The Undead Chronicles (completed)

The Undead Chronicles

 © Salva Mubarak

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The day began just like any other. There was a note from her secretary on her desk, to go see the Gary, as soon as she reaches the office. Raven frowned at the note, Gary Miller was their editor in chief and she couldnÕt think of any reason why he would want to see her.

Her office door opened and her secretary, Kim, stepped in with a steaming mug of coffee. Gary wants to see you, she announced, 'Yeah, I saw your note, any idea why?' she shrugged and then left the office.

She looked around her office, a small, cramped area with a desk that occupied almost half the space. She loved her office; it was a sanctuary from all the crazy bustling activities that went on in the rest of the building.

She finished her coffee and made her way to the Chief's office, on the 17th floor. All the time she kept wondering why the Chief called her today.

She had worked as a journalist in the newspaper for the past 4 years and only managed to report fluffy, lifestyle pieces. She wanted hard-hitting stuff but to her frustration, had been waiting for an opportunity ever since. Maybe Gary had something for her today, she thought optimistically.

She got out of the elevator and reached the Chief's door and knocked, after a gruff 'come in', she went inside.

Gary was a stocky middle-aged man and on first look appeared to be a wrestler, with his closely cropped gray hair and perpetual frown, but he was one of the sharpest editors in the whole country and could smell a newsworthy item from 100 miles apart.

He was always dressed in ill-fitting suits and brightly colored ties. Today he was sitting behind his desk, his brown suit jacket draped behind his chair and his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, playing with a paperweight.

He was talking to someone on the phone and indicated her to sit. Raven sat and looked around the office, it was much larger than hers but equally cramped with bookshelves and out of place antiques. The wall was adorned with several awards and first editions and pictures of his daughters and his dog. 'Raven!'

She looked at him startled, she had not noticed that his conversation had ended and he was now talking to her. 'Would you like something, tea or coffee?' he asked. She became more perplexed as their boss was famous for his no nonsense, to- the-point attitude. 'Uh, no, thank you sir'.

He nodded and pressed his intercom buzzer and asked his secretary to bring one black coffee for him. Raven twisted her hands in her lap nervously, wondering what he could have called her for. 'I have an assignment for you', he began, after his coffee arrived. 'You have to leave for Red Bank today'. she looked at him quizzically, 'There has been reports of a cannibalistic attack there and I want a report on it.'  Raven stared at him, 'It will be a good piece, people eat such weird news up real quick', he continued. 'You are sending me to a crappy small town in, God knows where, and expecting me to report a crazy attack?'  she said, barely controlling her frustration.

Gary sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, 'I know it sounds ridiculous, but Davidson's granddaughter is really into the whole zombie thing and she found out about the attack, he wanted me to send someone good to report the attack and I thought of you'.

Jack Davidson was the owner of New Horizon Media; she waited for him to give more details, slightly mollified by the good reporter comment. 'I promise after you come back, I'll let you write whatever you want' Raven sighed; she could use a vacation, even if it was to some unknown small town and reporting a weird attack. 'I'll do it' she said, Gary smiled briefly and nodded, 'I'll mail you the details of your travel right now, you can take the rest of the day off to make arrangements, you are doing me a big favor here, Raven.'

She smiled and got up and left the office. She was to leave for Red Banks in the evening; it was a small town in New Jersey. The rest of the day was spent in packing and arranging for someone to take care of her cat while she was gone. Her cab arrived on time and she left for Red Banks, New Jersey.