Escaping the Storm: Part 5
Part 5 As strange as it might have sounded, Erik found his first Wednesday of work required far more getting used to than he'd expected. Sure, it involved stacking those same shelves in that same busy supermarket, but the little things came together...
Foundations: Part 9 (AaO Side Story)
_ **Part 9** _ _(Jonas)_ "Martin was the first Maleni I really got to know back at high school." "Maleni?" Alen mumbled past the finger in his mouth, slipping it out to swipe up more residue from his glass. "Really?" "You sound surprised?" "I...
Foundations: Part 6 (AaO Side Story)
_ **Part 6** _ _(Alen)_ What remained of Saturday came and went at a staggering pace. That afternoon, I joined Jonas and his family on their trip to Kastenic, a larger town just along the coast. The pool that Mirko had suggested to us back in...
Writer's Block
_ **Writer's Block** _ "None of this works!" I launched my pen clear across the desk. The pad I used to jot down ideas followed it right after. These blank pages glaring back just pissed me off even more. It'd been forever and a day since I'd managed...
Getaway: Part 11
_ **Part 11** _ Tuesday afternoon. The weather had cleared up since the day before. Outside, bold sunshine reached everything, bringing out the colour of the dated apartment buildings opposite, the trees and shrubs around them, even the people...
Small-scale Surgery
_ **Small-scale Surgery** _ '_Stopping off at the store later. What would you like for dinner?'_ My husband's text half-distracted me from the patient file I'd almost finished up with. I'd not long since scoffed down some lunch, but that didn't stop...
Theatre of War
Theatre of War "Move, move!" People rushed past me, running for their lives. "Keep going!" Screams of terror cut the air. "Don't stop!" A clap of thunder overtook us all. The asphalt rumbled. The screaming got louder. I fought hard to stay...
Getaway: Parts 8 & 9
_ **Part 8** _ There wasn't a chance in hell of carrying on with my planning... or relaxing... or doing anything beyond discarding myself on the bed of this dead, lonely hotel room. Outside, life went on. I watched the evening sky turn to black,...
Escaping the Storm: Part 9
_ **Part 9** _ Walking down to the kitchen for breakfast the following morning felt more akin to swimming through molasses; each step reminding Erik of the rough night's sleep he'd endured. Tuesdays, and the prospect of another week of work, were...
Getaway: Parts 1 & 2 (AaO Side Story)
**_Getaway_** **_Part 1_** Everything jerked at once. My monitor and fan rocked back and forth. Pens skittered and tumbled off of the desk. Hell, even the fully-loaded filing were thumping. The shaking affected everything, all the way through...
Foundations: Part 8 (AaO Side Story)
Part 8 (Alen) For me, subtitled movies could be tough to follow sometimes once their pace really got going. This one had taken me onto a whole new level, however. Actors seemed to take every opportunity possible to switch back and forth between...
Special Delivery
_ **Special Delivery** _ Morozovo. Fuckin' Morozovo. Of all the places to get transferred over to. They couldn't have moved me any further north without pushing me out of Zelengorod entirely. I'd been driving flatout for almost an hour already, and...