Dear, sweet, beautiful girl,

You talk as if a god had made the Machine,” cried the other. “I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it, do not forget that. Great men, but men....

Dreams deny her the freedom she truly seeks. Darkness consumes. Leg muscles burn. She runs away, even while lost in the paradise of sleep. Gravity is a crushing force bearing down on her chest, shattering...

My dad had always said to not trust something unless it’s taken a tumble in the dirt. He’d meant it for people, and for things. Shiny and new didn’t exist for humankind any more.

…the end of the world hasn’t granted the clumsiest among us any measure of grace.

Instead of a criminal or a drug addict, I was looking at a boy—just a boy.

I’ve got my own toilet.” — Grace Harper

Maybe the Society was right all along. From the very beginning, that’s what they called her. A time bomb.Tick, tick, tick.

There is no good or evil here, it all depends on what side you’re standing. Nor is it about wrong or right, it’s about surviving.” Triven

[…]How can a great civilization have destroyed itself so completely?””Perhaps,”said Apollo, “by being materially great and materially wise and nothing else.

They were like her rocks. Imperfect and surprising and maybe better in the long run than certainties. Chances, she thought, were life

Trust no one,” said Sullivan, “especially Teachers.

The aftermath of bearing shackles is an exquisite devastation, fraught with the ravages of survival. Even though one is no longer held captive—be that from a person, a government, or one’s inner self—the scars are...

Shut up, ya wanker.”They start in on each other again. They yell as if they both have megaphones to their mouths, standing inches apart. Each vulgar insult is more illogical than the last.

It’s taken me all this time, all this loss, to realize what really matters is now.

Look, Blondie. I’m not asking you to bottom, just to fucking navigate.

I want to be done with tears, and the day is too beautiful for them anyway. Nevertheless, I consider my tears for a moment, the idea of them, a link to the earth’s ancient origins....

Struggling transforms her captor into a Chinese finger trap. She’s suffocating. Sucking in air without relief. Her lungs expand. Contract. Expand. They fill with lies and broken promises. With despair and lost hope. Each inhale...

I knew that feeling, the sense of panic that stretched time, turning seconds into years, and the deep pain that came from being hurt by not one person but many, a gang of bullies that...

I don’t want to think about it, but I have to. Someone has to. I see the signs of spring and I weep…

I wanted to punch him and understand him at the same time.

We are gathered here to send our gratitude to Pinnacle Officer Wilcoxand FERTS, for our daily provision and protection from those who would seek to strike against our Vassals, our Fighters and our Internees.

Because here’s a news flash: You might’ve wanted to shelter me, but there’s nowhere you can hide me that’ll keep me safe from what’s inside my head.

Someday all the wilds will be razed, and we will be left with a concrete landscape, a land of pretty houses and trim gardens and planned parks and forests, and a world that works as...

Yes, ma’am.

Resisting is worth doing.

You cannot thrive under the wrong stars, Kricket… the stars here are in opposition to you… can’t you feel it?… Let us take you home.

What is it? What’s wrong?

He smiles at her before ever opening his eyes. The innocence in his face ensnares. Wraps her heart in a cocoon.They did this to him. The Society. Constructed that smile with malicious expectations. Now she...

For the first time, with complete clarity and absolute conviction, I know I love him entirely with all that I have, everything I am, and who I’m going to be. Of course, I’ve told him...

For the first time I had the best of both worlds–a mission to live for and a man to love.

There is a secret layer of humanity that lies just beneath the surface of man, a secret layer where our fears and insecurities hide, that when touched in this secret place men and woman are...

I wrote Unwind for lots of reasons, and it poses questions about alot of subjects. To state it briefly, I wanted to point out how when peopletake intractable positions on an issue, and stick to...

Maligned –powerfully-drawn characters acting out a disturbing view of our future.” -David Compton, New York Times Best-Selling author

I’m not ready to die.

Even if I did feel bad for Darian, I wouldn’t admit it. Siding with anyone who violates The Protectorate would make me Noncompliant. That would make me almost as corrupt as him. To side with...

The city is a plague… and I am the penicillin.

Feeling’s mutual.” Julian tosses him a disdainful look.

It will begin with the six who now tread the streets of a city where the stone pinnacle erects like a reed amongst long grass. Where a bridge expands across a gorge, drifts a cloud...

If you ride around with your mouth hanging open, I assume that could be a possibility.

I’m pretty sure battle strategies and combat techniques don’t cover desire and lust.

I’ll go over again and again until I’ve finally crossed to where he is

She would rather remain silent, but her voice is no longer something to fear. It’s strong. Powerful. A weapon of emotions.

Act like you’re in pain.” Then she mimics a painful expression in case Summer doesn’t understand. On the contrary, Summer’s an expert at interpreting body language and reading lips. It’s all thanks to her observant...

We made a pact the day you left for Novo—I know you don’t remember that, but I do—and I’m holding fast to our promise. To never give up hope. And I have hope, because I...

My latest battle had nothing to do with The Company, the rebels, or any other faction. It was out-and-out warfare between my head and my heart. Keeping it cool during daylight, versus nighttime, when I...

Isolde took a swig. “It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. Your government just gave you two months to get knocked up.” She held up the bottle, her face dull and red. “Cheers.”...

She feels him scoot closer, the heat of him radiating off his chest and absorbing into her skin. His legs straddle her from behind, and he places delicate kisses along her shoulder, her back, the...

Even the best laid plans turn to hell when exposed to reality

You’re being stupid again. Trusting in what they say.” Disdain dripped from his words like pus from an infected wound.