human capital
- Reads 278
- Votes 34
- Parts 3
MatureOngoing22m
Last published Sat, Oct 12, 2024
Jiuli Szeto hasn't spoken to her older sister, Bridgette, since she packed her bags, left their industrial Rust Belt town for college in New York, and never looked back, leaving Jiuli to nurse their mom ailing with lung cancer alone. After the spread of a deadly airborne virus that turns organs purple, the sisters are reunited when Bridgette arrives at Jiuli's doorstep--laid off from her Wall Street job and in desperate need of a place to stay.
No running electricity. Innocent causalities. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years molding into one endless stream of suffering. This is their new normal.
Together, they must learn how to protect themselves from the infection, scavenge resources, understand the difference between surviving and living, and turn the ruins of their town into a thriving community once more. But most importantly, they must repair their strained relationship...if it can be fixed at all.
All Rights Reserved
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
For The Next Thirty Seconds ✓
**editing ((: "How many sets of thirty seconds are in a day?" "My rough estimate?" "Sure." "About three thousand." "Oh." "Yeah." • 19 year-old Jack's life has been one traumatic event after the next. So, being diagnosed with small cell lung cancer was just icing on the cake. With a survival rate of 14 percent and a life expectancy of 4 months, Jack does all he knows how to do: he runs. 18 year-old Lane's life has just been turned upside down. After finding out her sister's engaged to her childhood best friend, she doesn't think it could get any worse... until she finds out her happily-married parents of 24 years are getting a divorce. She can't stand even being in the same room as one of her family members, so she does something she's never done before: she runs. The Big Apple has never seemed so small. At least, not to Jack and Lane, not when they were next to each other. Nothing seemed too big. Side by side, they could conquer the world. They could fly. But, if the world decides to fight back, whose to say they won't fall, instead? 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴.Complete
Outbreak of the End
In a world shattered by a shift in the Earth's solar system in 2020, extreme climate changes wreak havoc globally, bringing snowstorms, sandstorms, and other natural disasters. Amid this chaos, Alex fights to protect his younger brother, Lucas, and a group of survivors. As a viral outbreak spreads, triggering horrific transformations in people, Alex navigates a city engulfed by the undead. While he copes with the presumed death of his girlfriend Mia, he discovers unexpected connections with other survivors, particularly Maria, who he feels a special connection with. Their bond grows amidst the turmoil, hinting at deeper feelings, while Alex clings to the hope of possibly finding Mia again. The story weaves themes of survival, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit in an apocalyptic landscape. Sidenote : I will be updating the story every week, thank you!!!
Chimera Origin
Hunted. Alone. On the Run. One ordinary day, Chloe's life takes a terrifying turn. On her way home from school with her best friend, they notice a black van tailing them. Panic sets in as strange men in black suits and masks give chase. In the chaos, Chloe's friend vanishes without a trace. Did they take her? Now, Chloe is on the run, pursued by a shadowy organization with unknown intentions. Forced to abandon her sister, her home, and the remnants of their parents' memories, Chloe must navigate a world where danger lurks around every corner. As the enemies close in, the question remains: can she stay ahead of them, or will they finally catch her? Triggers for future SA and Violence in later chapters.
Rats: Shai's Story
After a Virus wipes out 98% of the population, the world falls to mass hysteria. Walls are built around major cities, and only the wealthy are allowed in. This results in many people living in the Slums struggling to survive and avoiding Officers on the daily. Officers will find any excuse to arrest people and send them to work camps. Todd and Shai are two friends living out of the Slums. They like to pretend to be rich and sneak into the cities to try and steal. Todd is caught one day, and sent to a camp. Shai is determined to do something no Rat has done before: break a Rat out of a work camp. She comes across Mikko, a man kicked out of the city for using outlawed technology. He agrees to help Shai if she helps him uncover the missing Prince so that he is allowed back into the city.Complete
Post Plague Kidnapping - Published!
