Apocalyptic World

Earth was never the same after World of the Changed. Humanity was reduced to two camps: monsters thirsting to kill, and players doing everything they could to survive. The squabbles people had spent their time on before? Gone. If you wanted to live to see another sunrise, you had to work with everyone you could, from other players to game functions.

Mysterious spores spread across the Earth, unseen, undetected. They embed in the sinuses, move to the brain, and colonize the entire nervous system. When the takeover is complete, they kill the host and animate the body, making them truly undead, flesh-devouring zombies.

In the near future, a virus has whittled down the human race. The remaining population struggles to survive in a world ravaged by extreme weather. A reticent government provides food and vaccines and keeps the ultra-fast trains running. Cities are empty, farms deserted, factories abandoned. The world is running on a skeleton crew.

What had started as a simple trip turns into an undercover operation for Nick, leaving Wisp to return to High Meadow on his own with a van full of children. In the search for answers, Nick learns that the problems are more complex than he imagined. The country’s minimal infrastructure is teetering on the brink of collapse. And the people in charge are not at all what he’d hoped. Angus predicts that the high mortality rate from the last round of flu could cause the disintegration of smaller settlements putting people on the road.

The president arrives at High Meadow with his entourage of bureaucrats and faux-military. Tillie and Angus don’t have time for any distractions as a massive wildfire bears down on their settlement. It will take more than hard work and good intentions to get them through this catastrophe. Martin is leery about sending all of his men to aid those in the path of the fire, thereby leaving their borders unprotected.

Without warning or explanation, an extended solar flare bombards the earth and doesn't stop, making each day a battle for survival. The sunlight blinds and burns instantly, and then kills within minutes. The radiation has also destroyed all of the earth's circuitry, leaving the nights dark and dangerous.

After the longest winter of her life, Vivian is thrilled to have Ginny back at her side. But joy soon turns to shock when the group learns that not only is Hope Springs in contact with other survivors, but that the CDC is working on a vaccine. And Angus could be the last hope for the human race. With an armed escort, the group sets out on a mission to get Angus to Atlanta. But the world proves to be more dangerous than the people of Hope Springs believed, and their lack of preparation ends in deadly results.

With supplies running low and animals scarce, not even the freezing zombies can make the future look bright for Axl's group. And as the snow grows deeper, Vivian's concern for Hadley and Jon only becomes more intense. Each day seems to bring more challenges, and every week that passes with no sign of their friends makes it more difficult for the group to believe life can ever return to normal.

With their shelter destroyed and their sense of security shattered, Vivian, Axl and the group set off in search of a safe place. But the group's morale is at an all-time low, and they now know it's not just the dead they have to fear. Weeks of wandering brings sickness, death and loss to the survivors, and Vivian soon finds herself losing hope of ever discovering a safe place to live. To make matters worse, two members of the group go missing, leaving the others to wonder not only what happened to them, but if they will ever see their friends alive again.

The power is out. The government is gone. All that’s left are gangs, violence, and desperation. Lacey doesn’t care about saving the world. She just wants to find her sister and keep her alive. But with every mile north, the bodies pile up and secrets from Lacey’s past come hunting. Family is all she has left, and she will burn what's left of the world to protect it.

Cassy has joined with Frank and his group, and the group members declare themselves a clan, pitting themselves as a group against the rising tide of darkness around them. Then the death of one of their own creates new tensions that may tear the clan apart before it ever reaches the promised oasis of Cassy's homestead farm. Worse, they are followed by a man bent on their destruction, who would take her farm for his own group if he can find it.

In a frozen wasteland where survival hangs by a thread, Simon Frost and his band of hardened warriors embark on a daring mission. With their lives on the line, they scour the treacherous landscape in search of vital resources to keep their camp alive. But when they encounter a ruthless adversary, they find themselves outnumbered and outmatched as a relentless battle erupts. Bullets tear through the air, and the stench of blood saturates the earth as they fight tooth and nail, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

One threat has been destroyed - another grows stronger. Even though Jack and the teams have won a major confrontation, their lives still hang by a thread. There are decisions to be made, and ones that have never been more critical.

Jack Walker and the other survivors continue their search for others. Unbeknownst to them, the night runners have initiated their own gathering and, with Michael's leadership, they are adapting. The survivors learn about some of these adaptations and strive to stay one step ahead. Their continued existence depends on it.

Greg rescues several survivors from the clutches of a fanatical group only to find a mysterious force behind him. With only a small team accompanying him, he flees into the night with the force following. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues.

The sanctuary walls were breached and through them poured screaming hordes of night runners. About to be overrun, the survivors formed a last stand against the thousands that threatened to end their existence. Inexplicably, the night runners, who were on the verge of taking one of the last vestiges of humanity, departed, carrying the limp body of Lynn with them.

Adrian Ring is in a coma. Shot by a traitor in his midst, he has slipped into an existence where his consciousness is neither alive nor dead. He has gone to the other side. Bolstered by the presence of the friends he has lost since "that day", Adrian embarks on exploring this frozen landscape of dreams and nightmares. Transported through time and space, Adrian sees a hunting trip firsthand with Gavin and then relives one of Gilbert's worst firefights during his Vietnam era. Then, he sees something that hasn't happened yet, but will. And what he sees will change the world forever.

Retired, divorced banker, and now hot air balloon pilot Tim Feely doesn't know the world is being eaten alive by zombies. It's early in the morning, and the first of the undead are only now appearing on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Right in Tim's town, in fact. So when he takes Julie and Lucas up into the air for their first hot air balloon ride, before the news reports start, and before the car accidents and looting begins, he has no idea just how crazy the ride will be.

It's the start of summer vacation, and poor Tony has just lost his grandfather. His father is deployed overseas, and his mother is raising him and his little brother all alone. But that's not what's bothering Tony. It's that his nana will be all alone in her small, rural home during the heat of summer, doing the yard work, the laundry, and all the things around the house, while mourning her husband. That won't sit for Tony. With his mother's permission he moves in with Nana for the summer.

When an EMP wipes out the power grid, the world goes dark and law and order vanish overnight. With no food, no water, and no government response, Emily Fairfield must fight to protect her children. Her daughter is trapped in a crumbling city, her son caught in the chaos, and danger is closing in from all sides. Alongside a wounded paramedic and the daughter of a mob boss, Emily risks everything to reunite her family. In a world without rules, survival will come at a cost.