thanh.nguyenhoang.1403@gmail.com
Stories
168
Chapters
1,512
Words
3.2 M
Comments
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Reading
11 d, 4 h
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ARIA The storm was breaking, but the sky offered no salvation. I stood near the edge of the iced-over maintenance outcropping, the freezing wind whipping the loose strands of hair across my face. Below me, the churning, slate-grey expanse of the inland sea stretched out toward the horizon, visible now that the localized blizzard of the Iron Eclipse war game was dissipating. Vesper lay exhausted on the heavy iron grating a few yards away, her massive mirrored chest rising and falling in a deep,…-
22.5 K • Completed
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ARIA The sixty-minute countdown felt like a physical weight pressing against my ribs. I kicked the heavy iron release lever of the maintenance airlock, my boots hitting the steel grating of Sector Four’s lower corridor. The general quarters Klaxon was deafening down here, a rhythmic, pulsing scream of red light and blaring sirens that bathed the cold iron bulkheads in the color of blood. The analgesic in my system was already beginning to fray. The dull, muted throb in my right arm was sharpening back…
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22.5 K • Completed
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The sharp, metallic click of Commandant Thorne’s kinetic sidearm cocking echoed through the devastated relay room, cutting through the wail of the alarms. Cassian was slumped against the brass terminal, his body entirely spent. He had burned the last of his memories to fuel the shadow-vortex, sacrificing his own mind to broadcast a lie that would save my life and spare the cadets. His dark eyes were half-closed, hollowed out by the agonizing toll of the magic, completely defenseless as Thorne aimed for…
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22.5 K • Completed
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ELI The cold in Detroit doesn’t just chill your skin; it gets into your bone marrow and sets up camp. Tonight, it tasted like oxidized road salt, vaporized rubber, and adrenaline. I leaned against the icy fiberglass chassis of Ambulance 61, my heavy uniform jacket zipped to my chin, watching the chaos of the underground drag meet unfold. This wasn’t our usual dispatch zone. My partner, Miller, had insisted we take the long route back to the depot, claiming we needed to clear our heads after a…-
26.8 K • Completed
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REINA The variables had just violently shifted. Through the massive, half-open bay door of the dyno room, the freezing Detroit wind howled, carrying with it the unmistakable silhouette of a threat. A man in a paramedic uniform, identical to the one Eli wore, standing in the snow-dusted loading dock. He had a Glock 19 raised, the slide racked, his stance wide and practiced. I didn't know his name, but I knew his function. He was the executioner, and Eli was in his crosshairs. My brain processed the…
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26.8 K • Completed
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ELI The brass keys in my pocket were heavy, cold, and entirely real. I sat at one of the massive drafting tables in the upper loft, the morning sun filtering through the heavily barred, frosted industrial windows. The light was gray and unforgiving, matching the concrete and steel aesthetic of the restored assembly plant. My fingers were stained black with grease pencil. I pushed aside a complex schematic for a dual-wishbone suspension and laid down a blank sheet of heavy architect’s paper. My medical…
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26.8 K • Completed
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REINA The resistance of the heavy cotton undershirt gave way instantly beneath the titanium shears. I didn't tear it—I cut it, a clean, decisive line down the center of his chest. The fabric parted, revealing the rigid, sweat-sheened musculature underneath. He was breathing hard, the rise and fall of his chest fighting against the unyielding tension of the five-point harness. My knees bracketed his hips. His right hand, still holding the jagged shears, rested inches from the thick nylon lap belt. He…
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26.8 K • Completed
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REINA The silence in the cab of the armored Sprinter van was a physical pressure, denser than the freezing Detroit air outside. It was 0245 hours. I drove with the headlights off as we navigated the desolate, snow-packed service roads running parallel to the Detroit River. The heavily modified diesel engine hummed a low, aggressive rhythm, but it was nothing compared to the absolute, vibrating rage radiating from the passenger seat. Eli sat rigid in the custom-molded carbon-fiber chair I had built for…
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26.8 K • Completed
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ELI The physical aftermath was a heavy, intoxicating gravity. I sat on the edge of the steel drafting table, the cold metal pressing into my bare skin, my hands tangled in Reina's dark hair as she rested her head against my chest. The scent of our collision hung thick in the freezing air of the loft. The adrenaline had finally burned out, leaving a raw, vibrating exhaustion in its wake. For the first time since the gunshot at the drag strip, the constant, shrieking alarm in my head was quiet. I had…
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26.8 K • Completed
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REINA The heavy industrial zip-ties cut into my wrists, biting through the sleeves of my tactical sweater, pinning my hands behind the steel support column of a streetlamp. I stood in the freezing rain on Jefferson Avenue, the asphalt slick with sleet and the blood of a shattered illusion. The red and white lights of Ambulance 61 were already fading into the gray morning fog, flanked by the two unmarked SUVs. They had Eli. They had the ledger. Miller hadn't killed me because a dead woman with my…
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26.8 K • Completed
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