Anchor (Book)

*This page contains information about the **book** Anchor. For the character, see Anchor (Character) and for the series, see Anchor (Series).*

The first draft of Anchor was started July 19th, 2022, and completed on October 22nd, 2023. Overall, it took just over 15 months to write. The second draft has multiple key changes to characters and the plot. It was started on November 4th, 2023, and is still currently being written.

## Overview

*Anchor* is the first novel in the Anchor series. It stars Cyrus, Reagan, Adam, and James as its POV characters. The lead antagonist is Archangel, a soldier who works for The Owl. Supporting characters include Lynn Wright, Kian Kelly, Ajax, and members of Squad 6.

## Draft 1 Summary

### Chapter 1 - Cyrus

The story opens with Cyrus Donovan and Isla bartending at Silune, and together, they're able to stop a criminal from spiking girls' drinks. The next day, Cyrus celebrates his six-month anniversary with his boyfriend, James Kaiser. However, Cyrus accidentally lets it slip that he's a superhuman, and James dumps him. Filled with angst, Cyrus goes into vigilante mode and comes across a group of armed people searching for something at the docks. After killing one of them in self-defense, he realizes they're chasing a young girl. The group surrounds him, but, mysteriously, they're all brutally killed by an unknown force. Before the police can arrive at the scene, Cyrus takes the child and runs.

### Chapter 2 - Richter

That same night, Richter, AKA Faultline, discovers an underground arms dealership at the same time the mercenary Blackout is killing everyone who works there. Richter challenges Blackout to a fight and easily captures her, but has no interest in killing her and therefore lets her go. He also wants to find Anchor (Cyrus) for some reason. This chapter won't be canon in the second draft.

### Chapter 3 - Cyrus

Cyrus arrives home with the child in tow. She only speaks Japanese, but by using a translator, he's able to figure out that her name is Hikari, and she's a nine-year-old stowaway from Japan, which has been taken over by North Korea. He lets her sleep in his guest bedroom while he figures out how to deal with this situation.

### Chapter 4 - James

The next morning, James wakes up to the news that several murders have happened by the docks, resulting in protestors marching throughout the streets of Santa Cruz. Distressed by something Cyrus said to him during their breakup, James goes to the pharmacy to take a superhuman blood test. While he does have a low concentration of the power-causing hormone, which worries him, the test comes back negative overall. Outside the pharmacy, James encounters a mob of protestors marching down the street. B-rank superhuman Tobias Fonseca also stops to watch the crowd, but the mob notices him and pulls him into the chaos. They beat and trample him to death in front of James, and he does nothing to stop them. Overwhelmed with guilt, he flees the scene.

### Chapter 5 - Adam

In a remote mountain sanctuary, Adam Kaiser tries to commit suicide by setting himself on fire, but his regenerative powers stop him from dying. Back at his cabin, he is confronted by Kian Kelly, a member of a resistance force led by Lynn Wright, and they strike a deal: if Adam trains the recruits of Squad 6 for their first mission, the resistance will grant him the sweet release of death.

### Chapter 6 - Cyrus

A police officer shows up at Cyrus's house, looking for Hikari, and Cyrus lies to keep Hikari safe. Then, he visits several A-ranks throughout the city, attempting to find someone trustworthy to babysit Hikari while he's at work.

### Chapter 7 - Reagan

Reagan Byrne is working at a rundown diner when Cyrus visits to ask her if she'd be interested in babysitting Hikari for the foreseeable future. Reagan says yes.

### Chapter 9 - Adam

Adam travels to the resistance headquarters with Kian, who gives a much-needed infodump along the way. Upon arriving, they meet the receptionist (super important) before Adam starts preparing to train the recruits. As he's looking over their files, Lynn enters, and the two of them have a tense conversation. She reveals that a power enhancement item has been found on the coast, and she wants to find whoever made it.

### Chapter 10 - Richter

While looking for Anchor, Richter comes across a group of protestors and scares them away with an earthquake. Kian finds him while he's lurking in an alleyway and tries to recruit him into the resistance. Richter agrees on the condition that Anchor will also be there.

### Chapter 11 - James

James is traumatized from witnessing the death of Tobias Fonseca, and decides to go to his funeral. He has an emotional breakdown in front of Tobias's wife and children, apologizing and blaming himself for Tobias's death.

### Chapter 12 - Reagan

Reagan, under the guise of Blackout, assassinates a politician and gets recruited into the resistance.

