High Water Read online

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” the owl replied. “In any case, we can back track the mutation from what was in the water in that god forsaken playground back to our patient zero here.”

  “Hmmm… helpful.” the bear said.

  “Undoubtedly.”

  The bear asked, “She stinks. How have you kept her alive?”

  “Very carefully.”

  There was a pause. “I still find it hard to believe she’s forgotten,” the bear asked. He sounded bored.

  The owl responded, contempt bleeding into the reply, “If Highwater wanted the research necessary to fully understand the mutation, they could have found the time and space to do it themselves. At least they could have done the legwork to get a sample that wasn’t locked down. As it is, we are handling both the sample and patient zero.” The owl paused when the bear said nothing. Berenice had no idea what they were talking about.

  The owl provided a somewhat tempered afterthought: “I am certain that Highwater’s investment will pay off.”

  The bear grunted, “Make certain it does.” Berenice heard the sound of his footsteps leaving.

  A hard hearted chuckle followed from the owl as she flew away. A door slammed, jarring the dreamer from sleep.

  Alone in the darkness, Berenice screamed as the protozoa continued its heinous claim to her body and mind.

  Continued in Part 2…

  Acknowledgements and Notes

  The genesis of this story was a “highdea”. Smoking and grooving to last.fm one night, my wife and I saw a picture of a Bob Marley concert where a crowd of listeners were standing in a waist-deep pool below the stage. Such a foul idea, when combined with a zombie-infection leitmotif, was perfect fodder for a horror story. I am forever indebted to my wife for the inspiration and the help with the story along the way.

  MM was the first to read a draft, back when this was a (very) short story, and told me that it needed more. The story really came alive after that small piece of advice. My mom helped out quite a bit with editing, and of course, talking me into publishing this like it was actually something people would read! Thank you for that encouragement.

  The story wouldn’t be what it is without the kung fu. SD was a great teacher (while it lasted), and my own fucked-up imagination really worked wonders in conjunction with my Shaolin training. I still train to this day, albeit on my own. You don’t forget things like how to tear out someone’s throat or work their arms in the most painful possible direction. Everyone in the studio, including my lovely wife, has my thanks for my own lack of skill, and all the times I accidentally hit them in the face.

  Have to thank my brother for beta-reading, and the several people that were an inspiration for Walter, including RM, JG, MT and MC. My dad has always said the line about “old age and treachery”, which makes more sense the older I get.

  Thanks to DH and NM for answering my newbie questions about self-publishing. It was truly helpful.

  Special thanks to two scientists that helped me get started on Toxo’s trail, KD and JW.

  The cover artwork was done by VE, and he put up with my requests long enough to create it. Thanks dude!

  The font used on the cover image was “Heavyweight”, which I found on Font Squirrel. Pugnacity just seemed to bleed off my screen when I brought it up. It’s my go-to for this series.

  In terms of film, gaming, and literature that inspired this book, I think some of it is obvious: George Romero, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Alive, Half Life, Versus, D&D, Urban Dead, and so much more. I’ve been a big fan of our undead/infected brethren for as long as I can remember, and ‘killed’ more zombies that I have seconds to breathe this earth’s air. But to keep our zombies smelling fresh, you have to make it your own, and hopefully I did that in this book and the next two.

  When it came to writing, I have to thank George RR Martin for emailing me back that one time to tell me about his creative process. Stylistically, everything I read informed the text. Horror, sci-fi, romance, whatever, it all bleeds into your prose. Let it bleed.

  Also worth noting is that I basically wrote this story during my downtime at work. Thank you, folks, for refusing to give me that promotion and letting me continue to work a job where I can get away with something like this. Somehow it still always felt like stealing, but I suppose aimlessly surfing the net on work time counts as stealing too. The end result is much cooler in this case, though. My supervisor and mentor, DC, told me to write under a nom de plume without even asking what I wrote about (hilarious), and that was sound advice.

  Finally, thank you to all the other tokers out there, who make the world a kinder, more caring place to live in and continually reinforce the importance of sharing.

  How to Find Us… and More

  Be sure to pick up Part Two of High Water on Amazon.com, Createspace, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords, available now!

  Visit our site, www.potfiction.com or on twitter @pot_fiction. You can find suggested soundtracks, updates, and release dates there.

  If you have something to tell us, please up [email protected].