by Gayle Katz
Zombie Slayer Series
Books 1 - 3
Gayle Katz
In Your Face Publishers
Blue Bell, PA
Copyright © 2019 Gayle Katz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission from the author. For permissions contact:
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or undead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Visit the author’s website at GayleKatz.com
Table of Contents
________________________________________
Charlie (Book 1)
Second Strain (Book 2)
Claw (Book 3)
About the Author
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Prologue
________________________________________
Charlie held her hunting knife at the ready. She was glad she’d wrapped the handle with leather, as it made it more comfortable to hold for extended lengths of time. It also made it easier to grasp when she had to plunge the tip into the head of her prize. She heard a crackle and quickly ducked behind one of the headstones in the cemetery.
Her mentor had texted her the info at 2 am, so she’d quickly put on her sweats and running shoes, grabbed her backpack—already filled with gear—and hopped into the VW Beetle that her dad had left her in his will.
The crackling sound continued. She raised her head and breathed deeply. Soon it would be time to kill.
The crackling sounds turned into dull footsteps. Something, or someone, dragged their feet across the ground. Small pebbles and plant debris went cascading in all directions.
When she was ready, she leapt out at the creature. She lifted her dagger high into the air and struck.
The knife slipped easily through the eye socket and into its brain. She briefly winced, knowing that this was far easier than killing a human. She didn’t even want to remember that detail.
The creature made a gurgling sound, and then dropped slowly to the ground.
“Dammit! Now I have to clean up.” She cleaned the filth from the dagger as best she could, rubbing it against the dirty pants of the dead body at her feet.
She walked around the carcass, lifted it by the armpits, and dragged it to the nearest hole in the ground.
It took her only a few minutes to fill in the earth.
“There, that’s done,” she commented. “Now I’ll look forward to retirement.”
Chapter 1
________________________________________
“Welcome to Portland High. We hope you’ll like it here. We’re a very welcoming and diverse community, unlike that state you’re from,” said Principal Allan.
“Are you serious? You mean Texas?” Charlie commented. “It’s all right. Every place has its bad apples.”
“Of course,” said Allan. “We heard you’ve come here with a reputation.”
Charlie glared at him. The smile left his face.
“Well, that concludes the guided tour. Your first class is biology with Mr. George.”
Charlie stopped walking. “Mr. George?” she asked. “I hope that isn’t Stewart George.”
“Why yes, it is. You know each other? I hope you don’t have a problem with him. He came highly recommended.” Principal Allan smiled an awkward smile.
“Yes, we know each other. And yes, I like the guy. It’s just that he was also my bio teacher in Dallas. It’s odd that he moved at the same time as me.” Charlie looked around the hallway, a worried expression creeping onto her face.
“Oh, that’s quite the coincidence. Then you’ll settle in here much faster than I expected.” Principal Allan gestured at an open door. “This is where…” he started to say, but couldn’t finish because Charlie was gone.
Charlie stomped angrily into bio class. Mr. George looked up at her and smiled, a smug expression on his face.
She glared at him, and went to the back of the class, choosing a desk. She smashed her backpack onto the ground.
“Hello, class,” he said, beginning the day. “We have a new student today. Her name is Charlie Warner, and she’s from Dallas, Texas. Please say ‘hi’ to her.”
The entire class said “hi,” except for Zan. She sat in the front row, her eyes reading her smartphone.
“Hi, everyone,” said Charlie. “I’d sell you drugs at lunch, but I hear that you can buy them at any store in Oregon now.” That got a chuckle out of the majority of students, except for Zan.
“Drugs are bad for you,” Zan said, putting her phone down.
“OK, class, let’s get started on the lesson for today.”
The day was your typical 11th grade experience. Charlie did her best not to interact with anybody. When she could, she glared at Mr. George. Finally, first period ended. She remained behind.
When the class had departed, Mr. George closed the door.
Charlie grabbed her things and stuffed them into her backpack. She stormed to the front and slammed it onto his desk.
“Why are you here? I told you that I’m done. Seriously, I’m done.”
“Please calm down, Charlie. There are things that are out of my control. I told you before that this is a lifetime thing.”
“I don’t want a lifetime. I just want to lead a normal life.” She grabbed her backpack and headed to the door.
“Wait,” called Mr. George.
Charlie turned to face him.
“I know that you put down the southern gang, but unfortunately, we have a new problem in Portland.”
“That’s just great,” she said, but she didn’t move closer to the door.
“Apparently, a tourist from Portland visited her great-grandmother’s grave in Dallas. Unfortunately, she was bitten.”
Charlie dropped her bag. “Wait. Tell me she did not come back to Portland.”
