The pain was gone, but I remained bowed to the floor. My hand covered my chest and the artificial Core embedded into it. I could feel my self-inflicted wound heal around the small Core, flesh wriggling as it reformed itself.
This stupid, low-quality, replica thingy couldn’t pierce my supe...
2025-06-08 14:17:52 +0000 UTC View PostAmber Deen Leska
Amber Deen clenched her teeth. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as the stress piled.
What was that nonsense about being heroes? As if it couldn’t be more obvious that Dario said it just to convince them to join.
This sinister organization...
2025-06-05 14:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post“So… are you guys with the Bureau of Interdimensional Defense?” I asked. Whatever story Dario would give, it wouldn’t be the truth. Not the complete truth, anyway.
“Not really,” Dario said. “We're under a different organization. A secret one.”
“The BID’s secret as ...
2025-06-04 14:53:11 +0000 UTC View Post“An artificial Core?” A few days ago, I was only concerned with law school, sweet treats, and movies. Now, there was bullshit like artificial Adumbrae and artificial Corebrings.
Was someone playing a prank on me? I wouldn’t be surprised if I were in some kind of reality show, and ever...
2025-06-01 14:48:52 +0000 UTC View PostAmber Deen Leska
Amber Deen was jolted awake by a sharp smell up her nose. It was like bleach, some strong cleaning product. She coughed and rubbed her nose, her mind spinning as she came to. Her eyelids were heavy as she opened them. The first thing she saw was the worried...
2025-05-31 15:55:00 +0000 UTC View PostSince Myra wasn’t human and was hanging out with other non-humans, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that her sister, Kelsey, was superpowered too. If so, it must’ve been Kelsey who fought the mutant on the train. Couldn’t have been too many women with superstrength taking the subway d...
2025-05-30 13:30:33 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re here to save me—us?” I really needed to see the movie script because I had no idea what was going on. This guy must be with those attacking the place. But who were they?
Ski Mask—the numbing headache impaired my nickname-generating organ—raised a finger to his mouth. He ...
2025-05-28 13:45:41 +0000 UTC View PostMy claws—I had freaking claws—breached the surface.
“What the hell is the?” That was my prey. My ears were still underground, but I heard him loud and clear. Not just his voice, but also his heartbeat began to hasten in fear. “Bigsby! Where are the others?”
“I-I...
2025-05-24 02:15:48 +0000 UTC View PostWell, she wasn’t exactly me. I am me!
This must be some Adumbrae mind trick to make me lower my guard or something. Not sure if it was working because she looked like a spooky version of me. Uncanny and odd. I didn’t feel any connection to her at all. Still, I preferred this to...
2025-05-23 07:36:46 +0000 UTC View PostI pulled Deen back before Purple Mohawk’s fist connected with her face. Deen was too shocked to react. Purple Mohawk yanked out his arm and tore away the front part of our cage.
“You bitches think you’ve got me ensnared by your scheme?” he snarled. “I’m no fool! Pray all you wan...
2025-05-21 12:57:52 +0000 UTC View Post“Yes, I’ll eat this brain,” Purple Mohawk replied, displaying a wild smile with perfect teeth. He scooped out a clump of brain with his knife—the mutant’s head wriggled a bit; I couldn’t be sure if it was still alive—and plopped the mush into his mouth. He savored it with gusto and ...
2025-05-19 15:34:29 +0000 UTC View PostBruised Lover warily checked the floor of his cage with the tip of his foot. It had hardened. He exited his cage, stretching his arms and legs. “I’m not going down without a fight, you traitor to humanity,” he said. “If I win, if I take down this ungodly creature… you fucking promise me...
2025-05-18 08:32:12 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m Mr. Firio, your host for the day.” Purple Mohawk walked forward, his boots splatting across the gore. “That won’t work, blondie,” he said, pointing at Deen’s phone, which she had gotten from her pocket. “I personally think that the current generation spends too much time on t...
2025-05-17 08:23:08 +0000 UTC View PostStraight for five minutes. Then, left. Right, straight, another right after two minutes. I think we got on the flyover. Were we stopping for a red light? Didn’t we have another red light back there? This shouldn’t be the flyover near my condo. Was that a turn to the left, or did the SUV just ...
2025-05-10 14:26:24 +0000 UTC View PostMy rowdy cousins, sons of Aunt Jemma, had a favorite expression—shriveling balls. They kept saying those stupid words when we rode a roller coaster. I had no idea how that’d feel like given I had no such body parts, but I could guess.
I bet the sensation fit the situation. Hey, it r...
