"Lava" photo by Phillipe Put CC BY 2.0

Eketeen

my feet as I walk. I’m wading deeper. Liquid slides up my shins, my knees, my thighs. I gasp as it hits my stomach. I splay my arms as it sweeps over my breasts. It sloshes against my neck. I’m swimming.

"Hamar Woman" Photo by Rod Waddington CC BY 2.0

Kadaa’s Child

Her hands had never failed her before. With them she’d wielded the jegun blade in battle among the stars. With them she’d climbed the falling trees of Dong’ea Sulai, felled a shrieking falcon, and plucked maika wool. She’d always trusted her hands.

"Mar de antenas" photo by mermadon_1967 CC BY-SA 2.0

Eevy Menkos

Eevy Menkos licked her finger and jabbed it skyward. Her tongue flicked between her lips. Her eyes narrowed in concentration. Then she yipped, kicked her heels together and took a running leap over the rosebush. She skidded left and right along the path. The patio door banged shut behind her.

"Pocket Watch" PHoto by Artiom Gorgan CC BY 2.0

The Maze

Wind blew along the corridors, crackling with heat. It snuck moisture from the bricks. In its wake it left the crinkled skeletons of once-green ivy. A girl stumbled along with the wind. Tears and snot wet her cheeks and upper lip, transforming into salt-crusted trails as the wind dried them.

"Kurdish YPG Fighter" Photo by Kurdishstruggle CC BY 2.0

Shrike

Solia Faris slammed on the brakes of her armored jeep, released the seat harness, and launched herself out the driver’s side door. She tumbled down a steep grade, bounced, rolled, and then slammed to a stop against a pillar of goraxian rock. Solia spat blood from her mouth and scrunched into a ball.