Fiction Survival Stories

In 1910, Sir Robert Falcon Scott led a team of Englishmen racing to be the first people to reach the South Pole. Amidst frigid temperatures and raging winds, Scott and four others made it to the pole only to find that another team had gotten there first. Low on morale and facing ever-plunging temperatures, the trek home would prove a harrowing task.

Thirteen-year-old Juniper is full of excitement when she’s offered the chance to visit her aunt and uncle in Alaska and take part in a hunt in the Tongass National Forest. Juniper has plenty of experience hunting mule deer at home in Colorado, and she's sure she’ll be ready for whatever Alaska can throw at her. But Southeast Alaska isn’t quite what Juniper expected.

On a summer vacation with his family, Marlon Keys is about to hike the Appalachian Trail. He isn't exactly thrilled about the trip, he'd rather play on his smartphone and connect with his friends back home. But when Marlon accidentally gets separated from the group on the hike, his "boring" vacation becomes an exercise in survival. Can Marlon find his way back to his family and camp safely, or will he remain lost on the trail?

Esna Donovan was stranded on a planet full of people that didn't look like her as a child along with her brother. Their father was murdered, leaving them sitting in their spaceship waiting for his return. They remember almost nothing from before that time, when two Calavari who were business associates of their father took them in and told them they could never be seen outside their full body armor. They've honored their father's dying wish, living and working on the Calavari's farm while exploring the barren wastelands looking for bits of technological salvage.

Still searching for the Emperor’s Seat, Zelia, Talen and Mekki arrive on the jungle planet of Weald. Accompanied by the ingenious alien ape Fleapit and the dashing Rogue Trader Amity, Zelia and her friends become embroiled in a war between two brutish tribes of green-skinned orks! Only by using their wits can they hope to survive this savage encounter....

It was supposed to be a fun camping trip. Tom and Kevin had been looking forward to it all summer. Kevin had never camped before, and Tom couldn't wait to show his friend how to fish and survive in the wilderness. But when the long-dormant volcano erupts, their fun trip vanishes, replaced by a mad dash for survival. Tom and Kevin have to use their smarts to outrun the lava spilling madly from the volcano's peak.

Ollie Mackerelli is determined to face his fear of the dark, once and for all, but he gets more than he bargained for when his therapist turns out to be an actual monster. To make it even worse, Ollie is transformed from a boy to a possum and locked in a cage. With no way to call for help, Ollie must learn to be brave (with the help of some furry friends), or he will be the main course.

From the beginning Jonathan is spooked by the deserted island where his family is camping - and his premonitions come true. After Jonathan's mother breaks her ankle, Jonathan and his younger sister, Abby, are left alone. Then a devastating earthquake hits. The bridge is destroyed, the trailer is smashed, and there's no food or water. Suddenly Jonathan and Abby are fighting for their lives...

Dean, Alex, and the other survivors of the Monument 14 have escaped the disaster zone and made it to the safety of a Canadian refugee camp. Some of the kids have even been reunited with their families, and are making tentative plans for the future. Then, Niko learns that his lost love, Josie, has survived! Or is it? For Josie, separated from the group and presumed dead, life has gone from bad to worse. Trapped in a terrible prison camp with other exposed O’s and traumatized by her experiences, she has given up all hope of rescue.

Jeff and his best friend Keith are ice-fishing in the middle of Big Lake. It’s been hours without a bite, but they’re still having a blast - until the storm of the decade closes in. Soon, the entire landscape is buried in three feet of snow and the snowfall shows no sign of stopping.

Rick, Tina, and their new family members embark on a journey with Annette to Miami, Florida, for a cruise where trouble was brewing. Once again, Rick, Tina, and their furry owners must use their preps and wits to survive the fury of more than a mere hurricane. With first Tina and then Owen going missing, Rick and his canines must race to find them before it's too late.

Each of the three seeds in this story - a cherry seed in the Middle East, an acacia seed in Australia, a lotus seed in Asia - survives a difficult journey through flood, fire, or drought, then sprouts (in the case of the lotus seed, a hundred years later) and flourishes. To author Stephie Morton, nature's powerful forces are a metaphor for the hardships faced by displaced children. Kids, like seeds, thrive when given a chance.

It is 1992, and Bihac, Amra's hometown, is a multicultural city with Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. But when tensions escalate, the Serbs turn on their Bosnian neighbors. The Serbs control the army, and now they have peaceful Bihac surrounded. Soon Amra and her family are dealing with starvation and the threat of brutal violence; school, friendships, and the attentions from a new boy have to take a back seat to finding food and the tragic fallout from rising bigotry and ethnic hatred. Through it all, a stray cat, Maci, serves as a guardian spirit to the entire family.

Shay, one of the rare survivors of the epidemic sweeping the UK, has surrendered herself to the Army because she believes she's a carrier of the deadly disease. Along with other survivors, she unwillingly becomes a test subject in an effort to find a cure. When the lab where she's being held is attacked, Shay and a few others escape - with the help of Dr. Alex Cross, Kai's hated stepfather and Callie's father. Alex is the leader of the cult-like group Multiverse. Their agenda is murky, but genetic engineering might be one of their goals.

Jarra is one of the unlucky few born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Derided as an “Ape” - a “throwback” - by the rest of the universe, she is on a mission to prove that Earth girls are just as good as anyone else. Except now the planet she loves is under threat by what could be humanity’s first-ever alien contact. Jarra’s bravery - and specialist knowledge - will once again be at the center of the maelstrom, but will the rest of the universe consider Earth worth fighting for?

It was 1964 in the brand-new state of Alaska, a vast land of staggering beauty and heart-stopping dangers. Eleven-year-old Jack had grown up living happily with his parents in an off-the-grid cabin, miles from their closest neighbors. Grizzlies and wolves outnumbered people, and dark winter days were 30 degrees below zero. Jack had always thought of himself as strong -- "Alaska tough". But then the most powerful earthquake in American history -- the Good Friday Earthquake -- struck.

When a spontaneous time leap sends Nickolas Flux back to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, what's a teenage history buff to do? Try to avoid being buried alive in Pompeii, of course! From hot falling ash to a catastrophic pyroclastic surge, Nick must survive one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history.

Christopher has never rafted on a river like Australia's Franklin River. Will he be brave enough to tackle the whitewater?

In Never Say Die, 15-year-old Inuit hunter Nick Thrasher takes a trip downriver with his half-brother Ryan, who’s visiting Canada’s Arctic to photograph the caribou migration. But when disaster strikes, Nick is forced to survive alone in a landscape filled with dangerous predators. Most of all, he fears the terrifying “grolar bear”, the half-grizzly, half-polar-bear hybrid that isn’t supposed to exist - except Nick has seen it with his own eyes.

Kirk and his Granddad are out hiking in the mountains when Granddad injures his ankle. Since he can’t hike anymore, it’s up to Kirk to face the mountain and its unpredictable weather by himself to get back to the smokechasers’ tower and call for help.