Hitting the ice hard on his shoulder, Will rolled until he was on his back, the cold bleeding through his clothes. The air was all but punched from his lungs, and it was a struggle to gain breath. Above, the sky was dark and dotted with stars, though hardly visible in the constant light from the city. He tried to pick out constellations, but so few managed to shine through the ever burning light h...

Settling on the bench, the sun’s lasting heat seeped through the stone, so warm it bordered on hot. I remained seated though. Before me, on the other side of the table, a man with scarred skin and lined eyes sat, gazing at his calloused and cracked hands folded on the weather-pitted rock of the table.

I folded my arms and rested my weight on them, leaning forward slightly. He didn’t meet my e...

On the grass hill, the ground was chilly, but dry, and the wind was light and cool. It shushed through her loose hair and raised goosebumps on her bare arms. It’s wasn’t uncomfortably cold, but she slid the jacket on. It was soft black leather, a couple sizes too large, the whole back colored by the bands emblem, all fire and bones and desert. Florence shrugged it on, relaxing in the warmth and co...

“There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see.”

Standing the precipice of the coming new decade, at the crest of a mountain with a curving road winding ahead, he looked into her eyes and waited, hand out stretched for hers, the sun shining in his eyes and wind playing through their hair.

“Will you follow me?” He asked, voice soft and sad, though he smiled a little. She hesitated,...

A wall of glass before her, Cerulean at the water with longing and pity. Longing for the feel of the cold water rippling down her spine, and pity for the animals inside, knowing it was a far cry from the waves of a real ocean.

She understood though, why they were in their. Most of the sea live in this aquarium were rescues, animals that fated to die had they not had human intervention. Granted...

Taking a seat on the creaking wood of the old picnic table, his feet on the bench, Gabriel placed the little chest beside him and contemplated it. It wasold, dusty and a bit banged up. It was a conglomeration of metal and leather and wood, in the same fashion as antique trunks. On the front was a small brass lock, the key of which Gabriel turned over in his hands. Leaning to the side, he used it a...

The wind was cold at his back, pushing him onward and taking cool fingers through his hair. It bit at his ears and reddened his skin, stiffened his joints and made his eyes tear, but still there was no snow. The sky was a flat slate of gray, the sun absent, and the forest was cast in muted light with deep shadows crawling the ground. The forest floor was blanketed with pine needles, some browned a...

Gently tugging on the reins, Sid guided his mare to turn, continuing on down the valley. He watched with careful eyes as he rode, letting the mare choose her path as long as she kept the right direction. She was a keen girl, and always acted on Sid’s Will without hesitation. Before Texas, he wouldn’t have thought loyalty like that could be had from a horse. But he hadn’t thought much of horses at ...

Rising sunlight shone through the pale curtains, faintly lighting the room in early morning tones and catching the dust motes in the air. It was blessedly warm on Gideon’s bare back, and he heaved a deep and contented breath, turning his head up to see Florence’s sleeping face. Her eyelashes were clear in the light and the veins were visible under the thin skin of her eyelids. Gideon was partly on...

Pressing down on the breaks, the truck slowed, the roaring of the wind dying as the heat pressed in past it through the open windows. The asphalt burned and heat rose in waves. The air was dead still, not so much as breath of wind. Forty yards ahead, the Mercedes red hide gleamed in the sun, and Houlihan eyed it with equal parts curiosity and suspicion.

No cars in her mirrors, she sidled up...