Fifteen-year-old Alex and his learning-disabled friends barely survived the events of Spinner, but their nightmare has only just begun.
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About the Book
Shifter
The Healer Chronicles Book Two
by Michael J. Bowler
Published 12 April 2022
Genre: YA SciFi Horror
Page Count: 372
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Fifteen-year-old Alex and his learning-disabled friends barely survived the events of Spinner, but their nightmare has only just begun.
Alex’s wheelchair has never stopped him from doing what he wants, but his supernatural power to heal every human ailment known to science has put him in the crosshairs of a dangerous doomsday cult that will stop at nothing to capture him and his long-lost twin, Andy, who can shift illness from one person to another. When the boys combine their “gifts,” they unleash the power to control life and death.
Now Alex, Andy, and the others have been kidnapped by the U.S. military. On a creepy Air Force base in the remote Nevada desert, they must decide who to trust and who to fear while uncovering secrets this base wants to hide from the world. Who is the young boy with unusual abilities who’s treated like a soldier? What is hidden in an ultra-secret hangar that no one can access? And what unnatural experiments are conducted in that closed-off laboratory?
As Alex unravels these mysteries, he strives to bond with his twin, but Andy is distant and detached, trusting no one. He’s also more attracted to the dangerous power they wield than Alex would like. When misplaced faith in science ignites a hidden lust for supremacy, rescue can only come from the most unlikely source, and Alex must confront a terrible truth.
The Healer Chronicles continue…
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Excerpt
He studied his silent brother, staring upward as though hypnotized.
“You okay, Andy?”
Without dropping his gaze in the slightest, Andy said, “You dreamed about Teacher too, didn’t you?”
Alex flinched, his breath momentarily on hold. “Yeah.”
Now it was Martin who looked confused. He shifted position on the chair and that’s when Alex noticed the gun strapped to his belt. Martin studied them both in the dark, his face hidden in shadow. “What are you guys talking about?”
When Andy remained silent, Alex pulled his gaze from his brother’s back and faced Martin. “A teacher we both had. She’s part of the group that’s trying to get me. She says she’s gonna find me no matter where I go.”
Martin’s expression turned from grim to resolute. “I’ll protect you.” He patted the gun in its holster.
Alex eyed his brother once more. “She…she said you belong to her, Andy.”
Alex thought he saw his brother recoil, but the moon wasn’t completely full, so he couldn’t be sure.
“I won’t be in a cage ever again,” Andy said quietly, his voice almost a whisper, as though talking to himself. “I told that to Teacher and I meant it.”
Martin leaped to his feet, startling the boys.
Alex whirled to face him. “What?”
Martin threw a finger to his lips and reached down, pulling out the gun and pointing it over Alex’s head.
Now Alex heard it. Movement. The sound of people trying hard to be quiet, but a slight crunch of gravel gave them away.
Martin waved the boys behind him and darted in front, gun aimed toward the house.
A red light rounded the corner and before Alex could even think of the red light that had killed Juan back at the church, Martin fired his weapon. One pop, muffled, like he had a heavy sock over the barrel. The red light spun crazily and then toppled to the grass.
Alex glanced at Andy with wide eyes. They’d been found!
After that, everything happened so fast Alex could barely process it. Another figure rounded the corner with a gun and fired. A tiny burst of light accompanied the pop of a gunshot, and then Martin grunted, collapsing to the lawn.
“Martin!” Andy dashed around Alex’s chair and knelt by the unmoving form of their protector.
More figures rounded the corner of the house and bore down on them. Alex backed up, but suddenly Andy grasped his hand. Alex felt the rush of power surging through him—just as it had at the church when they’d brought Roy back to life—heavy floodwaters that meant their combined powers had been activated. He looked down at Andy, still kneeling beside Martin’s body.
Andy whispered, “Death, to me!”
Alex stiffened, his vision growing dim, his mind filled with a gray nothingness that terrified him.
As though from miles away, he heard Andy hiss, “Death to them!”
About the Author
Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author who grew up in Northern California. He majored in English/Theatre at Santa Clara University, earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and a master’s in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. Michael taught high school in Hawthorne, California, both in general education and to students with disabilities. When Michael is not writing, he serves as a youth mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles, but mostly he takes care of his recently adopted son. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California and hopes that his books can show young people they are not alone in their struggles.
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