Marcus heard Shawn’s mother wailing on the rooftop a few blocks away. He and Fitz paddled steadily in grim silence. The sound of morning animals rose around them. Seagulls and sandpipers chirped, squawked, and sometimes alighted on the water nearby to peck at a morsel. Gray clouds grew thinner, and the sun peeked over rooftops. ...

“Can you zoom in right here?” Nathan points to a shadow on the computer screen. Sophie clicks to make it larger, the image morphing into thick towers of coral reaching towards the sky. “Damn! Just another coral shelf.” Nathan rubs a palm down his face. He leans back in his chair and rolls his shoulders. ...

Peris couldn’t remember feeling more relieved than she did when Nor disengaged from the rusty hatch and they put the whole dirty-minded, overheated space station behind them. Let’s get away from here! She transmitted, but she barely bothered to stay engaged after they cleared the arms of the flimsy metal snowflake.   Nor glided blithely ...

Later that day, I returned to the newspaper’s office; we agreed to meet in person to discuss my story. The other employees had the rest of the week off, and despite how suspicious it seemed, they jumped at the chance to relax. I sat at the conference room desk and waited for Miss Billings. All ...

The eight-foot alligator had disappeared beneath the sea’s debris-littered surface. Empty soda bottles, plastic bags, and random household objects bumped against one another in the light current. Fitz pulled his dangling leg onto the raft and observed their surroundings with a narrowed gaze. “Did you see where it went?” “No,” Marcus quavered. “What the hell ...

“It’s been two days!” I tuck my feet under me and hand Sophie the TV remote. “How long does it take to make a simple decision?” “Now you know why I don’t get along with my dad,” Xander huffs. He lay sprawled on the adjacent couch with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. His ...

Georgiana wasn’t sure what to think when George Wickham called on her for the first time. They had met at the local park and had taken a brief stroll together, but she never expected their acquaintance to go beyond that chance reunion. It surprised her when Mr. Wickham asked for the directions to her rented ...

My aunt’s actions put me in an uncomfortable situation, and I couldn’t help but harbor a sense of bitterness towards her. It was difficult to ask for answers when she was no longer alive. The responsibility of uncovering the truth weighed on my shoulders. I lay in bed and struggled to shake off the overwhelming ...

After crying for an hour, I calmed down to pay the technicians and drove home. My heart still ached the rest of the afternoon and into the night, and only a pint of chocolate ice cream comforted me until I fell asleep. It wasn’t a restful sleep. I found myself in a nightmare of a ...

Two bright red fiberglass oars dipped into murky seawater, propelling the kayak raft forward a few frustrating inches at a time. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, with occasional wind gusts swirling moisture around the bedraggled group. Thick air muffled Bella’s infuriated screams. Each wail grated against Marcus’s increasingly fragile nerves. She cried ...