Release date: September 8, 2015
Subgenre: Post-apocalyptic
About Mutation Z: Closing the Borders:
Eviscerated bodies are found along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Military security is stepped up on both sides of the border. However,
journalists are given free rein to explore the devastation. As more
and more bodies are found, people begin to panic. Meanwhile in The
Liberia Treatment and Research Camp of West Africa, Emma Johnson and
Chibueze Koroma continue to receive experimental doses of Mutation Z.
They also begin to remember the horrific things they’ve done. As
journalist Hunter Morgan’s investigation leads him to that same Camp,
his own little girl falls sick with fever.
MUTATION Z: CLOSING THE BORDERS is the second book in the MUTATION Z series, following MUTATION Z: THE EBOLA ZOMBIES. In the next book, MUTATION Z: PROTECTING OUR OWN, guerrilla warfare breaks out between armed militias and those perceived as protecting the zombies.
Excerpt:
I headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border to
investigate what might be happening on the other side, try to get a jump on any
potentially related story over there.
Palm trees stood like scarecrows along the sides of the road, dark hulks
whispering in the stark light of a nearly full moon.
As I entered the section of lanes on the
Anzalduas International Bridge that funneled into the inspection booths for
Customs and Border Protection, I realized things had been ramped up far beyond
normal border security. It looked like
a war zone. Helicopters and drones flew
overhead. Like the wings of monstrous
bats, helicopter blades slashed through the night, displacing air, creating
sound wave pulses that kept everyone below on edge. Intermittently, a drone passed overhead—taking video with its
cold blank eyes, I supposed, seeing everything and never blinking. Military SWAT teams patrolled the area on
foot and in a variety of special operations vehicles. Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected armored vehicles sat along both
sides of the road, waiting.
Soldiers on foot were dressed in full riot
gear, armed to the teeth with assault and sniper rifles. Black-eyed insects, a few watched the
traffic through goggles.
The sun had begun crawling up into the sky,
painting bloodred smears across the billowing clouds. The moon was little more than a pale ghost now.
The lines of civilian vehicles weren’t
long. I drove up to a booth, expecting
to be ordered back into the States. I
flashed my journalist credentials and my passport. A woman with wide brown eyes waved me through to the next set of
inspection booths leading directly into Mexico.
One thing was clear: the authorities wanted
every grisly detail of the eviscerated bodies story spread to the general
public. They wanted the average citizen
to be hiding in their house, peering out through trembling curtains, willing to
do whatever the authorities recommended.
Driving up to the next set of inspection
booths, the ones controlled by the Mexican authorities, I noticed the same type
of policing as on the U.S. side. Here,
too, the same heavily-armored U.S. military presence patrolled, working side by
side with the Mexican Army.
But again, despite the serious military
presence, I was waved straight through to the other side.
I drove into Reynosa, Mexico as the early
light of day began to infiltrate the landscape, making it easier to see the
world around me.
Both U.S. and Mexican military patrolled
the sides of the road. I could also see
uniformed persons moving throughout the desert that extended back from the
road.
Driving a couple more miles, I decided to
act on the hunch that once I flashed my journalist credentials, I’d be allowed
to proceed wherever I wanted to go.
The instant I pulled over, a SWAT team
surrounded me, assault weapons trained on my car windows, focused on me from
every angle.
Instinctually, I put my hands up. A police officer in military gear shouted at
me to open the door. As I complied with
directions, he aimed his weapon directly at my head.
Amazon
About Marilyn Peake:
Marilyn Peake is the author of both novels and
short stories. Her publications have
received excellent reviews. Marilyn’s
one of the contributing authors in Book:
The Sequel, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries
included in serialization at The Daily
Beast. In addition, Marilyn has
served as Editor of a number of anthologies.
Her short stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the
literary blog, Glass Cases.
AWARDS: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and
eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two
Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream
Realm Awards, and a Finalist placement in the 2015 National Indie Excellence
Book Awards.
