My Dad Hunts Monsters E-Book

John Ray

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The Great Overrun has happened, and all of the world’s monsters have taken to the streets and are wreaking havoc. Cora’s father, Kostros Minot, is a monster hunter who devotes all of his time to keeping his suburb of Phoenix, Arizona monster free. With his wife missing, he is teaching his daughter, Cora, the trade. Cora must deal with trying to meet her father’s expectations, her mother’s disappearance and just trying to stay alive. Cora, her father and their motley band of fighters must convince the heads of each group of monsters that your past doesn’t define you, and it is never too late to make a positive difference in the world, no matter what harm you have done.

Leseprobe

John Ray

My Dad Hunts Monsters

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Prologue

PROLOGUE

      Cora Bell dropped and rolled out of the way as the zombie took a swipe at her with a rotten hand, its fingertips the color of dried mustard. The creature staggered for a moment as it tried to locate its prey again, but Cora Bell was already running towards the exit of the class room, glancing frantically over her shoulder as she raced towards the hallway, jumping over a desk. Though the school had been abandoned for four months, she knew the layout like the back of her hand. She had gone to the school for three years, and though the place was dark, she knew the fastest way to the exit. She raced down the hallway, turned left, paused to check if the zombie was still in pursuit, and then ran right when she saw its horrible head peek around the corner. It was just a short sprint towards the outside now, and she ran towards safety.

     Spotting sunlight that had found its way through the big double doors of Schurbert Middle, she braced herself for impact. Fortunately, the door was unlocked, had been for months, and she busted through and jumped down the concrete steps that led up to the doors. A roar erupted behind her as the zombie found its way out of the school behind her, and Cora Bell held her breath for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last two hours. Where was dad with the van? She made a quick decision as she approached the side walk and veered left; hoping the undead monster behind her couldn’t keep up. A scream that didn’t even sound the least bit human dashed that hope as it exploded no more than five feet from her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up this speed for much longer and was just about to turn and fight when she saw the black and silver van careen around the corner ahead of her. Better late than never, she huffed to herself. Her dad stood on the brakes and the van screeched to a halt, the side door slamming open as she heard her father bellow “Get in!” She threw herself inside and he hit the gas. She managed to catch a glimpse of the zombie in the rear view mirror, shuffling aimlessly in the opposite direction. It had already forgotten what it was after and was on to other meal prospects. She climbed into the passenger seat and she and her dad rode in silence for a few moments while she caught her breath. When he sensed she had finally calmed down, Kostros Minot spoke.

     “So, wanna tell me where you went wrong?” he asked.

            “I couldn’t get the rope to work. I tried Dad, I really did. But when I went to throw it around his neck, the zombie ducked.” She could see out of the corner of her eye that her father was shaking his head.

           “No, Cora Bell. He didn’t duck. They are not that smart. You must have aimed wrong. Otherwise you would have got him.” He paused for a moment, and then chuckled softly to himself.

           “Now, you getting away is a good thing, hot shot, don’t get me wrong. I just want you to take this more seriously. I need you to be focused at all times. Soon the practice runs will be over, and you will be right along side me. And we won’t be just chasin’ one zombie; that one I let loose in there wouldn’t have even bothered with you if he had caught you, I believe. But in the big game, there will be hundreds of them. And they will be after you, after us, for real. You understand, hot shot?”

     Cora sighed and nodded slowly. “I’m sorry dad, I’ll try harder.”

     “That’s all I ask, darlin’. Now I’m gonna drop you off at home, and then I’m going to go back and put him down. He shouldn’t get far with it being this early in the day. Nightfall isn’t for at least three hours.”

Cora Bell Minot stared out of the window as they drove home, remembering a time when everything had been so different, so much better. 

Chapter 1

      The Overrun had happened just six months ago, and Cora still had not come to terms with the way things were. It had started in Russia, where news reports began to surface about monster invasions happening more frequent than normal all around Moscow. Werewolves, vampires, zombies and other creatures had only popped up on seldom occasions around the world until then, but when The Overrun happened, it happened fast. From Russia it spread to Germany and then onto parts of Asia, where a horde of the zombie undead overtook Tokyo in only two days. Cora remembered coming home from school that day, in one of the best moods that she had ever been in. It was the day she and her mother had planned on going clothes shopping for Cora’s freshman year of high school. Instead, she ran into the house and found both of her parents in front of the television, their faces drawn into masks of pure horror. She had asked a few times what was wrong, but they never answered. Finally, she had sat down on the couch next to them and watched.

     The reporter on the news had said that few survivors had made it out of Japan safely, and that there had been no contact with them. In Brazil, a vampire outbreak turned half of the country’s population into blood sucking mutants in six hours, and in Egypt, at least one hundred and seventy five mummified corpses simply shuffled out of their underground tombs and began attacking people. But for all of the world’s monster problems, no country got hit more than the United States. A pack of werewolves made its way from Virginia to Washington D.C. and hunted down the citizens of the capital, slaughtering thousands of people while allowing hundreds to live so the pack’s numbers would increase. People began to flee the surrounding states, heading south, and one week after Russia’s invasion the state of Florida had more werewolves roaming it’s streets than humans. Texas was one of the last states to hold out before every cemetery in every major city began kicking out their eternal residents. Texans fled the ghosts, but you can’t run from things that go through walls.

     Cora Bell and her parents lived in Arizona, in a suburb of Phoenix. A swarm of vampires had cleared out her neighborhood, and now she and her dad and maybe a few hundred others were all that remained. The rest had either ran towards safe havens or stayed and fought. Those that fought had lost. Now Cora’s childhood neighborhood was a town where you had to fear zombies during the day and vampires at night.

     Over the past six months, they question of Why had been asked by every survivor Cora had come across. No explanation had been offered yet, though from the few news programs still broadcasting and the internet, it seemed every remaining doctor, policeman and military expert in the world was looking for a reason for The Great Overrun. So far, no one had figured it out. But for Cora, a bigger question was what happened to her mother. Six weeks ago, Cora’s mom tried to venture down to the mall so she could get a gift for Cora’s thirteenth birthday. That was the last time anyone saw Mrs. Minot.

     So now it was just Cora and her dad. They tried to carry on as a normal family; Kostros home schooled his daughter and cooked dinner every night. Cora had a few friends still around, and under adult supervision, they sometimes got together for a movie at Cora’s house or maybe a pizza at the one restaurant still open in town. They kept hope that Cora’s mother was safe, and would return soon. They were a family, with one small exception; Kostros was a monster hunter, and Cora was being trained as his apprentice.