Table of Contents
Contents
Prologue: The Ballad at the End of Time
Book One: The Night of the Yellow Puff-Ball Mushroom Cloud
In the Beginning 5
Mary Mbwembwe Says Good-Bye to a Very Old Friend 7
Josefina Guzman Meets a Suspicious Fox 11
Stella Steals Some Kitchen Shears 15
Margie Peach Follows a Giddy, Blood-Lust Scent 19
Major Eureka Yamanaka Does Her Duty 25
Wanda Lubiejewski Learns the True Meaning of the Word “Homewrecker” 29
Book Two: Therianthropy
Margie Peach Learns All About “Agent-T” 37
Josefina Guzman Disturbs a Perfectly Round White Stone 47
Stella Buys a Pack of Hostess Donettes 51
Wanda Lubiejewski’s Daughter Grows Up 59
A Prayer of Thanksgiving 63
Book Three: Signals & Signs
Major Eureka Yamanaka Ponders Acts of God 75
Mary Mbwembwe Meets Margie Peach and Does Not Know Her 79
A Cry of Triumph 83
Josefina Guzman Watches ‘Noticiero Telemundo’ 91
Book Four: Collapse & Confusion
Stella Acquires a Pocket-Sized Pink Bible, and a Cat 99
Margie Peach Gets to Know Her Pack 105
Making Friends in Time of Turmoil 111
Major Eureka Yamanaka Catches a Glimpse of Josefina Guzman 113
Mary Mbwembwe and Stella are Attacked by a Bird, or Maybe a Celestial Being 119
Book Five: To the Abyss
Mary Mbwembwe Draws on the Lessons of Her Past 125
Wanda Lubiejewski Witnesses the Apocalypse from a Bear’s Perspective 127
Fight Every Which Way You Can 131
The Chocolate-Colored Lab Makes a Surprising First Impression 139
Stella Meets and Old Friend in Unexpected Circumstances 145
People Carrying Flashlights 149
Book Six: The Land of Nethalem
The Second Coming of Mary Mbwembwe 157
A Procession of Beasts 159
A Crow Comes to Josefina Guzman 165
Josefina Guzman Rescues Wanda Lubiejewski from Her Wandering 167
Why the Condor was Late 175
Take Away the Stone 181
The Coming of the Beast 187
Kitchen Shears 191
The End of the World 201
Book Seven: Beginnings
Parthenogenesis, Perhaps 207
