Stories tagged “fs21492”
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In Between Minds: On the Precipice
Here, you should probably know how to do this, Val said and I received a burst of instructions. Concentrating on the fiction I was building, I was able to spare only a corner of my mind to be shocked at what I’d just learned. It was one thing to ...
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In Between Minds: Shattered
I looked away from Martin and let go of the illusion I had crafted. “Yurochka, what…?” Kseniya stuttered with horror and tried to back into the corner. He reached out, murmuring what sounded like an endearment. He loves her, Val said,...
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In Between Minds: A Prison Nonetheless
Silence, blessed and absolute. I basked in it, content to be alone. “Katya?” The voice intruded upon my silence. I wanted it to go away. A breathed prayer of gratitude and a warm hand on my face. “Katya, come back.” Back? To the...
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In Between Minds: Telling Truth
I looked up at Martin and Ksensiya, seeing hatred and forced sympathy in their gazes. Val was right, had always been right, and now I had to get us away. My hand shook as I dragged it through my hair. “You want to know what I did?” I asked,...
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In Between Minds: Being Human
Martin’s eyes remained hard and I saw his finger tighten on the trigger. I don’t want to die, Val’s voice trembled and below us both I felt Her stirring. I turned my face away. “I never wanted any of this,” I said, my thro...
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In Between Minds: Reduction
We didn’t touch Her directly, but instead became a beacon, pulsing out information, Everybody was dead. I don’t think we’re reaching her, Val whispered just below my attention. I considered the colossal, primordial, broken facet of us...
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In Between Minds: Survival
Animals were harder to fool than people. I spent a cold, hungry week trying to convince anything that it had died. I tried different lies…gun shots, starvation, traps, predators…the human mind is easily fooled, we gave up our instincts for ...
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In Between Minds: Shadows on the Wall
I curled around myself and stayed that way for hours, thin arms and legs tucked tight in the illusion of safety. The hope that none of this was real, that my parents would come and make it all go away was nearly gone. But I was a good girl. I always at...
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In Between Minds: Gloom Above and Below
Constant rain turned the snow into slush. It made for hard going. I walked on the train tracks whenever necessary, using the solid ground as a reprieve from the impassable areas, even as I huddled in my jacket. I was glad I’d selected clothes bas...
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In Between Minds: Worse
I opened my eyes to see the table laden with all my favorite foods, and then noticed the stack of brightly wrapped presents. My father’s hands, warm and gentle, fell to my shoulders and he said, “Happy birthday, my little princess.” S...
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In Between Minds: Trauma and Despondency
The silence of the last few days was oppressive but now that I had someone to talk to, I didn’t know what to say. I had many questions but emotionally, I felt raw and used up. The strange woman didn’t start any conversation, she just lead t...
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In Between Minds: Connections
As we walked I felt apathy coil through me like anesthetic. The ragged edges of my mind grew quiet and even the place where She resided became still. Kozlov has much to answer for, you being the last in a long line of offenses. I stumbled to a halt. Th...
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In Between Minds: Broken Clouds
My stomach twisted with sudden pain and I stumbled feeling sick. Almost at once the lady was beside me, lending me her arm. “Take it easy. We’re in no rush.” I shrugged off her help. With an angry huff, I chucked the remnants of the a...
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In Between Minds: Testing
Warmth and light suffused me and I felt myself expand. Each corner of me seemed to unfurl and lift toward the sun. Even She, tucked into a darkness I could not touch, lightened around the edges beneath the deluge of light. Into this bliss I heard, Yuli...
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In Between Minds: A Sliver of Control
“FOURTEEN! I WAS FOURTEEN!” I screamed. My vision blurred under the onset of tears until the world turned into amorphous blobs that dissolved into explosions of reds and blacks. In the very center was a tiny dot of light, a speck that start...
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In Between Minds: Grounded
I was a maelstrom of grief and rage, I wanted my baby and I wanted her now. In the eye of my storm, I sensed the bright minds around me and swept through them for answers. With each violation, I shrieked with fresh pain, mental and physical voices lift...
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In Between Minds: A Step in a New Direction
“I’m not hungry.” I said automatically. My stomach disagreed with a loud grumbling sound. The girl in the doorway smiled. “That’s okay. You don’t have to eat but you should drink this- it’ll make you feel bette...
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In Between Minds: Penance
Yulia smiled and held out her hand. I hesitated, then took it, unprepared for the jolt of connection that came with it. Feeling comfort and reassurance from her and dimly from others, I instinctively reached for them only to discover my reach blunted. ...
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In Between Minds: Another Piece of the Puzzle
“How many?” I asked, not sure if I was asking how many lived there, or how many I had hurt. Concern radiated from Sofiya. “Does it matter?” “A little.” “Why?” “I don’t know. It just feels impo...
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In Between Minds: Lesson Plan
My companion and teacher was a small woman who spoke in squeaky stutters. She showed me which plants were weeds to pull, how to water the different crops and how to collect lady bugs to help keep pests away. I struggled with impatience, watching the wo...
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In Between Minds: Respite
Days passed and the simplicity and repetition of tending the garden became the backdrop for lessons in controlling my abilities. While I weeded, I spun my shields as thick as I could make them, muffling myself inside my own head. Hauling water I thinne...
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In Between Minds: Bees & Butterflies
Days turned into weeks, bringing warmer weather. Seedlings were transplanted into the main garden. Wildflowers filled the meadow with colour, bringing the constant buzz of honey bees and the fluttering of jewel-winged butterflies. One fine day in mid M...
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In Between Minds: The Journey Begins
I dreamed. Dr. Kozlov sat behind his desk talking to a little girl. She looked about five, with shifting green-blue eyes. He watched her a moment and said, “Valentina, why do we not leave the Camp?” She frowned and recited, “The outsi...
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In Between Minds: Babushka
But not today, Grandmother continued. She drew in a deep breath. I love the scent of harvest time. She closed her eyes and inclined her head slightly. After a few moments, she spoke quietly and calmy. “Shortly, a r-rabbit w-w-will hop into the f-...
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In Between Minds: Stretching Out
One small rabbit and two potatoes were hardly a feast but over the past few months I had grown used to living off the land. Grandmother’s pouches held a variety of herbs and spices that, when added in small pinches, gave each simple meal a little...