In a haunted, desolate valley a lone man and his dog venture back to civilization to return with an ancient map that will lead them on a journey to a far off land.

Reaction, Unexpected by: Moongoddess One side of a conversation. Caution... very dark.

Author's note... this is something that has been rattling around my head for some time.
please understand that this is a) my first attempt at a short story and b) very dark.
Warning, contains references to mental illness and suicide... use caution!
Thank's to Bailey and Darkice for the beta read.

The Living VS The Dead: Chapter 2
By: Sandy Riedel

“Stephanie…” Lisa said, almost weak-sounding. “You don’t need to save me. Save yourself. We may both die if we try going inside.”

I shook my head. “You’re not going to convince me to not try to save you, Lisa. We will figure out a way to get in there. You just have to trust me.”

What’s that Joe?

I said I hate this city.

Preface: The swimming pool water was found to have a chemical compound that would interact with the Y chromosome in males and change their bodies to be XX from XY. It also change bone structure and other physical characteristics of the body from being built like a male to be that of a female and other features, including reproductive organs. Only male children that had swam in the pool were effected, none of the females who swam were effected. The water from the pool was collected and stored in a safe and secure place by some government agency. It was then completely cleaned of all traces and fresh water installed. Monitors were install at a number of locations so that this would not happen again. Military and civilian investigations are being made. Overseas known perpetrators have been 'taken care of' and the lab that most likely made this was destroyed just to be safe. This incident was then classified top secrete on a need to know basis. Help is being given to the children effected. This case is otherwise closed.

A chronically ill boy is visited by the ghost of his cousin who offers him a new chance at life. He just needs to learn how to appreciate the very special gift that he's given.

Authors note: This is mild horror with a happy ending. The story gets less and less horrific as it goes on and if you can make it through the opening scene, I think you'll like the story.

Acknowledgment: Many thanks go out to Puddin' for her wise and wonderful editing of this story. She helped me expand my story from an anemic version of five thousand words to this much better version that tops out at a little over sixteen thousand words.

 
Lilim Tales - Part 4 (Conclusion)
by Armond
 
 

In the conclusion to the tale, Cassandra's friends gather to try to rescue her from Luna, while Cassie learns what her fate will be as the lilim's Second Turn Srryn.
 

Lilim Tales - Part 2
by Armond
 
 
Cody, now Cassandra, tries to make sense of her change into an exotic creature with dark gold skin. As she struggles to cope, and searches for answers, she also begins to suspect she is far from 'normal.' The lilims Luna and Jayden continue debating whether to fully ignite Cassandra and take her as their srryn for the next hundred year Turn. And a storm looms on the horizon that may tip the balance.
 
 

Stories of The Relic: The Book of Keilari - Part 3 - The Boy Nobody Wanted

Gia's short trip through Christopher's mind yields a few things she didn't expect. Could it be she was be wrong about him?

Stories of The Relic: The Book of Keilari

Christopher Kagawa aka Chris Tome is a 23 year old Award winning best selling novelist with a problem, he has lost his passion for his craft. He lives a lonely and reclusive existence with a growing disdain for the outside world and humanity in general. His only companions are the rare old books he collects

After buying rare leather bound book in an online auction He finds a out very quickly that it's no ordinary book. Despite being careful, he cut his finger on a page causing a single drop of his blood to drop the book. In a blinding flash of magic, he finds a half nude girl with jet black hair, chalk white skin and fangs appearing out of seemingly nowhere in his living room.

She is a Keilari, an exotic offshoot of the vampire species, neither male nor female but a mix of both. She has had many owners over the many generations the book has existed. All of them tortured and abused her, seeing her as nothing but a pet or toy. Submissive and quiet as she might be, she holds no love for any member of the human species. Still she must obey and comply with her master's desires.

But she has never had a master like Christopher who honestly wants no part of this crazy situation, much less be anyone's master. But he may not have a choice in the matter and to make matters worse, every owner has died very shortly after coming into possession of the book...

A story about a family with two boys aged 10 and 13, in which choice is a delusion and gender, an illusion. It’s a familiar theme in the TG literature, but this time with an unfamiliar twist. Blair is feeling blue after his first public appearance as a female Na’vi. Kirk’s best friend Cody, however, believes he has found his Cinderella in the strange girl from Rose Villa.

Choices, Chapter 13 Kirk’s choice