*Best Debut Author of 2013" award from the Bookworm Best Awards*
Blurb:
Luke’s life is about to take a dangerous turn. But first he has to die.
In the year 2052, high school sophomore Luke Gibson considers himself an average teenager in a world on the brink of monumental change. Joining his parents and sister, Laura, at the first World Energy Initiative Conference, he is among thousands gathered in a Denver arena to celebrate free renewable energy when a massive earthquake strikes killing everyone in the stadium. The last thing Luke sees before his death is a girl reaching out to him—a stranger whose face he remembers from his dreams.
The end, however, is not the end. Suddenly, inexplicably, Luke is back home in Ohio and everything is different. His sister is gone, the victim in an unsolved homicide years before. Angela, his mysterious dream girl, is here also, and the only person besides Luke who recalls the previous reality. And now their determination to uncover the truth about Laura’s murder and their transformed world is making them targets—forced to flee for their lives from a nameless shadow organization and a government seeking vengeance for an unthinkable act of terror—as they stand on the threshold of a dark conspiracy that threatens all humankind.
With Platform 21, a brilliantly inventive and unrelentingly exciting excursion to a troubled near-future, author T.R. Patrick joins the ranks of Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games), Veronica Roth (Divergent), Pittacus Lore (I Am Number Four) and other masters of YA speculative suspense fiction. The first book in the “Beyond the Veil” series, Platform 21 follows teenager Luke Gibson up to and beyond his death in a horrific terrorist attack in Denver in the year 2052. Reawakening in a world strangely transformed, Luke sets out to uncover the truth about his new reality—joining forces with Angela, a girl he had seen previously in his dreams, in a desperate race for survival that will propel them across the threshold of an insidious global conspiracy that threatens the future of all humanity.
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Excerpt:
To the right of the portrait stood a door drenched with a thick layer of dust. By the look of it, the door hadn’t been opened for years. A touch of the ceramic handle sent chills down my spine. It must have gone without the warm touch of human hands for quite some time. With a bit of force, I managed to twist it. The door cracked open. Moonlight filtered through the old glass of the bedroom window which penetrated the darkness. Thin white curtains floated in the still air. There she was, perched on a bed with white sheets, the figure of my sister sat with her back turned to me. My heart jumped at the sight, as excitement filled my soul.
“Laura!” I called out to her, but she didn’t move from where she sat. I paused a moment, and called for her again, stepping into the room. “Laura, is it you?” Her figure appeared to be shorter, thinner, and younger than what I remember. It was the ghost of her eleven year old self. An empty transparent shell of what she once was. Her fiery spirit had been extinguished. This form of my sister was nothing like the ghost of the girl who met me in the cemetery.
“Why did he do this to me?” Laura’s voice came plainly, echoing through my being. Despite her calm and distant tone, I felt pain in her voice. There was a desperate sense of sadness. A tingling sensation trailed down my spine, the hairs on my back stood up. Her emotion cut to my core, echoing the incredible pain and misery she was feeling. “Why, Luke? Why did he do this me?” Her voice trailed off into silence.
Somehow I managed to find words, “What do you mean? I don’t even know what happened, Laura.” My mind raced for answers. What was causing her to grieve this way? How did she die?
“Why did he do this to me?” Her voice grew louder as her figure turned to face me. Tears streamed down her face. Then, her eyes took on a strange blue light. The way the light rotated captivated me. Her gaze drew me into her. The door slammed shut behind me. Hypnotized, I continued to step towards her. She caught me in her gaze, which soon engulfed the entirety of my vision.
The sound of rustling leaves, the feel of the wind brushing against my cheeks. The timid light of the autumn sun eased through the brown, auburn foliage of the maple and buckeye trees above. My gaze shifted from side to side without my control. It was like watching a movie through the eyes of someone else, but I could feel everything from the cool fall air, to the pavement under my feet. Children laughed, and played as they were led through the dusty streets of East Liverpool. An assortment of new and restored buildings made up the cityscape. Electric vehicles of all kinds silently breezed by from my right, as an old storefront stood to my left.
The old building hadn’t been restored like the others. Strangely, it stood ominously by the side of the road. The windows were boarded up, and where there once stood an entrance, a large wooden warehouse door was placed over it. The hinges of the gate were rusted, as an assortment of weeds grew from under it. For whatever reason, I stopped to look at the door. My hand, no a girl’s hand, extended towards the chilled brick surface of the building. Strangely, a cool tingling sensation crawled up the back of my neck. The hand retracted as my feet stumbled backwards. I quickly rubbed at the sensation, finding nothing but cold skin.
“Hey, Laura,” a girl’s voice called out from behind the other side of the old building. A figure emerged from around the old corner store. “Are you coming? Ms. Perkins is getting ready to do a head count!” The girl’s brown complexion gave a soft reflection of the fall sun. Her dark lips revealed a bright ivory smile, a subtle giggle escaped her. Her tight crimped hair bounced as she turned back around the corner.
I quickly followed after her, but something startled me. A sound, like a whisper left me stunned. Suddenly, something took hold of me. My weight fell out from under me. My kicking feet were left dragging across the sidewalk as something carried me away. My arms flailed from left to right but found nothing of my attacker. It was as if I were being carried by the wind. There was nothing I could do to free myself, nothing I could grab on to, nothing I could strike.
“Laura, where are you?” The girl’s voice cried out from behind the other side of the building. She came out to find me, but when she spun to see me, her face turned pale.
The terrified voice of my sister escaped my lips, “Run, Chloe! Get out of here!” Her warnings were too late. Chloe was thrown violently to the ground from some unseen force. Her young delicate skin dragged over the rough concrete. Her screams pierced the thin autumn air, as my own cries joined hers. Panic consumed my being. My heart violently throbbed against my thin physique. My agonizing shriek burned the back of my throat. Air escaped my lungs. A hollow ache filled my chest as the sinking feeling of dread settled to the bottom of my stomach.
About the author:
Tim spent four years in the Navy achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class. He served three years aboard USS Chosin and was deployed twice in support of the Global War on Terror, and Iraqi Freedom. However, he would always be remembered as the guy who sat in the corner of the mess decks writing a book he would never release. He said it wasn't good enough.
After his time in the Navy, Tim became a Test Engineer working for companies like Scientific Research Corporation and Hewlett Packard. During this phase of his life he moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he bought a home and tried to settle into the American Dream. But Tim wasn't content with that, he wanted to do something more than work the 9 to 5. So, he tried his hand at politics and ran for Dorchester County Council as an Independent. They said he was too young and verbose. After losing the election, he decided to try his hand at writing instead.
Today, Timothy Patrick is the author of, Platform 21 - the first installment of the "Beyond the Veil" series. Platform 21 is a novel set in the near future which follows a young man on a journey to solve his sister's murder in the midst of global conspiracy. His current project is, The Vorago Initiative - which picks up right where Platform 21 left off..
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