Staying Alive

Jeri thought she had survived the worst of the illness. She was wrong. After nearly two weeks trapped in a fever, Jeri wakes to an empty house, no phone service, and a world that has gone terrifyingly quiet. Her sister, Alice, is gone. The television offers nothing but static. The streets are deserted. Then Jeri discovers what happened while she was unconscious. A mysterious virus has spread across the country, turning ordinary people into flesh-eating monsters. And now they are everywhere. Weak from sickness but armed with the survival lessons her father taught her, Jeri knows she cannot stay home. She must find water, food, shelter—and a way to stay alive without drawing the attention of the dead. Her search leads her to a desperate group of survivors and Colin, a guarded man who doesn't trust her instincts or believe she knows what it takes to survive. He's about to learn that he is wrong. As the dead close in, Jeri becomes the group's unlikely survival expert, teaching them how to read tracks, find water, move without being seen, and recognize danger before it is too late. Colin begins to rely on her judgment, even as the growing attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore. But every mile brings greater danger. Food disappears. Safe places become death traps. Survivors can be more dangerous than zombies. And when the group is forced to leave everything behind and make a desperate journey toward the mountains, Jeri and Colin must decide how much they are willing to risk—not just to survive, but for each other. Because in a world where tomorrow is never promised, love may be the most dangerous thing of all. The dead are rising. The world is falling. And survival is only the beginning.