The discovery of the money gave Lucy another problem, Andrea. She'd promised that she'd live with her until the Cowes week event. Now, she had enough money to do as she pleased with her life without her parents trying to tell her what to do ever again.

It was then that she realised that was exactly the reason why Andrea was crying. Andrea must have realised that Lucy didn't need her anymore. The visible change in Lucy over the past weeks thanks to Andrea had been there for everyone to see apart from Lucy herself.

Slowly it began to dawn upon her that Andrea had made her take stock of her life. She didn't know what she wanted to do with it but it, whatever it was, was on her mind now instead of being pushed back into the darkest recesses and filed under 'tomorrow'.

Had Andrea and her no-nonsense approach to life had made her grow up at least a little bit?

That and a thousand other questions raced through her mind. It was only when Andrea touched her arm lightly and said,

"Earth to planet Lucy, come in please?"

What would you do if you know that tomorrow is the last day of your life?

Very soon, the sun will go supernova. There are ten days left. The planet, Betelgeuse VII, is being evacuated. The last survivals are being rescued and moved to a new planet, Betelgeuse S, located at ten light years away.

I'm sorry this is a bit late. I kept feeling dissatisfied and re-writing. It felt too passive. Finally, as I lay in bed waiting for sleep, I realized a solution. I started on it first thing this morning. This is the result.

The Angel of Chicago

Part Seventeen: Probative Action

by

Rodford Edmiston

Light's Promise (Part 6 of 6)

by Erisian

Chapter 21 - Aleppo

Fred hit a ramp that veered off to the right and the helicopter swung around to be seen clearly from the passenger window.

“Hey, the chopper is the other way!” I said more shrilly than intended.

Derek snorted. “Fourteen kilometers of proper highway versus eleven through the Old Quarter and possible crowds? Chill. Fred knows what he’s doing.”

Pathfinder: The Trio: Side quest

(Author’s note: you should probably read the previous stories first)

It was a new morning in the large town of Fiddler’s Vale, and three recent arrivals debate their next move.

Goruza, Emerald, and their new friend Milah sat at a small table in the dining area of the inn they had come to the night before, talking as they ate breakfast.

Emerald asked Milah, “You’ve been in this town, where do we go for help in rescuing Besh?”

Lucy let out a startled, "You can't be serious? Do mean to say that you put me through all that for a joke?"

"Lucy, everything I've said today has been deadly serious. Come back into the lounge and think about what I said while dish up dessert. Ok?"

Lucy followed Andrea out of the bedroom and still somewhat in a daze, she sat down at the table.

Andrea disappeared into the kitchen and returned with desert.

"Here you go, Crème Brulee de la Maison," said Andrea as she placed a dish down in front of Lucy.

Light's Promise (Part 5 of 6)

by Erisian

Chapter 17 - Song

It wasn’t working.

Trying to infuse the book with more energy just caused the pages to flake more quickly and fall away. The hills surrounding the lake rumbled and cracked, colorless fractal lines spreading outward.

Light's Promise (Part 4 of 6)

by Erisian

Chapter 13 - Beacon

Tsáyidiel knelt upon the stone with two sets of dark wings covering an otherwise bare and human back. The air was warm, and the bright sunless sky stretched above with fluffy clouds hinting at towers and walls. The grass tickling at bare toes was the first indication that my attire had changed.

One look and it was decided that if the subconscious had chosen this outfit, me and her were going to have a chat. At length.

One reason I didn't set this in the Masks universe was I wanted to explore a different set of circumstances behind people with powers. Part of that difference is that this world is darker than the Masks world. The villains are savvier, the crooked politicians more successful, the press less fair. The differences have been minor so far. Be warned that the next few segments will be pretty dark.

The Angel of Chicago

Part Thirteen: A Hand Forced

by

Rodford Edmiston

The Angel of Chicago

Part Twelve: Agreement

by

Rodford Edmiston

"We've pulling back from our efforts," said General Conyers, sourly. "Delaying the schedule. They've learned about the repository, but only from documents more than thirty years old. They have no idea what we're doing now, and we must do what we can to reduce the chance of them finding out."

When among Dragons... Chapter 11 Discoveries

by Machara and Chryos Stormwing

Special thanks to
my love Chryos who creates this with me,
Gabe as my editor and friend

Garrus hummed, still focused on each other’s ministrations.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m not sure either of us can lift the other, at the moment.“

A hint of sarcasm shone through Garrus’ humor.

“I'm afraid I’ve got to ask you to…“ he harrumphed “… step down.“

Andy took a deep breath as he stepped through the front door of the imposing building. He’d never before done anything even remotely like he was about to, and didn’t mind admitting to himself how nervous he was, even if he tried his best not to show it as he approached the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist- a slender woman in her early twenties- asked.

