Dan Decker's Blog, page 22

A FINAL REMINDER: Free Short story TODAY: Red Survivor

One final reminder: Red Survivor is free today on Amazon. You can follow this link below to pick it up.

The Red Survivor is on a critical peacekeeping mission to deliver an ambassador to negotiate the end of a war that has humanity on the brink of extinction.

When Captain John Marchant orders the ship to respond to a distress call, First Officer Nick Williams immediately challenges the captain’s order. Nick struggles to persuade Marchant that the effort is futile and they are best served by staying on course to deliver the ambassador.

Ships explode, tempers flare, and their vessel is put in danger as the two square off.

In the Red Survivor universe, this is a standalone space opera short story that focuses on the inherent tension between Marchant and Williams.

Pick up your copy today!

Free Short story TODAY: Red Survivor

Red Survivor is free today on Amazon. You can follow this link below to pick it up.

The Red Survivor is on a critical peacekeeping mission to deliver an ambassador to negotiate the end of a war that has humanity on the brink of extinction.

When Captain John Marchant orders the ship to respond to a distress call, First Officer Nick Williams immediately challenges the captain’s order. Nick struggles to persuade Marchant that the effort is futile and they are best served by staying on course to deliver the ambassador.

Ships explode, tempers flare, and their vessel is put in danger as the two square off.

In the Red Survivor universe, this is a standalone space opera short story that focuses on the inherent tension between Marchant and Williams. Buy your copy today!

1

“Full halt!” Captain Marchant shouted, his face red, the veins in his neck sticking out so much I was afraid one of them might burst. “Why haven’t we stopped?”

“Sir,” Ensign Redding said, her face as white as her uniform. “We are slowing, but it’s going to take another seventy-nine seconds for us to arrive at full halt.”

Marchant was up from his chair in a flash and so was I, getting in his face, forcing him to either stop or run me over.

“Out of my way, Nick!”

“No.” I was surprised Captain Marchant had used my first name. What was going on with the man? I added a belated, “Sir,” but he didn’t seem to notice.

He was a mixed bag at best, but this sudden rage was out of character for him. I usually saw his emotional explosions coming, but there had been no warning on this one. I sometimes thought my father had assigned me to this ship, just to keep an eye on the man. 

I’d heard somewhere that a soft answer could turn away wrath, but that didn’t appear to be working on Marchant. His face had turned beet red.

“It’s life and death out there!” Spit flew as he yelled. “If we don’t stop immediately, it could be us too.”

We didn’t need to stop. The battle had nothing to do with our mission. In fact, it was a reminder of everything we stood to lose if we didn’t successfully deliver the ambassador to his meeting on time.

Slowing down for a look-see was a terrible risk. I would have tried to convince him to do otherwise if he had taken the time to consult with me. Now, I was left in damage control mode, and that was tenuous at best. 

“Starships can’t slow from above the speed of light in the time you’re demanding.” I kept my voice even and calm, though I was explaining something any first-year cadet would have known. “Is it possible, sir, that you’re letting your feelings get in the way of your impeccable judgment?”

He usually responded well to flattery, but it only served to further agitate him. He moved to take a swing. I stepped back and brought up my arms to protect myself.

The blow never landed.

His fist stopped midair.

“You’re relieved of duty, Commander,” Marchant said, his voice bristling with emotion like a hot blade thrust into a cold bath.

“Sir, I recommend against that. You were about to strike me.” I nodded toward Ensign Redding. “And who knows what you might have done to her. We could both press charges against you. I will refrain from doing so, should you countermand your order relieving me of duty.”

His eyes bulged. He opened his mouth and for a long moment I thought he was going to do it anyway. Ensign Smith let out a small cough.

At first, I thought he did it to get our attention, but a glance showed he had his hand to his mouth and was avoiding eye contact with either the Captain or myself.

Marchant’s lips moved, but no words came out. The color slowly returned to his face. The moment of crazy started to subside and rational thought regained control. It was evident on his face that this was a significant struggle.

I lowered my arms and stood with my back ramrod straight while refusing to break off eye contact, though it was a difficult thing to do.

“As you were, Commander.”

Relief flooded into me, but I kept my face still. After a small nod of my head in his direction, I turned to the viewscreen.

“We are at a complete halt, sir.” Ensign Redding’s voice was calm and certain, though I knew her well enough to know it was an act. She didn’t handle Marchant’s outbursts well. They sometimes left her in knots for days. “Orders, sir?”

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For Justice – Sample CHAPTER 2

2

The morning sped by and turned into the afternoon without me noticing. When my secretary Ellie buzzed, I picked up my phone without looking away from what I was working on.

“Yeah?” I said as I finished typing the sentence I was drafting.

As soon as I spoke, I remembered I had not told Ellie about the appointment.

I groaned quietly.

“You have a woman who says she is here to meet you about representing her son,” Ellie said in a slightly annoyed tone. “Says she has an appointment at 1:30.”

I nodded. It was just as I thought. Ellie was not happy. She hated it when I forgot to tell her about an appointment I had coming up.

“I forgot to mention that to you,” I said slowly, wondering if an apology was in order, “she was waiting for me outside. I set the appointment just to get rid of her because I needed to prepare for the Bunker matter.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, the frustration dissipating from her voice a little. I hesitated, wondering if I needed to make it up to her in some way. Ellie was the best secretary I had ever worked with, one of the most competent people at our office.

I occasionally encouraged her to go to law school, but she always insisted that she could never do it because she hated confrontation. 

She was talented, had a top-notch memory, quick mind, and would undoubtedly make a great attorney if she ever decided to go that route. I didn’t buy that she hated confrontation because I’d seen her confront more than one person with skill and finesse.

