Rev woke up feeling disoriented and foggy.  His head hurt, the worst of it coming from the very top of his skull.  He was in a dark room, and the thin strip of light coming from beneath it pierced the room and made his eyes hurt.  His tongue was swollen and hot, his mouth so dry that his attempt to swallow backfired and gagged him.  He grunted and tried to roll over, and realized his hands and feet were bound.  In fact, he couldn't feel his hands at all.  What the hell was going on?
     He tried to think, and his brain slowly cooperated.  He remembered the last several days in flashes.  The shufflers had taken out their camp.  They had camped alongside the highway against their better judgment, putting convenience above safety.  It was the wrong day to make that call.  He woke up to screams, and immediately went into survival mode.  He took thirty seconds to gather a flashlight and some supplies, and threw them in his bag.  The shufflers couldn't see well in the dark, so as long as he didn't call attention to himself he knew he would be okay.  The screams were attracting more attackers, and the wooded area was alive with monsters.  While working his way towards the highway, he only encountered one shuffler, and she died easily enough with a single shot to the head.  He doubled back to make sure his gun hadn't attracted anyone else, and soon he was safe in a vehicle, waiting for the sun to rise.  They had learned some time ago that dusk and dawn seemed to confuse them, it would be the best time to make an escape.
     Survival is a funny thing, it makes you do things that seem crazy in the time before shufflers.  He would have never imagined he could sleep through such a disaster, but he dozed off while the cries of the dying faded and were finally still.  He had no idea who may have escaped, and he didn't care.  Every town had a group of frightened people who would trade food and shelter for comfort.  He just had to make it to the next spot down the road and pick up where he left off.  When he woke up, the sun was just turning the sky a beautiful orange-streaked cobalt.  It was really quite stunning, in the silence before the dawn.  Right then he saw Susan.  She was creeping out of the treeline.  Her face was smeared with blood or mud, he couldn't tell at this distance.  She was dragging a duffel bag behind her, the other hand held her .38 outstretched, ready to fire.
     He had waved her over to him, and they sat in the cab of an abandonded truck, deciding what their next move should be.  She was exhausted, and a long cut on her arm had left a bloody trail all the way down the right side of her body.  They bandaged it and were talking about which direction to go when she looked behind him and her face went slack with surprise.  Her tiny pink lips made a perfect O, and her head cocked in the universal body language of the confused.  He turned and checked behind him, and that was the last thing he remembered.  The world had gone black, and Rev was gone without a sound.  Until now.
     His eyes were used to the dark, but even so it took him several minutes to make out her shape.  She sat against the far wall, not moving.  He couldn't tell if she was awake or even alive.  His ears couldn't pick up the sound of her breathing, nor could he hear the slightest movement from her side of the room.
     "Susan?"  There was no response.  He shifted his weight, checking the rope for weakness.  Whoever had tied him up had done a great job, taking advantage of his state.  With a little time, he could work himself loose.  While he wiggled his hands (he hoped), he thought about how he may have ended up here.  Maybe she thought he had been bitten, maybe they were both taken prisoner, maybe she was scared from whatever happened at the camp after he slipped into the darkness.  While they weren't in love, they were in something together, but he had no idea what had happened to make her restrain him.
     He had just worked a little slack into the rope around his ankles when the shape across the room shifted and sighed.  He knew the sound of her breath as well as the tone of her voice.  He relaxed slightly, now confident it was Susan in here with him.  That meant everything would be okay as soon as she untied him.  She leaned forward, and he was just opening his mouth to speak when he heard something he would have never expected now, here.  She cocked her gun and pointed it right between his eyes.
     "I've been waiting for you to wake up," she said.

Come See Us At Rublecon!

Come see Bon Tindle, the crazy chick who started Dead Shuffle, and the rest of the Fly By Knight creative team August 26th at Rublecon!

Not only will we be launching Zee: The Average American Maniac, but a special edition Dead Shuffle print will be available, autographed by the author herself!

