The Complex

The Complex: Chapter XIII – Final Interview

The light rail train pulled into Government Plaza station, smooth exterior coated in icy shards, windows thick with fog. With great reluctance, he pulled his thin coat more tightly to his chest. This garb was completely inappropriate for the weather. Slim and worn, the jacket was barely suitable for a crisp fall day much less…Read more The Complex: Chapter XIII – Final Interview

The Complex: Chapter XII – Into the Woods

He left the complex behind. Driving sluggishly down the street, he was shocked at the amount of snow that had been unceremoniously dumped across the Minnesotan landscape. Roads had disappeared. Parking lots were closed off. Snow sat on building roofs like decadent helpings of vanilla icing. Making an ungainly right turn, he unsteadily began moving…Read more The Complex: Chapter XII – Into the Woods

The Complex: Chapter XI – A New Day

He had made it through the night, the darkness and the storm. But now he was drifting in a new form of blackness - one more impenetrable than any night. Inside of this velvety, unfathomably-dense void, he was lost in more ways than one. There was no trace, no vestige of himself. His body was, of…Read more The Complex: Chapter XI – A New Day

The Complex: Chapter X – Letting it Be

The shower was warm and comforting, a steady stream that relaxed and invigorated her. Standing under the shower head, Sarah felt ensconced, safe, as if she had entered her own private, protective cocoon. She wanted to remain there forever. Although the snow and the wind had tapered off through the night, the temperature was still…Read more The Complex: Chapter X – Letting it Be

The Complex – Chapter IX: The Path

He stood in the snow behind the complex, looking at a tangled mess of woods that encircled the nearby frozen lake. The temperature had finally ticked up a notch, but he still found himself shaking. When he had brought the rock down in the supply closet, the mouse's innards had shot through its small, hairy…Read more The Complex – Chapter IX: The Path

The Complex – Chapter VIII: “It’s Chill”

Sarah sighed and got out of bed, swinging her feet onto the thin carpet. It was a half an hour before she actually needed to get up, but sleep had only come intermittently: 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there. Pulling on and zipping up a purple hoodie, she walked over to the frosty window, which looked…Read more The Complex – Chapter VIII: “It’s Chill”

The Complex – Chapter VII: “Oh, For the Love of God!”

The stairwell was silent except for his keys, which jangled and clinked as he strode quickly down the stairs, taking them two-at-a-time. The hallway was different, humming with a vitality unexpected at such a late hour. Walking through the dimly-lit corridor, the dull thump of his footprints could only be faintly heard. They were eclipsed…Read more The Complex – Chapter VII: “Oh, For the Love of God!”

The Complex – Chapter VI: Sophomore Year

Laying in her cramped, twin-sized bed Sarah listened to her house. The storm wouldn't let up. Outside, snow and wind pushed relentlessly against the facade, prompting creeks and moans. Even laying underneath a pile of blankets, Sarah bristled at both the sounds of the storm and the room's meatlocker-like temperature. The sealant around her bedroom's sole window was…Read more The Complex – Chapter VI: Sophomore Year

The Complex – Chapter V: The Application 

At 11 p.m., the night felt different than it did at 2 a.m., just like how 2 a.m. felt different from 3. Sitting in the office, he tried to savor the fleeting nature of the night's beginning, something only possible because he knew it would end. The first thing to set in was almost always…Read more The Complex – Chapter V: The Application