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Despite the guards’ best efforts to make sure none of them had any idea of where they were, Noah found out. The accent of some of the guards, the faint smell of corn that sometimes followed them. Oh and the conversation they had right outside his door while they thought he was passed out. They...

Freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom. The first taste of something he hadn’t felt in two years. The Institute was moments away, everyone he had missed was just moments away. Edith, Thomas, Hileena, and more. He missed the noise of it all, strangely. The sound of children laughing and his friends...

(TW: ableism/ableist comments from not Noah, referenced/technical character death) “How could you have known?” Edith sat across from Noah- or, whatever had been pretending to be Noah. Her leg bounced incessantly, her nerves completely shot. It was normally a motion that Noah would copy- he...

It was probably by chance that he heard the commotion from outside. It was probably by chance that there was no guard at his door, too busy taking care of whatever problem it was that the latest arrival was causing. He’d heard her name and number in passing- just another new one that would be...

“No!” A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the library. Thomas ran, pushing Leander away from what was left of Noah’s body. He fell to his knees beside the corpse. His hands flickered about, like he was searching for something to do. But there was nothing to be done. Thomas couldn’t even cling...

The thing that wore Noah’s face only grinned at Leander’s attack, not even flinching as blood welled up from between its teeth. It didn’t seem to feel anything- no remorse, no guilt, no pain. Its eyes drifted upwards, locking with Leander’s. “As if they would ever believe the apprentice of...

“Thanks.” Edith accepted the pack of Monster, resigning herself to finishing off at least half of it. Usually one or two did the trick, stimulating something in her brain that made her visions increase in frequency. Three or more usually guaranteed one. Now, after five consumed and crushed...

Dhariya didn’t smoke. It made her head feel fuzzy and her mouth impossibly dry, and overall it wasn’t pleasant. She got anxious when she got high- yeah, he was one of those, don’t judge him. All this to say, getting invited to one of the smoke sessions didn’t fill him with excitement because of...

His eighteenth birthday was five days ago. Officially an adult, officially able to vote and go to war- like he hadn’t been at war his whole life. There wasn’t a party, not enough time or enough interest in one to justify having it. He’d received a crudely wrapped package from Styr. Opening it...

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since that disaster of a rally and a disaster of a team meeting. It had been two weeks since she lost her cool and her patience. Things around the Institute had been different since then. She had been different since then. Her fuse was shorter, her visions were...

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. If there was one thing he could remember no matter what, it was the words and phrases drilled into his head. From childhood, it was the Bible. Verses injected into his bloodstream, pounded against his brain until...

“Styr, please.” His head hurt from Styr’s screams. Thomas remembered screams like those- the rally, dinner when he was six, the betrayal of Morgan- and he hated them. He wished he could hold Styr tighter, compress all the sadness and pain out of him like a fruit juicer. He wished he could do a...

“They used to be better.” Thomas spoke quietly, eyes pointed towards the floor. He was perched on the edge of his bed, shoes gone and jacket discarded. He didn’t want to point it out, but it was true. They had grown complacent. In earlier years, when Thomas was young and had already suffered...

“Do you…did you…uh…” Thomas struggled with the words for a moment. Not a lot you can say to someone who was friends with your now dead best friend. Well, there was a lot, just all pointless stuff, like “I’m sorry for your loss,” or “my condolences.” All stupid, pointless stuff. Words did...

I belong. We both do. It was comparable to being punched in the chest. The breath whooshed out of Lurch’s lungs, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t respond, just listening to Alexander. The other man’s voice was soothing. It seemed like pain wasn’t the only thing that could ground him. He...

Edith’s speech was the last straw. As soon as the bus stopped and the staff ushered them off the bus, Lurch knew he had to get out of there. He needed somewhere peaceful, somewhere he could scream and until the world stopped feeling so suffocating. Today wasn’t a lesson, today was an accident...

Dhariya felt sick as they listened to the older woman speak. Nausea roiled in their stomach and a headache began to pound behind their eyes. A combination of physical and mental exertion, and a strange sense of guilt. She knew nothing of the protocols for safety that the woman had mentioned, nor...

Edith waited, a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, for everyone that was left to file into the bus. Standard vehicle, a mostly nondescript bus. Classic yellow, unsuspecting, exactly designed not to draw too much attention. Anything and everything that the Institute had was designed that way- cars...

Noah was worried. Pacing back and forth, picking at the feathers on his wings, the whole nine yards. He was always worried whenever the Institute was out without him- which was whenever the Institute was out at all. He kind of…couldn’t leave. Flashback to about a decade previous- yep, the...

“That’s what I do.” Dhariya nodded, turning back to the access door to the roof. In a building like this, in this area of town, it was unlikely that the guard had changed. He nodded again, taking a breath. “It’s easier if the person is extremely gullible- like that guard down there. Although…”...