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

“What do you think of him?” he asked.


“I know what you thought when he showed up. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say now that he’s been here a day.”


Floorboards joined in the creaksong as Mama rocked slowly, back and forth. “He works hard. He didn’t complain once today, and I pushed him as hard as I could.”


“He was Strike. Aren’t they all used to hard labor?”


He stole a glance sideways, but Mama wasn’t watching him. She seemed just as intent on the fire as he’d been. “He doesn’t know why he’s here.”


Her mouth firmed, holding back the words he knew she wanted to say. “They’re trained to lie.”


Chapter 28