This is a prequel chapter for my upcoming novel DERT..
An authoritarian President has empowered the new Department of Environmental Reclamation and Trust to enforce the doctrines of her Little Brown Book, a manifesto on how humanity should be subservient to the will of nature. Armed with their new power, the “Dirts” quickly take control of every aspect of modern life. Shutting down the national electrical grid, banning cars, and forcing citizens into re-education camps is just the first steps of their plan to turn the President’s platitudes into gospel. Kyle and Sami are stuck in the middle of this ascendent regime within a collapsing society. They struggle to avoid tyrannical bureaucrats, bloodthirsty militias, and treacherous neighbors as they search for safety. In this time of violent panic, both they and we are forced to ask: are the storms getting worse or is it just the people?
In this exclusive chapter, we meet Edward Winston, who finds himself stranded in the Express hotel, far from home and with no chance of getting back. Ed takes it upon himself to band together the remaining guests who have suddenly become refugees. Can this small society find safety or are they doomed to give into the increasingly lawless behavior surrounding them?