“Yes, that’s just it. And it’s worse.”
Charlie shook her head and kicked her bag.
“She wasn’t bitten by just any zombie. If so, someone would have taken her down immediately. But they didn’t realize. She was bitten by the zombie leader.”
Charlie shook her head, trying to take it all in. “But I killed the zleader. She’s gone.”
“I know. But, apparently, she was bitten by her in the cemetery, then she holed up in the ground for a while.”
“Oh no,” she cried.
“Right,” said Mr. George.
“But if she was bitten by her, and I killed her, and then she came back here to her city…” her voice trailed off.
“Right. That means she is a new zleader.”
“Crap,” said Charlie. She picked up her bag. “Anyway, I’m late for chem.”
“I’m sorry. I had to intervene,” her teacher said.
“I know,” she said, reaching for the doorknob.
Mr. George tidied some papers on his desk and placed them into his briefcase. “So, are you in, or what?”
She turned and glared at him. “What do you think? That I’m going to let the zombies eat up the city?”
“Good. Let’s meet at 3 pm, here.”
“Fine,” she replied. “But I’m telling you, when t
his city is clear, I’m truly done.”
Mr. George nodded. “I know. I’m sorry you killed a human by mistake. I’ve done the same. It never gets easier.”
“Right, I forgot that you had too.” Her voice grew softer. “I’m off to class now.”
“See you later,” said Mr. George. “Oh, and it’s Mr. George here, not Stewart. As far as anyone knows, I’m your bio teacher, not your mentor.”
zzz
Chem class went well. Charlie was able to focus on the elements and chemical formulas and forget about the problems looming ahead.
She had nearly made it through class without interacting with anyone. The last thing she wanted was to make friends, only to have them gruesomely eaten up by zombies. Sadly, that’s what happened when you hung out with Charlie.
“Psst,” called the guy beside her. “What is Au again?”
“Gold,” she whispered back.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll try to remember that.”
Charlie couldn’t help but smile at him. He seemed like a truly nice guy.
The bell rang, and the class was done. For once, she felt a bit disappointed.
“Hey, you want to hang out at lunch?” he asked. “I’m Owen Nakkonde, from Uganda.”
She stood up and shook his hand. “Hi, Owen. I’m Charlie. Nice to meet you.” For some reason, she couldn’t be her usually snarky self. “Umm, sure, I’ll see you in the cafeteria.” She supposed she could have at least one friend at school. She’d just make sure that he never found out what her true calling was, or else he’d be in danger too.
There was one more class until lunch, English. She sat beside Zan, the same girl from her bio class. Zan tried to avoid looking at her as much as possible.
“Oh darn, I broke a nail,” she commented at one point.
“You’re lucky you have nails,” said Charlie.
“What did you say?” snapped Zan.
“Zombies don’t have any nails,” explained Charlie.
Zan frowned at Charlie’s casual wear, and then glanced down at her linen jacket and skirt that had taken her half an hour to iron that morning.
“Oh, you’re one of those zombie film buffs,” she commented.
“Yep,” said Charlie. “I’m really good with a gun and a knife too.”
The bell rang. Zan grabbed her things and quickly left.
“Hey, see you later,” Charlie called after her. She had a good chuckle. There was that old saying to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
zzz
“Hey, over here!” called Owen.
Charlie set her tray on his table.
“How’s your day been?” he asked.
She was about to lie and say it had been terrible, but surprisingly, different words came out of her mouth. “It’s been good, actually.”
“Fantastic! I think you’ll like it here. I went from being bullied at another school to being openly welcomed here.”
Charlie shoved her sandwich into her mouth. “Seriously? Let me know who it was and I’ll whoop their ass.”
“Really? That’s great, from a girl and all.”
Charlie frowned at him.
“I mean, girls, err, women, can do anything a man can.”
“You got that right. Anyway, if you want some tips, I can help teach you to defend yourself.”
Owen smiled at her. “That’d be great, as I really have no idea. I’m such a wuss. Well, I am a truthsayer, so sometimes I have the disadvantage.”
Charlie spit a piece of lettuce out of her mouth.
“You’re a truthsayer?”
“Yep. You know, I have to tell the truth, and I influence others to tell the truth too.”
Charlie looked worried. “Like, a superpower or something?” She took a sip of her milk.
“Nah, nothing like that.”
But she doubted him. She was looking forward to meeting up with Stewart later to ask questions.
“So, how about that Zan?” she asked him.
“Oh, the rich girl. She acts grumpy, but she’s OK.”
“Nothing to worry about then?” Charlie wanted to smack herself. She had made a promise not to get involved in school dynamics again, and here she was making friends and asking questions.
