order again, I’ll be the one to decide your fate, not Father, you get me?”
Darryl had been crawling backward slowly but now he paused, stunned . Father? They didn’t mean Lawson, did they? He called himself “Father?” That disgusting, horrifying, piece of crap. Bile raced up his throat and he jumped to his feet. “And who decides our fate, Silas ? Do you decide that too?”
The Ghost turned to him, the ice blue eyes s licing through him like needles. This time there was no one to stop the blow. The world exploded as The Ghost’s fist connected with his temple.
“Darryl!”
It was a woman’s scream . Georgie’s? His brain tried to process but his thoughts kept going wah-wah-wah like someone had left the alarm on.
“No stop, please! Stop!” The voice came in waves behind the wah-wah-wah.
Another sledgehammer slammed into his gut and he buckled. The ground rushed up to meet him. His head bounced on the frozen ground and his lip split. More bright red splotches in the snow , Darryl thought, delirious. Silas pressed his boot to Darryl’s head, pressing down, smashing his face into the snow-caked mud.
“No, no, please stop, stop please, stop it!” Georgina was sobbing, clutching a terrified Kiara. “He was just trying to protect me.”
“Stop, Georgie,” he wanted to say, but his mouth wouldn’t work . He wanted to warn her to stop. She was being too loud. They were going to hurt her.
Silas’ foot pressed harder against his temple until Darryl was sure his head would split open. “Yes, I do decide your fate out here, you piece of shit.” He released Darryl’s head and crouched to look him in the eye. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
No Rest for the Weary
-------------- Fi --------------
The dream was always the same.
She was running across a Dead Zone, the wind whipping the dirt into her face and stinging her eyes. She was searching and the urgency of the search burned in her blood. Something was missing, something important. She’d forgotten it, or left it behind. She kept running, her head swiveling as she searched. Suddenly she saw something on the horizon, a dark shape against the shimmering heat.
She turned toward it and ran harder, the shape growing and then breaking into multiple shapes as she drew near . They were scattered in all directions — small, dark bundles lying still in the dust. When she reached the first, her heart began to pound as she recognized the outline of a shoe.
Within another two steps she realized that it was a body. Her stomach turned and she spun, taking in all the shapes as she ran to the next. This one was smaller — a woman, her dark hair fanned out from her head, her eyes staring blankly at the sun. Pressed into the center of her chest was a red handprint.
Fi recognized this woman. It was a scientist from the lab where she worked in Eden. Startled, she backed away and then whirled as she tripped over another body: a man she also recognized, the same red handprint dried on his shirt. No, no no . Fi stared in horror at all the bodies. No…
As she backed away, the ground rose and she saw that the bodies formed a shape — a symbol — the circle with the upturned palm, and in the center, the capital “T.” Rivulets of black blood ran from the bodies into the center where a small, lone body lay, pink and broken.
“No! ” Fi raced forward, stumbling. Anguish coursed through her as she reached Kiara’s body and saw her throat gaping open, the frozen river of blood mixed with her blue-black hair. Fi scooped her up and she was cold and stiff, like kindling in her arms. “No, no, nooooooooooo,” she keened, rocking her little sister’s lifeless body.
“Why , Fi?” A voice from above startled her and she looked up, but saw nothing. Her body wracked with sobs and her face was hot and soaked with tears. “Why?” The voice repeated itself and she felt her heart turn to ice. “You promised me, Fi.” Her
Darryl had been crawling backward slowly but now he paused, stunned . Father? They didn’t mean Lawson, did they? He called himself “Father?” That disgusting, horrifying, piece of crap. Bile raced up his throat and he jumped to his feet. “And who decides our fate, Silas ? Do you decide that too?”
The Ghost turned to him, the ice blue eyes s licing through him like needles. This time there was no one to stop the blow. The world exploded as The Ghost’s fist connected with his temple.
“Darryl!”
It was a woman’s scream . Georgie’s? His brain tried to process but his thoughts kept going wah-wah-wah like someone had left the alarm on.
“No stop, please! Stop!” The voice came in waves behind the wah-wah-wah.
Another sledgehammer slammed into his gut and he buckled. The ground rushed up to meet him. His head bounced on the frozen ground and his lip split. More bright red splotches in the snow , Darryl thought, delirious. Silas pressed his boot to Darryl’s head, pressing down, smashing his face into the snow-caked mud.
“No, no, please stop, stop please, stop it!” Georgina was sobbing, clutching a terrified Kiara. “He was just trying to protect me.”
“Stop, Georgie,” he wanted to say, but his mouth wouldn’t work . He wanted to warn her to stop. She was being too loud. They were going to hurt her.
Silas’ foot pressed harder against his temple until Darryl was sure his head would split open. “Yes, I do decide your fate out here, you piece of shit.” He released Darryl’s head and crouched to look him in the eye. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
No Rest for the Weary
-------------- Fi --------------
The dream was always the same.
She was running across a Dead Zone, the wind whipping the dirt into her face and stinging her eyes. She was searching and the urgency of the search burned in her blood. Something was missing, something important. She’d forgotten it, or left it behind. She kept running, her head swiveling as she searched. Suddenly she saw something on the horizon, a dark shape against the shimmering heat.
She turned toward it and ran harder, the shape growing and then breaking into multiple shapes as she drew near . They were scattered in all directions — small, dark bundles lying still in the dust. When she reached the first, her heart began to pound as she recognized the outline of a shoe.
Within another two steps she realized that it was a body. Her stomach turned and she spun, taking in all the shapes as she ran to the next. This one was smaller — a woman, her dark hair fanned out from her head, her eyes staring blankly at the sun. Pressed into the center of her chest was a red handprint.
Fi recognized this woman. It was a scientist from the lab where she worked in Eden. Startled, she backed away and then whirled as she tripped over another body: a man she also recognized, the same red handprint dried on his shirt. No, no no . Fi stared in horror at all the bodies. No…
As she backed away, the ground rose and she saw that the bodies formed a shape — a symbol — the circle with the upturned palm, and in the center, the capital “T.” Rivulets of black blood ran from the bodies into the center where a small, lone body lay, pink and broken.
“No! ” Fi raced forward, stumbling. Anguish coursed through her as she reached Kiara’s body and saw her throat gaping open, the frozen river of blood mixed with her blue-black hair. Fi scooped her up and she was cold and stiff, like kindling in her arms. “No, no, nooooooooooo,” she keened, rocking her little sister’s lifeless body.
“Why , Fi?” A voice from above startled her and she looked up, but saw nothing. Her body wracked with sobs and her face was hot and soaked with tears. “Why?” The voice repeated itself and she felt her heart turn to ice. “You promised me, Fi.” Her
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