by Katz, Gayle
“But we’ll have a fantastic celebration of life for him,” said Charlie. “Well, they say that when I’m ready, I can leave.”
“Good,” said Zan. “I can help you wash up and get dressed. The guys can leave.”
“Oh, and one more thing, good news,” said Jay. “I heard from the FDA. They are making progress with a vaccine.”
“Wait, aren’t all the zombies dead?” asked Charlie. “Why would a vaccine be needed now?”
“Trust the FDA to drop in late,” said Owen. “Remember when they visited us?”
Jay smirked and shook his head. “No. Only the bad zombies are gone. The good zombies are alive and well. And, once the FDA gets the vaccine going, these zombies will have a fair chance at life.”
“You mean Julian is still alive?” said Charlie, eager to hear good news. “I thought he would have blown up like the others?”
“No, Julian is still alive,” said Jay.
Charlie hopped out of bed. “Get out. I’m getting dressed and out of here.”
Owen and Jay happily left the room, while Zan helped get Charlie’s clothes ready.
“Oh good, you’re up,” said Gran, walking into Charlie’s hospital room. “I’ll go tell the front desk you’re checking out.”
“Hell ya,” said Charlie. “I need to study some history.” Then she dropped her jacket on the floor.
“What’s up?” asked Zan, picking it up and handing it to her.
“The spell book. It’s gone, right?”
Zan nodded. “Yes, Jay told me it got all burned up.”
“Too bad,” said Charlie. “That was a nice piece of history.”
“Yes,” said Zan, “but we hardly need it for any more exorcizms.”
“Hey look, Zan,” said Charlie, gazing out the window. “The fog over the city is gone!”
“That’s great,” said Zan, following her out of the room. Owen was waiting for them in the lobby.
“Say, the prom is coming up,” said Owen.
Charlie and Zan looked at him, speechless.
“Charlie, will you go to the prom with me?”
Charlie laughed, while Zan was relieved.
“Sure, Owen, as long as Zan isn’t disappointed.”
“Nah,” she said. “I’m going with Jay.”
“Uh,” said Charlie.
Zan shrugged. “Why not? We’re just going as friends.”
“Wow, it’s hard to believe we’re almost done with school,” said Charlie. “Soon we’ll be entering the next stage of our lives, whatever that might be!”
The teens laughed and joked about where they would be in a few months’ time.
Epilogue
________________________________________
“Julian! There is someone here to see you.”
“OK, Dad. I’ll be right there.” Julian dropped his magazine on the floor and went to the front door.
“Hi, Julian. I’m Adrienne. I’m with the FDA.”
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand.
“At the Food and Drug Administration, we oversee the safe production and testing of food and related equipment in the United States. Thank you for meeting with me, finally.”
“Yes,” he said. “But why do you want to see me?” He led her over to the couch to sit down.
His parents thought it was just about a school science fair project, so they left him alone.
Adrienne sighed. “They’re gone. I’m uncertain how much they know about you?”
Julian looked up. “They know I’ve been very sick with an autoimmune disorder. I get sick. I get well. It’s in cycles.”
“Good,” she replied. “But you should be dead by now and you’re not. It’s OK,” said Adrienne, patting his hand. “I know you’re a zombie.”
Julian laughed. “No, stop,” he said, putting his hand up in the air. “I’m just shocked it’s taken years for the U.S. government to realize that zombies are real.”
She shrugged. “Anything government-related moves at a snail’s pace. Anyway, I have the cure for you.” She held up the vial.
“But I thought you needed my blood to make a vaccine?” he said, looking on in confusion.
“No, I figured it out without you.”
Julian smiled. “That’s amazing!” he said.
“Yes, and it’s free. That’s my job for the next few months. Get the vaccine to all good zombies.”
“Gosh, I’m uncertain if I even want it. I’ve gotten used to being a zombie.” He suppressed a smile.
“Really?” asked Adrienne. She held the syringe up in the air. “Make up your mind because my partner is sick and so is his daughter. I’m on my way there next.”
“Nah, let’s do it!” said Julian.
Thank You
________________________________________
Ah! The finale! You read the entire series and that makes my heart sing! You're a diehard fan all right and I'm so grateful to you!
