Prologue

I remembered thinking if the sun were to consume the earth…it would feel just like this. Trapped in reality or trapped in a nightmare, which life do you want Morgan? There was an explosion of some sort? The sounds of death are everywhere! And the fog of war is thick. I’ve never seen a smoke so thick! Men all around me have fallen and now cover the plush green grass of the field, staining it bright red. My ears are ringing and my head is pounding. The side I chose to stand with is most certainly dead… all dead…except for me...

Still groggy, and apparently not injured, Morgan was able to get to his feet and stand. As he turned around, he realized he was suddenly face to face with about fifty men wearing Yankee blue! Not liking his odds, he tried hard to regain his focus. His ears were ringing from the explosion and he heard the man sitting on a white horse calling out to him, “Surrender Son, you are greatly outnumbered!” Morgan realized he’d lost his rifle, but he also knew, as he instinctively touched the revolvers that remained on both hips, he still had some friends close by. The man was seated upon a beautiful white horse. His request did seem reasonable to Morgan. Obviously riddled with bullets, face down in the mud, piss, blood, and guts of the battlefield was not a pleasant thought. He visualized the scene, shaking them from his head. A lot of men have died here already, what was one more? Surrender? Was it even an option? Morgan knew what that would mean for him. After all, he was not just a soldier in the Confederate Army. Heck, he wasn’t really a solider at all! His thoughts were suddenly disrupted by the man sitting on the horse, “I said it’s over Son, drop you’re gun belt and I promise no harm will come to you!” Obviously this man was in command. Through the thick smoke and his blurred vision, Morgan could just make out the several stars defining his rank on the man’s collar. He was a General and Morgan knew it. His horse was the most magnificent beast Morgan had ever seen. Morgan realized this was a man of great importance to be seated upon such a great horse such as this. General White Horse spoke again, “You don’t have to die here Son!” Morgan thought about how easy it would be to draw out his guns and shoot the General right in the head. He knew he was faster than any of these men. In fact he knew he could take down a few more as well if he did. Morgan wasn’t here to kill the General or his men, but he also was not about to go down without a fight! He had a singular mission in mind, one that had nothing to do with this war, and these men were mucking it up something fierce! Pondering his next move and standing in the uncomfortable silence, a Union soldier to his left fired his revolver at the ground just in front of him! Morgan jumped back a bit, almost thinking for a second the man fired his gun at him! The man shot in the direction of a dead rebel soldier lying just a few yards from Morgan’s immediate left. General White Horse screamed loudly at the man, “What the hell is wrong with you soldier!” With this distraction, Morgan wondered if he could make it to the woods without getting shot in the back, and heard General White Horse continue to chastise the man, “Holster that weapon boy!” The soldier stuttered nervously, “S-Sorry G-General, S-Sir, b-but it t-touched my b-boot, I-I s-swear it!” Morgan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Maybe it was it was the distinct sound of terror in the man’s voice that struck him so profoundly. “Are you some sort of jokester boy?!” replied General White Horse. “S-Sir, I s-swear it, h-he did!!!” cried the soldier. “Shut the hell up, you damn idiot!” The General barked. The soldier looked as though he was a little more than spooked and he appeared as though he wanted to say more…but he didn’t. General White Horse, knowing he had now regained a measure of control, turned back to face Morgan. He shifted in his saddle and just as he began to speak again, the same soldier fired his revolver again! This time he began kicking violently at the same dead soldier’s body lying on the ground! The man screamed loudly, “D-Don’t fucking t-touch me! Let go of me!!!” The soldier had lost complete control! His frightened emotions had taken over. He kicked that dead man’s body at least a dozen more times before stopping. The General dismounted and walked with a clear purpose towards the very rattled soldier, “God damn you boy, what the hell did I just tell you!” The soldier was terrified and attempted to explain, “G-General, S-Sir, he g-grabbed my damn boot! It won’t fucken’ die! I s-swear it S-Sir, it just won’t fucken’ die! It’s got no God damn h-head…and it j-just won’t die!!!” Everyone stared knowing the man was clearly losing his mind. Morgan figured it to be shock. He knew how men would see weird things in times such as these. The General looked equally confused, and was about to speak again. Suddenly the body that the soldier was kicking…began to slowly rise up from the ground! Now normally, Morgan would not think much of a man standing up after being presumed dead, but this one, this one was more than a bit special…this one had no head just as the terrified soldier had already pointed out! Everyone stood frozen in disbelief! The dead soldier, staggered around blindly as if he were drunk. General White Horse was just a few feet from the headless man, “What the fuck is this!” Suddenly they all heard a long and gravely groan. The soldier looked as though he would piss his pants at any moment and he cried out, “Holy shit G-General, i-it’s his d-damn h-head!” Every man standing in the immediate area opened fire at that headless soldier! The headless man dropped back to the ground. Morgan did not move. He knew his mouth was probably hanging open, as were most everyone else’s. He was afraid one of these crazy bastards might decide to shoot him if he dared even to move one foot! The smoke had begun to clear and Morgan could not believe what he had just witnessed. He could see the fear mounting in the group and knew exactly what they must be feeling, because he could feel it too! He knew, just seconds before, he was close to sharing a similar fate. Terror began to consume Morgan as he gripped the handles of both of his guns pretty damn hard. The General slowly approached the corpse. He had removed his own revolver at this point and was kneeling down on one knee to get a closer look, “What the fuck is going on?” The General grabbed the man’s severed head, taking a strand of long hair in his own hand. He held the head just a few inches from his own face, examining it closely. The General’s face went pale white, and his eyes widened, as he stared into the now open eyes of the dismembered head! Morgan heard groaning coming from the head and he quickly understood the General’s panicked stare. General White Horse was about to speak again, as several gun shots rang out down the field and to Morgan’s right! Everyone’s attention shifted in that direction immediately. The smoke was too thick to see, but everyone could hear what followed, and there was no mistaking the sounds…more shots, followed by blood curdling screams, followed by more shots, and more screams…and then…absolute and utter silence. Then suddenly the General was screaming, “Oh my God, get it off! Get it off! Get it the fuck off!!!” Morgan watched as the General was being dragged to the ground by the headless soldier’s body! As he went down, the screaming General was trying to pry the severed head from his own face! His men panicked! They fired their guns at the reanimated corpse! Morgan was pretty damn sure the General was hit by several of those rounds as well! Morgan’s attention was suddenly drawn back to his right, because the fog was now alive with more groans. Then it came, out of the smoke, the most shocking of all…and Morgan could not move, nobody could move! Side by side, and headed in their direction, were the once dead soldiers of both Union and Confederate armies! Time stood still. Everyone living stood frozen in place. General White Horse lay on the ground, most certainly dead. The head firmly remained locked onto his face. The General’s men were no longer composed and they gave in to their fears…and chaos erupted! Morgan’s feet forgot how to move, but he noticed the General’s horse was now standing just a few feet in front of him. Some men ran some shot at nothing, and some shot at everything! He watched as a third of the group ran by him to meet the advancing hoard. Those boys…every last one of them, died horribly. Morgan was unable to take his eyes off the scene, and it seemed as though everything was in slow motion. Now he heard more and more groans coming from behind him as well! He turned around to see an entire field of dead, standing there and glaring right at him! “No fucking way.” Morgan said aloud. “What is happening?” Morgan, still frozen with fear, continued to watch as the dead clawed and devoured the living before his very eyes! They were eating the flesh from the men they took down. Nothing made sense anymore! He could not understand why they hadn’t attacked him or the horse, which was barely inches from him now. He knew he had to do something soon, or he would be on the dinner menu next! He pondered his escape, but Morgan suddenly sensed he was being watched by another. He hesitantly looked back to his left and discovered General White Horse was back to his feet…and HE was staring straight at him, with the eyes of a predator! He glared hard at Morgan! The General’s body was covered with bullet holes and several bloody bite marks. He bled from his eyes, mouth, and nose, but most shocking of all Morgan decided, was the General was now missing half of his face! General White Horse let out a loud gravelly groan, and he raised his hand and pointed a long boney finger right at Morgan! Most of the dead continued to feed on their own helpless targets, and they barely acknowledged the General’s plea. He realized those men were most likely the lucky ones. At least they would be spared the torture of joining this evil thing that was slowly becoming an army. General White Horse was now no longer just staring at him Morgan suddenly realized. He and several others were all coming straight for him! The only instinct Morgan had left was to run…and he mouthed the words in a whisper of motivation, “Run Morgan…JUST RUN!!!”