Because she had a good memory, she assumed everybody else did too. It’s not that there was a problem with my memory; it’s just that my head was usually elsewhere at the time I made an appointment.

I glanced at the project I was working on, pressed save on the word file, and then locked up my computer while pulling out a notepad.

“I’m ready. Send her in.”

A few minutes later, the woman was sitting in front of my desk, tearing up.

“My poor boy, my poor boy.” She rocked back and forth. That’s all I could get her to say at first.

I waited patiently, having been through this drill many times. It never became easier to see somebody in pain, no matter how many times I dealt with it. I knew of attorneys who cultivated apathy towards the suffering of others, but that was a mistake.

How could I help if I did not understand what they were going through?

I just didn’t let it get to me.

I usually gave them a few minutes to compose themselves before slowly starting the questions, all while displaying as much empathy as I could for their predicament.

“Let’s start with the victim’s death,” I said after I had given her enough time. “When did that happen?”

“Approximately six months ago.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And you’re just coming to me now?”

“He’s being represented by a public defender.” A scornful look crossed her face, and I could tell even before she said a word more that she was not happy with the attorney’s service. “All he wants to do is to convince my son to take a plea bargain. My son needs better than that. He deserves better than that.” She gave me a stern look, which was surprisingly not at odds with the tears running down her cheeks. If anything, the tears made her seem more poised. “He needs representation, not a bargain.”

“When’s the trial?” I asked as I took a sip from a can of Coke.

“Next week.”

I sputtered. “No way. You’re stuck with your attorney. Judges hate rescheduling things at this stage of the game. It’s way too late for me to come in a week before trial. I’m sorry if you don’t like your attorney, but it’s the best you’re gonna get.”

I hated telling a potential client no, so I tried to think of some possibilities. I closed my eyes, letting out a long sigh as I rubbed the sides of my head.

“If we can find a valid reason for a continuance—”

“No!” She leaned forward. “My son has been in jail long enough. This trial needs to happen next week, and you must represent him.”

“You’re not thinking long term here,” I said, “who cares if he sits in jail a little bit longer so he can get the representation you want? What we need now is a reason to ask for a continuance.” I drummed on my desk in thought.

“I don’t think you’re hearing me,” she said, her tone taking on a hard edge. Her tears were gone now. “The trial is next week. We’re not going to change that.”

I was taken aback. I knew a bad situation when I saw one. I had encountered these situations before and had a way of dealing with them.

I would ask for a huge retainer to dissuade them from seeking my counsel. That usually worked, and if they went along with it, at least I knew that I was getting paid.

I opened my mouth, but she cut me off.

“My son is refusing to work with his current attorney because he is so fed up with him. I’ve gotten five calls from that attorney in the last two days begging me to convince my son to take a deal.” She shook her head. “I know my son. That’s never going to happen. Never.”  

“Even if he wants to talk about a deal, he also has to be preparing—”

“He is not! He only talks about a plea. That’s not what we want. That attorney is convinced that he is going to prevail upon my son to take a plea bargain so he can avoid the trial. You should see this man. I don’t think he ever goes to trial. I talked to some of the other people he represented. He pled them all out.

“My son needs somebody who will fight for him. That’s not who we have. Even though time is short for you right now, at least you will prepare. We will pay whatever you ask.”

I frowned, thinking that my strategy to get out of this might not work.

“Why didn’t you go with a private defense attorney in the first place?”

“We couldn’t afford it.”

“What changed?”

“You don’t worry about that. I will get you the money.”

I hesitated, wanting to ask her further questions, but she was bordering on distraught. I was afraid she was on the verge of laying into me if I provided any more resistance on the issue of payment.

It was not any of my business where she got the money unless I had firsthand knowledge she had committed a crime to get it.

Sometimes it’s just better not to know, I thought, though it was always hard for me to let go of a question.

I also needed to get on with my day.

I studied the woman and decided it was unlikely she would procure the funds through illegal means. Maybe she was selling her house. Maybe she had a retirement fund she could cash in.

Her business is her business.

It took me a moment to come up with a number that I felt would make it worth it to take on the case at such a late hour, but then I hesitated.

Do I really want to do this?

Wouldn’t it be better just to let her run with the attorney they already had?

Just as I was about to tell her I wasn’t going to help, she started tearing up again.

“Please, Mister Turner. Please, for my baby. He needs justice.”

Justice.

I did not hesitate any longer. I had no choice. Without knowing it, she had pressed the only button I had in matters like this. I gave her the number, part of me hoping she would walk out of my office right afterward, but I knew deep down she would not.

Justice.

She looked me straight in the eye. “You will have it by the end of today.”

I should’ve asked for more, I thought with a sinking feeling even as I felt a spark ignite within me.  

I had a huge challenge ahead of me.  

After another glance at her face, I realized it wouldn’t matter what the number was. She would pay whatever, regardless of what she needed to do to get it.

“Let’s start with your son’s name,” I said after I’d taken a moment to regain my composure.

“His name is Jimmy Franzen.”

“And when did Jimmy get charged with murder?”

Pick up your copy today!

Free Short story tomorrow: Red Survivor

Red Survivor will be free tomorrow on Amazon. You can follow this link below to pick it up.

The Red Survivor is on a critical peacekeeping mission to deliver an ambassador to negotiate the end of a war that has humanity on the brink of extinction.

When Captain John Marchant orders the ship to respond to a distress call, First Officer Nick Williams immediately challenges the captain’s order. Nick struggles to persuade Marchant that the effort is futile and they are best served by staying on course to deliver the ambassador.

Ships explode, tempers flare, and their vessel is put in danger as the two square off.

