Dreaming the Storm

Dreaming the Storm I. Before the Storm II. Dreams Begin III. A Mind Breaks IV. Eye of the Storm V. Darkest Hour VI. Everything Turns VII. Mending the Future About Kari Also by Kari Kilgore Part I Before the Storm When a country, a society, or an entire planet is hit with catastrophe, an event that changes everything from that point forward, humans are driven to try to find out why. What have we done to deserve this? How can we get back to normal? And did anyone know this was coming? That last one is more than idle speculation by the unaffected, especially if there are no unaffected. The mistake people make, the wishful thinking that leads them to pursue The One Who Knew, is assuming such a person could have made any difference. That she could have done one thing that would have kept all the bad things from happening. Or, more darkly, that this mythical person knew and decided to do nothing. Prophets have risen up many times through the ages, claiming to have this gift of seeing the future. Whether certain ones could or not is a debate for another day. What’s not debatable is the most common response by society: to condemn them as insane, with often horrific results. Is it any wonder, then, that people who do know - who can see - so often choose to hide their knowledge and themselves? Is it any wonder that knowledge frequently torments them in solitude until they truly are as insane as others assume? The only salvation for one so cursed - through chance, divine intervention, or a quirk of genetics - may be one person to witness their visions. To share in the fear and hopelessness, the struggle and possibility. To simply understand and believe. The seer lucky enough to find such a witness may not only be able to make a difference in the terrible things to come, but may indeed have the strength to do so. Anne Fincastle was eleven years old when the dreams started. Evan Griffith was too young at thirteen to understand how, as witness to her dreams, he would save her life.