What happened to Benny Imura and his friends after they reached Sanctuary—and discovered that it was far from the miracle they had thought it would be? Jonathan Maberry shares a glimpse into a formative moment in an exclusive e-short story that also features Joe Ledger (Patient Zero, Extinction Machine) and Iron Mike Sweeney (The Pine Deep Trilogy).

    No, the sounds of the Apocalypse are much more terrifying than that, and I should know … I’ve heard them, and hearing the world tumble into chaos around me is not something I’ll ever forget. My name is Melody Carter. A Boeing 767 fell from the sky and wiped out most of my neighborhood. But, that's the least of my worries. My list of "Things I'm Most Worried About" shifted dramatically when my dad told me that charred corpses tried to make a meal out of their rescuers ... I'm thinking yours would too. This is my story. It's not for the faint of heart. *** This is the OMNIBUS edition of the zombie apocalypse novella series, State of Decay, and contains all FOUR parts in the serial.*** ****** Warning: This book is for mature/NA/Adult Readers. This novella contains: tons of violence, lots of action, gobs of gore, and oodles of bad language. Enter at your own risk. ******

    Ward, a tier-one operator turned mercenary, has just flung himself off the cargo deck of a doomed C-130. Now he’s out of the Drop Zone and evading the undead as a terrible new breed of hunter enters the Wyrd. But these new, faster predators might not be the only thing to fear in an apocalypse beset by zombies, nukes and killer A.I.’s. One of the last warriors of a collapsed government is planning on putting up some big numbers in this final, ultimate game of Survivor, until he finds a mysterious new companion... a stranger dressed in black.

    My name is Bryn Mathis. I'm seventeen years old, and I live in a neighborhood outside of Orlando, Florida. I’m here alone because my dad died almost a year ago, along with all the other adults in the world. I'm almost out of food, and the gangs of kids that roam around my town are getting more vicious by the day. It's time for me to leave and find another place to live ... a place where I can find food and shelter ... a place where they won't be able to find me. Alone, it might have been possible, but now I've got company. I'm worried that I don't have what it takes to get from here to my final destination, and I have no idea what might be waiting for me when I get there.

    Billions died, civilization collapsed, and the human race teetered on the brink of extinction. Humanity's only hope was not a cure, but another bioweapon. When deployed it killed ninety percent of the infected, but the remaining ten percent transformed into even more terrifying creatures called Variants.  Heroes have risen up to meet these abominations. Men like Master Sergeant Reed Beckham of Delta Force Team Ghost and Marine Corporal Joe Fitzpatrick. Women like Dr. Kate Lovato and firefighter Meg Pratt. Throughout the world, survivors band together to fight the evolving monsters in an effort to save humanity. Now, for the first time ever in print, comes a collection of Extinction Cycle short stories that explore the human spirit and the fight for survival in the face of overwhelming odds from some of the leading voices in the post-apocalyptic genre.   Featured Authors Include:  Mark Tufo - Extinction Trippin'Anthony Melchiorri - Darkness EvolvedJeff Olah - The Bone Collector Russell Blake - Extinction Thailand Rachel Aukes - The Fall of Fort Bragg Note: All stories were previously published in the Extinction Cycle Kindle world, but are now being offered in print, and audio for the first time. Readers outside of the USA will also get to experience these stories for the first time as well. Thank you for reading!

    Seventeen year old Cassandra Wild thought living in the chaos of her mother’s home daycare and dealing with her developing feelings for Bryce, her new Martial Arts’ instructor, was a struggle, until the night her world turned upside down.When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk, and the living…run!

    Twenty-three years old and gorgeous he had appeared like Romeo from the pool area and thrown supplies up to her balcony. But now Angus is gone – abandoned her, which is probably for the best. She couldn’t stand to watch him die too.Stranded four floors up and fenced in on all sides by the infected, food and water supplies are running as low as Natalie’s spirits. A lingering death from starvation seems inevitable.But then she sees Angus striding for the pool gate with a sawn-off shotgun in his hands. Can he make it past the infected to reach her? And what will it mean if he does?

    On Monday, they arrive at their high school besieged by men in hazmat suits, escorting infected teenagers to buses. Ralph is forced on one of these quarantine buses and Sarah, along with the remaining healthy student body, gets quarantined at school. This flu however is worse than the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed a hundred million people—much worse. This flu turns its victims into the walking dead. The few not infected are left not only with the grief of their family and friends passing, but also with the horror of their families, friends, and neighbors trying to rip the flesh off them. Ralph—unsure about the real destination of the bus and trapped inside with kids that are getting worse by the minute—may not get to the destination in time before the first one dies. Sarah, trapped at school, deals with a worsening situation that she soon needs to escape from. Will the zombies feast on their young flesh or will they escape?

