Dystopian

by John D Bertucci

by Lucian Frost

Humanity has surrendered more than its freedom. It has surrendered its identity. In a fractured, war-ravaged world controlled by an authoritarian regime, every transaction is tracked, every movement monitored, and every act of defiance punished. Digital currency has replaced cash, surveillance drones dominate the skies, and the Watchers' neural networks turn technology into an instrument of absolute control. But resistance is stirring. Twenty-two-year-old **Ryder Blackwood** has spent years preparing to fight back. Haunted by the disappearance of his father and sister and the loss of his mother, he refuses to accept a world where obedience is the price of survival. When he encounters **Anya Volkov,** a brilliant former broadcast engineer hiding behind the identity of a chemistry teacher, he discovers an opportunity to ignite something far greater than a local uprising. Together with a growing circle of hardened fighters, including **Mara Voss** and **Cage Rennic, Ryder** begins dismantling the Regime's surveillance infrastructure. Their rebellion spreads, alliances are forged, and the fight escalates into a devastating conflict against **President Thorne's** forces and their ruthless cybernetic architect, Preston Kane. Yet the greatest threat is not the regime itself. A sinister artificial intelligence known as the Fractal begins revealing its true nature, manipulating human minds, controlling biomechanical armies, and unleashing horrors that threaten humanity beyond Earth's boundaries. As the conflict expands from devastated cities to the oceans, lunar territory, and the depths of space, Mara becomes central to a battle that could determine the fate of civilization. With the Regime collapsing and humanity fighting for its future, Ryder and his allies must confront an enemy that refuses to die. Freedom has been won at an unimaginable cost. But victory is not the end. **The uprising has begun. The stars are watching. And the final cleansing is yet to come.**

by Kevin B. Kyles

CORE OF KEYS: BOOK TWO   The Motion Key    In the aftermath of NeonDyne's collapse, Virelia struggles to rebuild amid widespread destruction, fear, and uncertainty. Haunted by the losses of the rebellion, Mara carries the completed Motion Key, a dangerous power she never wanted. Convinced that the Keys are responsible for humanity's suffering, she sets out to destroy them before another catastrophe can unfold.    But a new threat emerges from the shadows. Cilus Marks, the mysterious bearer of the Thought Key, possesses the terrifying ability to manipulate the minds of others, turning ordinary citizens against one another and plunging the fractured city into violence and paranoia. As his influence spreads, a ruthless Hunter stalks those who possess the Keys, driven by a deadly obsession with collecting them.    Caught between an enemy who can control thoughts and a relentless predator who hunts extraordinary powers, Mara must confront her own demons while fighting to protect what remains of Virelia. As the boundaries between free will and manipulation begin to disappear, she faces a terrifying question: How do you defeat an enemy who can turn your own mind against you?

by Kevin B. Kyles

# CORE OF ECHOS ##  Book One of the Core of Keys Series   In the cyberpunk city of Virelia, where powerful corporations control society and technology blurs the line between humanity and machines, Rip Calder's ordinary life is shattered when armed soldiers abduct his wife, Lora. Desperate to find her, Rip becomes the unwilling bearer of the Sound Key, a mysterious power connected to an ancient system known as the Core.   Hunted by the powerful NeonDyne corporation, Rip joins a resistance fighting to uncover the truth behind the Keys and the dark experiments surrounding them. But as he ventures deeper into a world of dangerous machines, hidden conspiracies, and unimaginable power, he discovers that Lora's disappearance is part of something far greater than he ever imagined.   With the fate of Virelia hanging in the balance, Rip must confront terrifying truths about love, identity, and the nature of human existence. In a world where consciousness can be manipulated and machines can become more than their programming, saving the woman he loves could come at a cost far greater than his own life.

by Kevin B. Kyles

# CORE OF KEYS ## An Epic Dark Cyberpunk Science Fiction Series What if the greatest threat to humanity wasn't death, but the loss of everything that makes us human? In the sprawling, neon drenched city of Virelia, technology has become a tool of control, corporations hold unimaginable power, and the truth is buried beneath generations of secrets. Rip Calder was never meant to be a hero. A late night streamer living an ordinary life, everything changes when armed soldiers come for Lora, the woman he loves. Thrust into a conflict far beyond his understanding, Rip becomes the bearer of a mysterious power known as the Sound Key, one of several extraordinary forces connected to an enigmatic creation known only as the Core. But the Keys are more than weapons. Each possesses the ability to manipulate fundamental aspects of existence, from sound and reflection to motion, thought, and memory. Their power comes at a cost, and those who wield them become targets in a struggle that reaches far beyond the streets of Virelia. As rebellion rises against the powerful NeonDyne corporation, unlikely heroes emerge, loyalties fracture, and enemies reveal themselves in unexpected forms. From Rip's desperate fight to save someone he loves to rebel commander Mara's battle against forces capable of turning humanity's own thoughts against itself, every victory uncovers another layer of a much greater mystery. And somewhere in the shadows, a relentless Hunter seeks the Keys for reasons known only to himself. As the boundaries between memory, identity, consciousness, and reality begin to collapse, one question threatens to unravel everything: If your thoughts can be controlled, your memories rewritten, and your identity erased, how can you ever be certain that you are truly yourself? Core of Keys is a dark, action driven science fiction saga of sacrifice, betrayal, survival, and the terrifying consequences of humanity attempting to control the very forces that define existence. \

by Rachel E. Croxton

Besides having a missing father, eighteen-year-old Carol Tyson is a pretty normal teenager. This changes when she finds a poster in the attic, among her father's possessions. The man in the poster comes alive, warning her of a dangerous, apocalyptic future.   Now, Carol must travel into the dark and dismal future to seek out her father, who might be the only person with answers. But a sinister force lurks in the shadows, far more sinister than the roaming zombies and mutants that have completely over taken the world.   Will Carol and her allies be able to stop this seemingly unstoppable evil?

by Rachel E. Croxton

Besides having a missing father, eighteen-year-old Carol Tyson is a pretty normal teenager. This changes when she finds a poster in the attic, among her father's possessions. The man in the poster comes alive, warning her of a dangerous, apocalyptic future.   Now, Carol must travel into the dark and dismal future to seek out her father, who might be the only person with answers. But a sinister force lurks in the shadows, far more sinister than the roaming zombies and mutants that have completely over taken the world.   Will Carol and her allies be able to stop this seemingly unstoppable evil?

by Seerendip Publishing

The sky goes dark. The meteors fall. Derek’s fight to survive begins. In the year 2056, a mysterious meteor storm strikes Earth. Electronics fail, darkness spreads, and a camping trip becomes a nightmare when Derek’s family RV explodes with his parents inside. Stranded in a freezing, ash-covered wilderness, Derek discovers a strange meteorite that continues to give off warmth and light. It could be his best chance of survival. But when it responds to his touch, he begins to wonder what he is really holding. This free preview includes the prologue and first two chapters of Meteor by Robert Austin. Continue Derek’s story in the complete novel, available on Amazon:\ [https://a.co/d/0gdRpu5X](https://a.co/d/0gdRpu5X) Published by Seerendip Publishing.

