"Your mother hollers that you're going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don't stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don't thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not--you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.
""Only, if it's the last time you'll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you'd stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.
""But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.
"Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.
In Emmy Laybourne's action-packed debut novel "Monument 14," six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world--as they know it--apart.

Trapped inside a superstore, fourteen kids have worked together to create a refuge while a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and a terrifying chemical weapons spill, mean they cannot leave. Then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, but also bringing a glimmer of hope. Knowing that the polluted air outside will turn them into bloodthirsty rage monsters, some of the kids decide to stay in the safety of the store. But their sanctuary has already been disturbed once ... The others, determined to find their parents, head out into the darkness and devastation in their recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected . . . 'Riveting' New York Times 'A post apocalyptic wild ride' Huffington Post

Trapped in a superstore by a series of escalating disasters, including a monster hailstorm and terrifying chemical weapons spill, brothers Dean and Alex learned how to survive and worked together with twelve other kids to build a refuge from the chaos. But then strangers appeared, destroying their fragile peace, and bringing both fresh disaster and a glimmer of hope.
Knowing that the chemical weapons saturating the air outside will turn him into a bloodthirsty rage monster, Dean decides to stay in the safety of the store with Astrid and some of the younger kids. But their sanctuary has already been breached once. . . .
Meanwhile, Alex, determined to find their parents, heads out into the darkness and devastation with Niko and some others in a recently repaired school bus. If they can get to Denver International Airport, they might be evacuated to safety. But the outside world is even worse than they expected. . . .

"Monument 14: Sky on Fire "is the second installment Emmy Laybourne's thrilling series.