Come With Me

By Beth D. Carter

Lainey is one of the few who survived the virus that ravaged the human population. In order to remain safe, she stays away from people, preferring to live on her own. Not trusting anyone. Until one night she’s attacked and rescued by a stranger who insists that there’s still good in the world.

Nolan has a fantastical story of a new civilization in Canada, and urges her to go with him. Lainey doesn’t know if she believes him or not, but the unknown is enough to scare her away. Yet day after day he slowly breaks down her walls, opening her up to the possibility that she might be strong enough to take a chance not only on him, but herself as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780369501677

Beth D. Carter

I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extrordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers. I try to write characters who aren't cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box. I love to hear from readers so I’ve made it really easy to find me on Facebook or Twitter. To subscribe to my newsletter, please visit my website: www.writtenbutterfly.com

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Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2020 Beth D. Carter

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0167-7

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Devin Govaere

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

My thanks to Stacey at Evernight Publishing, and my editor Devin, for helping me bring this story to life.

For Mike, my apocalypse super hero.

COME WITH ME

Those Who Survived, 1

Beth D. Carter

Copyright © 2020

Prologue

The streets were eerily deserted. The few people Lainey saw had surgical masks covering the lower parts of their faces. When she got to work, all the televisions had been pulled into the main lobby of the library, with various news channels streaming the same story that had dominated the airwaves for the past few weeks.

A deadly virus spreading fast.

A few of her co-workers stood around with masks on their faces, transfixed by the reports. They were the only people inside the building. No patrons sat in the comfy chairs around the perimeter. No students were hooked up at the internet stations. Not even the homeless hung out at the bathrooms.

Where is everyone? she asked her co-worker Maggie.

Shh, Maggie said, pointing at the television. She turned up the volume. It’s here, Lainey.

Virologists from the CDC, working at Cedars Sinai, have reported a quarantine in effect for the local hospitals after many people died from a relentless viral strain, the reporter on the screen said. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control admitted a contagion was released when one of their researchers, Dr. Amanda Tasker, crashed on an Atlanta freeway. Doctors are urging people who develop signs of contamination, such as bleeding from the nose, ears, or eyes, to report to local hospitals.

Maggie turned toward her, tears in her eyes. You should put on a mask.

They don’t even know how the virus is spreading, Lainey reminded her.

It’s airborne. Haven’t you been watching the news? It starts out in the local area, and then it’ll spread. Even into other countries. People are dying! And it’s here!

Maggie’s voice rose to a near panic. Another coworker came over to put her arms around Maggie’s shoulders.

Why are we even here at work? Maggie demanded, crying. Many businesses are closed, so why are we open? I need to get home. I need to be with my husband.

We’re open because we’re federally funded, Lainey murmured. A bit of red staining the front of Maggie’s mask caught her attention. She pointed. Maggie. You’re bleeding.

The fragile eggshells they’d been standing on broke. Maggie reached up and pulled her mask off to wipe her nose. Blood stained her fingertips. She screamed then turned and ran out of the library. This caused a panicked cascade as the rest of the staff grabbed purses and other personal items, hurrying away, leaving Lainey unsure what to do. Leave? Stay? She didn’t even have keys to lock up.

The CDC urges everyone to stay inside. So far, there is still no cure for this virulent virus…

Chapter One

Lainey opened her eyes to the diluted light filtering through the window and blinked a few times to moisten her eyes to break the crusty coating at the corners. Daybreak came far too quickly, and with it a scramble to finish all she had to accomplish. It wasn’t a safe world, but some places were safer than others. Unfortunately, where she found herself now wasn’t one of them. For a moment she let her mind wander back to when the world was normal. Or at least a world she understood. It may not have been perfect, but everyone had a place.

She once had a place, but not anymore.

Now every day was a test of survival.

The need to stretch her legs hit her, so she flipped over onto her back, lengthening muscles and easing the tension of the night. Looking about the room, she tried to determine if there was anything of value to take. The people who lived here once must have thought boarding up the place and putting plastic on everything would keep it all pristine for their return, without realizing they would never have the chance to see it again. Once the virus struck, it was usually over in a matter of days. No hiding or running from it, and more than likely, the previous owners were long dead.

After one more stretch, Lainey rose and scooted off the bed. She gathered the thin blanket and few items of clothing and put them back into her backpack before heading out of the room.

The bottom floor of the house was a wreck. All the windows were blown out, even the ones that had been boarded up, leaving the elements free rein to invade. Dirt and leaves covered the floors, and a small rodent scurried through a door. She didn’t bother the vermin, and they didn’t bother her.

The front door was stuck, but the angle at which the door hung had created a small space to wriggle through. Lainey crouched down to slither out through the opening, careful to avoid the large hole on the front porch. Early morning was a safer time to be out and about, and she took a deep breath of cool air as she observed her surroundings. She’d spent the night in what used to be Sherman Oaks, California, but civilization had left long ago. No more city limits, no boundaries or jurisdictions. The world has been decimated, and she happened to be one person that had been lucky to survive.

Or unlucky, depending