Cannery Row Novels & Stories

Louie, sitting behind the two, patted their backs in a reassuring tone. “It’s all over now guys, and we haven’t gotten busted. Have we?” “That was really close,” Ivan said as he ignited the engine and took off from the spot they now seemed t dread the most.The sun sank behind the horizon, revealing a vivid orange as they made the drive further to Lakewood. Silence, once again became the order of the evening as Patrick took the wheel. By 11pm, Louie who had taken the final wheel pulled the entirely different dared to the cabin’s porch, when they arrived at the old cabin. They were supposed to be excited, but fatigue cut them short. For all the money in the world, they would have had never ima

"Better buckle up, huh? What a f*cking ride." I smiled, tucking my chilled fingers in my pockets. I could tell Rowan wanted to say more, but he was struggling to form the words. Rowan thought before he spoke, something I had yet to fully master. He was going to make a great Alpha one day. Before long, we reached a cabin nestled against a rocky bluff on the outskirts of the old village. Rowan helped me up the steps, which were slick with ice. "There's ice-melt in the garage—"

The hum of the crowd dimmed to the soft murmur of families hurrying home, shadows stretching long across the cobbled streets. Rowan carried the small basket in his hand—half filled with Everleigh’s errands for her mother, half with things he had slipped into it when she wasn’t paying attention. Fresh honey cakes from the baker’s daughter, a bundle of herbs far too fragrant to be cheap. She had rolled her eyes when she noticed, but he had only smirked, daring her to argue.

“Follow the river long enough to break the strongest scent trail. Then we cut west through the pine ridge and head for the healer’s creek. We don’t go to Richard first. We find Amber.” Kael’s jaw tightened. “And if Amber isn’t there?” “Then we improvise.” “I hate when you say that,” Rowan muttered. “You hate everything right now because you’re leaking.” “I am not leaking. I am heroically enduring.” “You are bleeding on Mara’s cot.” Mara looked at the cot and sighed like that offended her more than anything else that had happened today. “I liked that cot.” “It looked like it survived three wars and a divorce,” Rowan said.

Highest throughput, highest resistance, highest chance of cages still full. She wanted the worst. Of course she did. The cannery sat rotting at the edge of a tidal marsh, corrugated siding eaten through by salt and neglect. No lights, no signage — just a dead industrial husk with one purpose left. My team breached the west wall in silence. Old steel parted under hydraulic jaws. We entered low, weapons up. The smell hit first: urine, rot, fear. Same everywhere. Always. Two guards in the inner corridor. They died before they knew war had arrived.

Jamal It hadn't rained since i left the dock and it came down in fine, cold sheets slicking the asphalt and coating everything in a silver sheen with he cannery looming ahead abandoned for years at least to anyone who didn’t know better. I’d spent enough time in this city’s underbelly to recognize the signs: faint tire tracks cutting into the gravel and a light that flickered on the second floor when everything else was dark. They had her in there.

TWELVE Greenwood Cemetery Caretaker’s Cottage New Orleans SHE’D APPEARED IN the middle of the road, damp and muddy, but alive. Roo tried to explain how the Sultana could travel on any existing and past waterway—and certainly the bit of road they’d been on was near enough to the river. But no one could explain to Curtis why Jeannine had appeared exactly where the krewe was at exactly the right time.

Jasmine I am at sea again and staring at the burning town. I try to see if I can tell exactly where this is when I see it. It is Hill Village. The tiny heaps of sand that make the landscape hilly are visible, and I also know that the place isn't landlocked. There are phantom ships at the shore; I can see through them. That is why I can access the burning land. I look at the phantom vessels again, and suddenly, they are visible and opaque, obscuring the view of the burning land. There are hundreds of them, and troops are leaving them to get on the land.

Kael Voss Pov At the old grain store on the mill canal, the end of second watch was coming whether the woman with the ink mark still believed her inside eye was free or not. We left the estate in a closed group of twelve after first watch. No banners. No open column. Riven took the canal path. I took the land approach that cut behind the storehouses. The bond carried Elias and Rowan as a steady, quiet line behind me—closer to settled than it had been since the recovery. Halvorsen’s window was almost shut. Almost was the reason we were still moving in the dark.

In the small yard in front of the restaurant, he planted a row of pear trees, the snow pears Heather had always loved. In the fall, Heather's throat would often become dry and sore, so Mitchell had the restaurant manager send pears to all the people living nearby. He personally picked the best ones to send to Heather. The pears were returned untouched, along with a message: Heather and Colin were getting married. Mitchell didn't react much to the news, but his reddened eyes betrayed his true feelings. On the wedding day, Mitchell hid in the back of the crowd. After Colin recited his vows, Mitchell was the first to shed tears. From that moment on, the girl who had once loved him so deeply wou