The stairs to the attic groaned when she pulled the cord. As her head reached the landing to the room, a stifling heat engulfed her. Years of enclosure carried the scent of sealed storage bins and musty cardboard. A city of boxes surrounding her begged for attention. From their openings, clothes in saturated colors protruded, ...

Peris stood on the brink of the cliff and reached out with her mind while she held her lightstick over the chasm. Stray orange pebbles skittered into the murky schism below while she pitched her body in defiance of gravity. Night had already fallen, but she pictured the twin suns, fierce and blazing in the bright green of midday. Then she imagined the sky ...

Gravity tugged at every fiber of my being. The black hole stretched me thin as I hurtled through the abyss. Colors swirled around me in a mesmerizing dance that blended and morphed into shapes beyond comprehension. I shielded my sight and tried to steady myself against the onslaught of sensations that threatened to overwhelm my ...

“You’re insane,” Esme said. “You have a better idea?” Marcus answered. Esme pursed her lips as her gaze lost focus, searching the corners of her mind for a more effective plan. Finally, she exhaled heavily. “Please, just leave me,” she whimpered. Marcus stared at his wife and watched her lively, beautiful features crumple under a ...

The man in the white coat approached Andrew. “I’m Dr. Ben Matthews. Unfortunately, the prognosis isn’t favorable, but we are trying to figure it out.” Andrew shot out of his chair. Trevor followed suit, his heart raced. Oh God. First Allan, now Richard’s going to die. “What do you mean, the prognosis isn’t good? What’s ...

Marcus burst into the condo, Matty clutched in his arms. The faux leather of the pale blue sofa softly squealed as he set his son down. Matty blinked up at him, his expression confused. “Where are we?” he asked. “In another condo, buddy.” “What happened to ours?” Marcus smiled but decided not to answer. “I’ve ...

Upon hearing the blood-curdling scream, we all jumped out of our seats and ran for the staircase. I reached it first and took the stairs two at a time. My brief knock on the closed door where Liz was staying wouldn’t have been sufficient in any other circumstance, but this unique situation called for immediate ...

Marcus surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of salt water. “Matty!” he screamed over the rippling seawater. He frantically swung his head back and forth, searching for any signs of his son, who had learned to swim the month prior. His mind jolted to that morning in the condo pool. Was it just this morning? Matty ...

The wild gallop of Marcus’s pulse propelled him along the corridor. Stucco-covered walls stretched ahead to his right, the other side flanked by waist-high plexiglass bordered by metal safety rails. His eyes razed every inch of the space as stagnant, humid air did little to cool his sweaty skin. Fitz peeked over the railing every ...

A crowd of hopeful Arizona State University students gathered around the bulletin board outside Dr. Isis Nassar’s lecture hall. She posted the semester’s final scores. There was a cluster of students who anxiously waited to scan for their grades. Hopefuls who wanted their scores to be high enough to get selected for the internship slots. ...