For seventy years, the Wall has kept the dead out.Behind it, the last human enclave of Moneybag clings to fragile normalcy-ticker-tape parades, politicians' speeches, and the quiet illusion that safety can be built forty feet high and thirty feet thick. Outside lies Hades: poisoned ruins and the shambling hordes that devoured the old world on New Year's Eve, 2096.But walls crumble. And something on the other side has learned to chew through concrete.When a ragged hole appears near the border town of Nautical, two children on opposite sides of the divide are thrust together: Illyrian, a quiet, puzzle-obsessed orphan turned reluctant big brother, and Cake, the fierce, guilt-haunted girl who first widened the crack years ago. As the dead pour through-not the mindless monsters of legend, but something evolving, thinking, hungering-the pair must protect Illyrian's infant sister Emm while the last fragments of civilization tear themselves apart.Because the zombies aren't just coming.They're already inside.And some of the worst monsters wear familiar faces.A haunting blend of psychological dread, raw survival, and fragile found family, The Hole in the Wall is a chilling post-apocalyptic tale about the thin line between sanctuary and slaughter-and the terrifying truth that the greatest breaches are the ones we make ourselves. Riyan Septa is a storyteller drawn to the forgotten corners of the world-places where silence speaks louder than words, and memory lingers like mist over still water. His writing blends folklore, Southern Gothic atmosphere, and coming-of-age grit to explore the spaces between what's seen and what's believed.When he isn't conjuring ghosts and shadows on the page, Riyan is a quiet observer of people, places, and old things with stories to tell. He believes that every town has its secrets, every child carries questions, and sometimes, the river knows more than it lets on.The Boy by the River is his haunting debut-a tribute to strange friendships, restless spirits, and the courage it takes to face what hides in the dark.
