Smiling smugly to himself, Caleb tied his laces in a double knot, then sat and stared at his shoes. They were red, shiny as a new penny, with white laces, and a strange symbol on the side, mystic and powerful, like the hieroglyphics in his social studies textbook. “The Jump-a-Thon…
I can’t breathe, I can’t see, I’m drowning. The water presses in on me, squeezes me. It’s cold and getting colder. It’s black. I’m being dragged down, down, down into gloom and deep shadow. The water shudders. I gulp air—it’s gone. I’m being compressed; I’m being suffocated in steamy depths….
When the dust cleared and he regained his sense of direction, Tycho found he was looking at the sky. The clouds lay thick, low, almost motionless. Next to him, Eli was opening the vehicle’s hatch. With a whoosh, cold air rushed into the cockpit. Tycho inhaled a deep draught of…
“Listen up! We haven’t much time. We’ll only have one shot at this.” The cadre of freedom fighters nodded in agreement. Bearded, dark-skinned, their clothes covered in dust, they listened carefully to their leader. “The governor delivered his sentence. Execution.” “Our benevolent leaders pressured him,” another spat. “They don’t care…
Static. “Clint! Clint! Talk to me! Did you make it? Clint!” “…I made it. Oh, man, that hurt. I’m not doing that again, Molly, not ever, not even if the whole Earth’s in peril.” “My ribs hurt. I think they might be broken.” “They are not. Stop complaining. Your ribs…
My name is Kaiden Drerup. I was once known as Wrath. This is my testimony. His name was Dustin Schlemmer, and I met him in the prep room. That’s what they called the room where the meat-socks waited. That’s what we called the first timers, and this was my first…
She finally got out of bed several hours after her husband left. Sun illuminated the room. Peering out between the blinds, she saw fresh snow glittering in the midmorning light. Putting on her slippers, she took a seat on the living room couch and gazed on the landscape outside. The…
With quick steps and a skip, Josiah Wellington exited the elevator at the ground floor and hurried to join the throng of business men and women making their way to work. Leaden clouds pressed down on the skyscrapers, making it feel more like night than morning. Dark suits topped by…
When the wedding march began, I watched anxiously for her to appear. My heart beat wildly. She glanced at me, almost furtively. All day I had been caught up in memories of our times together, how as children we had played, chasing each other through the woods nearby, sneaking from…
She watched as thousands of her kind labored at their creations. She was young and could not participate, though she had tried about a month ago, sneaking into the work area and forming the great chains of liquid into elaborate works of art. The Judges had watched her; she had…
Johnny Chen struck a fighting stance as the thugs surrounded him. There were ten, maybe fifteen, all masked. Most carried knifes. He saw a club, heard a length of chain stretched taut. He knew why he was there, why he must fight: they had Honey Li, his niece, and he…
The solemn speeches and formal presentations of the podium gave way to the music of the dance floor. Henry watched as the young people leapt to life with the beat blasting from the speakers. The songs were those same played at weddings and celebrations everywhere, decided upon by some secret…