Dead Science: A Zombie Anthology Read online

  It's being relayed through the crashed shuttle on Mars!

  "Who are you?" I know that whatever controls the nanobots inside this thing, whatever looks back at me, is not human. It's alien. Communicating to us through space, through the shuttle's link. Something on Mars. Something we missed all these years while thinking the planet was uninhabited. Something we never saw, or can't see, or didn't think to look for. Something intelligent and evil.

  I need to shut down the nanobots but the Valace Standard has been hijacked. I try to access the nanobot command console through the scanner but again am denied access. I try a dozen other ways to get admin access to any program to take control of the software. I am denied at every turn. Finally, the comdesk shuts down. The vapor screen goes blank. The Reclamation stares back at me, biding its time. How long before all the power goes out?

  From here, I can still see out the giant window overlooking the city. Below me, the dead run about with terrible speed, streaks of gray followed by tiny bursts of red. One of the blood-covered creatures looks like Gavin, but I can't be sure.

  Another creature rushes into the office. Probably called by the one that was already here. So I laugh. An alien invasion by way of dead humans. And they didn't even have to come to our planet to do it. They just used . . . me.

  My advancements. My greed. My dead.

  ###

  Those Undead Writers

  Gustavo Bondoni is a winner of the National Space Society's "Return to Luna" contest, as well as a 2008 Marooned Award for flash fiction and has had over forty short stories published in five countries and two languages. His first reprint collection, Tenth Orbit and Other Stories, is due in late 2009 from Cyberwizard Productions, and a short novel is due from Daverana Enterprises. You can read his thoughts at http://bondo-ba.livejournal.com

  Eric S. Brown is the author of the upcoming releases: World War of the Dead, Season of Rot and Barren Earth. Some of his past works include Cobble, Madmen's Dreams, and Unabridged Unabashed and Undead: The Best of Eric S. Brown among others. His short fiction has been published hundreds of times and he was featured as an expert on the walking dead in the book, Zombie CSU. Eric is thirty-four years old and lives in N.C. with his loving wife, Shanna, and his son, Merrick.

  Michael Cieslak is a life-long reader and writer of all forms of speculative fiction. He is a member (and former officer) of the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. He can be found at thedragonsroost.net and various social networking sites, especially his current addiction---Twitter.

  Lorne Dixon lives and writes somewhere off an exit of Route 78 in residential New Jersey. He grew up on a diet of yellow-spined paperbacks, black and white monster movies, and the thunder lizard backbeat of rock 'n' roll. His novella, Snarl, is now available from Coscom Entertainment.

  A.P. Fuchs lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he writes superhero and zombie fiction. His superhero character, Axiom-man, and his daily blog can be found at www.canisterx.com, while his undead work can be found at www.undeadworldtrilogy.com

  Anthony Giangregorio is the author of more than twenty novels, almost all of them about zombies. He has a story in the upcoming zombie anthology by Library of the Living Dead Press and another one in Dead Worlds: Undead Stories by Living Dead Press. Check out his website at www.livingdeadpress.com

  Glen Held lives on Long Island with his wonderful wife and three great kids, none of whom are, or intend to be, zombies. Glen has a mystery/romance novel, Burning Secrets, to his credit and is currently writing an urban fantasy.

  Becca Morgan is a third generation geek, the daughter of a game designer and a horror writer. She's grown up preparing for the zombie apocalypse and will probably be voted "Most Likely to Raise the Dead" when she gets to high school.

  Mark Onspaugh is a native Californian who grew up on a steady diet of horror, science fiction and DC Comics. A proud member of the HWA, he writes screenplays, short stories and novels. He lives in Los Osos, C.A. with his wife, author/artist Dr. Tobey Crockett. See www.markonspaugh.com for more.

