We Are All Strangers by Nicole Sobon Page B

sucked away in the warp.”
    Taking one last glance at my grandmother, who lay smiling, I reluctantly wrapped my hands around my mothers and allowed the power to crawl back through my veins.
    Time Jumping tore at my insides – sending my heart into a frenzy and my stomach into a nervous wreck. Side effects of using so much power.
    The clocks in the halls return to normal – as did the wall and the people.
    Everything returned to normal.
    Except for my grandmother.
    “I love you,” she said. “You know that, right?”
    I broke. Tears trickled down my cheeks, and all I wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry until I couldn’t cry any longer. “I love you, too,” I responded. “I can’t lose you, though, grams.”
    “You have to, Sophie.” Her breaths softened and according to the monitor beside her bed, her heart rate was beginning to drop. “I’ll still be with you in your memories. But it is time for me to go now.”
    I leaned down and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “Are you sure?” I asked.
    “I’m sure,” she said, her voice low.
    Nodding, I moved back, giving the rest of my family time to say goodbye. A nurse came rushing in, and escorted us out of the room. “I’m sorry, but it’s time.”
    It’s time .
    We stood at her window and watched as they tried to revive her, but she was gone. “I just wanted more time with her,” I said, gripping my pocket watch. “That was it.”
    “Sophie,” my mother wrapped her arms around me and pulled me against her chest. “Time isn’t ours to control.”
    No, it was only ours to lose.

LINGER
    D eath was quiet. It lingered around us constantly, moving from person to person, quietly, carefully. It could bury itself deep within someone, slowing seeping throughout their body for years, weakening the heart, and every other organ, until there was no life left.
    And sometimes it moved quickly, spreading like a wildfire through the least suspecting. One minute, everything was fine. The next, it was all gone.
    And even though I could see it – how, and when, someone will die - I was unable to stop it. Not that I hadn't tried, because I had. Numerous times, in fact. But it always ended the same way.
    Death was relentless.
    Once it had its sights set on you that was it.
    So imagine my horror when I noticed the red glow illuminating my boyfriend’s body.
    I was leaning against my locker, listening as Avery went on about her new flavor of the week, Jason, when Liam strolled up beside me. “Hey,” he smiled. “Where’ve you been all weekend? I tried calling you?”
    I glanced over at him quickly, trying to ignore the glow surrounding him. His eyes once a vibrant shade of green, were now faded and full of pain. His formerly tan skin was now chalk-white and covered in goose bumps. “What’s wrong?” I asked, gently wrapping my hand around his wrist. “Are you sick?”
    “Emma,” he said quizzically. “What’s up with you? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
    The red light illuminating his body was faint now, but as the day progressed, it would only grow brighter, slowly sucking the life out of his body. “Liam, something’s wrong.”
    Noticing I’d long since stopped listening to her, Avery flicked me on my shoulder. “Earth to Emma,” she joked, lifting her elbow atop my shoulder.  “What’s up with you today?”
    “Me?” I scoffed. “Look at Liam. He’s clearly sick.”
    Avery stared at me as if I’d lost my marbles. “Em, did you fall and hit your head by any chance?”
    I shook my head no. “I’m not insane, Avery. Look at him – his eyes, his skin. He’s clearly sick.”
    Liam ran his hand through his unruly, brown locks. “Emma, maybe we should take you to the nurse. Maybe your mom can come get you, and then you can go home and relax.”
    “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Avery replied.
    Before I could protest, she was skipping down the hall, slipping between the hordes of students, until stopping in front of the