Springheels-Jack

The door to the Governor's office in City Hall opened violently as several people streamed through it carrying cameras and microphones. "Mr. Rayer," the man in front called. The Governor of San Alejandro, Alvin Rayer, turned his gaze from the window, which faced south overlooking the several hundred people marching straight toward City Hall on Grecian Avenue, to the camera crew. "Good, you're here," he said, wiping panicked sweat from his face. "Let's do this quickly." "Of course," the cameraman replied, opening a tripod. "Sir," said a man in a suit with a gun at his side, who had entered behind the camera crew. "The chopper's waiting. We

As the roughly-cobbled army marched north on the streets of San Alejandro, their blunt and scrounged weapons held tightly in defiance, a small alley leading off of Gaslight avenue remained mostly unnoticed. At first glance it was completely normal-looking, the entrance to it mostly obscured by overflowing garbage cans. There was a small electric light halfway down it, giving the thin, dark passage a modicum of navigability among the litter. Beneath this light was a tan metal door, completely unremarkable and nearly invisible in the low light. Were one to take an ultraviolet light to this door, though, it would have revealed in glowing blue

In the early morning of March 14th, a white soundproofed Mustang with red stripes painted down the sides crawled slowly through Grecian avenue under the bluish light of a coming sunrise. Over the radio, lounge music was playing, piped from a station on the mainland. On both sidewalks beside the car, streams of people both armed and unarmed were walking north. From the passenger seat, John looked out at the quiet scene with satisfaction. "Looks like everything's going well," he remarked. Jacob, the driver, grunted in agreement. "Better than expected, I'd say," he said. "This...what'd he call it, Johnny?" "Blitzkrieg," John replied, looking

Ted Harris regained consciousness on the morning of March 11th to see one of his closest friends, "Hangman" Adler, shouting into his face and shaking him. He couldn't hear what was being shouted yet; all he heard was a ringing while he struggled to remember what had happened. He looked to the side and saw that he was lying on his back next to a cinderblock wall in an alleyway. The sun was still low and the sky was gray with clouds, so it was dark where he was. He felt a twinge in the back of his head; he remembered that he had been thrown against the cinderblock wall by an explosion and had cracked his head on it. The rest of his body start

I don't remember how long I held my Cibyl after she threw herself into my arms. In truth, I couldn't have cared less. I could have stayed in that moment for days. What I do remember is tears; tears from knowing that I wouldn't be without her any longer, and tears from remembering how she cried to my captor those weeks ago. It tore my heart in half to think of it. You were happy to see me as well, of course. Do you remember? You were so young. You asked me if I had any adventures while I was away; I laughed and told you I would tell you about it when you would understand. I apologize for being so late with my promise. This is the time, I hav

Enefir threw me to the ground after the Faceless was destroyed. I slid some twenty feet away before coming to a rest. It was a strange sensation, lying there, remembering everything about myself all at once. I remembered my wife, my son, my cousin, my decision, my fear at holding the Faceless in my hands on a crag in the Suicide Islands. All of it, everything that I was, came back in an instant. My whole life, without truncation, for the first time in months. It was a joyous feeling. I faced Enefir, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Tell me, then," he said, calmly and deliberately, "who are you?" I looked back as I stood up. "My name is

Enefir lunged forward at Who, his sword whipping around his right side in a long arc. Who saw it, and held his shining weapon to block it. The impact staggered Who, his foot slipping in the grass. With their two blades still in contact, Who regained his footing and felt the familiar detachment. He exhaled, and Enefir was flung backward by An-Salaar, sliding on his back across the slick ground. Who ran at him, sword swinging, and brought a blow straight at his head, which Enefir deflected by putting his armored forearm in front of the sword. He then rolled to the side and into a crouch, sending another blow toward Who, which he blocked. I've

As the night sky darkened, fading the clouds to purple, the five travelers waited silently in a thick wooded patch at the bottom of the hill. Who sat with his back propped against a tree watching Augur in the distance. Their plan was to wait for the early morning and  Looking around, he saw Sarve leaning nearby smoking a pipe, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. He wondered what Sarve had been thinking to run after them. He wasn't thinking, his mind told him. His daughter's life was in danger. He did what anyone overtaken by love would do. What's he thinking now, then? Maybe that he's in over his head. Maybe that he wishes he

“Is that everything?” Temeron was looking excitedly around from the doorway to Who's room. Who lifted the mattress on his bed, withdrawing the shining diamond sword. “Yeah,” he said, tying it to his belt. “That should be everything.” Temeron smiled. “Good,” he remarked. He stepped aside as Rashe poked her head into the doorway. “Me and Wile are ready, Who,” she said. Who looked around the room one last time. “All right,” he said. “Let's get going.” He walked past Temeron, through the doorway and into the narrow hall. “The sooner we can leave, the...” Roundin

The world went out of focus. “What?” Who said, frozen where he stood. His mind couldn't comprehend what it had heard. Tenaz stared back through blank eyes, unmoving. “You are asking me to take you past our borders. You are asking me to leave the desert to save the West.” His head shook on the air currents. “I protect the Renzad, and only the Renzad.” “But...” Rashe stammered weakly from behind Who. “...But your countrymen! There are hundreds of Renzad soldiers marching to Augur right now to—” “Yes, I know,” Tenaz replied. “I am greatly saddened by these defectors who wo