The Untethered

Quote from the back cover:

Alexa counted her shallow breaths. "Roble, what...what is it you need?"

He pulled his arrowhead out from his shirt and rubbed it. "I don't need to hear how scary the world is and how I shouldn't try anything. I don't need to know how much suffering there is out there," he pointed out the window, "or how bad I should feel about it. What I need..." he looked up, his grey eyes pleading, "...is to see someone who is still happy after growing up."

Lowering his head, he added, "I need to see living, Ms. Patra, because I actually want to live."

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Quote from inside:

The East China Sea glistened like an endless glass sheet. The F-22 Raptor Super Kai flashed just above its surface, ripping twin aerated water plumes into the air.

A grey destroyer sat broadside in the water just ahead. Roble hurtled toward its bow without slowing.

Crossing above the ship, the jet's sonic shockwave rocked sailors to the deck as if Roble's soul had exploded through their bodies. Sea spray from the wake doused the ship's hull like an exclamation point.

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Advisory: This novel contains sex, drugs, and fighter jets.