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Sitting at the dining room table, it’s taking every inch of willpower I have not to bounce my leg. It’s a nervous habit I’ve never been able to shake, but right now, I’m pretty sure my life depends on it. I have to ignore the ache in my cheeks from holding this never-ending smile as my mother sets a plate in front of me. She’s smiling from ear to ear, as is my father sitting across the table from...

When I used to picture my future, it always looked the same. I was older, wrinkled, and sitting on the porch with my husband. We would hold hands and listen to the sound of life circling around us. It was a cliché thought, but it always made me smile. I told him once and he made fun of me, saying that for someone who had once been so wild, I wanted something so tame and boring. I never thought I’d...

“I saw him again.” The words slip casually from my lips as I drag my finger across Drew’s chest. “Saw who again?” He strokes my hair, lightly kissing my forehead after he speaks. I could stay in this moment forever. I exhale, almost wishing I hadn’t brought it up. “The man with the baseball cap and blue eyes, standing across the street from my work.” He rolls onto his side, cupping my cheek in his...

I grit my teeth together at the sound of footsteps approaching my cell. Words I’ll never speak are caught in my throat like stale bread. There is no water to wash them down, only a space behind my tongue that holds them in place. If I listen closely, there’s a third set of steps walking ahead of the guards. He makes his impending presence more known as he drags his cane along the floor. Once there...

           Saying that it’s freezing would be an understatement. There was a rumble, and the next thing we know, we’re being swept up in this mass of sliding snow. There were eight of us. There’s six of us now. We found Dustin when we saw the red of his jacket poking up from beneath the white cascade that had engulfed us all. We dug all around him, calling his name in hopes that he could just hold...

             Matty is sleeping to peacefully next to me, his snoring almost comforting, and I envy how quickly he disappears into the realm of sleep. I am not so lucky. I reach out and trace the arch of his eyebrow, smiling at the way it twitches beneath my finger. The sound of some random crime show makes for a constant hum of background noise. He likes it, I prefer silence, but we compromise, an...

The air feels thick, and my head is swimming as I look at the letter in front of me. It’s in the same crude envelope as the ones from each time before. I must get a least three of them each week since I did that interview. Tucker Jones, a serial killer known for stalking his victims prior to their demise as a way to psychologically torture them. I was presented with the chance to interview him in...

It’s a motel for me tonight, again. The front desk guy has gotten familiar with seeing me and doesn’t even really ask for my license anymore, he just recognizes me and checks me in. I stay in the same room every night I’m here, room 314. I think there’s comfort in some things staying the same. I keep trying with Hope, but she doesn’t want me back in the house. It’s been a bit strained since I star...

I didn’t realize how red our bedroom wall is. Looking at it now, I would love to paint it a deeper red, something that really catches the eye. Glass shatters as the young man I’d invited pulls at the cloth on the bedside table, the sound of his gurgling intermittently interrupted with a gasp as he attempts to breathe. My robe swishes around my knees and I stand and walk over to wear he lays. His e...

I remember that night like it was yesterday, the night you broke in through my window. I wasn’t boring but it’s not like I lead a very extraordinary life. I went to work, I went out with friends, I would drink just enough to have fun and then come home and go to bed. My wildest nights were in my senior year of high school. I rode on strangers motorcycles and danced in the rain of hurricanes. That...

“Jimmy, seriously? You’re breathing right in my face.” “What do you want me to do, Claire? Not breathe?” It’s been ten minutes of us sitting face to face under our desks. We felt the building shake, and everyone hit the deck when things started falling to the floor. Bobbleheads fell off desks, pictures off of walls, and people dove under their desks. However, this also means that Jimmy has been br...

“There isn’t a way to tell this story to you gently. There is no sugar-coating something so bitter. Like with any berry flavored vodka, it still burns the whole way down.” I realize I’m mostly rambling to myself trying to make this easier, he doesn’t even know what vodka is or that it burns. The kid just stares back at me, his eyes saying that he’s terrified and maybe even a little confused. Of co...

“Is that the island?” I have to shout over the sound of the helicopter, and only receive a nod from the study observer that’s accompanying me. His jots something down on the little notebook he’s carrying. I’m guessing they’ve been instructed not to say much so as to not disrupt any part of the experiment. Makes for a really boring flight. We’re circling the island at this point and when looking at...

