The Dead Years
The Complete Series
Jeff Olah
Copyright © 2013 by Jeff Olah
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, locations, and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is merely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design
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. . .
Visit the author’s website for free stories, behind the scenes extras and much more.
www.JeffOlah.com
BOOKS BY JEFF OLAH
The Dead Years Series:
ORIGINS
THRESHOLD
TURBULENCE
BLACKMORE
COLLAPSE
VENGEANCE
HOMECOMING
RETRIBUTION
ABSOLUTION
The Last Outbreak Series:
AWAKENING
DEVASTATION
DESPERATION
REVOLUTION
SALVATION
The Next World Series:
EXISTENCE
RESISTANCE
RESURGENCE
More Stories:
THE BONE COLLECTOR
INTENT
RATH
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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What’s Next?
Sneak peek of The Last Outbreak
About the Author
The Dead Years
Many have asked about the connection between this series The Dead Years and the two other series The Last Outbreak and The Next World, and how they are related. Below are a few questions that should clear things up. (If you have read either The Last Outbreak or The Next World series, this may sound familiar)
Q: Can you give us a brief description of The Dead Years?
A: Sure, The Dead Years is a story of survival set in a large fictional city, a few hours outside of Los Angeles. The story will follow the lives of a small group of individuals as they progress through what is left of the world following the Zombie Apocalypse chronicled in the Best-Selling Post-Apocalyptic Thrillers, The Last Outbreak and The Next World.
Q: Speaking of The Last Outbreak and The Next World, is it necessary to read those two series first to enjoy The Dead Years?
A: Absolutely not. The three series are complete stories and as such, stand alone in their own right. The Last Outbreak and The Next World are built in the same universe as The Dead Years, although nothing is lost if you read one particular series before or after the other.
(FYI … There is a sneak peek of The Last Outbreak at the conclusion of this book.)
Q: Okay … The Last Outbreak and The Next World, what do we (readers) need to know about those books?
A: The Last Outbreak and The Next World are the two Best-Selling Post-Apocalyptic Zombie series that follow different groups of survivors as they traverse the worst plague the earth has ever seen. These series were built as a companion to The Dead Years and can be found Here.
Q: Regarding The Dead Years; is the entire series set in just one location?
A: Great question. I can see how one might gather that from the brief description above, however, without giving away too much, I can definitively say that not only will these survivors escape their hometown, but will also travel far and wide in search of what they believe to be the answers they are seeking. (It’s gonna get rough for these people pretty quickly.)
*I hope this intro to the new series is helpful, and as always, I thank you for your support and can’t wait to hear what you all think of The Dead Years. So, feel free to send me a message or stop by Facebook and join the party. We would love to have you.
-Jeff Olah
The Dead Years
Book One
THRESHOLD
(And, included for the first time EVER … all chapters from The Dead Years ORIGINS in chronological order)
The End of the World was only the Beginning
1
No one knew how or where it all began. There were only rumors at first, spreading from one city to another. The infection took hold quickly. Many that became victims of the first wave were caught off guard by the unusual behavior of those infected. Millions perished with each day that passed and the number of survivors continued to dwindle as they desperately searched for places free of this hell.
The devastation was almost immediate. Law enforcement fell, utilities powered down and civilization was shattered within the first few weeks. With no structure left in the world, the few remaining sought to band together to fight and survive in this new existence.
They had no other choice …
Mason looked out over the floor in between sets and was somewhat caught off guard, and also a little amused as one of his favorite songs from high school started up through his headphones. He hadn’t heard this for quite some time and figured his phone must be cycling through the deep reaches of his enormous playlist.
Just as the chorus set in, the music muted, signaling a call was coming through. Mason pulled the phone from his pocket to check who was calling. “April,” he said aloud. He figured there must be something else she needed to harass him about and he wasn’t going to ruin another workout just to satisfy her need to belittle him. He hit decline and lay back on the floor for another set of crunches.
Mason ran through his next set like a man on fire and lost all focus on the world around him. He often used his outside frustrations to fuel his high intensity workouts in the gym. This proved to be an effective tool in that he was able to push off his problems and at the same time get into top shape. The downside to all this was that his workouts, coupled with the time spent training clients, fueled the fire that resulted in his and April’s separation three months ago.
Rolling forward and standing from his final set, Mason was surprised to see the weight room almost empty. He turned and noticed at least thirty people gathered outside the owner’s office and as he got closer, he saw there was at least half that amount inside the office.
They seemed to be intently debating something as others hurried out the front exits of the gym and were headed for their cars. Mason asked one of the female on-lookers what was happening and just as she began to answer, his phone started to buzz, indicating he was getting a text message.
Again it was April.
Looking back at the woman standing directly in front of him, now appearing irritated, Mason said, “I apologize, what did you say?”
“The old folks home,” she said.
“Yes …” Mason followed.
“They’re killing each other… LOOK!”
Mason pushed his way through the diminishing crowd inside the office to get a glimpse of the television now directly in front of him.
