In the early morning light, with her dad all to herself, Emery cast her line and patiently wait for a nibble. She enjoyed the soft sounds of the bugs and birds waking up, the steady and somehow delicate crashing of the waterfall into the pond, and quiet talks with her father. Her favorite was when he’d talk…

Bridget rubbed the sleep from her eyes, hoping the plastic over the insulation had kept any harmful dust out of her eyes and lungs as she slept. It had been their first night in the new building that would eventually grow into their main house. For now, though, it was just a newly insulated room that they’d...

Now the proud resident of the first single detached home built after the clear-out, Bridget didn’t waste any time in setting up her own garden. Tending to the community garden supplied harvests to tide her over until her own plants were ready. It was tiring work and she often ended her day covered in dirt, but...

It was a strange sight, such an empty landscape save but one large Victorian manor house. Bridget Tevellyn was standing on the edge of her new property, looking out at what had once been the ranch town of Appaloosa Plains. This was only the second time she'd been here, and it was as empty as it had...

The place was a ghost town. Despite its breath-taking locale, Appaloosa Plains had become a shadow of what it once was. The residents of…