VShaw

There are no such things as heroes or villains in this world, his father had once told him. Just people. Tony realises this is true as he watches the smoke, watches as it rises upon its haunches like some terrible thing about to swallow him whole, watches as it rubs its grey-wolf muzzle against the windowpane. Spidey isn’t going to come crashing through that glass to save him. Superman isn’t going to appear either, blowing out the flames as if they were nothing more than candles on a birthday cake. His heroes don’t exist anymore; they’ve died in his head. No, if Tony wants to escape—if he wants to fucking live

As soon as the doors closed, Viola knew she'd be lucky if she was ever given the chance to step outside them again. The sound didn't just echo throughout the tower, but appeared to signal the ending of her old life and the beginning of an entirely different one. "You'll have to watch this one," Mrs Casket said, holding up a frail hand speckled with age. The index finger was missing. "She bites." Viola averted her eyes, trying to ignore the ball of apprehension growing in her belly. She gazed up at the winding staircase. Her tongue felt like a strip of dried leather and it was difficult to form words around it. "How much longer until we're t

As the earthworm emerges from her ear canal, following the blood-slick trail down her cheek, the girl can't help wishing she'd listened to family. Her body is the feverish rush of tempered steel plunged into icy waters. She doesn't know how long she's been trapped down here for. She bases her concept of time upon the alignment of the sun, the moon. Her eyelids are heavy and even if she could open them, she'd see nothing. The smell of dirt, rich and damp, fills her nostrils. She struggles, but it's in vain. The earth is cocoon-tight around her. She pauses and then alarm shoots through her as swiftly as an arrow. She can't breathe! Dirt hits