IT IS 2020 IN PARADIGM CITY. THE SUN IS OUT, AND ALL SEEMS PEACEFUL IN THIS BUSTLING CITY-EXCEPT FOR ONE HOUSE, WHERE EVIL LURKS. BETHANY ROTHYCHYLD IS A TORTURED WOMAN. ABUSED BY HER HUSBAND ELI FOR YEARS, BETHANY IS AT THE END OF HER ROPE. AS HE HOLDS A GUN TO THE HUSBAND WHO VIEWS HER AS A TROPHY AND NOTHING MORE, SHE SUDDENLY TURNS THE WEAPON ON HERSELF-WITH THE HOPE OF ENDING THE ABUSE FOREVER. JOHN KNIGHT, THE HEAD OF ULTRA TECH HOSPITAL, IS USED TO SECRETS. A SCIENTIFIC GENIUS GIFTED WITH THE ABILITY TO FORESEE FUTURE EVENTS, JOHN IS ALREADY KNOWN FOR THE MIRACLES HE PERFORMS WITH PROSTHETIC RESEARCH. BUT AS AN EVIL MENACE TERRORIZES PARADIGM CITY, JOHN HURRIES TO CREATE A TEAM OF SUPERHEROES TO DEFEAT THE THREAT. MEANWHILE, BETHANY SURVIVES HER GUNSHOT WOUND BUT SOON REALIZES THAT SHE MAY NEVER ESCAPE ELI AND HIS MISSION TO CONTROL HER. NO ONE IN PARADIGM CITY KNOWS THE NAMES OF THE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED HEROES WHO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO SAVE THEIR CITY FROM DESTRUCTION. BUT ONE MAN IS DETERMINED TO STOP THEM-NO MATTER WHAT THE SACRIFICE.

The Razor's Edge

Book 1: Strength in UnityBy E. L. Randolph

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 E. L. Randolph
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-9735-6

Chapter One

The Year, 2020

It was a windy day with very few clouds in the sky, and the sun was shining down on a place called Paradigm City, which was bustling with people and technology. In the suburbs, outside of the city, was a street filled with the laughter of children playing in the area, and elegant homes all similar to one another, with shade trees in their front yards and colorful flowers all arrayed against the brick exterior. Everything seemed peaceful and normal. But inside one specific home it was a completely different story.

The blood ran down from Bethany's lip. The drops that had fallen onto the snow white carpet looked like speckles of wine stain. Eli winced at his wife's wild eyes. He had never seen such a distraught look before, not even in his mothers eyes when his father put her in her place. He could remember those times without a blur.

Eli hadn't meant to hit Bethany. Why didn't she just shut-up when he asked her to? But, she just kept nagging him. He loved her, didn't he? She was his wife of ten years. He had first fallen in love with her by looking into her beautiful green eyes. She had seen the good in him when so many saw the malevolence.

But today, those eyes showed a woman in hell.

There was blood on his hand. His arm was as strong now as it was when he was in the military. Thanks to his training routine, he was in decent shape, like the Megaflex commercials promised. He kept up his image, especially his short black hair which was always kept trimmed and neat.

Bethany, on the other hand, was a trophy to him. A prized possession to show off to his friends and colleagues. He assured himself that he loved her. He was manipulating himself. He often thought if people wondered how he ended up with her. Thinking himself to be out of her league.

Eli was staring at the blood stains so he didn't notice Bethany's movement. He should have noticed. She headed over to the bureau. That's were he kept their antique thirty eight caliber pistol. She slowly lifted it and took of the safety. Eli by that time had looked up. What he saw was the barrel of the pistol aimed straight at him.

"Have you lost your mind!" He yells. Then realizes he needs to calm down and speak rational to her just in case she's serious. " Put it away honey, I didn't mean to ..."

Bethany can't believe what she's hearing. " You didn't mean to! YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO!" She calms herself seeing his fear, knowing she finally had the advantage. "What's the matter sweetie?" She taunts. "Feeling helpless?" A cynical smirk forms on her face. Eli takes a step toward her. She raises the gun. " Helpless! Just like I felt all them years." The tears run down her cheek. " Helpless." She repeats, it's the only thought she can focus on. She is losing her mind.

