The Insiders

By C. S. Poulsen

Description:

Street kids, alone, unloved, and unwanted band together. One by one, they find each other and become a family mosaic of personalities-- a gang with one positive twist: They hate drugs, dealers, and violence. Hiding from a drug dealer who wants revenge, the gang looks for a good time at Point Amusement Park. The Tunnel of Terror brings a fatal accident. At the point of death, a mysterious being, The Face, captures the young teens and slips them into an underground dimension. Under control of their rescuer and His sword of death, they labor in caves. The Face brooks no backsliding, but feeds them well and trains them. Five years later The Face declares they are ready to move from servitude to leadership. He gives each gifts, what ordinary humans call superpowers, and returns them to their original dimension as ‘The Insiders’. They awake to discover they are in their original bodies maintained on life support by a secret government lab. A general wants control of their powers at any expense– including their lives. They must escape and complete The Face's directive: save the "innocent," children stolen by Human Traffickers and Pedophiles. As The Insiders learn about their new abilities, they discover their original talents enhanced. • Picker walks through walls and can transport others with him. A prison’s nightmare, few barriers can stop his molecules from sliding through. • Motor twists physics, allowing him to manipulate mechanical devices. Tied into the internet and power grids, he can manipulate machines like they’re remote control toy cars. • Bat forms shields and barriers, aiding Insider’s defense with protective bubbles. Adversaries find it hard to bring a guy down when attacks bounce off. • Babe mesmerizes and influences, able to persuade outsiders to aid their mission. When looks and charm fail, she turns on her hypnotic eyes that few can resist. • Ears can literally hear a pin drop– a hundred miles away. His super-hearing interprets languages and intercepts radio signals. Bad guys don’t talk about him behind his back. • Lookout's supervision sees through solids and into the distance. Closing the bathroom door doesn’t help with this guy, not that he’d peek. • Chief, narrator and nucleus of his Insiders cadre, becomes a strong leader with second sight and an ability to sense others in trouble. He’ll go to any length to protect them. Together The Insiders act as one. Only their skills and dedication stand against dark forces. As Earth's clock ticks down, the survival and renewal of the innocent and all humanity hang in the balance. MG to YA

Book Takeaway:

"Kids have the power to achieve anything if they have someone like The Face to guide them." U.S. Review of Books

Why the author wrote this book:

Given to me in a dream.