The Chaperone

Nicole "Cole" Gerringer is a reluctant chaperone, off on a fourteen day backcountry wilderness camping trip with her niece and sixty-five other eighth grade girls, led by the sole man in the group, Jason Walker. Everything goes well until they discover they are trapped in the wilderness by an event that will alter their destinies and require them to survive by their wits. Separated from the group temporarily, Cole rescues federal agent Alex Rios from certain death. Together, the large group finds they must fend for themselves in an attempt to escape savage dangers and a wildfire that threatens to kill them all in one fell swoop. In the midst of their strife, Cole finds herself torn between the growing affections of both Jason and Alex, as she struggles to hold the large group together and keep them all safe. Meanwhile, an even more sinister threat awaits them should they survive their trek toward civilization. This threat cannot be overcome, only endured, as they have been unknowingly doing throughout the many perils of their camping trip. Beyond them, the whole world is changing, as will they. Nothing is as it was before. Cole must face this chaos head on as she leads her original group and hundreds of refugees who come to join them on a journey into an unknown future, with the fate of this region's remnant of humankind resting in her hands. This is the first in a three-part series focusing on the struggles of survivors in America coping with the catastrophic loss of their way of life, taking some of them on a journey as far as the White House and a battle against tyranny to save our country's hard-won freedoms.