They rolled up the path, tree branches raking the windshield like angry wardens.

When the people are not enlightened enough to exercise intelligent control, you take it from them, not to command their lives, but to create a safe depository for the ultimate powers.

Within her simple, terrified mind, swift calculations of distance and speed were at work, and her face advertised the disappointing results.

The boy raised the can to his nose and smelled, his lips wrinkling back as if he'd caught the business end of a skunk.

The sun had set, but a faint pastel haze lingered in the mid-summer sky.

The driver watched the young female figure approach within his rearview mirror, unable to discern more than superficial characteristics. As she grew closer, he saw the mud streaks and torn clothing, and within her eyes, he saw an emptiness where something beautiful might once have dwelled. A thing not lost, but taken, abruptly and without warning, using method so thorough as to alter a soul.