Runtime - A Chameleon Moon Short Story

The streets of Parole are dangerous - and fragile. They can crumble underfoot and vanish at any moment. And with a permanent fire below, even walking can be perilous. Sometimes, it's safer to run. When people with practical survival skills or fantastic abilities join forces to get jobs done without getting burned, they call it runtime.

Even when stealth and reconnaissance expert Regan isn't actually invisible, nobody's better at hiding in plain sight. Or at slipping into places nobody else can reach, hearing things he shouldn't hear, learning things he shouldn't know. His reptilian reflexes and very specific skills make him invaluable to Parole's resistance, and very dangerous to the brutal Major Turret and his military and surveillance force called Eye in the Sky... and anything they want to keep a secret.

Regan works best in the dark, and happily leaves the spotlight to his celebrated runtime partner: celebrated, infamous cyber-revolutionary CyborJ - that's 'Cybor-Jay,' who spends every night gleefully jabbing at Eye in the Sky with his keyboard of justice. His technical brilliance and flair for drama combine with Regan's stealth and secrecy to form Parole's most frighteningly effective runtime duo. Fortunately, they're the good guys.

Tonight's run went off without a hitch. CyborJ just delivered the best cache of goodies yet to the people of quarantined Parole - but this time, that's just the beginning. Across the city, his silent partner Regan carries the real treasure in his pocket: a secret. A very sensitive, very dangerous secret about the world beyond the barrier.

The hard part is over. All Regan has to do is get home alive - but this run is about to be intercepted. The grinning ghost Hans will make Regan an offer nobody in Parole could refuse: escape. Not just for Regan, but for all of them. All he has to do is betray everyone and everything he loves.

Welcome to Parole, where the fire is always burning, and everyone is always running out of time.