by Donald N Walker

It is 4:40 a.m. on a Tuesday in September when Marianne Sauer packs twelve sandwiches and tells her son to watch the header. By afternoon the header is still running and the boy is not. What follows is not a breakdown. It is a sequence. An engineering report. A denial letter that is true in every sentence. A co-op notice. A town hall where the water for a substation costs forty-one thousand dollars and a farm family’s useful life is treated as a line item. A cousin who takes a job with the company that needs the ground. A court order to move a burial. A settlement statement with a transfer fee tidier than grief. Emmett Sauer does what he has always done. He finishes the chop. He milks. He runs the numbers. He answers the phone trees. He sells the animals. He keeps the horse too long. He leaves the television on so the house has a voice in it. And in the months the closing papers give him alone with the doors shut, he does the last job a man like him knows how to do: he builds. Inspired by the true shadow of Colorado’s “Killdozer,” CHOP is something colder and closer to home — a Wisconsin dairy novel about how institutions harvest a life, and what happens when the only language left is horsepower. For readers of rural noir and literary crime who can sit with silence, process, and a night that does not look away.

by B. shock

Exiled and left to die on a hostile alien planet for a crime she didnt commit, alita is saved by a alien native who wants nothing to do with her... Or so he thought. \ `Xanadis...A world deemed uninhabitable by humans and made into a penal colony where deathrow convicts are sent to serve out the rest of their lives, forced to fight to survive or subcome to the harsh enviroment and fall prey to the many creatures that live there. `\ \ `After being convicted of a murder she didnt commit alita is left stranded on the hostile world filled with carnivorous plants, ruthless criminals, hostile natives, and bloodthirsty monsters. `\ \ `She comes to realize the world isnt as unforgiving and cold as it seems. She's saved by a native who dislikes humans as much as the next guy but shes intent on sticking by his side in order to survive. The only issue being is the last thing he wants is a pathetic, weak human girl following him around.`\ \ \ \ \ `(Limited time only read!) `\ \ \ ` (THIS IS THE RE-WRITTEN VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL STORY AND WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE TEMPORARILY)`

by B. shock

After crash landing on an unknown alien planet a female Xenobiologist finds herself in the company of two strange aliens after they kidnap her in the middle of the night from her ship and crew. luckily the two aliens have yet to show any signs of hostility but when their exploratory touch starts to become more intimate she finds her own sexual urges hard to resist. and being a scientist at heart, how could she deny a chance to learn the anatomy of a new alien species in the most pleasurable way possible?

by David Speer

As they mature in their faith, Sophia shakes the U to its foundations and Esperanza awakens a sleeping Church. Signs and wonders follow them both. Together they will leave permanent marks on Minneapolis and St. Paul.

by E Wyndspell

Oswy has spent his life understanding what breaks—and how to put it back together. A skilled bonesetter and craftsman from a world far removed from modern life, Oswy knows the grain of wood, the alignment of bone, and the cost of forcing something to bend beyond what it can bear. But when a catastrophic flood tears him out of everything he knows and deposits him in a strange modern city, his old skills are suddenly surrounded by things he cannot name: unfamiliar machines, an unreadable language, and a society whose rules make little sense to him. Alone and unable to find his way home, Oswy must learn how to survive without the knowledge and standing that once defined him. The people who take him in offer warmth and help, but belonging is harder than rescue. His hands still know how to mend what others cannot—and when people around him are in danger, that knowledge becomes a responsibility he cannot easily refuse. Yet Oswy’s gift is not without a cost. He understands better than most that holding something together can consume the person doing the holding. As he begins to find a place in this unfamiliar world, he must confront the difference between being useful and being valued, between enduring pain and accepting help, and between preserving what is broken and learning when to let go.

by Isaac Y Brooks

Featuring a spiritually exhausted Pisces, an infuriatingly attractive spy, international chaos, weaponized emotional unavailability, and enough questionable relationship decisions to concern several intelligence agencies, *OMG My Super Secretive Boyfriend Might Be a Spy… I Think* is an absurdist romantic comedy about love, lies, and discovering that sometimes the biggest red flag isn't that your boyfriend might be a spy.

by Isaac Y Brooks

*Small-town crime has never been this stupid.* Welcome to Desert Blossom, where the crimes are petty, the schemes are spectacularly stupid, and one exhausted police officer is about to lose what remains of his faith in humanity. Meet Catalytic Kyle and Methanny: two small-time schemers with big dreams, absolutely no business sense, and a seemingly supernatural ability to turn the most worthless junk imaginable into their next terrible idea. Their entrepreneurial ventures include selling stolen pallets for $9.83, acquiring questionable dollar-store cosmetics, preparing for the apocalypse with twenty-five bricks, and establishing a boarding school for imaginary Chihuahuas. Their latest business opportunities are always just around the corner. Unfortunately, so are the police. Enter Hal, a long-suffering Desert Blossom police officer whose career has devolved into an endless cycle of emergency calls, inexplicable animal encounters, spectacular property damage, and repeat visits to the jail's unofficially reserved *Honeymoon Suite*. Whether he's investigating a stolen Christmas manger, dealing with a mountain lion named Trotter, or responding to a Valentine's Day coyote caravan that goes catastrophically wrong, Hal knows two things: Kyle and Methanny are almost certainly responsible, and his shift is about to get a whole lot worse. And just when Hal thinks he's finally escaped the madness, Kyle unveils his next business venture: **brand-new used catalytic converters.** Because in Desert Blossom, the only thing more unreliable than the local economy is Kyle's next get-rich-quick scheme. *The Adventures of Methanny and Catalytic Kyle* is a gloriously ridiculous comedy about small-town chaos, spectacularly bad decisions, and the unfortunate police officer who has to deal with all of it. Perfect for readers who enjoy absurdist humor, deadpan comedy, and characters whose terrible ideas somehow keep getting worse.

by J. Visage

Beautiful Down is a dark fantasy about Felicity, a girl who stumbles into the Down-a world that shouldn't exist. Led by the sharp, secretive Mallory, she travels through a vast, layered underworld of valleys, roads, and ruins where every choice carves a deeper path. As Felicity searches for a way home, she discovers that the Down has plans of its own.

by T L P Jr.

Following the torment of the Scorpion Locusts, a new phase of the apocalypse begins as four fallen angelic generals are released from the Euphrates to kill a third of the human population. Inside a repurposed thrift store sanctuary, a resilient community led by Ellis, LaTroy, and a small group of believers navigates day-to-day survival through shared chores, humor, and nightly Bible studies. Their fragile peace is shattered when terrifying supernatural entities begin roaming the ruined world. While a select few marked by the divine Seal of God possess supernatural protection, the rest of the group remains vulnerable to the advancing slaughter. As the team expands by absorbing new survivors like the hardened combatant Jonas and his mother Joyce, internal tensions flare and outside gangs threaten their safety. Meanwhile across the globe, the apocalyptic heralds execute their grim mandates, pushing humanity toward an impending convergence of two hundred million destroyers. Bound together by faith, love, and a desperate need for community, the survivors must hold fast as the ultimate test of endurance closes in around them.

by T L P Jr.

