Highways in Hiding

In a near‑future world where a simple “#” marks thoughts as clearly as quotation marks signal speech, telepathy has become a routine tool for scientists and investigators. The story opens amid a tense standoff on a desolate highway, where Steve Cornell battles inner demons and the looming threat of the mysterious Mekstrom disease that haunts humanity’s edges.

After a catastrophic crash leaves him battered and blindfolded, Steve awakens in a stark infirmary to the calm voice of a telepathic doctor. Through mental dialogue he learns he’s been unconscious for a week, his body riddled with broken bones but miraculously free of the dreaded disease. With his mind still sharp, he’s driven by a single purpose: to find Catherine, the woman he was trying to elope with, before the darkness that claimed his sight can claim her as well.