Zadie Quinn

The screen turns red. ONE FINAL TALLY: 487-0 IN FAVOR OF TERMINATION. The system asks: 'SLEEPER UNIT, CONFIRM SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE?' / I hover over YES. …

I look at the other pods. Each one has a label: UNIT 1, UNIT 2, UNIT 3. Different names on each. But every window shows the same face. Different ages.…

I don't move. Just watch the vote counter climb. 250. 275. 300. And something clicks. What if it's not someone else? What if the sleeper is me? / But …

It's Marcus from admin. 'What's wrong, Cal?' / 'The motion on screen. Terminate the sleeper. Did you send it?' / Long pause. 'Cal, I don't see anythin…

There's no security footage. 'The camera broke during her last performance,' the stage manager says. 'It's in the prop room. You want to see it?' No. …

I'm alone in the dressing room. I lift my hand. My reflection doesn't. She raises one hand and waves at me. Smiles. The hand on my arm is cold and it'…

'Is she alive?' I ask. / 'Is anyone sure? After you die the same way eight times, say the same lines 400 times... are you sure you're still alive?'

Why did she really leave? / He looks away. 'She said she couldn't do scene 3 anymore. Said it was getting... harder to tell the difference.'

Mark 14 is stage left. I find a scratch in the floorboards shaped like an X. Under the X: a Polaroid. It's Lenore. But her eyes are wrong. Completely …

I don't write back. I walk. Forty steps, one deep breath, knock. Sam opens the door holding — I swear — the same blue pen. 'You're black-pen,' Sam say…

We finish the book one chapter at a time. Their notes get longer. So do mine. Chapter 20, they write: 'You read people the way you read books. Too gen…

I don't move. I just watch. Blue Jacket turns the pages slowly, standing right there on the sidewalk. Then they tuck the book under one arm and walk o…

I'm off the porch before I can think. Me: 'Any good?' They jump. Hold up the book like evidence. 'Sorry — is this yours? The notes. Are they yours?' U…

Under 'You're the first person who asked,' I write my name. My real one. And: 'The box is too slow. Tuesday, 6, the bakery on the corner?' The book di…

I panic and go weird: I leave a cookbook. 'Soups of the World.' On page 30, under a lentil soup, I write: 'This one got me through last winter.' It's …

One question. I write: 'Coffee, Saturday, the bench by the box? Bring your pen.' I return the book and don't sleep great. Saturday, 9:58. I'm on the b…

I stared at her message. She had noticed one silent stranger in a chat of 14 people. Me: "Honestly? You have the wrong number. I don't know your famil…

Auntie Shazia: "Why is he not replying? So rude." Uncle Tariq: "That's Faisal for you. He never replies. Not since 2019." Grandma: "Leave Faisal alone…

I panicked and put the car in reverse. The porch woman was faster. She was somehow already at my window, knocking. Her: "Grandma saw the car. It's too…

Grandma: "Good. Dessert is settled." Then Auntie Shazia sent the address. With parking instructions. Auntie Shazia: "Come at 6. Park behind the white …

Me: "What was the fruit incident?" Auntie Shazia: "We don't discuss it." Uncle Tariq: "Cousin Danish brought a fruit platter to Eid. A FRUIT PLATTER."…

Grandma ended the debate with one message. Grandma: "Bilal comes. Wrong number also comes. I cooked for 20 anyway." Sunday, Bilal and I stood on the p…

Me: "I appreciate it, but I really can't come to a stranger's dinner." Grandma: "Fine." Fine? That was too easy. Sunday, 7pm, my doorbell rang. A teen…

Inside, Grandma pointed at a young guy standing by the samosas. Grandma: "That is Bilal. His number we meant to add." Bilal: "So YOU'RE the wrong numb…

Then Grandma herself typed. The chat went still. Grandma: "Wrong number or not, nobody who has seen the word biryani in this chat leaves this chat." M…

Everyone was typing and deleting, typing and deleting. So I just asked. Me: "who are you" The reply came fast. Like it had been waiting for me specifi…

Mom: "change the name back. right now." Nobody could. The edit button was just gone. Then a poll appeared in the chat. Question: "Who should I visit f…

Mom: "NOBODY goes downstairs. I'm calling 911." We locked our doors. I sat on the floor against mine and listened to Mom's voice through the wall, giv…

Wren panicked. If the egg hatched, the queen would blame him. He shoved it into the cold shadow under a boulder, hoping the chill would slow it down. …

The shell broke open. A small dragon tumbled out, wet and silver, no bigger than a cat. It blinked up at Wren and let out a thin, hungry squeak. Then …