Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 186
186 _Vallah! Get down from there before you break your neck!_ _But there's this huge bug up here, Father! You gotta see it! Its fangs are like, this big!_ She held her arms as far apart as they would go to indicate the sheer size of the mystery...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 177
177 Ander felt the pain before anything else. It came back slowly, seeping through the fog of his delirium like blood through shredded rags. Every inch of him soon turned into a screaming, throbbing collection of pain, but the worst of it was...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 176
176 Ander had been drifting in and out of consciousness, but he had no idea for how long. The only measure of time he had was the lantern at the top of the stairs, shining in the dark like a beacon, egging him on. He'd grab hold of one of the risers,...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 180
180 "No..." That was all Ander had time to say. Banno lunged forward, jaws working, teeth snapping. The tines of the pitchfork scraped along the stairs, scratching three thick furrows into the wood. Without stopping to think, Ander grabbed Hezzi and...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 179
179 "I'm sorry..." Hezzi whispered, staring down in horror at Banno's body. "I'm sorry... I- I'm sorry..." His eyes went glassy and unfocussed. He swayed in place and began to pitch backward. He raised his arm, but it was an unconscious response, as...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 178
178 Ander reached for the stairs, but even this small movement was torture. He slid down to the floor, gasping for air and leaving an arcing streak of blood against the wall, his fingertips barely brushing the first step. He felt heavy, as if someone...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 142
142 Tio could actually feel the heat baking off of her. It wasn't the fire, and it wasn't the blood, it was her, _just her_, as if her anger had come alive. "Layla-Kai?" He looked up, seeing for the first time just what she was changing into, what...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 141
141 Layla ran full tilt into what felt like a fuzzy brick wall, hard enough to rebound and land on her tail with a painful thump. She looked up at the creature looming over her, feeling smaller than small, feeling like a mouse caught between the claws...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 140
140 It started with the sound. The roar of the burning tree coming down on top of them. Thick, black branches cloaked in flame slammed into her back, but before she met the ground, before she even allowed herself to feel the pain, she pulled Tio in...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 139
139 The pine needles were cold and prickly against her palms, wet with a mixture of ice melt and blood. Her fingers were numb. _Everything_ was numb. "Why?" she whispered to herself for the hundredth time, staring up at the wall of fire. "Why!?" She...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 58
58 Kiana really didn't know what to do with herself anymore. Previously, it had felt like there were never enough hours in the day to do everything she wanted, but now they seemed to ooze along like snails, and this grim silence hanging over the house...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 59
59 "Oh, gods... Oh dear, sweet gods..." Vicky had gone to the window to close the curtains when the snow started to come down heavy, but now her hand was frozen on the cheap fabric. Her own reflection stared back at her from inside the glass, a pale...