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The parallelism of starting this right where Virtus began, in Pam's vision of The Day, is really good writing. And adding so much more detail this time around... total re-read bonus. "The birds had stopped singing." Your talented is enviable.

And I'm glad to see more of the early days, too - very curious about this part of their story. I appreciate you not giving into the temptation to fill out too much of the backstory of the broader world. In this scenario, they wouldn't know much, and might never find out. It has to be enough for us to know how our initial gang came to be - that's really more important in a world that's never going back to how it was Before.

Also gives us a chance to reset our expectations of the world, and imagine it clearly in multiple senses before we jump back in, and start to think about what the future of this new world might look like... and who might attempt to rule it.

PLEASE KEEP WRITING.

I am so late in posting this review but I’m so excited your back and extending this story. I loved the first fic and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

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We’re one scene in & yes, this is the emotional rollercoaster I signed up for.
From the humor of brilliant one liners like this: “I am...going to pretend to ignore that response,"
To the bittersweet musings on their days, well day really, being marked in Scranton.
And the steady perfection of a moment in a park & then this: “The birds had stopped singing.”
Amazing.

“for safety and something else” oh my god this line just resonates. I love that this is the beginning, but is essentially the thread tying them altogether on the Farm also.

I adore these flashbacks. It’s Pam & Jim before everything they overcome has strengthened them in this whole new way. It’s such great writing to show them as still themselves, true to the show, but also true to the characters that they become in this world.

I am so thrilled to have another story from this universe brightening our lives once again!

Author's Response: I'm SO gald all of these lines landed well. I really wanted to show the contrast of Before and After and how everything can change so quickly and I hope that was shown in this first chapter. :) Thanks Lady!

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I hope my review isn't too jumbled and incoherent because that's kind of what you did to me with this one -left me unable to make thoughts. In Virtus- the backstory you gave was just enough but getting into this sequel, you knew we would need more which you delivered. The lines when they got held up causing his life to tilt on its axis....enemy that was everywhere and hard to identify...explained this immediate shift in Jim from civilian to warrior...further elucidated by ...she needed to stay alive... 

Finding Larissa back at the hotel - amazing how for a character we never really saw in the show I could just hear and see her panic and desperation at finding them. The foreshadowing of Tom, Marci and Vanessa being mentioned while at Brian's makes in so much more heartbreaking later to hear of Marci's fate (and Tom's for that matter).

It is the starkness with how Jim tells Pam to shoot anyone not him or Brian You don't hesitate. Do you understand?  and means it that illustrates just how cosmic the shift is, how instantly the world has gone from Before to After - 2 simple words that you've attached more meaning to than I thought ever possible through the rest of the words that fill out these pages.

I wasn't sure who Abby belonged to at first, then realized I didn't need to just when I got it. Family need not be actually related here. Bonds were stronger than blood. 

The scene with his concern about her hair was much needed levity as was the bit in the car with Mike.

Oh and I'll say again the last scene was visceral and haunting and this is going to be some dark sh*t. But even though you might not guess it because I write mostly cotton candy - I am fascinated by dark. Bring it on - can't wait.

"What was worth fighting for was buried in our bones, a cry from our souls, and it was louder and clearer every day. The fight to survive was always that, to claim and conquer needs before, or in spite of, someone else. The enemy to come was more than any monster, the human kind far more nefarious."

You. You are the monster here.

Just kidding. Sort of. I should be used to the way you make me feel about fictional characters, but well, here I am. Still surprised. And still loving every single second of it.

Author's Response: There is so much about this that made me laugh. I know you know why. Thank you though for encouraging me with this. It won't be too terribly painful...maybe? ;)

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It’s great to see this story continued. I was always curious as to how the whole story began - or at least, what caused the whole world to collapse.

Will you be adding flashbacks continuously throughout the story? I’d also be curious to see how Dwight died.

Regardless, I’m glad Virtus is continuing, and I can’t wait to read more. This story had me hooked from the beginning.

BlindManCassidy

Author's Response: Thank you! Yes, there will be flashbacks that fill in more of the backstory and tie into things/decisions in the present. Thanks for commenting!

So, just diving right in. It may sound odd, but I kind of liked getting some of the backstory of the transition from Before to After. What events led them from almost moving to Austin to where they all find themselves now? Your writing is as evocative as ever. We can feel the fear, the desperation in the Halperts as they start to navigate this new reality.

Sad to hear about Marci. And Tom for that matter. Hopefully with blood relations nearby as well as Vanessa he won't go the route Toby did.

An entire town empties, the elderly left to rot in the sun, and Libertas etched on the wall. Something tells me this doesn't bode well. Especially if a seemingly well defended town like that could fall. The Farm does seem like it's in a better place, but still. This new threat seems worrying. Looking forward to seeing where we go from here. Also thank you for the promise about the JAM family, though I'm sure even they won't escape whatever you have planned without a few more scars.

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm hoping to fill in a little more of the backstory in this one and how it will shape the decisions and choices made in the present. And yes, their world is going to get so much bigger in this one and the enemy will be entirely different. Thanks! 

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I can't... I can't handle getting this in chapters. I need the full on novel so I can stay up until dawn fully immersed in it.

Author's Response: I wish everything in my head was all written already too. So much easier. Lol. Thanks for supporting this little adventure into Virtus again. It means more than you know. ;) 

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"What was worth fighting for was buried in our bones..."

"The drums were always there, beating ceaselessly against fate and time.."

I'm equally afraid of and excited for what you're about to do to us based on prologue and cover art alone. Thank you for blessing us on this quietest of days ;)

Author's Response: I love that you appreciate the cover art more than you know. ;) 

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Um. Excuse me? I mean I was hoping with every fiber of my being that you would write a sequel but I can't believe it's here.

Drums were a rhythm, a reminder of being alive: a heartbeat, a tempo of the cosmos.

How do you come up with this stuff? It's so, so good. Thank you John Krasinski for writing A Quiet Place 2 so we can get this masterpiece, amen.

Author's Response:

Haha, oh how I love your comments. I don't know how it comes to me but if I stare at my screen long enough the words appear. Lol.

Thank you as always and yes, always thank you to JK for being JK. :)

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I’m. So. Excited.

Author's Response: Yay, thank you! I hope it lives up to your excitment *fingers crossed*