Requiem City Book Novels & Stories

I followed my ruined corpse all the way to the mass grave. My limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, my body covered in crisscrossing bruises, my face drained of every drop of color—like a weed that had been stomped flat by a hundred boots. Soon, a pack of mangy stray dogs caught the scent of fresh meat. Their eyes glowed hungry and green in the darkness as they circled in. At first, they just tugged at the edges of my clothes. Then one bolder mutt sank its teeth into my calf and ripped off a chunk of flesh.

The triplets, she heard, were drafting a code that could spoof the gridded perimeter, allowing for temporary, glorious lapses in surveillance. It was the book that changed everything. Finch smuggled it into the yard during a midshift riot. Elena felt its impossible weight, the roughness of its cover, the crisp drag of a page between fingers. The mothers gathered in her room, trembling, as Elena read aloud from the first chapter: “There is no such thing as a finished city.”

We ducked under the overhang of the bookstore next door, the one where he had read me Keats in the narrow aisle, and stood in the small shelter of it while the rain came down around us and the city moved through its wet evening patterns beyond the awning's edge. Carlisle pushed his hair back from his forehead with one hand, rain-damp, and laughed quietly. "I don't think either of us planned for this." "No," I said. My voice sounded like it belonged to someone braver than me. We were close under the overhang, the rain reducing the available space between us, the golden light from the bookstore window falling across both of us in warm rectangles. I was aware of his proximity in every nerve end

POV: Lena The city felt wrong. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that presses against your chest and makes every heartbeat sound like a warning. Smoke still rose from the ruins of buildings, curling through the shattered skyline like black fingers. The smell of fire mixed with blood and ash lingered, settling into every crack in the street, clinging to my clothes, my hair, my skin.

The city never slept, and neither did her heartbeat. Ari weaved through the crowded streets, heels clacking against cracked pavement, neon signs reflecting off puddles like broken mirrors. The air smelled of fried food, gasoline, and something else—something electric, almost alive. She pulled her hoodie tighter around her, trying to disappear into the shadows, but she never quite could. Not when the city hummed with life, not when danger lurked just out of sight, and certainly not when he was near.

The city of Oakhaven was no longer a city; it was a sprawling altar of ash and dying embers. The anti-biological pulse had stripped the streets of their predators, but it had left the infrastructure in a state of absolute, hollowed-out collapse. The silence that gripped the streets was more terrifying than the screaming had been; it was the silence of a grave that had been waiting for its occupant for three centuries.

The essence of the city, its spirit of unity and progress, lingered in the air, interwoven with the scent of old books and the faint rustling of parchment. The heartbeat of Emeridia continued to pulsate even as the city transitioned into the calm of the night. It was a rhythm that was not dictated by the ticking of the clock, but by the continuous striving of its people for knowledge, unity, and progress. Even in the silence, the city's heartbeat remained a testament to the spirit of Emeridia — a spirit that grew stronger with every book opened, every idea explored, and every discussion held.

"Hi, it seems you haven't noticed me yet, there is no other way I can explain your rude behavior. I am Grace Shanks, Venator Grace Shanks. " The look I got from Diccon Faust could only be seen as condescending. "Yes, very pleased," was all he said to me before turning back to Reese. "Is there any reason to believe that an incident might occur?" Why did he ask him the question now? "Not that we know of." Reese put his left hand back into his jacket pocket. I knew exactly that he was now holding his pack of cigarettes in his hand. But I also noticed how he gave me a look out of the corner of my eye. "But you can never have enough people who make sure that the proles do not pose a threat to any

“Are you guys ready to finally do as we were formed to do?” My eyes glared at Callighan as he lifted his head up to the sky. Once that loud howl came from him, we all prepared ourselves as the wolves charged at us altogether. All we could do was fight to our hearts desire. One charged at me and right when I thought life was over for me, the gunshots came right after him. Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! However, those shots were not enough… -To Be Continued- The End of Book 2