Zombie Dash

by Mark Matthews

Are you fast enough to survive the Zombie apocalypse?

Well, now you can find out. It's the new trend in running races; run through miles and miles of zombie infested trails, but instead of biting you, they grab a flag off of your belt, flag-football style.

See what happens when Big Pharm meets Big Horror, as three Pharmaceutical Representatives take part in a Zombie Run, and get much more horror than they planned for.

A short story of 5,000 words, by the author of On the Lips of Children, STRAY and The Jade Rabbit.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Thriller

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2012

About the author

Mark Matthews is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a licensed professional counselor who has worked in behavioral health for over 20 years. He is the author of On the Lips of Children, All Smoke Rises, Milk-Blood, and The Hobgoblin of Little Minds. He is also the editor of a trio of 'addiction horror' anthologies including Orphans of Bliss, Lullabies for Suffering and Garden of Fiends. In 2021, he was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. His next novel, To Those Willing to Drown, is expected in May, 2025, followed by the novella, Kali's Web, in August, 2025.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

zombie dash?? don't mind if i do!!

quick caveat: if you are someone who reads a lot of self-published freebies on the e-market right now, you are someone familiar with the wide spectrum of grammatical competence, and this book shouldn't bother you. if you are not, it might make you wince a little.

but it's free, and it's about zombies, and cheapskates with the same tastes as a fourteen-year-old boy can't complain. i keeeed! i am one of you - zombies raaaar!! etc etc



apparently, zombie races are a thing. i did not know this. and were i a person who was into, you know, movement, i would totally sign up for one. the idea is that you run through the woods, wearing a little belt with flags hanging off of it, like jr. high gym class, while people dressed like zombies are situated along the route, just waiting to jump out and grab your flags! and if they get too many of them then, my friend, you have been killed by a zombie.







sounds great, right?? and that's what this story is about. our heroines are participating in their local zombie run, where there are all manner of zombies: bill clinton zombie, baby zombie, bride zombie, and - oh yes,



clown zombie

but what if….? what if…??

you know what if. i don't have to spell it out.

in the confusion and glee of a zombie run, anything can happen.

this is a fun story, and there is not one moment of monster-sex, which is really refreshing for a free book that involves a monster and women!

food for thought:

Runners with so many different body types surrounded me. Imagine if someone really wanted to feed off their flesh right abut now? It almost made me drool. Sports bras left flesh exposed easily within reach like an appetizer tray. Runners' legs had calf muscles chapped like chicken drumsticks. The massive crowd huddled together was just one big buffet.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posted at Shelf Inflicted

This was just the right story to jump-start my workout on the stationary bike. Even though it was about 90 degrees outside and the chugging air-conditioner didn’t seem to be cool enough, my legs were pumping in record time in solidarity with the unnamed narrator, and her friend, Becca, trying to escape the volunteer zombies at the company-sponsored Zombie Dash 10K.

It’s all fun and games, with the volunteers using little flags to represent their kills and the runners giggling and screaming in mock horror. It all changes when an evil clown zombie gets in on the action.

I don’t want to say any more and spoil the fun for anyone. This story is fast-paced, suspenseful and terrifying. Never trust zombies, even if they look like Bill Clinton or are dressed like cute babies.

Though this story was well-written, it is rife with awkward sentences and misspellings, which sometimes pulled me out of the story. In a self-published work, this is something I can tolerate, but I do hope the author will consider finding a good editor for future stories.

Free right now on Amazon

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

So you think you can survive a zombie apocalypse? Come find out. For one night and one night only. YOU can not only test your running skills, but your will to live! This Zombie Dash 10k event will get your blood pumping and feet running. Run, scream, and fight your way through the trails and hordes of zombies on Halloween night! Ha-ha….Bloody brilliant idea! This story is pure horror fun.

Zombie Dash by Mark Matthews is the story of how a race through the dark shadows of the night can turn into a melee of zombie gore and fear. Zombie babies, zombie brides, zombie clowns—Oh, my! A flag football type event organized with runners and volunteer zombies ready to bite, grab, and terrify all the way to the finish line—if you make it that far. For these runners, this dash may be their last.

“This was no Romero staggering zombie, this wasn’t a slow motion man with wooden legs and no dexterity wearing an old faded suit he’d been buried in years ago. Nope. This was a super-sonic zombie made of new drugs and Danny Boyle style, so I ran. I sprinted. I hauled ass running on the tips of my shoes like a 5 year old child after the ice cream man.”

