Author: normal04

CHAPTER 1The heavy impact knocked the breath completely out of Elias. His shoulder slammed against the polished hardwood of the gymnasium floor, the sound echoing sharply off the high cinderblock walls. He did not even have time to put his hands out to brace himself. One second, he was sitting quietly in his motorized support…

CHAPTER 1 The heavy plastic chair scraped violently across the dirty linoleum floor. In a crowded American high school cafeteria, that specific, screeching sound was always a warning. It cut through the loud, echoing chaos of a thousand overlapping conversations, the clatter of plastic trays, and the dull hum of the massive overhead ventilation fans….

CHAPTER 2 The cold wind blew across the high school running track, but the air felt entirely still. Leo stayed on the ground. His palms burned from where they had scraped against the rough, rubberized surface of the track. His legs, useless and heavy, were twisted awkwardly beneath him. A few feet away, his motorized…

CHAPTER 2 The cold autumn wind whipped across the football field, but the cheerleaders standing on the metal bleachers were frozen solid. Principal Evans stared at the glowing screen in Chloe’s trembling hand. The red “LIVE” icon blinked like a warning siren in the dark. Below it, the viewer count was not stopping. It climbed…

CHAPTER 1 The impact knocked the breath entirely out of Maya’s lungs. She never saw the hands hit her chest, but she felt the sheer, deliberate force of the shove. Her rubber-soled shoes slipped against the damp aluminum of the bottom bleacher. Gravity took over in a terrifying instant. Maya tumbled backward into the open…

CHAPTER 1 The aluminum struck the polished hardwood with a hollow, sickening crack. It was a sound Liam knew entirely too well. It was the sound of his own mobility being stripped away, echoing across the massive, brightly lit high school gymnasium. He didn’t fall immediately. For one agonizing second, sixteen-year-old Liam stood unbalanced, his…