I let out a long, satisfied moan as I stretch my slender body out on the sun lounger. It’s the hottest summer I’ve ever known, but that’s not the only thing that makes it the best summer ever- there’s also the fact that I have a disposable income of my own from not one but two part-time jobs, I have a tall, sexy boyfriend who seems to fancy me more with every passing day, and the not-so-small fact that I’m currently wearing just a tiny bikini, whereas 365 days ago, I was stuck in a cramped classroom wearing a hot, stuffy school uniform.

The House

By Dawn Natelle

This chapter just visits some of the characters in the story and provides some background: Dawn.

Chapter Six – Mum, Dan and Daisy

Unseen, a young girl takes a horse out of the streets of Polis in the early morning light, heading towards Attlesburg. She is going to see him again. Her heart thumps at the thought. She thought to disappear after that night, surely he would not want to see her again. But then why wouldn’t he? They had a magical evening together, and he didn’t know her secret. She made sure of that. But now the web is getting tangled and she’s not sure if she can keep the threads from breaking.

When the lady with Joan on her name tag walked up to me I asked the first question. “Is she calling the cops?”

Joan shook her head. “No, Jenna was her friend. Darla has a real hard on for cops now.”

“They aren’t all bad.”

“There are enough bad ones it makes little difference. You want an appointment?”

“Not really. Kathy said I did. Kathy is my boss now so I’ll do what she tells me.”

Mary drove rather fast. She definitely did not obey the speed limit. I did not care much. I just wanted to escape. The car went up and down over hills. I took in the beautiful countryside while the sun was fully up by now. This was not going according to our plan. Finally Mary spoke while we were leaving our town.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked me.

“I am not sure. Just far away.” I replied.

“Okay. I suggest we go to the next town and find a restaurant to get something to eat. Then we will figure something out and talk strategy.” Mary said sadly.

Jane's Father stood before the wall of living wood, his hands on his hips. "Now you've upset the Druid. How are we supposed to lift that curse?"

Jane rolled her eyes. Her father could be so annoying. She mirrored his pose, her own hands going to her hips, "Dad, weren't you listening, I'm not cursed, I'm a girl."

"And you're happy about that are you?"

"Well, no, not exactly." she said, "Though I'm not unhappy about it either."

There are Predators and then there are the Hunters. Sometimes the same thing, sometimes they aren’t. To some the thrill of the chase and then the kill is all they desire in life. They can find employment with the more powerful and less ethical men, organizations, and even the government. Those predators get paid to do what they would do anyway, killing. They are top of the food chain.

The Huntress is a predator herself. Only…, she hunted the predators, those who hunted others. Always on the move, she tried to stay ahead of those who hunted those like her. Government agencies believed her kind should be eradicated from the face of the earth.

The House

By Dawn Natelle

I suspect the last section of this will lead to some discussion and supposition in the story: Dawn.

Chapter 4 – Christmas Gifts

“So what did you get?” Sun said excitedly.

“We should look for the missing ingredient for Red Oak first,” Grey said. “He even had me looking as I was approaching the camp. A bit of a pain with a backpack on, and two bags from the store.

Sacculina 5.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Prologue- Those 3 Years

Even now, after three long years, her words were still engraved in my memory.

‘I’m gonna be honest with you,’ she had said to me that day. ‘It won’t always be easy. And it won’t always be fun and games. But if this is truly what you want, if this is truly what you believe you need, then it’ll all be worth it. You’ll always have my love and support. You only get one chance at life, you have to live it your way.’

And that’s how the best 3 years of my life began.