Grover Bentley

Author of The Citadel Protocol.

The Citadel Protocol

In the last days before everything changed, Stephen Chase was just a man drowning in debt—desperate to keep his family afloat after his young son’s cancer diagnosis and the collapse of society he thought he knew. When he takes a lonely night‐watch gig at an abandoned warehouse, he thinks it’s the answer to his prayers. But when unrest explodes into violent riots, and the government unleashes the Citadel Protocol—declaring martial law and “evacuating” survivors to so‐called safe zones—Stephen learns the truth: civilians have become livestock in a deadly new harvest.

Dragged into a living nightmare where friend and foe wear the same uniform, Stephen must choose between surrendering to a fate worse than death—or standing his ground when the world turns against him. With every secret unveiled, every life shattered, and every hope snuffed out by glass and gunfire, one truth remains: in the Citadel, you don’t survive by hiding—you survive by fighting back.

A heart‐pounding thriller of conspiracy, loss, and the fierce bonds of found family, The Citadel Protocol will leave you questioning who’s really protecting us—and at what cost. If you dare enter the Citadel, beware: once you’re inside, there may be no way out.

The Citadel Protocol - Haint Blues

When the world starts coming apart, the safest place is supposed to be the mountain.

Tara and Micah Hale grew up in the Appalachian hills of North Carolina, raised by grandparents who taught them to live off the land and respect the things that live in it. Haints, spooks, and wraiths have always walked these ridges, and Tara still keeps the old wards of salt, sage, and haint-blue paint. Micah, a veteran with nightmares of his own, trusts his rifle. When their childhood friend Beau, a Charlotte journalist, comes home to ride out the collapse of the cities, the three settle in at Black Hollow Ridge.

Then the radio starts broadcasting talk of a "civilian harvest." Brevard burns, and the mountain falls silent. Something is hunting them, and it wants them to know it.

As the trio is driven off the only home they have, Beau reveals an anonymous tip about a classified plan called the Citadel Protocol. Whatever it is, it's coming for everyone.

Haint Blues is a fast, gritty Appalachian horror novella that blends mountain folklore, folk magic, and apocalyptic survival. It's also the first step into the world of The Citadel Protocol.