Book 1: At the Edge of Misery
Cristine Daya Gerrard, a young residency doctor in the apocalypse must mend the pieces with her broken and estranged family, while fighting for her place in a community that doesn't accept her. One man in particular doe...
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Cristine felt her consciousness float through an empty space filled with thick static. Throughout the inky space her heartbeat pounded loudly, echoing in her ears, alongside the fading droning of an engine. Her drained body shut down a few times, until she woke up in between short intervals. Still in a deep stupor and with speckled colors floating through her world. Cristine heard talking and from squinting her eyes together, puzzled together a handful of silhouettes.
Her reactions were prolonged and she tried to slowly move into a sitting position on the cot. Still in a state of disorientation, Cristine grunted when something cold pressed against the back of her head. She sluggishly searched for the helping presence to her right and blinked dazedly at the elderly woman with the clean face and a sheepish smile on her thin lips.
Cristine's eyes rolled to the back of her head when she unconsciousness reeled her back in again. She missed how that same smiling face scrunched into something visibly irked. "Even when it's the end of the world, you still manage to ruin our lives." The woman unpleasantly hissed under her breath.
—
The second time Cristine woke up she felt slightly more alert. The main reason probably being that she actually slept and felt that her body overcame the shock of dehydration and starvation. Only, she found her hand tied at the wrist against the railing of the medical bed. Cristine moved her head around to scan her surroundings and tensed when she came face to face with a familiar individual.
The map of wrinkles on his face told the most incredible journey. His eye lines told of laughter, of warm smiles and affection. His forehead told of worries past and worries present. Despite not its original rich blond color, most of his graying hairs were still lush, intact and styled in the way she remembered.
Her guarded expression lightly faltered before she whispered a soft, "daddy."
A dimpled smile appeared on his face when she called out for him in that vulnerable tone. He closed the awkwardly short distance between them and spontaneously wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her back.
Despite the heaviness in her heart, it fluttered at the feeling of being in her father's arms after such a long time. She sunk her face into the warmth of his shoulder, appreciative of the embrace. His touch made her feel alive and worthy somehow, her future within the world seeming a little less bleak.
"I-I didn't think... think you'd actually be here." Cristine carefully admitted in the crook of his shoulder and blinked back the pressure behind her lids.
His arms squeezed her upper body tightly for the last time and James Garrard lamented at her body's clear loss of weight that had become unhealthy. He slowly put some distance between them and looked at the daughter he thought he'd never see again.
The sunburn had scarred the bare spots of her skin such as her chest, neck and face. Her usual sandy complexion, smooth and tawny was damaged by the sun. The flushed and dry patches on her exposed skin were either red or pigmented and exposed the trauma of her long travel in the scorching heat. At the same time, she had also gotten a tan, which resulted in a strong terra-cotta, brown. Either way, it told the story of her arduous travel.