* Unfortunately, the most awesomely talented Minna Hong will not be present, but we can always hold out hope for future events.

“Peaches, I have to get canned peaches.”  Corinna Majors scanned her list, every item but one meticulously crossed off. 

“Mama, Petey hit me!”  Bethany whined, tugging at Corinna’s shirt with sticky fingers.  Corinna stifled the impulse to swat Bethany on the butt for messing up her favorite red shirt.  She swallowed a sigh and turned to Petey instead.

“Petey, you know we don’t hit in our family.  Say you’re sorry.”

“No.  She hit me first.”  Petey narrowed his green eyes, preparing to throw a tantrum.  A fiery redheaded five-year-old, he never gave an inch when he thought he had been wronged.  “You always take her side ‘coz she’s little and a girl.”

“That’s not true, Petey,” Corinna said automatically.  She glanced at her watch and saw that it was close to quitting time for Lenny; she wanted to be home before him in order stave off a fight.  He had ordered her to stay home with the kids behind locked doors while he dealt with whatever the hell was going on.  She had tried to grill him last night about what was happening, but he refused to tell her anything except that it was like nothing he’d ever seen before.  He had told her to stay home this morning before he left for work, and the more she had thought about it, the more furious she had become.  Who the hell did he think he was telling her what to do?  If he could go to his damn job, she could do the grocery shopping.  They had to eat, didn’t they?  She had left the house in a huff, but once at the store, she had calmed down enough to realize that the last thing she wanted to do was to add to Lenny’s stress.

“Sir, you can’t just –”  The cashier’s statement was cut off as the man in question grabbed her by the throat and slammed her repeatedly into the wall.  Her screams turned into moans before she fell silent.  The man stopped ramming her into the wall and started tearing at her scalp.  His companion, a blonde woman in her twenties, started shuffling towards Corinna.

“Run, kids.  NOW!”  Corinna pushed her kids away from her as she squared off to take on the blonde woman who was stumbling her way.  There was a lack of affect in the woman’s face that spooked Corinna, and she knew this woman was part of the epidemic that so worried Lenny.  Corinna pulled her Glock out of her purse and started firing.  Bethany screamed and clung to Corinna’s legs as Petey took off running.  Corinna tried to push Bethany away, but the four-year-old refused to budge.  Corinna emptied her mag into the blonde woman, but it didn’t deter the latter at all.  She just absorbed the slugs and kept moving towards Corinna.  Once the blonde was within reach, Corinna started beating her across the temple with the butt of her Glock.  The blonde grabbed Corinna’s wrist and broke it in one snap.  Then, she picked up Bethany and started gnawing on the little girl’s head.  Corinna blocked out the searing pain in her wrist and went after the blonde woman again.  The blonde woman didn’t even acknowledge Corinna’s attack as she bit off Bethany’s left cheek.  Corinna reloaded her Glock and started shooting the blonde woman again – this time in the head since body hits didn’t seem to do any damage.  The blonde woman was dropped in an instance, and she let go of Bethany whose head and face were streaming blood.

“My baby!”  Corinna burst into tears, gathered Bethany into her arms and raced to her car.  When she got there, she fumbled with her keys before finally opening the door.  She pulled out her iPhone to call Lenny as she turned the key in the ignition.  She floored the engine as she raced to Abbott Northwestern. 

“I can’t talk right now, Core.”  Lenny’s voice was weary as he answered.  “I’m up shit creek, and R.T. is on my ass—” 

“One of those things attacked Bethany,” Corinna blurted out, talking over her husband.  “I’m on my way to Abbott.”

“What the hell?  I told you to stay home, Core.  What were you thinking?  Jesus fucking Christ, it’s not like I’m the fucking chief of police or anything, so why the fuck would my own fucking wife listen to me?”  All of Lenny’s pent-up frustrations were unleashed as he verbally attacked his wife.

“Now is not the time, Len.  Meet us at Abbott – Bethany is seriously hurt!  I think my wrist is broken, too.”

