Anthony Stillwater, now a civilian, lives in a small town on the coast of Oregon and has spent years putting his past behind him after the events of Kilo-61. Even though the War on Terror is in full swing, he has stayed away from the military and contents himself tending bar and being with his family, declining repeated offers for him to return to duty, even defying a direct order to report to Fort Lewis. The US military has decided to reactivate bases shut down at the end of the Cold War during the 1991 European drawdown without any regard for history. Unknown to Stillwater, something dark and terrible has been awoken in an old dark place, something that Anthony Stillwater has experience surviving, something that over a decade later wakes him up screaming. The chains of honor, duty, loyalty, and courage will be pulled tight around his throat, choking him and pulling him down back into Hell. In the words of the late Command Sergeant Major Tiernan Stillwater: "The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nothing truly changes."

For John Bomber, his life is over. He's out of the military on a medical with no way to return. His sister and her husband are capable of handling the farm. He's a respected pillar of the community, a multi-millionaire who is recognized throughout the State, and can go nowhere without everyone knowing. His son is grown and has begun following in his footsteps. But Prudence Bomber is dead. As big as Texas is, as big as the ranch is, there's nothing there for him any longer. The big, formerly happy-go-lucky Texan can't stand to stay in Texas, where even the evening breeze reminds him of Prudence.

Years have gone by, the Cold War is over, the Special Weapons Program has been shut down along with the old Continuity of Government Program, and the USSR is a fading memory. Old weapons have been set aside, shelved, and largely forgotten. One such weapon is Anthony Stillwater, a relic of the Cold War, trained to bring about the end of the world and fight in the rubble. However, relics are shelved when they have no use. After being put out the military, Anthony Stillwater thought he had left it all behind. Living in the woods with his wife and four children, he's known around town as a relatively quiet man who dotes on his young wife and children when he isn't tending bar at the local seaside tavern. Although he bears scars from his time in the military, beyond nightmares he has left behind the dark, cold, and horror of his military service. A buried secret has been found, and events are in motion to remind Stillwater that no matter what lies he tells himself, no matter what masks he wears, he will always be nothing more than a weapon and Property of the U.S. Army.

For Anthony Stillwater, the unthinkable has happened. Command Sergeant Major Tiernan Stillwater is dead. But there are questions surrounding his sudden death. Questions that bring the remaining, surviving members of Atlas and Actual back together in grief. Even the Matrons want answers, both the McDaurns and the McCullens. Wounded like has never been before, Anthony Stillwater searches for answers to the circumstances surrounding his father's death. And the circumstances bring out someone who had been sleeping inside of Stillwater since he had left the military. The Atlas Ant wants answers. Even if someone has to scream them.

Sarah Hollings is a normal college student, heading to Hawaii on vacation to relax and have fun. When the plane she's on goes down in the Pacific, she's one of the lucky ones who manages to make it to the shore of an uncharted island. Thirteen men and women, one infant girl, have made it to what looks like a paradise, washing up on the shore with some of the debris from the plane. Sarah is grateful that at least she survived the plane crash, and eagerly starts to explore the island paradise. But one of the survivors is not what he seems. Unlike the others, he's not a normal man, he's barely a man at all. It takes more than a plane crash to kill the Atlas Ant, and this paradise is no paradise at all.

Wattys 2018 Longlist Book! Desert Storm had been a disaster for Sergeant Cromwell. Out of the thirty men and women that had made up the reformed Actual, only a handful survived the bitter combat that took place toward the end of the Ground War. Among the fallen on those blood soaked sands were Anthony Stillwater and John Bomber. Upon the unit's return to Germany, 2/19th Special Weapons had been decommissioned, and Chief Warrant Officer Henley betrayed Cromwell by sending her to Warrant Officer School straight from Walter Reed Army Hospital, denying her closure with her friend's death and being present for the unit that had been her home closing down. Now she has found herself in First Cavalry Division, the sole Warrant Officer of Charlie Company, 15th Forward Support Battalion, and the only Special Weapons soldier in the Battalion. Feeling out of place in her first non-Special Weapons posting, Cromwell is doing her best to adapt to a military that seems almost embarrassed by her very existence and a unit that is nothing like her previous hardship station. But in Special Weapons, nothing is ever easy.

