Stemming the Tide
By Simon Strantzas, first published in Dead North: Canadian Zombie Fiction
A girlfriend bites off more than she can chew after begging her boyfriend to take her to one of Canada's esteemed bays to witness the natural phenomenon of the living dead rising from the ocean.
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After much begging, Marie finally convinces her boyfriend to drive her a few hours down to see the Bay of Fundy in Canada. He is not eager to visit the bay, weary of spaces crowded with tourists. When they arrive, he is not relieved, seeing fat people lounging about like pigs, oiling themselves up under the scorching sun, unaware of their future. Every six hours, the tide swells, swallowing the towering rock formation on the bay. The couple sit on a bench, waiting for the tide—waiting for what they've actually come here for. Soon, as the sun descends, the beachgoers begin to return to their cars and homes. The park is closing for the day, so the lifeguard goes around locking the gates that surround the park, ensuring that no disaster will ensue. Marie is giddy, telling her boyfriend it's starting. At this point most of the tourists have fled. Suddenly, a yellow bulb of a skull appears in the ocean, slowly approaching the shore. Before long, an army of decaying bodies are walking towards the gates, right past the couple. Though Marie excitedly looks on initially, she soon begins to panic, saying that this isn't what she thought it would be. Her boyfriend tells her it's too late now, as countless decayed bodies gather at the gates, smashing themselves against it in an effort to get through. Maria is anxious, wanting to leave, but her boyfriend stands up and begins approaching the gate. Lifting the latch that the zombies couldn't figure out on their own, he frees them, letting them loose in the city and upon all of humanity.
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