short story
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Every week since Christmas, someone disappeared from the village. They always came back—a bit dazed, not really scuffed, and with no memory whatsoever of where they’d been. They were gone for two or three days at a time—just long enough for their friends and family to start fearing the worst. In a way, the returning…
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It was just for one night, Becky told herself. Whether that was to reassure herself she’d never do something like this again, or a bittersweet commemoration of the momentary joy she was about to feel, she wasn’t quite sure. Either way, Becky let Jasper grab her hand and pull her towards the lobby doors with…
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On the edge of the cliff, she had only a second to decide. In only a moment, the other initiates would be upon her. Sabrie didn’t exactly want an audience if this failed; but the fear still curdled in her stomach whenever she thought about attempting the jump anyway. Voices shouted through the trees. Each…
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Old houses creak. The mantra wasn’t working. Neither were the blankets tucked up to Erin’s nose, suffocating everything but a stubbornly persistent fear. She’d left her bedroom door open out of habit, but she’d begun to wonder if it would be worth it to escape the safety of her bed to slam it shut. Another…
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The plants liked her the most, she knew. And she wasn’t really angry at them. As she knelt, her knees sinking into the dirt, she reached for the ground; the browned vines wreathing across the ground, preparing to fall dormant for the winter. Even when they weren’t growing, they needed nourishment—one last send-off before Abigail…
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The hatch opened, flickering a beam of light down into the darkened hold of the ship. Rowan flinched, then scooted closer to the door of his cell, inching a bit awkwardly thanks to the way his hands were bound behind him. He heard the thunking of bootfalls before he watched a pair of hulking figures…
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It’s your destiny, he told himself, pacing before the narrow window. The few armor plates he’d managed to affix thus far weighed heavy on his limbs. The rest scattered over the table in the dim stone room. He was supposed to be tying them on and parading out to the noblemen awaiting him in the…
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It happened in a blink. One moment, she strode along the hall, her steps swift and sure. A few minor concerns rattled through her head, distracting her from her surroundings. Not that it really mattered—she’d walked this hall since she was a child. The twenty steps it took to get from one room to another…
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They told him not to go out on the rocks, even when the sea was soft. The waters were still deep, and it only took a moment to lose your footing, with the shock to drag you down whenever the waves weren’t around to do so. Nonetheless, Quinn defied the warnings of his elders and…
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She pushed into her chair, arching her back until her muscles rippled with a satisfying burn. Then she glanced out the window. Her stomach folded into a knot. The sky had never been that color before—flat, inky, and impenetrable. She fought down a flare of anxiety as she sent her final file, entered her time…
