It was the last Tuesday before Christmas, and the halls were peppered with art projects full of trees, presents and snow, which was funny to Luther since it never snowed in San Francisco.

That’s what he thought of to distract himself as he ran onto the first floor of Miraloma Elementary School.

When he reached the first floor, Luther nearly slammed into two of his teachers. There was his English teacher, a strange man named Mr. Webb. Mr. Webb always wore his hair long and often came to...

Lars Wolner really should have paid attention in biology class.

If he had, he’d have learned about Sarracenia, a genus of plants more commonly known as the North American Pitcher Plant. Had Lars paid attention the day his teacher brought one to class, he’d have seen him demonstrate how the plant used a sweet nectar to lure insects into its mouth, where they were smothered and digested alive.

But what did it matter if a dumb plant ate bugs? By high school, the oracle of the inter...

The San Francisco Police Department sat at the intersection of 3rd Street and Mission Rock. Anyone looking at it from the street might think it a well-fortified place for the city’s finest. If you asked Modine, the interior was almost schizophrenic.

It really depended on what room you were in. Walking past officers dealing with petty crime, you might hear laughter. Every criminal mastermind bumbling into a pair of handcuffs always amused rookie cops looking to wet their whistles. Special Vic...

Nat dropped Ethan off at the zoo.

What else could you call it? Zoos were places where animals that deserved to be free were made to do tricks before crowds of nincompoops. Here, Ethan was forced to wear a yellow apron and a fake smile, and repeat the same dull slogan to whatever nincompoop walked through the front door.

“Hi! Welcome to Baker Rick’s! We’ve got what you need in every aisle at every hour!”

Ethan spent his whole life in zoos. He’d learned that...

The werewolves were right behind him when Luther Childs slammed his bedroom door shut.

He wasn’t normally up this late. Like most nine-year olds, Luther was a sound sleeper. Also like most nine-year olds, Luther had nightmares.

He’s just escaped from one nightmare that had plagued him for the last year. It always began with him leaving bed for a glass of water, and he opened his door to find nothing there. Not just no people, but also no walls, no ceiling or floor, not even the w...