The Beginning of the End sneak peek

I started this book last year when the virus first hit. At first, it was going to be a young adult book just following Lily, but as I wrote it, I struggled. Then last September, I had the idea to turn it into book 3 of the Are You Listening series. It wasn't the original idea for book 3, but it seemed to work, and the BETA readers have already told me there will need to be a book 4. So, I'm hoping you'll love the first chapter and click to pre-order it. Even though it's so close to my last release, I think this one is so relevant that I don't want to wait on it, so it will be live March 1st. Happy reading!

Chapter 1 - Just after the rapture

“Raven, where are you going?” Jason stood a few feet from the entrance to the gym, a purple bruise already forming on the side of his face. He was an amazing trainer and fast as lightning, but he’d obviously been hit by something when the car crashed through the window. “Brian’s called an ambulance and the police. He wants everyone to stay put until this gets sorted out.”

“I have to get to Kat’s house. She left me something that explains all this. Something I’m going to need.” She turned back to assess her options. The main entrance to the gym parking lot was not an option. People wandering around aimlessly blocked it, and an accident filled all four lanes of College Street less than a block from the exit. Perhaps the back entrance would be passable. That street saw less traffic, so she might get lucky enough to weave through whatever cars might be there.

“Need? For what?” Exasperation threaded Jason’s normally even tone. “Right now we need to find the kids and Kat. Where is Kat anyway?” His eyes wandered to Kat’s blue Mini Cooper still parked in the space nearest the side door.

Raven bit the inside of her lip. What was going to happen to Kat’s car? Or the rest of her stuff? Did she have family who would come looking for her? People that Raven should notify? How would she even know?

She turned back to him, intensity in her eyes. “Kat is gone, Jason. The kids are gone. We could search forever, but we’ll never find them.”

“Gone? Gone where?”

“Come with me. I’ll show you and hopefully it will all make sense.” Raven motioned for him to follow her even though she actually had no idea what would be waiting for her at Kat’s place. Nor did she know if he would believe her. She certainly hadn’t been easy to convince, and one thing she’d always liked about Jason was that he didn’t buy into crazy theories. This was definitely the craziest theory she’d ever entertained, but suddenly she didn’t want to do it alone. She didn’t want to go into Kat’s house, find nothing, and realize the last week had been some bad hallucination, but even more than that, she didn’t want to find something that proved Kat was right and not have someone there with her.

Was this why she’d been left behind? Because she still doubted? She’d been about to tell Kat she believed, but did she really?

Jason’s gaze flicked back to the gym door, and Kat shook her head. “You can stay if you want, but no answers reside in there. I can give you answers if you come with me.”

His curiosity won out as she figured it would, and he followed her to her Jeep. After they were both buckled in, she fired up the engine and the radio blasted forth the emergency broadcast warning.

“This is an emergency alert. People are being encouraged to stay inside their houses. At least five planes have fallen from the sky over Washington state leaving fires and catastrophes in their wake.”

“Wait, planes are falling from the sky?” Jason turned his attention to the sky out the window. “How is that even possible? Was this a terrorist attack?”

Raven sighed as she turned the key. “No, this affected the world, and those missing people aren’t coming back.”

“How do you know?”

Jason said the words slowly, cautiously, and his face wore the one expression she had hoped to never see on it. The one that said he thought she was nuts and might even regret getting in the car with her.

Raven avoided Jason’s question as she looked behind her before throwing the Jeep in reverse and backing out. Could she tell him the truth? Did she truly believe? Once she uttered these words, their relationship would change forever. Was she really ready to do that?

Believe! The word floated through her mind like a whisper and carried the hint of Kat’s voice. Raven stepped on the brakes, took a deep breath, and turned to Jason. “I know because Kat told me just like she told you. These people are gone because they were raptured, and now I’m pretty sure I have a job to do.”

His eyes searched hers as if looking for the joke, the catch, but she didn’t have time for him to catch on. She threw the Jeep into drive and gunned it, causing Jason to grip the dashboard with white knuckles.

For a moment, he said nothing and they traversed the street in silence. Then, finally, he uttered three words. “Job? What job?”

But Raven didn’t answer. She didn’t know the answer. She only had the few pieces that Kat had been able to tell her. The truth was she didn’t really know what the future held.

She felt she was supposed to be some sort of guide and she knew that a ton of people had disappeared and that more bad events were coming, but that was the extent of her facts.

“I don’t know. I’m hoping I’ll figure it out when we get there.”

They continued the rest of the way in silence which Raven was thankful for as she needed to focus on navigating the obstacles in the road. Even though this way was less heavily trafficked, there were still accidents and dazed people wandering the streets. Finally, Raven pulled up to Kat’s house.

“Moment of truth,” Raven said as she put the jeep in park and turned off the engine.