Bugged by Zombies

Illustration by Beckett Grice
We saw a call for stories. They must feature zombies battling some other kind of monster. My first thought was: That’s corny. My second thought was: I’d love to read that. My third thought was: I’d love to write that.
I told my son Parker about it. He leapt straight to the third part.
“I challenge you,” I said.
“It’s on like neck bone, old man,” he replied.
Weeks went by. The action was nothing much to witness. Typing, basically. By the deadline, we’d each sent in a story.
Parker’s “other monster” was an aquatic critter. Like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but with Lovecraftian touches.
As for me, I remembered how much fun I had as a kid watching giant bug movies. Surely giant bugs would eat zombies. Or vice versa.
In time, the news came. Both stories had been accepted.
Volume One of Unleashed: Monsters vs. Zombies came out last year, featuring Parker’s story “Hakopi’s Death Ritual” among others. It’s still available.
And now, Volume Two has appeared, and there’s my story under one of those single-word titles I like so much: “Bugged.”
Read it if you dare!
Volume 1, featuring Parker's story

Volume 2, featuring my story