Now that the zombies have been vanquished, Charlie, Zan, and Owen are off to start their post-zombie slaying lives. But you and I both know that the zombies are never really gone forever...
In the meantime, if you enjoyed the story, one of the best ways to help me write more books is to leave a review on Amazon. It would mean the world to me!
Tap here to rate and review this second Slayer box set on Amazon. That's it! And while it’s not required by any means, I’d certainly appreciate it.
My heartfelt thanks go out to you!
Luv,
Gayle
START ANOTHER ADVENTURE
SNEAK PEEK! Below is an excerpt from the FREE prequel in the Jane Zombie Chronicles, Strange Start.
After changing into a pair of blue scrubs, I emerge from the dressing room to join the rest of the class. Dara leads us down another hallway and one by one she assigns each of us a doctor or a nurse to shadow. I’m handed off to a Dr. Michael Lively. A little nervous, I barely manage to eek out a shy, “Hello.”
I watch as the rest of the group keeps walking down the hall and I’m left standing in the doorway of Dr. Lively’s office.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“My name is Jane.” I can feel my heart beating a million miles an hour. I’ve never helped a doctor before. The work they do here is so important. I don’t want to mess up by doing something stupid.
“Nice to meet you, Jane.” He extends his hand. I quickly do the same and we shake. He’s got a serious death grip.
“What can I help you with, Dr. Lively?” I ask.
“For now, we’re going to make the rounds to all of my patients, get their vitals, and check in on their progress. Basically, get the scoop on what’s going on with them. I usually do this first thing in the morning, but I knew you’d be coming, so I delayed it. I thought you might enjoy the experience.”
“I appreciate that. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Of course. You can hold my clipboard for now and just observe. You really want to jump in with both feet, huh?”
“Yes!” I say with a little too much enthusiasm. “Well, I’m considering a major in biology when I go to college and then going premed, so the sooner I can get into it, the better.”
“I like your energy, but you need to relax. I also have to warn you that being a doctor in the real world may not be as glamorous as you see on TV. I’ll do my best to impress, though.”
“OK, Dr. Lively.”
“No need to call me Dr. Lively. Dr. L or just L for short—either is fine.”
As we leave his office and proceed to the first patient’s room, I am beyond nervous. What if I say something dumb? I can feel my stress sweat starting. I can’t remember if I put on deodorant this morning. And when I’m nervous, it manifests itself through sweat and a bad habit of picking the skin around my fingernails. Yeah, it’s gross, but it helps to diffuse my anxiety.
Dr. L enters the first room. The patient is an old man. He seems unresponsive or maybe he’s just a
sleep for now. He’s bald and wrinkly. Though the most unusual thing about him is his skin. It looks a light gray and you can clearly see his dark veins showing through. It’s as if his skin is somewhat translucent.
“What’s wrong with him?” I ask.
“It’s a little bit of a mystery, but we believe he has bone cancer. Basically, we think his blood is sucking the life out of his bones and we don’t know why. And the worst part is that it’s spreading. We can’t seem to stop it no matter what treatment we administer.”
“Oh no,” I put my hand over my mouth in shock. I don’t know why I didn’t realize the patients here would be in such grave condition.
“We’re not giving up, though,” Dr. L continues. “He’s a fighter and we’re not going to let him down.”
“Is he in pain?” I ask.
“If he is, he hides it well. We’re doing all we can to keep him comfortable.”
As Dr. L reviews his chart and takes his vitals, like blood pressure and such, I just stand there, watching the patient. He seems peaceful until his eyes suddenly pop open.
I’m spooked. My body jumps, and I take a step back. He sits up quickly and makes a horrible hissing sound, then reaches out, grabs my scrub top, and pulls me close enough I can see the veins pulsing through a gray haze covering his eyeballs.
“Kill me,” he mutters.
Want more zombies? Click here to check out Strange Start, the FREE prequel in the Jane Zombie Chronicles series.
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About the Author
Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gayle discovered her passion for zombies when her husband introduced her to video games in 2009.
Gayle writes about the undead because they scare the bejesus out of her and she likes it! She’s also an advocate for always facing your fears as she’s an author of self-help, nonfiction books too.
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