Scott Reintgen

The weight of each touch and the tremble of each kiss shatter me into song.

The words grow wings as we talk our way back across the universe.

For a few seconds Ren stood there, bent over, her chest heaving. Even the smallest motion threatened to rock her stomach. She waited until she was certain she wasn’t going to throw up again. Then she pulled her scarf up over her nose and turned back to face the dark scene.

Timmons looked like a dying flower. She was kneeling in the dirt, face buried in her hands, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. Theo stood with one hand pressed to the base of a giant tree, struggling to keep his feet. He’d turned his back to them. Anything to avoid looking at what was lying on the forest floor between them. Ren’s eyes skipped over that same spot.

She looked at Avy instead. He was on his back, staring up at the thick canopy. His chest rose and fell, and she remembered he’d been hit by a stunner before the portal spell activated.