In the Red Survivor universe, this is a standalone space opera short story that focuses on the inherent tension between Marchant and Williams. Buy your copy today!

Sneak Peek

“Starships can’t slow from above the speed of light in the time you’re demanding.” I kept my voice even and calm, though I was explaining something any first-year cadet would have known. “Is it possible, sir, that you’re letting your feelings get in the way of your impeccable judgment?”

He usually responded well to flattery, but it only served to further agitate him. He moved to take a swing. I stepped back and brought up my arms to protect myself.

The blow never landed.

His fist stopped midair.

“You’re relieved of duty, Commander,” Marchant said, his voice bristling with emotion like a hot blade thrust into a cold bath.

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For Justice – Sample CHAPTER 1

1

As I got out of my car and walked toward my office building, I was approached by a woman who had been standing outside my door as if waiting for somebody. I had not recognized her, so I had just assumed she wasn’t waiting for me.

“Excuse me,” she said, “are you Mitch Turner?”

She looked like she had been crying and appeared to be on the verge of starting up again.

I hesitated. I didn’t have time to deal with a distraught woman right now. I had an appointment with a client that was just a few minutes away.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” I asked as politely as I could, trying hard not to glance at my watch. Instead, I tried to remember the time from the dashboard of my car. I thought I had twenty minutes before my appointment but didn’t know for sure. I didn’t want the time between now and then taken up by this woman. I had things I needed to prepare for my upcoming client consultation. The case was a doozy. I almost regretted taking it.

“It is my son. You must help him!”

“How does he need help?”

“He has been charged with murder. I know he didn’t do it. He’s a good boy.” Tears were welling up in her eyes now, and her face was starting to turn red. I was on the verge of having to deal with a meltdown from a woman I did not even know.

I paused for just a moment to consider how I could appropriately handle the situation while still preserving my time to prepare for my appointment.

I gave her a confident but slightly reserved smile.

“You have come to the right place,” I said, “that’s what I do.”

“I’ve seen your billboard.”

I gave the woman the most empathetic look I could summon, holding her eyes for just a moment while offering a brief nod as if to say that everything was going to be okay.

“I would very much like to speak with you, but unfortunately, I don’t have time right now because I have an upcoming appointment in just a couple minutes that I must prepare for. Can you come back this afternoon?”

I glanced at my watch and cursed silently.

I had been wrong when I thought that I had twenty minutes. I had less than ten.

“I have time at 1:30. Does that work?” The woman nodded.

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MONSTER COUNTRY: REQUIEM – SAMPLE CHAPTER 3

3

I looked at the shaking egg with a feeling that was equal parts anticipation and dread. I wanted to know if the egg was a match for the lizards that had turned our research team into zombies.

I feared it would be, but a part of me still held out hope that it was some other creature.

If we have the wrong animal, will Genizyz leave this alone? I wondered.

I had never disclosed that I’d made a video recording during that first encounter in the jungle, primarily because it felt like a good idea to hold it back.

If these eggs turned out to be something else—we had only assumed it was the lizards because of their proximity—there was a chance that our claims could be ignored. The pictures of the specimen could similarly be dismissed as an oddity.

Genizyz would move on to other projects. I had held back the video, on the off-chance that we were wrong about what was inside these eggs, to avoid giving them further proof that might tip the scales in a direction I didn’t want them to go.

As excited as our expedition team had been that first night while they had reviewed the pictures we had taken of the creature before putting it on ice, the pictures did not do the living lizard justice.

One could easily look at the photos and think that the creature had been mistaken for something it wasn’t. It was hard to make the leap from the pictures to a living dinosaur unless you saw the specimen in person or viewed the video.

I had watched the video in my apartment at home after I had encrypted and backed it up in several different ways, none of which had included online storage. I had opened up a safety deposit box at a local bank and stored a jump drive backup there just in case my apartment was ever ransacked.

I was sure that Genizyz would be upset if they ever learned that I had withheld it. There was undoubtedly something in my contract that would allow them to claim it as their property, but this was my ace in the hole. It was an insurance policy for any potential issues that might arise.

So far, Sharon had made good on her word to give both Sandy and I credit, but if she ever got it into her head to try to claim any for herself, I had something to refute it. But even if it came down to that, I still might not use it.

Returning to the jungle was the last thing I wanted to do. I was sure the moment that video was viewed by Paul Jensen or any other high-level executive, we would be heading back, regardless of what was inside the eggs.

Paul had decided to keep the full story under wraps from all but a few Genizyz higher-ups.

He accepted our assertion that we had returned with prehistoric creatures because we had evidence in hand—the pictures were compelling enough for that—but that’s where it stopped.

While we had run from the zombies, neither Sharon nor I had even thought about trying to snap pictures. The reality of the zombies had seemed so self-evident, mainly because of the high body count, that I was a little surprised when Paul had not believed us upon our return.

The internal company line focused on our discovery, not the ramifications.

Perhaps I’m not being fair to upper management. I don’t know that I would’ve believed us if I had not experienced it firsthand.

Without pictures or tissue samples, we had a hard time convincing anybody that we had left behind a bunch of zombies. And that was further exacerbated because Sharon and I refused to return to collect a zombie to prove it.

Until Paul saw it with his own eyes, he would remain skeptical. He was a good boss for our division in a lot of ways, but in this instance, I wished we would’ve had somebody else.

When both Sharon and I insisted that the zombies had come as a result of the lizard bites, he had pretended to believe us, at least when we were present, but had kept us from telling the story to others. Our reports on the zombies had been classified as company trade secrets. We had been forced to sign nondisclosure agreements before we could continue our work for Genizyz. The threat of termination had not been spoken, but they didn’t need to say it.

