TEC 9—Tobias

This is awesome!  I can’t wait for dad to see this!

Who knew being a squirrel was so much fun.  The going was a little slow when I first left Mrs. Hatfield’s.  Once that nasty little dog of hers left and the coast was clear, I climbed back down the tree.  It was pretty cool, I have to say.  I climbed down head first.  I bet none of my friends have ever done that.  Well, there was that one day in PE…  (Read more)

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TEC 8—Alannah Burke

The highway goes on forever, and where the highway isn’t, there’s corn.  It obstructs her view so that all she can see is straight ahead to where the highway meets the horizon.  She hasn’t looked back because of the swimming feeling in her stomach and the pain in her head.  Besides, she already came from there.

One change has occurred in the last five minutes, though.  When she looks up from the dashed yellow centerline, she can now see a copse of trees beside the road ahead…  (Read more)

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TEC 7—Dr. Ross

Dr. Ross sat quietly on the steps with the other K Lab staff members waiting to resurface.  He was contemplating the fact that he was already nearly accustomed to the smell of burning materials—clothing, paper, and other combustibles scavenged and lit to provide a temporary light source and to spare the few lighters in their possession.  It was amazing how quickly humans could adapt.  (Read more)

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TEC 6—Alannah Burke

She wakes curled up in a ball and keeps her eyes shut against the pain.  Her stomach hurts.  Her arms and legs hurt.  Even her hair hurts.  Shivers wrack her sweat-soaked body despite the cold.  “No, no, no, no,” she moans through chattering teeth.  Detox.  (Read more)

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TEC 5—Tobias

I’m a squirrel.

How did this happen?  A few minutes ago I was mowing, just riding along in Mrs. Hatfield’s backyard with my earbuds in and minding my own business.  Now I’m sitting in the grass that’s, well, waist high.  Do squirrels have waists?  (Read more)

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The Event Cycle 4—Dr. Ross

He found himself standing in total darkness and utter silence.  When the lights went out and the hum of the complex machinery in the room wound down to nothing, Dr. Neil Ross stood quiet and still so as not to accidentally bump into any of the controls on the boards around him.  He was fairly certain that the lights would come back on soon, though he had no evidence to support his assumption; this had never happened before…  (Read more)

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TEC 3—Alannah Burke

She stands on the sidewalk and smokes her last cigarette.  It’s early morning, yet Los Angeles International Airport is already bustling.  The crowds make her nervous.  She hides behind her designer sunglasses and platinum blonde hair.  When she finishes her cigarette, she drops it to the sidewalk and steps on it, not noticing the butt can she stands beside.  She checks her watch and then hurries inside.

She walks quickly to the women’s bathroom and enters a stall.  She is not there to use the bathroom…  (Read more)

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TEC 2—Kai

The phone rings and Kai jerks awake.  He opens his eyes in the darkness of his room.  The phone rings again and this time he crawls across the bed to answer it.  His head hurts.  He stayed too late at work—after work—last night.  Bartending brings in enough for him to survive for the time being, but late hours are rough.

He answers the phone.  “Yeah.”

“Brah, it’s blowing up at Makapu’u.  We’re heading down there right now.”

“I’ll be there…”  (Read more)

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TEC 1—Janette

Janette Miller closes the door softly behind her, careful not to slosh the dirty chai in her left hand.  She steps across her office on the twenty-third floor of the magazine’s sky-rise in New York City.  Her Manolos click crisply on the spotless marble-tiled floor.  She pauses for a look at the surrounding city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her desk.  It is loud and busy on the street but no sounds can disturb her here.  She turns away from the view, thankful for the silence and cleanliness of the office.  She sets her chai on the corner of her desk and places her Hermes handbag on the little round table beside her chair.  That’s when she notices what is wrong…  (Read more)

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