A release day sample from the latest in the Survivor Series
By D.G. Torrens
His entire body shuddered in fear as he entered the house. He tried to slip past the living room door unseen, but his dad shot out with whisky bottle in one hand while the other yanked him back from behind. He winced from the pain in his shoulder. “Agh! Dad … stop.” But his words fell on deaf ears.
The usual accusations came fast. “Sneaking around, eh?” he slurred. “Think you’re better than me, huh?” he took a large gulp of whisky, then threw the glass against the wall with a smash, shards spreading across the floor. “You’re nothing and you never will be. Do you hear me, Dax—nothing!”
Dax muttered under his breath as he turned away thinking he wasn’t heard. “Yeah, Dad, I hear you. If I’m nothing, that makes you what now?” he braved in a rare moment of challenging him.
But his dad caught it. His fury peaked and he lunged at Dax with overwhelming and unstoppable force. Dax’s cries filled the room, but they were swallowed by the storm his father brought down on him, unheard and ignored as though his life didn’t matter. His dad’s large hands wrapped around his throat, strangling him so hard he almost passed out. Unexpectedly, he released his grip, and left Dax in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Dax struggled to his feet, steadying himself on the wall, wincing through the pain of his battered body. He paused for a moment to gather himself, drawing in slow deep breaths, before stumbling up the stairs to his room. His shoulder throbbed, his ribs ached, and he could feel his face swelling. Every pain a reminder that he couldn’t survive another night like this. He was barely able to recover from one beating before the next one was delivered.
Once in his room, his hands shook as he tore open his rucksack, dumping everything on the floor except his swim shorts. There was no time to think—only to move. He yanked open drawers, grabbing whatever his fingers touched: clothes, toiletries, anything that would keep him going for a while. He checked his wallet: 55 pounds, bank card, ID, and some loose change. “Not much, but it had to be enough,” he said aloud.
The bathroom mirror showed him a face he barely recognised. He stood for a while in disbelief, then got under the shower: quick, warm, and needed, to wash away the smell of his dad’s brutal hands, and the stench of whisky from the spittle sprayed on his face. Once he was dressed in fresh clean clothes, he slung the rucksack over his good shoulder while fighting through the pain of the other. He slipped his wallet, phone, charger, and headphones into the rucksack with trembling urgency. He paused in the doorway of his bedroom for one last look, fighting a lump clawing up his throat. This room had been his whole world once—now it felt like a cage. He closed the door softly, praying the sound wouldn’t carry. His shoulder throbbed with every movement, but to his surprise, the stitches had held through the brutal beating. Small mercy, he thought.
His dad’s snoring rumbled through the hallway, loud and fearsome even in his sleep. Dax held his breath and slipped into the kitchen, then into the tiny storeroom at the back. He used his good arm to reach for his sleeping bag off the shelf while his heart pounded through his chest in fear of his dad waking up. The toolbox sat open on the bottom shelf. He hesitated only for a second before taking the penknife, not as a weapon, but a survival tool. Just something, anything. Could be handy, he thought, as he slipped it into his pocket. His heart raced so fast he thought it might burst out of his chest.
Back in the kitchen, he moved quietly, but quickly, grabbing whatever food he could find: a bottle of water, crisps and biscuits, anything. His dad never kept the cupboards stocked, and tonight, the emptiness felt like a warning. He shoved the food inside his rucksack, strapped the sleeping bag to it, and paused, still for a moment—listening, waiting, and terrified the snoring might stop. Thankfully, it didn’t.
With the quiet stealth of a panther, he slipped out of the kitchen, out of the hallway, and out of the house that had stopped being a home long ago. A place once filled with happiness and love, now a deathly gauntlet to navigate and one he’d barely survived.
The June night air greeted him and he didn’t look back. He couldn’t. With every step away from his front door, he repeated the same vow in his head, over and over like a lifeline:
Never again … never again. I’m never coming back.
Four for a Boy
Stand-alone Book 4 in the Survivor Series
It’s Too Hard To Live & Too Easy To Die…
Homeless, grieving, and convinced the world no longer sees him, nineteen‑year‑old Dax shelters beneath a bridge on the edge of Gravenmere Town. With his penknife, he carves his despair into the concrete: It’s too hard to live & too easy to die…
Convinced the world no longer sees him, Dax drifts through Gravenmere Town’s forgotten shadowy corners where hunger bites, memories sting, and hope feels like a cruel joke. Each day becomes a battle against the despair slowly consuming him from within.
Danger lurks behind every corner. Mia’s unhinged ex hides in the shadows, hunger bites like a vicious animal, and hope feels like a story someone told him a long time ago.
