Brandy Blake

Welcome to the new world. We thought we were the last and all we had to do was survive the initial outbreak. Turns out the hard part is surviving each other. Man, the post-apocalypse is brutal. Most of the runners have phased out, but a fraction have survived. They are smarter, faster, and way more deadly. We were supposed to be safe, but the virus has mutated, making the infected smarter than anyone ever thought possible. Our only hope for survival is to make it to the Tower, where we'll be safe behind walls with a group of survivors just like us.

Austin Valley appears as it always has, but Em Fuller knows that appearances aren't what they seem. She knows under the surface, that cracks are starting to form in this seemingly well-manicured society. She's responsible for creating these cracks and for planting a slow dissension among many of the residents of this once happy city. Broken in a way Em never thought possible, she turns into a well-calculated, strategic leader.

Em returns to Austin Valley, but there are many things that don't add up about her homecoming. She's left Rogue behind and is adamant that Dr. Parker must leave the Valley with her. Zack agrees to help her but soon learns she's not telling the whole truth when Rogue comes storming back. With the threesome reunited, they work on a plan to stop the Defect crisis. Their plan places all of them at risk, but Em knows they have no other choice.

My past comes back to terrorize me. Someone wants me dead, and the closer I get to the truth, the more I realize my whole life is a lie. I am no longer sure what is more frightening - the attempts on my life or the guy whose heart and soul are synchronized with mine.

In the happy, clean community of Austin Valley, everything appears to be perfect. Seventeen-year-old Em Fuller, however, fears something is askew. Em is one of the new generation of Dream Travelers. For some reason, the gods have not seen fit to gift all of them with their expected special abilities. Em is a Defect - one of the unfortunate Dream Travelers not gifted with a psychic power. Desperate to do whatever it takes to earn her gift, she endures painful daily injections along with commands from her overbearing, loveless father.