Alton Asker hates Colorado, especially Telluride, where he lives. It's a hippie town absent of all excitement. Besides that, his parents seem to think he's never there, like a ghost of a whisper and his spoiled brat of a sister, well, enough said. Life was dull in that place for him until along comes Azalea, who shows him what he is and what he is a part of: a secret world of people who protect the Earth from evil, known as the Benders. As Alton grows to love his new environment, he also grows to love Azalea, who happens to be the head warrior and one of his closest friends there. However, when a dark evil stirs and threatens all of the Benders' in existence, Alton has to take extreme measures to save his new home and those he loves from an impending doom.
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]]