by Platt, Sean
“‘Mitigator,’” she repeated.
“I know it’s not as sexy as ‘cure,’ but there is no cure. It will be okay, though, I think. We’re simply in for a big change to the world as we know it. We cannot eradicate just yet, so we will contain. I hear they’re closing the borders. It will be very interesting, don’t you think?”
She could think of a thousand words for what this was, and “interesting” wasn’t one of them. Her face must have betrayed her ambivalence because her visitor smiled.
“What will be, will be. It’s a much better way to live than fighting. In my opinion, anyway.” He pretended to tip a hat. “Good day, Mrs. Shelton. And thank you.”
She dared one final call, now that he was outside her door and halfway down the walk.
He turned, still good-natured, but with a glance at his watch.
“What will it be like, do you think? What’s so interesting?”
Maughan smiled even larger. “Come on, now. Lemons into lemonade. Yes, the transition will be hard, but it won’t be chaotic like Bakersfield. The Man is already dropping the hammer everywhere. They’re forming new government agencies and everything. ‘Panacea.’ Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”
“But the disease …”
“I know. But look at the upside. A population that’s a mix of the living and the dead — doesn’t that seem fascinating to you?”
“But will people—?”
“Oh, of course,” he said, plucking at the spirit of her question. “People are very adaptable. They can get used to anything — even living next door to people like you, and people much further along in their decay. The internet is already making memes about it. Didn’t you know?”
Carly furrowed her brow. “What kind of memes?”
“You haven’t heard? Aberdeen Valley, where Hemisphere is moving? You know about the necrotic migration headed that way, don’t you?”
“Sure, but …”
Maughan smiled even wider. “And you know what they’re calling Aberdeen now, because of it?”
Carly shook her head.
“They’re calling it Dead City.”
What to read next
Want to read more about what happens in the world of Dead Zero? You’re in luck. You can go read Dead City today!
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Johnny and Sean
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The discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter orbit immediately sets humanity on edge. NASA doesn't even bother to deny the alien ships' existence. The news has turned from evasion to triage, urging calm and offering the few fact they have: The objects are enormous, perfectly round spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector for Earth. And they will arrive in six days.
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Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant
About the Authors
Sean Platt is an entrepreneur and founder of Sterling & Stone, where he makes stories with his partners, Johnny B. Truant, and David W. Wright, and a family of storytellers.
Sean is the bestselling author of over 10 million words' worth of books, including the Yesterday’s Gone and Invasion series. Sean is also co-author of the indie publishing cornerstone, Write. Publish. Repeat. and co-host of the Story Studio Podcast.
Originally from Long Beach, California, Sean now lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two children. He has more than his share of nose.
Johnny B. Truant is co-owner of the Sterling & Stone Story Studio, an IP powerhouse focusing on books and adaptations for film and television. It’s the best job in the world, and he spends his days creating cool stuff with partners Sean Platt and David W. Wright, as well as more than 20 gifted storytellers.
Johnny is the bestselling author of over 100 books under various pen names, including the Fat Vampire and Invasion series. On the nonfiction side, he’s also co-author of the indie publishing mainstay Write. Publish. Repeat. and co-host of the weekly Story Studio Podcast.
Originally from Ohio, Johnny and his family now live in Austin, Texas, where he’s finally surrounded by creative types as weird as he is.
