Author:
M.J. Swenson has been writing stories since elementary school and earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. Besides writing and reading, M.J. also enjoys playing music and video games.

I woke up feeling that something had changed.

I blinked twice, waiting for my eyes to adjust, and glanced at the clock beside my bed. It read 6:38, as it did every morning. I slid out of bed and moved to my dresser, where I opened the third drawer and pulled out a dark blue V-necked shirt with short sleeves and a dark blue pair of pants. I changed in front of the mirror and examined myself. I looked just as I had the last time I’d looked in the mirror: long, straight, dark brown hair; blue eyes; an absurdly straight and narrow nose; the slight scar at the edge of my eyebrow. The scar whose origin I still couldn’t remember.

Familiar Assassins

"Miranda," he said. "How did I know I'd find you here?"


"You must be kidding," I said through my grateful, fearful, confused tears. "How do you always know where to find me?"


He smirked. "No, no. It's you who knows how to find me." Kneeling down, he pressed his hand to my cheek. "What happened?"


"I - I don't know," I said, "but someone else in our class is going to be erased from Incipio before tomorrow, and I asked her" - I gestured to Kalle - "if she'd cover for me while I escaped to Terminus. She said no, so we got into an argument about it, and she just collapsed. I thought maybe all of the memory stuff might have taken her out."


"Possible," Thane said. "Also extremely rare and usually forgotten when it happens. They'll know. We should get out of here before they come."


"Are you joking?" I asked, flipping over onto my stomach so I could see him in the right orientation. "I'm not leaving her here. She's my best friend. I was hoping you could help me."


Chapter 29