Eli sees her confusion and regains a little bit of confidence. " Your not going to shoot me, give me the gun. You love me."

His words cause Bethany to wake from her self induced trance. "What!" Her eyes grow stormy. "No I don't love you! Every time you hit me, you lost that love! You tore it away!" The tears continue flowing down her distraught face. " You don't deserve my love."

Eli forces himself to smile but his eyes can't hide his fear. "Come on Bethie, I promise, I'll change."

To his surprise, Bethany walks quickly over to him placing the gun onto his forehead.

"Empty promises."

Eli begins to shake. Tears fill his eyes finally, as he looks up at the barrel. His lip quivering.

"Get down on your knees!" She commands.

He listens and obeys, hesitantly.

"What? Are you scared for your life?"

He hears her say as he closes his eyes.

"Now you know how I feel." She walks away for a moment realizing what she's done, turning her glance toward the gun. "I had to turn to this. It was my only means of stopping you. But now you can't hurt me anymore."

Eli pleads. "I won't. I promise Bethie! You're my life! I don't know why I hit you. Its just that sometimes..... Come on, put that thing away! You could kill someone!"

She lowers her head. " That's my intention. When I married you, you were everything to me. My calm in the storms. But then you started working at that corporation, and you changed. You turned violent. I thought I could help you somehow. But you would come home drunk and...." She raises her head looking directly at him. "Slap me around, for no reason."

Eli saw the hurt in her eyes. There was no doubt he had put it there.

"Sweetie, remember that time in Vermont. When we went to the little cabin in the hills. We had such a wonderful time and we could go again."

Bethany wipes her eyes with her sleeve. "We can't go anywhere. You hurt me! You always hurt me! You pushed me to do what I'm about to do!"

Eli looked at his wife's hand on the gun. Her grip was so tight her knuckles were turning white.

The red fingernail polish was chipping. She only picked at her fingernail polish when she was thinking seriously. He had seen her do it. Why didn't he ask her what was so wrong? Then he remembered. He was what was wrong.

"Eli, you can't hurt me anymore!" She began to shake. Her eyes bloodshot from the crying.

Eli gets up and walks toward her. "Please don't. Hand me the gun and we'll talk this time. I promise, I won't interrupt you." He was confident that his smooth talk was finally paying off.

For a moment Bethany considered it. Then a somber look crossed her face. "Get back down on your knees. Did I tell you to get up?" When he didn't move fast enough, she came up beside him and pistol whipped him in the head, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Get up!" He slowly gets up on his knees holding his hands up in the air.

"Ok, Bethany." He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, ready for the impact of the bullet.

"Oh, God please!" He can barely hold himself up he's so terrified.

That was when he heard it. So loud, deafening. He puts his hands to his chest searching for the bullet wound. But couldn't find it. He couldn't feel it. "She missed" he thought to himself. "She was just trying to scare me straight"

He then opened his eyes to find his wife's body lying on the floor in the fetal position, blood flowing freely from the wound.

"What the hell!" He crawls over to her. " Why did you do that?" He cried to her. "Why did you do that?" He then embraces her in shock and completely lost. He forces his mind to go blank to guard himself from the mental anguish. His eyes seem lifeless. He then wishes she would have shot him. It would have hurt less.

Chapter Two

Somewhere in the deserts of the middle east......

War rages on in the midst of a sand storm.

The heat is unbearable.

Bullets stream overhead with bombs exploding in the distance.

Chaos consumes this land and all inhabitants within it.

"Jackson! I'm going to cut up behind the building so we can get out of this storm! Cover me!" He yells to his brother .

"Ok, Zach! Hurry up then! Its getting worse out here!"

Zach Keller takes off toward the building with as much speed as his legs could accumulate.

A grenade gets thrown into his path. Jackson sees it, his brother doesn't

"Move! Move! Move!" He runs over flinging himself atop the grenade saving his brothers life. It explodes underneath him, throwing shards of metal into...