Luke had the six-shooter his uncle had given him and raised it to fire. Bayna pushed his hand down gently.
"If you fire that they’ll come from all over. We just need to run through them," she said.
"Do you really think we can make it, Aunt Bayna?" Luke asked.
"Yes. The real problem is what to do at the fence."
The group was a study in how to play tag. They bobbed and weaved and darted as zombies lunged. Cyndi scooted by three of them to get around a tree while Luke slid recklessly between the legs of another.
Nobody wanted a Revenant to visit, but zombies could be handled in small groups, and were almost fun. Their slow reflexes and stupid demeanor meant that the now 24 zombies shambling toward the group would likely remain behind them and be no trouble anymore.
Now that they were through the zombies, the group ran toward the fence, five miles east of their farm.
*****
Let’s not forget J’Nou and his new sister, Mara, though. They surely haven’t forgotten revenge. They finished eating and watched from the roof as the group slipped past the zombies.
"Dolts," J’Nou said. "Simple, mindless dolts. If we did not provide them with humans from the Farm, they would crumble into nothing."
He watched for another moment, as Mara sat there quietly.
"Promise me, Mara, promise me that you will kill me if I ever become like them."
"I promise, First Brother," she said.
Now, my dear friend, the next few miles were mostly uninteresting, so please allow me to summarize. J’Nou and Mara followed stealthily behind their prey, teasing them, calling out to them, and reminding them that they were being followed. The group grew tired many times and fell from exhaustion, but as much as their bodies cried out to slow or even stop, J’Nou reminded them what they were running from and would speak in his unearthly, dark voice, the Shadow Voice, a voice unique to Revenant.
This unending taunt inspired them to keep moving. Luke would carry Cyndi, Aunt Bayna would push Luke, and they all scrambled toward the fence. Finally, over an hour later, they arrived at the fence, bloody, dirty, sweaty, and tired.
Cyndi and Luke leaned against it to rest, while Aunt Bayna sat in the dirt.
"We are still here," J’Nou said again, just loud enough for them to all stand and try to get the attention of the guards on the wall.
J’Nou and Mara crept quietly behind a large boulder, to a spot where they could watch as Luke tried to climb the 32’ sheer concrete fence. He had no luck. J'Nou was purposeful and loud with his snarl from behind the boulder. He flashed his red eyes and waited for the guard to see him.
The guard on the wall shouted to his fellow soldier, "Over there, behind that rock! It’s one of those damn Revs!"
He aimed and shot. J’Nou watched as the bullet streaked at his jugular. He pulled down behind the rock as fast as he could, but not in time to keep away from the bullet. It took only a piece of skull and skin with it, however, so he was relieved.
"Come my brothers and sisters, we will take them. Climb the wall and then we will take the nearest city," he spoke again in the pitch black Shadow Voice only a true Revenant possessed.
You see, in these dark lands, the government could only provide a few well trained soldiers and since the wall ran from the Canadian wall down to the Gulf of Mexico, the rest of it was guarded by locals who volunteered or were conscripted by city lotteries. They had no formal training, had never seen a Revenant in person, and were replaced often.
The guards could clearly hear J’Nou’s threat, however, even over their radios. It scared many of them and, though a couple remembered to order more men to their point, most of them began to tremble and shake.
Then they saw the group crying for help and trying to climb the wall. These cries were not loud enough to break through the radios, however, so to the guards they were like any other zombies.
"That is it, my siblings, we will breach the wall and feast in their cities," J’Nou continued as he smiled to himself, knowing what would happen next.
As Cyndi lifted a rock to bash through the wall, a shot went cleanly through her eye and she slumped over. In the eternity before she hit the ground, the only thought she had was to wonder where Snuffy was.
As the guards opened fire on Bayna and Luke, J’Nou and Mara were on their way to a farm 10 miles southwest of their current position. They needed to eat and gather some supplies.
"We must go feast, sister, we have a long trip ahead of us. A lost key has been found."
The Controller knew all that J’Nou had seen and heard; he and the other First Brothers were happy, revenge was finally theirs.
*****
So now you know more about these very dark lands. There is much more to learn, but the story, the one about love and hate, friendship and betrayal, myth and legend, the One True God and many other gods, and so much more, that story can begin.
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About the Author
Antonio Guadagno lives in North Carolina with his wife and three children. He attends Elevation Church and is blessed to do a corporate job that isn’t terrible and, in his free time, pursue writing.
Visit his blog at https://aofearborn.blogspot.com/.
Follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/AOFearborn.
Follow The Dark Lands on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dark-Lands/112620125878.
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Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank my loving, beautiful wife, Crystal, who put up with me writing at night after working all day. She also encouraged me and wasn’t afraid to tell me when what I wrote sucked.
Thank you to my three wonderful children who believe I can do anything and think that whatever I’ve created must be the best thing in the world.
I, also wish to thank my friends Andre and Tamisha Jones, my former teacher Deanna Lynn Campbell, my parents, and the others who have read part or all of the original novel and given me feedback and encouragement.
And a special thank you to Andre Jones for the cover art.
And last, but not least, I would like to thank all of you who have purchased this book.
Thank you.
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About The Dark Lands
The Dark Lands: Discoveries was originally written as a full length novel about two friends and their journey through an alternate America. The story remains the same in the Episodes, but is now presented with more character, story, and atmosphere.
Terrance Bonifacy is a third generation Haitian American with a hidden talent. He lives with his girlfriend, Sara in Miami. His parents were murdered by pirates and his extended family is estranged. Oh, and he’s receiving visits from the Angel of God.
Paxton Roald is the son of a scientist, but he doesn’t know if his father is alive or dead. He lives with his mother and granny down the street from Terrance and Sara. His life is happier now, but he still blames his father for the death of his sister, and many others.
See J’Nou Nguyen, First Brother of the Revenant, return with Mara to harass Terrance and Paxton in The Dark Lands: Discoveries: Episode 1: Miami Sunset soon.
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