Volume 5 of the Half-a-Rat Short Story Science Fiction series. Earth has been abandoned by humans for over 4600 years until a single astronaut crash lands near The City populated by genetically engineered animals. They have survived on a post apocalyptic earth with the aid of an enigmatic AI. Dark Days Ahead follows Half-a-Rat and a team from The City to retrieve another group of humans and attempt to stop an ancient threat from destroying all remaining life on earth.