I understood how things worked.

After showing the pictures to his boss, Paul had wanted to immediately send out another expedition, allegedly to collect the bodies of the dead for the families. Sharon and I had both argued with him to let the dead remain in the jungle.

Or walk around, I had thought at the time.

It took considerable effort, but we convinced Paul to postpone a decision about returning until after the eggs had hatched, which proved that it had not really been about collecting the bodies in the first place.

Paul wanted a second expedition to verify our story, bringing back the dead was just a pretext for trying to accomplish it. They wanted Sharon and I both to accompany the expedition so we could come back with more solid proof than just a few eggs and some pictures of a dead specimen we had left behind.

“You came back with unbelievable stories,” Paul had said after provisioning us a lab to set up with the eggs, “prove them.”

Paul wants us to procure full-size lizards, I thought. Just the very idea sent chills down my back. It was bad enough that we had brought eggs from an unknown creature, bringing back full-grown adults was infinitely worse.

The prevailing attitude within the few members of Genizyz upper management who were privy to our full reports had been precisely like Sharon had predicted.

There was grief for those who had died, at least on the surface, but those I spoke to privately could barely contain their excitement about the eggs.

It had not yet been two weeks since we had returned to the states. The energy in the air made me feel like we were walking on the bodies of those we’d left behind.

The egg moved again, but there was still no cracking or visible sign of hatching.

I was loathe to notify Sharon of this development because I didn’t want to deal with her enthusiasm.

I just wasn’t in the mood for that today.

The prevailing attitude reminded me of the excitement that had filled our camp that first night after we had found the creature, before everyone had become zombies.

I had a hard time feeling excited.

While I recognized that I had made a solid career decision to not destroy the eggs, I was not confident I had made the right decision overall.

Who knew where all of this would lead?

Nobody could predict what things would be like a year from now.

And who can I trust to make hard decisions if hard decisions become necessary?

Sharon?

I shook my head.

Things were still strained between us, a natural outgrowth of what had happened on the helicopter. It did help that we were both in agreement, at least for the present, about not returning to the jungle.

The egg quivered again.

I was taken by a sudden desire to find a hammer and destroy the egg before it hatched.

I must destroy them all.

Without realizing what I was doing, I reached out to the shaking egg, thinking I could crush it before the creature hatched. I looked at the other eggs. It would be the easiest thing in the world to destroy each of them right now.

In less than a minute, I would have removed the immediate possibility of these guys turning all of Genizyz into a scene from the walking dead.

If the creatures were destroyed, there was no chance of them spreading the contagion that had turned our team into zombies.

I stopped before I got close enough to touch it and refrained from looking around, glad that nobody was here to see what I had almost done. I didn’t glance up at the camera, hoping my intentions had not shown through. If anybody ever reviewed the security footage, perhaps they would see it and think that I had just been excited about the pending arrival of the lizard.

The protective headgear kept my face hidden, so my malevolence toward the eggs would not be visible.

Sharon had not mentioned our little incident on the helicopter to anybody, probably because she had more to lose.

I didn’t pull a gun on anyone, but perhaps wanting to destroy a discovery with this type of potential would be viewed as worse.

It was almost as if the events in the helicopter had never happened, though the memory was still as fresh as the moving corpses we had left behind.

I doubted my decision to not destroy the eggs, waking up at times during the middle of the night in a cold sweat, fearing that I had brought about the end of the world.

Before our expedition, I had enjoyed the occasional horror movie, but I could not watch them now. I had just started watching The Walking Dead before I had left for the jungle, but the thought of finishing it now made me recoil in horror.

It’s different after having lived it, I thought, my eyes glued to the egg as it shook again in front of me.

Still no crack.

Sharon’s argument about Genizyz’s response had rung true when she had convinced me that destroying the eggs was not the right way to go. I had agreed, but only because that was the only pathway forward that had made sense. I would have taken the risk if she had been on board with destroying the eggs, hoping the contagion never left the jungle.

But it was not to be.

So I had been forced to make a terrible, horrible decision.

Could I trust Genizyz?

A corporation whose executives were worried more about the bottom line than making wise long-term decisions to protect humanity?

I couldn’t trust anybody else to bring these lizards back to the states. I didn’t know that I trusted myself to do it either, but at least I recognized the dangers and risks involved.

I also wasn’t blinded by corporate greed.

The egg quivered again, this time more than before. It sent a shiver down my back.

Here I wait for a new life to be born and I fear for all who might die by its birth.

The movement was increasing and sporadic, but the creature had not yet poked through.

I turned when I heard an exasperated sigh behind me, surprised I hadn’t heard the sealed door open.

Must be a little too focused, I thought.

“I told you that I wanted to be here when they hatched,” Sharon said as the motion-controlled door shut behind her. We had to go through an airlock that sprayed our suits with a chemical disinfectant both to get in and to leave. “Why didn’t you call?”

“It just started a few minutes ago,” I said, hedging, it was probably closer to twenty-five minutes. Sharon would review the lab video now, without a doubt.

Would she think anything of it when she saw that I had reached out towards the hatching egg?

Would she discern my true intentions?

“I was gonna wait until it started breaking through before calling. I didn’t want to make you wait another couple of hours.”

 “Vince, Vince! I would’ve been glad to come in early.” Sharon’s tone changed as she looked at the egg and approached, bending over until the plastic shield of her helmet was just inches away from the hatching creature. “You’re just lucky I decided to drop by before my meeting; otherwise, we would’ve had words.” She gave me a huge smile. “Isn’t this exciting?”

I grunted. “It’s something.”

