stories

The Tracks 09/07/24 Freedom    “Jacob!”    He could hardly see, his frantic eyes finding terrifying shapes of imaginary men outlined in the tapestry of forest leaves flying past.    “Jacob, stop! ”    Her words didn't register. Time, that's what they needed. To put as much time and space between them and the creature as possible. The cold wind stung against the tears on his skin and his feet fell harder and faster as they fled further away from the empty city.    “Jacob — ”  

The Candle Of The Wicked 09/07/24 One hour to sacrifice    Jacob slipped out of the armory and obsessively checked his watch. Six o'clock exactly, almost time to move. His tense muscles trembled from nerves as he tried to look like he was walking as casually as possible through the sparsely-populated jail corridors towards the cell block, simultaneously sneaking his hand into his pocket and leaving the remote trigger he had just acquired safely inside.    As a building, Dawso

Recompense 09/06/24 One day to sacrifice    Every moment after was a daze. They ducked under the steel entrance to Dawson City Jail and separated almost immediately, leaving him standing solitary and outcast amidst the disorganized grounds as they dragged Diana Koh away to her waiting cell for slaughter.    Jacob Porter gradually moved about the campus, nearly invisible to the other inmates around him, his mind swimming in dreadful thought. He didn't want  to think, but the f

One Wrong Step 09/06/24 0 days until Ring inspection    The last day finally came, and they were getting out.    That late August morning was perfectly dreary for their plan. Diana woke Jacob before dawn, both of the wanderers weary and craving the fantasy of even a scrap of food, but the quiet knowledge that this was all they had been working towards kept their weary spirits as determined as they could be in their hungry fatigue. The rumbling gray clouds above them threatene

The Calm Before The Storm 09/02/24 Four days until Ring inspection    As much as they both wanted to get moving straight for the exit, their encounter at the train station had robbed them of all their supplies. Her notes, their meager stores of food, the lantern—everything that was in that bag had been ripped out on the asphalt a block away. That tiny solar panel tucked away in her jacket pocket was mockingly useless now without the lantern, but at least they still had the kn

What You Are 08/31/24 Six days until Ring inspection    “Diana? Diana!” He was shaking the woman violently but her eyes were not opening. “Diana!”    Smoke and dust from the explosion hid them from the city. Jacob crouched at her side in the haze, bruised from being thrown by the blast, but hurled into action by fear’s sharp sting. Splatters of food and smashed cans from her bag decorated the pavement along with the shredded body parts of the inmate who had unintentionally ta