2025-05-09 11:43:01 +0000 UTC View PostI never imagined I’d ever kill a person and go to their memorial service. What a funny string of events that led to this situation.
If only I could’ve gone on my own instead of with Deen. I had to attend the service; I’d come off as an asshole if I didn’t. It’d be super interestin...
2025-05-08 08:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostI had been standing for twenty minutes, staring at the board and playing a tune in my head. “Sir, no one can legally bind superhumans who can grind cities to dust. I don’t think anyone can tell them to play nice. We’re just lucky that they do.”
Deen inhaled sharply at my audacious a...
2025-05-03 01:59:40 +0000 UTC View PostDeen and I arrived in class with five minutes to spare. Professor Gallagher wasn’t in yet.
Our classmates were huddled into groups, animatedly talking as if the lecture hall were a marketplace. Some of them were watching videos. I bet their topic was the Adumbrae attack.
Normally, e...
2025-05-02 07:33:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Hmmm… My second day as a monster.”
Back and forth, back and forth, I stirred my cup of chamomile tea as I inhaled its relaxing fumes.
Don’t hit the sides, don’t hit the sides, I continuously chanted in my head, timing each stroke of the spoon with a syllable. 2025-05-01 05:13:49 +0000 UTC View Post
It was faint, but I was sure I was hearing footsteps. I turned the corner to the right. The sounds continued, louder. Someone was following me.
Could this be my much-anticipated attacker? I veered left, into a dark alley to embolden this asshat.
Again, just presenting an opportunity.<...
2025-04-30 13:15:12 +0000 UTC View PostI'll resume writing REND in a couple of days. But before that, I'm also preparing the blurb/summary of REND for the rewrite. Blurb is very important because it (along with the title and cover) attracts new readers. I'll really appreciate it if you give feedback/suggestions to the blurb I've come ...
2025-04-28 02:31:29 +0000 UTC View PostLittle Red Riding Hood? Did he call me that because of my hoodie? Though I liked the story of Little Red Riding Hood, I hated being called ‘little.’ If I were born elsewhere, like Asia or something, my height wouldn’t be considered too short.
I glanced at them again, eyes str...
2025-04-25 10:21:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Worse than a pus-filled pimple right on my nose,” I said. “Or not. I think I’ll take this growth over a pimple like that. Could an Adumbrae get a pimple?” I didn’t know the answer, but I knew this tiny crystalline lump wasn’t the last of it. “How to hide this…?”
A band-...
2025-04-24 07:55:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Hi, Mom,” I said, answering the phone.
“Erind, dear!” The phone wasn’t on loudspeaker, yet Mom’s strong voice reverberated throughout the corridor. “Thank goodness you picked up. I couldn’t contact you; I thought something bad happened to you.”
“I was inside the e...
2025-04-23 12:58:00 +0000 UTC View PostI giggled. “That’s quite an insane line, you know? Like, I never imagined you’d ever say something like that to me when we became friends. I never imagined we’d ever do stuff like this either.”
“Oh, shut up.” Deen pouted. “I’m going to do it, okay? It might hurt and bleed,...
2025-04-22 22:20:42 +0000 UTC View Post(Author's Notes: We'll have a couple of ExD chapters (been a while) and two REND chapters this week. Since we'll focus on the REND launch next month, I figured we'll ramp up ExD a bit now.)
“You want to eat me?” Deen grinned as she playfully narrowed her eyes. “I wish I had rec...
2025-04-22 02:44:01 +0000 UTC View PostTechnically, I did mean to hit her. I wanted her off of me. But I didn't expect I had gotten this strong. Humans were pretty frail.
I snorted. Not even a few minutes as a monster, and I’m already using the cliche line.
Grabbing the cop’s wrist, I felt for a pulse. Didn’...
2025-04-17 09:12:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe lonely echoes of my footsteps through the empty stairwell kept me company. I clutched my stomach with an arm, putting pressure on the wound. My blood dripped on the steps as I gripped the rails with my other hand, almost pulling myself up. My backpack felt heavier and heavier as if I were car...
2025-04-15 02:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostEveryone was paralyzed by the unexpected scene.
Except me. My singular thought was, survive!
I bid my folded bike goodbye and rushed to the next train car, shifting my backpack to the front as a shield. I weaved through the people standing on the aisle. I had a couple of seco...
2025-04-12 11:55:29 +0000 UTC View PostI, Erind Hartwell, almost died on the day I got superpowers.
Good thing I didn’t or there’d be one less cute girl on this dirtball of a planet. Or maybe… the world wasn’t so lucky that I survived. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Like many movies set in a bustling city, w...
2025-04-11 14:07:01 +0000 UTC View Post