“Don’t give me that look, I know what you’re thinking and you need to just stop. Stop it! We have gone through a lot to get here. These eggs are going to be the difference between a great career and a middling career. You’ll see. You made the right choice. Once these creatures hatch, we will be able to write our own checks. Think of that. Anything you want to do. Genizyz is going to be on board because you did this for them.”

I nodded, thinking I had sold out for my career. I was glad Sharon was circumspect in her word choice because we were on camera.

The egg cracked, bringing me out of my reverie.

My breath caught in my chest.

The crack grew until a small piece broke off, flying a surprising distance from the egg. Whatever was inside had some strength for its small size.

Bits of skin underneath showed through as the creature struggled to free itself. To somebody not familiar with the animal, it might have been a benign moment or even cute, but it sent a shudder down my back.

Even more pieces of the egg cracked and fell away until we had a clear look at the head.

“He’s here!” Sharon edged up beside me, looking down at the lizard. “And to think, you wanted to destroy this little guy. Isn’t he so cute? Tell me you don’t regret it now.”

I didn’t respond. She was so wrapped up in the moment that she didn’t say anything more to me as she bent down, extending a gloved finger to stroke the creature on top of the head.

Before long, the full head emerged, complete with four nostrils. The rest of the body soon followed.

I had a sharp intake of breath.

It is the same lizard.

Sharon went to a computer and pulled up a picture of the specimen from back in the jungle, she zoomed in on its head.

I didn’t need to see the comparison. The truth was obvious.

The baby was much smaller and had some of the roundness that one might expect from a hatchling, but it was the same animal.

The last remaining shred of hope that we had brought back something else was gone.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Sharon asked, the inside of her plastic shield fogging up as she spoke. Her eyes glazed over in a way that made me uncomfortable.

I gave a noncommittal murmur as I looked at the other eggs that were just beginning to quiver. I couldn’t shake the feeling we were messing with something we did not understand.

And that the only thing this discovery would bring was more death.

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MONSTER COUNTRY: REQUIEM – SAMPLE CHAPTER 2

2

Silence fell over the office after Sharon and I finished recounting our story. Our boss, Paul Jensen, had listened with rapt attention, hardly asking any questions and only making a couple of notes. I studied the impressive list of degrees he had on the wall behind him. The office was pretty much bare except for those degrees. The starkness of his decor seemed to accentuate them even more, making him all the more imposing.

I had a distinct feeling that if it would’ve just been me, he would have said something conciliatory and then made plans to terminate me after I had signed the appropriate nondisclosure paperwork.

He thinks we’re crazy, I thought as I looked out the window. We were on the fourth floor, I could see for miles. What does he think happened to everybody else? Does he think we killed our teammates and left them for dead?

Why else didn’t they come back?

Paul had worked at Genizyz for over twenty years, and as far as I knew had never been in the field. He had been in management fifteen of those years, slowly working his way up the corporate ladder.

He had worn reading glasses when we first walked into his office, he now fiddled with these as he weighed his response.

“Let me just make sure I understand this correctly,” Paul said finally, twirling his glasses in his fingers, “you guys found dinosaurs that carry a contagion that turns people into zombies.” He paused as if he could not believe what he had just said, looking at us as if expecting it was all a big joke. “Is that a correct assessment of the situation?”

Sharon and I exchanged a glance.

When he put it like that, he made it sound ridiculous, but it was the truth.

“That sums it up, but I don’t like your tone,” Sharon said, leaning forward. Her voice was cold. Even though Paul Jensen was senior to her, she had been with the company longer. “Our teammates died because they became zombies. We didn’t bring anybody else back because it wasn’t safe.”

“Some are still alive?”

I snorted. “They might be moving, but that doesn’t mean they’re alive.”

Paul gave me a skeptical stare. “And the eggs?”

“We believe they are the eggs of the larger dinosaur,” Sharon said calmly, daring him to challenge her.

He leaned back in his chair. “I almost forgot that there were two varieties.” He paused as if to emphasize his incredulity. “The small ones and the large ones. They both looked exactly the same except for their size?”

“As near as we could tell,” I said.

“So there is an apparent risk that these eggs could turn people into zombies once they hatch,” Paul said.

“We should destroy them,” I said without looking over at Sharon. “We can—”

“We will destroy nothing.” Paul gave me a level stare. “It’s bad enough that we’ve lost so many. The eggs are the only positive thing that has come out of this unmitigated disaster. Furthermore, I am not willing to dishonor anybody’s sacrifice by destroying this find. We can’t let their sacrifice be in vain. That would be wrong on a lot of different levels.” He gave me a look that said the very suggestion of doing so was sacrilege.

I nodded as if accepting his view, but it was really because I recognized a losing situation when I saw one. Sharon did not bother to hide a smug look. Judging by Paul’s frown, I wasn’t going to risk saying anything more. Sharon seemed satisfied.

“We need our own lab,” Sharon said, “we must have a place to study the eggs.”

“It must be sealed,” I said. “We need hazmat suits. Disinfectant stations. We should not take any risks.”

Paul hesitated for a moment. “I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises.”

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MONSTER COUNTRY: REQUIEM – SAMPLE CHAPTER 1

1Two years earlier

Sharon held her pistol on me as we flew in the helicopter, looking at me with eyes that barely blinked, as if afraid that in between blinks, I might disarm her and destroy the eggs.

Her fears were valid because I would do exactly that. I wouldn’t hesitate and certainly wouldn’t feel bad.

We sat in silence, both staring at the other as if in a child’s game to see who would blink first, only lives were on the line.

Too many have been lost already, we must nip this in the bud.

I forced myself to take calming breaths to dissipate my anger, but it seemed to have the reverse effect of fanning the flames with oxygen, making me more likely to blow.

