Chapter: FIFTY-ONEHer world was blurry, and she was finding it difficult to stay conscious. The harder she fought, the harder it became. She was going to have to let it happen. With as deep of an inhale as she could, she swallowed her breath and let herself fall into it.*****Everything was wavy; the beach, the sand, the clouds. Even the way Madison's hair whipped in the wind. Everything was also distorted, wrong, like she didn't belong there.Someone was out in front of her. They were tall, slender, and dark complected. As far as Madison could tell, the person had a kind face. They reached out a hand towards her, beckoning her to come closer. She took a step, but it was slow. The air was heavy, like she was standing on the moon. Everything was in slow motion, and she couldn't tell how far away the person was. Each step she took, the person always seemed the same distance away, but they weren't moving."Come, child," the person said. It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was nearly impossible to tel
Last Updated: 2024-02-01
Chapter: FIFTY“Whythe hell are you doing this?” Cameron mumbled. The gag dried out his mouth and made his tongue feel sandy, which made moving it to get the gag out all that more difficult. “You know why,” his stepfather answered, bent over the table Cameron was strapped to. The restraints sliced into his skin and bent his wrists at unnatural angles. “You’ve deceived me. You’ve lied. You’ve done everything in your power to overthrow me.” “Whatpower?” He finally spit the gag out. “You’re the freaking president. Ihaveno power. I d
Last Updated: 2023-10-01
Chapter: FORTY-NINEJustin forgot where they even were. He knew they were in the Keegan building, but between the ceiling falling, walking through a holographic wall, and having a mission of death assigned to them, he couldn't remember where in the building they were. The lack of labeling and entirely white walls all over the place didn't help ground him either. It was an endless maze, and the only way he knew to get out of it was to wait for himself to stop being able to breathe.Great,he thought. "Do you have any idea where we are?" He asked Carly, who shook her head no.They had just turned a corner and finally saw something different.Stairs. Justin ran to them and although they were white like the rest of the building, at least he might have foreseen something changing in the near future. He never thought he'd be so happy to see stairs."Up or down?" He asked Carly, beaming."Justin, we're at the bottom. The only way we can go is up."
Last Updated: 2023-09-30
Chapter: FORTY-EIGHT"Kill my father? No way." Cameron said. "Not happening." "Cameron, it's the only way," Dr. Jackson defended. "Besides, that's the only thing now that would truly free him, wouldn't it?" "No!" Cameron argued. "Cam," Madison put a hand on his shoulder, "can you imagine what your father is like now? After being in captivity by the one man who has beaten you foryears? He's been jailed by the man forfifteen years.We have to set him free, in the most humane way possible." "But that doesn't mean we have to fucking murder him!" "Cameron, I know this must be hard to understand, and that's okay, but I need you to listen to me. Even if we do somehow free your father from the government's hands, don't you think he would still be plagued by those 15 years? Think a decade and a half of post-traumatic stress disorder, on top of the amount he already had in response to the oxygen shortage. Wouldn't you want to be truly set
Last Updated: 2023-09-29
Chapter: FORTY-SEVENRock, plaster, and dust covered everything in a thick layer of ick. Justin coughed and spit on the floor, and Carly snapped at him for being gross.During the ceiling falling, and their chests becoming engulfed in choking clouds of dust, neither of them noticed the giant man that fell with the ceiling. The man was gargantuan, with a hooked nose and a scruffy beard, no hair on his head, and his breath was the scent of spoiled milk. He landed softly on the ground, noiselessly, and stalked away down the corridor. The only thing he left behind were footprints settled on the sooty ground."God, what was up with that?" Justin finally finished coughing."I don't know, but look," Carly pointed to the footprints of what had to have been at least a size 14 foot."Geez, who is that? Bigfoot?" Justin followed them, walking carefully so his own footprints did not disturb them.It didn't take long for them to catch up with the beast. He was large, but what he made up for in size, he lacked in speed
Last Updated: 2023-09-29
Chapter: FORTY-SIX"Gross, Cameron," Madison jumped back."If you really believe that, does that mean you hate our government?" Cameron asked after wiping his mouth."I don't really feel comfortable answering that, considering who I'm speaking to," Dr. Jackson spoke carefully.Cameron stared, "Do you really think I'm a fan of my stepfather?" He chuckled. "The man beats me. I want to see him in the ground."Dr. Jackson's eyes widened. "Yes, I despise everything about them.""Good," Cameron's face sparkled. A new potential ally amongst all the other enemies in this wretched, fucked up world was exactly what they needed. "We may need your help.""How so?" Dr. Jackson asked hesitantly."I need you to befriend my stepfather," even Madison's head turned when Cameron said that."Why?" Dr. Jackson was infinitely more suspicious than he already was."Because we think he's up to something he shouldn't be, and we have reasonable evidence or whatever it is you say we need in class for a theory, but I can't tell you
Last Updated: 2023-09-28