“How’s Petey?  Is he OK?” 

“Petey?”  Corinna’s mind went blank at Lenny’s question.  “Who the fuck is Petey?”

     They got to the Lambert's in no time at all.  The road was empty, only a handful of families lived out this way, and they had all been silent since things went bad.  Like planned, they pulled up to the cellar door, in the middle of the open yard.  There were no signs of life, but they weren't taking any chances.  They left the truck running, and while Leo stood watch Mac tried to fill the bed of the truck.  They had considered checking on the Lamberts first, but it only increased the chances of stirring up shufflers.  If they were still holed up in the house and were okay, when they checked on them they could throw them in the truck and bring them back, or transfer the canned goods to them and offer to barter for some food for the family.  If the Lamberts were opposed to them taking anything, Mac had made it clear they wouldn't take so much as a single can.  Leo had nodded his agreement, which lightened Mac's heart considerably.
     It took about twenty minutes to fill the bed of the truck with an array of food.  Mac couldn't help but notice the neat shelves seemed untouched.  The Lamberts either hadn't needed the food or were eating unhealthy as hell.  He tried not to let his worries hatch while be busied himself with moving jar after jar.  The last two trips were nothing but fruit preserves.  The thought of sticky peach sweetness on toast made his mouth water.  God, he was so hungry.
     There was enough for two more runs, if it turned out they needed to come back.  He took all the rice and beans, only jars of vegetables and fruit were left behind.  The cellar had been closed with a simple pin, they brought a sturdy padlock and secured it the best they could.  Right by the door, there was a large rock used to prop the door open.  Mac put one key under the rock, and the other he put in his pocket.  If the Lamberts answered his call, he would give it to them.
     So far so good.  There hadn't been so much as a whisper of activity, which made Mac both fear for the Lambert family and breathe a sigh of relief.  He was dreading going to the house, but knew they had to try to help the elderly couple.  In the back of his mind, he was eating a big bowl of brown beans, complete with onions and some collard greens on the side.  By God, for a celebration they would even break out some corn meal and have some cornbread.
     He was still dreaming about his meal when the first shuffler appeared.  He wasn't anyone Mac knew, but he belonged from this neck of the woods.  He was tall and lean, with big ropes of muscle that only came from working the land.  He wore overalls, and without actually seeing them Mac knew he wore work boots crusted with mud.  His t-shirt was white in a few places, but torn and muddy, the right arm soaked with blood that had dried and rotted right on the fabric.  He came out of the trees, unaware of the two men at first.  The open yard let them see for a hundred yards in any direction, but it also made them stand out like a sore thumb.  In less than a minute, the shuffler was heading towards them as fast as he could.  He was hungry, too.
     "Come on, let's get to the house, and get out of here!"  Mac knew they had to try to check on the Lamberts and they had a few minutes before the farmer shuffler was on them.  He was still the only one for now, but Mac knew there would be more soon.  They might not make it back for some time, and he couldn't leave them without trying to help.  Leo jumped in the truck, and pulled up to Mac.  They were at the house, and the shuffler angled towards them.  Driving to the house put even more distance between them.  Mac couldn't bear to look away, and yet he knew he had to turn his back on him in just a moment.
     The truck stopped at the porch, and Mac banged on the door as loud as he could.  "It's me, Mac Reynolds!  Mary, Charles, if you're in there say something.  We can take you back and hole up in our house!"  There was no answer, no sign of movement.  He stood there, painfully aware of every second slipping past.  He turned and saw Leo turning and watching in all directions.  Another shuffler had emerged from the trees, and the farmer was so close that he could just barely hear him thumping through the grass.  Shit.
     Feeling like an idiot, he reached out and tried the doorknob.  It turned easily, and he knew something was wrong the moment it swung open.  The smell alone told him what happened inside, and a glimpse of the living room confirmed his theory.  He slammed the door shut, and ran to the truck.
     "Get us the hell out of here!"  Leo stomped on the gas and did just that.

