
by GooseLucky
Elias closes his eyes in a life that's slowly eating him alive. He opens them in a world doing the same thing, only faster. Cities lie empty and still, in a way that has nothing to do with decay. People vanish without a sound, without a body: the clothes left behind are the only proof anyone ever stood there. Something moves in the dark, in every place the light doesn't reach. It waits for the moment someone lies to themselves. Not everyone Elias meets along the way is who they seem. A man whose kindness appears to know no limits. A woman whose silence hides more than she ever admits. As long as there's light, the dark keeps its distance. But no one can stay where the light reaches forever. Surviving here isn't about fighting. It's about looking at what you'd rather not see, in the world around you, and in whoever's walking beside you.
| # | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1 - Why we fall | — |
| 2 | Chapter 2 - Why we count each other | — |
| 3 | Chapter 3 - Why we trust the light | — |
| 4 | Chapter 4 - Why We Ask | — |
| 5 | Chapter 5 - Why Help Has a Price | — |
| 6 |
| Chapter 6 - Why the Boy Stayed Quiet |
| — |
| 7 | Chapter 7 - Why Help Has a Price, Part Two | — |
| 8 | Chapter 8 - Why We Don't Trust Early | — |
| 9 | Chapter 9 - Why We Don't Trust Early, Part Two | — |
| 10 | Chapter 10 - Why We Hold Our Breath | — |
| 11 | Chapter 11 - Why We Stay Down | — |
| 12 | Chapter 12 - Why We Never Linger | — |
| 13 | Chapter 13 - Why We Answer Carefully | — |
| 14 | Chapter 14 - Why We Stay Close | — |
| 15 | Chapter 15 - Why We Move Before We Decide | — |
| 16 | Chapter 16 - Why No One Led Out Loud | — |
| 17 | Chapter 17 - Why Fear Has No Voice of Its Own | — |
| 18 | Chapter 18 - Why the Light Can't Hold | — |
| 19 | Chapter 19 - Why Not Everyone Got to Leave | — |
| 20 | Chapter 20 - Who Never Asked | — |
| 21 | Chapter 21 - Who We Choose To Trust | — |
| 22 | Chapter 22 - Who Gets To Leave | — |
| 23 | Chapter 23 - Who Gets Left Behind | — |
| 24 | Chapter 24 - Who Goes Looking | — |
| 25 | Chapter 25 - Who Comes Looking | — |
| 26 | Chapter 26 - Who Is Asking | — |
| 27 | Chapter 27 - Who Keeps Secrets | — |
| 28 | Chapter 28 - Who Hums That Song | — |
| 29 | Chapter 29 - Who Saw Her Last | — |
| 30 | Chapter 30 - Who Came Back With Him | — |
| 31 | Chapter 31 - Who Do You Trust | — |
| 32 | Chapter 32 - Who Goes Down | — |
| 33 | Chapter 33 - Who Was Down There | — |
| 34 | Chapter 34 - Who Made the Choice | — |
| 35 | Chapter 35 - Who Let Him In | — |
| 36 | Chapter 36 - Who You'd Leave Behind | — |
| 37 | Chapter 37 - Who Knows You | — |
| 38 | Chapter 38 - Who You Trust | — |
| 39 | Chapter 39 - Who Is Left | — |
| 40 | Chapter 40 - Who Burns With It | — |
| 41 | Chapter 41 - Who Held The Line | — |
| 42 | Chapter 42 - Who You Were | — |