room, and she scrambled to her feet to shut her door all the way. April certainly couldn’t see her like this.
She thought about what Reizan said about having agents on the outside.
Jake.
Mary slipped some new pants on and stormed out of her room, slamming the door open against her wall. She found Jake and April talking in the kitchen, stunned by the loud noise.
“What the —?” April said.
Mary cut her off. “I want to know what the fuck Jake did to my drink last night. Show me the shit.”
“Mary, what the fuck?”
“Bullshit he didn’t. Trust me, I don’t even need to get into how I know. He better fess up or I’m calling the police.”
Mary came up to Jake’s shoulder and pushed him against the counter. “Right. Now.”
Jake held up his hands. “Okay, okay!” He gave April an apologetic look.
He fished out a small bag out of his jeans and handed it to Mary.
“I knew it,” Mary said, snatching it from him. “Where did you get this?”
“I— I don’t know, some dude gave it to me last week. He said it was ecstasy.”
“Then how come I was the only one to have any?” Mary asked.
Jake pointed to April. “She said you were really tightly wound and needed a break.”
Mary shook her head, pocketing the stash. “I can’t believe either of you, ridiculous.” She stormed back into her bedroom, leaving Jake and April awestruck.
In her room, she took the sandwich bag out and examined it. Three small pills were left. She folded up the plastic and hid it inside her sock drawer.
Her rush from confronting Jake and April was wearing thin, and she had a lot of catching up on sleep to do. She stripped off and climbed back into her bed, grazing her hand against the large red mark on her thigh one last time. Just as she fell asleep, she thought of Reizan. Of his escape from that hellish nightmare.
Dragon’s Claw by Simone Beatrix
“T he feast is tonight,” was what everyone kept telling me as I walked through the village stalls. I was looking for some food to bring home to my family on the outskirts of town, but no one was selling anything but their hardy leftovers. Whenever I asked why, they only responded with one thing.
I didn’t know what the feast meant. I had been too young to remember the last one, but despite that, no one would tell me what it was about exactly. I heard only one person mumble something about sacrifices and Gods, but I didn’t believe them. I thought we paid our penance every week? Sacrifice? It all seemed too unbelievable.
Regardless, when the moon fell that night, I joined the others at the well in the center of town. There, great torches blazed and illuminated the square. Hundreds of people had gathered around the town’s leader, Devon. He spoke over the crowd, a feverish excitement in his voice. I pushed my way through the throng as he thanked everyone who had shown up.
“... The time has come again, for us to choose a desirable woman to be sacrificed. Our town has gone through many hardships over the last couple years, a sure sign it is time to renew our vows to the God that lives on earth.” A hushed thrill ran through the crowd and the village leader held his hand up to regain their attention. “I know we aren’t supposed to talk about the sacrifice — that is one of the decrees — but once every fifteen years we must. Now if anyone would be willing to step up. It is for the town’s greater good.”
I gulped and looked around, staring at the faces in the crowd. No one volunteered. I still had barely any idea what Devon was talking about, but I wasn’t about to ask. A voice whispered in my ear, “How about you, Elizabeth?”
I turned to face it and found my friend, Caitlyn, always a joker. I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”
She giggled and prodded my ribs. “You should do it.”
“I don’t think so.”
Devon spoke up again. “If we do not have any volunteers, then I’m afraid I’ll have to choose myself.” He waved to the