Escape from Zombie Island

By Deb Dyess

Fans of The Last Kids on Earth, Zombie Hunters, and/or The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses are going to LOVE THIS BOOK!

(Actually, anyone hungry for 'brain food' will enjoy it!)

 

A zombie apocalypse at Camp Atoll? How could such a thing happen at an exclusive summer camp for kids? Campers Anna, Marco, Isabel, and Randall don't have time to worry about such trivial details. They're too busy trying to stay alive! After escaping the first zombie attack, the foursome discovers that the   ves? And, the scariest thought of all … will help be there when they arrive?

Deb Dyess weaves suspense, humor, and edge-of-your-seat thrills to create a tale that all young zombie fans will love and read over and over. With 8-12-year-olds in mind, she writes characters kids can identify and cheer for as they read. Each of her young heroes has a chance to shine as they battle the creepers and fight to survive.

What advance readers are saying:'

Suspense and action keep the reader motivated throughout the story. Characters are real and fit perfectly for the age group ... Each character owns their unique personality that gives life to the story. There is plenty of action and it is spread out to let the young reader become part of the story. Spots of humor keep the situations light and play the intended age group. Escape from Zombie Island thrilled me and I am 65!'

Richie B

I'm in love with the suspense!

Precious O.

      

This is perfect for kids. I can see it in the hands of a 10 or 12-year-old boy... I like the way the zombies are described in ways that don't need "blood and guts" You can get the same effect with gray pallor and a flapping, unhinged jaw, a bobble-head ... very y good.

Susan D.

Excellent descriptions throughout, very fast-paced, suspense builds dramatically. Touches of humor. 

Elizabeth E.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debora Dyess
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638487302

Deb Dyess

Deb Dyess is an educator, a children's minister, picture book illustrator, ghostwriter and, a great fan of kid lit.  She loves to create for children, create with children, and write about the bravery, heart, and humor found in all kids. Deb lives in Central Texas with her (usually) patient husband, a couple of super-lazy cats, and her pain-in-the-neck rescue dog. She loves visiting her children, grandkids, and friends, creating music, playing games, and taking long walks with the aforementioned mutt. Oh, and writing... She loves to write!

Book preview

Escape

from

Zombie

Island

Copyright © 2021 by Debora Dyess

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Welcome to Camp Atoll

Chapter 2: They’re Coming!

Chapter 3: Thanks to Grandfather Timmons

Chapter 4: The Tunnel

Chapter 5: Into the Woods

Chapter 6: Nighttime in the Zombie Zone

Chapter 7: Early Morning Zombies

Chapter 8: Hide-and-Seek, Zombie Style

Chapter 9: We’re Rescued, We’re Rescued Not

Chapter 10: I Go By Third

Chapter 1

Welcome to Camp Atoll

Anna decided that a 4D theater was not the place to be during the beginning of a Zombie Apocalypse.

She and her friend, Marco, had managed to snag two great spots on the front row when they first came in. It's our lucky day, she said as they slid into the seats.

Marco nodded in agreement. Great breakfast, surfing class, a movie before lunch... couldn't ask for much more than that.

The theater went dark and a title flashed across the screen: Escape From The...' with slash marks across what might have been, at some point, the name of their fictional  pursuer.  

Well, Marco said, that's about as ambiguous as it gets.

The film started and the audience found themselves in a dark, abandoned tunnel riding a runaway mine train. The only lighting came from torches mounted on the walls. The crackle of fire filled the room and Anna would have sworn she smelled smoke. As the title implied, something stomped and snorted behind them, dinosaur-growling every few feet. With each snarl, air puffed against the top of their heads. Their seats shifted with the film, jerking from side to side, swaying and rocking forward as the train on the film pitched down a sudden, steep slope. Cold air blew in Anna's face and she squealed in mock fear.

The door to the theater exploded open as the train entered a series of dizzying curves. Anna squinted over at the sudden shaft of light to see who had shown up late. She widened her eyes and gasped.

Impossible!

A zombie stood in the doorway, illuminated by the alternating light from the movie. He seemed to lick his misshapen lips as he looked at the theater full of campers.

For a second, the hair on the back of her neck prickled, but then she decided it was just another of Camp Atoll's famous 'special moments'. So it wasn't a dinosaur chasing them in the movie, after all. It was a zombie! No doubt zombies would appear from every door now, scaring the bejeebers out of the younger campers. Anna felt certain that there were staff members dressed as undead creepers hiding in the back, just waiting for their cue to rush down the aisles. Despite herself, she smiled. It was ridiculous and kind of hokey, but it was going to be a blast.

