Chapter 1: The Final Notice The red ink on the paper seemed to glow in the dim light of the office. “FINAL…
Chapter 1: The Rhythm of Silence The afternoon sun in Redemption Springs didn’t just shine; it hammered down on the earth, turning…
Chapter 1: The Lion’s Den The air in Courtroom 305 smelled like old wood polish, stale coffee, and the heavy, suffocating scent…
CHAPTER 1: THE DISCOVERY The fluorescent lights of the Harbor’s Edge Veterans Hospital hummed with a low, headache-inducing buzz. It was 2:45…
Chapter 1: The Vultures of Route 66 The heat in Arizona doesn’t just burn; it presses down on you, a physical weight…
Chapter 1: The Ghost of Canyon Road Providence Springs, Montana, hadn’t changed much in the ten years since I chose it for…
Chapter 1: The Easy Mark The rumble started as a vibration in the concrete floor before it became a sound. Ray Henderson didn’t…
Chapter 1: The Invisible Girl I stepped through the chain-link gates of Fort Braxton, Silverton County, looking exactly like what I intended…
CHAPTER 1: THE EXILE The snow didn’t fall in Devil’s Backbone; it attacked. It swirled in violent, blinding sheets, turning the world…
Chapter 1: The Rumble in the Quiet People ask me if I miss the light. If I miss the colors of the…