UPDATE: The winners are…BN and Dana Zamora!
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“Mayday” by Cindy Tanner – A miscommunication isn’t the end of the world—unless it is the end of the world—and your “ride or die” might just be undead.

It’s me, hi, I’m the zombie story author.

If you asked me why zombies? I would say, why not? But if you asked me on a deeper level, I would say years ago, when I read the Flesh Series by Kylie Scott, I fell in love. I already loved her books and thought I had read her entire backlist when I stumbled upon this series. Secretly I have always wanted more of that world.

This is my second short in a Delilah Devlin anthology. (I am still so giddy!!) The first was featured in Cowboys. I grew up on a horse farm. They didn’t call themselves cowboys in my rural part of Indiana, but I knew the type so when that anthology call went out, I decided to try. I scraped at least five tries of what I thought would be the “traditional” cowboy story. I added the edge that is me and wrote a short featuring a heroic cowboy saving his caffeine-addicted heroine. My mind is a mystical, magical, dark place where ideas get shaped and twisted into stories.

When the call for Secret Identities came out, I knew the story I wanted to write, and I wanted to set it in the same world. Part homage to Kylie Scott and part just not being done with the world I created before.

Snippet from “Mayday”…

A kidnapping was not how I wanted to end my day.

I wanted a quick but hot shower in the small hunting cabin Carter and I found last week. It was built off the grid, in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t many comforts, but it was warm and safe, and did I mention it has hot running water? All thanks to a small generator.

“You should’ve let me end the other one. Poor fucker coulda had a quick end.”

A knot forms in my throat, knowing they’re talking about Carter.

“It would have been a waste of a bullet. He looked half dead, and if not, it’s only a matter of time before the infection takes over.”

“True. Where do you think they came from? They both look clean and healthy. Better than the last few stragglers we’ve come across.”

“You’re just saying that because she’s a blonde. You always had a thing for the blondes, man. Me? I’m not a man of discerning tastes.”

“Because you’ll stick your dick in anything.”

Another round of laughter makes me swallow back bile.

Trying not to draw any notice, I test out my body. I feel like I was hit by a truck, which is accurate. My head is throbbing, which is made worse by keeping my body relaxed so it bangs against the truck bed.

Carter is alive.

For now.

If we haven’t traveled far, I could still find him, and then…

I don’t know.

Let him infect me so we could be mindless, feral people together?

Some plans are best made on the fly. Right now, I need out of my current situation. I’ll figure out the rest later.

No one bothered to tie my hands or feet.

I guess they weren’t expecting me to be crazy enough to jump out of a moving vehicle.

Considering my choices are risking breaking my neck jumping or waiting for all the unpleasant things they have in store for me, I decide they’re crazy for not expecting someone in my position to do whatever is necessary to get away.

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About the Author

Cindy Tanner grew up an only child in rural Indiana, relying on her imagination for entertainment. From a young age, she read books to her animals and told her stories to anyone who would listen. Eventually, her love of reading and telling stories grew into the career of her dreams.

Contest

For a chance to win a download of your choice of one of the Boys Behaving Badly anthologies, let us know whether the stories we’ve highlighted these past weeks have intrigued you. There will be two winners!