PROLOGUE
I never thought I'd see the day when the sun didn't rise in the morning.
It happened after a long period of global unrest, brought to a climax when the President of the United States made the decision to stop entering into agreements with other countries and become self-reliant. Instead of worrying about the people, he cared more about his own interests. That self-reliance backfired when the Yellowstone Super Volcano erupted. A situation the world called Eruption.
Although I was in Indiana at the time of the eruption, and we were states away from ground zero, we felt the effects horribly.
With no other nation willing to help us and worldwide weather patterns disrupted, we were on our own.
Civil unrest happened quickly, and within weeks, it was every person and nation for themselves. The global impact was severe. That's when the daily earthquakes and weird weather phenomena started. After that, things got even worse.
Luckily for me, I had my parents, a cousin, and my boyfriend.
Today, two years after the eruption happened, I buried the last person who was close to me, and now I'm completely alone at the end of the world.
CHAPTER 1
BETH
Four Years After Eruption
The silence came on quickly, after the chaos of civil unrest. It was as if the world was trying to heal itself from the inside out, and that mostly meant that sounds we grew up with were completely gone. Which is why, when I hear the crunch of glass to my left, I know that something is very, very wrong.
Immediately, I clear the gun from my thigh holster and point it in the direction of the sound.
"Don't shoot," the man says as he comes out of the hollowed out shell of what once was a convenience store with two hands up.
My gaze is on him as I grip the butt of my gun. The tension between us is palpable as I train the barrel on him. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my palms are sweating, but my hand stays steady. “Who are you?”
Nervous energy gnaws at my gut as I wait for him to answer.
But the quiet, it just gets louder in my ears, buzzing the longer I look at him. Perhaps the loudest silence I’ve ever heard.
Which is saying something since I made it through the fall of our entire world, and there really isn’t anything left that would make the type of noise I grew up with.
Technology is obsolete, and most vehicles look like the rusted-out one parked next to a gas pump that no longer works.
He doesn't say anything, so I forge on.
"Are you armed?" I spread my legs, making my stance stronger. I'm proud of the way my voice doesn't wobble. In the aftermath of Eruption, I've become much stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. It's what's gotten me through the worst times we've had.
He nods, lips clipped together. "I have weapons, but none I'm going to pull on you unless I have to."
His voice is tinged with an accent, one that sounds much like my own. I appreciate the fact that he's being honest, so I drop my gun, but don’t holster it. Instead, I adopt a semi-relaxed stance. "What are you doing sneaking around here?"
"Probably the same as you." He slowly puts his hands down and crosses his arms over his chest. It pulls the worn material tight over his chest, and I can’t help but notice that he has the type of muscles that come from years of working hard. "Looking to see if there are any useful supplies. Four years on, there isn't as much as there used to be."
Truer words have never been spoken. He tilts his head to the side, and his long brown hair moves, revealing his face. I’m surprised that he has a neatly trimmed beard. It's then that I see his green eyes, and I inhale deeply. Recognition hits me square in the gut. I knew this man sounded familiar. If I'm not mistaken, I went to high school with him. He was a Sheriff's Deputy in our town for the better part of five years before Eruption. "Are you Knox?" I ask both as quietly and loudly as I dare.
His head snaps up. "Where are you from?"
"Used to be Bishop's Landing, near Owensboro."
Carefully, he picks his way through the wreckage and walks slowly toward me. When he gets closer, I can see that he's definitely Knox Brown. "You look familiar. How do I know you?" he questions.
It's a little bit of a blow to my ego that he doesn't remember me. Then again I’ve grown up a lot, and there’s an age gap between us. I had the biggest crush on him when we were younger. I'd been an eighth grader, and he'd been the star of the football team as a junior. The entire town had looked up to him, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a crush on him. Regardless of age or gender, everyone wanted Knox Brown. We’d had a few conversations, but this is just proof I didn’t leave that much of a lasting impression. "I'm Elizabeth Harper."
Recognition flashes across his face, and he relaxes his stance. "Wow, I remember you. You've definitely grown up," he says, almost as an afterthought.
