(CHAPTER ONE) Hoping to get away from their livelihood troubles, a young teenage couple travel to the big city of Melbourne, Australia. Staying in a small hotel in the centre of the city, their love for each other blossoms. Their hopes of a quiet holiday are foiled by a rapidly spreading global infection, trapping them four stories high in their cheap apartment. Stress, fear and trauma bring out old wounds from their relationship, tearing them apart. Released | 30th of May, 2023 Completed | 22nd of October, 2023 Word Count: 45,328 Set in The Arising Universe

After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world. ***** For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[Promoted by AMC]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]