Temple_GD_

[REND] 7.1 - Inhuman Besties

The pain was gone, but I remained bowed to the floor. My hand covered my chest and the artificial Core embedded into it. I could feel my self-inflicted wound heal around the small Core, flesh wriggling as it reformed itself.

This stupid, low-quality, replica thingy couldn’t pierce my superhuman skin, so I had to help it out. Pretending to be in excruciating pain, I had bent down and dug...

[REND] 6.6 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

Amber Deen Leska

Amber Deen clenched her teeth. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as the stress piled.

What was that nonsense about being heroes? As if it couldn’t be more obvious that Dario said it just to convince them to join.

This sinister organization wouldn’t spring this offer of superpowers to anyone unless they were truly desperate for more rec...

[REND] 6.5 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

“So… are you guys with the Bureau of Interdimensional Defense?” I asked. Whatever story Dario would give, it wouldn’t be the truth. Not the complete truth, anyway.

“Not really,” Dario said. “We're under a different organization. A secret one.”

“The BID’s secret as fuck too,” said Reo. “Yeah, we get to see their scary agents, but they’re into shady business,...

[REND] 6.4 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

“An artificial Core?” A few days ago, I was only concerned with law school, sweet treats, and movies. Now, there was bullshit like artificial Adumbrae and artificial Corebrings.

Was someone playing a prank on me? I wouldn’t be surprised if I were in some kind of reality show, and everyone was using special effects to fool me. But this was unlikely since I had experienced for myself ...

[REND] 6.3 Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

Amber Deen Leska

Amber Deen was jolted awake by a sharp smell up her nose. It was like bleach, some strong cleaning product. She coughed and rubbed her nose, her mind spinning as she came to. Her eyelids were heavy as she opened them. The first thing she saw was the worried face of her best friend looking down on her.

“Erind?” Amber muttered with a raspy voice. ...

[REND] 6.2 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

Since Myra wasn’t human and was hanging out with other non-humans, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that her sister, Kelsey, was superpowered too. If so, it must’ve been Kelsey who fought the mutant on the train. Couldn’t have been too many women with superstrength taking the subway during Monday rush hours. Tower Cop, Ramello’s uncle, was looking for Kelsey. Same with Purple Moha...

[REND] 6.1 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

“You’re here to save me—us?” I really needed to see the movie script because I had no idea what was going on. This guy must be with those attacking the place. But who were they?

Ski Mask—the numbing headache impaired my nickname-generating organ—raised a finger to his mouth. He cocked his head, listening for noises. Only the sound of fighting from the outside filtered in. He t...

[REND] 5.6 - A Monster Among Monsters

My claws—I had freaking claws—breached the surface.

“What the hell is the?” That was my prey. My ears were still underground, but I heard him loud and clear. Not just his voice, but also his heartbeat began to hasten in fear. “Bigsby! Where are the others?”

“I-I don’t know, boss. They should be here by—”

“Your gun! Throw it over.”

I burst...

[REND] 5.5 - A Monster Among Monsters

Well, she wasn’t exactly me. I am me!

This must be some Adumbrae mind trick to make me lower my guard or something. Not sure if it was working because she looked like a spooky version of me. Uncanny and odd. I didn’t feel any connection to her at all. Still, I preferred this to an abstract monstrosity.

Or was she showing what I’d look like when I’d fully transform s...

[REND] 5.4 - A Monster Among Monsters

I pulled Deen back before Purple Mohawk’s fist connected with her face. Deen was too shocked to react. Purple Mohawk yanked out his arm and tore away the front part of our cage.

“You bitches think you’ve got me ensnared by your scheme?” he snarled. “I’m no fool! Pray all you want that the police, the BID, the Corebrings, anyone, save you. But no one’s coming! I don’t care ...

[REND] 5.3 - A Monster Among Monsters

“Yes, I’ll eat this brain,” Purple Mohawk replied, displaying a wild smile with perfect teeth. He scooped out a clump of brain with his knife—the mutant’s head wriggled a bit; I couldn’t be sure if it was still alive—and plopped the mush into his mouth. He savored it with gusto and dramatically swallowed. “Don’t look away now, or I’ll be very, very angry.”

�...

[REND] 5.2 A Monster Among Monsters

Bruised Lover warily checked the floor of his cage with the tip of his foot. It had hardened. He exited his cage, stretching his arms and legs. “I’m not going down without a fight, you traitor to humanity,” he said. “If I win, if I take down this ungodly creature… you fucking promise me that you’ll release the girls.”

“You’re not in any position to bargain.” Purple Moh...

