Survival Short Stories

Our ‘fight of flight’ response is something hardwired into the primitive part of our brain. Our need to survive, to outlive whatever danger poses, that immediate threat to our lives is little short of a marvel. Everything else is abandoned in order to survive. Whilst in modern times that ability has been somewhat modified and ‘reasoned’ away to an extent, in past years it’s what usually kept you alive. In this volume people struggle valiantly to survive and to exist no matter the extent of the threat they face.

When an EMP wipes out the power grid, Caroline Thompson is alone on the family ranch while her husband, Luke, and their son are stranded in Fort Worth as chaos erupts. With no power, no law, and danger at every turn, Caroline must fight her way into the collapsing city to find them. But bringing her family back together is only the beginning. Looters are closing in, determined to take everything Caroline has fought to protect as their ranch turns into a battleground for survival.

Laurel is stabilizing a patient in the ER when the power goes out. When the rest of the hospital evacuates, she refuses to leave her patients behind—especially her sick mother. She’s determined to fight for their lives. Even if it means putting her own in danger… In a remote mountain cabin hundreds of miles away, Laurel’s husband, Bear, begins a grueling trek across Minnesota. He’ll do whatever it takes to reunite his family. But it’s a dangerous journey, and he’s all alone save for his loyal dog, Jessamine, and Trent, an orphaned boy he finds along the way.

A collection of four critically acclaimed, gripping short novels that delve into the depths of survival, obsession, and the dark side of human nature.Box of Bones Jim, an American expat teaching English in the Philippines, wakes up after a night out to find himself trapped inside a pitch-black coffin—running out of oxygen and out of time. With only his cell phone and his wits, he must fight panic and exhaustion in a desperate race against death.Six Bullets Thirteen months after a massive asteroid wiped out civilization, survivalist Burt James is still alive—bunkered in his fortified ...

How do you survive when an ordinary day explodes into a battle against nature's most terrifying power? When the sky turns a malevolent green and the roar of a thousand freight trains is the last thing you hear before your world is ripped apart? Tornado: Twisted Tales invites you into the heart of fifteen unforgettable storms through a collection of gripping short stories. These aren't just tales of destruction; they are visceral accounts of human endurance, the desperate courage of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, and the unpredictable twists of fate that unfold when ...

USA TODAY and #1 AMAZON bestselling author Jeremy Bates presents the complete collection of the award-winning Midnight Book Club short novels. With fast-paced plots and stunning twists, these stories offer close to 1,000 pages of heart-racing suspense, action, and terror from one of today's most exciting voices in horror. Black Canyon Twelve-year-old Brian Garrett embarks on a weekend camping trip in Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison, hoping to reconnect with his distant parents. But when his father suffers a brutal accident deep in the chasm, survival takes a sinister turn. Over ...

Have you ever felt the chill of unseen eyes upon you, the prickle of ancient fear when the woods fall silent? When the full moon swells and casts its pale, eerie glow, the world you know recedes. The boundary between man and monster blurs, and the oldest, most terrifying legends step out from the shadows. Prepare to be gripped by Werewolves: Horror Stories, a harrowing collection of FIFTEEN original tales designed to sink their teeth into your deepest anxieties. This isn't just about fangs and fur; it's about the crushing weight of isolation, the heart-stopping terror of the hunt, and the ...

For Sage, fitting in with her new classmates is a matter of life or death. Literally. Dragged out of hiding after her parents are killed, Sage is forced to enroll in the Institution. There, she’ll learn to be a model citizen of Eprah. But model citizens are murderers. And when everyone is granted autonomy to be judge, jury, and executioner, it’s far too easy to wind up dead. To stay alive, Sage will have to convince everyone of her unwavering loyalty to Eprah — which means turning her back on everything she’s ever believed. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games and Divergent, you will ...

This exciting cryptid creature feature collection contains six short stories of terror in the woods. It contains three previously published stories: THE DARKNESS IN THE PINES THE BEAST OF FALLOW PINES, and SOMETHING IN THE WOODS in addition to three never before published stories: FALLOW CREEK PART I FALLOW CREEK PART 2 and the conclusion to the Fallow Pines story, SOMETHING IN THE WOODS PART II - THE BEAST IN THE DARKNESS! FALLOW CREEK PART I While exploring the long-abandoned Fallow Creek Campground, Dan Easton makes a terrifying discovery in the pines. FALLOW CREEK PART II Rob Easton ...

For Megan Wolford, life as she knew it came to an end after the world was decimated by an EMP. Now, she does her best to survive and protect her daughter, Caitlin. But when the young girl falls ill with a mysterious virus, Meghan must leave the safety of their home and embark on a dangerous journey to forage for medical supplies.

