The Weight of Salt and Iron: A Narrative of Rusted Truths on the Concrete Frontier
CHAPTER 1: THE TASTE OF METAL The fork was standard-issue stamped steel, cold and slightly greasy from the base dishwasher. Marcus held it between two scarred fingers, his thumb resting over a silver signet ring that had long since lost its engraving to the slow friction of decades. Around him, Fort Meade’s main dining facility…