After the
Ending
Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey
Pogue
Sci-Fi /
Dystopian
Date Published:
2/22/13
The Virus spread. Billions died. The
Ending began. We may have survived the apocalypse, but the Virus changed
us.
When people started getting sick, “they”
thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family…they’re all
gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them—with the rest of the
world—but I didn’t. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear
off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I’d ever experience. I was so
wrong. My name is Dani O’Connor, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The
Ending.
The Virus changed everything. The world I
knew is gone, and life is backwards. We’ve all had to start over. I’ve been
stripped of my home, my dreams…all that is me. I’m someone else now— broken and
changed. Other survivors’ memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind
until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won’t let them consume me. I
can’t. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The
Ending.
We’ve been inseparable for most of our
lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the Virus
has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers,
making sacrifices, killing—we’ll do anything to reach one another. Fear and
pain may be unavoidable, but we’re strong…we’re survivors. But to continue surviving
in this unfamiliar world plagued by Crazies and strange new abilities, we have
to adapt. We have to evolve.
EXCERPT
Looking around apprehensively, I made
my way toward the convenience store in hopes of finding a bathroom. The vacant
world around me was eerily silent. All I could hear was the creaking of a giant
wooden billboard being assaulted by the wind. How long has it been since anyone
was here? Through the dark windows I saw a bathroom sign that looked promising,
but I couldn’t bring myself to enter. I wonder if it’s
safe…
As I stood outside of the store, I
noticed a newspaper box still filled with papers. I leaned closer. The headline
read, BILLIONS DEAD, and the paper was dated December 9, right before
everything had started to shut down. I inserted a quarter and snatched out a
paper. Scanning its contents, my mouth grew dry and my body
stiffened.
…the H1N1/12
pandemic…
…looting and riotous outbreaks
everywhere…
…end of civilization as we know
it…
…survivors losing their
minds…
…governments can’t
control…
…the
Apocalypse…
The newspaper slipped from between my
fingers. Frozen in place, I was suffocated by the reality of our
situation.
This isn’t going
away.
The world ended. Thinking of the
strange feelings I’d been experiencing, I once again questioned my own sanity.
My thoughts were too loud to silence. My heart thudded, and I couldn’t swallow
the lump in my throat. Looking out into the abandoned world around me, I
realized how alone we really were. I bent down to reclaim the paper and turned
on my heels to head back toward the truck, completely awestruck as the words
I’d read replayed in my mind. Each was a reminder that the only world I’d ever
known had ended.
Author
Bio:
Lindsey Fairleigh lives her life with one
foot in a book—as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends
the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and
historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with
plenty of adventure and romance. When she’s not working on her next novel,
Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She
lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats.
Lindsey Pogue has always been a little
creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school
soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult,
expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations
of the world around her—whether she’s traveling, people watching, or hiking.
When not plotting her next storyline or dreaming up new, brooding characters,
Lindsey’s wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on
road trips with her own leading man.
Buy
Links
Kindle book on
Amazon *Kindle Version will be
FREE 3/15 - 3/17*
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