Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

Marcia watched as her brother and friend eyed each other. She wasn't sure how the meeting was going to go after the occurrences of three years previous, but she hoped both could reign in their feelings.

There was an uneasy silence that was finally broken by Chet. "Hi, Trish. Nice to see you." He stepped up to her and put one arm around her in a friendship embrace.

It was as if there was a collective sigh of relief as they embraced. Darryl glanced at his sister, and saw a small bit of stiffness that quickly evaporated. It was as if Mage consciously made the decision to be friendly.

My name? How curious you are! You don't have long to live and instead of begging, fighting, or praying you ask me a question. I suppose I owe you that, at least. I so rarely get to tell my tale. You won't believe any of it, of course, but I swear on my baby daughter's memory that every word is true.

“Return to base.”
“Are we teleporting or transporter or something?”
“Oh, no, it’s a quick flight. Maybe ten minutes. Just sit back and relax.”
“Relax? I am going to explode.”
“Eventually, maybe. Then again, maybe not. Our specialists can work miracles.”
“Can they heal a broken heart?” I asked as the car levitated off the ground,

Saved by the Bell
-1-
His name was James Donald Bell

It's a common misconception that Benton Academy is the cradle for the Episcopal and Methodist bourgeoisie of Benton. In fact it's nothing more than a really redneck school. And the only way my mom and dad can afford to send me here is that my grandmother is footing the bill. My grandmother wants me to get the best education possible in this small town. She wants me to make something of my life.

Conjugal
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

We were brothers the way that real brothers never can be. We had been friends so long neither of us could remember our first meeting. With did everything together, we went to school together, we played sports together, we scored girls together, we did crime together.

Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

CHAPTER 54
Lee was the first to spot the bruising.

“What the hell, mate? Who did that, and don’t give me any shite about walking into a cupboard door!”

The bruise was clearly fading, yellowish around the edges, but still very evident. Tref was looking down at the top of our dining table, the wood grain clearly fascinating.

“Went to the wrong pub, didn’t I?”

Always Stay Down To Earth, Walter
I grew up overshadowed by lush lakes
Couldn't catch the eye of no city boy
Here I am devoted to Walter
How I love the way you look in your blue jeans
Can't believe I let the smog cloud my eye
Where the lush lakes stand
And the deep mountains surround
I'll ride my battered truck with you by my side
There's a whisper in the Tennessee breeze
Reminding me of Chris
That whisper builds
That whisper cries
Chris in the morning skies

"So, do you think we can try for a baby then John?"

"Is that what this has been all about? The picnic, the walk in the woods?"

"I want kids John. You promised me we would try when we married."