Deadlocked: The Blog Tour

Deadlocked

Book 1

By A.R. Wise

BLURB: 

David was caught in the middle of the city when the zombie outbreak started. His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?

Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that could guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

EXCERPT: (From Chapter 1 of Deadlocked)  

“What hospital are they at?” asked Jerry. He was supposed to be managing the floor, but he had no interest in telling people to get back to work on a day like this.

“Saint Peter’s,” said Barry.

“A bus full of kids just showed up." Gloria clasped her hand over her mouth. “This is horrible.”

“Has anyone died?” asked Jerry.

“Not yet,” said Alan, one of the company’s accountants.

“How many kids are sick?” Jerry pushed his way past the others to get a better view of Barry's screen.

“They didn’t say. They’re taking the camera over to the bus now,” said Barry.

Everyone silenced and I could hear the reporter telling the viewers he was going to get on the bus. After a few moments of rustling, which I assumed was the reporter’s microphone rubbing against his coat, he asked, “What happened here? Are these kids okay?”

“Oh my God,” said Gloria. “How terrible. Look at them, the poor babies.”

Then the screaming started. Everyone in Barry’s cubicle jumped and caused the walls to shake as people pressed against them. Barry’s speakers crackled with the shrieks of children.

My daughters are three and five, so I was studied in the various screeches a child can make, and these were a mix of pain and terror. The pained screams weren’t the sort that came from a stubbed toe or skinned knee. These were a violent expulsion of every ounce of breath and energy the child could muster. I can still remember the sound that came from that speaker as if it were happening now. It was horrific.

I couldn’t ignore this event anymore. I got up and peered over the divider.

“What are they doing?” asked Gloria. “Why are they doing that?”

Barry turned off his monitor, but the sound continued to wail through his speakers. He scurried to turn them off and eventually had to rip them away from his desk. The cord whipped out from behind his computer tower. He held the speakers and stared up at me, his face drained of color and his eyes wide and unblinking.

“What happened?” I asked. “I didn’t see. What happened?”

Jerry had his hands on his head and sounded like he was going to hyperventilate as he stumbled through the crowd and fell back against the wall outside the cubicle. James and Marcia announced they were going home and Jerry just nodded his acceptance.  Work was officially over.

“What happened?” I asked again as I went out into the hall.

Gloria came out of Barry’s cubicle and steadied herself against the threshold. “They were killing each other.”

“What?”

“The kids…” she couldn’t continue.

“They didn’t just kill each other,” said Barry. “They were eating each other.”

 Guest Post:

What 5 things would you want with you if a zombie apocalypse happened?


#1 - A Crossbow and plenty of bolts. A weapon should be one of the first things people pick to take with them during an apocalypse. One of the mistakes I think most people would make would be to pick a gun, or a close-combat weapon. Big mistake. First off, a gun is just going to serve to alert every zombie in a mile radius to come running your way. Second, fighting zombies in close combat is a sure fire way to expose yourself to the virus. It's always a blood born pathogen, so why in the world would you ever want to get anywhere near the blood, let alone chop at zombies in an attempt to kill them?


#2 - A solar or manually powered radio. If the apocalypse happens, you're going to need to find other survivors, and the best way to do that will be to stay informed. I would want to have a radio that didn't require batteries or to be plugged in to work.


# 3 - A combat knife. This wouldn't be for battle, but rather for survival. Having a good blade is incredibly important, and it would be a bonus if you could get one of those knives that have a compass on the hilt and matches inside! You could also just go for one of those multi-tools, like a Swiss Army Knife.


# 4 - A gun. I know I just mentioned that shooting a gun is a bad idea in a zombie apocalypse, but I still want to have one. As far as what type, I'll go with an assault shotgun. I don't want to use it unless I desperately need to, and in that sort of a situation I'm probably not going to have as much time to aim as I would like. For that reason, the buckshot of a shotgun is going to be my best shot at surviving.


# 5 - Rope. One of the first things I would want to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse is find a hard-to-access, high vantage point. I want to hide, and survive, out of reach of the undead. The best way to do that would be to get up to someplace where the zombies can't reach. Having a rope (and better yet, mountain climbing equipment) would be essential to getting to an area where you'll be safe.

AUTHOR BIO:

A.R. Wise was born in Hammond, Indiana, just outside of Chicago. He's spent time in several states throughout the years but now resides in beautiful Colorado, near the Rocky Mountains. He is the proud father of two adorable, beautiful girls that inspire him everyday, and is married to an unreasonably understanding and loving wife. He has been writing since he was a child, but the ebook revolution is what finally convinced him to offer his work to the world. 

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ARWise