Paul Jones - Exodus

She had managed to count eight of these massive storms, each one at least a thousand miles across, before, like their earlier incarnations, they, too, had begun searching out and connecting with each other. A continual barrage of lightning, each bolt hundreds of miles in length, exploded silently across the anvil of the planet, illuminating the storms from within like some grand light show.

Over the course of days, each storm found the other, and when they touched they fused into a single, massive superstorm, which in turn gradually expanded to blanket the world in a swirling pall of vermilion cloud.

That storm had grown exponentially in ferocity and size until it blotted out everything but two small cones of blue over each of the planet’s poles.

And what would emerge from that chaos below her? she wondered. Who could say? She was certain, though, that if the red curtain was ever lifted, the world it revealed would be a very different place from what any of them had known. A small part of her welcomed the fact that she would never set foot on her planet again.

Fiona wondered how Emily had fared. Had they made it? She would never meet the woman, but she had sounded strong, had struck her as a more than capable individual. If anyone could have made that incredible journey, she believed it would have been Emily. Still, the silence she had met with each time she tried to reestablish contact with Jacob had been disconcerting.

It did not bode well for the tiny group of survivors.

“God help them,” she whispered to the invisible world beneath her.

Far, far below the station, a dark-red cataract within the storm raged over what had once been Alberta, Canada.

“God help them all.”

My thanks to everyone involved in helping to make this second book a reality. In no particular order, they are: David Pomerico and his 47North team members who do such a fine job of finding and eliminating my spelling and grammatical errors (of which there are a lot!), promoting my books, and catering to my every whim and desire.

A very special mention goes to my developmental editor Jeff VanderMeer, whose patience in the face of my frustration was inexhaustible(ish). Much appreciated.

I would also like to thank the Tucker Sno-Cat Corporation for sending me photos of the interior of the Sno-Cat vehicle featured in this book. I really want to try one of those things out someday.

And the good people of Coldfoot, Alaska who gave me guidance on the layout of their camp, despite the fact that I killed them all off in the book. That’s going above and beyond the call, in my opinion.

To my wife, and biggest fan, Karen. Thank you, love.

And last, but most definitely not least, I would like to thank you, my readers. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to receive your emails and tweets telling me how much you enjoy reading Emily’s story. Keep ‘em coming.

Thank you.

A native of Cardiff, Wales, Paul Antony Jones now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and commercial copywriter, but his passion is penning fiction. A self-described science geek, he’s a voracious reader of scientific periodicals, as well as a fan of things mysterious, unknown, and fringe-related. That fascination inspired his first novel, Extinction Point , and its first sequel, Extinction Point: Exodus . Emily Baxter’s adventures will continue in future installments of the series. Join the author’s mailing list at DisturbedUniverse.com.

Toward Yesterday

Extinction Point: Book One

Dangerous Places (short story compilation)

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Text copyright © 2013 Paul Antony Jones

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by 47North

PO Box 400818

Las Vegas, NV 89140

ISBN-13: 9781477805060

ISBN-10: 1477805060

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012956119