On The Edge By Joanna Mazurkiewicz Novels & Stories

It pulses once, like a heartbeat. I swallow hard. Strange things have always happened when I’m upset, lights flickering, books falling, dreams that feel too real, but this feels different. Like the pendant is reacting to something out there. Or calling to it. The fog thins as we turn onto a narrow road lined with lanterns shaped like pumpkins. They sway even though there’s no wind. “Hallow’s Edge goes all out for Halloween,” Ms. Carter says cheerfully. “Biggest festival in the county. You’ll be here just in time.”

Infact, if was only on one edge of the last sheet. It was - blood.

it had been an inside job. It hadn’t been hard to track down the house where he had grown up. The house that had been home to Chuck and Maria McGregor. He rolled to a stop in the driveway. The garden Maria had so cherished was now a small, wild, snow covered thicket. Dirt littered the small compound. Epiphytes wrung themselves round anything they could. The low-cut wooden fence, the lamp-post out front, even the mail box.

But I'm not sure if I've taken any lesson from it because I will probably fight back even if I know I will lose at the end. Henna knows about my high school experience just like the whole orphanage. My face was almost deformed when a group of jerks attacked me for not following their order so it was almost inevitable to not know that someone beat the shit out me. Maybe this incident triggered Henna to have me under her wings, her protection and I'm glad for it. This incident is half a year old but it's still dreadful for me to recall it.

Fiona, already struggling with her mental state, was suffocated by the judgmental gazes of others, filled with rage as she stayed holed up in her rented room. The TV was broadcasting about Sophie, the accomplished heir to the Malone Corporation, officially leading the company to even greater heights. The Malone Corporation was more prosperous now than it had been eight years ago. In a fit of rage, Fiona hurled the instant noodles she was holding across the room, her eyes blazing with fury. Three days later, the sound of police sirens echoed through the summer alley. “Word is, that woman on the third floor with the scars, who looks like a total wreck, has committed suicide!”

I kept that thought to myself though. We started drilling not long after, and somehow Kai always ended up on my side of the rink instead of Mason’s. Every time I demonstrated something, I could feel his eyes following me. Not in a creepy way. Just interested. “You’ve got insane edge control,” he said after I finished a transition sequence. “You know, most people force it too much, but you make it look easy. And it’s honestly annoying. Trust me.” I snorted out a laugh. “Thanks, I think?”

After the celebration, I returned to my room, exhausted, only to find Whitney already inside, holding my reservation slip. My pupils narrowed as I blurted, "What are you doing?" She waved the slip, a hint of malice flashing across her face. "So, you want the antidote?" Without warning, she pulled out a dagger coated in silver nitrate and slashed her own arm. I didn't understand what she was trying to do, but I instinctively stepped forward to stop her. However, she seized the moment to shove the dagger into my hand. Tobias and Nicholas rushed in just in time to see Whitney collapsing to the ground, clutching her injured arm.

Leonard replied smoothly, his face entirely relaxed. I gasped quietly, my cheeks burning with a sudden wave of heat. I had been asleep with my face on my arms in a café for two hours and not once had I stirred. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Leonard’s eyes drifted back to the dark window, giving me a moment to breathe. I glanced towards the entrance and noticed Marcus. He stood near the door with two other guards, his posture the same as it always was, rigid, watchful, and specifically unimpressed with my existence. I moved my eyes away from him before he could make it into a staring contest.