    . .First, the dead rose up--and civilization fell. Those who survived struggled to rebuild, creating makeshift societies with harsh new rules and harsher punishments. Some would be leaders, others slaves. But none would ever be safe from the walking death. Humanity's Last Hope. . .Off the coast of Texas, an island research facility offers sanctuary, supplies--and hope--to a desperate trio of survivors. But when they learn what the scientists are doing, how their experiments could unleash armies of the undead, they have no choice but to fight back. Kill Them All. . .Dead or alive, the enemy drives the survivors to run and hide--in the last place any human wants to go. Underground. In the tunnels below. Where the dead hunt in herds. . .and the survivors' numbers are dwindling. . .

    The virus becomes us.But the process takes eight hours.If you only had eight hours left to live, what would you do?For Chris Smith, that decision has been made for him. He’s infected, and returns home to find the rest of his family undead or missing, save his youngest daughter Maisie. He’s never been much of a father, but can he make up for it now in the final few hours of his life and find somewhere safe for her to survive?Z-MINUS. Let the countdown begin.

    They are joined by two other survivors, Gus and Emilie. Infected, Zoe must also face the realization that she has developed a telepathic link to the living dead that fills her mind with darkness and evil. Facing unimaginable horrors and unthinkable tragedies, the group must fight both the living and the dead. Zoe and Boggs manage to fall in love while surrounded by death and despair. Before long, it becomes clear that the living dead do not play by usual zombie rules.

    Death takes us when it is ready. Nineteen-year-old Mora knows this all too well, living in a world where the dead have walked the Earth for the past 60 years. Mora is on a mission to save her village from the relentless greyskins, and there is only one man that can help her: Jeremiah of Screven. As she travels the wastelands, she discovers a power within herself, a power she believes no other human possesses. That is, until she meets others like her – the ones who call themselves the Starborn. These super-humans are on a mission also: to destroy the undead greyskins, and take down the greedy Jeremiah. Mora must now choose between the one who can keep her family safe, and those that can show her who she truly is.If It Kills MeOverconfidence has no place in a world where the dead rule. Nineteen-year-old Mora has learned this the hard way. After a conflict in the colony of Salem that left hundreds of people dead, Mora and her Starborn allies have been branded as fugitives by Jeremiah, the leader of Screven. Now, Mora must prove to the world that she isn't the enemy, and that hope for the future lies with the Starborns, not Jeremiah. To do that, she must find out the truth behind the origins of the dreaded greyskins that roam the Earth, attacking villages relentlessly.But more than that, she must protect her family. The Starborns attempt to set up a base at her home, Springhill, but it only brings more turmoil. With a mentor channeling her dreams of the past, and two rival brothers fighting for her love, Mora learns of a new enemy that threatens to bring them down before the revolution can even begin.Even In DeathGreen, you're clean. Red, you're dead. Nineteen-year-old Mora is haunted by the flashing red light that pronounces her doom. Now she knows she only has about twenty-four hours to defeat Jeremiah and finish the revolution she has started, before the greyskin virus claims her life. To do this, she must lead the other Starborns through the war-torn streets of Screven. But Jeremiah has a secret power that will test Mora in ways she could have never imagined.

    They tried to contain it. They built barriers, brought in experts, promised cures. But the day they flew in bombers and burned Portland to the ground, the rest of the world knew the truth. There was no containing it. Soon panic spreads with the Fever, consuming everyone and everything in its path. Humanity is crumbling, the dead are rising, but out of the remnants two men will emerge. Strangers. Loners. Heroes.

    Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.

    There’s room for both in Dead Country. This story is set in the same terrifying world as Bonnie Dee’s bestselling After the End, but follows the adventures of new characters.Brian Pasman is stuck in his hometown of Durbinville, Kansas—again. On the cusp of graduating from Caltech when a family illness brings him home, his life is changed forever by the zombie apocalypse. Several months into the invasion, order is slowly being restored, but this small town is not a priority and the citizens are left to fend for themselves behind a ramshackle barricade.Into the routine horror of zombie-killing which has become Brian’s life rides a force of change on a Harley. Ashleigh Jennings has been on her own most of her life. She's been a maid, a waitress and an exotic dancer but dreams of a singing career. Her lively personality shakes Brian awake, making him appreciate life more than he had even before the nightmare struck. The motorcycle group’s arrogant leader clashes with the equally domineering head of the town council, but the two groups must join forces when a new wave of the undead sweeps across the prairie. Can Brian come up with a battle plan to save the town or is his education in probabilities only good in theory?