It's been five years since the plague struck. Leah knows there are other survivors, but she's avoiding them. She is doing just fine on her own. Surviving after everyone she knew died has made her physically strong and honed her intelligence, but she is emotionally devastated. There is nothing to fear if you don't make yourself emotionally vulnerable. James has spent the last five years helping to build up a colony of survivors. He believes in the small town they have populated and its mission to save humanity from extinction. He and his small team of men find scattered people and bring them in. Over the last two centuries, women have fought for and won more and more rights, gaining equality with men. Society, law, and technology bolsters and enforces these rights, but now they are gone. Women's equality with men is over. There are just too few of them. They aren't lesser but greater, more important, more valuable than men. Men are expendable. Men can stay outside alone if they like, but all women must be brought inside the safety of the Colony and properly taken care of. James has been searching the area Leah lives in. Her time of solitude is up. Leah sparks something in James he's never felt before. He's not letting this one get away, certainly not twice. Warning: Contains sex, some violence, occasional foul language, and adult issues. Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Post-apocalyptic, Dark romance Length: 84,468 words This book has been published on Amazon. The first ten chapters will be updated to what you get in the published novel and will remain here, so you can try before you buy.Complete
The Risks
*****THIS STORY IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A MASSIVE REWRITE - FINAL WORK IS CURRENTLY BEING POSTED AS A NEW STORY ON MY PAGE - UPDATES SPORADIC ***** "You can't tell me there isn't something here worth risking everything for." [New Adult Apocalyptic Romance] Summary: Most of the population is dead, some have turned into vicious, crazed creatures who want nothing more than to eat you, and a small percentage are left to try to survive. Nothing is the way it was. With not much more than a pistol and a vague idea of what she's doing, Claire Harrington ventures out into this new, unforgiving world with only one real goal: to keep her younger sister safe. The odds are against her, until she runs into Parker and finds herself reluctantly accepting his offer to help. Trust is a fragile thing. Humanity is a construct. Love is a weakness. But these are the thoughts of a survivor, and she's beginning to wonder if surviving is all she wants. Maybe she wants to live. Past and current ranks: #3 in dystopian 9.28.21 #1 in love 7.25.22 #1 in angst 7.25.22 #1 in virus 8.8.21 #1 in infected 3.22.22 #1 in zombieoutbreak 2.14.22 #1 in zombieapocalypse 6.12.20 #1 in apocalypse 3.27.20 #1 in zombies 7.26.20 #1 in survival 12.27.19 Mature warning for the following: violence, language and sexual content Trigger warnings noted at beginning of associated chapters Banners by Alyssa_Evangeline I do not own the rights to any of the images, all credit goes to the original owners.Complete
What Lasts in Us
**COMPLETED** Several years after the world succumbed to a deadly strain of measles that turned those infected into crazed, mindless cannibals, Charlotte wanders the backroads alone, content with surviving day-to-day. That is until she crosses paths with Nate and his daughter, Emmi. Emmi is not and cannot be vaccinated against the disease, so the only way to protect her and give her some kind of life is to reunite her with her estranged mother in a quarantine zone on the other side of the country. Charlotte wants nothing to do with Nate or the girl who looks like her dead sister. She does not want to go through the grief of losing people again if something bad was to happen. And something bad does happen when Emmi is kidnapped, and it is no one's fault but Charlotte's. Through this obligation alone, Charlotte feels like it is her responsibility to get Emmi back, to right her wrong. In helping Nate pursue his kidnapped daughter, Charlotte inadvertently allows herself to feel again, to care for those other than herself. But with the clock ticking, Charlotte's new found family may just end up like her own, dead and destroyed, if Emmi is exposed to the disease that her father tried so hard to protect her from.Complete
Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)
Little Sember stole readers' hearts in "Siena." Join her now, ten years later, as she embarks on a quest of her own to save her people, and to finally accept her true self along the way. - - - Sixteen and struggling is not how Sember wants to describe herself. Born with the ability to conjure fire, every day is a challenge to keep the churning blaze within her under control. After nearly incinerating her parents at the age of six, guilt and doubt plague her at every turn. While the village's gifted healer is away, a mysterious disease sweeps through Foresthome, and people start dying. When her parents get infected and the resident herbalist has no solutions, she takes it upon herself to track the clues and locate the source of this unnatural plague. Joined by her brother and a handsome Iceling, they must unravel the mystery and face an unexpected enemy in the shadows. If they fail, the plague will engulf the world she knows, plunging it into dark times. Maybe a little fire is exactly what they need. --- Big thanks to @vexnir for illustrating this awesome cover.Complete
**editing ((: "How many sets of thirty seconds are in a day?" "My rough estimate?" "Sure." "About three thousand." "Oh." "Yeah." • 19 year-old Jack's life has been one traumatic event after the next. So, being diagnosed with small cell lung cancer was just icing on the cake. With a survival rate of 14 percent and a life expectancy of 4 months, Jack does all he knows how to do: he runs. 18 year-old Lane's life has just been turned upside down. After finding out her sister's engaged to her childhood best friend, she doesn't think it could get any worse... until she finds out her happily-married parents of 24 years are getting a divorce. She can't stand even being in the same room as one of her family members, so she does something she's never done before: she runs. The Big Apple has never seemed so small. At least, not to Jack and Lane, not when they were next to each other. Nothing seemed too big. Side by side, they could conquer the world. They could fly. But, if the world decides to fight back, whose to say they won't fall, instead? 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴.
More detailsContent Guidelines