In a world where the air is a death sentence and the radiation levels are a coin flip, Ambris is just trying to find her next meal. She has a high-tech suit, a pedantic AI named BLABS, and a partner named Tollson who keeps trying to pet things that want to eat him. Surviving the apocalypse is hard, but surviving her own teammates might be impossible.

by Sammie Settlemire

Something beneath the town has awakened. After years of silence, Silas Renn begins hearing a voice that should not exist. It doesn't come from dreams. It doesn't come from memory. It comes from beneath reality itself. As impossible fractures spread through town and people begin speaking words they don't remember saying, Silas discovers a terrifying truth: an ancient force known as the Tear has returned, and it knows their name. Hunted by a secretive council, haunted by visions of forgotten lives, and drawn toward a living structure known only as the Spine, Silas is forced to confront a legacy buried beneath generations of lies. The Tear is not what the town believes it is. It is not a curse. It is a door. As reality begins to collapse and something far older reaches through the widening fractures, Silas must decide whether to sacrifice themselves, embrace the Void, or uncover a fourth path no one has survived long enough to find. Blending cosmic horror, surreal fantasy, mystery, and emotional depth, The Spine of All Voids: The Void explores identity, memory, sacrifice, and the hidden forces that shape who we become. Some doors should never open. Some were opened for a reason.

by Sammie Settlemire

How To Be White For Dummies A completely unofficial, wildly unnecessary field guide to suburban white culture. Have you ever wondered why otherwise rational adults become emotionally invested in grass? Why Costco feels like a religious experience? Why people spend entire weekends putting up seasonal decorations only to spend another weekend taking them down? Or why being asked to "bring a dish" can trigger a full-scale existential crisis? In How To Be White For Dummies, author Sammie Settlemire takes readers on a hilarious tour through the customs, rituals, and contradictions of suburban American life. From HOA enforcement squads and lawn maintenance warfare to pumpkin spice season, garage clutter, small talk etiquette, and the mysterious power of the fitted sheet, nothing escapes observation. Writing from the unique perspective of life in a fifth-wheel RV and trailer park communities, Settlemire contrasts suburban culture with a world where survival, resourcefulness, and community often matter more than appearances. The result is a funny, affectionate, and sometimes painfully accurate look at the ways people try to create order in a world that stubbornly remains chaotic. Perfect for fans of observational humor, social satire, David Sedaris-style storytelling, and anyone who has ever: •Argued about trash cans •Purchased something unnecessary at Costco •Pretended to care about grass •Folded a fitted sheet and lost the battle •Smiled through an awkward conversation about the weather No membership card required. Readerful Tags / Keywords •Humor •Satire •Cultural Humor •Suburban Life •HOA •Costco •RV Living •Trailer Park Life •Social Commentary •Comedy Essays •American Culture •Observational Humor •Lifestyle Humor •Small-Town America •Memoir Humor •Funny Nonfiction •Community Life •Modern Life •Lighthearted Satire •Everyday Absurdity Genre Primary Genre: Humor Secondary Genres: •Satire •Social Commentary •Humor Essays •Cultural Observations •Memoir Humor

by Nellie James

Every year, the Settlement chooses three people from the Foundry for the Ascent. For those born beneath the humming pipes, crowded corridors, and failing machinery of the lower district, being chosen means everything. The Ascended are promised a new life in the Reserve, where artificial sunlight warms immaculate gardens, food is plentiful, and the machinery keeping humanity alive is hidden behind polished walls. Eight years ago, Sera Dain’s older sister, Veda, was chosen. Before she disappeared into the Reserve, Veda screamed one warning at Sera: Don’t let them choose you. Now twenty-year-old Sera’s name has been called. Determined to discover what happened to her sister, Sera enters the Reserve and quickly realizes that the beautiful world above the Foundry is built on secrets. Medical examinations reveal information she was never meant to see. Ascendants are tracked by numbers no one will explain. A hidden designation keeps appearing in records connected to Veda: Ward Nine. And when another newly Ascended citizen vanishes shortly after arriving in the Reserve, Sera knows her sister’s disappearance was never an isolated event. Her only unexpected ally is Transition Officer Shaw, a young Reserve official raised to believe the Preservation Authority saved humanity and that the Ascent offers Foundry citizens a better future. At first, Shaw sees Sera as difficult, suspicious, and unwilling to trust a system designed to protect her. Sera sees him as another polished face of the Authority. The deeper they search, the harder it becomes for either of them to ignore what is happening, or the growing attraction between them. Behind the Settlement’s promise of order lies a brutal truth about the Ascended, the privileged families of the Reserve, and the world beyond the walls. And somewhere beneath it all, Sera’s sister may still be alive. **The Settlement** is a fast-paced dystopian fantasy romance novella for readers who love dangerous secrets, forbidden attraction, class divides, hidden facilities, and immersive speculative worlds, but don’t necessarily want to commit to a 900-page fantasy novel. Designed as a shorter fantasy reading experience, it delivers the mystery, worldbuilding, romance, and high stakes of a larger dystopian story in a compact novella.

by R. D. Stone

A year after civilization collapsed, survival has become routine—but never safe. Mara and Elias have endured behind the fragile protection of a survivor camp, surrounded by a world where the infected are changing and every journey beyond the perimeter can become a death sentence. But the walls that kept them alive were never going to hold forever. When the camp falls, they are forced north with a group of survivors into territory that has grown more dangerous than anyone imagined. The infected are evolving. Settlements are disappearing. And rumors are spreading of **the Dominion**—a disciplined force that burns communities, weaponizes the infected, and absorbs those it leaves alive. Mara possesses an unsettling ability to sense danger before it arrives. Elias understands systems, defenses, and how things fail. Together, they may give their people a chance. But the farther north they travel, the clearer it becomes that they aren’t simply running from the collapse anymore. **Something organized is coming. And survival may require deciding what they are willing to become before someone else makes that decision for them.**

by Sammie Settlemire

The town exhaled the morning Johnna noticed it, and nothing about her life held still afterward. Cracks open where they shouldn't. A stranger knows her name. The ground pushes stone and memory up toward the surface like it is trying to be understood. The Spine of All Voids is a mythic memoir about a woman who was marked long before she understood it, and a piece of land that has carried every secret ever buried in it. Part survival story, part folklore, written in a voice that jokes when it hurts and tells the truth when it counts.

by Sammie Settlemire

The HOA does not just run the neighborhood. The HOA is the neighborhood: a group of adults who gather voluntarily to enforce rules nobody asked for, like the PTA and the IRS had a baby that grew up to police the color of your mailbox. A comic anthropology of modern suburban life, taking on lawns as identity, Costco migration patterns, the fitted sheet crisis, the emotional support houseplant you are going to kill, and what all of it looks like from a trailer park and a 94 Bounder.

by Nani Benz

Melanie Moreno has spent her entire life cleaning up other people's messes, never expecting one job to change everything. Melanie finds herself drawn into a world of secrets, obsession, and dangerous attraction.What begins as a simple cleaning job soon becomes something far more intimate, and escaping may not be as easy as walking out the front door.... **𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞.**

by Sammie Settlemire

How to Survive a '94 Bounder Without Losing Your Shit is a raw, funny, and painfully honest documentary about life inside a worn-out 1994 Fleetwood Bounder. What begins as a simple plan for freedom quickly turns into a relentless battle against breakdowns, leaks, electrical gremlins, mechanical failures, and the daily reality of living in a machine that's older than some of the people offering advice online. Armed with limited money, questionable repair skills, and an unhealthy amount of determination, the filmmaker documents every setback, small victory, and hard-earned lesson from the driver's seat of an aging RV. Along the way, the film becomes more than a story about fixing a motorhome. It's a story about resilience, self-reliance, and finding humor when everything seems to be falling apart. Part survival guide, part road diary, and part cautionary tale, How to Survive a '94 Bounder Without Losing Your Shit proves that sometimes the road to freedom is held together with duct tape, zip ties, and sheer stubbornness.

