time?
Forneus Corson
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Nothing comes easy and nothing is ever truly free. When Steve Wilson stumbles upon the best-kept secret of history’s most successful writers, he can’t help but take advantage of it. Little did he know it would come back to haunt him in ways he’d never have dreamt… even in his worst nightmares.
With his life turned upside down, his name discredited, his friends persecuted, the authorities chasing him for something he didn’t do, Steve finds himself on the run with nothing but his wits and his best friend by his side. When a man finds himself hitting rock bottom, he thinks there’s little else he can do but go up… unless he’s facing an evil willing to dig the hole deeper. An evil in the business of pitting men against odds so great, they risk losing their very souls in the attempt to escape…
Mind Trip
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These are just some of the dark and twisted ideas that have run through the mind of Heath Stallcup over the years. Join him in a journey to the darker side of short story fiction. Mobsters intent on ruling the world reveals that sometimes you just can’t go home. The release of a zombie virus and the ramifications of trying to hide it. Sometimes reality isn’t what you think it is. Those noises in the attic may not be rats… Dwelling on the past can be introspective but refusing to let go will skew your reality. You know you are about to die. You want nothing more than to protect your loved ones. In a fever induced delirium you lead the threat away from those you care most about.Hunter Trilogy
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Born of Viking stock, careered into the Swedish Navy, Sven Ericsson finds himself in the fabled New World. Away from the restraints of society, the young Northman is dragged into long nights of debauchery; nights that lead him into the waiting arms of a dark beauty who will change his very nature forever. Fighting his new unnatural status, Sven steers clear of humanity, skulking along the fringe of society, and filling his inhuman need with the blood of the outcasts or the easily forgotten. A shadow among the shadows…until extraordinary events, centuries later, force him to emerge from the dark. A mishap of his own making pits Sven Ericsson into a moral quandary that will remind him what it means to be a warrior. He is a killer. A fighter.
And a Hunter of his own kind.
Check this YA Zombie thriller from JJ Beal.
Lions & Tigers & Zombies, Oh My!
* * *
The cold war has heated up again. This time the battle will be fought in every street of America.
Trapped in a major city, hours from their small town country home, a team of young girls find themselves cut off from everyone they know and left to fend for themselves as the world spins out of control.
With nothing but their wits, their softball equipment and their friendship to hold them together, they face incredible odds as they fight their way across the state. Physical, emotional and psychological challenges meet them at every turn as they struggle to find the family they can’t be sure survived. How much more can they endure before reaching the breaking point?
Also From DevilDog Press
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Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo
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Nemesis by Suzanne Madron
Prey: Blood of The Ancients By Tim Majka
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All That Remain By Travis Tufo
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From The Ash By Dave Heron
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Mossy Creek A Maggie Mercer Mystery By Jill Behe