Author M.M. Shelley

          The shooting lights were turning people into Zombies. Orlando didn’t think such a thing was possible. It couldn’t be.           Fernie remained quiet as they tracked the two remaining Zombies. Most of the Zombies had fled the scene looking for prey elsewhere. Orlando, Ruben and Fernie had tracked and killed all but two. They were easy to locate. Just listen for the screams of their victims.           Orlando looked back at Ruben who was bringing up the rear. He looked troubled.           “What’s wrong?” Orlando asked coming to a stop.           “Keep quiet,” Fernie answered. He looked irritated. “Keep moving. We have a lot to do tonight.”           Fernie took the lead, Orlando held back waiting for Ruben. “...

            They traveled down the 5 FWY, it was late Orlando wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing. Nothing seemed to be right any more. The last few days were one surprise after the next. No one was who they claimed to be. Orlando was not even sure if he could trust Ruben. He had just met the guy. He said he got those bruises from a Zombie but he could be lying to him about it. Ruben was working for Maxwell.           Orlando was not going to worry about it. He would see how things played out once they reached Tijuana . But first he had to make a quick stop. He had to meet Fernie in San Diego ; the map that had appeared on the back of Orlando ’s bedroom door had an address in the Gaslamp Quarter.           They rode up to a hotel, the Horton Grand Hotel .           Ruben looked up at the ...

         He didn’t know what to do. Did Orlando share with his grandfather what he had learned about Maxwell? What about Ruben? Did he know what Maxwell had been doing all along? Orlando stood in the center of the camp. His hands rested on his hips. He heard Fernie step out of the tent. He did not look up as Fernie said, “He left things here. His notes and some of the magik fix.”           “I thought he hated Zombies, why would he make them?” Orlando bent down to look into the dying blue flames of the pit. “His own father became a Zombie.”           “Didn’t you wonder how he became a Zombie?”           The ‘how’ didn’t matter to Orlando . “Did he get bit or something?”           “Getting bit doesn’t turn you into a Zombie. It’s this stuff right here.” Fernie held up a...

            Orlando found himself in some sort of park. There were old trains lined up sitting on railroad tracks. Balloons were tied to a post near a caboose. There were several benches and tables scattered about the area in a random pattern. A building had a sign affixed above double doors. ‘ Travel Town U.S.A. ’           “Hey!” Orlando shouted. ‘Where did Fernie go? Why had he even brought him to this place?’           A dark shadow began to form before Orlando . The shadow bubbled, pushed out towards Orlando who carefully backed away not sure what it was. The shadow shot down towards the ground formed a dark pool and slowly rose to form Fernie.           “We can talk here. There is no one around for miles,” Fernie said.           “Why did you bring...

        The house grew quiet as everyone prepared for bed. Orlando was exhausted and fell asleep within moments of his head hitting the pillow. Until a noise in his bedroom jarred him awake. He sat up looking for what created the noise. At first he didn’t see anything. All appeared to be quiet and in its place. Closing his eyes to sleep he felt the mattress shift to the presence of someone else’s weight, Orlando opened his eyes to find a man standing beside his bed resting his foot on the mattress.           “What?” Orlando asked thinking he must have been dreaming.           An eerie yellow light surrounded the man who peered down upon him. A wicked smile upon his face, “Catching up on your beauty sleep?” the man asked.           Sitting up in his bed to create space between himself and the man, Orlando knew this m...