The Consumers - Paperback

by Doug K. Owen (Author), Dominic R. Daniels (Author)

Dr. Hugh Stephern, formerly a homeless drug addict, works as a research scientist at the renowned Magnus Corporation alongside his flirty lab partner Dr. Grace Pilaro and snarky assistant Johnny Myers. Estranged from his father and living in the shadow of his late uncle Dr. H. G. Golden, Hugh stumbles upon a secret diary detailing a formula that could reverse the aging process and add years onto a person's life. Hugh manages to secure the contacts to get the project moving, and eventually it comes to fruition as the hot-selling Eden Formula, which brings youth and beauty to its customers. This makes Hugh a great success, but his friend, the double-dealing executive Walter Steinberg, is left out of the deal. However, the formula does show some side effects on people who have become hopelessly addicted to it. They turn into ravenous, hideous creatures that destroy anything in their paths to get at their precious Eden. Military forces are mobilized across Los Angeles to contain and destroy these marauding monsters, code-named Zombytes. All the while, Hugh is entrusted by the Magnus CEO on his deathbed to find a cure for the Eden drug. The battle is on for Hugh, Grace and Johnny to escape the quarantine zone from the Zombytes hordes, soldiers with itchy trigger fingers, and Hugh's own crippling self-doubt about causing the entire panic. The military certainly knows who to blame, with orders to capture Hugh and Grace at all costs. When the cure for Eden is being produced, a revelation is shared with Hugh and Grace: the Eden Formula that went on sale was never the version that was rigorously tested and certified. Eden was tainted intentionally by someone inside the company. The only way to prove their innocence is to return to Magnus in the middle of Zombyte-infested territory to find evidence. Can Hugh and Grace remain steadfast in their mission to deliver the cure to the Zombytes and clear their names or will the all citizens of LA be eaten alive! "It's Reanimator meets Day of the Dead / Left 4 Dead"