     The last couple of weeks had passed quickly.  Their guests were a family from Kansas, the Martins.  Mac and Deb had quickly made friends and the Martins were happy to have a place to rest up.  They had walked and stolen abandoned cars whenever they could, trying to find a safe haven.
     "You wouldn't believe it out there," Allen told them over coffee that first morning.  "There are huge groups of them, and they eat everything.  Animals, people, even stuff off the ground."  Nothing was safe, and though they were extremely limited in their thinking and mobility, in sheer numbers they conquered entire cities.  They had driven through Kansas City, not knowing it was the worst of all, and nearly lost their daughter Jenny in the escape.  Cars and corpses blocked every escape route, until they found a gap in the highway traffic and were able to pass.  It wasn't until later that Allen explained it was due to a bus falling under attack.  The infected were attacking and the Martins were able to move through and hop in a car.  They got more than two miles before the road prevented further progress and they had to walk through the shallow woods alongside Highway 71.
     Mac and Deb absorbed every detail about what was going on, and while the couples were busy trying to put everything together and make a plan, their kids were busy getting to know each other as well.  Adam and Jenny were never more than a few feet apart, and the usually shy boy was talking nonstop now.  Mac and Deb exchanged knowing looks, apparently even when the world is ending, boys will be boys and girls will be girls.  Jenny was nice enough, a little spoiled maybe, but a nice girl who chipped in whenever she could.
     Just yesterday, they had officially invited the Martins to stay with them.  Privacy was hard to come by, but they finally were able to give a quick rundown of their ideas and get Adam's enthusiastic agreement.  While they had twice as many mouths to feed, they also had twice as many hands on deck.  The men had reclaimed the house, shooting the four shufflers who were inside and boarding up the windows using the supplies Mac had stashed in the silo and the garage.  The old farm house had few windows, relying on shade for cooling.  The attic had been fortified to the max, as a final escape should the house be overcome.
     They were running low on food and ammo.  Animals were suspect, as some had been attacked and escaped from shufflers.  They didn't seem to go mad like the humans did, but eventually died from the bite.  They were afraid to eat any animal that had a wound, and now that the electricity had gone they couldn't store anything for long.  The stove was propane, and the tank was even mostly full, but even that was a limited resource long-term.  They had shot a single deer and made jerky out of everything they couldn't eat right away.  The shufflers showed no interest at all in the vegetable garden, it appeared they didn't recognize it as food.  Using several spotters, one would water and tend the garden, but it would be a few weeks before there was anything to eat.
     The men had decided it was time to go scavenge other houses nearby.  They could check in on neighbors and loot anything left behind.  Mac kept thinking of Mary Lambert's cellar, which he knew would be full of vegetables and pickled delights.  Mary and her husband Charles were in their eighties, and there was room for them in the attic if they wanted to come.  Mac guessed more likely than not they would.  He hoped to find them alive.  If not, he was practical enough to see the value of the cellar for the two families who still needed the food.
     It was agreed they would go at first light, though shufflers had no set rules it seemed the morning sun confused them for a while, and made it hard for them to see.  Any slight advantage made a big difference.  The time had come to jump in the truck and go exploring.  It was the first time Mac had been off the farm since the world went crazy.  He would rather take a beating than show it, but he was suffering something akin to a panic attack.  His heart was hammering like crazy, and he was covered with a sickly sweat that reeked of fear.  But it had to be done, or they would be hungry within a week.  Unacceptable.
     The two men paused by the door to the back, where the truck was parked and where the women could have the house locked up tight within seconds.  They gave one more round of hugs, not talking about what was on everyone's minds, what would happen if they couldn't make it back.  The kids were still asleep, but Mac had taken a moment to look at his son, hoping he would get to have dinner with him tonight.  The sun spilled over the treeline, and they could see the field and yard were clear.
     "Come on," Mac said and opened the door.  "It's time to go."