After the Virus - a Surviralist's Journal

Contained here is a reading of Chapters one and two of Book Two of The Surviralist’s Series: Surviralist’s Birthright.As of March 14, 2034, it has been estimated that approximately four million humans remained alive in what had been the United States of America – roughly the 2021 population of Los Angeles. How many remained alive as of 2045? Where were they hiding?In between Canada and Mexico lay the skeletal remains of a once resource rich and beautiful nation. Who will rise to reclaim their birthright?

Narrated in the style of a daily diary, Episode One is Will’s recounting of the days leading up to his first journal entry, and explains the events that brought him to his cave in the wilderness. It describes how climate change prompted the mutation of the most aggressive virus the world had known, and how he escaped infection even as he watched his family succumb to it. Pursued by others also fleeing the pandemic, Will shows that in what has become a dog-eat-dog world, rugged survivalists like himself are the most likely to succeed.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

After shuttling the remainder of his supplies to his new cave, Will finds that he’s not alone in the wilderness as shots break the stillness before dawn. Going to investigate the old hunting cabins downslope, he discovers that even here the virus has the power to turn men to violence. Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

As Will settles into his remote camp the threat of human violence is temporarily behind him, but now he faces the challenges of surviving all alone in the wild. The Ishi wilderness is full of things that can easily injure or kill a person who is unprepared: precipitous topography, poisonous plants, venomous snakes and mammalian predators. If he's up to the task there's plenty of wild game and an abundance of edible and medicinal plants to sustain him. Now is his time to synchronize with the rhythm of nature and hone his skills - he's going to have be on his game to deal with what's coming in the weeks and months ahead.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

In Episode 4: Will has begun to fall nicely into a pattern of sustaining himself from the abundance of nature, then once again he is jolted back to the reality of a post-viral world gone mad. When a military gunship shatters the tranquility of Deer Creek Canyon he’s sickened by the carnage it inflicts, but ends up finding hope in an encounter that will completely change his plans, his perspective and the trajectory of the story.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

Just as Hope has given Will a renewed purpose to survive, a misguided paramilitary force seeks to destroy anyone existing outside of their quarantine zones. In this episode Will and Hope are systematically hunted from ridgetop to creek bottom. When soldiers get between the two and chase down Hope, Will’s bloodlust is ignited. But when a single shot rings out in the canyon below him Will knows the terrible reality of what that must mean. Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

In addition to the many wilderness skills that Hope is learning and practicing, Will knows that self-defense skills may be the most important lessons. When he shows her the: eye gouge, groin kick, heel palm strike and elbow strike, she picks them up quickly and is “as fast as lightning”. But all prove useless against an attacker so small she doesn’t even know it’s there.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

Surviving in the wild can be like playing a board game – the board (the outdoors) remains the same but the dice (your skills) can change your odds of winning. Thriving in the wilderness is dependent on knowing the constants of the game board: edible foods will remain edible, rubbing two sticks together can make fire, snow falls in winter, etc. But when climate change and centuries of man’s antipathy towards nature alters the constants of the game, the odds of winning are greatly diminished.A tiny arachnid that has become a vector for a deadly virus, droughts that dehydrate forests for cataclysmic firestorms, hornets the size of hummingbirds.Can two refugees in the hinterlands survive the simoom of change?Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.

Fire has consumed almost all of the supplies and equipment, and has driven the game out of the canyon. In order to survive the present and provision for the future the best option is to head northwest, to the even more remote Mill Creek Canyon. The terrain between the two creeks is rugged and the challenges are many, but along the path there is a sweet spot where a body can savor and reflect on one’s role in the fabric of nature.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To enhance your experience check out the Facebook Group:  After the Virus - a Surviralist's Journal for graphic content and background information.

Trekking deeper into the wilderness, Will and Hope settle into a serene location overlooking Mill Creek. Before long, their peace is shattered first by distant bombs and planes, then by the intrusion of two haggard refugees. Just passing through?Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To enhance your experience check out the Facebook Group:  After the Virus - a Surviralist's Journal for graphic content and background information.

Some of our most admirable human qualities, care and trust, can also be our downfall. How many times must Will learn that when you allow yourself to trust, you not only risk your own survival, you endanger those you love? In the savagery of the post-viral landscape, only two types of people escape: the quick and the dead. Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

For a species to endure, there must be a continuum of luck, skill and conditions conducive to survival. The weak, unskilled or unlucky are culled, the agile or fortunate are left to carry on. The story goes on, but the story-teller changes. History is written by the survivors.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

One man alone in the wilderness, no matter how skilled, is hard-pressed to survive the rigors of weather, predators, securing food and finding shelter. Add a second person to the scenario and the prospects for survival increase dramatically. But take away the man, and leave a 16 year old girl, no matter how well tutored…and what are the chances?Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

Along with the human Ebola pandemic brought on by the planets degraded environment and altered climate, other pathogens wreaked havoc on plants, insects, fish, birds and mammals. After temporarily evading their human pursuers, Will and Hope are suddenly faced with a new threat – anything warm-blooded and hairy. Cast:Scott Huber as WillLola Parks as HopeBird recordings and nature soundscapes by Greg WeddigWant to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

It’s easy to think of survival skills as a panacea for thriving in the wild. In reality they are but a stopgap. If highly skilled and extremely lucky they may allow one to live at a basic level for a time. Illness, injury, misfortune or carelessness can easily change the odds from survivable to unsustainable. Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!Cast:Scott Huber as WillLola Parks as HopeBird recordings and nature soundscapes by Greg WeddigLove the story? Get the BOOK! After The Virus is now available in paperback and EBook on Amazon, ORDER YOURS TODAY!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Tom. Friend or foe? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In the new paradigm of existence, enemies come in many new and evolving forms. But Zekes aren’t new…we just forgot about them.Enjoying the story? Kindly leave a brief review at https://ratethispodcast.com/afterthevirusWant to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!Cast:Scott Huber as Will and TomLola Parks as Hope

Sometimes, change is the only constant. Allies and enemies come and go. Mountains lead to valleys. Streams become lakes, water becomes ice. Winter is coming and along with it comes new challenges.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

Your only contact with the outside world is six distinct sets of tones, repeated ad nauseam over a marine radio. What could they mean?It’s a code! Decode it and you may live, fail and you might not.The clock is ticking.Want to read the entire story? Paperback and Ebook are available on Amazon (cut and paste link into your browser) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RRGMQXH?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860To experience more of the story, learn interesting facts about the setting, ask questions of the author and more, visit the After The Virus - A Surviralist's Journal Facebook Group.And if you're enjoying the story please SHARE on Social Media. Thank you!

Though the elements have challenged their wilderness skills, descending back into the domain of the hostiles will force them to call on Will’s combat skills and Hope’s marksmanship. The best defense is a good offense.

The “fight or flight response” is an automatic physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening. The perception of threat activates the sympathetic nervous system and triggers an acute stress response that prepares the body to fight or flee. Prey animals predictably choose flight over fight, while predators often choose the latter. But even the peaceful rabbit will respond with a purposely vicious attack when threatened with death. Beware the cornered rabbit.