The streets of Parole are dangerous - and fragile. They can crumble underfoot and vanish at any moment. And with a permanent fire below, even walking can be perilous. Sometimes, it's safer to run. When people with practical survival skills or fantastic abilities join forces to get jobs done without getting burned, they call it runtime. Even when stealth and reconnaissance expert Regan isn't actually invisible, nobody's better at hiding in plain sight. Or at slipping into places nobody else can reach, hearing things he shouldn't hear, learning things he shouldn't know. His reptilian reflexes and very specific skills make him invaluable to Parole's resistance, and very dangerous to the brutal Major Turret and his military and surveillance force called Eye in the Sky... and anything they want to keep a secret. Regan works best in the dark, and happily leaves the spotlight to his celebrated runtime partner: celebrated, infamous cyber-revolutionary CyborJ - that's 'Cybor-Jay,' who spends every night gleefully jabbing at Eye in the Sky with his keyboard of justice. His technical brilliance and flair for drama combine with Regan's stealth and secrecy to form Parole's most frighteningly effective runtime duo. Fortunately, they're the good guys. Tonight's run went off without a hitch. CyborJ just delivered the best cache of goodies yet to the people of quarantined Parole - but this time, that's just the beginning. Across the city, his silent partner Regan carries the real treasure in his pocket: a secret. A very sensitive, very dangerous secret about the world beyond the barrier. The hard part is over. All Regan has to do is get home alive - but this run is about to be intercepted. The grinning ghost Hans will make Regan an offer nobody in Parole could refuse: escape. Not just for Regan, but for all of them. All he has to do is betray everyone and everything he loves. Welcome to Parole, where the fire is always burning, and everyone is always running out of time.

The city of Parole is burning. Like Venice slips into the sea, Parole crumbles into fire. The entire population inside has been quarantined and left to die - directly over the open flame. Eye in the Sky, a deadly and merciless police force ensures no one escapes. Ever. All that's keeping Parole alive is faith in the midst of horrors and death, trust in the face of desperation... and their fantastic, terrifying, and beautiful superhuman abilities. Regan, silent, scaly stealth expert, is haunted by ten years of anxiety, trauma and terror, and he's finally reached his limit. Evelyn is a fearless force on stage and sonic-superheroic revolutionary on the streets. Now they have a choice - and a chance to not only escape from Parole, but unravel the mystery deep in its burning heart. And most of all, discover the truth about their own entwining pasts. Parole's a rough place to live. But they're not dead yet. If they can survive the imminent cataclysmic disaster, they might just stay that way...

This short story takes place the first October 31st after Chameleon Moon, Book 1. Parole's devastating collapse left overwhelming damage, and a lot of dead. As the city's de facto leader, Evelyn Calliope does her best every day to hold everyone together, including herself. Now the sweet but sometimes-eerie Jenny Strings says she can speak to the deceased - and someone very important wants to talk to Evelyn. Unfortunately, where Jenny offers treats, Hans is up to his usual tricks. This ex-'ghost' has a brand-new body, and he's having way too much fun stretching his legs to let someone take his place as the Emerald Bar's resident poltergeist. Some secrets are meant to be kept. Some are meant to be shared. And some should just stay buried. Happy Halloween!

Follows the events of the short story The Library Ghost in the anthology Life Within Parole, and immediately precedes Chameleon Moon Book 2: The Lifeline Signal. —- Ash and Annie escaped Parole's collapse to find the outside world is almost as damaged as the one they left behind, and every bit as changed. They've traveled almost three thousand miles, pursued by old enemies and new dangers to meet the brilliant Dr. Maureen Cole, who promises she holds not only the key to saving Parole, but weathering the toxic storms of the deadly wasteland called the Tartarus Zone. On the way, they keep an eye out for everything and everyone they lost in the collapse - like Regan, who was last seen leaving Parole by himself, under very suspicious circumstances, and Zilch's precious organ jars, stolen by Eye in the Sky when Parole fell. There's no telling what or who they might find out here in this strange new world, or what lies deeper in its heart. But a lot of road lies between them and their goal. And Parole isn't the only place filled with ghosts. In Tartarus, they're a lot more real than anywhere else.

Parole is still burning. And now the day everyone has been waiting for is finally here: it’s collapsed. A lucky few managed to escape with their lives. But while their city burned, the world outside suffered its own devastating disaster. The Tartarus Zone is a deadly wasteland a thousand miles wide, filled with toxic storms, ghostly horrors, and just as many Eyes in the Sky as ever. Somehow, this new nightmare is connected to Parole. And it’s spreading. Now Parole’s only hope lies in the hands of three teenagers reunited by their long-lost friend Gabriel - in their dreams. Now they're on a desperate cross-country race, carrying vital plans that may be Parole’s salvation. First they’ll board the FireRunner, a ship full of familiar faces that now sails through Tartarus’ poison storms. Then, together, they’ll survive Tartarus’ hazards, send a lifeline to lost Parole - and uncover the mystery connecting everyone, inside Parole and out. The world outside Parole isn't the one they remember, and it didn’t want them back. But they'll save it just the same. It's what heroes do.