Yet, in the cold spaces between grief and memories that haunt, small kindnesses begin to reach him; Mia’s quiet warmth, and Zak’s steady belief. But when brutal violence finds him again, Dax is drawn towards the shadowed rim of Hollowmere Lake, where the lost go to disappear.
To step back from the edge, he must decide whether he is worth saving, and whether hope can survive in a heart that has forgotten how to feel it.
MMC Quote: “Alive does not mean living. This is nothingness. I breathe, yet I disappear. My heart beats, but I feel dead inside. Empty. Existing in the quiet nothing. This is the hollow space between living and dying. I feel it now … “
Author’s note
Four for a Boy, although a fictional survivor novel, shines a light on homelessness and men’s mental health through the lens of powerful storytelling. The story also features some real-life characters who kindly agreed to appear as themsleves, including Nick J. Townsend, lead singer of the band WEAK13; and Zak Bevis, aka Zak Knight, former pro wrestler from the Knight wrestling dynasty in the UK and founder of Zaket Potato.
Triggers:
Domestic violence
Homelessness
Mental health struggles
Grief
More Books in The Survivor Series:
Each book is a stand-a-lone survivor story shining a light on various issues through the sculpted form of story
One for Sorrow
Two for Joy
Three for a Girl.
About the author
D.G. Torrens is a UK & USA bestselling author and poet. D.G. has written and published 21 books to date, including her latest, Four for a Boy. The author is represented in the USA by Hershman Rights Management (HRM Literary Agents).
A prolific writer with a deep passion for the written word, D.G is also a founding member of bestsellingreads.com and AuthorCityUK.
Her first book, Amelia’s Story, inspired people the world over and has been downloaded over 500k times worldwide. Amelia’s Story is the author’s true-life story. It was never intended for publication. Originally, D.G. wrote it for her daughter. D.G. then went on to write military romance, romantic suspense, romantic drama, contemporary romance novels, and poetry books, which have all been received well.
The success of Amelia’s Story led the author to BBC Radio WM 95.6 FM, in 2014-15 on the Adrian Goldberg breakfast show, where she lent her time as a weekly Headline Reviewer for 12 months. “It can be quite daunting discussing the day’s headlines knowing thousands of people are tuning in… You never know when you are going to mess up!” she confessed. “Thankfully, with lady luck on my side, I managed to wing it …”
A full-time author, D.G is exceptionally driven and throws herself into all the projects that she takes on. “Don’t tell me to reach for the stars when there is a whole universe out there…” describes how she walks through life.
“Not everyone will understand your journey what matters is that you do.”
D.G. Torrens lives by the motto, “The child first and foremost.”D.G. Torrens is a UK & USA bestselling author and poet. D.G. has written and published 20 books to date, her latest being Three for a Girl. The author is represented in the USA by Hershman Rights Management (HRM Literary Agents).
A prolific writer with a deep passion for the written word, D.G is also a founding member of bestsellingreads.com and AuthorCityUK.
Her first book, Amelia’s Story, inspired people the world over and has been downloaded over 500k times worldwide. Amelia’s Story is the author’s true-life story. It was never intended for publication. Originally, D.G. wrote it for her daughter.
D.G. then went on to write military romance, romantic suspense, romantic drama, contemporary romance novels, and poetry books, which have all been received well.
The success of Amelia’s Story led the author to BBC Radio WM 95.6 FM, in 2014-15 on the Adrian Goldberg breakfast show, where she lent her time as a weekly Headline Reviewer for 12 months. “It can be quite daunting discussing the day’s headlines knowing thousands of people are tuning in… You never know when you are going to mess up!” she confessed. “Thankfully, with lady luck on my side, I managed to wing it… ”
Following on from BBC Radio, D.G has since been interviewed by, Award-Winning Radio DJ, Graham Torrington on the late-night show at BBC Radio WM and David Driver Author & DJ at Drystone Radio FM. Most recently, D.G was fortunate to be interviewed By American Radio host/author/actor, Cyrus Webb at CoversationsLive.com Radio for Mississippi.
The author’s first TV appearance was recently aired on AuthorPaedia TV Live hosted by Christopher Douglas author/host/interviewer/director. You can view all four episodes right here on YouTube to learn more about the author, her life and books: AuthorPaedia TV.
A full-time author, D.G is exceptionally driven and throws herself into all the projects that she takes on. “Don’t tell me to reach for the stars when there is a whole universe out there…” describes how she walks through life.
“Not everyone will understand your journey what matters is that you do.”
D.G. Torrens lives by the motto, “The child first and foremost.”
D.G loves to connect with her readers. Visit her at: