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

How did people behind the border handle these kinds of disasters?


He started with the tallest flames, beating the blanket against them in long, powerful sweeps. The hems singed immediately, but he found the right rhythm to snap the fabric, a flick of the wrists that made it fly straight, then a hard swipe to slam it against the wood. Repeat until his arms fell off or the fire stopped.


The smell of charred wood clogged his nose. The smoke was climbing higher, thank God, but that, too, worked to cloud his senses. His eyes felt like someone had shoved a white-hot, rotating rifle barrel through to his brain. Sweat dripping from his forehead added to the blur and sting. Sullivan kept on going, though, because failure was not an option.


He heard the shouts at the same time he realized the flames didn’t look as tall as they had when he started.


Chapter 41