“Nah, she’s fine. Makes stupid comments sometimes. She won’t openly say anything bad though.”
“Well, I’ll steer clear of her. She’s not into zombies anyway.” Oh crap! Why did she say that to him? She wanted to stay quiet about the zombies. Some people in the city knew about them, but most called them an urban legend.
Owen’s eyes grew big for a bit. It was like he wanted to say something, but then didn’t. “Hey, serious stuff. Let’s just talk about TV shows or something.”
Charlie smiled and continued eating her lunch.
Chapter 2
________________________________________
Charlie and Stewart were in his bio class, lights off and the door closed and locked.
“What do you mean I have to go into the field tonight? I just drove into town with Gran yesterday! I don’t even get two days off?”
“Calm down. This is a simple zombie sighting. My sources have told me that there has been some activity off Main Street in a back alley. So far, the bitten have been taken down, but no one has been able to find the zombie yet.”
Charlie paced the room. “Well, maybe the zombie is the zleader? You expect me to just wander in and take down a zleader? I have to prepare. I can’t just walk in.”
“No, we don’t believe it’s the zleader. Unfortunately, she has already infected others,” explained Stewart. As he talked, Charlie noticed a map of the city on his desk with highlights in red. “We’ll have you go in, do some control first.”
“Fine. But do you have any idea where the zleader is?” she asked, continuing to pace the room.
“No, but I’ll let you know as soon as we do.”
“OK. In the meantime, I’ll prepare for a zleader attack. Going to have to find supplies and gear up.”
“Good plan, Charlie. I’ll see what I have in storage so you don’t have the expense.”
She raised her arm in the air and waved. “Told you before, money is no object since Gran won the lottery.”
“Still,” he started saying. “I’d feel more confident that you had the right equipment, than buying from some questionable Portland occult store for the tourists.”
She nodded. “Oh, and I had a thought.”
Stewart looked up.
“When I was fighting the zleader in Dallas, she seemed to show fear when my ring touched her arm.”
Stewart frowned. “That’s interesting. I know werewolves are sensitive to silver.”
“No, the ring is titanium, not silver or gold.”
“Ahh,” said Stewart.
“Is it possible to have a dagger made from titanium?” she asked him.
Stewart grabbed his tablet. “Well, anything’s possible. However, it may take time. And I’m concerned about its strength. You may only have one strike with it.”
“Well, that’s all I need.”
“Fine,” he responded. “But I still think you should have your usual too.”
“Yep,” she said.
“Oh, and we’ll need to enchant it, just like the others,” said Stewart.
“You mean, with a spell?” she asked.
“Yes. I’ve been reading up on spells. It’s not quite my specialty, but if I learn more about them, then we can benefit. These zombie leaders seem to be evolving and becoming smarter. There is also the concern that they, too, can utilize spells, so it’s important for me to place protections around the spell book, and to also enchant it for only the eyes of the living. Not only that, but there may be ways to help protect people’s houses. The downside is that the spells take time and focus only on a small area of protection, such as a house. There are also spells that can increase the power of an object, such as the killing power of a dagger.”
“Do what y
ou have to do,” she said impatiently. “Well, I guess I should get going. I’ll have just enough time to grab dinner with Gran, and then hop on the bus to get to that alley.”
“Bus? I thought you brought your Beetle?” He snapped his tablet case closed.
“No parking downtown, remember?”
“Right, so anything else?” he asked. “I need to think about dinner too.”
She grabbed her backpack and was about to head to the door when she remembered something. She turned to face him.
“Is a truthsayer a thing?” she asked him.
“Why yes, they’re similar to a zombie slayer, a person with superpowers, if that’s what you’re asking. Why? Did you come across one?”
Charlie was hesitant to tell him about Owen until she knew more. “I might know someone who is one. I don’t think he knows. Are they harmful?”
Stewart sat down. “Well, basically no. They have powers that can be helpful to fight zombies. However, the bad guys can also use them, as they aren’t good at the art of deception. So, if you’ve met someone like this, I suggest that you don’t tell them the truth, and steer clear.”
“Right,” she said. “Pretty much what I figured.” She left and headed for home.
On her way home, she felt like she could really use a friend. Not just Gran, who was like a mother to her, but Owen, her new friend. She’d just have to learn how to control her mind so that she wouldn’t blab anything. She was also curious as to what kinds of powers a truthsayer could have that would help with zombie fighting.
zzz
Charlie stepped off the bus at Main Street Books and longingly looked at the store. If only she could simply go inside and do book shopping like a normal person. Most people were oblivious to the fact that there were magical creatures, like the zombies, who mysteriously reanimated after death. They gained their power from feeding on the living.
