Today I have an excerpt from Zombie Playground by Brian Rowe.This is book #2 in the Grisly High series.
You can find the series on Goodreads here
Brin Skar has had a rough couple of weeks. She barely survived the grisly vampire attack in Bodie Ghost Town, the mysterious Paul is now a guest in her own home, and her dad Kristopher, dead for over a year, has emerged from the grave to try to kill his only daughter. After two somber funerals and the baffling disappearance of her Film teacher, Brin decides she needs a break from all the pain and heartache. And what’s a better escape than a round of golf at the brand new Macabre Golf Course? But as soon as Brin and her friends hit the links, strange noises and bizarre sightings begin to occur. And unfortunately for the group, the vampire encounter is going to seem like child’s play… especially when the zombies come out to play!
The rain was pelting down against Brin’s windshield so hard that she had to turn her windshield wipers on full blast. Even though it was the middle of winter in the typically freezing Grisly, an unusual warm front had taken hold of northern Nevada for the unforeseeable future. It was like the red devil himself was showing his morbid face in town.
And he was.
“Droz is here,” Brin said. “I know he’s here. I know I’m not crazy.”
She made a sharp turn on Sharp Knife Way and sped into the empty parking lot of Grisly Cemetery.
Brin turned off the ignition and started rummaging through the trash in the back of her car, in search for her umbrella.
“Come on, I know I have one,” she said, her voice soft and muddled as the rain smashed against the car.
She searched for a minute or more but couldn’t find it. She found old binders, toilet paper, and a receipt from Jack in the Box, but no umbrella. She decided it was time to make a date with the rain.
“I don’t have a choice,” she said.
Her left hand nestled on the door handle. The rain was pouring so hard she thought it might literally beat her to the ground until she either passed out or passed away.
But she didn’t care; she started to open the door, ready to make a run for it.
An unusual light in the distance stopped her. She couldn’t believe it; it was another car headed straight toward her.
“Ash, if that’s you, I swear…”
The car pulled into the parking lot. Brin made sure her lights were off, and she slunk down in her seat. She knew it was Ash, or Paul, or her mom, or all three of them, but she didn’t need to be rescued right now. She just needed to be alone.
Brin squinted her eyes. While it was difficult to see outside her windshield, she could tell the car pulling toward her wasn’t one she was just familiar with: it was a slick, purple Porsche.
“Who the hell is that?”
The Porsche entered one of the parking spaces on the other side of the lot, far enough away that Brin felt confident she and her car couldn’t be seen. She leaned forward and tried to see who was inside, but when she smashed her face against her windshield to get a better look, the figure in the Porsche turned the lights off.
Brin held her breath. She could sense a person, or a vampire, or something even worse, appearing out of the darkness and plunging a fist through her window to grab hold of her throat. But as thirty seconds became three minutes, Brin realized that nobody was coming for her. She finally saw a figure exit the car. It looked like a girl but Brin couldn’t be sure.
It could be anyone at this point, it wouldn’t surprise me, she thought. It could be one of those homeless women always begging for money on the side of 7-11. Maybe one of them stole a car and now wants a warm, cozy grave to spend the night in.
She glanced down at her phone to see that she had three missed calls from Ash, and one from her mother. She turned the phone off and tossed it on the passenger seat.
“Three… two… one…”
Brin kicked her door open and stepped out into the pouring rain. It only took five seconds for her to be completely drenched.
She opened the trunk of her car, grabbed the shovel, and started sprinting into the large, eerie cemetery.
Brin jumped over tombstones, nicking her leg on three of them in the process, and landed in puddle afterpuddle, some of which were big enough to resemble mini swimming pools. She tried to think of herself as a warrior, as an immortal being who could withstand all the beatings this cold rainy night was throwing at her, all so that she could conquer her daring mission successfully.
The rain continued to pummel against her. Her drenched black hair kept swinging in front of her face. She tried to use the shovel as an umbrella, but all the action did was make her look like anidiot. She turned to her left, passed two trees, and stopped at the proper place.
“All right,” Brin said. “I’m here.”
She gripped the shovel hard and peered down at the grave, waiting with anticipation for another hand to pop out of the ground.
“Dad, I’m here!”
She waited a full minute. There was no unusual activity, nobody from underground trying to speak to her. She peered around the area to make sure nobody was watching her. She looked forthat girl from the Porsche but she couldn’t see anyone. As far as she could tell, she was the only one spending her Friday night in the spooky Grisly Cemetery.
Brin took a step forward and brushed the wet hair out of her eyes. “All right, Dad. I’m gonna get you out of here.”
She struck the shovel against the muddy ground and started to dig.
COME BACK TOMORROW FOR A GIVEAWAY OF THIS BOOK AND BOOK #1 in the series!
If I hadn't have read this excerpt I would never have taken much notice of this book because the cover would have put me off immediately!! I don't like pictures of gruesomeness LOL
ReplyDeleteBut the excerpt and the brief intro is really good!
:)
Suzy Turner (suzy.turner[at]hotmail.com