by Drew Faraday

For most survivors sheltering in the wilderness along the Upper Alsea River, Pearl’s raspy voice announcing her arrival was music to their ears. Little wonder since she was the only outlier with enough nerve to trade goods out of a drift boat upriver and down through a dystopian landscape, patch up the wounded, bury the dead, and share the latest news about the Meltdown dragging on into its fourth year. But a few months ago, her luck went from bad to worse. Bounty hunters tracked her down. Jailers locked her away in a single cell with the well-worn gallows in her line of sight. A military court found her guilty of gunrunning during a declared disaster. Now Pearl faces her toughest challenge yet—confronting her own part in the chaos while talking her way out of being the next inmate hauled up those rickety stairs to take the long drop.

by Taylor Michelé

<u>No AI was used in the writing of this work of purely human imagination.</u> In Dominion, you don’t know whether you are pretty or ugly until you are fifteen. Not officially, anyway. It comes as no surprise to Rissa Marlow when she rated AP—Aesthetically Prohibited. She’s ugly, after all. Not stupid. The surprise comes when she arrives at ARC Three—Ugly Camp—to begin training for either a life of labor in the Corporations or a much shorter life in her nation’s endless war with the Enemies. Everything changes though when Rissa finds herself the unwilling leader of a group of fellow Aps ordered on a mission to find a madman operating without official sanction deep in the Forbidden Zone. But one more surprise awaits: Cannen Ramsey, a beautiful Aesthetically Optimal boy will be joining this impossible mission. Their journey down the Desert Sea is fraught with peril. Violent weather, dangerous animals and even more dangerous people greet them around every bend. But for the first time in her life, Rissa finds friendship. With cheerful Birdie, stoic Tree, and even with the arrogant Ettie and the unpredictable Shora. And as the reluctant adventurers are drawn deeper into the desert something even stronger seems to be growing between Cannen and her Only when Rissa finally comes face-to-face with the man whose command she has been ordered to terminate does she begin to learn the terrible truth. About him. About her country. About herself. While virtually everything Rissa thought she knew turns out to be lies perpetrated by the government, the corporations and even by her own parents, now she learns that the madman has found something here in the wasteland. Something ancient. Something horrific. Something deadly. On this journey into the very heart of darkness Rissa may have to sacrifice everything including those she has come to trust, respect—and love.

by Drew Faraday

At the height of the Oregon Meltdown, a simple mistake along an evacuation corridor leads to disaster. Less than a week before the military plans to cordon off the last bridge over the Columbia River, Nate finds himself stranded along a wilderness ravine with little more than the clothes on his back. His only hope of reuniting with his family and continuing up the coast to safety is to survive a fifty-mile solo journey on foot through a lawless landscape devastated by warring factions.

by Sammie Settlemire

Sadie Harper is barely keeping her life together. Between the heat, the exhaustion, and the constant feeling that she’s falling behind, she’s convinced she’s just one bad day away from breaking. But when a strange symbol forms in the sky — sharp, metallic, and pulsing like it’s alive — Sadie realizes the world is breaking first.Her phone begins rearranging its own numbers. Clouds twist into shapes that point directly at her. And no one else seems to see it.As the sky’s signals intensify, Sadie is pulled into the hidden world of the Watchers — rare individuals born with a connection to the sky’s ancient language. Some can bend light. Some can stabilize storms. Some can read the patterns that shape reality itself. Sadie, however, is something different. Something the Watchers haven’t seen in generations.Her awakening draws the attention of an older force — a presence that has been waiting for her since before she was born. It knows her name. It knows her past. And it knows what she’s capable of, even if she doesn’t.Now Sadie must navigate a world she never asked to enter, uncover the truth behind her connection to the sky, and decide whether her gift is a warning… or a weapon. Because the signals aren’t random. They’re a countdown. And Sadie is the one they’re counting down to.

by Nicholas Scott

**This is a short story during the aftermath of the outbreak**   It started with a viral attack, glass vials shattered in the heavily trafficked corridors of Grand Central Station. Within a month the virus was the deadliest attack the world had ever witnessed. But it was only the beginning. The survivors, what few remained of the planet's 7 billion, would come to realize the virus attack was the easy part; it killed outright, but the Blight was a different story altogether. The end wasn't just the beginning.

by David Speer

Sophia Akpo was only five when her white great-grandfather Lazarus Bye passed away. Now she is 21 and curious about a strange book he left behind, which he had named The Sartanic Verses and kept hidden until his death. She cannot read what he wrote, the secret for that having died with him, but the book speaks to her on a much more primal level. Between this book and a playlist he had assembled, she learns more than she bargained for and stumbles across spiritual potential that she didn't know she had.

by Jake Korum

In a post-apocalyptic California, a stray dog struggles to survive amid the ruins left by a mysterious disaster that has upended the world for humans and animals alike. Taken in by a group of animal rescuers, the Initiative to Save Humanity (ISH), the dog—soon named Swayze—finds a fragile sense of safety and community in their care. As Swayze and the rescuers navigate the dangers of this changed world, they cling to hope and the bonds they form, determined to protect one another and rediscover what it means to belong.

by Sammie Settlemire

After dying, waking, and dying again, Sammie watches her own body from above as doctors call her time of death and prepare to let her go. What follows is a chaotic, brutally honest journey through survival, brain damage, disability, humor, trauma, and the stubborn refusal to stay gone. From waking up with tubes down her throat to navigating life in a beat‑up RV with a misunderstood XL bully service dog, Sammie fights her way back into a world that keeps trying to erase her. This memoir is a raw, unfiltered account of the moments between life and death — and the messy, ridiculous, painful, beautiful fight to keep living once you return.

