Todd Hallbauer

Fantasy Worlds Todd Hallbauer

Operation Nightmare Crouton has reached it's bloody climax. Following the horrific massacre, three witnesses to the destruction leave behind the pile of rubble and crushed bodies; their lives are forever altered. They carry the ghosts of Tipella with them as they scatter to the winds to embark on separate journeys. A man with no memories is sent out on the open road with a mentor who hopes to shape him in his own image. They travel alone, meandering through the decaying countryside in hopes of evading law enforcement. Eventually, it's the man's blood soaked past and other dark secrets that catch up with them. The mentor and his charge will struggle to reckon with what they've learned and what the future holds for them. A newly minted counter-terror operative, touched by her encounters with death, tries to cope with her experiences. She feels the unrelenting call to fight for what she considers just, and throws herself in harm's way despite the misgivings of those around her. When she's finally forced to retreat from the front lines in the battle against a group of extremists, she learns a disturbing truth that upends her view of the world. A drifter, disavowed by his allies and left to die, emerges from the wilderness. He wanders into a lonely fueling station on a dusty highway where he befriends a pair of disenchanted young men. He sees an opportunity to atone for his mistake by offering them an escape from their monotonous lives. His desperate attempt to regain what he lost; however, comes with an unforeseen price. Each survivor seeks something different, but the roads they travel will intersect again at the home of extreme indulgence and grand illusions, in a place called Fantasy Worlds.