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“This was another thing Vale鈥檚 mother never understood: Vale was aro-ace, both aromantic and asexual. She鈥檇 told her parents she just wasn鈥檛 interested in dating any number of times鈥� But they never seemed to get it. To them, Vale鈥檚 sexuality was a 鈥榩hase鈥� that they were certain she would one day outgrow. Their obliviousness was a raw spot for Vale.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“She took two steps toward the door, rolling her shoulders as if walking into a fight. It would be better to just get it over with. Rip the first day off like a bandage rather than wallowing in her misery like a baby.”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“She was tall and wiry, a dark smudge - a bruise or dirt - marring the light, inner surface of her forearm. Piercings dotted the shells of her ears, a tattoo peeking out from under her waistband. Drew鈥檚 breath caught and held as she turned and her face came into view. She was beautiful in the way that bonfires were - mesmerizing and more than a little dangerous - brilliant rather than pretty. Like those flames, she drew him forward.”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“The teens had gathered in an open clearing. Behind them, the banded lines of Avion Ridge formed a ragged edge between sky and ground, a rock wall looming above the trees. Ash shivered. The hikers stood in shadow here, the warmth of the day gone.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“An hour after they鈥檇 left the clearing, a heavy layer of fog filled the valley like a moist blanket. The trees grew into amorphous shapes, mountains gone.
Ash stopped dead in his tracks. He stared into the forest with wide eyes. 鈥淲hoa! D鈥檡ou see that?!鈥�
Vale jerked to a stop. 鈥淲hat? Where?!鈥�
鈥淭here in the trees.鈥� He pointed into the forest to where the rainy undergrowth grew thick with a hazy veil of grey-white mist. 鈥淭he haze.鈥�
鈥淲hat about it?鈥�
鈥淟ooks like game lag. But like鈥� real lag. Real life lag.鈥� Ash grinned at her, his brown eyes sparkling. 鈥淟ike the forest is supposed to be there, but it鈥檚 not totally loaded by the computer yet.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be trouble.鈥�
鈥淲丑测?鈥�
Vale nodded to where Ash knew the mountaintops should be, but were no longer visible, caught in an otherworldly lag. 鈥淚t means we can鈥檛 see the mountains.鈥�
鈥沦辞?鈥�
鈥淪o we can鈥檛 see where we are going anymore.鈥�
Ash frowned. 鈥淓r鈥� yeah.鈥�
鈥淐鈥檓on. Let鈥檚 keep walking.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“What鈥檚 THAT?!鈥� Laurent screeched as the bushes directly next to them began to move.
A hundred things ran through Madi鈥檚 mind: that serial killers really should choose more productive ways to spend their time, that her sister Sarah was going to be out-of-control when their parents broke the news Madi鈥檇 been murdered, that it was a really stupid twist of fate that Madi鈥檇 found the man of her dreams only to lose him, and lastly鈥�
That really looks like a squirrel.
鈥淩UN!鈥� Laurent bellowed as the little creature took two bouncing steps toward them and stopped, staring at them with interest.”
― Danika Stone, Internet Famous

“Although she appreciated her father鈥檚 not-so-subtle efforts to nudge her toward social normalcy, she wasn鈥檛 entirely sure she could. Not when the deck was stacked so decidedly against them. Did she want to set herself up for relationship failure?”
― Danika Stone, Internet Famous

“It was late September in the Ohio River Valley, the dying days of summer when soaring temperatures fought autumn鈥檚 grasp. Here the sweat and sunshine lingered, a mocking presence as school began. Sullen waves of heat thickened under the claustrophobic press of low-lying clouds, while humidity amplified the temperatures into a fever dream of shimmering sidewalks and sunburnt noses.”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“AJ knew he should stop the fight. Still, the sight of a little girl - no younger than himself, though smaller - pounding on the commander鈥檚 bully of a son made him pause. He watched in open-mouthed admiration as her fists rained down on Holden鈥檚 face. This fleshy boy transforming into a snotty-nosed, crying lump of flesh was the same one who鈥檇 bloodied AJ鈥檚 nose a week ago. She鈥檚 taking him, AJ realized.”
― Danika Stone

