The Rot (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) (18 page)

BOOK: The Rot (Post Apocalyptic Thriller)

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NO! There… I see it. I can… Green, I green see. Right there, can’t yet…
you
…?

Trees, flowers… a cool, clear road…
river
… An… an Eden.

Home…
hope
.

Trying to… to get there, it’s not eend…
easy
… my legs… they… Need to… It’s so, so beautiful… Can… can you hope…
hear
me…? Is this still re…r’cording… Ha ha… cording… I think, I think I lost the corder back in… Did I ever have…? My aren’t lips eel…even… mmove…

I’m… I’m… I can… Kim, Kim you would have later…
loved
this so, so much. I love…

Love…
look
… look at that sky up there, it’s… Ah… and… and I’m flew…
flying
now…how can be flying…me? Doesn’t mu…muc…Mum…
matter
… does it? Does it mu…? Does this any of—

I’m flying again. Oh
God
how I missed… The blue, the clouds…

Oh I God how …

Oh God…

God… oh—

End recording.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A huge thank you to Graeme Reynolds at Horrific Tales for his interest in my work, and for wanting to publish this tale – proof that a conversation late at night in a convention pub can lead to some very interesting things… My thanks to Ben Baldwin for yet another cracking cover, and Tim Lebbon for the brilliant introduction.

As usual, hugs and big thanks to all my friends in the writing and film/TV world, for their continuing help, advice and support. You know who you all are. A very special thank you, though, to people like Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Jones, Mandy Slater, Amanda Foubister, Alexandra Benedict, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk, Nick Vince, Barbie Wilde, John Connolly, Pete & Nicky Crowther, Simon Clark and so many more there isn’t the space to list here; I really wish there was. I never take any of you for granted.

Last, but never, ever least, a big words are not enough thank you to my supportive family – especially my wonderful, wonderful wife Marie. Love you all more than anything.

THANK YOU FOR READING

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Thanks, and see you next time!

THE HORRIFIC TALES PUBLISHING TEAM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Kane is an award-winning writer and editor based in Derbyshire, UK. His short story collections include
Alone (In the Dark)
,
Touching the Flame
,
FunnyBones
,
Peripheral Visions
,
Shadow Writer
,
The Adventures of Dalton Quayle
,
The Butterfly Man and Other Stories
,
The Spaces Between
,
Ghosts
and
Monsters
. His novellas include
Signs of Life
,
The Lazarus Condition
,
RED
and
Pain Cages
. He is the author of such novels as
Of Darkness and Light
,
The Gemini Factor
and the bestselling
Arrowhead
trilogy (
Arrowhead
,
Broken Arrow
and
Arrowland
, gathered together in the sell-out omnibus edition
Hooded Man
), a post-apocalyptic reworking of the Robin Hood mythology. His latest novels are
Lunar
(which is set to be turned into a feature film), the short Y.A. novel
The Rainbow Man
(as P.B. Kane), the sequel to
RED
–
Blood RED
– and
Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell
from Solaris.

He has also written for comics, most notably for the
Dead Roots
zombie anthology alongside writers such as James Moran (
Torchwood
,
Cockneys vs. Zombies
) and Jason Arnopp (
Dr Who
,
Friday The 13th
) and for the Seraphim/Madefire Motion Comic adaptations of
The Books of Blood
. Paul is co-editor of the anthology
Hellbound Hearts
(Simon & Schuster) – stories based around the Clive Barker mythology that spawned
Hellraiser
–
The Mammoth Book of Body Horror
(Constable & Robinson/Running Press), featuring the likes of Stephen King and James Herbert, A CARNIVÀLE
of Horror
(PS) featuring Ray Bradbury and Joe Hill, and
Beyond Rue Morgue
from Titan – stories based around Poe’s detective, Dupin.

His non-fiction books are
The
Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy
,
Voices in the Dark
and
Shadow Writer – The Non-Fiction. Vol. 1 & 2
, and his genre journalism has appeared in the likes of
SFX
,
Fangoria
,
Dreamwatch, Gorezone
,
Rue Morgue
and
DeathRay
. He has been a Guest at Alt.Fiction five times, was a Guest at the first SFX Weekender, at Thought Bubble in 2011, Derbyshire Literary Festival and Off the Shelf in 2012, Monster Mash and Event Horizon in 2013, Edge-Lit in 2014, plus HorrorCon, Liverpool Horror Fest and Grimm Up North in 2015, as well as being a panellist at FantasyCon and the World Fantasy Convention, a judge of Sci-Fi London’s Flash Fiction Competition 2016, and co-chair of the UK arm of the Horror Writers Association.

His work has been optioned for film and television, and his zombie story “Dead Time” was turned into an episode of the Lionsgate/NBC TV series
Fear Itself
, adapted by Steve Niles (
30 Days of Night
) and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (
SAW II-IV
). He also scripted
The Opportunity
, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival,
Wind Chimes
(directed by Brad “
7th Dimension
” Watson and which sold to TV),
The Weeping Woman
– filmed by award-winning director Mark Steensland and starring Tony-nominated actor Stephen Geoffreys (
Fright Night
) – and
Confidence
, starring
Hellraiser
and
Nightbreed
’s Simon Bamford. You can find out more at his website www.shadow-writer.co.uk which has featured Guest Writers such as Dean Koontz, Robert Kirkman, Charlaine Harris and Guillermo del Toro.