- Recommended Age Range: 12 and up
- Formats: E-Book
- Approx. Length: 10,295 Words
Another unique zombie tale from Lori R. Lopez, the author of Heartbeat and The Lycaning, this time with Fruit Flies and two jaded strangers who learn that they are not as alone as they think.
One of the themes of this novelette is to not wait for the world to be ending to start living. It’s hot, and it’s going to get a lot hotter when humans mutate into cannibalistic corpses. But that’s not all; bugs are everywhere. In fact, bugs could be to blame in this worst-case scenario that may seem a bit close for comfort! Strap on your gas-mask while the pesticide flows. They’re coming. Watch your back . . . and your front. Watch everything!
Look for the author’s horror collection Odds And Ends, containing The Fruit Of Thy Womb!
Samples
“The end of the world began with a rotten banana.”
Bugs had taken over the city and to counter the infestation, experimental “safe” pesticides were periodically sprayed by teams wearing black hazardous-material suits. The Extermination Squad. If it was so safe, they wouldn’t need the suits.
~ from The Fruit Of Thy Womb
The Blonde impatiently held out a hand. Adele nervously passed hers across the scarred wood surface, and the mystic seized it to pry open and thud palm-up on the tabletop. The puffing lady’s head leaned forward at such an angle, Adele was afraid she meant to burn a hole in the palm rather than read it.
~ from The Fruit Of Thy Womb
Adele hugged herself and rocked, cold, so cold. It eluded her that the world was warming. In her secluded atmosphere, the climate was an ice age, somber as a windswept frost-coated plain where the Sun never shone and the clouds wept splintered shards of glass.
~ from The Fruit Of Thy Womb
The end of the world began with a rotten banana. Ziggy Boyle stood in an alley on a blistering day and nonchalantly peeled the piece of fruit — then noticed to his disgust the white interior had dissolved to a dark slimy pulp. “Gross!” Dropping it, he wiped sticky fingers on the front of a black shirt and ground the heel of a loafer over the squishy mound. He next spent a full minute scraping mashed banana off the bottom of his shoe onto the pavement. The peel had still been yellow. It was the last time he would steal a snack from that supermarket. Imagine if he paid for it! Indignation seethed. Out of habit, he suppressed his annoyance. Couldn’t denounce the corporations, even under one’s breath. It wasn’t wise.
A mass of cockroaches scuttled to mob the smeared fruit, a common sight. You couldn’t go anyplace without seeing them. Must be the heat. Temperatures kept breaking records. It was all people yakked about on the tube. That and storms. There were always bigger storms than the last. Not to mention the massacres. Terrorism was on the rise. It might be a hate group. It might be the meltdown of some suicidal nut-job with a grudge and a bag of bullets and guns or homemade bombs.
He figured they were all just too warm.
Praise
“I read this story today and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is not just a zombie caper, there’s much more to it. The storyline is perfect, I felt for both main characters. Lots of eating and that great Lori humour here. I loved it!”
“‘The end of the world began with a rotten banana.' In The Fruit Of Thy Womb by Lori R. Lopez, the world is getting hotter, people are starving, nations feud over the limited sources of water, and plagues are on the rise. Disgruntled Ziggy Boyle never expected that his life would literally change because of mutated fruit flies. Now Earth has another problem; zombies. Unable to contain his cannibalistic hunger, Ziggy unwillingly infected and created more zombies. The man isn't totally mindless though－his yearning to find his birth mother is still strong despite the horde of animated corpses that won't stop chasing him. Meanwhile, a homeless woman named Adele lingers in the park, hoping to see her lost son again. Will their wishes be fulfilled?
Mutated, bigger fruit flies with teeth that have a taste for human flesh? These bugs seem to be the crucial cause of the zombie apocalypse but readers will learn that humans themselves are the root of the problem. Lopez's The Fruit Of Thy Womb is an odd and creepy story substantially laced with a poignant tale of a mother and son. There are no glory moments for the unfortunate humans but I would like to think that protagonists Ziggy and Adele find their peace. There's a not-so-subtle jibe at pesticide and GMO seed manufacturers and the fact that nations all over the world are turning into 'surveillance states'. All in all, this is an interesting short tale from Lopez that the zombie genre fans will approve.”
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers’ Favorite
♥
“The story is not lovely! but it is wonderful! The world has gone to poop and poor Ziggy has had a tough time, the dejection and gloom in his world so delicately chronicled by LRL. Flies with teeth, aaah [that’s] almost as bad as spiders with wings! As the story flits back and forth in time zones and the stories of the three main characters revolve, it really gives you a sense of what has occurred as the horror unfolds. Its certainly a unique take on the zompoc.”
Vix Kirkpatrick
THE FLUFFY RED FOX REVIEWS; Amazon and Goodreads Review
♥
“Good Zombie Short! The Fruit of Thy Womb is a different type of zombie tale with a lot going on. The description was amazing, and the story flowed in a grotesque way that was satisfying.”
