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

Minutes later, he held up a hand for everyone to stop. We stood in front of a huge building with guide lights surrounding it. It towered over all of Incipio's other buildings. Its light material stood out even in the scarce light, gleaming, taunting, obvious. Thane strode toward a rusty metal back door, the paint dark and contrasting against the white stone, with a blue guide light hovering over it.


Wordless, one of the foot soldiers held him back with an arm and shook his head. Thane nodded, backing up a few steps.


The foot soldier knocked on the door. A voice sounded in the quiet, but I couldn't make out what it said. The soldier's response was even quieter.


Slowly, the door opened a crack. A face appeared from inside the building and scanned the scene outside before seeming to decide it was safe. The door opened wider, and I saw that the figure inside was Cedric.


Chapter 46