The Flicker: Chapters 22–28

by H.E. Edgmon
A year after a solar flare changed life on Earth for good, stepsisters Millie and Rose go on a perilous journey in search of hope and family.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28, Chapters 29–37
15 words 17 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pedigree
    ancestry of a purebred animal
    That kinda thinking’s how a whole lotta colonizers convinced theyselves our people had pedigrees like dogs — and they could breed us out of existence.
  2. get along
    have a smooth or friendly relationship
    Why they can’t seem to get along is a mystery.
  3. violent
    characterized by bloodshed
    “I think what my little walking encyclopedia here means” — Addison chuckles — “is that people aren’t usually violent so long as they don’t need to be.”
  4. intercom
    a communication system linking different rooms or areas
    Especially when the beam from one of the watchtowers falls directly on the bus and a voice over an intercom calls out, “Step outside with your hands behind your heads!”
  5. chain mail
    (Middle Ages) flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings
    There must be at least a dozen of them — and they’re all wearing armor. Real-life, actual armor. Not metal and chain mail or anything like from fantasy movies, but military-type stuff.
  6. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    She wonders if they can hear the way his teeth chatter at the end of each word. If they know that lilt in his voice is ’cause his throat’s shaking.
  7. cold-blooded
    without regret, sympathy, or human feeling
    “The Hive only ever uses violence when necessary, the same as anyone else in this world. We aren’t cold-blooded killers.”
  8. kindred
    similar in quality or character
    Millie’s heart splinters and cracks like a mirror smashed by a fist. And she’s his mirror, ain’t she? They’re kindred, her and Ben.
  9. amend
    make revisions to
    “Well. This is it. You all realize we’re dead now, right?”
    “We ain’t dead,” Rose mumbles, like she ain’t had that same thought about three minutes ago.
    “As good as,” Addison amends.
  10. in vain
    without a successful result or effect
    “And if we just lie down and die, then Ben sacrificed his life for nothing. You want his death to be in vain, Addi?”
  11. fallout
    any adverse and unwanted secondary effect
    Looking back, I can’t believe I let Alex pretend to be someone they weren’t when we were around my parents, just so I didn’t have to deal with the fallout.
  12. ramen
    quick-cooking Japanese noodles served in broth
    Tate fills up the supper bowls and passes them out, a rare treat of instant ramen noodles.
  13. heartless
    lacking in feeling, pity, or kindness
    “You’d have to be stupid and heartless to have a kid ever again.”
  14. resolve
    the trait of being firm in purpose or belief
    The stoned-over resolve of someone who knows what’s coming for him and knows he ain’t gonna be able to stop it.
  15. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    Oliver has a real punchable face, she thinks, watching the way he manages to look both smug and a little surprised.
Created on Tue Jul 08 04:34:33 EDT 2025 (updated Thu Sep 25 19:47:55 EDT 2025)

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