Free Hellspawn Odyssey by Ricky Fleet, Christina Hargis Smith

and Kurt watched in the side mirror as her tongue lolled and she squinted from the air that blew in her eyes.
    “I would love a gin and tonic,” commented Gloria as the shop passed and they all chuckled, even Debbie, but as soon as she saw them looking the expression vanished.
    “Here we are,” Kurt told them and slowed to a stop. The bridge was clear and the nearest zombie was minutes away, so they climbed out to witness the true scale of the sight that met them.
    The motorway lanes were totally blocked; there were hundreds of vehicles as far as the eye could see in both directions. Many more thousands of monsters were milling among the cars, wandering aimlessly without a source of food to pursue. It was an awful thing to behold. The terror that must have gripped the people as the roads ground to a halt, seeing that neither side would be able to escape the coming death, then watching from the mirrors as a tsunami of rotting flesh washed away all life in its path, adding to the overall power of the torrent. Below there came the mass groans of another group who had gathered in the shelter of the overpass, a strange behavioural anomaly for creatures without fear.
    “I guess it’s the back roads then,” John said, climbing into the pickup.
    No one spoke any more, there was nothing that could be said that would allow the horror to be unseen. They just put it to the back of their minds to process later, when they were alone and all was dark and quiet. They drove in silence, heading through Ashling Village, a beautiful hamlet of century’s old cottages, farmhouses, stables, and water mills that ran along the river, once grinding wheat for the local bakers. The small pond that Kurt had taken Sam to feed ducks when he was younger was now awash with zombies. They must have fallen in trying to reach the nests that were built in the middle of the water, the ducks hadn’t waited around but flew away to safer places. The small wall that surrounded it was now a barrier to the damned, meaning they walked around, waist deep in quickly festering water. He was so fixated on the sight that he nearly missed the cars in the road. Slamming the brakes on, the truck skidded and came to rest with the front end perilously close to the water’s edge and the eager dead who would welcome them.
    “Sorry, that was stupid,” Kurt apologised and he looked back to see Honey pick herself up and shake off, the sudden stop had propelled her into Sam and Braiden. Sam was holding his face, blood running down and dripping from his chin. Kurt’s heart leaped in fear, he had hurt his own son.
    “Sam, are you ok? I’m so sorry, mate.” Kurt ran to him and hugged him over the side of the pickup.
    “I’b ok, Dad, it’s just by dose,” Sam said, the bruised nose causing him to speak awkwardly. Honey was whining, upset at the distress of the young boy and trying to paw at him.
    “I’m really sorry,” Kurt repeated, nearly crying. Sam tried to smile to reassure his dad, yet his bloodied teeth and crimson chest from the broken blood vessels only served to make him feel worse. Honey licked them both, trying the same approach.
    The family had climbed out and the dead in the pond were splashing around like excited children in a swimming pool. The small local cemetery had given up its deceased, the varying state of decay was evidence of recent burial as well as those long in slumber. Some had rotted down to barely skeletons, loose tatters of flesh and skin remaining but little else. Others were from the local population, fresher, but missing limbs and flesh from the grisly end they met at the bony hands of the previous generations.
    “What is the time?” Paige asked.
    “Three twenty,” Peter said, looking at his watch.
    “Thanks Pete.” She smiled at him warmly. “Do you think we should find somewhere safe for the night?”
    “This is as good a place as any, low population and most of those are having a dip.” Kurt indicated over his