Short Stories
A Viking Funeral
The king is dead. Long live the king!
Harald Karlsson was the undisputed king of heating and air conditioning in northern Minnesota. When he died, Harald left a small fortune to his children, with one condition. To claim their share, they had to reenact the epic Viking voyage of their ancestor, Eluf the Explorer, from Norway to Maine. The voyage had to be completed on a knarr, an open Viking ship, using only the navigation tools available at the time.
Together with a crew of friends and family, the brothers set out on their adventure, and after a harrowing journey, they arrive in Maine, only to discover that a zombie apocalypse had swept the planet while they were at sea.
In a story that is as hilarious as it is horrific and heartfelt, the brothers and their companions struggle to adjust to the new reality, still encumbered with obligations from the old.
"A Viking Funeral" is a short story that first appeared in “Places Beyond the Wild: A Z-Day Anthology” set in the highly acclaimed Z-Day trilogy universe by Daniel Humphreys. It has been edited for ease of reading.
King of the Moon
Jason Offworld is the only child born to a failed lunar colony, and mankind's last hope for a future.
After aliens arrived on Earth and spirited away millions of humans, they left behind a legacy of severe genetic defects that threatened the existence of the human race. Their last hope for unadulterated genetic material lies with Jason, who is incommunicado high in the night sky.
Can Earth establish communications and launch a rescue mission to bring Jason to the home he's never known before the last spark of humanity winks out?