In the year 2184, the US is divided. Half the country has moved on with the rest of the world, while in middle America, the survivors of the terrorist biological attack that split the country struggle just to stay alive. Though a century has passed, few people brave going behind the borders meant to contain the danger. Even the privatized military is reluctant to do so.<br><br>But that doesn’t stop recently discharged Sullivan Eberle. Only one thing drives him anymore -- the need to find Raphael Hamada. He doesn’t know why. He only knows he must. If that means a lifetime behind the borders, then so be it.<br><br>Rafe Hamada ran away from the real world when he was still a kid. The last thing he wants is to be found, especially by a soldier who can’t even tell him why it was so important to locate him in the first place. He’d like nothing more than for Sullivan to leave, but turning his back on a man alone and friendless is against everything Rafe stands for ...

Penny Candles

Joe was back on his stool when he emerged. Their eyes met, and Joe nodded toward the rear exit. Rafe suspected it had been Sullivan’s idea to wait outside. His earlier wariness had been too real to be an act.


The night whispered illicit promises he rarely found the power to ignore. The rich smell of compost filled the air, carried on the slight breeze coming in from the west, and the soft hum of the few generators still going at this hour created a comforting lullaby. There was no rear light to the restaurant, but he didn’t need it to make out the hulking shadow near the well. It was the alien in an otherwise familiar setting, the only thing that didn’t belong.


“You can use your other shirt to dry off,” Rafe said as he approached. “Do you have a change of pants, or do I need to go scrounging for some of those, too?”


Chapter 9