Rabid Heart
Page 20
“It’s an unholy request.” Chaplain Johnson began barking at Colonel Driscoll and Sarge. Rhonda winced when both men wiped their faces from Johnson’s point-blank spittle assault. Chaplain Johnson jabbed a finger at Colonel Driscoll’s nose and told him he should’ve gelded himself decades ago to prevent his daughter, a succubus, from being conceived. Chaplain Johnson went on, and referred to Rhonda as a necrophiliac who should be burned alive.
On this last statement, Colonel Driscoll lost all cordiality and told Chaplain Johnson, “You’re just a cunt-hair away from having my sidearm jammed into your big, fat mouth.”
Sarge’s restraint, however, didn’t last. He grabbed Chaplain Johnson by his throat and slammed his holy head into the Nativity diorama. The right side of Chaplain Johnson’s face crushed the olive wood manger and his head scattered miniature angels, shepherds, Joseph, Mary, three kings and baby Jesus across the chapel floor.
Colonel Driscoll pulled Sarge away and stopped the beatdown of the blessed Lieutenant. Chaplain Johnson tottered with a bruised and bloody head and Rhonda’s dad grabbed him by his clerical collar and shoved him.
Rhonda walked away with her father and Sarge. She no longer cared about Chaplain Johnson presiding over Brad’s funeral. She didn’t believe in God, anyway.
Brad was buried in a cemetery located in a far corner of Fort Rocky. This cemetery was made by a group of Deadnutians who buried their own here, those who had fallen inside these gates since the pandemic had begun. A carpenter at the base made coffins and wooden crosses with the names of the dead carved into them. For this, Rhonda was extremely grateful.
Soldiers dug the grave, using a backhoe to cut into the cold ground. Colonel Driscoll was there, Dad standing straight, dressed in his sharpest, shiniest military uniform. Sarge, Doc, Tyler and Ellen, and few others joined Rhonda as she laid Brad to rest. She said a few words, cried, and sent him off.
* * *
Brad would remain her true love. Tyler and Ellen would become her kids. And time would march on.
Later, at some unknown hour, Rhonda moved beneath cozy blankets and reached out for Brad, who wasn’t there. In the darkness, she heard an occasional tick from a heater. She listened to winter howl outside, the wind carrying the moans of countless Cujos who still milled about Camp Deadnut’s perimeter, oblivious and immune to the elements.
Rrrrnnndaahh.
In her bed, Rhonda tossed around thoughts of a cold and dead world outside Fort Rocky’s military fence and imagined an assortment of nightmarish inhabitants out there. Macabre visions of restless undead flashed in her mind and provided no comfort.
Love is like zombies... it never dies.
She slipped into slumber some time later. Her mind quieted and snuffed out reveries of the walking dead.
About the Author
New York Times Bestselling Author, Peter Straub (A Dark Matter, Ghost Story, and The Talisman—with Stephen King) says, ”Jeremy is a pretty impressive dude.”
Wagner has written lyrics to hundreds of songs spanning several albums with his international death-metal band, Broken Hope. He has a following of rabid fans worldwide, yet aside from his music career, Wagner writes dark fiction and short works full time.
His published works include the best-selling debut novel, The Armageddon Chord, the story “Romance Ain’t Dead” for the anthology, Hungry For Your Love (St. Martin’s Press), the story “The Creatures From Craigslist” in the anthology Fangbangers: An Erotic Anthology of Fangs, Claws, Sex and Love (Ravenous Romance), the seasonal bio tale “When I Scared Myself Out of Halloween” (Shock Totem Books), his horror writing essay-exercise in the Now Write! Edition of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (Bantam Books), and most recently, his short story ”Pit Stop” in the A Tribute Anthology to Deadworld (Riverdale Avenue Books).
Wagner's novel, The Armageddon Chord, peaked at #4 on Barnes & Noble’s Top 10 paperback Bestseller List and peaked at #9 on B&N’s Top 100 overall Bestseller List in the first week of release. The novel also earned a Hiram Award, a first-round ballot Stoker Award Nomination, and received critical acclaim in Publisher's Weekly and Rolling Stone magazine among many other worldwide media.
The Afraid imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books will re-release a revised edition of The Armageddon Chord in December 2018 with new cover artwork and more.
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