Marcus Hawking

Once, not all that long ago, Marcus Hawking had it all: a promising career as a microbiologist, a beautiful, intelligent, and vivacious wife, and a young son whose every word blew Marcus’s mind like no scientific revelation ever could. Having dedicated years to studying microbes, Marcus should have known how quickly microscopic life forms could change his world.

Looking back now, it still seems unreal. A rainstorm that’d left his Rachel soaked but laughing, she was always laughing, followed by a cold. And fever. And before he knew it, a stay in the hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. It was a good hospital, staffed with outstanding doctors and nurses. No effort was spared to heal her.

But all that brainpower and dedication was powerless before the might of the bacteria that’d found a home in Rachel’s lungs. She died wheezing, still trying to smile, even as Marcus and his little boy Alex watched in stunned horror.

Weeks passed, and then months. Marcus was lost, unable to

cope with the loss of his soul mate. He drowned his grief by immersing himself into his research and humanitarian efforts. As a result, Alex was more often left to fend for himself. As Alex grew into young adulthood, their relationship was increasingly strained, Marcus frustrated with his son’s lack of direction, Alex fed up with his father’s devotion to seemingly lost causes. The one constant in both their lives was Ernst Kelso, Marcus’s business partner, who’d become almost a brother to Marcus and an uncle to Alex.

But Ernst had secrets. When Marcus discovered his business partner had defied his wishes and aligned himself and their venture with a mysterious entity known as The Combine, he knew he had to take drastic action. Marcus, who’d always valued ideals over fame and fortune, would have to expose The Combine’s true nature to prevent them from corrupting his works.

It’s a decision that will irrevocably alter the course of his life, and Alex’s destiny.