Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 157
157 James jerked awake to the sound of someone hammering on the door. For a moment he had no idea where he was, and no way to look around, either, because there was something warm and fluffy pressed right up against his face. _Valery?_ She had one...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 156
156 It was dark. Too dark. He could barely see where he was going, but he couldn't stop. He had to keep going. His kids needed him to keep going, no matter what. They were all so tired, but there wasn't any time to rest. It was gaining. _Come on!_...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 155
155 Banno could see them up ahead; golden squares of light in the storm, beckoning him closer. Every snowflake falling past that light was transformed into a dying flame, as if her very presence was enough to make them real. "Don't worry, girl, we're...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 154
154 A stillness spread through the crowd. It lasted for only a moment, but in that moment, there were no more screams in the distance. No shouts. No roars. No sounds of teeth sawing through flesh or arrows piercing skin. There was only the crackle of...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 153
153 Sarah felt as if some horrible, sadistic demon had cut her open from throat to groin and scooped out all her insides, bones and all, leaving her completely hollow, numb to all sensations except pain. She knew she was crying, but she couldn't feel...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 152
152 "Who's still in there!?" someone shouted. Bethany did not know who. "For the love of the Cora, who's still in there!?" Voices. That's all they were. "Thoka, you and Ivio keep to the south side! Don't let those freaks get through! Denko, you stay...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 151
151 The flames had grown too high to even think about climbing over the top (not unless she wanted to char the meat right off her bones), so she threw herself down onto her stomach and pressed her cheek flat against the ground. Thank the gods the...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 150
150 With every gasp of air, she inhaled a lungful of bittersweet smoke, laced with the smell of burning leaves and something far more unpleasant, something almost profane: the stench of scorched fur and broiling meat. She could hear screams of pain...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 149
149 "Get up! Get the hell up!" The world came back in fits and starts; little pieces of sensory input that didn't make a whole lot of sense at first, conflicting messages that made her wonder if anything was real or if she was back in that horrid...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 148
148 There was light all around her, but not a good kind of light. Not a comforting light. This light was heavy, runny, almost like melted cheese, dripping down the walls of this place in thick, goopy strands. Her head hurt. Bethany raised a hand to...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 147
147 There were feelings, but they were all dulled, muffled, as if wrapped in cloth... _No, this isn't a cloth. It's something else. Something warm and fluffy._ For a moment it felt like she was about to break through whatever thin membrane was...
Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 146
146 Dorin kept putting one foot in front of the other. Even though it felt like he would collapse at any second, even though it felt like his legs would buckle, even though his muscles were screaming, even though there was blood dripping down his...