An apparently random group of men is abducted by aliens.

They’re angry, afraid, confused.

If only they’d been BCTS readers! They’d have had a better chance of knowing what to expect.

Part Five

The Bureau had been nice enough to arrange for Vic to stay in a good-quality hotel in the city where paleogeneticist Dr. Oliver Gumprich had his office. Which caused a few problems when Vic registered. She had a bit of trouble convincing the desk clerk she was actually old enough to be in a room without an adult. Fortunately, Vic had enough forms of ID - including a Bureau credit card - to reassure the woman. Though Vic figured some phone calls were made after she headed upstairs.

Arctic Fox

Chapter 7

January 7, 2021

“Hi, Darryl,” the girl said when she let him in. “You must be freezing. You want something warm to drink?”

“Sure, Michelle.”

“Why don’t you go on into the living room? There’s a fire going, and I’ll get some coffee for you.”

“Sounds great!” Darryl agreed enthusiastically.

All his lfe Mike had one dream, will a nightmare allow him to realize his wants?

Minnifer
By Angela Rasch

Chapter One

I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but Schooner County had been going through a nasty drought. The rain that forced Sarah and me to stay inside was extremely welcome and beneficial.

It was the kind of gloomy day when a person would have found that one person you trusted the most and told her what was troubling your heart. Sarah had my back and I loved my sister for that.

CHAPTER 14
The plan in question wavered a bit the next morning, as Kim seemed a little worse, and I realised that the run out to Southerndown might have been a bit premature. I raised that with her when I got in from work, no longer quite as worried that she was planning on a midnight flit. Once again, a pot of tea was produced as soon as I had my boots off.

“Kim?”

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking about yesterday. You think we were a bit early taking you out in the cold?”

Positively Patsy Part 3

We went back to the hotel and had dinner. In the evening we were sitting in the lounge when Grog came in with Peggy. He came over to me and asked if we could have a private conversation so we moved to a side room and sat around a table. He said that he had told Peggy about his plans for the final show and that she would support him afterwards.

The moon is in its seventh house. Greg is on his very first high. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius came late to Bellington College. Greg finds love, but will he risk all to keep it?

Part Four

"This time it was a sound attack of some sort," said the Detective, as Vic came hurrying onto the crime scene of yet another "super drive-by."

Unlike the previous two attacks, this one had been during business hours. Additionally, the target was not a crowd, but a downtown real-estate company. This turned out to be one of the business working to refurbish and resell abandoned houses in the Detroit area.

Jessica left Eloise a decade ago, and then fulfilled a lifetime dream. She had made a break with her past -- but is filled with anxiety when an invitation to her high school reunion manages to find her.

It Just Ain't Happenin'

By Melanie E.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can't have the things you want.

On the planet Zhor, as in most pre-modern societies, careers appealing to women can at first seem rather restricted. But in so complex a civilization as Zhor's, a capable woman -- if determined enough --may discover that some rather unique fields of endeavor lay open to her. Lady Caron thinks that she has found one that will suit her nicely.

This story is inspired by Ranbarth's novelette "The Lancer's Tale," available at Fictionmania.