GLITCH

“Nora laughed, leaning against the tree.”
― Stephanie Mirro, Curse of the Vampire

“BLOOD SOAKED THROUGH the dirt. At least, that’s what it looked like at first. Sera’s pulse quickened as she swept dirt off the item buried beneath the soil, careful not to disturb the item itself. A dark crimson pendant attached to a chain appeared before her. She used her soft-bristle brush to clear the area around the necklace until she was certain it was on its own. Oh my god… Sera stared at the artifact, holding her breath as if she might blow it away. The blood pounding within her ears drowned out any other sounds. Despite Chad’s warning not to waste her time, she had picked the zone she was digging in with a sense of purpose, knowing the other sites around the ancient Roman temple’s altar would have long since been looted. She’d expected to find common pottery shards along the temple’s sidewall, where niches were often found in excavations. But a silver necklace? With what appeared to be a ruby a little bigger than a quarter?”
― Stephanie Mirro, Curse of the Vampire

“But of course, she wouldn’t. She would avoid the confrontation, as usual. Typical Sera. “Josh, you and Lauren start recording the location of the necklace,” he said. She did a double take. He was assigning undergrads to a find of this magnitude? “I’m okay,” she said shakily as Nora helped her to her feet. “I’ll work on the amulet.” Chad’s eyebrows pulled together. “The what?” “It’s an amulet. To protect the temple.” She did her best not to cringe from his glare as she explained. “It sure did a piss-poor job,” Nora huffed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You’re going to rest.” He turned around. “Back to work, everyone. We’ll have time to gawk at the pretty necklace later.” Sera frowned as he casually dismissed her and walked away. World-renowned archaeologist Dr. Charles Lambert—Chad, as he preferred to be called by students—made significant advancements in remote sensing technology in the last decade, sending his career skyrocketing. Her college’s archaeology department had been using his new methodology last year when they discovered the buried temple in Campania, Italy. After requesting to lead their excavation this summer, Chad had agreed to return to the university as a visiting scholar for the next school year, much to the excitement of the entire archaeology department.”
― Stephanie Mirro, Curse of the Vampire

“Hailey perched on the roof of her two-storey brick house, oblivious to the pair of teenage girls giggling at the end of her street. One of them pressed her hands onto the road. The asphalt shuddered and moaned, great big cracks tearing through the black ground as water gushed up from underneath it, transforming the road into a crystal blue lake. The second girl stirred her hand through the water, ice blasting from her fingertips and shooting down the lake, freezing it solid. ‘Ice rink,’ both girls shouted. ‘Ice rink. Ice rink.’ Children piled out of houses, pulling on skates and scrambling onto the frozen water.”
― Sarah A. Vogler, Poseidon's Academy