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    Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3): Undead Island, #3
    Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3): Undead Island, #3
    Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3): Undead Island, #3
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3): Undead Island, #3

    By Luke Shephard

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    About this ebook

    Volume 3 of the Undead Island series!

    Life as a lighthouse keeper on a remote Scottish island isn't always the most exciting. Especially since she split with her husband, Mark. Yet, Holly loves her job, her friends, and her life on Bishop's Isle.

    Until, one day, strange...things start to wash ashore. Dangerous things she has never seen before. Frightening things that nobody else on the island can explain.

    Now, Holly, and the rest of islanders, must overcome a whirlwind of troubles and use her lighthouse to try and signal for help, and hope against hope that somebody sees her, and the island's, desperate plea in time...

    Can they reach safety? Or will they be overtaken by the Undead...?

    Note: Parts of Undead Island were previously published as Bishop’s Isle.

    Also includes 2 SNEAK PEAKS at upcoming novels!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRoja Publishing
    Release dateOct 14, 2016
    ISBN9781536565522
    Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3): Undead Island, #3

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      Book preview

      Undead Island (Escape - Vol. 3) - Luke Shephard

      Volume 3 of the Undead Island series!

      Life as a lighthouse keeper on a remote Scottish island isn't always the most exciting. Especially since she split with her husband, Mark. Yet, Holly loves her job, her friends, and her life on Bishop's Isle.

      Until, one day, strange...things start to wash ashore. Dangerous things she has never seen before. Frightening things that nobody else on the island can explain.

      Now, Holly, and the rest of islanders, must overcome a whirlwind of troubles and use her lighthouse to try and signal for help, and hope against hope that somebody sees her, and the island's, desperate plea in time...

      Can they reach safety? Or will they be overtaken by the Undead...?

      Note: Parts of Undead Island were previously published as Bishop’s Isle.

      Also includes 2 SNEAK PEAKS at upcoming novels!

      ~Volume Three ~

      Louisa closed her eyes and tried to fight off yet another wave of tears.

      She knew in her heart that she was utterly doomed. She’d lost her friends, her family, her whole world. She sank deeper into the cold wooden floor and just gave in to despair, overwhelmed by sadness, fear and doubt. Tears fell freely across her face and onto the floor.

      No natural light reached down here, in the cellar beneath the new church. A few candles, burning weakly in one corner, were all she had to alleviate the darkness. They hadn’t dared switch the lights on, for fear of attracting attention. Since Shelley had left, the only way Louisa had been able to tell the time was the ebb and flow of the hunger, which gnawed through her.

      They’d found themselves down here at least two days ago, fleeing from the madness, which had broken out across the town Skeara. Louisa and her friends had done the best they could to bring each other comfort, sharing their fears and guilt with each other. Those disgusting, decaying people had crawled out of the sea and turned their world upside down. Now Louisa was trapped, alone apart from the shallow, weakening breaths of her lifelong friend. She looked across to Matt’s unmoving body, brushing her knotted red hair from her face.

      The five friends had shared a classroom in their very first day of school, and had grown up on the island together. Even though they’d gone separate ways that autumn for university courses on the mainland, they’d re-united for Louisa’s birthday and picked up right where they left off. It was like they had never been away: and when trouble broke out, their instinct had all been to run and hide together.

      Gray had been the first to go. Even before they’d found shelter under the church. One of the monsters had trapped Louisa into a corner and she’d been too scared to move. But Gray hadn’t been: he’d dragged the foetid thing from her and thrown it to the ground.

      Just thinking about the state of Gray’s arm afterwards still turned Louisa’s stomach. It had been shredded by the creature’s nails and teeth, reduced almost to ribbons. He’d already lost consciousness by the time they lay him down inside the church, shivering and burning from fever.

      That first day had been hellish. They sealed themselves up, away from the flesh-eating horrors above, and tried to keep calm. Gray’s life slipped away in the early afternoon, and they all held hands in silence, saying their private good-bye.

      He’d woken up, impossibly, sometime during that first night. Kelsey’s screams had woken them all up, but been cut short as Gray chewed through her throat and pulled apart her flesh with his pale hands. It had been too late for Kel, but luckily Abbie had been alert enough to react. The gunshots had been so loud that Louisa struggled not to faint. Gray didn’t move again after that, though.

      Louisa closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, to shut off all the horrors she’d seen. But it was hard: she’d barely slept. Each time she started to nod off, those dreams came back, snapping her awake with her heart pounding. It was the same each time: the same half-dead person, prowling behind a pack of the shambling dead-but-not-dead. Its eyes burned yellow – not just the dead-eyed hue that Gray had worn when he rose up; but a glowing, cat’s eye yellow. In the dreams, no matter where Louisa looked, her gaze fell right into those unblinking eyes.