“You need to get a grip,” Sharon said. “Or you’re going to do something both of us will regret.”

I have to get a grip?

 “You’re the one who escalated the situation by whipping out a gun,” I said through clenched teeth.

My anger would keep me from seeing straight and would provoke me into doing something I would regret if I was not careful.

 I looked at her bag. “You must destroy them. We can’t risk that contagion getting back to the states. You saw how quick it spread. It would be the worst pandemic ever.”

“I have a different perspective,” Sharon said, her pistol hand never wavering.

She could not do this forever and would have to put the pistol away or explain at the airport why she held me at gunpoint.

Genizyz had sent us here on a company plane. We would not have one waiting upon our arrival because we had requested an emergency evacuation. We would have to wait at least twenty-four hours for a flight. Sharon wouldn’t risk returning to the states on a commercial airliner, not with something like this.

That was plenty of time to destroy the eggs.

If I could just back off my anger and think.

“What are you gonna do when we land?” I asked with a growl, my emotions getting the better of me. “People will have questions if you’re holding a gun on me.”

My words struck a chord.

Her voice might have been cold, but her feelings ran as hot as mine, something I refrained from pointing out, although with some difficulty.

She had been so wrapped up in the heat of the moment that she had not planned ahead.

That was unlike her.

It told me much about her state of mind.

“We have to figure this out,” I said.

I was gunpowder with a lit fuse and she was a timebomb.

Things could go bad fast.

“You’ve been so focused on making sure those eggs survive,” I said cautiously, “you haven’t thought about how you’re gonna get them back to the states.”

“Genizyz will send a plane.”

“And what are you gonna do while we’re waiting for it to come?” I pushed my wrists together. “Are you going to arrest me?”

She didn’t answer.

The pilot had said nothing after picking us up. Did he know she held me at gunpoint? My back was to him so I couldn’t tell. I suspected he probably knew something was going on, which was why he had not said anything. He’d been spitting angry when he’d realized we’d deceived him about the situation on the ground when he’d come to pick us up. It was odd that he was now quiet.

“This has been a difficult day, Vince,” Sharon said at last.

“An understatement.”

I looked out the window, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, remembering some of the peaceful moments I had experienced while here in this jungle.

It had not all been terror and mayhem.

“Indeed.” Sharon leaned forward, her pistol coming with her, never wavering from me. “I don’t like the way things have gone. You and I are on the same team, but we got off on the wrong foot at the start of this project. It’s time we come together.”

I turned my attention back to her.

“You could drop the gun, that might make the conversation more pleasant.”

“You and I both stand to gain a lot from this discovery.” Sharon spoke with care, pausing to emphasize the last word.

At the expense of those who died?

I balled my hand into a fist.

“Those eggs must be destroyed,” I said evenly.

“Think of what you’re suggesting.” Sharon tapped the side of her head with one finger. “These eggs represent a new species, a species that has unique properties. Yes, some of these properties are—”

“Everybody we know was turned into a zombie,” I said through clenched teeth, “they tried to kill us, we have to stop this before it gets out of hand. To make matters worse, the contagion carrier is just as lethal as a zombie.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I just hope this can be contained in the jungle. What happens if a zombie or these lizards gets back to civilization?” I shook my head. “The consequences are horrifying.”

“You’re not thinking long term, Vince.” Sharon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You were right earlier when you said I wasn’t thinking through the next steps.” She said this with great reluctance as if it were difficult to admit she had been wrong in some way. “You and I have to work on this together or there’s no chance it’s going to succeed. What happened to the others is regrettable, if there was any way to turn back the clock and change it, I would.”

I didn’t hide my disbelief.

She studied me with a calculating look.

“We are left with a choice. What do we do next? We can’t let their deaths be for nothing.”

“Which is why we must destroy those eggs. If we don’t do it now—”

“You don’t understand the situation, Vince. You have not worked for Genizyz as long as I have. You’ve just graduated. You don’t know corporate life well enough to know how these things work.

“They want results. They need results. They pay for results. All of the people we left back there signed up for this and knew what they were getting into. We thrived on the possibility of new discoveries. We found something amazing.” A smile flitted across her face. It was replaced by a frown that looked forced. “If the circumstances were different, we would celebrate. We found what every one of them was looking for. Do you remember how excited they were that night you found that first lizard? They would’ve dissected it right there if I hadn’t stopped them. After I forbade that, they spent all night studying the pictures, coming up with theories about its origin and what it could mean.”

“I don’t deny this is a momentous discovery, but are we prepared for the cost? Are you?”

“You tell me a significant discovery and I’ll tell you the costs. It’s just how these things work. There is always a price to pay for exploration and discovery. Sometimes it’s an unintended consequence, like what we’ve suffered here, but this doesn’t have to be the end. We know what we’re dealing with now, before we didn’t. We can plan for it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

I leaned forward, wondering if I could get her bag and throw it out of the helicopter before she could stop me. We were high enough the eggs would not survive the fall.

“I’m not getting into this game with you,” I said. “These creatures must be destroyed.”

“If you could destroy all of them, would you?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “It is them or us.”

Would I really do it?

“You would choose mass extinction, is that what you’re saying? You’re being myopic. I don’t believe you would do it.”

“Myopic?” I pointed my finger at her, wary of the gun, but wanting to make my point. “You’re the one who’s being myopic. You’ve lost sight of what’s important. People should not die like this. We are taking a creature back to the states that we know nothing about. We have no idea why our teammates turned into zombies. Was it a virus or something else altogether? We just don’t know. A lot of people will die if we mess up. Can you live with that on your conscience? If this gets out, it could be the end of the United States as we know it.” I snorted. “Or the end of the world.”

