Loreto: An Earth Has Fallen Short Story

by Peter Servidio

“He was born beneath the ruins of Earth—and may be the one to reclaim it.”

An Earth Has Fallen Short Story
(Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Dystopian Short Story Nuclear Fallout Fiction)

Born underground. Raised in darkness. Destined to change humanity’s future.

Nearly fifty years after total global nuclear war destroyed the surface of Earth, humanity survives beneath it. Cities of concrete and steel lie buried under radiation and ruin, while generations are born never knowing the sky.

Loreto Rucker is one of them.

Raised in the underground shelters, Loreto has never seen the surface—and may never be allowed to. But as humanity prepares to reclaim the Earth, a new generation is being chosen to rise above the ruins.

They are called Topsiders.

In An Earth Has Fallen Short Story, follow one young man’s journey as he confronts identity, fear, and destiny in a world struggling to rebuild. As Loreto comes of age, he must decide whether he has the courage to leave the safety of the underground and walk the surface of a broken planet.

Will he become one of the brave few tasked with restoring humanity—or remain buried in the shadows forever?

This powerful post-apocalyptic sci-fi short story explores survival, hope, and the resilience of the human spirit, and serves as an introduction to Servidio’s Earth Has Fallen series.

Perfect for fans

Post-apocalyptic science fiction

Nuclear fallout survival stories

Dystopian futures

Short sci-fi reads with emotional depth

Coming-of-age stories after the end of the world

Buy An Earth Has Fallen Short Story today and discover the origins of a survivor destined to walk a ruined Earth.

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2021

Reviews

[Despina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick short story (26 or so pages), I went into this having not encountered the 'Earth Has Fallen' book series by this author previous to this.

This short story takes place in a world ravaged by nuclear war, where people are forced to live below the surface and whets the appetite for the full story. The context is explained briefly through conversations and the main character, Loreto, is unique in that he is one of the only non-deformed children born after this nuclear disaster.

Very cool quick read, will consider delving into the full story to acquire more about this world, but not having read the books previously did not impact my reading experience really.

Thank you to Voracious Readers Only for this review copy, which I received free of charge in exchange for an honest review

[Michael Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of Peter’s writings that I have had the pleasure of reading. And many thanks to him and Voracious Readers for the review copy.

I am a fan of ‘hard sf’ The likes of Peter Cawdon and Joshua T Calvert so this seems to fit well in the genre. I like the way Peter has developed the main character and it will be interesting to see how he develops as such in the longer novels, that I fully intend to look at.

So although a very short story this has been enough to add Peter to my list of authors to seek out.

I read between 80 and 100 books a year so there is plenty of time to look.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very quick short story, maybe it fits in with the rest of the series & gives background. It is well written, but at the end I posed the question what was that really about, more like a chapter of a bigger story than a story on it's own! Not bad!

[Donna Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great back story

This is a great character building stand-alone
story. The writing is well done, and the story is engaging. Can't wait to read more about Loreto and his adventures.