      She pulled herself to her feet and rubbed her arms. It was getting cold: did that mean night was falling? She thought about her father. Even after the mine closed down, Ron had been an absolute rock of support for the whole family. None of them had ever begrudged him his temper, his dark, brooding moments. He’d maybe not been the most caring Dad, but Louisa didn’t know how anyone else could have pulled a family through those years. If he were here now, she knew, he’d find them a way out, a way to safety. She just wished she had a fraction of his courage.

      Louisa froze: finding herself standing next to the dark stain that marked the spot where Kelsey had lain. Even though Louisa had told them, begged them, not to leave the cellar; Matt and Abbie had left straight after Gray’s awakening, dragging the bodies of their friends away. Louisa and Shelly had been left alone, so scared, cold and hungry.

      Matt came back a little while later, scratches all over his back and arms. He wouldn’t say what had happened to Abbie. Shelley pressed, her voice rising to hysterics, but Matt wasn’t listening. He paced the tiny cellar, mumbling to himself about not turning, how he wouldn’t turn, be like them, ever. He was so determined. He managed to keep himself awake for a long time after that. He wasn’t going to go out like Gray did, he promised loudly and often.

      They reckoned he’d stayed awake for at least twenty-four hours. But as Louisa and Shelley both knew he would, he eventually succumbed and lapsed into a deep sleep.

      He still lay there, now, curled up in a corner next to a pile of boxes. He continued to draw shallow breaths, but he’d been asleep for too long.

      Shelley hadn’t been able to take it. Not long after Matt closed his eyes for the final time, she’d left in a half-crazed fit. Louisa had tried and tried to calm her down, to get her to stay – but there was nothing she could have done. Shelley left; determined to find Abbie, to find answers, to find her mum, some food... anything but this gloom, this darkness, this perpetual fear.

      It felt like that had been a long time ago, now. Maybe as much as a whole day. Louisa felt Matt’s cool forehead and felt the ache of exhaustion tug at her eyes. She rested her head on her oldest friend’s chest, and fought off yet another wave of tears.

      *****

      I should have left you to rot on the cliff-face.

      Well you didn’t, did you? Christina retorted. And now you need to face facts: you’re wrong, I’m right.

      Fuck off, are you-

      This isn’t a pissing contest over your stupid husband, Holly! These are our lives we’re talking about

      Oh for heaven’s sake, Holly said, turning her back and burying her head in her hands.

      They’d been shut up in the lighthouse for two nights and a day. Christina had been at Holly’s throat the whole time. The younger girl had challenged just about every statement Holly had made, bombed every suggestion, and answered every question – rhetorical or not. If anyone was turning this mess into a damned pissing contest, it was her.

      She took advantage of the extra breaths to play peace-maker. Again.

      Alright, alright. Let’s straighten out the facts, shall we?

      Here we go again...

      Holly glared at Christina, but otherwise ignored her.

      Gilbert, she said. Perhaps you’d join in this time?

      If you two will spare me the breath, he replied sourly, then sure. Gilbert had been an extra wheel – sullen and contemplative without offering anything tangible. Meanwhile, Julie was in a world of her own, more interested in doting over her silent son or finding things to clean.

      Ok, number one, Holly said, ticking the items off on her fingers. The risen dead are swarming around the lighthouse, leaving us trapped inside.

      "They’re swarming around your lighthouse, Christina challenged. And only because you won’t turn the light off-"

      Two, Holly interrupted. We’ve got maybe two days of food to see us through.

      I don’t know, Holy, Gilbert said. I’m not sure it’ll last us that long.

      And there’s no fresh vegetables, Julie said, strapped in a pair of yellow gloves and thoroughly washing one of Mark’s old jumpers. You’ll all get scurvy if you live on biscuits and cereal.

      Thank you, Julie, Holly said wearily. I know it’s hardly the Ritz, but we’ll have to make do, OK?

      Well I’m only saying, love.

      Fine. Three: we’ve had no contact from anyone else since we got here-

      Look, come on, Christina said, rising to her feet. This is ridiculous. Holly, you know full well that we’re screwed here. OK? Absolutely, Bo-Diddley fucked. The only question we need to answer is ‘what are we going to do about it’?

      Chris is right, Holly, Gilbert said apologetically. And that light’s doing us more harm than good.

      That damned lantern, thought Holly, had been the biggest bone of contention between the four of them. At night its bright, searching beam reached for miles – hopefully attracting the attention of the Island. But it also drew the dozens, if not hundreds, of walking corpses straight to

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