belle4602

Regina, Shadow, and Max all returned before dark. As soon as Tanner and I saw them, we went over to Regina. She noticed us heading her way with a suspicious gleam in her dark brown eyes. Shadow and Max both moved on to different areas of the warehouse in silence. “Regina,” Tanner began. “We wanted to talk to you about something.” She raised a brow at us and nodded. “Yeah, I got that vibe.” She ticked her head towards the door, and we followed her outside. She turned to us and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. My stomach rolled at the look she gave us. “You told them, didn’t you?” Tanner quickly jumped in before I could respond. “No, listen. We wanted to ask if everything was okay between you and Shadow.” Her brows scrunched at his response. “What are you talking about?” Tanner shrugged. “Come on. We know how the two of you are. You don’t just suddenly stop trusting someone for no reason. So, did something happen?” She shook her head, pushing past us. “It’s none of your

When Ashton had woken up the next morning, it was not because he had heard his dad walk into the house as he had planned, his usual confirmation of sleepy footsteps dragging through the hallways accompanied by phone-calls and a cup of black coffee. No, this time it was with two hands fiercely pinned to his shoulders, and a pair of terrified hazel eyes blazing down at him. He could hear Chad yelling at him, feel the fingertips dig into his shoulders as they shook him awake, but it was not until the world finally focused, and the fact that none of the usual steps had occurred, that his eyes finally snapped open. There was a sickening, quiet moment, where Ashton and Chad simply stared into each other, each reflecting the own terror they both shared in their eyes. Neither could bring themselves to ask the inevitable. Chad knew it, and Ashton was begging that what he was beginning to fear wasn’t the case. He began to slowly look to his side, where Rose would’ve been sleeping, but before

Deep in the North American wilderness there's a forest split in two by a massive wall. Colossal wooden beams and steel poles held up by equally large bolts and thick metal cables, all woven together to create the world's largest electric fence. At the right altitude this wall can be seen for miles, stretching on and on to form a wide ring sectioning off hundreds of acres of the forest. From that same altitude, it's possible to see why the wall's there in the first place. Not far beyond the fence, everything starts to grow. The transition is slow at first. Trees around forty to fifty feet tall, grass that comes up past a grown man's shoulders. Then things start to get bigger. Shrubs that dwarf the mighty redwoods, puddles to rival the Great Lakes. It's not just the flora either, but the fauna. Herds of skyscraper sized deer roam beneath the leafy canopy. Squirrels the size of minivans foraging for acorns bigger than beach balls. They aren't the only beings inhabiting the macro

“Are you almost done?” Xander had his arms folded over the railing of the platform, leaning heavily. Everyone swore the print and trinket accommodations were sturdy, so he saw no issue with sprawling halfway over. “Five minutes.” Grayson had his back to him. He was the only one on the platform, tapping away a phone screen that looked more like a TV screen to him. “You said that fifteen minutes ago,” Xander huffed, dropping his chin on the platform. “I’m hungry…” He pouted when Grayson didn’t respond, reaching out to poke him between the shoulders. “You’re just being an overachiever with data at this point. The numbers aren’t going anywhere, c’mon.” Grayson didn’t turn around. “It’s important. If you stop whining at me, maybe I’ll be done quicker.” “Hey. I’m not whining.” “Sorry.” Grayson gave him the briefest glance. “I meant moaning.” Now he was asking for it. Xander straightened, looming effortlessly, but Grayson didn’t react to his shadow falling over him. Leaning in

No one in their right mind would complain about sharing a bed with someone who looked like Xander. Well, maybe no human would complain. As a print, Grayson felt he had every right to, though he managed to keep it to himself. If he had known about the sleeping arrangements, he would have thought twice about letting Everly drag him on this adventure. Sleeping arrangements was a loose term. He doubted he’d get any sleep tonight. He curled up as close to the edge of the pillow as he could, keeping his back to the human he shared the bed with. Before settling in for the night, Xander had taken notice of Grayson’s blatant attempt at personal space. “Would you feel better if I put the pillow on the floor?” Xander had asked. Grayson couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. He didn’t seem familiar with smiles, let alone jokes. Xander, who had the luxury of not needing to fear for his life, fell asleep with no trouble. Across from the bed, a wall screen played at a low volume, casting the

She sat on the arm of the couch, Jesse’s personal phone propped up in front of her. It was the size of a flat screen, but she had gotten used to the fact that she would never be able to hold palm-sized tech again. Eyes fixed on the screen, she murmured the words of the e-book with reverence. Ever since she had found her voice again, it was like the floodgates had opened all she wanted to do was speak. It took a few days to stop fearing that the mental block of her muteness would reappear. Jesse gave an aggravated sigh that made her tear her gaze from the screen. He was slumped on the couch cushion beside her, typing away at one of his burner phones. Maybe a deal hadn’t gone through. Pursing her lips, she gazed back at the screen without reading it. Now that she had her voice, she could easily broach the idea that Jesse could find something safer to do with his life. But despite all his kindness, despite his sweet comfort when he found out why she was sentenced to be a trinket, the

The longer Ramona was away, the more certain Will was that she wouldn’t come back. Maybe she had finally come to her senses and would steer clear of him from now on. But he knew she was too stubborn for that, so a different worry surfaced. What if someone had stopped her from visiting him? When she first sought him out in the rebellion base, she’d needed to beg to be allowed near him. As he paced his room, he debated on going out to look for her. His room wasn’t locked. He was no longer under careful monitoring. The problem was he wouldn’t know where to start looking. His own reclusiveness kept him from knowing his way around the base. “Will!” He stopped, eyes dropping to seek the tiny voice. Ramona stood at his ajar door, hands cupped over her mouth to be heard. She waved when he spotted her. Jolting, Will dropped to his knees and swept both hands around her. “What are you doing down there?” He stood quickly, instinct telling him that the further she was from the floor, the