The Dead Days Journal (Volume #1)
Genre: New Adult Dystopia
Release Date: March 30, 2015
Description:
The daughter of a radical doomsday prepper, Leo Marrok spent her entire life preparing for the end. A skilled fighter and perfect marksman, Leo is her father’s second-in-command when Armageddon comes to pass. Together, they lead a group of survivors to a secure bunker deep in the Appalachian Mountains.
Vincent Marrok is willing to take extreme measures to repopulate their broken world. Leo’s refusal marks her as a traitor. With father and daughter at odds for the first time, their frail community is thrust into turmoil. Until the unthinkable happens, a blood-thirsty horde arrives. The impending attack will destroy all that they have worked for.
To protect her home and everything she believes in, Leo puts her faith in the arms of the enemy—a creature only rumored to exist—the one she calls Halloween. An alliance born out of necessity evolves into feelings Leo is ill-equipped to handle.
The Dead Days Journal is a post-apocalyptic story of love and family told through Leo Marrok’s first-hand account and the pages of Vincent’s personal journal, giving two very different perspectives on what it takes to survive.
Mature themes, adult language, sexual situations, violence and gore. 18+
The sounds of the forest were all around me, except there wasn’t a single footstep rustling the forest floor. I only sensed the movement through the person who held me—superior strength and superior grace. I felt his powerful strides advancing as he clutched me to his solid chest, the strong arms that cradled my damaged body.
Can the dead dream? No.
There was no way of knowing how long I’d been unconscious. My memories were slow, spotty, coming back in short blasts of terror that started with the recollection of my father’s demands for a grandchild. I remembered running away, being attacked by a man in a mask, and waking up on the ground alone, the hungry beast dropping out of the tree.
Are the attacker and the monster one and the same?
I tried to recall the struggle. I’d stabbed the strange monster in the gut and made it bleed.
I hurt it.
The monster had retaliated by taking a chunk out of my neck.
It hurt me back.
I cringed as I remembered the terror and the agony I felt while it fed from my vein. An odd sort of throbbing in my neck quickened as my heart raced. How am I still alive? Panic stole my breath and uncontrollable twitches jerked at my limbs. The arms holding me tightened in response, restraining my erratic movement.
Something slid past my lips into my mouth. I tried to turn my head, working to keep my mouth clamped shut but failing. Nothing stopped the intrusion, which I thought to be a finger, from the size and feel. Whatever he forced me to eat left a sticky residue on my tongue that tasted sweet and bitter, like a bad dessert wine. I wanted to open my eyes to see who carried me, but I couldn’t. So I tried to call out, several times, but nothing came out of my mouth.
He’s taking me somewhere I don’t want to go.
“Is she going to be okay?” It was a man’s voice, a voice I knew. I’m not in the arms of the monster. Jack must have heard my screams. He saved me and now he was taking me home to Ben. A sob of relief pushed past my lungs to escape my mouth.
Sandra R. Campbell lives along the tranquil waters of
the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and weight challenged cat. She can
trace her passion for the macabre back to reading Edgar Allen Poe as a
child, with her pet crow, Big Fellow, by her side. She has since
submerged herself in a wide range of dark literature. An avid thrill
seeker, Sandra is always looking for her next big adrenaline rush, and
when spelunking, diving and monster hunting fails to deliver, she turns
to the creation of through-the-rabbit-hole worlds and sends her
characters on their own adventures. Sandra also writes children's
stories, is a member of the Maryland Writers' Association, the head of a
M.W.A. critique group, and the founder and co-author of Waterfrontwriters.com.
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Giveaway: (1) ebook copy of The Dead Days Journal - Open INT!
