How To Survive The Apocalypse

Written By: Katie Rose Rogers

Narrated By: Katie McGrath

It's the end of Darling's world, and she knows it. Actually, her world died three years ago. Darling is a survivor. But when Darling hears the call of another lonely girl over her radio, Darling has a choice. She can die in the bunker she calls home or find what she craves most -- a true friend. 

Collection Two: “A Traveler’s Guide”: Stories about Space, Time & Other Worlds

Episode #: Two

Release Date: Tuesday, July 2nd

Est. Runtime: » 18 Min

Standout Lines:

"Things that matter: hard cherries that rip easily from  their stems. How your sunburn soothed under the slices of crisp, red tomatoes. The fingers that dropped those ripe tomatoes onto your burnt skin and blew such chilly breath onto them,  sending a shiver up your tailbone. Surviving. Surviving matters most."

"You wonder if everyone is dead, how can a bird sing so merrily? You will not sing happily at the end of the world. You will scream back."

"The rage that she will die a virgin with the body of an old woman."

 "When they came to collect Lisbeth’s body, Darling bit and scratched, found the bones of their watchers to be softer than a cherry pit."

From the Author:

It’s interesting. I don’t consider myself a sci-fi writer… so this prompt knocked me on my ass. I can usually find some romantic or magical way of fitting into or around the rules but for some reason the theme of “Other Worlds” was truly daunting for me. But this phrase kept repeating in my head, nagging me from the moment I read the prompt. It went: “Things that matter… hard cherries that rip easily from the stem…” I’d wake up with it in the morning. It would interrupt me as I worked on pitches and other drafts of other projects. “Things that matter… Hard cherries that rip easily from the stem…” over and over again in my head –

So, I said fuck it. I decided to lean in on things I love. The things that matter to me. Writing about women, femininity, girlhood… and the over-the-top violence of being a girl. That’s how I found my Darling at the end of her world. I also knew my good friend Katie McGrath would be reading for me again and with that gorgeous Irish accent, I always give her as many R sounds as possible. Her saying Darling over and over would be sweeter than honey in tea. So, Darling was my IN. A girl who lived on a dead cherry farm on a dead world. A girl who would do anything to survive.

Lisbeth was an answer to Darling. I didn’t know she existed until I had finished writing the first draft of Darling’s perspective. Yes, it’s the apocalypse and I understand that requires a certain amount of grit and harshness… but there are so many ways to have power and one of those ways is through loving. Enter, Lisbeth. She survived by pure chance. Where Darling is sharp, Lisbeth is soft. Darling is strong, and Lisbeth’s body is crumbling. Darling would do anything to survive, Lisbeth would have done anything to love. That’s why she stayed by the ocean instead of going somewhere more practical. She knew the ocean took everyone she loved, and she wanted to be near them. I think, tragically, she hoped it would take her, too. Wouldn’t that have been easier than her excruciating life? It sure as hell would have been easier to write. Much faster! But as I said, Lisbeth was an answer to Darling and there are so many ways to be resilient. You can be strong in body, strong in love, or strong in mind… which brings us to –

Clara, our poor weak-chinned female scientist. Clara, who’s existence is characterized by her aloofness and precise intel. Her job is in short, rather evil, but necessary for the survival of the thing she cares about. Her world and only her world. I had an earlier draft of Clara that was just that, but sweet Robbie Hyne pushed me… he said no, this is the story of three women! Go deeper into her! So I began to see Clara as more of a ME, sadly enough. She’s a viewer/writer. She manipulates her worlds, the characters in it. Then, as writers often do, she waits and sees if it will work. When the Male Scientist wants to stop Darling and Lisbeth from meeting, with very good reason, Clara can’t help herself. She is invested in the drama of it. She. Is. Messy! She has to know if these girls, these characters will find each other!

Ultimately… it’s her curiosity that allows a “fuck ya” ending for Darling and Lisbeth… at least, in my opinion.

So yes, Robbie Hyne was right, this is a story of three women, at the end of their worlds. But also…zombies!

— Katie