Alex Morgan

In the 22nd century, Earth has been harvested by a race of aliens known as the Xini. In the aftermath, all the planet’s resources have been stripped. Dakota sets out from Dallas in search of his lover, Grayson, who vanished on his way to St. Louis after the invading fleet departed.<br><br>Dakota faces unknown dangers in the devastated plains of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma as scavengers -- human beings reduced to shells after the Harvesting -- roam the earth attacking anything that moves in an effort to survive.<br><br>He finds a group of survivors struggling in what little remains of Oklahoma City, led by the tough, handsome Colonel Welch. While Mother Nature unleashes a fury of natural disasters to purge herself of the Xini rape, Dakota must decide whether to stay with the colonel and help him make the colony viable, or continue onto St. Louis to find Grayson.

Harvested

He wasn’t sure what to expect but this wasn’t it. The underground space appeared to be more fortress than shelter. In the dim light, he saw it was at least four meters wide and twice as deep. The metal-reinforced walls sported recessed shelving from floor to ceiling with non-perishable food items. Large gaps in the cans and packages told Dakota how they had subsisted for the past months. A water purification system sat near a threshold to a rear chamber, where a curtain hung, separating the storage area from the sleeping area.


Inside, two cots with rumpled sheets, blankets, and pillows sat on opposite walls. Just beyond, Dakota saw a small toilet through a partially open door.


“Nice set up you got here,” Dakota said, eyeing the interior.


“Dad was pretty paranoid. He just knewan alien invasion would happen any day.”


Chapter 8