The zombie jumped on top of the kid nearest the door.

Look! Anna poked Marco in the ribs, laughing. Gross! 

Her friend swung his head toward where she pointed. That's cool! How are they doing that?

Special effects, I guess. That and a whole lot of make-up.

Anna watched a split second longer and realized that the boy involved in the attack had cut in front of her at breakfast that morning. He didn't work for the camp and the staff had never included a camper in their antics. Anna had begged to be part of one the year before but was told it was strictly against policy.

The chair beneath her lurched forward as the pretend train derailed and she used its arm to hurl herself out and into a standing position. Come on! she yelled at Marco. Out, out, out!

Marco must have realized the same thing at the same time. He was up and moving half a step ahead of her. He grabbed Anna's hand and jerked her toward the emergency exit.

Several kids were following them, Anna saw, but others sat in their seats, completely sucked into the ending of the film and unaware of anything else around them.

Come with us if you want to live! Marco yelled at one of his friends.

Hasta la vista, baby. The boy answered in a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation.

Anna drew in a big breath. Fire! she screamed so loudly that it made her throat hurt. There's a fire! She knew it was wrong, but if she yelled 'zombie', she figured most of the other campers would just laugh and ignore her.

She and Marco burst through the doors into the sunshine and paused a second, trying to let their eyes adjust to the sudden change of light. They didn't stand still long though. Terrified kids pushed out around them. Panic filled the air with screams and tears.

She started running.

Where are we going? Marco ran beside her, passed her, and took her hand again.

I don't know! I don't know! Anywhere but here! As she tried to think of a plan, Anna stumbled on a rock. She was glad Marco tightened his grip on her hand. He kept her from falling and getting trampled by the kids behind them. Or eaten by an undead-thing.

The helicopter pad! Marco yelled. We'll go there! I bet one of the grown-ups knows what's going on! I bet they're evacuating the island already!

Anna's bestie/bunk-mate, Isabel, caught up with them. No! she cried. I don't think so! That was Mr. Davidson! That monster ... It was Mr. Davidson!

Anna snuck a glance behind her. Other kids were running out of the theater, scattering in all directions like fireworks exploding in the night sky. As she looked, the zombie came out of the emergency exit, too. He snatched at the kid closest to him, missed, and turned to chase her. The girl screamed, dodged, and managed to get away.

Anna wanted Isabel to be wrong. She wanted her to be wrong more than anything she'd ever wanted in her whole life. But that was Mr. Davidson. It looked like him, and at the same time, it didn't look like him at all.

His face had become a strange gray-white and his eyes looked like hollow sockets. His mouth hung open like a gate on broken hinges, except when he snapped at one of the fleeing campers. He gave chase, loping along with a strange, shuffling gait.

As Anna watched, his head seemed to kind of wobble like it had lost its balance on his neck and he began to moan. He sounded like an animal caught in a trap or like ... a zombie in one of those movies her parents never let her watch.

Mr. Davidson-Turned-Zombie reached out again and grabbed hold of a kid who'd tripped on the same pile of rocks that had almost put her on the ground. Anna looked away.

What if all the grown-ups are zombie-fied? Isabel huffed as she asked the question. Isabel loved to read and sing, and she had said since the first day she and Anna met in kindergarten that she hated to run, sweat, or do any kind of exercise. She ran ahead of them now only because Anna pushed her forward every few steps.

Anna thought about how far they had to go to get to the other side of the island and the hoped-for escape on a helicopter. Would Isabel make it that far?

She repeated Issy's question to Marco, yelling to be heard over the screams of kids and the zombie.

Don't know, don't care, Marco answered shortly. We're going to find a cell phone, call for help and meet whoever comes to the helipad.

They ran past the Atoll Photo Place. Just yesterday, the trio had taken Wild West pictures there. The girls had dressed as saloon girls and Marco had been the sheriff. They each got a copy of the photo and one had been mailed to each of their homes. Anna just hoped it wasn’t the last picture her parents would have of her.

Isn't it awesome that they took our phones on our first day here? Such a great idea. Anna had parted with hers reluctantly, even though she knew the rules and actually enjoyed being 'unplugged'.

Oh, yeah,