BOOKS AND MORE; Amazon Review
♥
“This was a great read. The characters were wonderfully developed despite the fact that this is a short story. There was heartache, hope, sadness and of course gore. I LOVED IT”
Samantha Bourne
Amazon Review
♥
“I’m so glad I read this one . . . ‘'The Fruit of Thy Womb’ fulfills the promise I had always expected in Lopez from that first mini-collection of hers that I read a few weeks back. The story itself is good, being a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse, both in terms of causation and delivery. That’s no surprise: I’ve always maintained that Lopez can tell a yarn.
What’s so pleasing about this story is that she’s writing better than she ever has before . . . and I couldn’t be more pleased. This is what makes the Indie horror scene (and I guess all Indie writing scenes) so great. A month ago, I had no idea who this writer was. I was able to get a bunch of her stories for free via Smashwords and consume them at my leisure . . . A great story. Harrowing and heartbreaking at times, but well-told, and well-structured. Well worth your time to track it down.”
Douglas Prince
Goodreads Review
♥
“This story takes you through so many emotions, fear, loss, love, hope and then it puts you right where we all end up, death. The suspense and horror leaves you wanting to read more and keeps the pages turning.
All Ziggy ever wanted to was to know the truth. Was he wanted as a child? Did his mother really care? But little did he know that he was going to be the [beginning] of a horde that will chase him to his answers as he is devoured by not only himself but the plague that is nipping at the heels of mankind. Adele never gave up looking once her son disappeared and even after [losing] everything that was precious to her she knows in some why that as long as she has hope everything will fall into place. When her past comes back into her memory and she realizes that maybe hope is foolish the best of the worst happens. I highly recommend this story to all horror, zombie or suspense fans!”
Jennifer Thomas
Smashwords; Amazon Reviews
♥
“I read this story today and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is not just a zombie caper, there’s much more to it. The storyline is perfect, I felt for both main characters. Lots of eating and that great Lori humour here. I loved it! ”
Jackie G Williams
Amazon Review
♥
“A Picture of our World in (Literal) Decay . . . Lori R. Lopez ROCKS! Which most of you already know ... And so does this tale. An all-too realistic combination of heat and bugs readers can (uncomfortably) feel might make you squirm. But .... There’s more ... A good deal more ...”
Tamara Turner
Goodreads Review
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“This was a very odd story. It’s zombie related but not what I would really expect for a zombie type story-line . . .”
Amanda Jansky
Amazon Review
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“Lopez has authored a really creepy short story. I believe she should set to work on a screenplay. Her tale would make a really creepy horror. It surprises me that it [isn’t].
Lopez is a great writer.”
Claire R. Gayder
Amazon Review
♥
“Well, this is different. Sometimes it seems that half of the indie horror releases concern some manner of apocalypse or other and, indeed, ‘The Fruit of Thy Womb’ is one of them. However, if you let that put you off you’ll be doing both the author and yourself a dire misservice, because it’s great.
Sure, it has its share of zombies, but that’s where the familiarity ends. In many ways [it’s] a cautionary tale about the perils of a consumer society, but Lopez’ prose is sufficiently sure-footed that she doesn’t rub that fact in your face. A brief mention at the start, and at the end, to wrap things up, but rest is glorious mix of stomach churning body-horror and a truly heart-breaking depiction of maternal loss.
All in all, ‘The Fruit of Thy Womb’ is not your regular apocalypse tale, and is all the better for it.
*****
Well, this was fun! At first you think it’s just going to be another pseudo-zombie story, but it quickly becomes more than that, as Lopez adds distinct layers to the narrative. As we learn about the main character’s back-story, details of which are interspersed with reflections on the current state of affairs — rising temperatures, water and food shortages, infestations of diseased insects... oh, and cannibalistic corpses, obviously — we learn of the ominous prediction laid out before he was born, his mother’s slide into insanity and depression and more besides. This human misery is worse, by far, than any plague of shuffling dead; his mother’s dead-eyed countenance more chilling than any depiction of suppurating flesh. A compelling tale.”
Kevin G. Bufton
THE BLOODY BLOODY BOOK REVIEW; Amazon and Goodreads Reviews
♥
“This was a gripping story . . . it kept me reading . . .”
Dawna Mosher
Amazon Review
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“Sad and lonesome. It was almost too much for my heart to bear. Some comedic relief but overall a dark, dark story. =(”
Aznluv
Amazon Review
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“I must admit, I only downloaded this because of the brilliant book cover. It reminds me of 80s thrash metal album covers. The Fruit Of Thy Womb is a unique zombie tale told with [nonstop] action and it gets right down to the point to keep you reading. Weaved into the story is commentary about greedy corporations ruining in the world, a topic that always gets me going. Here, have 5 stars.”
Gareth Alan
Smashwords Review
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“The Fruit of Thy Womb is a different type of zombie tale with a lot going on. The description was amazing, and the story flowed in a grotesque way that was satisfying.”
Emily Walker
Smashwords and Goodreads Reviews
♥
“[Enjoyed] reading this short story. Kept me intrigued. Nice story line. A must for zombie fanatics. Taken at a young age but finds his way home .... without giving the story away, I highly recommend this story.”
Amazon Reviewer
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“Truly enjoyed this short book, [it’s] definitely descriptively gruesome so be prepared! I found it unusual and creative, well written.”
Amazon Reviewer
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