“Both her father鈥檚 hands bore the scars of old burns: the lines a map of a place no one wanted to remember, and Ross couldn鈥檛 forget.”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“As Esther reached her father鈥檚 side, his hand snaked out to grab hold of her upper arm. She gasped, wincing as he dragged her along beside him. For the second time in a single day, AJ found himself wanting to intercede, but this time he didn鈥檛.
Adults had a code all their own.”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“He unfolded his lanky frame and stood up on his bed, pulling the basement window open, followed by the screen. Two long legs in faded jeans were crouched down beside the faded flowerbed, knees pressed into the damp dirt. He shivered as the chill autumn air filled the bedroom. With the window open, the sound of late-night insects chirping in the distance joined the noises of the house.
鈥淭ess?鈥� he asked, craning his neck to peer upward. 鈥淓verything alright?鈥�
She was backlit by the streetlight, her hair a halo of gold-framed blue. She gave an angry shake of her head. 鈥淐an I come in, Kyle?”
― Danika Stone, Icarus

“The first hint of danger was a howl so distant, it was more a feeling than a sound.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“Outside the closed windshield, birds hovered mid-air, held aloft by the relentless breeze. Lethbridge was a prairie city, dusty and slow-moving, but it had one constant that separated it from other places on the flatland: Wind. Bracing for it, Lou swung the door open and caught the handle before the gusts could tear it from her hand. Black hair whipped around her face. Scents rose and swirled past, carried by the breeze. Lou breathed in sunbaked soil and sparse golden grasses, motor oil and fast food.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“The town was as barren as an empty movie set, the only movement from deer that wandered the boulevards. His eyes skimmed silent streets as he searched for the bed and breakfast. A half-grown fawn, grazing near the side of the road, lifted its head and hurried off to its mother.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“An early frost was in the air tonight. Wind whipped outside the cabin鈥檚 basement windows, the last tendrils of late summer disappearing as fall took root. The dismal turn of the weather was a match for Lou鈥檚 mood.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“His voice jerked Lou from her memory. She blinked and the dim bedroom returned. Outside the parted curtains, the inky surface of Bertha Bay lay silent. Above it ran a saw鈥檚 blade of mountains. Beneath, Lou knew, but didn鈥檛 dare say.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“There was too much history he鈥檇 like to forget, but his memories were on the surface today, closer even than the woman across from him. For a single heartbeat the shop faded and Slocan appeared: huts in rows, men and women like cattle within its fenced boundaries.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“I know these people, Sadie,鈥� Jim said quietly. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all good folks.鈥�
鈥淚 know. That鈥檚 what bothers me.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“He opened his mouth and closed it again. There was so much more he wanted to say to her, but Alistair knew that he couldn鈥檛. He could remember her. He could remember this: the two of them standing side by side. Only it wasn鈥檛 this moment, but another, centuries before. Two sides of the same coin. It made him want to shout in excitement; it made him want to hide in shame. She doesn鈥檛 remember.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“Sparrows were an interesting bird. They had dialects unique to each region they inhabited. If Waterton had a sound, it was the lonely sparrow, keening for its mate. The trill was peaceful, but melancholy.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“Lou sat on the dock and stared into the blue depths of Waterton Lake to where a figure floated under the surface. It was the woman who鈥檇 walked into Emerald Bay, her pockets full of stones, but in the dream, the woman鈥檚 face was a mirror of Lou鈥檚 own.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“Beyond him lay a small, boggy lake, a few patches of brush along its edge. There was the scent of decay, and Rich鈥檚 nostrils flared in disgust. His feet slowed just as one of the bushes moved. He jerked to a stop and his knee twisted in his haste. A stone鈥檚 throw away, a grizzly bear, interrupted from its feast of carrion, stood up on hind legs.”
― Danika Stone, The Dark Divide