I’ve lost it. I’ve lost it all. Everything I worked so hard for, everything I dreamed of, everything I was promised. It’s all gone. My reflection is all I can see in the glass frame of my degree. It’s worthless now. Nothing more than a poor excuse for a mirror. A piece of paper that was once worth thousands of dollars, and years of my time, means nothing. The skills I honed over years don’t mean a...

Monday, Jan. 16th, 2010 Dear Diary, It’s me, Hannah. Kidding. I know you’re familiar with me, I just like that joke. Today was not the best of days. When I went downstairs and saw dad was back, I thought maybe it would be the best of days. I was wrong. I thought high school was going to make things better, but I was wrong about that too. I haven’t made any new friends, and it’s not like new kids a...

There was a time when Sirens were revered by all those who had heard of them. We were a group that was not to be taken lightly, with sailor’s being warned of our deadly call. Of course, the sailor’s never did heed that warning, and our reputation would continue. I remember the days of sitting on those rocky cliffs, mist cumulating around my fellow Sirens and I, as we sent our melodies across the s...

It’s been two years since the war started. The war isn’t with other countries, it’s within this country. Or at least it was back when this was a country. They don’t even call it war, in fact, they don’t really call it anything except for, “progress”. Whatever that means. To us it doesn’t feel like progress, it feels like waiting, it feels like walking on the left-over cracked shells of our freedom...

“Sebastian, how’re we doing on descent?” When I glance over, his red hair just barely peaks out from his beanie and his eyes are locked on to the indicator. “It’s looking good Viv; another couple hundred feet and we should be at our destination.” He turns and gives me a goofy and excited smile. I sigh and sink down into my chair, looking out into the darkness that’s been enveloping our submarine....

It’s been three nights since I drank the tea. Three days without real sleep. Three days wondering if I’m going crazy. Three days of hiding my possible descent into madness from my friends. Each night I close my eyes, and I pray for slumber, I beg to be whisked away into a deep and restful sleep. Yet each night, I find myself stumbling into the minds of my friends. My three best friends and I had d...

My eyes don’t want to open, but with every wince I can see the sand of a dessert surrounding me. The ache of my bones and twinge of my muscles reverberates through my entire body. The sun is beating down on my skin, and the ground is warm beneath me. I suppose I should be glad the fall didn’t kill me, though I feel as though I’ve been tossed around by the Minotaur. With every sharp inhale, sand fi...

“You’ve got another soul to reap. A week from today.” The file is tossed onto the coffee table I’m sitting at, but before I can look up to see who’s dropped it, they’re already gone. It’s just a part of the job. Not that it’s even really a job, more like a punishment. They like to sell it as an alternative to eternal damnation, which I suppose it is. It’s for people like me, who weren’t terrible p...

You do not see us. We are not of you, nor you of us, and yet some of you may feel our pull. We have tied you to a destiny, and connected each of you to each other. A string from one to another that pulls, and ties, and unravels. We are of three; past, present, and future. We are Fate. Untouched, unbiased, long have we existed to twist your lives. Some fates are less fortunate than others. Some fat...

The carriage ride is bumpy as I listen to the chirp of birds and rustle of leaves. I knew this day was coming, the day they would send me away to learn how to be a lady, how to become a true princess. I just wish that day wasn’t already here. My dress scrapes across the wooden floor boards as I lean to look out the window, my elbow to my knee. I never liked wearing dresses, I never liked having to...

“How are we doing today Mrs. Jordan?” The nurse's voice echoes against the bare walls of my room. They are a light shade of blue that I suppose is supposed to be soothing. It’s not, and I wish they’d call me by my maiden name. The door creaks open as she steps in to set a tray of food and a little paper cup of pills on the table. I flick my eyes in her direction and offer a soft smile of acknowled...

I half haphazardly flip my hand through the air to turn the pages of the book before me. This book is just one of many, but it is how I decide who will die today. Names, names, and more names. I see their name, and then I see their life, and I choose how and when and who will die. It is what I have done for millenia, and it is what I will continue to do for millenia to come. So continuously I flip...