Small Rural Towns, Twenty-First Century

These unnamed, small, rural towns are seen in several of Hunt's stories. They are inherently peaceful places but they are being plagued by the encroachment of cities while still being shrouded in the mysteries of nature. The towns are stuck between an older way of life and the new way America is progressing towards.The reason these towns are never named is to connect all the rural towns across America and show that they are all essentially facing the same issues, albeit in different ways and times.

The Ocean Near Galveston, Twenty-First Century

The ocean near Galveston serves to insert mystery and danger into Hunt's story, "All Hands." When the Coast Guard falls into the ocean, he reflects on how dark the ocean is, remembering all of the old mysterious wells that are down at the bottom. The school secretary also finds the ocean...