An alternate cover edition exists here. \\SHORT STORY TO BE READ ALONG SIDE THE DEATH & DECAY SERIES NOVELS\\ To protect and serve. The motto that every officer is taught from their first day in the academy. On a humid June day in St. Louis, it is a motto that could get Officer Wyatt Ward killed. Desperate citizens flock to the station as the officers of the Cottleville Police Department struggle to handle the chaos that is enveloping a city already shaken by rioting. But as darkness descends something much worse is rising. The deranged. Brutal, unforgiving, single-minded monsters that were once the citizens Wyatt was sworn to protect. Now, they attack. They bite. They infect. As fear takes hold… As the city begins to eat itself… As the world crumbles… What is a man who is sworn to protect to do as the world dies?

An alternate cover edition exists here. St. Louis is falling to pieces. In the midst of rioting, a dangerous new disease has sprung pushing an already dire situation over the edge. Those who are infected suddenly become extremely aggressive, attacking and even eating those around them. And Olivia "Liv" Bennett is caught right in the middle of it. Liv’s hectic life of school, work, and motherhood grind to a halt as the city around her begins to devour itself. Forced to flee from her car with nothing but a diaper bag and her eighteen-month-old daughter, Elli. Liv must trek forty miles on foot across the feral infested suburbs of St. Louis to a safe haven that may not even be safe. What other hope does she have? As her world begins to crumble, Liv is left clinging to the hope that Slag Stead, a two hundred and fifty acres, self-sufficient farm, remains a beacon of light and not another slaughter. But getting there just might kill her.

Run. Fight. Die. Return. The world is dying. The dead are rising. But for the survivors, the dead aren't the only threat. As chaos takes hold of St. Louis, Colin Bennett finds himself on the run. Though the Missouri River is the only thing separating the husband and father from his family, it may as well be an ocean. Colin and a few friends are forced to fight for survival as they seek out a safe haven for themselves and the other survivors they meet along the way. Together they set out to create a new life for themselves and reestablish some order in a dying world. When discord threatens to tear the group apart, can Colin and the others hold on to their crusade? Or will it destroy them?

In five days, the world was forever changed. Now, it's changing again. Liv and the other survivors have created a new safe haven for themselves. Their world was destroyed but they are determined to rebuild in its ruins. Nothing is given anymore. They must fight for every day. But a world dominated by zombies is an unforgiving place. One mistake can mean death. As the survivors adapt to the new world, the zombies are adapting as well. New mutations in the virus are creating more deadly monsters. As the world gets deadlier than ever, the survivors must learn to live as one or die together as the world once again changes around them. Adapt or die.