Half awake, 16-year-old Gizela fought against the entanglement of her sweat-drenched bedsheets. Exhaustion straddled her chest. She stretched her mouth in a forced yawn and reached for a snatch of oxygen, forcing it down her throat into her chest. On the third try, she managed. She untangled her legs and slumped on the edge. Sightless, she stared at her dream catcher hanging against the
Jína grimaced and rubbed her neck. A dull ache had lodged out of reach behind her shoulder blades. She gripped the edge of her desk, pushed back her office chair and wiggled her feet into her sturdy black pumps. She raised her arms above her head, lifted her chin, and stretched up to the ceiling. The vertebrae in her back cracked. She tucked
Disoriented, Belle sat up in the claustrophobic dark. Her mouth tasted gritty. She inhaled. The smell of mildew mixed with half-rotten beetroot assailed her. Her nostrils flared. Her stomach revolted and shot a live-fire ball of acid into her throat. She gagged. The top half of her body folded over. She opened her mouth and expelled a dribble of bitter bile. Belle rocked back
Black Gold Dusk crawled into the sky, throwing its hazy cloak over sky and land. A cold evening breeze rode in on its coat tails. 14 year old Evvie shivered in her threadbare coat, crouching behind the rocks at the entrance to the mine. Cramps licked her calves with their hot silky tongues, curling the tip around a tendon here and there. She shuffled
An Evil Spell An eerie pregnant stillness hung in the air. The full moon’s bright light filtered through the large uncurtained window, pervading the hallway. It lit upon the huge red oak door at the bottom of the stairs. Entranced 18 year old Myrine stood at the top of the stairs. A dreamy smile played on her full rosy lips. One dainty hand rested
