The world is a dark place, Eddie. Without you it's even darker.

Andrew, a twenty-six-year-old literature graduate, has been through more drama than many his age. From suffering obesity to arthritis, and then anorexia after drastic attempts to lose body fat, Andrew grows more conscious of his body. He shields himself from the rest of the world in a reserved cabin tucked away in a small town where he dwells in solitude and self-pity. But things can't stay the same forever and Andrew's carefully planned out walls fall around him with the arrival of his uncle's fiancee's son, Ethan. Ethan will more than disrupt Andrew's 'perfect' life. He'll also teach him the sole act of acceptance.

Sawyer Lee wants to leave behind her hellhole of a town. But when the unexpected holds her back, she realizes that everything is about to change.

Cigarettes, lilac skies and poetry at 3am: sixteen-year-old Pietro ''Pit'' Rossi knows the adrenaline of feeling empty and infinite at the same time. With the reputation of a goofy idiot who doesn't care about anything at all, getting held back at school doesn't seem like a problem. But it is. Because Pit cares about everything, and he always cares too much. [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

What are we without flesh and blood? Are we nothing but a beating heart in a ribcage, a marching soul inevitably leading to our demise? Or are we here as a test of loyalty to our God, a God we do not know but must trust? And without this trust, we will be punished indefinitely for questioning his divinity. And what is a sheep without his shepherd? Without God, are we nothing but sheep led astray? How will we be guided to the light without a shepherd on earth? Should we trust our shepherd to tell us the truth? Or will we be covered in the blood of the lamb? A shepherd with blood on his hands could infect his flock with poison. And with this poison, he has control. And to Luke, this poison is all he knows. His seventeen years of life have been devoted to nothing else but God. He wakes up, goes to school or church, and sleeps; rinse and repeat. There is no place or time for anything else in his life, such as television, going out with friends, or discovering new hobbies. His father, Pastor Ivy, ensures this. His life purpose will be to serve the Lord and nothing else. A purpose that Luke believes is the right way. What else would there be to life? He hadn't questioned this until he met Gabriel, a man who was the complete opposite of him. A man who was strong in his sense of self. A man who didn't bow to anyone or anything and stood firm in his beliefs in The Church of Satan. A man who Luke feared. But also a man who felt like home to him.