The reporter standing in the hallway was in the middle of his report when he was overtaken by what appeared to be three individuals, all of whom were at least eighty years old.
Someone in the crowd said, “I am not sure what the hell they’re taking, but I want some. Damn, I have never seen people that age move so fast.”
The news station cut away just as the threesome overtook the reporter. The footage was disturbing in that it appeared as though they were not just attacking the reporter, but trying to devour him. The first crazed senior appeared to bite the reporter on the neck or face and just as they cut away it looked as though the others had the same intention.
The station went to a commercial and Tom the owner switched to another station covering a mysterious virus plaguing an emergency room with the same sort of crazy behavior; this time it wasn’t senior citizens. The cameraperson appeared to be running from the hospital and dropped the camera just as he was trapped on all sides by the angry horde.
Mason looked over at Tom and watched as the remaining members either headed toward the doors or to the locker room, fearing the unknown. Tom stared at the screen a minute longer watching as the cameraman was torn to shreds by nothing more than the hands and mouths of the rabid individuals.
“Tom!”
“Yeah, what?” Tom said as though coming out of a fog.
“What the hell is happening?”
“How on earth would I know? It’s on every damn station though… check it out.”
As Tom flipped from one station to the next, every station—even the local cable channels—had coverage of these bizarre events taking place. Some of the network channels had started to go dark and this appeared to concern Tom.
“Mason, I’m closing up for the day. I need to get home; my wife is probably flipping out. I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet. If you want to stay you can lock up, otherwise let’s go.”
“That’s fine,” Mason said. “I’m going to grab my bag and I’ll just be a few minutes behind you.”
Heading back toward the locker room, Mason turned and looked as Tom reached the front door.
“Tom, take care, I’ll call you later.”
Mason pulled the phone from his pocket and looked down remembering he had put April on ignore. “Great,” he said.
Opening April’s text, it read: Check the news, I am really scared – PLEASE CALL ME!!!
Mason sat in front of his locker and dialed April. Being the only remaining soul inside the gym felt a little creepy and not just because of the earlier images he had seen on the news. He always hated being here alone, especially when it was dead silent, and being here mid-afternoon with the place empty was just weird.
“Mason!” April answered on the forth ring.
“I’m just leaving the gym now,” Mason said.
“Where are you headed?”
“Home… why?”
“Can you come here?” April asked. “I’m really scared and I need you.”
“Where is Justin?” Mason asked.
“He’s in school; I just checked out the window and everything is quiet.”
Mason had never heard April this worried. He figured he would try to set her mind at ease. “I’m on my way to your place. Stay put and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“I will,” April said, sounding a little less stressed.
“Mason?”
“Yeah?”
“I just spoke to my Dad.”
“Oh yeah, what did HE have to say about this?”
“He didn’t say very much, although he made me promise him that we would get out of the city. TODAY!”
2
April hung up the phone and walked to the oversized bay window in her master bedroom. The home she had purchased eight years ago with Mason was supp
osed to be her dream home. Instead, it now reminded her of how hard she had been on him and how much she had let her father influence those bad times.
Thinking back to the better memories they shared, she remembered that they had decided on this home in particular because it overlooked not only the elementary, but also the middle and high schools. She persuaded Mason that if they stuck to the budget she outlined, they could literally watch their son grow from kindergarten to high school. She was sure her being overprotective did nothing to help their marriage. Mason would constantly let her know she needed to “loosen the reigns,” especially since Justin was only a few months shy of his fourteenth birthday.
She desperately hoped Mason would arrive soon as she was freaked out after watching the news all day and talking to dear old dad.
“I guess we were spared,” April said aloud as she looked out the window surveying both campuses, half trying to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about. No frantic people running around; in fact, the area seemed overly calm.
April made her way downstairs and into the kitchen just as the phone rang. She was sure it was Mason with some sort of an update, although upon checking the caller ID she noticed the call was coming from Justin’s cell.
“Hello?” she quickly answered, trying to sounds as if she had not a care in the world.
“Mom, something weird is happening.”
“What’s going on?”
“All the teachers and staff were called to an emergency meeting and they haven’t been back to the classrooms. It’s been almost an hour now.”
“Where are you?” April said.
“I walked out into the gym because the rest of the school is too loud. The other students are kind of just running around the halls. Mom, some of my friends are saying that there is a war that was started.”
“Justin, I think they’re just trying to scare you.”
“Well, what IS going on? Why are all the teachers gone? Why haven’t they come back?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Just go back to cl…”
“Mom they’re coming back, I gotta go.”
April set the phone down and leaned back against the counter. She wanted Justin home and had to talk herself out of walking across the street to get him. She knew it would embarrass him and probably her as well.
April decided she would head back to the bedroom and sit at the window and watch, that way she could ease her mind and at the same time she would be ready to move if anything changed.
Even before she reached the window, April could see both parking lots start to fill with cars. Knowing there were no performances going on at the middle school today, she knew what was happening.