Title & Introduction
“I saw the Devil... with all his eyes.”
This is the frightening warning given to a rescue team by the sole survivor of a devastated commune, four months on from O-Day; the start of the zombie global pandemic.
For Alec Mitchell and his fellow survivors at the Beeston Safe Haven, Cheshire, the loss of the neighbouring enclave is sudden and unexpected, leaving in its wake grief, fear and disquieting questions. For while the evidence initially indicates an attack by an overwhelming zombie horde, the investigation conducted by Alec and Beeston Haven’s vet, Jennifer Edwards, points – neither to a zombie horde, nor even a assault by living raiders – but something new and altogether more terrifying.
It becomes clear the zombie virus is adapting, changing within its undead hosts. Alec and Jennifer soon find themselves in a race against the biological clock to assemble the pieces of a new pathological puzzle, which threatens – not just the lives of everyone at Beeston – but all of Humanity.
Meanwhile, within the warm, putrid stench of the plague pit holding the Haven’s entire neutered undead, a horror as yet unseen by the world stirs...
At last released to the public by the Ministry of Population Morale Steering, this – initially suppressed – first-hand account of the events leading up to that fateful day in March during the Zombie War contains fresh details about people and events at Beeston, with additional footnotes offering historical background, as well as the revelatory – many thought inflammatory – information both the British Secret Service and the PMS thought necessary to bury for reasons of national security.
“‘Gehenna Rises’ is and will remain a testament to the dedication, resilience and courage of an ordinary populace in the face of an implacable enemy. It will live on in the annals of war, yes, as a tale of trial and fear, but – ultimately – of hope.”
Brigadier General Sir Giles R. Stevens, MC, DSO
Head of British Overseas Expeditionary and Retrieval Forces
