choice to run Chester's Mill, after being recalled to active service and promoted to the rank of colonel. This causes more tension between Dale, Big Jim, and Junior, causing the two to frame Dale for the murders they commit. One of the 26 survivors of the Dome. Julia Shumway – A cynical woman who owns and edits The Democrat (despite being a Republican), the town's local newspaper. Julia often feels the need to prove a point and expose those she sees around her. Julia becomes the conduit between Colonel Cox and Dale Barbara via her cell phone. Julia and Dale have a budding romantic relationship. Both Dale and Julia are gutsy and tough, brave enough to try any chance they might have for survival. Julia comes from a family of news executives; the newspaper is a family concern. She was groomed early for success and was viewed by her peers as a "goody-two-shoes". A confrontation with her classmates in fourth grade caused her to rethink her status and changed the course of her academic career; however, this same confrontation is key in helping her formulate a plan to end the siege. One of the 26 survivors of the Dome. James "Big Jim" Rennie – A power-obsessed second selectman of Chester's Mill based on Dick Cheney, owner of a used car dealership and the biggest crystal meth lab on the east coast. When Chief Perkins is killed on Dome Day, Big Jim becomes the de facto leader of Chester's Mill. He is owed favors by virtually every person of authority in town, and is rubber stamped by Andy Sanders, the grieving and incompetent first selectman, and Pete Randolph, the new, incompetent town police chief. Big Jim directly controls both Andy and Pete through most of the story. Big Jim murders Lester Coggins, Brenda Perkins, and Carter Thibodeau during his time under the Dome. His actions make him responsible for the deaths of many others. Presumed dead from heart failure in the town's emergency shelter. James "Junior" Rennie – Junior is a smalltown thug and son of the most influential man in Chester's Mill. After he is deputized, he recruits new police officers for his father. Junior gradually devolves from a violent (but somewhat sane) thug to a paranoid, angry sociopath, suffering from a brain tumor disguising itself as migraines. He particularly hates Dale Barbara, who laid a beating on Junior and