Darkness Falls (Book 1): Rise of the Fallen by Martin W. Francis

pocketed not realizing what it went to until later. I wanted to treat Michael with a Purple Fizzle since he had been trying so hard lately. I stepped out to get both of us a drink. As I was opening the machine up while holding a flashlight in the other hand the overwhelming smell often accompanied with the dead got really strong. A female Fallen came out of nowhere grabbing hold of me. I struggled with her dropping the flashlight to use both hands to keep her at a distance from being bitten. She was physically stronger and I wasn’t going to be able to fend her off for very long. Michael must have noticed I was losing the fight because he tackled her away from me. They both rolled around on the ground until Michael managed to put a knife in her skull. He dropped on top of its unmoving body breathing heavily while grasping his neck. I saw he was bleeding once I picked up the flashlight. I had to half drag him to the car since he could barely stand. I drove to the nearest pharmacy I knew of. Seeing his blood all over the car made me hysterical when I was trying to contact Jerod while driving. At the pharmacy I grabbed a lantern from the back seat which made it possible to still use both arms to basically carry Michael inside. I found bandages wrapping up the wound the best I could. You know the rest from there.”
    After a little while I left with the excuse that I had some errands to run. Leaving out the back door I walked back to my house before driving over to see Amy’s brothers. They were standing around out front smoking. Apparently Jerod had already filled them in on the previous night’s events before retiring for a little sleep. I discussed with them the conversation I had with Michael before he passed away. I asked them if they would help me with a proper burial like most of us recalled before the world went to crap. I wanted to make sure that he was honored for his heroic sacrifice. They all agreed without question. We hit up the city stopping first at a funeral home to acquire a nice dark maple casket. We loaded it up in a borrowed hearse after placing Michael’s blanket wrapped body inside. There was a small cemetery nearby where I had purchased burial plots ages ago because of the peaceful and picturesque environment of the forestry that surrounded it. Borrowing a backhoe we dug a hole for the casket in the area I had purchased so as to not disturb the other graves. We loaded back up driving to a limousine rental company. Here we broke in taking the keys the nicest black stretch limo that they had. From there we drove the hearse and limo to my place parking them for later. We went back to the community neighborhood loading everyone up in a couple of vehicles. I drove to one of the really nice dress stores my diseased wife used to love shopping at. Making sure it was safe we left the women there to choose appropriate dresses for a funeral. Jessie whispered in my ear before we left that they would help Starlette pick something out to wear before leading her inside holding her hand. We acquired shirts, ties, and suits from a tuxedo rental place not far away before most of us headed back to my cabin. Sam took David to find some new combat boots because the ones he currently had were pretty worn out. A couple of us rearranged my dining room making it more suitable for a social gathering to follow the funeral. Dan put together snack trays while the rest of us set out dishes, chose a vintage Bordeaux, and did other menial tasks. Kurt went after the lawn with a push mower while I picked up trash that the wind had blown into the high grass. Jerod went in search of flowers coming back with several wild hybrid roses he had found in someone’s front yard. He told me several days later that he had a close encounter with a Fallen being preoccupied in thought while he was cutting those roses. Sam and David arrived with a battery powered cd player and music appropriate for a funeral gathering. The women arrived shortly after