by Shauna Granger
Release Date: 12/02/13
Summary from Goodreads:
There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.
The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.
That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.
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Excerpt:
A few rows
behind me, something hits the ground. It sounds like the metallic slap a can
would make if it hit linoleum. Blue perks up his ears and turns toward the
noise, his furry grey eyebrows lifting. A cold hand grips the base of my spine
as I, too, turn toward the sound.
“Dylan?” I call
softly, terrified to raise my voice. When he doesn’t answer, I grab a hunting
knife hanging on the wall. I pull my mask back on to cover my nose and mouth as
fear claws at my stomach.
I struggle with
the hard plastic around the knife, cursing myself for leaving both of my
weapons in my pack in the cart, but I manage to rip it open and free the knife.
Adjusting my grip on the handle of the basket, I creep forward to the end of
the aisle, letting the tiny lantern guide me. I lean around to look toward the
market where I left Dylan. We had split up like idiots, just like the dumbass
people who got themselves killed in horror movies, and all I can think about is
the wide open door in the front of the store, inviting anyone to sneak up on
us.
I can’t see or
hear anything, so I step around the edge of the end cap and carefully walk
forward. Blue walks alongside me, his ears flat against his head and his
shoulders hunched up. With a deep breath, I turn the corner, but there is
nothing. We walk on, pausing before each aisle. Many of the shelves are empty
or nearly so. Jars are shattered on the floor, spilling their contents; bread
is molding in plastic bags; sodas have spilled on the metal shelves, the liquid
congealing into a syrupy mess that no longer drips. At the fourth row, Blue
growls low in his throat, his hackles rising along his spine, sending a chill
down mine as I freeze.
“Dylan?” I try
to keep my voice low and steady even though my mask muffles my voice.
“Come on out,
little girl,” an unfamiliar voice drawls, making that cold hand clench around
my spine. Blue growls again, stepping forward, but I grab the scruff at his
neck to stop him. I have no idea what’s around that corner, and I’m not about
to let him get shot. I take a second to muster up my courage before I peek
around the edge of the end cap. Dylan is on his knees, his hands behind his
head, with two boys holding a knife to his throat.
Time of Ruin (Ash and Ruin #2)
Release Date: 07/22/14
Summary from Goodreads:
The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.
Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.
But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.
And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.
The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.
Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.
But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.
And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.
The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.
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Excerpt:
Sitting on the
bumper again, my jagged nails scratch at the plastic as I fight the urge to
tell Dylan to hurry. Blue looks up at me and whines. I shake my head at him and
pet him with the toe of my boot. His eyes are dark blue in the evening light.
Blue drops his head and looks at Dylan, his ears perked up into two triangles.
I follow his gaze. Dylan’s still standing, holding his instruments of
destruction, and staring at the raging fire.
Blue pushes to
his feet and barks one sharp, loud yelp. My hand drifts over to the rifle by my
leg as I let my eyes slide from Dylan’s back to search for the source of Blue’s
panic.
“Dylan.” I mean
to call to him, but my voice comes out in a strangled whisper.
I swallow as I
stand and pull the rifle with me. Across the street, the shadows between the
houses are taking shape. They’re no longer the snapping, twisting formless
shadows from the fire, but something more, something substantial. Dylan lifts
the can of fluid and squirts more onto the fire, making it spike and lick the
air.
“Dylan,” I try
again, my voice a little louder. The rifle is in my hands now. The stock is
pressed into my shoulder as I aim at the shadows peeling away from the deeper
black.
Still Dylan
doesn’t hear me, or is ignoring me.
Blue barks
repeatedly, backing up until he hits the car. I find my voice and scream his
name loud enough that it hurts my throat. Finally he looks at me, his face cast
in shadows with the light behind him. I can’t make out his features, but I can
make out the horde of Pestas behind him.
“Run!” I aim the
gun as I walk backward around the car.
Instead of
listening to me, he looks back to see what has terrified me so. They shuffle
forward, lines of them spilling out into the cul-de-sac. Dylan takes two steps
backward, nearly tripping over his feet and making me scream again. I rip the
rear door open for Blue to get in the car. Slamming the door behind Blue, I
lift the rifle and fire a shot, aiming well away from Dylan. The Pestas cringe
in unison, as though they are all puppets controlled by the same set of
strings.
“Run, dammit!” I
scream.
Age of Blood (Ash and Ruin #3)
Release Date: 05/05/15
Summary from Goodreads:
Hope is a dangerous thing, but powerful. Hope keeps you going. Hope can
keep you alive.
But hope can shatter your world.
Kat and Dylan have found a home, but the monsters are still out there. The pox and plague still ravage the world. They have hope of finding a vaccine, but their encampment isn't equipped to develop it.
Dylan is still too weak from the pox to leave the encampment, so Kat must decide between staying by his side and protecting her last remaining family member as he leaves to find supplies. Separated for the first time since they came together, Kat and Dylan will have to fight their own battles to save what is left of their bloody world.
Kat will have to hold on to hope that she has anything left to save and someone to come home to. If she can survive.
But hope can shatter your world.
Kat and Dylan have found a home, but the monsters are still out there. The pox and plague still ravage the world. They have hope of finding a vaccine, but their encampment isn't equipped to develop it.
Dylan is still too weak from the pox to leave the encampment, so Kat must decide between staying by his side and protecting her last remaining family member as he leaves to find supplies. Separated for the first time since they came together, Kat and Dylan will have to fight their own battles to save what is left of their bloody world.
Kat will have to hold on to hope that she has anything left to save and someone to come home to. If she can survive.
