Serial Killer Z (Prequel): Infection

by Philip Harris

  I turned south off the trail. Within a few minutes, I could hear the rush of water over rock. The ground dropped away toward a river. After six weeks in the forest, I was tired, dehydrated, and hungry. I had to stop myself from running down to the riverbank and diving into the water. There was a good chance that kind of recklessness would end up with me lying at the bottom of the slope with a broken ankle.

  Still, my heart quickened as I picked my way down the rocky slope to the river. I could have a bath, swim. If I was lucky, there’d be fish I could catch and eat.

  When I reached the edge of the trees, I forced myself to wait. The riverbank was broad and flat. Rocks of all shapes and sizes littered the ground, everything from huge round boulders and dull gray slabs to fist-size chunks. The rocks provided plenty of places for people, living or dead, to hide. The river raced by, maddeningly close. It looked cool and refreshing. The sound of it rushing over the rocks taunted me.

  I moved along the tree line, searching for signs of life and a more open area where I could see anyone trying to get near me. A few minutes up the river I found what I was looking for—an inlet fed by a much smaller river that wound through the trees and up the mountain. A flat expanse of gray rock ran around the inlet. Water lapped gently up its slope. There were fewer rocks, too. A couple were big enough to hide behind, but they were near the water. The rest were smaller than my head and certainly not large enough to provide cover. With one final check around me, I ventured out into the open.

  The sun was high in the sky. I could feel it beating down on me as soon as I stepped out of the shade of the forest. I made my way to the edge of the river, crouched and dipped my hand into the cool, clear water. I splashed some over my face then took a hesitant sip. It was cool and crisp, delicious.

  I plunged my head into the river. My body clenched at the cold, and when I pulled myself out again, I was gasping for breath. I shook my head, savoring the chill, then scooped up a few more handfuls. I’d forgotten how wonderful fresh, clean water was.

  I slipped off my boots and socks and sat on the edge of the rock. My feet dangled into the ice-cold water below. Within a few minutes they were numb, but I didn’t care—I had clean feet.

  I was considering taking my jacket and shirt off and diving in for a full-on swim when I saw a black bear and her cub. She’d wandered out of the forest on the other side of the river and was watching me closely as her cub clambered about on the rocks, occasionally drinking some water or splashing a paw at something passing by in the river. They both looked healthy enough, not that I’d seen any evidence that the contagion was capable of spreading beyond human beings.

  The river was a good thirty feet wide and fast flowing. There was no chance the bear was going to be able to get to me quickly, but I kept a wary eye on her, just in case. The cub stumbled across the rocks and bumped into its mother’s leg. She looked down at him, letting out a little snort. The cub bounced away, distracted by something down at the river’s edge.

  The bear turned toward the forest and lifted her head, sniffing at the air. A few seconds later, I heard the helicopter myself.

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  Continue Reading Serial Killer Z

  About the Author

  Philip Harris is a speculative fiction author and video game developer. Originally born near Oxford, England, he now lives on the West Coast of Canada where he spends his days developing video games and his nights writing speculative fiction - anything from horror to science fiction to fantasy.

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  His first publication, Letter From a Victim, appeared in the award winning magazine, Peeping Tom, in 1995. Since then, his short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines including The Jurassic Chronicles, Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, Uncommon Minds, and The Anthology of European SF. A collection of his darkest short stories, Reflections of an Unraveling World, will be published in late 2017.

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  As well as short fiction, he has written several novels including The Leah King Trilogy, and an homage to the old pulp science fiction serials - Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet.

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  The first book in his new horror series, Serial Killer Z, will be published in October 2017.

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  He has also worked as security for Darth Vader.

  www.solitarymindset.com

  philip.harris@solitarymindset.com

  Also by Philip Harris

  Serial Killer Z

  Infection (Prequel)

  Serial Killer Z

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  The Leah King Trilogy

  The Leah King Trilogy Box Set

  The Girl in the City

  The Girl in the Wilderness

  The Girl in the Machine

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  Other Novels

  Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet

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  Short Stories

  Bottled Lightning

  Curfew

  Serial Killer Z

  Infection

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  by Philip Harris

  Copyright © 2017 by Philip Harris

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or undead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  ISBN (Ebook) 978-1-988968-01-8

  ISBN (Print) 978-1-988968-00-1

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  Cover design by Bookfly Design

  Edited by Jason Whited

  Proofreading by Red Adept Editing

  Even more proofreading by Knite & Day Design