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On the Red Line, Part 4
“Now departing for Nielsen Quay. Please stand clear of the doors,” the recording warned. Sakari leaped onto the train just as the doors were closing. Cara and Mia caught a pole as the train took off, but the force pushed Sakari onto his knees. “You okay?” David asked him.
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On the Red Line, Part 3
The noise inside the train shifted. First, a whoosh as the train left the tunnel. Then, the click-clack of the wheels dipped beneath the rush of wind. From the sounds alone, the four passengers knew that they were traveling above ground now. Mia restarted the conversation with “So, where were you two when the weirdness…
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On the Red Line, Part 2
“Arrived at Crystal Towers. Next stop: Dalton Avenue.” The announcement stirred David and Sakari awake, just in time to see two women board the train. They looked like sisters. Both had golden blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. One had braided her hair while the other wore a hair clip that held hers up in…
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On the Red Line, Part 1
Sakari ran down the dark, damp street toward the subway station, splashing through puddles left behind by the rain. Buttery gold street lights guided him through the night to a high-rise office building sandwiched between two theaters. A brightly lit sign printed with the subway system’s wheel-shaped logo and the words “Paulownia Square” marked the…
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Crystal Towers
Martinez stood on the roof of one of the business district’s eponymous Crystal Towers. On a sunny day, the virtually identical steel and glass skyscrapers lived up to the name. But today, the sky was an ominous gray. It was always windy this high up, yet Martinez could still feel a storm coming — in…
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Friday Flash 15: By the Sacred Flame
Your wounds ache. Your body is heavy. You remember collapsing in the snow, but that is all you remember.
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A Day at Camp Cottonwood
You walk through the woods in the dim light of dawn. You’re surprised by how far your memory has taken you. The path is narrower now, nearly clogged with young bushes and saplings. The buildings are still here, ready to collapse, covered in moss and vines, bleached pale or rotted to muddy brown. It’s your…
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Friday Flash 14: Safe Room
Emma, Lance, and Riley stood around the desk, staring at a sheet of paper. A large symbol was drawn on it — a mass of thick, black, sharp tendrils forming a circular, labyrinthine knot. They couldn’t pull their eyes away from it. The knot led their minds into a deep, dark place. None of them…
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Friday Flash 13: Crossing the Divide
A fire crackles in the distance. Your head still throbs. The fever still weighs heavy on you. You open your eyes and find yourself lying in a bed inside a small cabin. You remember collapsing suddenly, so you could be awake. Someone might have found you and brought you here. But you aren’t sure. There’s…
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Friday Flash 12: The Lake Between Worlds
You paddle your boat across the dark, still water. You don’t know how you got here or why you have come to this place. The fog is slowly consuming your memories. It wasn’t always there. You had a home and a family once — before the fog stole them.