Hi this is George Cook author of The Dead War Series Book 1. I am thrilled to share with you a short excerpt from the book. Hope you like it and I hope it encourages you to purchase the book. Have fun reading.
The other door slowly slid upward. The sounds of the moaning became louder as the door stopped.
Richards raised his pistol as the dead lumbered out of the tunnel and into the pit. They moaned loudly and their arms were outstretched toward the soldier.
Richards remembered the rules of “The Test”. You were allowed to take three of the dead out with your pistol but two kills had to be by hand to prove that you could defend yourself without a pistol.
There was no hesitation. Richards fired. The blue bead of light slammed into the head of the first of the dead out of the tunnel.
The blast blew out the back of the lumbering ghouls head. Richards quickly aimed his pistol at the second and fired. The blast caught the second of the dead in the side of the head sending it tumbling to the ground.
The remaining three were only about ten yards away now.
Richards went down and one knee and aimed again.
Sergeant Patesh leaned forward. What the fuck was his student doing.
From across the pit Chen shot Patesh a confused look.
Richards exhaled and fired again. Another of the dead fell to the ground. What was left of it’s head was a bloody mass.
The dead were only five yards away now. Richards holstered his pistol and unsheathed his knife.
As one of the dead reached down at him. He lurched up ward ramming the knife through the chin of the dead woman. The tip of the knife came out through the top of the dead woman’s head and she collapsed to the ground. Black fluid poured from her mouth.
Richards spun away as the last of the dead reached at him. The fat dead man reached again. The soldier caught him by the arm and spun it into the wall. The dead man’s head hit the wall with a thud.
Richards ran up behind the dead man and began to contiguously ram his head into the wall. Blood and black fluid flew into the air as the dead man’s head was smashed open. Soon the dead man’s brains spilled out and it slumped to the ground.. Now it was truly dead.
There was no danger of contamination from the blood as the virus or whatever it was that caused the dead to walk could only be spread by the bite of one of the infected dead.
Richards looked at those above him who begun to clap their hands and cheer.
The door Richards had walked out of opened back up. He stepped through the door where he was greeted by several men in black uniforms and black berets.
One of the men stepped forward holding a black beret in his hand. The beret had a flaming skull in it’s center front and the word Scout underneath.
Corporal Richards took the beret and looked at it as Patesh entered the room.
Richards saluted.
Patesh saluted back and then handed Richards his Sergeant stripes, “Good job out there.”
Sergeant Richards smiled, “Thank you Sergeant.”
All Scouts automatically earned the rank of sergeant upon completion of their training which concluded with “The Test”
Patesh nodded and stepped back as the other scouts got in formation behind him.
“Raise your right hand.”, ordered Patesh.
Richards raised his hand.
Then the twenty men in the room began to recite the Scout’s Creed.
I will fight alone
But I fight for the many
I will never give up
I will soldier on
I will finish my mission
I will not fail
I am a SCOUT!
“You may now put on your beret, Scout”, said Patesh.
Richards put the beret and stood at attention.
Patesh smiled, “Welcome to the Scout Corp.”
Buy the Dead War Series Book 1 here: The Dead War Series