by F.J. Blooding

Victoria Armstrong is running for senate on a promise she can't keep. Something in Kins City's water finds the para gene and turns it into a death sentence, and proving it means going after the men who own the labs, the insurance companies, and the ballot. Winning means becoming the thing her wife and best friend may no longer respect, but if it keeps her alive... does it matter? October Sky reads tarot for a living and insists that's all it is. When a fourteen-year-old slips her a note about the people going missing, she lands in a vigilante crew run by a detective and starts seeing disasters her cards deliver just late enough to watch. Dannika once hunted paras for the government. She was sent to infiltrate a youth center, and now the man who runs it is helping her with her own para abilities, and she has no idea how to tell him what she came there to do. Everyone standing in their way believes they're the hero. Before it's over, one of these women will erase a mind to save a life. One will erase a nation's records to save a people. And one will ask to have her own gift taken from her. *For readers of M.L. Wang, J.D. Evans, and Krystle Matar.*

by Jassamine S. Kelly

A girl comes home from school to find a crime scene from her mother's death and she grows up to avenge her mother's death by creating a device a ai chip to find her mother's killer but sadly she never gets them in the first book

by KW Chaproniere

Aurelia Greenlaw is a twenty-two year old Captain in the 13th Recon Division, and she is a Radio. In Palvera, the nation built on the ruins of North America, that word means something specific. Centuries ago an experiment on the human mind produced a mutation that never went away. Now there are six kinds: Builders, who rearrange matter with their hands. Washers, who put thoughts in your head and let you believe you thought them. Shifters, who change what you see. Sensatives, who read what you feel and can turn the dial on it. Nets, who move what they can see without touching it. And Radios, who read the world in waves, who hear a signal a mile out and can put a voice inside your skull. The Centre calls this humanity, perfected. Everyone born without it is a Blank, and the Centre has built a country on that distinction. Arra has spent her whole life on the useful side of the line. Then a bomb takes her unit apart on the mountain and leaves her the only one breathing. The Centre searches forty-eight hours for a missing soldier. After that, she’s a name on a list. She wakes on day three, strapped to a gurney in a stronghold carved into rock, listening to the people who found her argue about whether she’s worth the water it would take to keep her alive. They’re Blanks. They’ve also done the one thing no Blank should be able to do. They’ve blocked her. The waves are gone. The world has gone flat and quiet, and the part of her that made her worth keeping has been cut out. Arra is going to get home. She’s willing to be patient about it: count the turns in the tunnels, memorize the faces, learn who can be used and who can be turned. What she doesn’t account for is how long it takes, or what months of it do to a doctrine that was never meant to survive contact with the people it was written about.  *Radio* is an adult dystopian novel about inheritance, indoctrination, and what’s left of a person when the thing that defined her is taken away.

by Meridian Lyra

How exactly did Io get into this predicament in the first place? Oh yes, that's right, by stupidly volunteering. Now she was the future bride of an alien King, and about to be the queen of an entire planet. *Her* planet, if one wanted to be technical- he wasn't from there, nor did anybody want him there. But there he was.  Sixteen years ago, they came. The Imdalians. War was waged and was lost. Well, humans were the ones on the losing side of that battle, and just over half a decade later they'd officially lost control over Earth. His Majesty took over, redrew borders, renamed countries, established themselves so well it was like they'd been there to begin with.  But with further bloodshed and riots, continued rebellions over the years, something needed to be done about it. Earth history was scoured for a solution, and that solution was a peace treaty- one that was solidified by a royal wedding. How lucky Io was, to be the human to marry the queen. But was she really that lucky, or was she about to find herself in way over her head?

by D.C. Pope

Find more of my Fictions at ChapterTrail.com  Lucas Cadalain had never expected much from his life. Born into a world controlled by corporations and the implants they used to manage nearly every aspect of society, his future seemed simple: work, survive, and remain useful enough to be left alone.\ \ Then a dying stranger placed an impossible implant in the back of his neck and shattered everything Lucas thought he understood.\ \ Within hours, Lucas is branded a dangerous fugitive, hunted by Aethis, and driven from the only city he has ever known. His new implant refuses corporate control, learns without permission, and can seemingly undo the restrictions built into other implants. Worse, nobody seems to know exactly what it is capable of, including Lucas.\ \ His escape brings him to Amiri, a stranded engineer whose own implant has been disabled by the corporation she once worked for. Together, aboard a half-repaired shuttle that was never meant to leave under fire, they make a desperate attempt to reach the freedom waiting beyond Aethis-controlled space.\ \ For the first time in Lucas’s life, there is no schedule waiting for him, no corporation assigning his place, and no clear path forward.\ \ He has no idea where he is going.\ \ He only knows that, for once, the future belongs to him.\ \ And an unknown future may hold far more possibilities than the life that was chosen for him.

by L J Temple

To those who have felt the crushing weight of societal expectations, the seductive whisper of digital validation, and the gnawing ache for a life that feels undeniably *real*. This story is for the dreamers caught in the gilded cage, for the navigators of blurred lines and curated realities, and for anyone who has ever questioned the actual cost of chasing a dream that glitters but may not satisfy. May you find your own truth beyond the screen, your own voice in the silence, and your own irreplaceable worth in the quiet spaces between the curated moments. May this narrative serve as a mirror, a cautionary tale, and ultimately, a beacon of hope for those seeking genuine connection and a life lived with authenticity and courage. To the unwritten chapters of your own story, may they be filled with purpose, peace, and the undeniable beauty of simply being.  Curated Self: The idealized, often selective, presentation of an individual's life,\ particularly on social media platforms, designed to elicit positive external validation.\ Digital Footprint: The trail of data left behind by a user's online activity, encompassing\ everything from browsing history to social media posts and digital transactions.\ Fulfillment: A state of deep satisfaction and contentment derived from living a life\ aligned with one's values and authentic self, rather than the pursuit of external validation\ or idealized outcomes.\ Societal Pressures: The external expectations and norms imposed by society regarding\ success, appearance, behavior, and lifestyle, often amplified by digital platforms.\ Vulnerability: The quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of attack or harm,\ either physical or emotional; in the context of relationships, it refers to the willingness to\ share one's true thoughts and feelings, even those that are imperfect or uncertain.

by L J Temple

To the seekers of wisdom, the tireless questioners of existence, and the diligent builders of a more enlightened world. This work is a testament to the enduring power of foundational principles, gleaned from the echoes of antiquity and offered as a compass for our contemporary journey. May these Articles of Life illuminate your path, sharpen your discernment, and inspire you to contribute your unique verse to the grand, unfolding narrative of human civilization. May your inner kingdom be well-governed, your community bonds strengthened by unwavering morals, and your understanding of the cosmos deepened by the profound mysteries that lie both within and beyond. To those who tirelessly strive to balance the scales of justice, to preserve the sanctity of knowledge, and to learn from the grand tapestry of history, this book is humbly offered. It is for the scholars who humbly begin their quest, the masters who grapple with the complexities of ethical living, and the seekers who gaze into the infinite possibilities of existence, daring to understand our place within the celestial dance. May you find within these pages not mere information, but illumination; not simply knowledge, but wisdom; and not just guidance, but the courage to embody the timeless truths that have guided humanity towards meaning, order, and enduring prosperity since the dawn of time. This is a tribute to the enduring spirit of inquiry, the profound capacity for growth, and the unyielding human desire to live a life of purpose, integrity, and transcendence. This book is for the following: Readers interested in philosophy and ethics. Those who enjoy exploring foundational moral and societal principles, the nature of good governance, and the pursuit of a meaningful life will find the in-depth exploration of the Articles of Life compelling. Students of comparative religion and mythology. Individuals fascinated by the blend of biblical narratives (Enoch), ancient legal codes (Hammurabi), and mythological references will appreciate the synthesis of these elements. Readers seeking a structured and wisdom-driven narrative. The book's organized structure of articles and progression levels will appeal to readers who enjoy clear frameworks for understanding complex concepts and a journey towards self-improvement and transcendence. Academics and researchers of ancient law and governance. The detailed inclusion and analysis of Hammurabi's Code, alongside other historical and philosophical underpinnings of civilization, make it valuable for scholarly exploration.

