“The few trees still upright were stripped of their branches, lonely flagpoles without a nation to claim them.” — Mike Mullin Ashfall Copy Share Image
“That whiff of smoke was enough to transform my sithere-trembling terror into get-the-hell-out-of-here terror.” — Mike Mullin Terror Copy Share Image
“A night spent spooning with your girlfriend isn't nearly so exciting when your uncle is curled up against your other side.” — Mike Mullin Copy Share Image
“I used to think that teachers who gave homework on weekends should be forced to grade papers for an eternity in hell.” — Mike Mullin Education Copy Share Image
“I wanted, needed to see her so badly that it woke me up at night.” — Mike Mullin Night Copy Share Image
“I hate to disappoint, but I just lay there, curled in a ball, shaking in pure terror.” — Mike Mullin Shaking Copy Share Image
“Condoms instantly shot to the number-one position on my mental list of must-find survival supplies, far ahead of food, water, and a… — Mike Mullin Condom Copy Share Image
“I was glad nobody had noticed.I might have been offended if my uncle had punched me in the shoulder and said something… — Mike Mullin Ashfall Copy Share Image
“The bookcase was filled with computer games, history books, and sci-fi novels in about equal proportions. Odd reading choices, maybe, but I… — Mike Mullin Books Copy Share Image
“Darla had been doing something by the fire. Now she returned and began stripping the blanket off me. I grabbed it before… — Mike Mullin Humor Copy Share Image
“When I was eleven or twelve, we had this real old guy as a Sunday school teacher. Mom said he'd been in… — Mike Mullin Atheists Copy Share Image
“When they taught common sense in kindergarten, you were in the timeout corner, weren’t you?” — Mike Mullin Common sense Copy Share Image
“Maybe we were ghosts of a sort, spirits from the world that had died when the volcano erupted.” — Mike Mullin Ghosts Copy Share Image
Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is terrifying torture. — Mike Mullin Choice Copy Share Image
“We were tired, hungry, and wrapped in multiple layers of filthy winter clothing. None of that mattered to me; I was in… — Mike Mullin Copy Share Image
“But unlike thunder, this didn’t stop. It went on and on, machine-gun style, as if Zeus had loaded his bolts into an… — Mike Mullin Machine gun Copy Share Image
“I never would have guessed that matches and lighters would be among the things I'd miss the most if civilization collapsed” — Mike Mullin Civilization Copy Share Image
“I didn't care much for being called stupid and softhearted. But the boyfriend bit I could live with.” — Mike Mullin Didn Care Copy Share Image
“I didn't say anything - just held up my hands and shuffled backward toward the door. Antagonizing a little old lady holding… — Mike Mullin Bad idea Copy Share Image
“I felt bad about dirtying their comforter with my nasty clothes, but who knew what might happen later. If something else bizarre… — Mike Mullin Felt Bad Copy Share Image
“I'd never heard any noise quite so welcome as the click that a shotgun made when it wasn't killing me.” — Mike Mullin Shotgun Copy Share Image
“But even more than I wanted to check out and give my emotional wounds time to scab over, I wanted to live.” — Mike Mullin Emotional Copy Share Image
“The next few hours were, well, how to describe it? Ask someone to lock you in a box with no light, nobody… — Mike Mullin Talk Copy Share Image
“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and… — Mike Mullin First time Copy Share Image
“So I thought I’d feel different afterward, after the visible neon sign proclaiming 'virgin' had blinked out on my forehead. I’d spent… — Mike Mullin Changed Copy Share Image
“The most important part of seeing Darla every night wasn’t the fooling around. It was the few minutes we talked while holding… — Mike Mullin Alex Copy Share Image
“the pre-friday world of school, cell phones, and refrigerators dissolved into this post-friday world of ash, darkness, and hunger.” — Mike Mullin Cell phone Copy Share Image
“A librarian can’t live by books alone, and I wouldn’t eat them if I could. Feel too much like cannibalism.” — Mike Mullin Books Copy Share Image
“I'd spent almost every minute with Darla for the last five weeks; being separated was … uncomfortable. It felt a bit like… — Mike Mullin Every Minute Copy Share Image
“Then, we waited. Waited for the noise to end. Waited for the house to fall on our heads. Waited for something, anything… — Mike Mullin Copy Share Image
