Arrival: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

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As if in a dream, she opened her eyes and stared up at a blue sky with fluffy, white clouds passing overhead. A tingle of energy radiated from her fingers and toes before dissipating completely. Maya sat up and looked at the dome, its wall now solid and black again. It looked like a massive, enclosed sports arena had been dropped on the city of Nashville. Whatever damage Jack had caused had dropped the dome, but temporarily. The aliens had somehow brought the dome back up to full strength now. Nobody else would be getting in or out until the power source was permanently cut.

She climbed to her knees, laughing and crying all at the same time. Her ears rang and she felt sick to her stomach. Blood flowed again from her wounds and her teeth began to throb.

Maya had escaped while so many others had died—were dying, as she stood here. Her thoughts drifted to Reno. And Jack. Were they alive? What had Jack done to flicker the dome long enough for her to get through? Had the aliens already repaired it? And then she thought of Laura and Aiden. Nothing would keep her from reaching them.

Maya stood on the side of a four-lane road. She saw homes, businesses, and apartment buildings—but no people. She walked over to one of the abandoned cars in the middle of the street, opening the door and hoping to find keys dangling in the ignition. No luck. She tried several more, but it seemed as though everyone had fled with their keys. Maya slammed her fists on the hood of an old Jeep Wrangler, the red paint faded to a dark pink. A spare key box fell from the wheel well and rolled to a stop at her feet.

“That’ll work,” she said, picking up the key. She shoved it into the ignition and the Jeep came alive with a throaty roar. A grin stretched across Maya’s face. She buckled the seatbelt and adjusted the seat before noticing the LED read-out on the old in-dash CD player. “Save Yourself” by Audioslave was pumping through the speakers—a fitting song. She turned the volume up to 10, threw the Jeep into first gear, and headed for her mother’s house north of the city.