In the After

Amy is home alone watching TV when it happens.  A spaceshift.  Horrible green creatures with razor sharp talons and teeth.  They are so terrifying and so fast.  It doesn't take long for them to decimate the population.  The worst part is the screaming.  They eat their victims alive.

Amy is alone.  She doesn't even know if there are any other survivors.  She doesn't want to venture out of her haven.  She mourns in silence so They won't hear her and come running.  She's safe for a long time.  Her dad was pretty much a hippy who kept the pantry stocked with food storage and the roof top garden thriving.  The solar panels are great, too, because it only takes a few days before the power goes out.

Her mother's paranoia protects Amy, too.  Without that electric fence surrounding the house, she'd probably be dead by now.  The shock is enough to keep the creatures out.  They aren't smart, just hungry.

After a while the food storage runs out, and Amy learns how to scavenge for food and stay safe from Them.  It is on one of these trips that she finds Baby.  Baby is so little, maybe three, and she doesn't talk, but she's plenty smart.  The two girls live alone for several years in silence.  It's seems too good to be true, and their solitary time eventually runs out.  As they venture out into the After, they will face dangers old and new, and in this new nightmare world it's hard to know who to trust.

I could not put Demitria Lunetta's debut novel down.  It is fascinating and terrifying.  Highly recommended!