Nobody told Marcus that planning a surprise party would require the organizational skills of a military general, the patience of a saint, and the ability to wrangle a golden retriever named Pretzel. He had none of these things. What he did have was a half-charged phone, a Pinterest board called "DANA'S 40TH!!!!" that he'd been … Continue reading The Worst Best Party Ever
Something I Made Up
What the Kudzu Covers
The house on Sycamore Lane smelled like cedar and someone else's life. Kyra Pelletier had expected that. She'd bought the place sight-unseen — a decision her sister called impulsive and her therapist called "a significant red flag" — but after fourteen years of Joel's opinions filling every room she'd ever occupied, impulsive felt like oxygen. … Continue reading What the Kudzu Covers
The Quiet Hours
The notification arrived at 6:47 in the morning, thirteen minutes before Mara Jenkins was scheduled to wake. She felt it before she saw it — the soft triple-pulse of her SleepBand against her wrist, the one that meant official correspondence, not an alarm, not a wellness check. Her eyes opened to the gray ceiling of … Continue reading The Quiet Hours
@noreply
The notification came at 2:47 in the morning, which was normal for Charlotte O'Dell. She kept her phone face-up on the nightstand because the algorithm didn't sleep, and neither did her followers. Her content niche was what she called "quiet horror" — not jump scares, not true crime, just atmosphere. Slow pans across foggy parking … Continue reading @noreply
Full Steam Ahead
The starter's pistol had not yet fired, and already Cobb Maddren was being laughed at. He stood on the observation deck of The Patched Pelican — his airship, his home, his inheritance — and watched the crowd below point and snicker. He couldn't blame them, really. Lined up along the launch rail at Valenport Aerodrome, … Continue reading Full Steam Ahead
Where Two Rivers Meet
The longbow in Astrid's hands was wrong. She knew it the moment she drew the string back — the pull too stiff, the arrow's fletching too long, the whole instrument built for a different kind of sky than the one she'd grown up under. Her mother's people made their bows short and curved, suited for … Continue reading Where Two Rivers Meet
The House on Vellum Street
The Carvers arrived on a Tuesday, which Claire would later think was significant. Not a weekend move, full of optimism and pizza boxes and friends making jokes about your furniture. A Tuesday — gray and still, the kind of day that doesn't commit to anything. The house at 14 Vellum Street was beautiful, in the … Continue reading The House on Vellum Street
The Last High Ground
The smell of salt and rot had become the same thing. Maren Voss stood at the edge of the seawall — what was left of it — and watched the morning tide crawl a little further inland than it had the day before. It always did. Every morning she made this walk, and every morning … Continue reading The Last High Ground
The Starfire Legacy
Captain Jayna Corvax stood on the bridge of the Crimson Marauder, her boots planted wide as the ship shuddered through another barrage of plasma fire. Red emergency lights painted her sharp features in dramatic shadows, highlighting the scar that ran from her left temple to her jawline—a souvenir from the Ganymede Heist three years ago. … Continue reading The Starfire Legacy
The Weight of Wings
Content Notice: This story deals with themes of suicide and mental health crisis. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, please reach out for help. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 (call or text) | Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 | You are not alone, and your life has … Continue reading The Weight of Wings
The Confusing Middle 