by Draxber Faber

Humanity was locked in a desperate war against the vicious Lyracken race and their god, Lycanther. As total defeat loomed inevitable, a mysterious group stepped out of the shadows calling themselves the Evolved. These were humans who had concealed their extraordinary powers for generations. Some generously shared their knowledge with the rest of the world in the hope of turning back the Lyracken tide, while others selfishly guarded their abilities and refused to let them spread. Jareth and his sister Mia had lost almost everything in the war, his home, and his parents. The only thing Jareth had inherited was a weird-looking advanced computer. When Jareth had unlocked the computer, he was granted “The Draven System,” it granted him power that was similar to a video game but in real life. When Jareth received the system, it made contact with its creator, Joseph Klein, before its completed bond, notifying a very powerful force of its activation and location. Now, forced into military school at age fifteen, Jareth enters a high-tech academy built on salvaged enemy technology where students are ranked by their Evolved powers and the rich buy powerful Evolved powers from special books. He must hide the Draven System inside him, its stats, experience points, quests, daily tasks, and growing skills, because powerful people are hunting for it. With a mysterious bracelet from his father, a tampered Evolved tablet giving him the rare “Jack of all Trades” power, and a strange egg that could change everything, Jareth begins to uncover a family secret tied to an ancient name: Draven. As tension rises and the old war threatens to restart, Jareth has to protect his sister, survive the academy, and figure out why the system chose him before the wrong people find out what he truly is. If he is discovered, the biggest war in the known universe may ensue, against the once strongest empire of the known Universe.

by T. Barnes

### **The Drowned World and the Lifeline** **In a flooded wasteland, a young engineer must protect her brother and floating home from a ruthless warlord targeting their resources.** When catastrophic sea level rise turns the Bay of Bengal into an endless grey expanse, nineteen-year-old Anja and her younger brother, Sami, are left clinging to the crumbling rooftop of their submerged home. Armed only with her late father’s engineering wisdom and a desperate drive to keep Sami alive, Anja navigates a sea of rot and false hope until a floating sanctuary—the **Lifeline Cooperative**—offers them a second chance at life. But peace on the water is short-lived. When a toxic red tide poisons the flotilla's water supply and power systems fail, Anja uncovers a terrifying truth: the disaster isn't natural. A militarized empire operating out of a rusted northern refinery is waging a covert war of attrition. Led by the calculating warlord Voss, the refinery seeks to starve the Cooperative, breach its defenses, and seize its most precious asset—a pristine pre-Collapse seed bank. To save her new home and her brother’s future, Anja must evolve from a quiet mender into a key operative. Navigating traitors inside the gates, covert infiltration missions, and high-stakes tactical warfare, she learns that surviving the drowned world requires more than sharp tools—it requires the courage to stand against the tide. ### **Why You'll Love This Story** - **Gritty Atmospheric Post-Apocalyptic Fiction:** A grounded, realistic look at technical survival, resource scarcity, and community resilience in a flooded world. - **Smart, Engineering-Minded Protagonist:** Anja relies on logic, salvage mechanics, and strategic thinking rather than superhuman combat skills. - **High-Stakes Conflict:** Featuring espionage, sabotage, complex moral choices, and an immersive cat-and-mouse game between two surviving factions.

by Stephen Sulkey

In the summer of 1863, a single bullet kills Colonel Joshua Chamberlain at Gettysburg—and changes the course of history. The Confederacy wins the Civil War, the United States is absorbed into a new Southern nation, and slavery survives into the modern age. By 2001, the Confederate States of America has become a powerful global empire of fifty-two states, governing through tradition, racial division, and an increasingly ruthless central authority. Thomas Mann is a hard-drinking New York Times reporter and a Southerner by birth, accustomed to living with the contradictions of his country. But after returning from a bloody revolt in Puerto Rico, he is approached by a frightened abolitionist carrying a mysterious message. Before Mann can learn more, the man is dead. Drawn to Washington by the promise of a story that could shake the nation, Mann meets the intelligent and captivating Laura Dane and is pulled into a secret struggle against forces willing to kill anyone who threatens the established order. Pursued by a relentless assassin and agents of the government, Mann must uncover the truth before it disappears forever. What begins as an investigation soon becomes a fight for survival—and a journey that forces Mann to decide whether he will merely report history or risk everything to change it.

by Misery Walker

In a future society, every citizen must choose a single color upon turning eighteen. From that day forward, nearly everything they own, wear, eat, drive, and decorate with must be that color. The only exception is that citizens earn the right to use additional colors by performing verified acts of kindness, sacrifice, or service to others. Over time, a person's color palette becomes a public record of their character. A person who reaches middle age with only one color is widely suspected of being selfish, narcissistic, or unwilling to help others.

by Sean Runyon

**Synopsis: *The Last Witness*** *"This war did not begin with a nuclear flash swallowing billions into the footnotes of history. History rarely grants us that kind of honesty. It began with secrets stamped NATIONAL SECURITY, with lies folded into origami excuses, and with men who had already sold your future branding the transaction as stability. It began with a population drowning in noise until it mistook confusion for intelligence. And the greatest lesson Liam Roberts would learn was this: people do not fear tyranny for what it is. They fear uncertainty. Tyranny simply learns to disguise itself as relief."* These are the opening words of investigative journalist Liam Roberts' final broadcast As the last witness to civilization's collapse, Roberts explains that the world did not end in a blinding nuclear exchange or a single catastrophic event. Civilizations rarely collapse in fire first. They collapse in ink, paperwork, euphemisms, and administrative language polished clean enough to disguise the smell of decay. Before revealing how the world unraveled, Roberts takes his audience back to where it all began with a phone call from a man named Thomas Riker, a soldier whose existence has been systematically erased from history. Roberts has built his career exposing corruption and uncovering stories others wanted buried, but nothing prepares him for what lies beneath the surface of the modern world. What begins as an investigation into one impossible man quickly becomes a fight for humanity's survival. Riker reveals that behind every major conflict since the Second World War stands the Doctor, the hidden architect of the Syndicate, a clandestine organization that has transformed wars, governments, and human suffering into decades of experimentation in pursuit of a single objective: Project Helix. Following Riker through classified military operations, abandoned facilities, and forgotten programs, Roberts begins to see a pattern stretching across generations. Every trail leads back to Facility 47, where the Doctor's work has evolved beyond biology into something far more dangerous: understanding, predicting, and ultimately directing human behavior itself. With every discovery, Roberts realizes the Syndicate's greatest weapon was never military power. It was its ability to shape what people believed to be true. As the evidence grows, Roberts confronts the Doctor's most devastating discovery: people rarely surrender to force; they surrender to fear, convenience, and the promise of safety. By manipulating information instead of relying on violence, the Syndicate has quietly conditioned entire generations to mistake certainty for truth and security for freedom. By the time Roberts understands that humanity itself has become the experiment, the conditioning is already complete. Unable to remain an observer, Roberts joins a small band of resistance fighters determined to expose the Syndicate before its plan reaches its final stage. As they dismantle hidden facilities and uncover decades of deception, they make a devastating realization. They are no longer trying to stop the Doctor's plan; they are witnessing its completion. Their search ultimately leads them to Bastion Zero, where Roberts learns the Syndicate has already succeeded in ways the world has failed to recognize. The Doctor never intended to rule through armies alone. He intended to build a civilization that would willingly participate in its own conditioning, believing every decision was freely made while every outcome had already been engineered. Riker finally confronts the man who transformed his life into an experiment, while Roberts makes the only choice left to him. Rather than allowing the truth to die with him, he broadcasts it across every remaining frequency, preserving a final record of how humanity surrendered its future one compromise at a time. The novel ends where it began. Alone inside Bastion Zero, Liam Roberts delivers his final message  not in the hope of saving the world, but to ensure that someone, somewhere, might one day understand how it was lost. Whether anyone survives to hear his testimony remains uncertain. The truth, however, endures.