Morgan couldn’t believe his luck, as the General’s horse stayed right next to him the entire time! He seemed to be beckoning for him to climb on! It was as though the horse knew how badly he needed this ride. Dumb luck or fate, Morgan was not about to argue! The one thing Morgan could not deny was how the stallion looked at him, directly into his center of his soul, or so it seemed. Morgan could feel it. And those eyes! Blood red and full of fire! They were and like the devil’s windows to this world. Morgan had no idea if he was making some sort of evil pact, but the General was still coming, and it was definitely time to go! He waited no longer, jumping onto the horse! He immediately felt at home in that saddle! Ready to ride, Morgan could see the entire dead army was now suddenly looking at him too! Odd enough, when he was on the ground standing next to the horse they didn’t even seem to know he existed. “I don’t know where were going, but I’m ready any time you are!” he pleaded with the horse. If Morgan didn’t know any better, he could have sworn he heard the horse telling him to hold on! Either way, Morgan did as he was told and he gripped the reigns firmly, the stallion reared just as the General and his dead army arrived! Narrowly escaping, they took off like a lightning bolt dancing across the sky, trampling everything that stood in their path! Over the dead they traveled and on their way to freedom. Morgan felt intense warmth coming from below them as they rode. He peered down at the horse’s hooves, realizing they had a sudden glow to them…they were on fire! The faster they ran, the brighter the glow became, and with it the heat intensified! Morgan realized the ground was burning beneath them as well. He looked back over his shoulder to see a fiery trail they had left behind. The dead soldiers they trampled were now burning...and thankfully, they didn’t appear to be getting back up! Not fully understanding, but definitely not letting go, he imagined he was already dead and this was his ticket straight to hell! No, you’re not that lucky Morgan and this is very real, he told himself. His body ached in truth. He was not dead, and he was definitely not dreaming, but unfortunately he knew his life, and everyone else’s life for that matter had truly changed forever.

Next Chapter: Chapter 1 "The Ghost"