The Outsiders Imagines Novels & Stories

Richard became just another rough-faced laborer. They left their noble selves folded in a trunk in the stable, stepping out as different people into a different world. The Outskirts weren't just a part of Cinderfell; they were its grim, forgotten underbelly. The breathtaking views of the lake and sea were hidden behind a tangled web of leaning, ramshackle buildings built on rotting docks. The air hummed with the buzz of flies and the low din of desperation. Here, the wealth from the cliffs above trickled down only as grime and misery. Children with hollow eyes played in the filth, and hard-faced men watched the newcomers with a predatory stillness.

My bones nearly cracked from the impact as it slammed against the hard floor. I glared at the crowd of people who'd been my family for the first 20 years of my life, now threatening and beating me up all for the sake of an outsider, and felt my heart turn to stone. I wiped the blood from the corner of my lips and glared daggers at them. "I'm going to call the police! Not a single one of you is getting out alive!" Isaac was even more enraged by this. He kicked me hard in the back and thundered, "The police! To hell with that, you stubborn old bitch! I'm going to fucking beat you black and blue!"

They believed that if I just gave in and said I was fine, all those crimes would disappear beneath a pile of money. However, I was no longer that little girl waiting at the far end of the long table for scraps of cold leftovers. Never again would I denigrate myself just to protect my family's reputation.

The one thing all outliers now fear instead of seeking. Sure mates still exist and people still find them, but not out here. Not in the slums of the city where the unwanted laborers lay. Nah, we aren’t good enough for love and happiness. Be it our misfortune of standing up for what we believe or who our parents are, we are outcasts stuck on the outskirts. I stay for my dad, others stay for their family members or their mates that have been taken just out of reach.

A carefully staged illusion. But we all knew the truth. We all knew everything. And we played our parts. The only fool left in the dark was Agostino. Thinking I was backing off. Thinking I was afraid of him. Pathetic. I stepped outside, transcending the filth of the city. Out here, beyond the cold, gray walls, beyond the stench of gasoline, sweat, and blood—was the forest. My territory. Trucks rumbled along dirt roads, shipments being loaded and unloaded under sharp, watchful eyes.

His eyes widened at the sight of Zed gripping the head of the ax with his bare hands in a prayer position. ''Zed!'' Ryder stood up and kicked the old man without hesitation with full knowledge that the old man was just a citizen. The ax dropped and Zed winced in pain, holding his hands together to try to slow down the bleeding. People started to gather around and one of them helped the old man stand while he was yelling at them, revealing that Ryder and Zed were actually outsiders. The men responded to his call and formed a ring around them, ready to pulverize them.

"Does Oscar actually live here?" She had heard people describe the district before and had pieced together an image of it from their accounts. Even so, an image built from someone else's words was still only imagination, much like the way wealthy people imagined rock-bottom poverty as having a few hundred thousand in the bank. They genuinely couldn't grasp the gulf between perception and reality. Irene had been exactly the same. In her imagination, even the poorest living conditions had resembled some forgotten corner of their own house. Maybe a storage room cluttered with odds and ends. But even then, everything a person needed would still be there somewhere.

Far away from the thickening shadows of the Black Ridge, Samantha stepped outside for the first time since arriving in Hollowbrook. The sun was soft, the morning breeze gentle, yet the weight of curious eyes pressed in from all sides. She walked beside Mira, trying not to shrink from the stares. “That’s the girl they found in the woods…” “Looks like a ghost.” “No family. No name.” “She’s pretty though. Strange eyes…” Mira noticed Samantha’s tightening expression and leaned close. “Ignore them,” she said quietly. “They see only what they don’t understand.” “I didn’t ask to be seen at all, but I’m used to being the outcast already” Samantha muttered.

The bottled blonde pointed her finger at him. “You’re an outsider,” she intoned. “You don’t belong here.” The term was repeated over and over by every voice. It rolled through like dominoes falling. “Outsider, outsider, outsider.” Alex couldn’t see over the crowd. Anyone who came within its orbit seemed to be pulled into its gravity, and nobody was protesting. Nobody was going to help him.

Darlyn stepped into the bleak streets of Ovion City, a place devoid of life and hope. The air hung heavy with the scent of despair, mingling with the lingering stench of poverty and desperation. Dilapidated buildings lined the worn-out roads, their weary facades telling stories of struggles and shattered dreams. The city seemed frozen in time, a forgotten corner where rogues and outcasts sought refuge.