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Excerpt:
“They’re getting pretty loud,” he
says, looking over his shoulder.
The voices that brought me out of
my reverie are carrying over the hillside, and I realize they aren’t behind us.
They’re off to the side, up the hill.
“Weird,” I say, cocking my head
to listen better.
Those aren’t seeking voices—those
are voices raised in panic. Blue boofs,
his whole body practically vibrating as he stares toward the voices, his ears
lifted to listen.
“What do you think?” Dylan asks.
“Oh shit,” I whisper.
My hands move faster than my
mind, instinctively strapping my thigh holster into place in seconds, then I’m
on my feet and running. Dylan is calling out behind me, but Blue is at my side,
running ahead of me in another heartbeat. I pull my pistol out of the holster,
my thumb finding the safety without me looking. My feet carve into the grass,
propelling me faster and faster. With my other hand, I’m pulling my bandana up
over my face, covering my mouth and nose. I’ve been inoculated, but I won’t
take any chances.
My lungs burn as my breathing
becomes shallow, but then I crest the top of the hill and see the source of the
screaming. Two boys I’ve walked the perimeter with on plenty of shifts, Edgar
and Jeff, are at the fence and screaming.
Edgar’s shoulder is to the fence
as I pound toward them, my gun trained on the dark form behind the fence, too
close to Edgar. Her rattling breath crawls up my spine, louder in my ears than
the boys’ screaming. Her hood billows and collapses in the breeze, and I almost
see her face, almost see her milky green eyes. Her fingers reach, knobby and
bone thin, the skin sickly and plastic looking.
Edgar screams again, his eyes
wide and full of tears. He rips his body away from the fence, stumbling over
his own feet, and almost catches the barrel of his rifle on the ground. The
fence rattles, reminding me how flimsy it is, how far apart the support poles
are. When I look, the Pesta is gripping the chain link, her black nails almost
piercing her hands as she clutches the fence.
A cloud of green gas fills the
air in front of her face. The sound of her breath is a death rattle. It fills
my ears and drowns out the boys’ screams. Blue is jumping and barking but
keeping his distance, the noxious gas enough to keep him back.
Panic claws and crawls in my
stomach, twisting and reaching. Edgar has dropped his weapon to grab his shirt,
pulling it off his head and twisting in every direction to check his body. Jeff
screams at him, but I can’t make out his words over the sound of the Pesta and
Blue barking. Jeff still has his rifle in his hands, but it isn’t trained on
the monster in front of us.
Distantly I think I hear Dylan’s
voice, the sound of my name being called, but I don’t answer him. He’s still
recovering. He shouldn’t be hiking up this stupid hill to see what these stupid
boys are doing—or aren’t doing.
“Kill it!” I scream, my voice
ripping from my throat. My voice rends the air, shutting the boys up and making
Blue fall to all four paws to look at me, his mouth open in a forgotten bark.
“Kill it! Kill it now!”
I feel my gun in my hand, but
Jeff is between the Pesta and me. She has cleverly kept herself out of my line
of sight, and with Jeff swinging that massive rifle around, I have to keep Blue
and me out of his way. But my voice seems to have reached him and pulled him
out of his panic. Jeff spins around, lifting the rifle. The cloud of green gas
is bigger, reaching for him, so he steps back and pulls the trigger at the same
time. The shot is resounding and deafening so close.
My whole body flinches, but my
finger isn’t on the trigger, so we’re safe from me at least. Dylan’s voice is
louder. I know he’s making his way up the hill, and I could kick myself for not
telling him to go back to the encampment for help instead of taxing himself by
following me. Blue whines at my feet, and I realize I’ve grabbed his collar
with my empty hand, keeping him at my side. I won’t—can’t—let him go yet.
Edgar is dry heaving, his hands
braced on his knees, bent double as his stomach tries to give up whatever is
inside, which isn’t much. The sounds crawl into my ears and twist my stomach,
threatening to make me sick.
“Edgar, answer me,” Jeff screams.
How his throat isn’t raw yet, I don’t know.
My gaze travels past Jeff to the
crumpled mass on the ground behind the fence. Her black cloak pools around her
emaciated body so I can’t see her face—I can’t be sure she’s dead. She looks
dead, but they always look dead. I let go of Blue, and thankfully, he runs to
meet Dylan as he makes to the top of the hill, pausing to catch his breath when
he sees me alive and well.
“Edgar, did she?” Jeff asks,
taking a cautious step toward his friend. He’s put some distance between him
and the fence, so I can move behind him.
The toe of my boot touches the
chain link, and it rattles, shifting with the tiniest of nudges. This fence is
complete bullshit—a false sense of security that can and will come down with enough
force.
The hem of the black cloak
ruffles, but I can’t tell if it was the breeze that moved it or the breathing
of the monster hidden in the folds. I can just make out the tips of her black,
claw-like nails peeking out of the sleeve, stark against the green clover. My
mouth goes dry, and I lift my gun. It’s awkward, but I slip the barrel through
the diamond-shaped hole and take aim at where I think the head should be. The
report of the shot stops Jeff’s screaming for a moment. The black fabric shreds,
and her skull explodes in a mass of green and grey matter, leaving a gaping
hole that oozes black and red.
About the Author:
Like so many other writers, Shauna grew up as an avid reader, but it was
in high school that she realized she wanted to be a writer. Five years ago,
Shauna started work on her Elemental Series. She released the first
installment, Earth, on May 1, 2011 and has since released four
sequels, with the series coming to an end with Spirit. She is
currently hard at work on a new Urban Fantasy series, staring a spunky witch
with a smush-faced cat named Artemis.
Author
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