Living in a city whose population has been quarantined and imprisoned over an eternally burning lake of fire isn't what most people would call a 'normal life.' Then there are the superhuman abilities. Thousands of people with wings, scales, telepathy, sonic blasts - 'normal' seems long gone. But life goes on. Eventually, everyone discovers that life within Parole is just as real, meaningful, fun, frightening, mundane, and survivable, as any other. Sometimes it's just a little more intense.
This collection of seven short stories from the universe of Chameleon Moon gives readers a look at everyday life in Parole, and the colorful, memorable, and thoroughly human characters who call it home.
In Chronological Order:
1. The Library Ghost - Where the Emerald Bar is Parole's resistance headquarters, if you need a warm bed and a safe haven, you head to the library. There's one problem: people say it's haunted. But like most things in Parole, the truth is both stranger and sweeter than fiction.
2. Happy REGARDS - It’s Evelyn’s birthday, and Danae and Rose are determined to make it absolutely perfect. But like the old rule goes, the harder you aim for perfection, if something can possibly go wrong, it will. And in Parole, 'going wrong' will involve robotic cats and dogs, disaster-prone cakes, hungry carnivorous plants, mysterious "coincidences," and strangely morbid birthday cards with elaborate wax seals. Parole never stops being Parole, even for one day. Fortunately, the people who live there wouldn't have it any other way.
3. Runtime - Takes place directly before the events of Chameleon Moon, Book 1, and leads up to the series' explosive beginning. Parole's fire-ravaged streets are fragile, but filled with secrets and rewards if you know how to run them. Stealth and surveillance expert Regan and his partner, the incomparable yet elusive CyborJ, have just struck a major blow against the evil Eye in the Sky and its leader, Major Turret - and made off with the payload of a lifetime. Now all Regan wants to do is get home alive. But a sadistic grinning ghost named Hans is about to intercept his last run - and make him an offer nobody in this fiery prison can refuse: escape. All Regan has to do is betray everyone he loves. Welcome to Parole, where the fire is always burning, and everyone is always running out of time.
4. Group Therapy - Rose is one of the last remaining (and sorely needed) therapists in Parole. Her weekly gatherings are oases of hope and healing for anyone who needs them. Cairus Maddox is an enigma; he's never missed a Thursday, but never said a word. Until now...
5. Phoenix Down - Everyone knows Parole will one day crumble into the fire below. There's nothing anyone can do to stop that - but they do have an early-warning system. The 'Tin Can' is a listening post ten stories deep underground, and its two completely un-superpowered operators sit inside day after day, waiting for signs of the city's inevitable collapse. One day, they hear it. But something's gone wrong, and nobody can hear them. Now, Parole's last hope rests on two scientists, an experimental aircraft called the Phoenix, and a desperate race to save thousands of lives - and their own.
6. Come Home Alone - There are rules for surviving in Parole. Never leave anyone behind, including yourself. If you can, never leave anyone else behind. And if you have to break the first two rules, break them with everything you have. Never stop running. But most importantly, never lead the enemy home. If you're followed, come home alone, or not at all. When Finn finds an injured Regan out on the street with pursuers close behind, he has a choice. Abandon a friend and live another day? Break a rule of survival, or come home alone?
7. Un-Dead - The first October 31st after Parole's devastating collapse. Jenny Strings says she can talk to the dead - and someone wants to talk to Evelyn. Happy Halloween.