Before We Knew It Novels & Stories

I felt my own hand move without deciding to, settling against his forearm, fingers curling slightly into the fabric. One of us was going to close the last fraction of space between us, and the other was not going to stop them, and we both knew it and were staying, suspended, in the last possible moment before it became something you cannot un-become. Then Lucas made a sound. Not words. Just a small, sleepy, involuntary sound, the kind children make when they shift in their sleep, already unconscious again before it had fully left him. But it was enough. Julien stilled.

Williams, I— I didn't know better before.

Morning. We had until morning.

We all agreed in unison but none of us knew what lay ahead. What next?

We both knew what we were seeing, but it felt impossible. We were too late.

But little did I know… There was a whole other mess waiting for us there…

And though I didn’t know what it was yet, I could feel it. Something was about to change, and none of us were prepared for it.

“We’ll find out.” But something told me— We already knew. And whatever it was… It wasn’t going to stay contained for long.

The world did not know yet. It would.

No one seemed to know what to say as the trees closed in around us. We were headed to war.