by Calvan L Starling

An Ongoing Saga Following the exploits of Zakary Sevendust and his found family on a hostile violent world known as Jistoa.

by Calvan L Starling

Ten year old Zakary sevenfust walks with his father into the premature ending to his childhood. Set on the harsh unforgiving world of Jistoa. Zakary learns the weight of his bloodline, all the while a shadow watches in the distance, ancient and hungry for souls.

by Rory North

by Rory North

No one knows the real identity of the hospital's Plague Saint is sixteen-year-old Winter Pierce. No one knows she's a fraud. And no one knows she's a killer. While floods and heat waves devastate the southern lands, the northern cities face blizzards and plagues. Up until two weeks ago, the Plague Saint of Devil's Pass was a real doctor. But when Winter learned he was only saving the rich and planned to let her mother die, she confronted him. And killed him. The death was an accident, but taking his place to save lives was a choice. Then, Winter's forced to kill again to save her brother. Her double life, already doomed to fail, is complicated further when her assistant insists on tracking down the murderer. Attempting to cover her tracks leaves Winter tangled in a political web. All the while, people are getting sicker, and trying to find the cure leads her to an enemy far smarter and more dangerous than she is. Powerful people want to see Winter fail. There's more to the plagues than meets the eye. Winter is rapidly running out of time, but she's determined to save her brother from death and her city from corruption. And she'll kill anyone who gets in her way. PLEASE NOTE: Only the first book in this series is available for free here on Readerful. All books in the series are or will be available in ebook and paperback format. Check out my website [rorynorth.com](http://rorynorth.com) for more details.

by Maurice Huff

When the Time Comes (WTTC) is a grounded dystopian epic exploring how control is maintained not through open tyranny but through comfort fear and gradual compliance. Following the collapse of traditional governance the United States is reorganized into 9 centralized authoritarian districts under the Continuem of America. A regime promising stability and survival in exchange for obedience surveillance and erasure of the old world. Behind the Continuem operates a technocratic cabal leveraging artificial intelligence institutional capture and predictive modeling to shape outcomes rather than rule openly.

by Maurice Huff

When the Time Comes explores how ordinary people, acting through extraordinary institutions, can gradually build a world none them intended to create. Institutions gradually stop serving their stated purpose and begin serving their own preservation. How ordinary people respond when confronted with power, uncertainty, fear, and ambition.

by Maurice Huff

When the Time Comes (WTTC) questions if modern life has robbed us of the ability to prioritize the appreciation of living. WTTC asks how do Intelligent well-intentioned people build systems whose long term consequences they cannot fully forsee?

by Maurice Huff

When the Time Comes is a grounded dystopian epic exploring how control is maintained not through open tyranny, but through comfort, fear, and gradual compliance. Following the collapse of traditional governance, the United States is reorganized into 9 centralized authoritarian districts under the Continuem of America. A regime promising stability and survival in exchange for obedience, surveillance and erasure of the old world. Behind the Continuem operates a technocratic cabal leveraging artificial intelligence, institutional capture and predictive modeling to shape outcomes rather than rule openly. The story centers on siblings Rose and Maurice, divided by ideology yet bound by blood, whose choices force them into irreversible defection and collision with resistance networks, nomads, and defectors-all making understandable but incompatible choices. Each book in the series is titled by the consecutive era's that occur within them.

by Maurice Huff

When the Time Comes is a grounded science fiction franchise that explores how civilizations rise, fall, transform and redefine themselves under extraordinary pressures. Rather than following a single hero or villain the story to follows engineers, scientist, journalist, soldiers, politicians, religious leaders and ordinary citizens whose individual choices gradually reshape the world into something any of them never intended.

by A.S Thomas

Welcome to the Dome of Dreams aka the Dollhouse In a world where reality has become a twisted form of entertainment, Gia, an orphaned girl, finds solace in the escapist allure of Doll TV. This highly popular program offers a tantalizing glimpse into the lavish lives of the beautiful inhabitants of the Dollhouse – a domed utopian city where perfection reigns supreme. Gia's obsession with the show stems from a deep longing to escape the harsh realities of her own existence. Little does she know, her fervent wish is about to be granted in the most perverse way imaginable.

by Shawna K. Whaley

Billy goes back in time to try to stop his older brother from turning evil. If he succeeds, he'll not only save his brother - he'll save the world. If he fails, the future is doomed to the fate Billy grew up in. It's a terrible future, one he'll do almost anything to avoid. Almost, because he's not willing to lose his brother in the process of trying to save the world. The only thing standing in his way is his family. They don't trust him and want him gone. He can't tell them who he really is so he's got an incredibly difficult task ahead of him.

by L.A. Peña

Kaelin was bred for control, a subject engineered with a fragile spine augmented by ruthless technology. When the Cradle burns and her world shatters, she escapes into the inhospitable wasteland of Ashkaru with a silent, feverish child whose eyes see too much. The Drifting Truth, an old patched ship, becomes her sanctuary - but the Core reclamation teams are relentless, their reach stretching into the broken edges of space. As alliances shift and secrets emerge, Kaelin must navigate a maze of trust, technology, and survival. Will she protect those she loves, or become the weapon they made her to be?

by Fergus Hume

Archie Hope is desperately trying to win the approval of the irascible Professor Braddock so he can marry the professor's ward, Lucy Kendal. To satisfy the professor's archaeological obsession, Archie procures a rare and valuable Incan mummy. When the packing crate containing the artifact finally arrives at the professor's estate, the mummy has mysteriously vanished and been replaced by the murdered body of the assistant sent to fetch it. Detective Inspector Heatherstone takes on the confounding case. With the assistant dead, Archie immediately becomes a prime suspect in the crime, throwing his engagement to Lucy into jeopardy. As the detective delves into the investigation, he discovers a bizarre cast of characters. The story becomes a thrilling cat-and-mouse game involving the cursed or uncanny reputation of the mummy, hidden motives within the household, and multiple twists before the real killer is finally exposed and justice is served.

by Shawna K. Whaley

Kathleen Smith decides it's time for a vacation. After carefully checking the weather for possible storms, she and her daughters fly to California. She was expecting fun and relaxation but Mother Nature had other plans.  Chris thought he was going to spend a weekend with his best friend hanging out playing video games and relaxing at home. He was wrong.  Join Kathy and her daughters, along with Chris and Brian, as they navigate this new world devastated by tornadoes, flooding and earthquakes. Can love blossom in this new world or will survival be their only focus? This story started as a recurring nightmare that I decided to turn into a story to help process my fears.

