Survival Short Stories

Like most college students, all Callie Norton has worried about for weeks was passing this semester’s finals. After a night out celebrating, she and her friends wake up, sick with way more than the hangover of the century. All too soon, Callie realizes that this is not just a common cold she’s suffering from—and when she wakes up from a coma in a quarantine tent as the sole survivor, lack of food and water aren’t her only problems.

Bruce and Mike finally made it home. But the battle for the future has just begun. The Louisiana farm that Bruce and his allies had built to survive the end of the world was everything they could have hoped for — but no one had planned for the endless horde of fast, smart, and ravenous blue zombies who could think, heal, and even reproduce. Now, as they gather an armory of military weaponry from abandoned outposts all across the countryside, Bruce and his growing clan of survivors realize the truth — their compound can be the beginning of a new and rebuilt world.

After an epic battle, the weapon is lost, but Atlas won’t succumb so easily. He’s vanished with the key to humanity’s survival, and David Bryce is left to fight on his own. Atlas finds himself in the middle of a hornet’s nest, amid an alien people that he can hardly comprehend. But their motivations are clear, and that’s enough to keep him focused on retrieving the prize.

In the lawless aftermath of a collapsed galactic empire, survival belongs to the cunning, the ruthless, and—rarely—the honorable. Commodore Gideon Adira, heir to a once-noble house now struggling for relevance, leads a fragile convoy of merchant starships through hostile star lanes to deliver food to the starving millions aboard the crumbling space city of Albion. The task is noble. The risks are immense. Pirates lurk behind every asteroid. Treacherous rival houses scheme for control. And worse still, an old enemy is on the hunt.

The first in an exciting new series for children from ex-SAS officer and best-selling adult author Chris Ryan. Five kids: Alex, Li, Paulo, Hex and Amber, are marooned on a desert island where they must face the ultimate test: survival! Killer komodo dragons, sharks, and modern day pirates are amongst the dangers they face. Can the five bond as a team, and stay alive? New to audio, this gripping story is read by Adrian Lester, best-known for his role in Spooks on TV.

On the night of July 30, 1997 a landslide shattered the tranquility of Thredbo Village, sweeping away two ski lodges and burying 19 people beneath tonnes of concrete and mud. In the days that followed, the world mourned as rescuers dragged body after body from the rubble. But out of tragedy sprang an amazing story of survival. Stuart Diver, whose young wife Sally died beside him in the first moments of the slide, had clung to life buried beneath a concrete slab for 65 freezing hours.This is Stuart Diver’s story.

Shannon Grayson is a tough-as-nails long-haul truck driver. But her life is turned upside down when a massive EMP blast hits North America and demolishes the power grid. Trapped in a sprawling retail super-center, Shannon barely escapes with her life and her truck. Now, as a bullet wound in her shoulder festers with an infection, Shannon is determined to find the daughter she lost contact with five years ago.

Our ‘fight of flight’ response is something hardwired into the primitive part of our brain. Our need to survive, to outlive whatever danger poses, that immediate threat to our lives is little short of a marvel. Everything else is abandoned in order to survive. Whilst in modern times that ability has been somewhat modified and ‘reasoned’ away to an extent, in past years it’s what usually kept you alive. In this volume people struggle valiantly to survive and to exist no matter the extent of the threat they face.

In Louis L'Amour's frontier stories, the American West is the crucible in which character is tested, reputations are won or lost, and life always hangs in the balance. Struggling to survive against the elements, hostile Indians, or outlaws who prey upon the honest and hardworking, the men and women in these tales each come face-to-face with what they're made of - often in moments that explode with the violence of an avalanche or the speed of a drawn gun.

When an EMP catastrophe shuts down power worldwide, Melanie Pearson must embark on a grueling trek to reunite with her family. But before she can cross the savage wastelands, she’ll need to help her boss find his own son first. And Melanie quickly realizes she may have made a deal with the devil himself….

No one in the small, west Texas town of Shadow Ridge knows what took down the power grid, or when it's going to be back up, but everyone knows exactly where they were the moment it went down. And now, with no electricity, no internet, and no modern technology, the men and women responsible for keeping the town safe are going to have to learn how to fight crime all over again. When one of the men in charge of storing food for the town of Shadow Ridge is found murdered execution style, it's up to Jace McQuaid to find the killer.

In the following documentary first broadcast on ABC Radio, seven men and one woman tell extraordinary stories of endurance during their time as prisoners-of-war of the Japanese during World War Two. They survived brutal interrogations, and physical and psychological torture in conditions of starvation, illness and near-death. These are stories of horrific conditions, but also of triumphs of the human spirit. Survival is not about war, but about uncommon feats of human fortitude and resolution.

The war of the wizards has ended. What will happen to the golden fairies now? They were enslaved for six years and forced to create golden wands for the Zandles. Will the Ardoors be any different? In any case, without their magic, their lights are fading fast. And without their freedom, death is imminent....

This third volume of Louis L'Amour's collected stories is a thrilling tribute to the unique spirit of our frontier heritage and proves again the enduring popularity of America's favorite storyteller.

A powerful EMP attack leaves the city in chaos, plunging society into darkness and uncertainty. Stephanie Dupont, a podcast host who exposed government secrets, must navigate the crumbling streets of Chicago with her teenage brother and a frightened stranger. With limited supplies, rising violence, and no power, they race against time to escape the city and find safety. As societal order collapses, Stephanie must confront her beliefs and decide whom she can trust. Will they survive the journey, or will the city’s descent into anarchy consume them all?

During the coldest winter on record, an EMP sends American back into the Stone Age. Jack and his family find sanctuary in their cabin in a small, remote town, hidden deep in the forest. Little does Jack know the Blizzard will be the least of his problems.

The new coronavirus, which originated in China, has spread to Japan. An American expatriate journalist residing in Tokyo, Japan finds himself caught in between the zombies, as he catches up with his military expatriate buddy. The American expatriates, William and Cooper, overcome the sudden surprise of deadly zombies and also makes an encounter with the Japanese mafia.

Mister Tidwell is a scholarly Oxford professor snatched out of his bookish world and pressed into service aboard Lord Nelson’s legendary British fleet - in the position of schoolmaster. Such is the life of the land-loving, seafaring Mister Tidwell, Gunner. Thrust into service at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Tidwell soon finds himself directly in the line of fire and way out of his depth. Fate has cast him into a terrible and terrifying spot - alone on deck to face the fearsome approach of a French man-o’-war.

The Fall Festival was hopping every afternoon and into the evening of those three days. Little kids chasing one another and squealing, and the big ones sneaking off to smoke or to make out with a girl and maybe cop a feel, and come back to talk about it. Back in those days, a pack of Harley's was kind of threatening. If a bunch of Harleys were parked outside a hamburger joint, most folks would just go on down the road to the next burger joint rather than risk confronting a bunch of bikers.

Louis L'Amour's tales of adventure cannot be surpassed for sheer storytelling excitement, and they stand as a testament to his legendary appeal. Here are timeless tales of danger and daring, wanderlust and heroism, filled with ordinary men and women facing often insurmountable challenges with courage, dignity, honor, and heart.