A thrilling, post-apocalyptic short story from the world of V. M. Zito's THE RETURN MAN: 'Bloody excellent' Financial Times. Corporal Noah Brodeur's job is a lonely one. In the aftermath of the outbreak, from his remote Canadian border station, Brodeur must guard the Slinky: a formidable wall protecting his countrymen from the Evacuated States and the ravenous creatures that roam there. All is quiet until the day a stranger emerges from the safe side of the forest. He says he is on a classified mission for the CIA. He says his name is Special Agent Kenneth Wu. He demands that Brodeur break rank and allow him across the border into danger. But when everything is at stake, can appearances be trusted? And on the edge of civilisation, who is more dangerous, the living ...or the dead? Praise for THE RETURN MAN: 'Zito expertly piles on thrills, cliffhangers and numerous twists, investing renewed life into the shambling, cliche-ridden corpse of the zombie subgenre.' Guardian 'An overload of thrills, spills and adventure.' Sun 'Hands down one of the best zombie novels I've read in a long, long time. From first page to last, THE RETURN MAN is an astonishing read.With characters you genuinely give a damn about and a story that'll keep you turning page after page, this is an outstanding debut.' David Moody, author of Autumn 'In a word: relentless.' Sunday Telegraph 'Contagion meets Mad Max.' The Times