PART 1 The Arizona sun didn’t just shine; it hammered. It felt like the fist of an angry god smashing down on the…
PART 1 The wind cut across the Nevada desert like a blade, invisible and unforgiving. I lay flat against the scorched earth,…
PART 1 The Weight of Cotton and Memory Dawn at Fort Braxton always smelled the same: diesel fumes, damp asphalt, and the sharp,…
PART 1 “You’re under arrest, Grandpa.” The deputy didn’t say it with malice, exactly. It was worse than that. He said it with…
Part 1: The Stain on the Concrete “Step aside, sweetheart. Real soldiers are trying to work here.” The impact didn’t hurt. I’ve been…
THE GHOST IN THE GRAY PART 1: THE WHITE VOID If you’ve never tasted the fog at Quantico, you don’t know what it…
PART 1: The Paper Tiger I was twenty-three years old, bulletproof, and convinced that the sun rose and set specifically to shine…
PART 1: THE CHOKE HOLD “You don’t belong here, sweetheart. Go back to the admin desk where girls like you are useful.”…
PART 1: The Ghost in the Dive Bar The neon sign of The Anchor & Anchor buzzed like a dying insect, casting…
PART 1 The coffee cup didn’t just fall; it was launched. One moment, it was warm paper against my cold fingertips, a small…