BO, teddy bear and Defender of 12-year-old MAX SLAYTER, is clutched tightly to his boy’s chest as both tumble out of bed to the floor. Max, his heart racing, had a nightmare again. The morning light and comfort of the teddy bear are enough to calm Max down, and the rest of the morning is spent getting ready for school. Bo, alone at last after the family leaves the house for the day, dozes on the floor. His mind though, revisits last night’s events; Defenders can only see dreams, and Bo helplessly watches as Max's recurring nightmare unfolds and his boy, once again, accidentally steals a talisman from an old scary man. Bo, however, is more concerned about what the bad dream brings- Night Fears, creatures from the Fear Realm who enter rooms through shadow portals to feed off children's inner light. Bo takes out a Fear, but not before it feeds on Max.
The memory wakes Bo fully with a jolt, worsening his old tear. He rouses himself to go find his “sibling” HENRI, who reluctantly agrees to sew up Bo’s old tear. A group message on her hidden phone says something new will be discussed after the mornings’ get-together. The neighborhood Defenders call themselves the Community, which was organized to keep everyone safe and create a space for socializing. ODIE, Bo’s best friend, reveals the group’s leader LEIA, also one of Bo’s oldest and dearest friends, was almost torn to pieces the night before. Leia steps down as leader and Odie is put in charge. Bo is distraught by the news, but Leia brushes off his concerns.
Back at home, Bo learns a bully has called out Max to a fight after school. This ensures a Fear will show up. Henri decides to lend a paw and deliver a message to Leia for Bo. That evening a Night Fear feeds on Max’s sister, causing Henri to feel The Pain, an excruciating sensation for Defenders. It is so overwhelming she slips into unconsciousness while with Leia. When Henri wakes Leia is missing. Bo is crushed by this news, but also confused; Defenders don’t just disappear. During a sleepover party Leia’s boy is attacked by a Night Fear, which feeds off him, to the dismay of the Defenders. The boy acts out towards his friends, even threatens to hit Max. These actions confirm for the Defenders that Leia must have “moved on”, the term used when a child’s Defender returns to being an inanimate toy.
Soon, we learn a hooded figure is pulling the strings behind mysterious events. After a memorial gathering, Bo is approached by a friend who believes Leia has to be alive, as children aren’t attacked after Defenders move on. Two nights later every single kid in the neighborhood is attacked at the same time. Several Defenders are badly injured and one is torn apart, forced to move on. Bo, driven by the love for his friends and family, volunteers to travel to the Fear Realm to find out if Night Fears can be stopped on their home turf.
On a dark and stormy night Bo traps a Night Fear forcing the portal to stay open for travel. Bo discovers the mountainous, dark, temporal world of the Night Fears and starts looking for Leia, a side mission he told no one about. He discovers she is being held captive by the hooded figure. Bo rescues Leia, the two manage to get out of the Fear Realm, barely, but Bo is knocked unconscious by a cave in. He wakes and recognizes the figure as a Defender long thought to have moved on. A huge Fear is standing by their side, holding Leia hostage. The figure explains their plan to take out all Defenders, starting with those they feels abandoned them. Bo manages to escape, but has to leave his dear friend Leia behind.
End book 1
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