by S. J. Malave

Felicity Ponce grew up thinking that she was a clone just like everyone else. However, after a random genetic code test was conducted, she begins to realize that nothing is what it seems and her world changes drastically. Now tasked with keeping this secret, she must find a way to avoid getting caught by government officials, find reliable allies, and understand what it means to be a unique individual. But, hey, what else could go wrong?

by Melanie Kallai

Beyond the walls, nothing is as they told her.  More than a century after global eruptions plunged the climate-fragile world into chaos, seventeen-year-old Barrett is destined for a Noble life in the coastal stronghold of Nuevo Leben, until Ronan, a dangerously perceptive rogue, shows her evidence that her mother is alive and captive in Old North America. Barrett's perfect future shatters. She must cross a deadly wasteland to find her, guided by the last person she should trust. As they face a forgotten world of hostile tribes, vicious predators, and unexpected allies, Barrett questions everything, including her growing feelings for Ronan and her place in this fractured world. But the further she travels from Nuevo Leben, the more she wonders whether its walls kept the world out, or kept her in.

by Maria Linn

Twelve-year-old brown bear Cara Dyson has always been drawn to Homo sapiens: dangerous creatures who roamed the planet long ago. Cara inherited this dark, unusual fascination from her father Buick, Animalia’s most renowned historian. He set out on a secret mission two years ago to gather definitive evidence that climate change was humanity’s undoing, and no one’s seen hide nor hair of him since. When Cara finds a clue to her father’s last known whereabouts, she runs away to find him.  But the sheltered young bear isn’t prepared for life outside the gates of her highly regulated, vegetarian society. In the wilds, animals react to Cara in baffling ways: fish flee, rabbits rebuff, hyenas tease. When a starving snake tries to steal her provisions, Cara realizes food—something she never had to think twice about back home—is scarce. Standing between Cara and the truth about her father is a herd of zealots led by Dunkin, a cruel predator who’s trying to bring back a more natural, animalistic way of life. If Cara can’t stop him and expose the shocking secret her father uncovered about humanity’s extinction and the rise of the animals, history will repeat itself. Before Cara can stand up to Dunkin, though, she must conquer an even more vicious enemy: the nasty voice inside, whispering that her famous, brilliant father abandoned her because she wasn’t worthy of his love.

by Paul Blakemore

**In a society that has outlawed unsanctioned stories to prevent another Age of Division, a public Redaction is broadcast across every screen: a silent figure vanishes mid-song. Far from the city, an old man wakes a child and begins an unfinished tale about a girl living on a ledge at the bottom of a well and a bird that speaks one forbidden sentence. The child continues the story in secret, writing by night and hiding the pages beneath a loose floorboard. What begins as private wonder becomes inheritance, then risk, as friendship, family history, and the Order’s quiet machinery of “wellness” inquiries close in. When the only way to protect the tale is to let it travel, the child and those who love them must decide whether a story that exists in more than one place can survive the people who first told it. A taut, lyrical novel about the cost of silence and the stubborn persistence of the unfinished story.**

by Johnny Tabales

In a city where immortality is a subscription and police officers are heavily augmented weapons, Silas Vane is a terrifying anomaly: a Baseline. He suffers from Type-4 Host-Graft Rejection Syndrome, a rare biological condition that causes his immune system to violently attack any cybernetic implants. In a precinct of chrome-plated gods, Silas is rotting, un-augmented meat. When his failing, analog body causes a high-stakes raid on a Chrome Jackal chop shop to go sideways, Silas is handed a brutal ultimatum by his superiors: undergo a mandatory Class 3 Ocular and Neural Suite upgrade, or turn in his badge. Refusal means immediate involuntary termination and exile to the toxic, decaying slums of The Sump. A death sentence for both Silas and the woman he loves, Elara. Desperate to keep his job and protect his fragile life, Silas turns to the only surgeon he trusts, an underground doctor named Aris Thorne. Silas agrees to go under the knife, gambling that his stubborn biology can be forced to accept the cold steel of progress. But the city of Obsidian Heights doesn't accept payment in good intentions. As Silas lies strapped to the surgical chair, he is about to discover exactly what it costs to buy a future in a world that wants him erased. *Lazarus Zero* is the gritty, neon-soaked novelette prequel to the biopunk noir thriller *The Lazarus Defect*. It explores the tragic origin of the city's most broken, dangerous detective, and the day Silas Vane died and decided to keep living anyway.

by Anthony Egerton

The end of civilization few surviving humans. In the aftermath a power emerges promising to bring humanity back and rebuild civilization from the rubble. A new start a better way could this be heaven on earth. A reflection back to us in this present from a very near future crying out for mankind to inspect the governments that they continue to place over themselves for the past 4 thousand years all ending in disaster only to be repeated in hopes of a better result with nothing changing. That people is the clinical definition of insane.

by Anthony Egerton

The end of civilization few surviving humans. In the aftermath a power emerges promising to bring humanity back and rebuild civilization from the rubble. A new start a better way could this be heaven on earth. A reflection back to us in this present from a very near future crying out for mankind to inspect the governments that they continue to place over themselves for the past 4 thousand years all ending in disaster only to be repeated in hopes of a better result with nothing changing. That people is the clinical definition of insane.

by Judah Ray

In 1955, a secret experiment at the Large Hadron Collider tore open a doorway to another realm.\ \ Extradimensional beings came through, possessed the top scientists and military officials in the room, and kept the portal open.\ \ One of the first crossed over and took a human infant as its host. That infant was Christina.\ \ The only issue is that Christina forgot what she was,  and the others could not enter or control her, but she could see them. So they declared her unstable and institutionalized her.\ \ Years later, world leaders, billionaires, media figures, and political dynasties are all possessed. The New World Order is not a conspiracy theory. It is literal possession.\ \ A decade later, Christina escapes and resurfaces in Berlin. The forces that have tracked her since childhood want her reclaimed or eliminated.\ \ With the help of Jory, who has been able to see the entities inside people since surviving a near-death experience as a child, Christina uncovers a power structure that has ruled humanity from within for generations.\ \ When she learns she is one of them, she must choose between her own kind or the man she loves and the humanity she chose to protect.\ \ They have ruled the world from inside us.\ Now one of their own stands against them.

by Christina Farley

***What was buried is awakening…*** Do not question the Paladins.\ Do not cross into the Wilds.\ Do not seek the Magic. Tara has spent her life following those rules. On an island where obedience is survival, she’s learned to swallow her doubts, hide her powers, and pretend Eden is the paradise everyone claims it to be. But a secret always has a pulse. And Eden’s secrets are starting to beat louder. When Tara is chosen to train as one of the isle’s revered Paladins, she believes she can make a difference. But the moment she steps inside the Paladin stronghold, her whole world turns upside-down. Tor, the man she confessed her love to, is haunted by secrets he refuses to share. Rune, another trainee, starts to awaken feelings in her that are both thrilling and terrifying. And there are whispers of rebellion and forbidden passageways that lead to dangerous secrets. So when Tara discovers something she wasn’t meant to find, it shatters the foundation of everything she believes. Now she’s trapped between loyalty and truth, two men with different agendas, and an island she swore to protect. Darkness is rising. Magic is awakening. But her people are dying. Tara must become the Paladin she was destined to be or lose everything she loves.