May 2025

“Don’t try to act clueless in front of your friends,” I spat. My head swam from the blow and it was difficult to focus on just one person: Alek looking bemused, a man who had pulled aside his jacket to reveal a gun tucked into his waistband, another with a wide frame and a square […]

“Slow him down!” I shouted over the wind that whipped between the buildings, howling at me as if even nature was on Alek’s side. “I’m trying!” Nell replied. “He’s slippery, just like the bugs.” Alek briefly looked over his shoulder at us and then banked sharply to dart inside an apartment complex. Chittering and the

My whole body reacted, straining to reach Nell’s side but the armored creature in the doorway held me fast in a grip that felt like an iron vise. “Nell!” I shouted. She stumbled back, face stricken with fear as the monster opened its large pincer with an audible snap. She raised her hands instinctively to