Wakefield

They built a crude wall around the city after the dead started walking. Even with such measures, walking death forces its way into the slum town of Wakefield. Miles, a young man, works beyond the gates, while Kayla, his soul mate, lives in a dormitory with suspicious, prying eyes all about. But there is something different about this couple, a terrible secret that could destroy them both. And the shadow of death, embodied in a man named simply Gatlin, stalks them, gun in hand, his own suspicions almost manic. This future life is not an easy one, as the rain never stops, miring Wakefield in mud. Walking death, too, is a problem, as people who kill or die return to kill...and consume. So, why do the walking death pass Miles and Kayla by, their human skin a delicacy? Intrigue abounds in this longish short story that paints the reanimated cannibals in a new way. The piece itself is melancholy, and the silences between sentences is deafening. "Wakefield" is bound to stay with you long after reading it. Enjoy reading it at bedtime. (If you have the intestinal fortitude.)