In the year 2348, the only human civilization left resides in bunkers hidden deep underground, where everyone lives on strict rules-Don't smart your superiors. Don't wander off. Never leave the bunker. Ever. Charlie's father left the bunker due to banishment, and has never heard from him since. And if they do, a fate worse than death awaits outside.
Charlie is a young rebellious man whose only ever dreamed of leaving the bunker and defying the rule of the people living underground-The Uppers. With a population of barely more than nine hundred, they have been told their entire lives they are the last of humanity-And anybody who has ever ventured out of the bunker dies within days.
Of course, Charlie believes there is some hope out there-That humanity can stop living like caged animals, and restart life on the Earth that was once full of it.
But there is something sinister going on within the bunker itself, and Charlie can't resist a good chance of exploration and adventure-Unless it gets him killed, that is. What if the sinister on goings of what's in the bunker is somehow linked to his father? What if his father isn't the hero he's always thought of him to be?
And what happens if Charlie actually manages to somehow escape the bunker? The world is never a pretty place, and the same can be said in the year 2348.
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]