Beat to the Punch

Owen was having a lousy day. He got ran over by an ambulance, visited by the Grim Reaper, and resurrected as an undead revenant in a power struggle between ancient demigods. He now has a ticking time bomb where his heart used to be. It gives him immense power but constantly drains his life essence. If he runs out, he'll be utterly consumed by the bloodthirsty presence in his head. Luckily for him, he can restore his essence by punching things. And with the dead now roaming the Earth as an ever-growing ravenous horde, there's no shortage of targets. Plunged into a hurricane of non-stop action, Owen will do battle with an endless stream of undead husks, colossal flesh abominations, disembodied flying heads, and even a being from beyond time itself. All the while, he'll be trying to figure out a way to avoid the unenviable fate of joining the mindless dead.  Crank meets Army of Darkness. Beat to the Punch can be considered a companion piece to the ongoing Community Magazine contest. While the "Dragons in Space" prompt won, the second-place runner-up "Undead Heart is looking for new Owner" was what inspired this story. It's completed at around 12,000 words split between 6 action-packed chapters to be released daily. No robots were used in the writing of this story.