The Gathering — Joseph Sweet

Five people suddenly find themselves mysteriously stranded in an abandoned shopping mall which only moments before was packed with people. With a massive storm raging outside that is pulling the very fabric of reality further apart by the second, and a psycho mall cop trying to kill them off one by one. Will they be able to figure out what's happening and escape certain death? At the same time, a young man, hitching a ride into town on a school bus, finds himself in what appears to be a post apocalypse world, after mushroom clouds appear on the horizon, and then vanish before the blast wave hits. Meanwhile, mortal now and plagued by visions of millions of worlds ending, mass death, and multitudes of survivors being led to him; Marcus is presented with an option to ascend for real this time, and leave behind all which he knows or remain alone in a world hurtling towards certain destruction. Will he disappear forever along with all that he knows and loves, or possibly save some of it, but leave it all behind forever, regardless?