Part 1 The chill of the desert night still clung to the metal bones of the hangar as I moved through the pre-dawn…

Part 1 The cold, hard bite of steel on my wrists felt strangely familiar. It wasn’t the same as the sand-dusted gear I’d…

PART 1 The air in my courtroom, Department 12, always smelled the same: a tired mix of stale coffee, cheap floor polish, and…

PART 1 The morning air in Norfolk was thick with the ghost of the sea. It was a briny, familiar scent that clung…

PART 1 The exhaustion was a physical thing, a heavy coat I couldn’t take off. It had settled deep in my bones after…

PART 1 The bell over the garage door was supposed to ring. It didn’t. It hung there, dead and silent, a casualty of…

Part 1 The sky tore open. Not with a gentle cry, but a furious, guttural roar that shook the world. Thunder didn’t just…

Part 1 The sky turned the color of a fresh bruise in minutes. One moment, I was chasing the fading afternoon light down…

Part 1 The air in the room was thick with the smell of stale beer, old leather, and something else—something heavy and unwelcoming.…

Part 1 The rain came down in sheets, a relentless drumming against the tavern’s old glass panes. It sounded like the frantic pounding…