—Thank you. Thank you so much.
He places the gun back in the bag but keeps his hand on it.
He climbs in the back and lies on the floor beside the gurney, not wanting to soil it with his sooty clothes.
Lyle and Teesha are likable and seem like genuinely fine people, but part of him can’t help but wonder if this isn’t what they say it is. Even if it’s not particularly sinister. Even if they just plan to try to save him—drug him and take him back to their compound—believing that if he continues in the direction he’s headed he’ll be dead in less than a day.
Stay awake. Be vigilant.
He sits up and looks around. They are headed in the direction of Highway 20. Lyle driving, Teesha helping watch the road, neither of them paying him any attention, neither appearing to be up to anything other than what they told him they’d do.
They dim the lights in the back and, though he fights it hard, in moments he’s fast asleep.
He wakes what seems like a minute later as the ambulance comes to a stop not far from the intersection of Highways 73 and 20.
He gets out, thanks them, and takes his mask off as he heads toward 20 and they turn around and race away behind him.
He hasn’t walked far when he sees it.
The intersection of 73 and 20 is blocked by the convergence of some thirty or more abandoned cars.
His heart stops, stilling the ice cold blood in his veins as he sees that Meleah’s car is among them, driver’s door open, blood-covered airbag deployed.
about cataclysmos
Thank you for giving the post-apocalyptic world that is Cataclysmos a try. I really appreciate you taking this journey with me. Cataclysmos is a serial thriller with new parts being published on a regular basis.
For more information about Cataclysmos and for notifications of new installment releases, sign up for the Cataclysmos Communiqué by clicking here.
Don’t miss a single thrilling episode of Cataclysmos!
Click here to sign up today!
FOR A LIMITED TIME GET PART 2: NIGHT FIRES OF THE NEW WORLD FOR ONLY .99 CENTS. CLICK HERE.
Post a review and join the Cataclysmos Communiqué and I'll send you the next installment of CATACLYSMOS FOR FREE! Click here.
The end.
This is the way the world ends!
When the end comes it comes with astonishing speed.
It has been a slow build to the brink, but once the point of no return has been breached, night falls fast.
Disasters, avoidable and not, and the inhuman responses to humanity’s existential crises, every tipping point tipping us over the ragged rim, into a black abyss from which there is no return.
One man walks alone on a lonely road in search of his loved ones in a wasteland that used to be the world.
Though danger lurks around every bend of the desolate landscape he is undaunted and will be undeterred. His mission is simple if nearly impossible – find his family and friends who are still alive.
Encountering survivors who range from colorful characters to deadly adversaries, his journey is as much inward as it is outward, revealing as much about himself and the other survivors as the bleak new world they now inhabit.
Warned to stay away from the coast, he heads directly into danger, choosing death over a world without his remaining loved ones in it.
But is he too late? And if he’s not, is he up to the task of saving them?
books by michael lister
(Cataclysmos)
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 1: This is the Way the World Ends
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 2: Night Fires of the New World
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 3: The Deacon
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 4: Perish Twice
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 5: The Long Dark Night
Cataclysmos Collection Book 1 Parts 1-3
Cataclysmos Book 1 Complete in 5 Parts
(John Jordan Novels)
Power in the Blood
Blood of the Lamb
Flesh and Blood
(Special Introduction by Margaret Coel)
The Body and the Blood
Blood Sacrifice
Rivers to Blood
Innocent Blood
(Special Introduction by Michael Connelly)
Blood Money
Blood Moon
Blood Cries
Blood Oath
(Jimmy “Soldier” Riley Novels)
The Big Goodbye
The Big Beyond
The Big Hello
The Big Bout
In a Spider’s Web (short story)
The Big Book of Noir
(Merrick McKnight / Reggie Summers Novels)
Thunder Beach
A Certain Retribution
(Remington James Novels)
Double Exposure
(includes intro by Michael Connelly)
Separation Anxiety
(Sam Michaels / Daniel Davis Novels)
Burnt Offerings
Separation Anxiety
(Love Stories)
Carrie’s Gift
(Short Story Collections)
North Florida Noir
Florida Heat Wave
Delta Blues
Another Quiet Night in Desparation
(The Meaning Series)
The Meaning of Jesus
Meaning Every Moment
The Meaning of Life in Movies
Sign up for Michael’s newsletter by clicking here or go to www.MichaelLister.com and receive a free book.
about cataclysmos
Thank you for giving the post-apocalyptic world that is Cataclysmos a try. I really appreciate you taking this journey with me. Cataclysmos is a serial thriller with new parts being published on a regular basis.
For more information about Cataclysmos and for notifications of new installment releases, sign up for the Cataclysmos Communiqué by clicking here.
Don’t miss a single thrilling episode of Cataclysmos!
Click here to sign up today!
FOR A LIMITED TIME GET PART 2: NIGHT FIRES OF THE NEW WORLD FOR ONLY .99 CENTS. CLICK HERE.
Post a review and join the Cataclysmos Communiqué and I'll send you the next installment of CATACLYSMOS FOR FREE! Click here.
The end.
This is the way the world ends!
When the end comes it comes with astonishing speed.
It has been a slow build to the brink, but once the point of no return has been breached, night falls fast.
Disasters, avoidable and not, and the inhuman responses to humanity’s existential crises, every tipping point tipping us over the ragged rim, into a black abyss from which there is no return.
One man walks alone on a lonely road in search of his loved ones in a wasteland that used to be the world.
Though danger lurks around every bend of the desolate landscape he is undaunted and will be undeterred. His mission is simple if nearly impossible – find his family and friends who are still alive.
Encountering survivors who range from colorful characters to deadly adversaries, his journey is as much inward as it is outward, revealing as much about himself and the other survivors as the bleak new world they now inhabit.
Warned to stay away from the coast, he heads directly into danger, choosing death over a world without his remaining loved ones in it.
But is he too late? And if he’s not, is he up to the task of saving them?
books by michael lister
(Cataclysmos)
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 1: This is the Way the World Ends
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 2: Night Fires of the New World
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 3: The Deacon
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 4: Perish Twice
Cataclysmos Book 1 Part 5: The Long Dark Night
Cataclysmos Collection Book 1 Parts 1-3
Cataclysmos Book 1 Complete in 5 Parts
(John Jordan Novels)
Power in the Blood
Blood of the Lamb
Flesh and Blood
(Special Introduction by Margaret Coel)
The Body and the Blood
Blood Sacrifice
Rivers to Blood
Innocent Blood
(Special Introduction by Michael Connelly)
Blood Money
Blood Moon
Blood Cries
Blood Oath
(Jimmy “Soldier” Riley Novels)
The Big Goodbye
The Big Beyond
The Big Hello
The Big Bout
In a Spider’s Web (short story)
The Big Book of Noir
(Merrick McKnight / Reggie Summers Novels)
Thunder Beach
A Certain Retribution
(Remington James Novels)
Double Exposure
(includes intro by Michael Connelly)
Separation Anxiety
(Sam Michaels / Daniel Davis Novels)
Burnt Offerings
Separation Anxiety
(Love Stories)
Carrie’s Gift
(Short Story Collections)
North Florida Noir
Florida Heat Wave
Delta Blues
Another Quiet Night in Desparation
(The Meaning Series)
The Meaning of Jesus
Meaning Every Moment
The Meaning of Life in Movies
Sign up for Michael’s newsletter by clicking here or go to www.MichaelLister.com and receive a free book.
CATACLYSMOS Book 1 Part 2: Night Fires of the New World: A Post-Apocolyptic Serial Thriller Page 5
