When I exited the clearing, I was met with the strangest, most exquisite sight I had ever seen. At first, I thought the light beyond the river was coming from a hut, but then I realised the light was, in fact, a figure. A girl kneeling on the forest floor beyond the river. At least, that was where I thought she was. But no, she was sitting on top of the water, her red and white robe spread out and...

Rika’s gasps were the only sound that could be heard besides her blood slowly dripping onto the filthy wooden floor. Realising that her hands and feet were bound to the chair, she looked up, blinded by the fluorescent light above her. Her focus cleared, and she found herself staring into the eyes of a burly man seated in a backward-facing chair, sneering at her.

“Nice of you to join us finally.”

...

I put down my fork with a clang that broke the silence. Looking across at my husband, it was like someone had washed away all his coloring. Like he’d been through the wrong laundry cycle and was only a shadow of who he had been before. I didn’t pick up my fork again. I had been dreading this day. Of course, I knew it was coming, and you always think that you are somehow prepared just by knowing. T...

The first rumble of thunder sent a shiver down her spine. The second sent her heart racing. The flash of lightning that struck a few moments later had Mila out of her bed, unable to breathe. This was how it had happened. Except there were no screams of agony this time. Just her heavy breathing. Not knowing what else to do, Mila padded down the hall to the closed door of Aiden's room. Without knock...

She was there at the start, always had been. She’s the one who has kept me strong all this time. There’s fire in her hair, her eyes. She has a knowing smile that curls her lips as she stares back at me. She knows, she’s always known. She’s the one. She’s me, everything I was meant to be and am now. I look to her for strength. Her hands rise up to touch the glass, my hands, they burn. I turn away a...