story

The first punch sent Van sprawling. Before the second could land, he was already rolling, gun in hand, eyes sharp. Chandra saw the glint of metal and froze. Even in self-defense, even with all of Van's boasting in his skill, that gun terrified her.

A second group of men surrounded Chandra ...

"I was this close to something valuable. If that job went through, I'd have big money right now. And instead, I am soaked in gritty blood in a biome devoid of water or rain, wasting my effort on these unwelcomed beasts. Dang it!" He started walking off angrily in the direction his gut led ...

Few dreams stayed with her once the responsibilities of the day settled on her shoulders. But those eyes—those terrible, flashing eyes—clung to her, appearing behind every blink, waiting in the cracks of her mind.

She had been visited once again. It was becoming a nightly torment she had ...

The skin-memory of the rhythmic touch that cusped the outer blades of her feet never ceased. She awoke with a jolt, ripping her blankets off from her and examining her legs.

Clean.

Of course it was a dream, but she had never had a dream so physically real.

People always say, ...

Silver, predatory eyes burned in the dark, locked with hers. She froze as prey without escape. All was dark, motionless, and silent, as though the world ceased to exist outside of the glint of sinister intelligence before her. He stepped forward and paused, breaking eye contact to look over her ...

His strange draw to the girl was revolting. She had encountered curiosities and delicacies before, but she had no such traits. She felt like poison to him, deep and seeping, and cast a heavy blanket of dread over him whenever he drew too near. Yet he kept returning, finding his errands and ...