The fog had rolled in overnight, passing over the waves as they crept towards the shore. When morning came, the sunrise was caught and choked in the dense haze, leaving only an eerie impression of dawn. Provided with little clarity, the horizon quickly became lost among the thick of the fog, sea and sky blending into a vast, unending nothingness. With the sea fret came a silent stillness, the boundaries of the world ending a few feet ahead of whomever dared to venture outside

A storm rolled in overnight, swallowing Clayham-on-Sea in a blanket of downpour. Thunder, booming and imposing, stampeded overhead. The rain seemed taken aback, momentarily shrinking in the thunder’s presence before swelling back to full strength. Heralded by the crashing drums, lightning followed, illuminating even the darkest of shadows and whoever might be skulking within them.  Then, as dawn approached, the storm’s fury began to wane. Thick, iron grey clouds continued to

They met in early May, during a rare Sunday that broke from the disappointment of a damp and miserable spring. Sensing a change in their fortunes, Clayham-on-Sea’s locals flocked to the beach, rabid in their drinking up of the sunshine. Still so far from summer, it was a welcome break from the drought of hope that had loomed overhead. To some, this was proof enough that the tourists would be back and that their town would continue to be nourished by the attention of outsiders

Unlike so many of her friends, Envy found it easy to embrace the gloom of winter. Within its darkness, she saw opportunities to burrow deeper, creating a nest of warm lights and blankets where she might feel safe. Even with her acceptance of the season, however, early mornings remained a challenge for Envy. Outside, a sharp wind had spent the night charging at the walls of her student residence. In response, the cold permeated her room like a dull ache, and the allure of her

Even as February lingered just out of sight, winter was not yet done with Clayham-on-Sea.  As January faded, the tides became fiercer, dark water heaving and lashing at the shore. The very vibrancy of the town seemed to drain along the seafront; everything had paled in its presence. Once-golden sand was now dulled by the cold, the skies were iron white most days, and even the marquees with their pulsing lights and garish hues seemed muted under the oppression of winter rain.

On the shore, silence; dawn was still a distant hope, a promised kindness in the face of the ice and gloom blanketing Clayham-on-Sea. In heralding the coming light, a sharp breeze had pushed all clouds from the pale sky, leaving a clear view from the mainland right out to the horizon. The vista was a small mercy amid the cold January cruelty; Havannah reckoned it was something to be thankful for. During her first time at the water’s edge, there had been a certain defiance, ev

Previously on PIER... By the time the fireworks began, the bruised pastel sky had darkened into a barely-lit canvas. Light speckled against the gathered clouds in explosive glory as the crowd below cheered from the shoreline. Out at sea, the faint boom  echoed among the waves, a fleeting whip cracking from so very far away and disappearing into the void.  The evening was going better than Havannah had expected, flourishing from hesitant expectation into raucous celebration. H

Contains spoilers for PIER. It was a summer to regret. As a blaze consumed Clayham-on-Sea’s beloved pier, Envy MacAvoy  watched from the shoreline as rescue workers pulled Kristi Hallett ’s body from the water. The events leading up to her death are known to only two people: her sister, Claire Hallett , and Claire’s ex-boyfriend, Victor Grainger . Although reported as a tragic accident, it was in fact Claire who was solely responsible for Kristi’s demise. In a moment of self-