Introduction to the world of poisonous mist

Short book synopsis
One day, all of Earth surviving inhabitants wake up to see the world covered in a mysterious mist, most of humanity dead, and all modern technologies not working. As they try to make sense of what is happening and gather other survivors, monsters start appearing from the mist and attacking. In Lille in the North of France, a scientist is rushing to investigate the mist and the strange ways it interacts with technologies and live forms. She has to find a way to use some of those properties to come up with new energy sources and weapons before the monsters kill them all off—or before other survivors turns what is left of France into a society straight out of a dystopian novel...

Meta

Genre

Science Fantasy, Postapocalypse.

Location

Lille, in the North of France

Unique selling point

Follow a scientist attempting to puzzle the danger threatening to destroy humanity while also fighting to stay in charge of a group of survivors and protect them despite themselves.

The apocalypse

Everything was going well in France, and everyone was slowly recovering from their Christmas celebrations when one morning the majority of the population falls to wake up. The few who do struggles to understand what has happened when the electricity and any modern technology just stopped working, and they find the streets empty days after after day and covered in a persistant mist.
The survivors start to gather in cities, trying to exchange news and find answers. In Lille in the North of France, a few scientists have taken over the labs of the Catholic University in the city centre to make use of the instruments there. They discover a new kind of energy that is carried by the mist and seems to have contaminated them all, killing those who could not adapt to its presence and gifting the others with some kind of power. But before they can find out how to use it, monsters burst from the mist and start killing people.
Everyone struggles to find a way to defend themselves. The panic, weapons, and mysterious power do not make for a collaborative ambiance, and soon everyone is fighting to get their voice heard and their advice followed, convinced that they will all get killed otherwise. Of course, some people immediately attempt to use the occasion to seize power for themselves...

Characters

MC: A biochemist from Lille, in the North of France. She is clever and has a broad education in science. In normal circumstances, she is rather easy-going and like to help other people, although she is is also ambitious and like to be in charge. Which is exactly how she ended up leading the group of scientists trying to puzzle the mist and the new power that everyone has now gained.
She is lucky to have had some family members survive the apparition of the mist, and she is determined to protect everyone. Especially as it seems that she is the only reasonable person around. As a result of the power the mist seems to be giving people, she is now able to feel the presence of the energy it contains, giving her some insight into how it works and allowing her to detect monsters. This makes her even more certain that she is the only one who can figure what's going on and dread having to follow the orders of any imbecile persuaded to know better.
The fact that she is in charge of the Lillois survivor makes her a prime target for monsters and humans who wants to control any survivors. As she cannot do absolutely everything on her own, she needs allies she can trust not to work against her.

The first ally: Thea, an American woman living in France and working in PR for a big company. She is good with crowd and getting people to do what she wants. She is fiercely intelligent, manipulative, and ruthless, and she is not going to let a mere apocalypse ruin her life. As soon as she meets Mc, she realises she represents her best chance of survival and decides to stick with her.

The Parisians: Those damn Parisians, always convinced they're the centre of the world. Thy want all the Lillois to come under their control so that Paris can benefit from all their resources and the new technologies invented by MC. Paris was only one hour away from Lille by train. Without electricity, the distance has increased but they're still far too close for comfort.

Conflicts

Surviving long enough to find out what's going on.

Get electricity working again and get back some modern technologies.

Find a way to kill the monsters.

Get other people to trust MC and follow her recommendations rather than do something stupid that will endanger them all, or worse, attempt to recreate what they've seen in post-apocalypse TV series...

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