Zombies from Space... and Vampires E-Book

Angela B. Chrysler

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Alien invasion? Zombies? Vampires?

Aria is an average 19-year-old with average problems - until zombies landed their UFO in her backyard. If Aria wants to survive, she’ll need some help, and who better than a pirate captain, a steampunk inventor, a bazooka-wielding killer, and a deranged Englishman who insists he is Doctor Who?

Stuck in a war between vampires and zombie-walking Weeches, Aria and her eccentric crew take a stand for mankind as they fight for their right to survive. Hey, if you have to slaughter zombies and vampires, why not enjoy it?

Leseprobe

Zombies from Space and Vampires

Angela B. Chrysler

Copyright (C) 2016 Angela B. Chrysler

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2021 by Next Chapter

Published 2021 by Next Chapter

Cover art by Deranged Doctor Designs

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

Acknowledgements

Here it is again: another acknowledgements page that no one enjoys reading except those who are mentioned in it. Instead, I will take this moment to explain a bit about the characters in Zombies from Space.

This is a work of fiction, unfortunately. Businesses and places are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Events and incidents are formed in the deranged brain of the author, who is still sitting around immersed in an arsenal disguised as a peaceful garden waiting for the zombie apocalypse to occur alongside an alien invasion. The vampires I threw in for fun because…how else do you make a bad story worse?

Names and characters in this book are real people who live vicariously through this story. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, was completely and totally intentional…and with the exclusive permission of the characters mentioned. All characteristics of said people were also based on their own design.

Stanislava D. Kohut named herself Stanushka and asked for pink bubblegum and pink pigtails while she handled her giant bazooka alongside her weapon fetishes. I said, “Okay!”

Adam Dreece said, “I want a vest with pockets! Many pockets! And filled with all sorts of trinkets and things! And remember my monocle!” I said, “Okay!”

Matthew William Harrill said, “I want to be naked wearing only a garlic-infused loincloth and boots!” I said, “O—okaaaay…?” and added the Doctor Who scarf in ode to Tom Baker and Matt's English heritage. It only felt appropriate to have Matt steal my collector's edition scarf and wrap himself up in it as clothing.

His response when reading that? “I would so DO that!” Yes, Matt… Yes, you would. And I would so hunt you down for it.

Additional characters who deserve mention and recognition are:

C.L. Schneider (Cin Dixon)

Stan Sudan (The Professor)

Kylie “Kraken” Jude

Chess DeSalls (Chess “Cutlass” DeSalls)

Jay Norry

J.S. Swiger

M.L.S. Weech, who asked to be one of the zombies. So I gave him honors and made him all of them.

And our beloved ship, the HMS Slush Brain! Which is a real discussion group on Twitter we fondly deemed the HMS Slush Brain. No, you can't join. It's a private group for our collective. We hold secret meetings and make plans to take over the world. But due to the slush brain we all possess, I doubt any of us will actually succeed at this. For the record, Matt is our “Pinky.” The rest of us are the Brain.

Additional characters in this story are all based on real life friends who I portray best to their character and requests (I hope).

For my fellow nerds.Game on.

Sink into my books with me. I will show you what I see.

Introduction

I conceived this idea shortly after watching Kung Fu Panda 3. The preview in the beginning showed two guys standing there… “zombies…in space!” After scribbling “zombies from space” on a popcorn napkin, I sat on my idea for the next two hours while I tried not to explode with enthusiasm. (The movie was great, by the way.)

By the time I got home, I had a plot, but I had a challenge presented to me.

My husband is a scientist. More specifically, he is a physicist and holds a master's in organic chemistry. You know that stuff Sheldon Cooper does? That's my husband. My husband is also a heavy sci-fi reader where one rule is gold: “Scientific accuracy.” He doesn't watch The Walking Dead, so every Monday night, I fill him in on the next episode. His reason for not watching TWD?

“There are too many plot holes based on one ludicrous concept: Zombies are illogical!” he argues.

“Who cares!” I argue back. “They're zombies! They are no more logical than Bruce Campbell and his army of dead.”

“Yeah, but…it's Bruce!”

This is where I sigh and call him a zombie-ist.

“Bruce is so damn hokey that he's awesome!” my husband says.

“So you're saying that Walking Dead's zombies are wonderfully real?”

“No! They're hokey! But they think they're realistic!”

“So they take themselves too seriously?” I ask.

“Yes!” The vein on his neck is pulsing. “Which is why Zombies from Space is awesome!”

I set aside my fuzzy feeling and keep arguing.

“I don't watch TWD for the zombies,” I say. “They're frickin' cool. But they are not why I watch the show. I watch the show because of the characters.”

“Yeah, but they drag it out,” he says. “They're going to come to the same realization as everyone else…the same blatant answer, but they're taking six seasons to get there!”

“Which is what?”

“You do what you have to do to survive.”

“Of course that's the answer!” I say. “But it isn't the point. Of course they are going to do what they have to do to survive. We watched this develop in Carol. We saw it lost in Morgan. And that's really what he's afraid of! Morgan is convinced that if he kills again, he'll go back to doing whatever he must to survive. Something his therapist failed to cover with him. We see this strong in Rick. Survive. Of course! Crossing the lines of humanity? Most definitely! But at what cost? And that's the question. Survival has a price and while humanity has fallen apart around them, Rick and his group desperately hang onto theirs. While it's taken us six years to get this far, it's really only about two years in their time.”

“But that's just it!” my scientist shouts. “The human body falls apart after a few weeks.”

“But it isn't about the zombies,” I shriek. “They're just cool. The point isn't survival. The point is humanity during apocalypse. This is like watching Apocalypse Now in slow motion. But at what point will their need to survive and end their humanity? At what point will it break them? At one point will they too join the cannibals, rapists, and wolves? Can they embrace survival and keep their humanity?”

I get a pensive grunt. He thinks for a moment and goes back to his science fiction novel.