The Leaving Road Novel Novels & Stories

“It is not me you have to speak with that sharp tongue, but her and that rogue sister of yours. — With a softer tone of voice, he asked: — She hit you while you were packing your bags in the room, did not she? “That's none of your business. I turned my face back to the car window. My hands were freezing, nervousness invaded me when I realized that we were leaving the urban perimeter of SaintClair City and advancing along the stone road lined by the forest. It was as if my last contact with civilization was broken at that moment, as if I were more and more in the hands of that tyrant, with no one to save me.

Kendra was in a state of both confusion and amazement as she slipped through the narrow opening between two large boulders that rested with majestic fortitude against the base of the mountain after years of environmental strife and saw the maze of tunnels before her. Over the years, Ari had explored and searched the entrance to inner earth and discovered what she called a back door to the tunnels. Through this entrance, the odds of encountering a guard were next to nothing.

I’ve decided on Oklahoma City and I'm using mom’s laptop to try to find a cheap place to stay. I might already have a job. The black escalade was gone when we left the funeral home and I haven’t seen it since. There hasn’t been any strangeness going on with Brodie and Wyatt, so it must have been my anxiety causing me to be suspicious. They had no idea about Rob or Wyatt would be in my face about it. I still haven’t contacted Rob. I don’t have it in me to deal with him and I want to enjoy my time away from him and not have him ruining it.

The leaving had a shape that pressed against specific parts of my chest. Rowan at the gate. Sera’s six handwritten pages in my bag. The eastern garden where the moonlight came at the best angle. The wall we had sat on every evening for weeks, quiet together in the way of people who have understood something about each other that does not need to be said aloud to be real. I had not wanted to leave Ashcroft when I was cast out. I had not wanted to leave, and the leaving had been imposed on me, and I had survived it by understanding that survival required forward motion and forward motion required not looking back.

And we're going to make sure it stays that way. The van finally slowed and turned, the smooth asphalt giving way to what felt like a gravel road. We were definitely leaving the main roads, heading somewhere more isolated. We're off the highway now, I updated the brothers. Gravel road, heading toward what sounds like a more remote location. We see it, Nathan confirmed. Looks like an abandoned industrial area. The van came to a stop, and I heard doors opening. Hands grabbed me from the wheelchair, lifting me with surprising gentleness - probably orders to keep me undamaged.

---.” --- --- Chapter 18: wonky roads The road twisted through the mountains like something wounded — sharp turns, sudden drops, trees standing stiff and cold beneath a sky the color of old bruises. Isla sat silent in the passenger seat, staring out the window, but not really seeing. Just motion. Just blur. Her reflection stared back — eyes too dark, mouth set like stone. Not Ivana. Not Isla. Just... something in the middle. A woman trying to hold herself together on the edge of some truth she couldn’t yet name.

The tires crunch on the gravel as Lior pulls the car onto the long, winding road leading away from Lunaris. The woods on either side are a blur of green and brown, the trees standing sentinel as we drive further and further away. A sense of relief, fragile but present, begins to bloom in my chest. We did it. We actually left. I've always wondered what it was like to leave...and now we did it. But even as the miles stretch between us and the pack, Nox’s words echo in my head, a persistent, unwelcome guest.

That didn’t mean I had to like it. I turned away, my fingers gripping the fabric of my jeans as I stared out at the endless stretch of road. The city had disappeared completely now, swallowed by the dense forest lining both sides of the highway. The air felt heavier out here, colder. We weren’t just leaving the city. We were leaving everything.

The shadows had stilled, leaving nothing but silence in their wake. “This doesn’t feel right,” she whispered. Aiden sighed, pulling her to her feet. “It doesn’t have to feel right. It just has to be what it is.” A Dangerous Road Ahead As they turned to leave the broken ground, the air grew heavier, pressing against them like an invisible weight. The scenery around them began to shift, the maze of thorns reforming into a long, narrow path that stretched into the distance. Iris paused, glancing back at the fissure. “What if he’s still alive? What if we’re leaving him to....”

"There might be vehicles passing up there." Carl followed her pointing finger and indeed saw a smooth, wide black road extending quietly through the morning mist like a ribbon, connecting the deep mountains to the Mortal Realm. He tightened his grip on Amelia's hand, his pace unconsciously quickening. It was not eagerness to escape, but a reluctance to let her family worry any longer, and a desire to take her away from this place. The moment they stepped onto the black road, a solid, steady sensation rose from beneath their feet, completely different from the rugged forest paths.