Mind Seed

Summary

Ben Hardacre is 16 and enjoys a privileged existence, until his family is forced to relocate to a poor part of the country when his father becomes obsessed with developing a radical new stealth sub boat he hopes to sell to the navy.  Mr. Hardacre ignores all aspects of normal life while beavering away on his invention night after night in his garage, and the family is falling apart. Mrs. Hardacre is about to leave him, his daughter has disowned him, and Ben is struggling to cope with life in a tough new school.  Ben's only friend, a likable genius called Harry Carter, makes his life just a little more bearable...until one Sunday afternoon the likable nerd disappears without a trace while alone with Ben at his plush home.  If Ben's life seemed bleak before, it soon becomes a disaster as he finds himself the chief suspect in an inquiry run by a tough local detective who's convinced Ben has murdered Harry.  In desperation, Ben teams up with local tough guy Russell Herrington to conduct his own investigation into the mysterious disappearance and soon finds himself up to his neck in a sinister operation that threatens to destroy him. As time runs out, he realizes his only way out is too bizarre to take seriously, until fate takes a hand.

©2014 Stephen Aleppo (P)2019 Stephen Aleppo