“That is not going to happen.” Sharon shook her head as if I was too pessimistic. “You are discounting our abilities. You and I are smart people. We have top-of-the-line equipment at the best facilities. We are world-class experts. We can handle a few lizards.”

Her attempt at flattery fell flat on me.

“We don’t know anything about how the contagion transfers. We assume it is through blood contact but what if it is airborne? Even if it’s not, what if it can become airborne?” I ran my fingers through my hair. “What if it gets weaponized? This could create a whole new type of weapon of mass destruction.”

“There are many unknowns, I grant you that, and there are some risks; however, we can’t stand in the face of discovery and not move forward.”

“Sure, we can. Crush those eggs. We don’t need to tell anybody about anything we found.”

Sharon nodded as if she agreed with me, though she did not. She even hesitated as if considering my words.

It was an act, I was sure.

“Genizyz will want answers, Vince,” she said at last. “They’re going to want to know why we’re the only ones who came back. What are we gonna tell them?”

“We explain that creatures in the jungle killed the others. There’s no point in elaborating, they are not going to believe us when we talk about dinosaur-like lizards and zombies.”

She nodded again as if carefully considering my words. “This is a complicated situation. We can’t just sweep it under the rug. Maybe if there was one body, but a whole team? Any lie we tell them will be discovered. We have to come out with the truth. There’s no other way around it.”

I opened my mouth but shut it again.

She had a point.

“So your contention is that even if we lie,” I said, “and fabricate plausible reasons, they’re going to learn the truth anyway.”

“I don’t see any way around it. Think about it, Vince. They’re going to send somebody else back on another expedition. The truth is gonna come out one way or another. We might as well control how that happens.”

I shook my head, frustrated that Sharon was making sense. What I wanted to do and what made sense was starting to become two different things.

I didn’t answer for a long time.

“What are the other alternatives?” Sharon asked, making me hate the cold, logical tone of her voice. “We could destroy the eggs but tell them the truth. They won’t be satisfied with our explanation, they will send somebody else to bring back a specimen, it is going to happen. There is no way around that.”

She held my gaze when I looked over at her.

“You said I wasn’t thinking long term and you were right,” Sharon said. “But what about you?”

“How do you mean?”

“Your instincts are spot on, by the way, we must be cautious to the point of paranoia, but that does not change the fact that I will have to report it if you destroy these eggs. You will get kicked off the project. You’ll be out of a job and you’re not gonna be in a position to influence what happens next. You won’t know what’s going on at Genizyz.

“Won’t that drive you nuts? Can you just trust that Genizyz is gonna get everything right without you here watching over them, guiding their steps when you can? If you really believe that this contagion represents a danger to the world, wouldn’t you rather be involved in handling it, rather than giving it to somebody else and just hoping for the best?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she went on before I could get a word out.

“I understand your anger. I share it. I’m angry as well, but we have to think this through, Vince. If we destroy these eggs, we are just slowing Genizyz down, we are not stopping them. They are going to find the truth and when they do, they are going to go back. Like it or not, one way or another, the source of this contagion, if it really is these lizards, is going to come back to the states. It is only a matter of time. You are now in a position to influence how that happens, but you won’t be if you take any of the actions you are thinking of.”

“You’re gonna tell them the truth one way or another.”

“I’ve made it clear that I believe this is a significant discovery. We can’t bury this. I have empathy with your desires. I mourn for those we left behind, but I don’t think that lying and fabricating evidence is feasible in the time that we have. Also, we don’t know the implications of this discovery. What if it could lead to a cure for cancer? Or AIDS?”

“Cancer?” I sputtered. “AIDS?” I shook my head. “Now, you’re stretching.”

“Am I? We don’t know anything at this point, so we shouldn’t rule those possibilities out. Perhaps the virus, if it is a virus, can be changed to destroy all the cancerous cells in a person’s body, do you want to risk ignoring that? Think of all the people’s lives you are putting in danger if you refuse to let us take this contagion and its host back. Labs study dangerous diseases all of the time. Genizyz has undertaken studies like this from time to time. This is not outside of our ability to effectively handle.”

“There is no reason to believe that the disease can be changed to fight cancer.”

“But can you conclusively tell me that it can’t?”

Sharon waited. I saw her point.

We knew so little, it was hard to make any type of a rational decision, particularly when everything she was saying about how Genizyz would respond made sense. I might not have worked in corporate America for long, but it was enough to know that she was telling the truth about what to expect from Genizyz.

“The contagion takes over a human and converts them into a monster,” Sharon said. “I think this bears further research, don’t you? If for no other reason than to learn how to counteract it. The contagion is out there. Sooner or later, it is going to get out. Do you want to wait until then to study it?”

“No.” I let out a long sigh.

Sharon could tell her words were having an impact. She hid a triumphant smile, but I didn’t let that irritate me. She was making sense.

That was far more irritating.

She shrugged. “Who says the eggs even carry the contagion? Maybe they don’t.”

The thought had not occurred to me.

“Genizyz is going to pour millions of dollars into researching this, it’s going to happen. You can’t stop it. Do you want to be a part? Or would you rather watch from the outside, fearing that everybody else will screw up and that the disease will get out? If you smash the eggs, Genizyz will fire you. You won’t know anything about our research unless it shows up in the news. Chances are good that it won’t. You’ll be left in the dark for the rest of your life. Can you handle that?”

She let out a long sigh.

“Vince, I’m going to put away my gun. I’m sorry I pulled it on you in the first place. I felt like I had no other choice, you were in an irrational—but understandable—state of mind. I wanted to talk through the consequences.”

