Rachael Wade

I came to the sobering realization that I was not making it out of here alive, no matter what. I was bruised and bloodied in mind and body, surrounded by the most literal interpretation of monsters, and a final nail in the coffin--I was in love with one of them. The love and loss alone would kill me, if not for the mythical creatures standing in front of me, ready to beat love and loss to the punch.-- Camille

Where's the victory without opposition?--Joel

Open your eyes, baby. Look at me._ He pressed his forehead down to meet mine, my eyelids fluttering open at his command. __ook at me and tell me you don__ want it.__ peered up at him with unsteady breaths, hearing his throat work when I tilted my lips to graze his. The contact was feather light, my heart hammering through my chest at the feel of it. ____ looking,_ I breathed against him.__ood. Because right now, all I want to do is rip your clothes off and make you come until you can__ stand, and I want your eyes on me the whole time, are we clear?_-Jackson and Emma

I hoped Tia was different. Easier to manage for people like me, who didn__ naturally jive with the little tykes. I__ only met her for a few seconds, so I had no idea what I was in for, here. All I knew was this wasn__ my element, and her father had just compared me to a pregnant woman.Wasn__ there something wrong with this picture?

Emma has it wrong. You don__ ditch your men, you kill them.___ won__ kill you._ She stepped in front of me and took my hand, watching me take the last drag of my cigarette. __ like you too much.

My guitar's name was Liz. As in, short for Elizabeth, Queen of England. She was a lady.Don't judge.

I smiled and rolled onto my side, bringing my arms around her. She wiggled against me, letting me spoon her, and I swept some sweaty hair away from her neck to kiss beneath her ear. __ow do you like your new tattoo?___ love it. It makes me want to be a bird.___ou already are a bird.___ don__ get to fly.___ou fly all the time. Haven__ you noticed?

And then the lights went low, and our song began.The song I__ been working on since I__ arrived on the island. The one that morphed into something else entirely, something I never intended it to be. But music is like that. Much like life. It tells the story, it takes the lead.You__e just along for the ride.

She pursed her lips and nodded, swiveling around to continue her survey of my modest living space. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest as she strolled around. Letting out a long, deep breath, she dropped her hands to her sides when she reached my DVD collection. __ownton Abbey?__ jolted forward, clearing my throat. __eah, it__ uh_it__ a good show.

It wouldn__ be long until I made my declaration. I didn__ just need my position to be clear, I needed to blind Whitney with blazing fireballs of glory. Real hardcore knock-em-down shit.

Let me tell you something, honey. Fifty percent of life is others trying to push their own agenda on you__heir belief system, their views, their convictions. The other fifty percent is you deciding whether or not you__e going to let them. Or if you__e going to form your own opinions.-Miss Velma

You all set?_ he asked, tossing me a pair of sunglasses.__ow, nice._ I felt the frame, rubbing my finger over the lenses to wipe away a smudge. __ot bad, Phoenix.___winkies._ He slid his pair on and adjusted the gun across his chest. __old you. Breakfast of champions."- Skylla and Jet

This was our rhythm, our worship: give and take, gift and receive, honor and entrust. Making love to this man wasn__ just an expression of my feelings for him or a carnal, physical need__t was an offering.

It was amazing the things you could bring yourself to do when you felt insecure, when you were out to protect your heart. You could deny it what it wants most, just for the sake of saving your pride or dodging another bullet.

Sometimes evil wins, nah, child. But it__ always fleeting. Just a temporary ripple in a sea of goodness, brought on by the carnal nature of greed __ corruption. Sacrifice washes that ripple out in waves of love __ light, and peace is found when justice is served, even for those who lose, ya hear?

I looked around the room, at everyone who inhabited the space, person and monster, slave and master, aware we were in the madness together, swirling around in the same mess, all out to get something, a piece of our own pie. But I knew that in the midst of that noxious stew, coming to terms with our poisons was only the beginning. Ever forward, Cecile__ voice replayed in my mind. Ever forward.

Gavin turned us to face Josh, a satisfied grin springing up when he noticed the condition of Josh__ clothes. __hanks for the last-minute invitation, man._ Josh chuckled, patting Gavin on the shoulder. __hall I do the honors, Mr. Suave?_ __ure thing, Frodo Baggins. By the way, I hear the Shire has impeccable dinner parties this time of year._ The corners of Gavin__ lips twitched and his eyebrows shot up as he gestured to a food stain of some sort near the collar of Josh__ white shirt. Josh__ chin shot down to follow Gavin__ amusement and he quickly tried to wipe away the crumbs. __eah, well _ you know how we hobbits like to eat.

I saw it in his eyes, first__he beginning of the end, the beginning of things to come. The blackest night, they cut into me, paralyzing my trembling body. Not even the gods could sense my fear now, for the celebration of the monsters who__ claimed me drowned out all perception of pain. It was all-powerful, all-knowing, the definition of infinite, an overwhelming possession that consumed every inch of my being.