DENI BRANNING STEPPED DOWN ONTO THE TARMAC, PULLED OUT the handle of her carry-on, and glanced back up at her dad. He was just exiting the commuter plane as he chatted over his shoulder with the man who'd sat next to him on the flight. Doug Branning had never met a stranger, which accounted for his success as a stockbroker. He'd snagged some of his best clients on flights like this.
The oppressive Birmingham humidity settled over Deni like a heavy coat. It's temporary, she told herself. She wouldn't have to spend the summer here. Just this last week of May, and then it was back to D.C., her new job, and the fiancÉ she'd dreamed of for all of her twenty-two years. Yes, it was hot in the nation's capital, too, and probably just as humid. But its fast-paced importance made it easier to bear.
As her father reached the bottom step, his small bag clutched in his hand, the loud hum of the plane's engine went silent. A sudden, eerie quiet settled over the place, as if someone had muted all the machinery around them. The conveyor belt purging the cargo bin of its luggage stopped. The carts dragging the luggage carriers stalled.
She smelled something burning.
Her father seemed oblivious to the sudden change, so she fell into step beside him, rolling her bag behind her.
"Look out! It's coming in too fast!?
She turned back to see the airline employees gaping at the sky. An airliner was descending too steeply from the sky, silently torpedoing toward the runway. "Dad--!?
She screamed as the plane shattered into the runway, the impact vibrating through her bones. Time seemed to stop in a nightmarish freeze-frame, then roll into slow-motion horror as the plane tumbled wildly across the pavement and spun into a building.
Her dad tried to pull away. "In the building, Deni! Now! Let's go!?
Before she could get her feet to move, the plane exploded, flames bustling around it like a parachute that had finally caught wind. The blast of rippling heat knocked her off her feet, and before she could scramble up, her dad was over her, sheltering her with his body.
"Stay down, honey!?
She struggled to see through the shield of his arms. The fire conquered the broken fuselage, swallowing it whole. She imagined the people inside that plane, crawling over each other in a desper¬ate effort to escape, slowly perishing in the murderous heat. Panic shot through her.
Her father got up and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we're going inside!?
"But the people! Dad, the people--? She looked back, feeling the heat on her face.
"Now, Deni!?
"They're burning," she screamed. "Somebody has to get them out!?
"They're trying." His voice broke as he got back to his feet and grabbed up her suitcase. "There's nothing we can do."
)
Today, the world as you know it will end. No need to turn off the lights. Your car suddenly stalls and won't restart. You can't call for help because your cell phone is dead. Everyone around you is having the same problem ... and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Your city is in a blackout. Communication is cut off. Hospital equipment won't operate. And airplanes are falling from the sky. Is it a terrorist attack ... or something far worse? In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, your family faces a choice. Will you hoard your possessions to survive--or trust God to provide as you offer your resources and your hearts to others? Yesterday's world is gone. Now all you've got is your family and community. You stand or fall together. Like never before, you must rely on each other. But one of you is a killer. #1 bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if novel in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts?and lights the way to restoration for a selfcentered world. Last Light is the first book in an exciting new series.
