As with the fate of any analog clock, hands are always destined to circle the same determined point. But what if the hands could themselves revolt against the design of their creator? Would we then call that free will? Or would we simply name them broken, replace them, and forget anything ever even happened?  We are already living in a dystopia of dramatic (and comedic) proportions and more citizens are falling into financial despair after a viral outbreak crippled the economy. Countless tent-towns have been springing up around the modern-day coastal city of Skrunnuppolt, Virginia, much to the ire of city officials who desperately hope to project the image of paradise.   In the parking lot of a school annex-turned-homeless-shelter, sits the congested tent-town known as “The Pig-Pen.” A single set of stairs leads up to a solitary door which, when open, holds the promise of a single nights’ sheltered sleep…if you’re lucky. But it never seems to open anymore. Life, nonetheless, has persisted and survived however it must, and The Pig-Pen has grown into its own unique community. With the arrival of a strange mute girl, who seems to be far more than a simple explanation, the entire city falls into chaos and political upheaval. Can anyone at the bottom make it out alive? Can society be redeemed or saved? Can the damned and downtrodden ever rise again to experience love one more time? Or does the meaning of life simply come from the gossip and mythologies we create to make ourselves feel better in the numbness? Please be aware this story contains moments of intense violence, gore, traumatic situations, and other potentially unsettling content as the story builds.  Cover Art: “Homeless Hoarder” by Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious