Sanctuary Chronicles

"The rest of northern Pennsylvania is peaceful and dead quiet, and it isn't long before we hit the border and the "Welcome to New York" sign. The Empire State, once mighty and arguably home to the most important city in the world, now brought to its knees in a virtual blink of an eye. I picture what the City must have been like at the end-lots of people means lots of zombies, and the carnage must have been horrifying and rapid. This is why we seek the much quieter northern section; no sense staying in the southern, heavily-populated areas and inevitably running into more former bankers-turned-flesh-eating-monsters than we can handle." Okay .... We managed to kill the zombie queen and her horde, but it's still time to leave North Carolina. In the past, there was nothing quite like a road trip, so we're heading to upstate New York. I know the area, and while it'll be really damn cold there in the winter without power, it should give us a break from any other monsters for a few months, since if they're outside, they'll be zombiesicles. And, since nobody's actually been moving to upstate New York in a really long time, how much trouble can we get into? As it turns out, plenty. DeeDee, Eve, and Amelie come along in the search for sanctuary, but the journey is unlike anything we've had to deal with before. It turns out New York isn't as quiet as I thought it would be. Not only are there more leveled-up zombies hanging around, but we also have to deal with other humans, and we're not sure we can trust all of them. There are tough decisions to make, a group to protect, battles to fight, and none of it is going to be easy. But it's going to be fine. Everything will work out as long as we all stay together. Here we go again.

"I stand at the foot of the porch steps and stare mindlessly out across the lake I've looked over my entire life, trying to find comfort in the view and the memories of all that has happened. It's hard to conjure up an optimistic view of the future. Only a few days have passed since first Top, then Amelie, and then DeeDee have been removed from my life (and theirs). I haven't spent the time doing much other than moping around the family property that now feels even bigger than when I was a child." How did it all go so wrong? We were a team. A group of survivors ready to take down anything that came our way. But in less than a day, they were all gone. Now it's just me and the dog. I'm left wondering about my future. What do I do now? Should I stay in case Eve comes looking for me? Should I leave and go look for her? Does it matter? I worry about Eve. She stayed behind to take care of her dying father, but there's no way he is going to last long, and a nasty winter is coming. Without heat and company, will she make it? She's probably cold and alone in a house with a dead body. My big sister, Morgan, is one of the precious few people left who made it through the zombie apocalypse and is heading my way. She's far out west, but once she puts her mind to something, almost nothing can stop her. Not zombies, not a group of humans sheltering themselves and their secrets behind the walls of a madcap fortress, and not even a pirate. Survivors and zombies alike are gathering. And no one will be able to predict what's coming. Time for round three.

"We have no clue what we're about to discover, but it will lead us to everything else." The good news: we finally killed all the local zombies. The not-as-good news: I've been bitten. But assuming all goes well, and no one has to shoot me in the face, we'll finally have peace, quiet, and sanctuary ... until we decide to go play golf, where we make a stomach-turning discovery and run headlong into a deeply traumatic experience from Morgan's past. And Morgan being Morgan, this means she's going to pick a fight, which turns into another (reluctant) group road trip. We're going to go back to the fortress she stopped at on her cross-country trip and save the people trapped there from Marcus, his thugs, and their twisted ideas, even though we're outnumbered like usual. We've got a solid plan to rescue the people who want to leave and bring them back with us. Then everything will be totally great. Of course, nothing is simple or goes according to plan. It's a battle on two fronts this time--one against humans, the other against zombies--and it's going to take everything we have to survive. It's kill or be killed.

They hold their place, a grisly array of the dead, finally a true army in front of us ... we're in a crapload of trouble no matter how much damage the mines and minigun are going to do. Winter lurks just around the corner, and our little group is reluctant to spend it in upstate New York, freezing our asses off in the cabins again. Head south for the cold season? Why not? Maybe true sanctuary can be found at the beach. It's worth a try, so we split up-Morgan and Bob go ahead first while everyone else comes with me to investigate some suspicious morning thunder. There's our first mistake. Two new members join us but at a heartbreaking cost. Bob and Morgan nearly run out of gas and are lucky enough to find help before discovering horrid secrets and enemies in the woods. But we eventually make it to the beach, where it's all fun in the sun and sand. Sanctuary at last. Yeah, right. We have been through a lot over the years, but this time, we face a horde larger than ever, led by an alpha who is far more powerful than all the others put together. This is the end, one way or another, no matter the cost.