Things have been going good for Sergeant Stillwater. The last winter was less an exercise in mass fratricide and more a lesson to the veterans of 2/19th Special Weapons Group how the military is supposed to run. REFORGER 88, the largest military exercise NATO had ever performed, had been successful, and the winter of 1988 had proven to be no match for Colonel John Henry (No Relation)'s will. Now it's the winter of 1989. Stillwater and a few others have been sent to Blackbriar to train on new weapon systems that had only just moved out of testing and into being fielded by the US Army. From there, they're scheduled to train 82nd Airborne Division in the weapons, as well as certify the entire division in NBC Warfare. However, things do go as planned when 82nd is chosen to spearhead the invasion of Panama, and Stillwater and the rest of Actual find themselves in the jungles of Panama, separated from the rest of the American forces, outnumbered and out gunned, and completely lost. Only to discover that Europe isn't the only place that old dark things lurk. This story was selected for NaNoWriMo2017 by fans. Warning: This book contains graphic sex scenes, graphic violence (including torture), and other mature topics, including mass combat and crew served weaponry being used on living people.

Survival through the winter on Alfenwehr requires luck, toughness, adaptability and intelligence. Snow, darkness, sub-zero temperatures, low air pressure, madness, and the evil of the mountain are pitted against the men and women of 2/19th Special Weapons's Rear Detachment. Colonel John Henry (NR) has decided to try a bare bones Rear Detachment. Four men. Alone. In the barracks. At winter. The plan is to keep the entire force from succumbing to cabin fever and slaughtering one another, but enough people to handle any problems that come up. Four men. A Staff Sergeant, a Sergeant, a Specialist, and a Private Second Class. Three of them have never spent a winter on the slopes of Alfenwehr. One has. A three time survivor. And he has rules that the others can follow: Or die.

PFC James Roberts just wanted to serve his country, like his father and grandfather. He left his middle class life to join the military with the hope of making his family proud. Graduating top of his class in Basic Training, attending Advanced Individual Training for Ammunition Specialist (55B) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, Roberts graduated with top marks and was sent to Germany to what he believed would be a premier posting. Roberta Lewis graduated with Roberts, in the top ten of her class, hoping to make a new life for herself. The military has offered travel, experience, training, and after she leaves the military, college. A life changing offer, and something Lewis desperately wants. But what would have, could have, been a bright and promising career ended with a beat up pickup truck arriving. Fate has landed Roberts and Lewis as Privates in a place called 2/19th Special Weapons Group on a mountain called Alfenwehr. Welcome to Hell, Roberts and Lewis. Enjoy your stay.

The Atlas crew has been torn apart. Most have ETS'd or left the military due to injuries incurred in line of duty. Of the original crew, only a handful remain. Trauma and shared pain have begun to drive apart the surviving members of Echo-Five-Actual. The Atlas Crew, mostly wiped out in a deadly explosion the year before, is fragmenting as promotions, replacements, and drop on requests have left the crew with more new faces than old. Those who remain of Echo-Five-Actual have been split into different work crews, promoted, ETS's, left due to injuries, or died. Accidents and a coordinated strike by the KGB have wreaked havoc on III CosCom, VII Corps and V Corps ability to wage war if the Soviet Union decides to invade Western Europe, and this has hit 2/19th hard. With most of the effective and experienced members dead, missing, or in the hospital, 2/19th's chain of command is shattered and people have slipped through the cracks. Including Stillwater, who is trapped, alone, on the mountain. And Cromwell, who is locked in the War Fighter Tunnels with 18 women, 7 of them pregnant, three infants, and two male soldiers undergoing chapters to put them out of the military. Bomber and Nagle are hospitalized, having barely survived the attacks that killed many other members of the unit. Bomber is comatose, the bullet meant to kill him trapping him in memories and dreams of the past. Nagle is in ICU, unable to speak after having been shot through the throat. Now, they don't even have each other. And nobody is coming to the rescue. Author's Note: Thanks to Twitter user @tikibomber for providing me with a Gaelic/English dictionary. http://www.focloir.ie/