Major Aaron Bricewick awoke with a start, the pain returning abruptly. He lay still in the darkness, wanting desperately to feel a presence again. But no … he was alone.

I must be hallucinating.

And yet he was thinking clearly now, more clearly than he could remember. How many hours “” how many days “” had he been here? He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like quite awhile since anyone had come to him; perhaps the terrorists had abandoned him altogether.

What if I am never found?

The thought came unbidden, and he shook his head as if that would shake it out. He heard the now-familiar scuttling sound of his only company. Though he’d never seen the rats, his imagination now conjured up images of them crawling on and over his lifeless body.

Move, Bricewick.

He forced himself to use the bucket to relieve himself. The pain and the stench nearly made him retch. He tamped it down; vomiting again would only make it worse. He was weak but felt no hunger…

Getting to Know the Character…

Q: Can you tell us what happened to you in Afghanistan?

If you’ve read the book blurb, you know I was abducted and held by terrorists. The details aren’t for polite conversation. It took me a long time to tell even Holly (around page 154, I think); I’m still not comfortable telling the whole world.

Q: But they broke your legs?

That’s true. The doctors were not able to save the left, so I have a below-the-knee amputation.

Read More about Aaron Bricewick’s rescue from terrorists here. Available everywhere books are sold (even in audio!).