https://www.gayauthors.org/story/w-l/0sand1scbdt/10

Did you think I forgot about Kevin or his crush on Hunter? If I mentioned it in Chapter 3, I will not forget it even in Chapter 9 (Hmm...3x3 = 9, is that a math reference, a religious reference to "3" by WL, or just a coincidence )

It's been one sided love of course, but what great love isn't one sided to begin with.

Before we get to love, let's talk about loss; Hunter has lost a major battle against his foes and the walls are starting to cave in around his "pretentious" aura for secrecy. As I said before, modern times would make any concept of secrecy nearly impossible.

Jesse Heron is one aspect of the veil being pulled up; he's a supporter without any restraint or any ethics outside his need to seek vengeance for a friend, a "surrogate" family, he lost at the very moment he needed it the most. People ask fundamental questions about why we go to extremes in our reactions to violence; people like Jesse Heron is what I would respond with, they have lost too much to accept morality. Hunter anguishes with this reality as he is being drawn into the same mindset.

Then, you have people like Hunter, who at first believe they can fight the evil, these are the crusaders with a strong moral core. Yet, things in life do not always turn out rosy. Hunter won a battle, then lost another battle that he had himself seen coming down the road. In Hunter's mind, he had failed miserably as he chose to concetrate on the bigger fight, but sacrificed a known engagement.

Put yourself in Hunter's mindset and view the destructive power of rumors in our technologically connected society, where information is available rapidly. A modern AIDS scare will not be the same as it was in the 1980's, it will spread faster based on false rumors circulated by social media, then interpreted by its users. Word of mouth can go out in days and weeks, but a tweet is read in seconds. Fear is far more easier to spread than truth or information.

Hunter broke down at the prospect of losing the fight and losing everything he had with his friends. Logically, as readers, you might say it is just a scare, get over it. However, if you suffer in it, rumors can become reasons for depression and suicide. That is ultimately what killed Ryan Thatcher, Hunter's boyfriend back at the start of chapter 1.

Then comes Kevin, the diamond in the rough. He's not openly intelligent, but he is quite gifted in his own right with a different kind of "variable" intelligence. He understands this fight better than Hunter does; it is ot going to be an easy good guys win in the end, it will be a long "Twilight struggle", where it might be that neither of them will see the end of it. What they are defending is not merely Gay rights or basic human rights, it is a concept that we all understand, but have not given a name to about the ideals we hold.

Finally, Love is in the air, but don't think I am turning this into an erotic gay fiction novel

The two of them have complicated personalities and Hunter is currently in no shape to hold a relationship.

Get ready tomorrow, I am going to post a Christmas special for CBDT, it will shock you. The special short story is set after Chapter 12, so there are some spoilers ahead. The Christmas special will introduce a character who will be a guest star in Book 1, but play more prominent roles in Book 2.