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...
This is a really long chapter (6696 to be exact), so I split it up in two parts to make the reading easier ;) Enjoy!
After yesterday, Hailey's whole attitude had changed 360 degrees and her little sister was uncharacteristically clingy with her. It was the only spark of normalcy Cristine experienced in what felt like ages.
Then again, it had been almost five years since she'd seen her family in the flesh. She'd talk to them on the phone, but the conversations were mostly superficial and often forced on both ends of the line. Culpability for actions of the past nowhere to be found when speaking to her father or sister. It frustrated Cristine immensely and she'd given up on trying to be the person to always reach out and sort out their issues.
Issues present even before her father remarried and Hailey was born. Situations in the house that got even more complicated when the memories of her birthmother slowly replaced in her home and fading from her puerile and moldable mind as a six year old. It wasn't until two years later, that Cristine sort of understood that Dolores wasn't her real mother, just Hailey's. She remembered how the elder woman, birthing a child at her age nothing short from a miracle, told her to not call her mommy again. Confused as to why, her father took the eight year old Cristine aside and gently urged her to refer to his second wife as Dolores.
Not wanting any trouble and just wanting to play with her pudgy baby sister, Cristine never referred to Dolores as such anymore.
Cristine pinched Hailey's cheek, disappointed to find that baby fat gone. The response comical as Hailey gawked at her like she lost her damn mind, before swatting her hand. The pinching action left an even redder mark on her already flushed skin due to the sultry weather.
"What the heck is that for?!" Hailey spat as if she'd done the worst thing possible. A light quirk formed on Cristine's lips when she listened to the sequence of complaints. "I woke up sweaty, I went to bed sweaty, I even got out of the shower sweaty. I don't need your sweaty fingers adding more layers of sweat on my sweaty face."
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Her skin glistened, the nape of her neck damp as she wrapped up her ponytail, tucking the hair away from. She lifted the ice cold glass of water to her mouth. This was both their first San Diego summer and while Cristine found it bearable, Hailey clearly couldn't stand the sweltering heat. According to their father's forecast it would last a few more days.
"The perks of living close to the beach." Cristine muttered, thinking of their home back in San Francisco. The beach stretched out alongside the water, the constant friends chattering as the water danced endlessly to soothe the warm grains. Resting on the beach always felt like a cozy hug, especially after a busy day, one only matched by the sunshine filed sky. It's visitors stretched on their towels and under umbrellas looking like starfishes.
"You think there's still a chance some of it is till standing?" Hailey softly asked, pondering of the possibility that somewhere, somehow the government or whoever saved the country with a cure and all of this would be over. She'd only seen a resurrected once. He was part of one of the people that fled to Broke Jaw Ranch for shelter.
