The biggest driftwood log I could manage to roll into the whitewater river now bobbed in and out of the rapids—with me clutching to the top of it. I gripped the makeshift handles I chiseled out with sharp stones. My bare feet and hands had long since gone numb and locked up, though I was ...

Nightfall in the thick forest found me as I frantically attempted to light the pile of dry sticks I’d gathered. Sweat beaded on my forehead and dripped onto the base stick. I was trying the plow technique I saw in Castaway. Tom Hanks didn’t make it look easy, and I hadn’t yet gouged the palm ...

As I stepped out of the mouth of the cave fortress, the sun blinded me. Helicopter blades cut through the air, and hummer engines thrummed to life. The dozens of workers escorted by guards filed into the various vehicles. Within minutes, they either took into the sky or shot down forested trails in routine efficiency. ...

Okay, thought Ella. Repeat the plan back to me again. She said this while she paced around my hospital bed, where I still lay strapped down by restraints. The slow, monotonous ticking of the clock on the wall accompanied the occasional squeaking of gurneys down the hall. The only sounds as the clock struck 4 ...

Chapter Five *Warning: This story contains thoughts of / attempted suicide I was back in my old apartment bathtub, admiring the complex series of cracks in the ceiling as I drifted asleep, slowly bleeding out. I started to slip, to fade down and away. Lower and lower into the tub until my eyes fluttered closed, ...

*Warning*The story contains thoughts of/attempted suicide Five nurses, if they could be called that, came for me again later that night. Though they wore scrubs, they held their bodies with an ex-military air. They were far too efficient at holding me down when they needed to. Now was one of those times as I struggled ...

A friend recently told me that there have never been any consequences to my poor decisions. The thing is, there is always a consequence of any action. My consequence is I have to deal with the fact that I’m not as independent as I was when I first moved here eight years ago. This may ...

Wind scrapes my windowI snuggle deeper intomy book, its words ablanket, soft and warm. Time andreality disappear. Featured Photo courtesy of The Pixelman on Pixabay

 Read: Part One   **Trigger warnings: Mentions of violence and abuse** Someone to heal my heart. What an idea. Could there even be such a person? Calum’s gaze seemed to unlock all the secrets. Was I that bad at hiding? Would everyone I encountered be able to know me with nothing but a glance and ...

That was all the signal I needed. I ran towards the gate, following the other’s heading that way. No one would think anything as I moved through the crowd and out onto the docks. We had landed early and I was using that knowledge to hide my escape. Other guards thought that perhaps someone had ...