One of the trans guys at the meeting announced that he’d finally figured out his permanent name (he’d been trying out different ones, like me). That reminded me again that I needed to think more about my name. Amanda was nice, but it wasn’t quite right, any more than Natalie, Amber, Isabella or any of the others I’d tried on for a few hours.

March 11th, 3040

Keir leaned against the invisible body of Hanina, letting her hold his leaden body in place. His limbs were numb and nearly useless, the reins barely stayed in his hands. Without the leg straps and his servant, he wouldn't have been able to stay on the horse. That would have been embarrassing.

Elise rang the doorbell to her house and saw that Devin’s face was red and his body was shaking.

“Don’t die of a heat stroke out here.” She said to him.

“Sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“Yeah, I can see.” Elise said. “I think we should let your body breathe a bit when we go inside. We’ll head to my room and take that sweatshirt off.”

“Do you think they’ll let us close the door?”

“If they don’t I’ll make sure to cover you.”

“Thanks.” Devin replied.

“What was that shit you were saying, calling me a bitch?” I demanded.

The party was sprawling down the lawn towards the harbor, splashes of bright colors against blue skies, scudding white clouds and a crystal clear view of the Boston skyline. It reminded me of the dream I had taken across the threshold into morning. It had been years since I had seen that dreamscape, but there it was, whole and healed and perfect: me, making a graceful dive from a wooden pier into a deep, pristine lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, pine forests and the clearest air in the world. Wearing a lime-green one-piece and curves that were, finally, all my own.

CHAPTER 41
Our route wriggled and danced across the map, from Toulouse to Lastours, Carcassonne to Peyrepertuse, and then Beziers. Each held one or more castles, each held a story, and it was some time before I realised how much each place held for Alys. I had a hint of what was going on when we had passed Lastours, a spectacular chain of towers along a ridge, and continued uphill to a small hut with a tourist info place inside, where Alys had raved over some butterfly or other, as well as any number of short-toed eagles, lizards, plants, slime moulds, whatever.

The Imp ran at the strange human, it's mind filled with blood lust and glee at the impending kill. The human was sick and injured, barely able to hold its blade. Its claws would gut the prey, then it could find the unarmed humans, the weak and young. It would play with them for hours, listening to them scream, tasting their flesh, feeling their life leave their bodies.

2 Years Ago

38 Years Before the Fall of Hybra

I made my way through the dining hall, through the rows of tables bustling with the excited and idle conversations of servant that I both knew and didn’t know. One girl dark skin and curly blonde hair smiled and waved to me as I passed; I waved back, though I had no idea who she was. She turned to her friends and giggled as I continued onward, past the main grouping of tables and toward the front where Sheena, Kayla, and Elric sat with their food trays pushed off to the side while they stared at stacks of paper atop brown folders.

1 Year, 8 Months Earlier

Elise could not believe what she was hearing.

“What!?” She exclaimed. “Are you serious?”

“Could you try to keep it down?” Corey said, slightly annoyed. “I don’t want to attract any attention.”

Elise looked around the cafeteria and saw that quite a few people had turned their heads to see what the commotion was.

“Okay.” Elise said. “But only because I don’t want to attract any attention either. I don’t give a damn what you think.”

“Yeah.” Corey said quickly, not believing her.

Allen and Jodie both stepped foot into the Transformation Salon. They went up to the reception desk and checked themselves in. They had an appointment, but they were a little early, so they went into the waiting area and sat down. While they waited, Jodie scrolled on her phone, casually talking about what they might do later. But Allen wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. No, he was thinking about how he got here. How any of this was even happening to him. He reflected back on how it all started…

GAMBIER TERRACE

There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

1

Trenner’s Garage, Walker Airbase, Ellis County, Kansas:
Rebecca looks at the SUV that belonged to her sister’s company as it is towed in. It looked like someone had used it to play demolishing derby.

“Are your sister’s employees always this rough on their vehicles?” Lisa was standing next to Rebecca when they spotted a rival tow truck company approaching them with one of K&P services SUVs.

Getting it Wrong.
by
Angharad

It had been a wonderful evening, I had pulled a nice guy and we'd been for a meal. Then it had all gone wrong. Feeling all romantic and full of lust and dying to road test my new fanny we went off to his place for a cuddle and I hoped for more.

We cuddled and snogged for ages, swapping spit and whatever people do when they are randy. I'd always thought I was asexual but not since I had a vagina, this girl was going to make up for lost time.