“Hi,” Andy replied. “I’m- I’m Andrew Moore, I’m here for the interview today?”

“Okay,” the receptionist replied. “Do you know who you’re here to see?”

Two rabbits are captive in the same box. The first rabbit waits to be released in the wild. The second rabbit waits to become lunch (from a fable).

Penny wakes from her coma to find her world has changed

This is the story of Penny. A closet Transwoman thrust into the outside world 24-7 when she would rather go and hide away. Perhaps the title should be Welcome to Penny’s Paranoid World…

When among Dragons... Chapter 10 Time well spent

by Machara and Chryos Stormwing

Special thanks to
my love Chryos who creates this with me,
Gabe as my editor and friend

Garrus deadpanned.

“… right. Dem waffles.“

He couldn’t keep a straight face however and started grinning, his mouth watering.

All hard feelings then seemed forgotten and so they went to the table and ate.

This is a repost of an old story that seems to have disappeared from the site.

This piece takes the form of an interview between Ellen Hammond (EH) and Rosemary Donaldson (RD).

[EH] My guest today is the former politician and civil rights campaigner Rosemary Donaldson. Welcome to the show Rosemary.

[RD] Thank you for inviting me Ellen.

[EH] You have had a very varied and incident packed life. How do you think you would survive on a Desert Island?

[RD] How big is this island?

[EH] As big as you would like it to be?

I wrote this over ten years ago. It was essentially finished, but I somehow never considered it ready for posting. Or, at least, it had gone as far as I was inspired to take it. It kinda begs for a sequel, but it's fine as it is.

Much thanks to Terry Volkirch for test reading it way back when. She might even remember the story.

One fine day, Joe wakes up and finds that his whole life has been turned upside-down.

Thursday, June 16, 2022:

Snrxl and I had a nice chat last night. I told him about how Butch is doing such a good job of embracing his role, and he said that Butch wasn't the only one who needed those experiences to properly embrace his persona. After our training session, I did the usual ten seconds and down for the count thing. I have come to really enjoy that.

I wrote this over ten years ago. It was essentially finished, but I somehow never considered it ready for posting. Or, at least, it had gone as far as I was inspired to take it. It kinda begs for a sequel, but it's fine as it is.

Much thanks to Terry Volkirch for test reading it way back when. She might even remember the story.

One fine day, Joe wakes up and finds that his whole life has been turned upside-down.

Sunday, June 12, 2022:

I woke again in Butch's loving embrace. For the third time in a row, I was unable to sneak away quietly. He was already awake, watching me as I pretended to sleep.

I wrote this over ten years ago. It was essentially finished, but I somehow never considered it ready for posting. Or, at least, it had gone as far as I was inspired to take it. It kinda begs for a sequel, but it's fine as it is.

Much thanks to Terry Volkirch for test reading it way back when. She might even remember the story.

One fine day, Joe wakes up and finds that his whole life has been turned upside-down.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022:

Butch and I slept cuddled against each other last night. That's as far as it went. We were tempted to do more, but felt that we just weren't ready.

Doubts 3 - Follow Becky's intimate thoughts as she navigates her day.

Into The Light (Part 3 of 6)

by Erisian

Chapter Twelve - Transit

I was in the back seat of yet another SUV. This time it was a green one being driven by Colin Forsyth, the Lieutenant from the phone conference between Director Goodman and Mrs. Carson. Mrs. Shugendo, a tall Asian woman, sat up front. Poor Khan was stuck once more in his travel cage and I had to admit I did feel grateful to Soren for the scope of the scholarship I was sure he had arranged for me. It had included paying for all sorts of details, as one would expect from a scholarship: books, school supplies, tuition (including room and board), and uniforms. To my (and the Director’s) surprise it also covered all related expenses for bi-annual transport to and from the school via chartered plane out of the closest airport to the school.

Don’t get me wrong, though - Soren still deserved a boot to the head for what he’d done. I’d thank him for the money after.

I wrote this over ten years ago. It was essentially finished, but I somehow never considered it ready for posting. Or, at least, it had gone as far as I was inspired to take it. It kinda begs for a sequel, but it's fine as it is.

Much thanks to Terry Volkirch for test reading it way back when. She might even remember the story.

One fine day, Joe wakes up and finds that his whole life has been turned upside-down.

There is some violence in this installment. It is brief, off-stage, and resolves well.

Friday, November 5, 2021:

I had a really strange dream last night. The strangest part is that I remember it so clearly. Dreams normally fade very soon after we wake up, but this one stayed with me.