(I went a different route with this one compared to my usual stuff I think, bit more raw, sorry)

“I’m sorry.”

“For?”

My stomach twists into knots and in that moment I truly hate her. I want to hit her, to lash out, to leave the room. How ugly of me. It’s just an apology.

But its not. It’s not just, I’m sorry. Not with her. With her, it’s an admittance of defeat. It’s a licking of the boots, i...

Soon, the darkness shrouded us, hiding us from the hungry gazes of our predators. But sight is only one of the senses. My mother held me close and covered my mouth, forcing my to breath through my nose, quieting my tired breaths. By this time I knew enough to trust my mother, and when she removed her hand I kept my mouth closed and my breathing controlled.

They were nearby. My mother had pulled ...

Every year that passes, I forget a bit more. Faces, names, tiny details in fading memories. I can barely remember my grandfather. I remember what it felt like to hold his hand. The dry creases of his palm, the cool band of his wedding ring, his long fingers capturing mine. The warmth. When I was young, and we went for walks around the property, I would cling to his hand like a lifeline. I thought ...

No one ever came down during the day anymore. Her part of the library was buried in the basement, away from harsh sunlight and wandering children. Madeline could hear their steps on the floor above her, the freaks of the aged wood. They made inquiries, booked appointments after hours, but no one ever came in to browse. It just wasn’t that sort of library. The books were far too rare for passers by...

I’d never thought about how they would look different from up here. I suppose I just figured they’d look like fireworks. And they do, there’s no mistaking them, but it’s not the same. I almost think it’s better. When the first one launches, it looks like it’s headed straight for us. A missile locked on to our secret location. My knuckles turn white gripping the railing of the airship, certain we a...

She had really wanted to like him. She really did. Harper knew that Cath had a hard time with relationships. Ever since they were teens, Cath would go after all the wrong types. Emotionally unavailable, immature, unfaithful. Jumping into relationships that were doomed from the start. So after all these years, when Cath told her about her newest man, how she wanted them to meet, Harper did her best...

Trickles of people begin flowing in from between the trees. They are in patchwork clothes, scraps stitched back to life with caring hands. Most of the women wear long skirts or dresses, the rest sporting trousers with tiny embroidered flowers speckling them. The men wear much of the same; loose material adorned with nature imagery, the odd patching in places only adding to its charm. I feel underd...

Franklin inhaled sharply and looked around. It was dark, of course, it usually was whenever this sort of thing happened, and quiet. Didn’t smell like much of anything either, though he supposed that was a smell in and of itself, the absence of one. Not chemically clean but not stale and musty. Just plain, flat, room temperature air. And peanuts. Oh, that was his breath. He had been enjoying a snac...

We thought we were making a dent, chipping away at their numbers just enough to keep them down, keep them at bay. The smaller ones were retreating, and the commander ordered us to refocus our fire on the largest of them. It was formidable, had taken out dozens of us already, some of the bodies still skewered on its long metal legs. I didn’t hesitate to empty my blaster into the thing. I don’t thin...