### Chapter 13 - Cyrus

Cyrus and Hikari have some wholesome moments before James comes by for a visit. He apologizes to Cyrus for the way he treated him, and Cyrus apologizes for lying, and they hug and it is wholesome. While James is preparing to leave, Kian shows up at Cyrus's door, playing the part of a door-to-door evangelist when he realizes James is there. Once James has left, Cyrus goes to the kitchen to see Kian sitting at the table. Kian attempts to recruit Cyrus, but Cyrus scams him out of $25,000 before agreeing to join.

### Chapter 14 - Richter

The night of the first mission, the members of Squad 6 travel to what they believe is a military base run by an A-rank superhuman with the ability manipulate architecture. Paired with Kira Vasilyev, AKA Marionette, Richter kills several guards before being walled in by the A-rank's powers. He tries to escape, but the walls keep rising, effectively trapping him for the time being.

### Chapter 15 - Cyrus

Cyrus and his teammate, Blackout, argue while fighting soldiers during the mission. Blackout senses a powerful presence at the center of the base, and the two of them head there, under the impression it's the A-rank commander. However, it turns out to be an S-rank supersoldier bent on slaughtering their group, trapping them in the same room as him before attacking ruthlessly. Cyrus and Blackout both sustain fatal injuries, and as they lay dying, Blackout reveals her identity as Reagan Byrne. Richter finally frees himself and attacks the S-rank, but is promptly defeated, which is very embarrassing for him.

### Chapter 16 - Adam

Once everyone has been incapacitated, the resistance's healer heals everyone's injuries with the help of the power enhancement item, and Adam reveals that he was the S-rank supersoldier, and this was all a test. He gives a baller speech and tells everyone to come back in a few days if they still want to be a part of the resistance. Due to shenanigans, he ends up being responsible for Hikari for a short while, and realizes Cyrus lied about her identity. Suspicious, Adam tells Ajax to research Cyrus thoroughly and report back on his findings.

### Chapter 17 - Reagan

Reagan has inner monologue about how she hates Adam because he killed her parents in the war. After spending some time with her sister, she goes to Cyrus's house to watch Hikari. Cyrus reveals that he knows Reagan is Blackout and tells her his own identity, convincing her to stay with the resistance despite her hatred for Adam and what he did.

### Chapter 18 - Adam

Ajax gives Adam the report on Cyrus, which makes Adam even more suspicious upon finding out that Cyrus used to date Adam's nephew, James, and also discovering Hikari isn't Cyrus's cousin, as Cyrus originally said. After having some emo flashbacks, Adam goes to the labs to find Lynn to see how she plans to kill him. Currently, her scientists are experimenting on a man named Rodney, a traitor to the resistance who has regenerative abilities like Adam. After temporarily removing his powers with a serum, they attempt to dissolve him in acid, but he regenerates before he can completely dissolve. Leaving the scientists to continue their work, Lynn takes Adam to some old war ruins to discuss Adam's mental state. She also tells Adam they've discovered a coded message from the Owl. Half of it is a demand that Adam return before the Owl sends people to track him down, and the other half is a riddle only Adam understands, and it makes him angry, although he doesn't tell Lynn why.

### Chapter 19 - Cyrus

Cyrus gets hit on by Zoe while working at the bar and agrees to go to her place after work to do some shenanigans. However, he cockblocks himself after realizing James is his true love. Now it's time for resistance stuff, and Adam calls Cyrus to his office for a private conversation where he interrogates Cyrus until he realizes Cyrus isn't actually malicious, he's just stupid. Once the rest of the team arrives, Kian and Adam summarize their mission: they're going to infiltrate a military base run by S-rank Brigadier General Leonidas Gold (Archangel), killing him and his A-rank commanders and taking over the base. Afterwards, he meets Kei Hayashi (Uranaishi), Alejandra Cabeza (Pulverizer), and Rowan Wilton (Flare), who bully him for not having any good motivation for being a part of the resistance. Kei beats up Cyrus, so Cyrus officially begins his pissbaby arc.

### Chapter 20 - James

James's landlord is annoyed about protestors surrounding the apartment complex and sends James off to deal with them. However, the police are very unhelpful, and James is driving back home when he realizes he's being followed by a mysterious white van. He tries to outmaneuver and outrun them, but they catch up to him and are just about to attack him when an earthquake strikes, scattering James's pursuers. Apparently, Faultline has attacked the protestors outside James's apartment, killing three of them. James is able to return safely to his apartment, where the police question him before allowing him back inside.