Detroit, Zombie Apocalypse! By James Bachman The Motor City is dead—and the dead don’t stop. On the assembly line of a half-abandoned auto plant, the outbreak begins with sparks, screams, and blood soaking the factory floor. Within hours, Detroit is overrun—hospitals collapse, neighborhoods burn, and the city’s steel-and-concrete ruins swarm with the infected. Darnell, a laid-off auto worker who knows every back alley and shuttered plant. Gloria, a nurse trapped in a hospital where patients rise from their beds. Miguel, a teenager running with a scavenger crew caught between ...

New Orleans, Zombie Apocalypse! By James Bachman The Big Easy just became the Big Dead. Mardi Gras should have been a night of parades, music, and endless revelry. Instead, the floats roll with blood, sequined masks hide rotting faces, and Bourbon Street erupts in screams as the dead crash the party. Tasha, a bartender who knows the Quarter’s back alleys better than any cop. Caleb, an EMT who’s seen every kind of death—until now. Reverend Duval, a preacher holding his flock together inside a barricaded church as the faithful rise with a hunger no prayer can cure. From the French ...

If it knocks four times -- don’t answer. When Liam inherits his late uncle’s remote hunting cabin deep in the Ridge 9 backwoods, he expects quiet isolation — not claw marks on trees, not torn-up trail cams, and certainly not a journal filled with paranoid ramblings about "four knocks" in the night. But the deeper Liam digs into his uncle’s final days, the more disturbing the entries become — detailing a presence that circles the cabin, leaves no tracks, and never comes in… unless you open the door. Now snowed in, with no way to contact the outside world, Liam finds himself alone...

‘A powerful, harrowing and courageous book.’ - Piers Morgan A shocking true essay of a young girl's abusive childhood from Number 1 bestselling author Toula Mavridou-Messer. Sexually abused by her mother's partner from the age of five for fifteen years, Toula, a successful television producer, former Senior Head of Celebrity Ambassadors at The Prince's Trust and bestselling author, developed the lifelong condition of severe complex PTSD. Pulling no punches in this powerful and true account, Toula discusses why she spoke up, what triggered her to speak up when she did and the results of ...

The war wasn’t the only thing hunting them. 1969 - Deep in the Vietnamese jungle, a U.S. recon squad is sent to investigate a series of patrols that never returned. Cut off from command and surrounded by hostile terrain, they expect enemy fire. What they find is something else. A towering, brutal creature—covered in hair, walking upright, and more intelligent than anything they’ve faced—is stalking them through the green hell of the jungle. Locals call it Nguoi Rung. The men call it Bigfoot. Bigfoot – Vietnam is a gritty war-horror novella blending cryptid terror with the ...

The EMP has officially crippled the nation and her infrastructure sits in ruin. Can a burned-out DEA agent, a Guatemalan-born cartel daughter, and an estranged brother find their way back to their families, or will they succumb to the perils of a nation in steep decline? The Complete Age of Embers is a no-holds-barred post-apocalyptic adventure series chronicling a nationwide descent into a powerless world.

A powerful EMP attack leaves the city in chaos, plunging society into darkness and uncertainty. Stephanie Dupont, a podcast host who exposed government secrets, must navigate the crumbling streets of Chicago with her teenage brother and a frightened stranger. With limited supplies, rising violence, and no power, they race against time to escape the city and find safety. As societal order collapses, Stephanie must confront her beliefs and decide whom she can trust. Will they survive the journey, or will the city’s descent into anarchy consume them all?

Washington DC, Zombie Apocalypse! by James Bachman When the halls of power crumble, survival begins. The infection starts in the heart of Washington D.C., turning politicians, aides, and lobbyists into ravenous undead. As chaos engulfs the nation's capital, a janitor, a fast-food worker, and a grandmother on a mission band together in a desperate bid to escape the hellscape. With the military enforcing brutal quarantine measures and the infected growing in numbers, every decision could mean life or death. As the city burns and democracy dies, can a few unlikely heroes find safety, or will ...

The wildfire isn't the deadliest thing in these woods. A raging inferno tears through Timberline Ridge. A six-person hotshot crew is deployed to contain it. But as smoke thickens and the forest closes in, something ancient and furious emerges from the untouched trees. They call it Bigfoot. Cut off from radio, trapped by fire, and stalked through ash and flame, the team must survive not only the blaze—but a predator that’s lived in these forests long before men ever carried axes. Bigfoot – Fire on the Ridge is a blistering horror novella of primal terror, isolation, and survival. ...

Los Angeles, Zombie Apocalypse! By James Bachman When the outbreak spreads to the City of Angels, chaos reigns. Los Angeles descends into a nightmare as wildfires blaze, the infected roam the streets, and survivors scramble to escape a city consumed by death. In a world where the rich hide behind gates and the poor are left to fend for themselves, the lines between life and death blur—and survival comes at an unimaginable cost. Fast-paced, gritty, and unrelenting, Los Angeles, Zombie Apocalypse! plunges readers into a city where every moment is a fight to stay alive. Perfect for fans of ...