Quiet Novels & Stories

Everything we'd built distilled into precise technical specifications. "This transition is too harsh," Eli said, pointing at a moment where the emotional beat should have been softer. "Agreed," I said immediately. "The color temperature needs to shift earlier." We worked in near-silence for hours. Not angry silence. Just... focused work silence. By late afternoon, we were almost complete. Just one final sequence that required both strategic positioning and emotional authenticity to get right. I was leaning forward to look at the screen more closely, and Eli was standing close enough to point at specific details.

Minus’ voice made my insides feel like they were filled with bubbles coated in butter. I cleared my throat. “Worry? Why? What is there to worry about?” “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” “So, there is something to worry about?” “I said forget it,” Minus said, his tone shifting from concern to impatience. “No. You said don’t worry about it. Which implies there is an ‘it’ and that there is a reason to fear said ‘it.’” “Goddammit, Cricket, would you please listen to me for a second,” he hissed. “I’m not sure what Viper knows or what kind of surveillance he might have on us.”

The man staggered backward, his foot catching on the edge of a weight bench. Time slowed. He fell, his head snapping back against the corner of a weight machine with a sickening crack. Claire stood frozen, her chest heaving as she stared at his crumpled body. The gym fell silent except for the sound of her loud breathing. Taking a shaky step forward, her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. He wasn’t moving. “Breathe, Claire. Just breathe,” she whispered, her voice trembling, but the words didn’t calm the storm raging inside her.

He turned to look at her, her eyes glazed and breathing ragged, and his Adam's apple bobbed hard. Then he lifted his hand and ended the call that was still ringing. It was my call. He gently scooped Liliana up in his arms and laid her back in the middle of the bed, then drew the covers up to her chin. His voice, low and restrained, filtered through the video. "I'm here for you. Just until the meds wear off." Then the screen went black, leaving only a vague grunt and Liliana's soft, smug giggle. I sat in the dark hospital room, shivering, feeling like I had been plunged into an icy pond.

I soothed “Can you describe him for me?” “He, er, he had a dirty black suit on. It was spattered with stains. Um. Short-ish hair. It was floppy.” “OK. Anything else? White male? Black male? Hair colour? Eye colour? Anything that stood out about him?” “He was, er, white” Stefanie sniffed “Really white, actually. Like chalk. His hair was black. He had the highest cheekbones I’ve ever seen.” My body seized in shock. “And he had the most terrifying green eyes” Stefanie sniffled down the phone.

Everything else was done and ready for print. I took a deep breath as I walked into the calming library. I loved the smell of libraries and I always felt better in one. I found a little desk in a hidden corner and sat down. I pulled out my laptop and worked on my article. I heard my phone go off a few times and sighed. I took it out and glanced at it to see messages first from Finn and then from the rest of my friends in our group chat. I sent a message in the group letting everyone know I was fine and just working somewhere else. Then I put my phone on silent. I worked for a few minutes before I was disrupted by Finn tearing around the corner with a wild look in his eyes. When he saw me, hi

I turned it off. I got to sleep.

screen, in confusion I turn to see what he's looking at and there she is on the screen clinging to another girl, I looked closely at her long brown hair and big wide brown eyes, she was radiating fear "But she needn't worry" Abyss was tipping, the shock caused my heart rate to speed up and I had started sweating and that one word slipped out at the same time Acre said exactly the same thing "MATE".

Daisy still kept silent, calm as if nothing had happened. Dash’s head was like mud, he couldn’t remember anything. He quickly rushed into the bathroom and poured cold water on his head. A few blurry, fragmented images exist in memory. To stop Daisy's annoying crying. Dash sees Daisy as nothing more than a stuffed animal. Cover her nose, pinch her cheeks, spread her mouth, strangle. Being bothered too much. Daisy also reacted a bit. Mumbling something, she turned over and leaned in the other direction, continuing to sleep.

" Thanks, Sarah" When I entered the conference room I found the gentlemen mingling. Not saying a word I settled on my chair. Staring down my hands, I counted in my mind as I tapped down my fingers on the table one at a time without making a sound When I reached five I looked up raising an eyebrow with an emotionless expression, and as expected everyone took their respective places, and no one dared to open their mouth. One would mistake them for corpses, but corpse don't breath, do they?