What Remains

By Calluna Rae

And remember; even at the end of the world, love is what remains

Seven years after the world ended, Ashwick claims to be what’s left of hope.

It’s a fortified small town with clean streets, strict rules, and leaders who present themselves as heroes—the kind of people you thank for keeping the gates closed and the rotters out. Folks say Ashwick survives because they’re ‘united’.

That is, until people start to go missing.

Questions are being brushed aside, truths hidden behind warnings. And the danger inside the walls begins to feel far more intentional than the monsters outside them.

Mac has spent years making sure Ashwick runs exactly the way it’s supposed to. As head of patrol, she believes in order, obedience, and loyalty above all else—especially to the leaders who saved her and her brother’s lives when the world fell apart. So, she does her job, and she does it well.

And then the Quinn family arrived.

Harper Quinn only wanted to keep her siblings safe. Instead, she finds herself standing on the wrong side of Ashwick’s unspoken rules—where outsiders are watched closely, trust is conditional, and blame always needs somewhere to land.

And Mac is caught in the middle.

When Harper challenges everything Mac believes in, the head of patrol finds herself drawn to the one person she should never trust—let alone love.

Protect the town she’s sworn her life to, or protect the woman who’s making her question everything she’s trained herself to live for.

As rotters begin to evolve beyond the gates, Ashwick’s leadership grows more desperate to maintain control. Loyalty is demanded. Silence is rewarded. And Mac starts to realize that devotion, when left unquestioned, can be just as dangerous as betrayal.

In a town built on secrets, love is not just forbidden—it’s a liability.

And when survival demands a choice, Mac must decide where her loyalty truly lies.

Because in Ashwick, choosing the truth can cost you everything, and choosing love might cost you even more.

What Remains is a slow-burn sapphic romance set seven years into the apocalypse, blending post-apocalyptic survival with small-town mystery, political corruption, and a forbidden love that threatens to expose the truth. It’s a story about control and resistance, about the cost of loyalty, and about choosing who you protect when the world demands a sacrifice.