Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 35
35 The day was sunny and beautiful, much too beautiful. This was a day for picnics by the river, or a horse ride in the fields, or just for sitting on the porch, watching the clouds go by. Days like this weren't made for double funerals in the dark...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 34
34 He stood before his own front door, feeling absurdly like he should knock, like a stranger visiting a stranger's house. He reached for the knob, still not knowing what he was going to say or do, when it was pulled open from the other side. It was...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 33
33 "James?" He didn't want to raise his head, not after the way she had called his name: so softly, so delicately, like the sound alone might break him. He was fine just sitting here, looking down at his shoes, tap-tap-tapping in his restlessness....
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 32
32 "And what are you up to, sonny-boy?" James asked, watching the strange tableau his son had created. Luke was sitting cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by all manner of clothes and preserved food items, trying to figure out the best way to stuff...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 31
31 "So what really happened in there?" Luke asked, but to Valery it didn't sound like he actually cared that much. Also, she didn't like the way the gaps in the barn's walls threw lines of light across his face, like warpaint. "Banno scratched his...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 30
30 It was black, but it was also not black. Kadai could see shapes swimming in the darkness, moving from one side to the other like silver fish, leaving glowing trails behind them, constantly shifting in colour. Was this a dream? He wanted to reach...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 29
29 Did they notice it yet? Banno didn't think so. They were too concerned with what was going on in this bed to bother looking down at the floor. He only had moments to think, but this itch... this damnable, infuriating, constant, incessant, ITCH!! It...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 27
27 "Dad?" Luke said, not quite sure what he intended to say, but feeling like he might not get another chance for a very long time. "Hmm?" Dad looked back, his hand resting on the doorknob. There was so much Luke wanted to say to him, but he was...
Ander - Part 4: Subchapter 26
26 _Now what do we have here?_ Banno thought, looking up at something he's never seen before. A series of black and white sketches, neatly framed, neatly lined up against the wall, neatly spaced in equal intervals. There were some butterflies, some...
Ander - Part 2: Subchapter 31
31 All alone with her child, Sarah was finally able to whisper the things she had wanted to say when her father first returned him to her shaking arms. "Don't worry, baby, I'm here..." she crooned, lovingly kissing him on the forehead. His cries were...
Ander - Part 2: Subchapter 29
29 "Oh dear gods Mother I'm going to die!" Sarah screamed. It felt like her midriff was being stabbed by daggers, daggers that were on fire, flaming daggers that were also coated with poison, and those flaming daggers coated with poison were somehow...
Ander - Part 2: Subchapter 28
28 "'Be careful what you wish for,' they say." Sarah had taken a handkerchief from the folds of her dress to wipe away the errant tears that occasionally snuck through her guard, and Ander wondered whether it could be the very same one she had used...