They don't own me. If I'm gonna die, I wanna still be me.

I swing my arms to loosen myself up. Place my fists on my hips. then drop them to my sides. Saliva's filling my mouth at a ridiculous rate and i feel vomit at the back of my throat. I swallow hard and open my lips so I can get the stupid line out and go hide in the woods and-that's when i start crying.

Allow me to translate, Twitchtip said, not even bothering to move. "She said if you don't stop your incessant babble, that big rat sitting in the boat next to you will rip your head off.

We fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice.

I'm on a frosting sailboat, tossed around by blue-green waves, the deck shifting beneath my feet.

We have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared

The anguish I always feel when she's in pain wells up in my chest and threatens to register on my face.