“The orcs grew closer, the dark smudge growing.
He felt, more than saw, the elf take her place at his side. Ash knew there was no way two fighters鈥攅ven good ones鈥攃ould stop an onslaught like this. The elf was young. Inexperienced. It pained him that she鈥檇 die here.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“If Ashton Hamid had a patronus, it was an overgrown Great Dane. He was all long arms and knobby-kneed legs, bony elbows and size sixteen feet. The resemblance extended to his face too. His brown eyes seemed perennially tired, punctuated by drooping lids and sloping black brows. Chin-length hair flopped over his eyes and behind his ears. His clothes鈥攂ought to fit his six and a half foot frame鈥攁lways looked three sizes too big.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“They headed across the meadow, passing groups of students eating lunch. A mottled bird that looked like a cross between a chicken and a pheasant burst from the undergrowth. Ash watched it flutter into the trees, then land in the bushes.
鈥淲hat in the world鈥�?鈥�
Vale followed his gaze to where the bird waddled through the undergrowth. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a spruce grouse.鈥�
Ash stared into the trees. A few steps away from the meadow, the light dropped by half. 鈥淲hat did you call it again?鈥�
鈥淪pruce grouse is the official name, though they鈥檙e sometimes called prairie chickens or fool hens.鈥�
Ash chuckled. 鈥淔ool hens, huh?鈥�
鈥淵eah. People think they鈥檙e kind of dumb鈥攖he way they let other animals get close to them. They鈥檙e pretty mellow.鈥�
Ash watched it as it faded back into the autumn foliage, the plumage a match to the brown and orange leaves. 鈥淗ow do you know all this stuff?鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 read things, I guess.鈥�
鈥淚 know that, but where鈥檇 you learn the stuff about birds?鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e got a couple books on wildlife. Books on the woods, and on camping, and survival, and鈥︹€� Vale shrugged. 鈥淚 just read a lot of stuff. Okay?鈥�
Ash grinned. 鈥淧retty cool.”
― Danika Stone

“Ash bumped her shoulder. 鈥淗ey, Vale. I got a joke for you.鈥�
She smiled. 鈥淥kay.鈥�
鈥淲hat do you do when the world champion of Scrolls of the Illuminati knocks on your door?鈥�
鈥淚鈥︹€� Vale giggled. 鈥淚 have no idea.鈥�
鈥淵ou say 鈥榳ell done, sir!鈥� then pay the man for the pizza!鈥�
Ash cracked up at his own joke and a moment later, Vale began to laugh too. For a few seconds, it felt like everything was normal again.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“Ashton Hamid hated hiking. He hated the woods. Hated the whole insistence on 鈥渞eal life experiences鈥� and 鈥渟urvival鈥� and 鈥渘ature鈥� in general. He took another step, wincing as the blister on his heel throbbed. THIS is why I prefer V.R.! The trees grew close together here, and the trail on which he and Vale hiked wove in and out of them like a ribbon. He squinted into the forest. If Vale wasn鈥檛 leading, he鈥檇 have no idea where to go. The trail was little more than a muddy path.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“While they rested, he searched for landmarks. The mountains they鈥檇 walked into were gone, a hazy gray ceiling of storm clouds in their place. It gave him the unsettling feeling of being caught inside a box. Ash turned and looked back the other direction. His attention caught on the forked top of a pine tree and he frowned. What the hell鈥�? That looks like the same tree we passed fifteen minutes ago. It felt for a moment like he was in a poorly designed game and had just come across a repeating landscape. His gaze dropped down to the path where they鈥檇 just passed. His stomach churned uneasily. The trail was a faded smudge, the line of it almost too faint to follow in the gathering darkness, but there was a small outcrop of rocks in the trees that also looked familiar.
His attention jumped back to the pronged top of the branches. 鈥淲hat the鈥�?”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“Ash nodded. A moment later, sleep overtook him and he began to dream. He stood in the gamescape of Immortal Defenders, Vale in armor at his side.”
― Danika Stone