The ward was quieter than it should have been. Not silent—the ward was never silent, there were always pipes rumbling in the walls, footsteps somewhere above and the low moaning of a man three doors down who had not stopped since Tuesday—but the particular stillness of Edward’s bunk sat in the room like a new […]
I had been watching her for six days. This was not unusual. I watch most things. But I had been watching her with a specificity that surprised me—the way she replaced books on the shelves, for instance, running two fingers along the spine before releasing it, as though verifying it was properly returned. The angle […]
Professor Hendricks didn’t introduce himself in the usual way. He walked into the lecture hall five minutes past ten, late enough that all but the last few students had taken their seats, yet early enough that none had debated leaving. He strode down the aisle, a gauche gait with a limp in his left leg—noticeable […]
The train moved north through grey morning light, steady enough that the countryside seemed to glide rather than pass. Fields, hedgerows, and the occasional cluster of sheep standing in the drizzle as if waiting for instruction. I had a book open on my lap, but I wasn’t reading. At some point, the page turned, yet […]
I woke up, and my shoulder was sore. Not sore—throbbing. A deep ache in the muscle where they’d injected the medication yesterday. Or was it this morning? Time moves strangely here. Above me, I could hear Thomas breathing. He was already awake. He’s always awake before me, which he mentions constantly, as if being awake […]