Stories tagged “Sequel”
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Choices for the Chosen: Discretion...
As one, the six of us surged to the window ledge. I’m not sure which one of us was most surprised to see Roy floating to the ground like an old balloon. Apparently he had learned to do something more than turn his body into iron. Below him the ci...
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Choices for the Chosen: Descent
Although Vanessa maintained her interest in the freeform skydive, we all ended up taking the stairs down to the ground floor. There was a tense moment in the stairwell where the building shuddered under a violent impact. The sound was deafening. Everyo...
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The soft glow of safety. And then.
It waits in the darkness patiently. The leprous creature has been preying on mankind since the dawn of time. In a different era, campfires held it at bay. And then candles. And then light bulbs. Saliva drips from its rotting maw. Creeping toward a wind...
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Which do you think is worse?
Edwin pokes embers of a dying fire with a branch before speaking. “I didn’t always live in a cave, you know. There was a time when my name was synonymous with genetically modified organisms. But I also worked on behavioral adjustment for m...
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Never again, this time I'm sure.
Jan, how could you? We shared our innermost secrets, and our darkest fears. The tears stream down my face, I don’t even bother brushing them away. My nose runs like a spigot; it’s raw and cracked from excessive wiping (first with tissues &#...
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They Said It Was Going Better
In the dark of the pod, Bondar stewed, helped in no small measure by the rising temperature. Hadn’t the trial gone better? They showed me the vids. There were crowds of supporters, rallying to my cause. Weren’t there? The accelerator thrumm...
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Meeting of Minds
The door to the library burst open, startling Edward out of his reverie. He snapped to attention, quickly stashing the parchment and quill as the door snapped closed. “Who crosses that threshold?” He queried the shadow at the door, squintin...
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Melody the Unicloud: Smoke Signals
Heedless of any danger or threat to her own well being, Melody charged into the forest determined to stop whatever was going on. Weaving through the trees, leaping over fallen logs, she relied on her powerful sense of smell to guide her in the right di...
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Scavenger's Forest
I hadn’t planned on eating all of the stew. I really hadn’t. But it was gone and the sun was creeping up over the horizon. I had slept remarkably well, with none of the nightmares that usually plague me. I tidied up my shelter and rearrange...
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Marked by Death part 2: The Beast
Eric stood in the doorway to the bedroom,shifitng nervously. The whole place stank of sweat and sex. No matter how he looked at it, it just didn’t seem smart to wake up an assassin. Finally, he cleared his throat. Twice. The bed seemed to come al...
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Runner Among Plagues
The Bots skidded to a stop at the end of the Bridge of Clouds, disgust written all over their metallic faces as they looked on at the gray and black mess spread across the valley that was the last standing human colony. The woman stopped running as she...
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From the Library of Failure, a Jenny Nowhere Prologue 2
Gwen watched the stupid girl fall into the void with mixed feelings. It had been easy to let her die, easier than she ever imagined. Self-disgust rose with bile in her throat. She gulped it down. There had been nothing fair about this, no grand fight o...
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Melody the UniCloud: Standing Up To Giants
“Hey, hey! Stop this!” Melody cried. Her voice seemed to disrupt the rhyme and rythm of their song and the three men fell silent. They looked around for the source of the noise and Melody made no attempt to hide. She wanted them to see her....
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 1, Part 2)
“Rewind.” Gwen watched the two figures reappear onscreen, holding hands. They ran backwards together until they disappeared out of frame. “Play.” It was grainy security camera footage that had been filtered and remastered to mak...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 2, Part 2)
Jenny’s friend, Gracie, leaned against the mouth of the alley that was their shortcut to the bus stop. “Sup, Ewok!” Gracie said, peeling off the wall, as Jenny passed her. “Whoville!” Jenny replied, answering nickname with...
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Melody the Uni-Cloud: Unfair Dealings
The three giants continued to stare down at the uni-cloud, expressions of disbelief on their faces. “Grimmstuff,” Red said to Green, “Wot’s wiff dis wond’rous speaking beast?” Grumstuff passed the buck. Eying Blue, h...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 1, Part 3)
If Jenny Everywhere could contact her other selves or help them directly, then what chance did Gwen have of surviving her assignments. If even one of them figured out they were being hunted, the results would be disasterous. Uncertainty turned to an ic...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 2, Part 3)
Despite a rocky start, the day ended up being quite satisfactory. Jenny was looking forward to her classes. Most of it was the basic freshmen lineup: Algebra, English, Foreign Language (Latin), Art, and P.E. (Track and Field). The only exception was AP...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 1, Part 4)
Gwen left her room with a purposeful stride that became a run anytime she let her attention wander. Doors to other living quarters dotted the hallway seemingly at random. Although there were many doors, she had never seen another person besides N in th...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 2, Part 4)
By the time Jenny walked up the path to her house, her dad was home from work and making dinner. Both of her parents were amazing cooks and in completely different ways. In the background a mournful cello filled the air with melancholy. “Hey, Dad...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 1, Part 5)
Gwen arrived at N’s office as the timer on her wrist ticked down to 18:31:10. N wasn’t her boss’ real name but it was all she had ever known and somehow the single letter fit her perfectly. N sat behind her desk, typing into the compu...
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Dangerous Boundaries: Desperate Moves
“I’ll not ask what arrangement you made with Midden, but I must know why. You know what he is, what he’s capable of.” Lukas said. “I know.” Sirach put his hands on the table. “Jeofram was pressuring me, said he...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 2, Part 5)
After dinner, Jenny went upstairs to do homework. Where all of her other teachers had followed the same procedure- handing out a syllabus and boring everyone with the same rules, Mrs. Graham had jumped straight into teaching. When the AP History teache...
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Dangerous Boundaries: Dangerous Suspicions
“Are you absolutely sure that the Truce still holds?” Sirach asked quietly. Lukas voice was confident. “I am. If the Truce is broken by one of us, the others will hunt down the offender and render final judgment, the alternative is an...
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From the Library of Failure (Branch 2, Part 6)
“Oh your cat fell.” Jenny’s mom said from behind her. “It must have a ton of money in it to make that kind of racket. Well, look on the bright side, now you can count it.” “Mm-kay.” Jenny said without convictio...