The Last Infection by Michael Garza May Become Addictive...Have you been Infected?

I think Zombies have been around forever and there are always fans, aren't there...but...once you've seen one zombie, or a group, is there more to be said about them? I didn't think so, until Michael Garza sent me his latest...

The Last Infection began as I expected...but before long I was become more and more interested. Why do we love to experience fear vicariously? And yet, Garza presents us with more than fear...

The main thing that Garza adds are the characters who are running for their lives. Even while they are running, their personal life issues do not disappear and that's what pulls readers in... The hope that there will be some to escape the terrible apocalyptic...

Last Infection

By Michael W. Garza

It had started out just like AIDS and other world-wide infections... sometimes passed on through used needles...not something that resulted in death for those who were infected... No, this became

worse... They didn't die, but they acquired the same taste as those
who died--the need for blood to keep them alive!

The infected were treated,  and others were placed in isolation, but no matter what, those who were helping them, even wearing masks didn't stop the spread..

But there was something different about those who had become infected, they were still in fairly decent shape and could move faster... If you watched their eyes, you saw some sign of life... and they could think... slowly, they began to evolve, adapt and communicate with each other... Worse, they had started to round up Zombies! What d they plan to do with them? 

It happened much faster than any other plague; people died as soon as it reached an area and cities were empty, vehicles abandoned. If anybody was still alive, you would see them at the top of hi-rise buildings, having used equipment to block off the lower floors...

The infected had an awful look about
them and they made unnatural
lurching motions with their
arms that scared the heck out of him.
 He hoped they would give up...
~~~

Most everybody was gone now...If you were still alive and uninfected, you were being hunted... Jake and Alicen had always fought alot, over nothing and anything... Jake was the only one to help Alicen stay alive... They were now on their own, their parents had lost their lives as they tried to escape... Jake was now all that kept them from dying as well...

The news had called the growing mobs, the infected. Alicen and Jake heard terrible things from school and their friends. Some called the infected, vampires, because they wanted blood. Others called them biters because they chewed through your skin. Jake didn't know what to think. He only wished that he hadn't heard all the stories that were stuck in his head. "Don't let them get me," Alicen whispered. 
"I want mama," Alicen said. "Hold on ," Jake said. "I told you we have to hide first." He spoke so low, he had to move his lips against her ears before she could hear him. "Please stay quiet." There was nothing in Jake's twelve years that prepared him for what was happening. He'd spent the last few weeks terrified, held up in his family home as his parent's tried to figure out what to do. The man on the news promised that they'd find a cure and this would all be over soon. That was three weeks ago. A few days later, the news and every other channel went black. 

~~~

He swore under his breath. He'd let down his guard and fell asleep in what was a sporting goods store before the infection. The mistake left him trapped with only one way out into the rest of the mall. The quad outside the entryway was crawling with a group of infected. He'd counted two dozen, but more were coming. Their quick twitching movements identified their infliction at once.
                                                 ~~~

Chris becomes the lead character in the story. But no way did he want the role. He had made it through a major detox on his own and now he wanted to live and that required him being on his own...He had been living on his own, and able to stay alive, but he was being pulled in to help with the children--by a woman who just would not accept "no..." 

A gunshot was easy to recognize and these days, someone had to be in real trouble to waste the round. Chris froze and waited for the echo to clear. He closed his eyes and turned in the direction of a new sound. His eyes sprang open and he ran towards the side of the building. The sound of voices, now screaming, guiding him and as he neared the front of the building, he made them out. “Get behind me,” a distinctively feminine voice cried. There was another gunshot as Chris reached the corner of the building. “Here they come, get ready.” Chris peeked out onto a parking lot in front of the store and found the woman behind the voice almost immediately . She raised a handgun and fired...
                                                                         ~~~

He had seen the two kids before but they had turned away from him. Now some woman was trying to protect them! The feeling of guilt swirled inside of Chris, eating away at him until he called out, “Come on,” Chris yelled. “Follow me.” From then on, whether he wanted it or not, Chris was the leader...working to get them all to safety. Where would that be? Well, Jake knew of an island... Catalina...

They had barely started on their way when they came up against a barricade...and were facing a different type of danger. A group of survivalist had so far been lucky. They had been living far in the woods and had not been infected. But now they were trying to keep it that way and they captured anybody who was not now ill. They quickly separated Chris and Jake and took the two females...they would become wives for two of the most loyal members!

But did they really think they would be free of those out there hunting...for blood?! Soon, the infected were coming and, much slower, zombies were following!

 At times through their journey, Chris' small group was able to join with others and, on the way, Jenn wanted to try to find her mother and father... Living and escape items, food, bandages, water...and gas for the latest confiscated  vehicle each brought a fight...with somebody... and, always, the zombies were coming up from behind...

And when they had made it to the building where Jenn's parents were supposed to be and climbed to the top floors, as hostages of those inside, they were already surrounded and the infected soon were working to get into the building... while Jenn, who had found only her father alive, Chris, Jake, and Alicen, joined with a few others, were moving on via a different route...

But would anybody really escape?

You know who you are, don't you... Zombie enthusiasts are bound to get extra thrills as new combatants join the war against the few humans still not infected... Will any escape? Or is it really the final ending of the world? 

Michael Garza has gone well beyond the pure chase scenes in most zombie fiascos...If you enjoy bloody gore and freaky dead humans...do check out The Last Infection. While it's not my kind of thing, I believe Garza has done much to add depth, diverse, and character issues into the zombie savagery... What more could you want? LOL



GABixlerReviews

Michael W. Garza often finds himself wondering where his inspiration will come from next and in what form his imagination will bring it to life. The outcomes regularly surprise him and it's always his ambition to amaze those curious enough to follow him and take in those results. He encourages readers to peek at his latest work as well as the material he's published in the past. He sincerely hopes that everyone will find something that astonishes, surprises, or simply scares the heck out of you.

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