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

“Where are you planning on sleeping tonight?”


The question was so unexpected, he almost dropped a plate back into the water. “I hadn’t thought about it. I don’t know if I’ll need to sleep at all. I slept most of the day.”


“You’ve been traveling at night?”


He resisted the urge to turn around and see what Rafe’s ensuing silence might mean. He went through two huge pots and a load of silverware, each utensil slippery within his grasp, before Rafe brought it up again.


“Mama won’t like you hanging around the restaurant. And I don’t see Joe or Luther taking you in, either.”


“They don’t need to.” The thought of staying with either older man left his stomach churning. “I’ve got my pack. All I need is a patch of ground.”


Chapter 12