[REND] 5.1 - A Monster Among Monsters

“I’m Mr. Firio, your host for the day.” Purple Mohawk walked forward, his boots splatting across the gore. “That won’t work, blondie,” he said, pointing at Deen’s phone, which she had gotten from her pocket. “I personally think that the current generation spends too much time on their phones. Let’s live in the moment.” He kicked the severed head.

It rolled up against t...

[REND] 4.3 - A Memorial to Remember

Straight for five minutes. Then, left. Right, straight, another right after two minutes. I think we got on the flyover. Were we stopping for a red light? Didn’t we have another red light back there? This shouldn’t be the flyover near my condo. Was that a turn to the left, or did the SUV just overtake another car?

Okay, I give up. This was impossible.

There was this old ...

[REND] 4.2 - A Memorial to Remember

My rowdy cousins, sons of Aunt Jemma, had a favorite expression—shriveling balls. They kept saying those stupid words when we rode a roller coaster. I had no idea how that’d feel like given I had no such body parts, but I could guess.

I bet the sensation fit the situation. Hey, it rhymed.

“The-there’s another Adumbrae?” I spoke in a scared voice. It was easy to ma...

[REND] 4.1 - A Memorial to Remember

I never imagined I’d ever kill a person and go to their memorial service. What a funny string of events that led to this situation.

If only I could’ve gone on my own instead of with Deen. I had to attend the service; I’d come off as an asshole if I didn’t. It’d be super interesting anyway. And I couldn’t refuse Deen’s offer for a ride because the alternative was going with R...

[REND] 3.3 - Those Above the Law

I had been standing for twenty minutes, staring at the board and playing a tune in my head. “Sir, no one can legally bind superhumans who can grind cities to dust. I don’t think anyone can tell them to play nice. We’re just lucky that they do.”

Deen inhaled sharply at my audacious answer. Silence followed.

Professor Gallagher stared at me. I stared back with a grin.

Hi...

[REND] 3.2 - Those Above the Law

Deen and I arrived in class with five minutes to spare. Professor Gallagher wasn’t in yet.

Our classmates were huddled into groups, animatedly talking as if the lecture hall were a marketplace. Some of them were watching videos. I bet their topic was the Adumbrae attack.

Normally, everyone would be poring over their notes by now so they could answer the professor’s questions. If...

[REND] 3.1 - Those Above the Law

“Hmmm… My second day as a monster.”

Back and forth, back and forth, I stirred my cup of chamomile tea as I inhaled its relaxing fumes.

Don’t hit the sides, don’t hit the sides, I continuously chanted in my head, timing each stroke of the spoon with a syllable.

Rule #1 mandated that I stir any liquid back and forth instead of in the usual circular ma...

[REND] 2.4 - New Semester, New Me

It was faint, but I was sure I was hearing footsteps. I turned the corner to the right. The sounds continued, louder. Someone was following me.

Could this be my much-anticipated attacker? I veered left, into a dark alley to embolden this asshat.

Again, just presenting an opportunity.

I pretended to fumble with my phone before switching on its flashlight. I turned around and sh...

Feedback for REND rewrite blurb/summary

I'll resume writing REND in a couple of days. But before that, I'm also preparing the blurb/summary of REND for the rewrite. Blurb is very important because it (along with the title and cover) attracts new readers. I'll really appreciate it if you give feedback/suggestions to the blurb I've come up with below:

"When the wrong person gets superpowers...

Er...

[REND] 2.3 - New Semester, New Me

Little Red Riding Hood? Did he call me that because of my hoodie? Though I liked the story of Little Red Riding Hood, I hated being called ‘little.’ If I were born elsewhere, like Asia or something, my height wouldn’t be considered too short.

I glanced at them again, eyes stricken with fear. How was my face doing? I wish I had a mirror to check my expression. Need more prac...

[REND] 2.2 New Semester, New Me

“Worse than a pus-filled pimple right on my nose,” I said. “Or not. I think I’ll take this growth over a pimple like that. Could an Adumbrae get a pimple?” I didn’t know the answer, but I knew this tiny crystalline lump wasn’t the last of it. “How to hide this…?”

A band-aid? Make-up? A pimple patch? Such a hassle. It wasn’t like I could remove it.

I jerked at t...

[REND] 2.1 - New Semester, New Me

“Hi, Mom,” I said, answering the phone.

“Erind, dear!” The phone wasn’t on loudspeaker, yet Mom’s strong voice reverberated throughout the corridor. “Thank goodness you picked up. I couldn’t contact you; I thought something bad happened to you.”

“I was inside the elevator, Mom. I’m in my condo building. Now, I’m walking to my room.” While wearing bloody...