The Java Script
by Nathan Reid-Welford

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Colin scurried forward, crawling through the cramped space, his knees and elbows bloody, hands torn, and banging his head on the rocks above. He moved as quickly as possible. As he neared the end, he heard a rattling. Something bumped against his leg and then bounced out in front of him. A grenade! Acting instinctively, he grabbed it before it got out of reach and, with his hand on fire, tossed it back between his legs. It clamoured down the tunnel and exploded a second later. The force launched him forward. Debris hailed down. A soundwave pierced his ears, and the commotion was muffled as he careened out of the tunnel and landed in a heap amongst the stones and dust. His head spun and vision blurred. He couldn’t hear anything. As Colin tried to stand, his feet slipped on rubble and he fell into the pile, disoriented and shaken . . . He stumbled again and dragged himself to the next tunnel. Teen agent Colin Harris has successfully completed his first mission, having defeated Vladimir Timur, thwarting his potentially-catastrophic Aristeia video game scheme. Settling back into day-to-day life and training at Clearview Academy, fellow operative Landon Stoffers accuses him of becoming too complacent, words Colin takes to heart. Meanwhile, civil war has broken out in The Democratic Republic of Congo as two rebel groups have plunged the country into chaos, and death and destruction reign. Colin is soon sent back into the field after the school’s administrator receives a cryptic letter from a pair of Australian Secret Intelligence Service agents—former Clearview graduates—requesting help when they are disavowed for trying to investigate global energy company TRINITY, who they suspect is helping escalate the conflict in Africa. Eager to be the best asset possible, Colin fights through the dangers of war, attempting to vanquish power-hungry criminals who are planning to kill millions for their own gain. As he faces a deepening rabbit hole, and travels across the globe, Colin makes new allies, faces more heinous villains than ever and, at times, wonders who he can trust.

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Nathan’s love for writing began in kindergarten, when he penned his first story about a band of pirates. He later became influenced by the action and spy genre, including young adult fiction series like Alex Rider and Young Bond, as well as The Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible films. By the end of Grade 8, he had handwritten his first draft of what was to later become his debut novel, Colin Harris: The Game of Wits. Raised in Keswick, north of Toronto, Nathan holds a degree in English writing from Redeemer University, where he also studied business and history. Upon graduating, he ventured to Bristol, England, for a year, working as a teaching assistant and travelling extensively, both of which inspired his creativity. Nathan is also an avid reader, a musician and music afficionado, a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, and chronic overthinker (particularly this paragraph!). The Java Script is the second in the Colin Harris series.

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Contributors

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Nathan Reid-Welford