This little gem holds one of my all-time favorite heebie-jeebies in horror—the real terror hidden under the costumes and fake blood scenario. Real jumps and screams in the pretend set up. The idea that something real and sinister is happening right there in front of everyone makes me *shiver*. Thinking the panic and blood is all for show, the audience or crowd allows the horror to happen without a word, worry or second glance. People walk on by. Screams for help ignored. Mr. Matthews captures that no-help-is-coming confusion, shock, and fear on the page. Truly chilling!

I’m not sure how I stumbled across this little ditty, but I am so glad I did. A FREE short story filled with gurgles, guts, and screams! Made my horror loving heart happy.

[Reymart Dinglasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hash-tag...Voom!

Ever since, I'm a fan of Apocalyptic Novels, Zombie ones, Horror themes, and plainly Scary stuff.

And all I can say right now that this piece, obviously known as a short-story, could be a whole book of our Mark Matthews wanted it to.

It's an easy ride for a short story and from the start it already "activates" your adrenaline too. This can even be a "goosebumps" kind of thing, and I am honestly intrigued about Dr. Brogstorm's mystery. This could be a good Y.A. Zombie Novella if possible. Mark could spare another few pages to make this one h*ll of a longer story.

I'm intrigued, STILL, and the tone of the narrative is very nicely constructed, I felt it. It has a funny tone too, possible for a longer version.

If there is another modern CREEPSHOW or a TREAK 'r TREAT film, I want this to be in either one of them.

But Just Remember One Thing If You're In The Middle Of It...

JUST...

[Gregor Xane · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I'm not a zombie guy. I picked this one up because it was free, and I wanted to see if the author would avoid the most obvious thing in the world he could possibly do: include real zombies in an event featuring fake zombies. Sadly, he went down the obvious path, and this was a rather large strike against this piece for me.

The story had a cluster of glaring problems that a proofreader could have fixed. 'Feel' is used when 'fell' is meant. People 'flayed' instead of 'flailed.' That sort of thing. Now this wasn't a consistent problem throughout (not that I noticed, anyway). It kind of seemed like there was a chunk of errors when things really started getting scary. Maybe the proofreader had to look away?

The storytelling on display here isn't bad and the typos aren't of the 'so maddening that you need to pull out your hair' variety. So, I certainly wouldn't try to dissuade zombie guys and gals from reading this. Not that I could, anyway.

Here you go zombie people, the URL for the free download on Amazon:

http://amzn.com/B009ZGUZ9G

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 3 out of 5]

You want to know how much I love Mark Matthew's books? I have never read a Zombie book in my life and always said I never would, so when I saw this was free in the iBooks store I had to get it. I was curious to see what spin on the zombies Mark would add, so I plunged into this short story wondering if I was a fool for breaking my "no zombies every" rule.

This was a really good short story. Runners are geared up for running in what is meant to be a fun "Zombie Dash" race, where "zombies" grab a flag from them and they lose minutes off their final time if "caught", the zombies are cleverly dressed up people, it's all fun and games.

There are ways to survive the zombie apocalypse, and one is to make sure it is others who get eaten.

UNTIL...it all goes horribly, tragically, horrifically wrong.

Suddenly the race is not so much fun and for a few of the competitors this race takes a very sinister twist.

This was a super-sonic zombie made of new drugs and Danny Boyle style, so I ran. I sprinted. I hauled ass running on the tips of my shoes like a 5 year old child after the ice cream man.

It's 24 pages long, a short but worthy read for those that like a zombie theme. I actually really liked it, but don't tell anyone I read a zombie story okay? I will never, ever live it down.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three friends are excited to run in a zombie flag football type marathon when things go from "wish these zombies were real" to "oh, shit, this is for real" very quickly. This short was a quick, entertaining read. But, it would benefit from some editing.

[Robert Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

A free book from Amazon that took me precisely 22 minutes to finish.

I love the idea of the book because its original and clean and I'm not going to say more because it'll spoil it for you. Best that you head straight to Amazon right now and download this gem of a book and read it at your leisure.

A free zombie book.. who could say no?!

[Mark Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short read that I wrote for fun, then decided it was good enough to present as a short story. Loaded up a newer version, and it is now free on Nook and other places, hopefully free on Amazon soon.

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

What begins as a harmless running event turns into a nightmare in this entertaining little zombie story fitting for the season. Perfect company for a short walk with a nasty (though anticipated) twist at the end - well done!

[Tanja Berg · Rating 2 out of 5]

So what do you do when you wake up at 7 am on a day off, from a zombie nightmare, and don't want to disturb the others in the room by turning on the light? Well, I turned on my phone, found my kindle app and picked a short story. Not that it was particularly effective against nightmares, I dreamt of zombies after I had finished and drifted off again.

This is a really short story about a 10 km race through hordes of people dressed up as zombies. They remove flags from the runner's belts, which means that time is added when they come to the finish line. It's incredibly obvious what will happen. It's fairly entertaining, but the main character is dumber than a rock - who would ever wish for a zombie apocalypse as shown in movies and on TV? Be careful what you wish for anyway.

Despite the fact that I had woken up from a zombie nightmare - or because of that fact, my own imagniation is a terrifying beast - this was a yawner. But it was otherwise quick and painless. I've almost forgotten I've read it already.

[Randy Harmelink · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little short story with good pacing and a good ending, about a fun-for-all zombie dash that turns into something else. A few aspects of the story could have been fleshed out a bit more (if you'll pardon the pun).

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much fun!! Downloaded it to my Kindle and it was a joy to sit and read, nothing like a little Zombie reading before bed.

[Anthony Mainard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Amazing read. :)


For a short story, this is pretty much everything.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flag football with a zombie twist. Oh, yeah, and revenge-filled chicks dressed as zombie babies.

[Ken B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sprint of a zombie short story. It is a little predictable but a fun read.


3 1/2 STARS

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little horror story!

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Zombie Dash 10k race is a chance for runners to run through zombie infested woods where volunteers dressed as zombies try to grab flags off their back. Losing a flag costs time to be added at the finish. At first it is all fun with giggling zombies and mock screams of horror until the big clown zombie targets Becca with real menace and drags her away...

I have always wanted to get involved in these zombie races as it looks like a really good laugh-I'd have to be a shambling zombie though as I can't run for a bus, never mind 10k! So this story idea appealed to me when I saw it. You can imagine the atmosphere...runners pretending to scream and yell with fear, volunteers yelling 'braiiiinnnsss!' and trying to grab them without cracking up laughing and everyone having a great time. Nobody is going to notice real screams when one zombie is trying to attack a girl for real and everyone ignores her friend yelling for help and chasing them into the dark woods...

I liked this story. It had the fun of the race and then the tension and the menace of the zombie clown. I mean, clowns are bad enough but zombie clowns really are a twisted invention! I liked the plot twists that kept on coming, starting with the identity of the attacker and his reasons for doing it. You do have hints about this in the early part of the book so if you're paying attention you'll be expecting this but it is still fun waiting for the reveal. I really enjoyed what came next...call it the twist after the reveal! It would spoil the story if I tell you but it was a good ending.

I could see a follow up story, beginning where this left off and if it comes I would certainly read it. It is a light zombie read that is entertaining and nicely written.

[Killer of Dreams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a short story, I expected it to be of higher quality. The reading level felt very low and overall like a children's book. I'm stuck on whether to place this book with 2 stars or 3.

The plot seems very much like a jest. Fake zombies participating in a race to grab flags? That didn't make sense to me. The references to Thriller and Zombie titles was cringe worthy. I suppose only the end saves it as in all short stories they tend to have a surprising twist. Even then the reader is left with a bigger cliff hanger as to what occurred with the clown zombie and the possible future virus spreading?

Read again on 4/8/19

Update 4/8/19- Having read it again for a second time, I stand by the 2 star rating. It has some issues that could lower it to 1 star. I didn't like the narrator's liking towards a possible zombie apocalypse and the loved ones that she'd have to kill after they had turned into a zombie. I also did not understand why the narrator decided to stop her friend from getting assaulted and instead try to call for runners to help. That seemed conveniently done for the story. The ending is a bit chilling so there's a positive.

Update 12 June 2019
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. The original rating, original review, and especially the April 8, 2019, update, conform to the new rating system. This short story is a definite two star rating that can be summed up by a boring, nonsensical plot but a chilling ending.

January 30, 2020
Update
I two tar-rating is guaranteed because of this statement from the original review: "I suppose only the end saves it as in all short stories they tend to have a surprising twist".

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I want to read something for just pure entertainment and this fit my mood today. I don't usually do zombie books but I enjoyed this short story! It's a quick read that could actually have a part two. I, anti zombie Cindy, would be interested in finding out what happens after the dash. :)

If you are looking for some good horror short stories, I'd recommend this one and others by this author!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a short story it was pretty good It was a bit different then the zombie books I read but I did like it. I can't wait to read something else from this author. I would recommend the book for a quick fun read

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too short and it ended where it should/could have began. Written well with attention to detail.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick easy read, entertaining short story that may make you reconsider ever doing a zombie run! ;-)

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short story.

[Barbara Tsipouras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, thrilling, frightening