Sharon hesitated for almost a minute before engaging the safety on her pistol and shoving it into her jacket pocket.

“Thank you for listening. The choice is yours.”

She moved her backpack and unzipped it so I could see the eggs. “Here’s your opportunity. If you want to destroy them, now’s your chance.”

I hesitated, knowing that she had told me precisely how Genizyz would respond. They would not walk away. The question she had posed bounced like a superball around my skull.

Do I want to be a part of this? I shook my head. What happens when the disease gets out?

Didn’t it make sense to prepare for that day?

I knew the answer.

Genizyz would not back down, even though everybody on our team had been turned into monsters. Genizyz would not let go. Genizyz would spend the money to make sure this creature and the disease was fully documented, researched, and understood so that they could capitalize on it in every way possible.

“Don’t forget,” Sharon said quietly, “you discovered this. You and Sandy. I remember that. I’m sorry if I made you think I was gonna steal it. I won’t. The credit goes to you and Sandy.”

Credit.

That was important.

Back before this trip, I hadn’t even hoped to return with credit.

It was a jumpstart for my career, promising everything I’d worked so hard to obtain.

If these creatures and the disease could be contained, if we were smart about how we built their cages, if we were careful about the decontamination processes, surely we could handle it?

“It’s not all that different than what the CDC does,” Sharon said. “In fact, if it makes you feel better, maybe we can get them involved.”

I gave a nod.

“I’m on board.” I pointed a finger at her. “Tentatively. The moment this thing starts going sideways, I’m gonna pull the plug.”

“As you should. That’s the right thing to do.” Sharon gave a satisfied nod as I settled back in my seat.

I glanced down at the eggs and was surprised when I counted six, not five, as I had initially thought.

How much death can come from just one egg?

I shook my head. I can’t afford to think like that.

She looked at me for a long moment while leaving the eggs within my grasp, before zipping her bag up and setting them on the floor right between us. “You can change your mind at any time, but I think you’ve made the right decision.”

Sharon looked around and swore. “The specimen, it’s gone!” She gave me a suspicious look.

“I didn’t do anything with it.”

After looking around, it was apparent it had somehow fallen out in all the chaos.

Sharon stared at me as if trying to read my mind before moving her bag away from me. “Best we keep these safe, I think.”

I shrugged. “Good thing we have lots of pictures, or nobody would ever believe us.”

Sharon just nodded. We rode out the flight in silence.

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Monster Country: Requiem – Sample Chapter Prologue

My heart thundered in my chest as I listened to the sound of the alarms blaring overhead, cutting through the zampy snarls.

Wicked Rex was quiet, staring with cold eyes. He alone had not moved or made a sound after I had entered into their hold.

There was just something about Wicked Rex that was hard to identify. We’d given him the same intelligence tests we had administered to all the other zampys. He had not appeared to be any smarter than the others.

I was convinced he had dumbed down his responses, however irrational that seemed.

Did they figure out what I’m up to? I wondered, opening the door and looking back at the security camera. I had unplugged it from the wall using an extendable walking stick I had jury-rigged for the task. I had no more than five minutes before they discovered the camera was down. Yet still, I stand here in the entryway, unmoving as alarms sound all around me.

I had enough time to put all of these creatures out of their misery. The problem was this was only half the job. My plan was to take care of the larger animals first and then dispose of the hatchlings and the eggs. There was no way I could do that if the alarms were already going.

Get moving, I thought, what was all that time at the range for?

I had spent the last two weeks going to the firing range every night, practicing my aim and my ability to fire thirty rounds in rapid succession, twice as many bullets as I needed. I had timed myself the last two nights and determined I only needed a minute to dispatch all of these creatures.

And I stand here frozen to the floor.

I shook my head to clear my mind of the alarms and pointed my pistol at Wicked Rex. If I did nothing else here today, killing him would do the world a huge favor.

My phone rang, nearly giving me a heart attack.

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Monster Country: Requiem

ONLY ONE MAN UNDERSTANDS THE DANGER…

Vince Carter knew that he was making a bargain for time when he decided not to destroy the eggs. He knew that it was only a matter of time before somebody got infected. He just never expected it to happen so quickly.

HE THOUGHT HE COULD HANDLE THE RISK…

Vince’s boss Paul does not believe them when they return to Genizyz with tales of zombies and dinosaur-like creatures, but he reluctantly sets them up in a lab space. They try to do everything right, taking every precaution possible, but things soon spin out of control. As Vince fights his way through, a suspicion begins to grow in the back of his mind that somebody wants him to fail.

THE DEAD SHALL WALK AGAIN.

Can Vince find his way through before he turns into a zombie? Can he figure out if his suspicions are right?

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Sneak Peek

Herbert looked at me as I looked back at him.

“You okay, Herbert?” I asked, hoping to hear a human response. Herbert just stared right back at me, his eyes glazed over as if in death.

One of the things I distinctly remembered about the freshly converted zombies was that they seemed to be a little more limber and spry.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, I thought, as Herbert took a step forward, blocking my pathway to the stairs.

“Everything okay with you, pal?” I tried again, desperately hoping to get a human response.

Herbert still just stared at me, as if trying to fit me into his frame of reference for life. In his eyes, I was the alien creature, apparently.

One way or another, I had to go down those stairs, if I had to go through Herbert, so be it.

I held the fire extinguisher in front of me, prepared to either push him off the edge or hurl it at him, whichever the circumstances required.

“Easy boy,” I said to Herbert, hoping that I was wrong about him becoming a zombie and that he would call me out for the condescending language.

He only grunted, still staring at me as if he was trying to figure out what to do with me.

Then he roared.

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