THE EDGE OF DEATHPowerful creatures have long been rumored to roam the Earth- demons, wraiths, the undead, vampires. What if they are not just the stuff of legend? What if there is a scientific basis for their existence? There's a secret lab in the basement of the prestigious Buchanan Medical Center, where the newly declared dead become subjects in pathologist Gunter Mueller's research in cutting-edge resuscitation medicine. None of his subjects have survived-until now. Not only is he alive, Nick Chandler has undergone a chilling metamorphosis into a man of supernatural prescience, superhuman strength, and absolutely no remorse-as Chip Allison and his friend Kristin Duffy quickly discover. Chip is on duty as monitor watcher in the ICU when Chandler is wheeled in; mere minutes later, Chandler has fled into the night, leaving behind a violently murdered nurse, the first of many victims. Besides being an avid dog lover, Kristin has an interesting hobby: she takes Kirlian photographs-images of the auras all living creatures give off. When she applies the technique to a photo of Chandler inadvertently captured on the night of his escape, Chandler has no aura. And somehow, Chandler knows she has that damning photograph... Still suffering flashbacks after being attacked by his former boss wielding a bone saw three years ago, anesthesiologist Doug Landry is teaching residents at the Buchanan Med Center during a six-month sabbatical when his wife Laura is seriously injured in a biking accident. When things go terribly wrong on the operating table, Laura is delivered to Dr. Mueller for resuscitation...