  Gina Ranalli is the author of several books, including Sky Tongues, Chemical Gardens, Mother Puncher and Wall of Kiss, among others. You can visit her on the web at www.ginaranalli.com

  Vincent L. Scarsella has gained success in publishing his work in such magazines as The Leading Edge, Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature, Fictitious Force and Aphelion. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. He is also set to publish a non-fiction self-help book for humanity, The Human Manifesto: A General Plan for Human Survival, based upon the writings of Ernest Becker. The book has its own web site at www.thehumanmanifestosite.com

  Jason Shayer joined the ranks of Canada's horror writers in 2008 and looks to bring Canadian myths and monsters back to life through his dark tales. His twelve-year-old mind frame have given more than a few people a reason to raise an eyebrow, most often his wife. When he's not writing or reading, he's teaching his three-year-old daughter the finer points of zombie lore.

  Ryan C. Thomas is the author of the novels The Summer I Died and Ratings Game. His stories have appeared in numerous markets including Undead: Headshot Quartet, Space Squid, Nanbison, Hallow's Eve, The Vault of Punk Horror and more. He works as a journalist in San Diego and can be found in the bars on the weekends playing with his band, The Buzzbombs. Visit him online at www.ryancthomas.com

  Adam J. Whitlatch is the author of several science fiction and horror short stories, as well as the novels The Blood Raven: Retribution and E.R.A. - Earth Realm Army. His works of fiction have appeared in Six Sentences, Northern Haunts: 100 Terrifying New England Tales, Shroud Magazine, and Crossed Genres to name a few. Adam lives in southeast Iowa with his wife, Jessica, and their two sons. See www.adamjwhitlatch.com for more.

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  The Coscom Entertainment Zombie, Monster, Mash Up and Superhero Book List

  Please go to www.coscomentertainment.com for a plot synopsis and more information on the books

  Zombie Books:

  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim by Mark Twain and W. Bill Czolgosz

  Alice in Zombieland by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook

  Axiom-man: The Dead Land by A.P. Fuchs

  Bits of the Dead edited by Keith Gouveia and illustrated by Sean Simmans

  Blood of the Dead by A.P. Fuchs

  Dead Science edited by A.P. Fuchs

  Don of the Dead by Nick Cato

  Revolt of the Dead by Keith Gouveia

  R.I.P. by Harrison Howe

  Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers by Paul A. Freeman

  The Lifeless by Lorne Dixon

  The Undead World of Oz by L. Frank Baum and Ryan C. Thomas

  The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies by H.G. Wells and Eric S. Brown

  World War of the Dead by Eric S. Brown

  Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes: Zany Zombie Poetry for the Undead Head edited by A.P. Fuchs

  Zombie Fight Night: Battles of the Dead by A.P. Fuchs

  Zombifrieze by W. Bill Czolgosz and Sean Simmans

  Other Monster and Horror Books:

  Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy by Keith Gouveia

  Anna Karnivora: A Vampire Novel by W. Bill Czolgosz

  Dracula by Bram Stoker, Illustrated by Sean Simmans with an Introduction by Nancy Kilpatrick

  Emma and the Werewolves by Jane Austen and Adam Rann

  Hound: The Curse of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lorne Dixon

  Snarl by Lorne Dixon

  The Summer I Died by Ryan C. Thomas

  Superhero Books:

  Axiom-man (The Axiom-man Saga, Book 1) by A.P. Fuchs

  First Night Out (The Axiom-man Saga, Episode No. 0) by A.P. Fuchs

  Doorway of Darkness (The Axiom-man Saga, Book 2) by A.P. Fuchs

  The Dead Land (The Axiom-man Saga, Episode No. 1) by A.P. Fuchs

  The Wraith by Frank Dirscherl

  Valley of Evil (The Wraith Series, Book 2) by
Frank Dirscherl

  Cult of the Damned (The Wraith Series, Book 3) by Frank Dirscherl

  Bookazines:

  Dry Ice Dreams (Bumper Sticker Shine No. 1) by A.P. Fuchs

  The Macro Mechanic's Manifesto (Bumper Sticker Shine No. 2) by A.P. Fuchs

  Table of Contents

  Dead Science: A Zombie Anthology

  Midpoint