Children of the Earth by David C Corbett

Children of the Earth by David C Corbett

An asteroid strikes the west of Africa, causing devastation to the world as we know it. The track and time the asteroid will hit is known by the US government, which places fifteen hundred men and women underground in the Rocky Mountains. The US Air Force once used this habitat during the Cold War of the 1950s.

When Africa was hit, the following earthquakes, tidal waves, and winds higher than ever recorded causes almost complete destruction of the world as we know it. As one of those multiple quakes travels west from the East Coast, it destroys a CDC laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia. This lab was developing a virus, named Lex Luthor; A bug so potent, it could wipe out an entire nation, if let loose on the public.

Jason Collyar lives in Anoka, Minnesota, a Twin Cities suburb. He is fourteen years old but survived the strike, even though an earthquake destroyed most of the area where he lived. He finds others still alive, huddled up in a building in Anoka proper. As the days pass, people start dying as Lex Luthor moves around the world. Given advice from an old southern gentleman, Jason and his new friend, Billy, head south. Along the way, they meet other teens who have survived both the destruction of their homes and the terrible virus that kills everyone they've known and cared for.

The real story begins as the juxtaposition between the teens, led by Jason, and the fifteen hundred underground. Each chapter tells of the events each group must face as each day passes to the next. How does Jason lead his group at such a young age, and how do adults react to living in tunnels under the Rockies?