Manel Loureiro - Dark Days

The vessel looked like it had been through a ferocious storm. The mast was broken in half and its cockpit was flooded with seawater. With no one to control it, the rudder rolled freely, driven by the wind. There wasn’t a soul onboard.

Marcel called out a few times, but no one came on deck. When Yayah brought the canoe alongside the sailboat, Marcel jumped aboard, clutching the machete he used to cut the heads off fish.

The little fisherman immediately wanted to turn and run away from that ruined, sinister boat, but his older cousin was watching. If he let on that he was afraid, he’d have to endure the taunts of the other children in the village. He took a deep breath and pushed open the cabin door.

The cabin looked deserted. A black assault rifle lay on the table next to a large knife. Marcel trod carefully across a carpet of broken glass. Spread out on one of the seats was a painting that caught his attention. It was a garden landscape with a statue and some white men talking in the foreground. Marcel thought the painting was ugly, so he tossed it onto the floor, where it floated face down in seawater.

After checking out every inch of the deserted cabin, he picked up the assault rifle and knife and started out. Satisfied with his haul, picturing Yayah’s face when he saw all that loot, he took one last look inside the abandoned boat.

In a corner, hanging from a hook attached to the ceiling was an old wetsuit, watching him, swaying to the rhythm of the waves.

It is very hard to mention, in just a few lines, everyone who has been part of this adventure called Apocalypse Z . So many people helped make this possible.

First my wife and family, for their endless patience, love, and understanding in those moments when I ran aground on the reefs of bewilderment.

Of course, Juan Gómez-Jurado, my friend and fellow writer who opened doors, guided me through the rough parts, and illuminated paths that would have otherwise remained hidden to me. I know I can never repay my debt to him. He has been my Pritchenko (but without the mustache).

Of course, Emilia Lope, at Random House Mondadori, not only for her caring, patience, and understanding, but also for believing in this project and supporting it. Emilia: You’re fantastic and without you this would not have been possible.

And the hundreds of thousands of readers on the Internet who always conveyed their warm support and encouragement and who watched this story grow, step by step, from a blog to a short story published in an obscure Internet website into a series of books. Reader: You now have the second volume in your hands. This book, like the previous one, is as much yours as mine.

An international bestselling author, Manel Loureiro was born in Pontevedra, Spain, and studied law at Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. After graduation, he worked in television, both on-screen (appearing on Television de Galicia) and behind the scenes as a writer. Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End , his first novel, began as a popular blog before its publication, eventually becoming a best seller in several countries, including Spain, Italy, Brazil, and the United States. Called “the Spanish Stephen King” by La Voz de Galicia , Manel has written three novels in the Apocalypse Z series. He currently resides in Pontevedra, Spain, where, in addition to writing, he is still a practicing lawyer.

Pamela Carmell received a Translation Award from the National Endowment for the Arts to translate Oppiano Licario by José Lezama Lima. Her publications include Matilde Asensi’s The Last Cato (HarperCollins), Belkis Cuza Malé’s Woman on the Front Lines (sponsored by the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry), Antonio Larreta’s The Last Portrait of the Duchess of Alba (a Book-of-the-Month Club selection), and the short-story collection, Cuba on the Edge . Her translations of poetry by Nancy Morejón is forthcoming from Cubanabooks. She is also published widely in literary magazines and anthologies.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Text copyright © 2010 by Manel Loureiro

English translation copyright © 2013 by Pamela Carmell

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Apocalypse Z: Dark Days was first published in Spain by Dolmen as Los Días Oscuros . Translated from Spanish by Pamela Carmell. Published in English by AmazonCrossing in 2013.

Published by AmazonCrossing

www.apub.com

P.O. Box 400818

Las Vegas, NV 89140

ISBN-13: 9781477809310

ISBN-10: 1477809317

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013909115