Last Friday night, the world changed and not for the better.

Zombies are among us. School s out for the foreseeable future, and with Mom and Dad at the lake house, my twin and I are on our own in this mess. Which is fine as long as we can avoid being on the menu.

Tripp Light s teenage world is suddenly filled with "poxers" the infected ones, the ones that have the Necropoxy virus. In an entire world gone mad and bad, Tripp s only hope of survival is to clear a path through zombie land with his sister and head for the hills (aka his aunt s farm) to rendezvous with his parents.

Success clearly favors the fittest and the fastest. Survival demands the twins make hard, ruthless decisions, but that all changes when Tripp and his twin hear a distress call via the radio. Prianka Patel, a girl Tripp loves to hate, is trapped and surrounded in a bakery. Soon, the twins have quite a collection of misfits and survivors and miles to go before anyone can sleep safely again.

No matter where Tripp looks, everyone everywhere is dead.

Like really dead . . . a lot.

Howard Odentz is a life-long resident of Western Massachusetts, where he divides his time between writing and tending a small farm. His love of animals, along with the lore of the region, often finds its way into his stories. The supernatural plays a major role in Mr. Odentz s writing. He is endlessly fascinated by the psychological aspects of those who are thrown into otherworldly circumstances.

In addition to Dead (A Lot), he has penned two full length musical comedies, including "Piecemeal," which tells the backstory of Victor Frankenstein s Hollywood-created protégé, Igor.