Sophia Jackson
Stories
11
Chapters
5,834
Words
1.6 M
Comments
0
Reading
5 d, 14 h
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141 ****** Alden shifted Zeridee on his back and peered out of the gaping hole in the front wall of Apogee Artist Spaces. Liam had just made it to the intersection. The man’s chest was wrapped in white light; he’d found some kind of flexible, glowing tubing in his studio or the wreckage. And his feet were covered now—one with a shoe, one with something Alden couldn’t identify from here. He wanted a flashlight, but while he’d listened to Liam frantically searching his ruined studio for…-
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140 ****** “I The voice was joyful, warm, and golden as honey. It sang out over the cacophony of thumping music, ringing argold slots, noisy laughter, and the squawking of the flock of macaws currently displayed on the arched screen that formed a roof over the crowded street. Natalie Choir stood in front of a casino that was decked out in flashing green lights. She was spinning in place, her outstretched arms full of takeout bags with restaurant names emblazoned on the sides. > said Emilija.…
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****** 139 ****** Alden’s thoughts had gone blank for a moment, but they came right back online at that. “Sir!” he shouted, sprinting down the hall. “Dude! Liam! Wait!” He flung open the door and ran out onto the sidewalk. Alden spun around in a circle once. Twice. He couldn’t see the guy anywhere. “Liam!” he yelled as loud as he could. “ He kept shouting, racing toward the intersection, and just as he reached the crosswalk, he heard someone call back. “Hey! You good over…
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138 ****** Alden didn’t know for sure what was coming or if it would even reach him. He had no idea if now was the right time to abandon his horizontal evacuation in favor of a vertical one. The only place he was sure would be safe was the interior of a flyer that was currently bound for South America. In the absence of that vehicle, and with his public school education having failed to prepare him to escape from oceanic anomalies caused by magical contaminants, he was going to have to go with Plan C.…
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137 ****** “You’re pretty heavy, Zeridee.” Alden spoke quietly, but his voice seemed loud and out of place in the greenhouse. Just minutes ago, people had been screaming here. Now, there was only the gentle burble of a stream that didn’t exist and the For just a few seconds more, he took stock of it all. Zeridee’s torso was against his chest. Her weight was carried by his back and shoulders when he let his arms fall away from her, thanks to the strap he’d made out of her long braid.…
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136 ****** The ambassador’s greenhouse was hot and damp. As soon as Alden had seen it, patchily illuminated tonight by lights dedicated to specific plants, he’d decided that rather than being a place for food production or research like the greenhouses at Joe’s lab, this was an environment meant for the residents of the house and their guests to enjoy. Flowers were everywhere, speckling tangled clumps of vines or shaded beneath foliage that looked otherworldly. A smell like nutmeg and lemons…
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135 ****** “No,” said Zeridee-und’h as they headed back into the ambassadorial residence. “No,” she said again while Alden looked at the cellphone worriedly. “NO,” the Artonan insisted, as they stood in the room with the video monitors. Alden was checking first them and then the phone screen. He started to peel one of his oranges just to put a little of his nervous energy somewhere. His eyes landed on a stack of something that looked like laminated beige paper. A chunky marker with a…
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134 ***** Moments after the Artonan rose from his bow, he pushed the entire tray full of mugs into Alden’s hands. The tray was heavy. Most of the ceramic vessels were giving off fragrant steam, but some of them were iced. He remembered Stuart saying he’d had to drink eight cups of wevvi before first meal one morning to be polite to the LeafSong faculty, and he wondered if he was about to have to do the same kind of thing. “The Span,” said Alden, while the Artonan studied him. He had metal iris…
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It was loud. The helicopter was still overhead, and a car alarm was going off. The rush of the wind had been joined by the sound of water sheeting down the pavement as it followed the slope of the bridge toward Apex. Somewhere behind Alden, a man was screaming profanities so vehemently that he sounded unhinged. But despite all of that, there was a kind of shocked hush from most people in the immediate aftermath of the… Saving his powers was important, but under the circumstances, he wasn’t willing to…
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132 ****** Within moments, everyone on the bus was talking. “System, call my mom!” “Does this say “What in Apex is an oceanic anomaly?” “Wardrobe.” “The possible tsunami is the anomaly!” “Then why is it listed separately?” “Text my sister.” “Emergency teleport!” “Access wardrobe.” “Like the giant waves? Do we even “I thought there wasn’t any chaos on Earth!” “What’s happening at Matadero? What kind of attack?” “ “Uh…System? I asked you…
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