Mare's Tales - Chapter 16 – by: Beverly Taff

The morning alarm served only to tell us the time. We were all awake
after a poor night's sleep as the work ahead dwelt upon our minds.
Veronica shuddered nervously as I lifted her onto her wheel chair.

"Last time for all this I hope Bev?"

"Fingers crossed Vee. Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

I hugged her as a nervous tear trickled down her cheek and she
whispered.

"To tell the truth Bev, I think even death would be better than living
like this for the rest of my life."

I woke up at 7 the next morning. Without an alarm. I was very excited about my date with Sammy. Soon she would be here. I went to the bathroom and then back into my room. I sat down in the nice armchair right next to my window. It was still dark and I enjoyed the silence. I usually do this on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I like to be alone with my thoughts. I missed Mary a lot this year. We were never separated this long. When she was still in high school she had a busy social life but she always had time for me.

Andrew Star works as a stuntman for Hollywood's greatest action star, the eccentric Tod Cruz. Suddenly, Cruz decides to get a sex change to fulfill a life-time ambition. Only problem is that Andrew is experiencing the symptoms. Its a race against the clock as Andrew must find a way to stop Cruz's transition and restore himself back to normal.

What is Wally getting himself into?

Dark
Matters

by Donna Lamb

  
“Don’t tell me you haven’t been watching me, Wally,” Jon Carlyle whispered.

I nodded because he had me pinned against the cinder block wall separating the school itself from the basketball courts behind the gym and I didn’t want to piss him off. The wall kept balls from bouncing between the temporary classrooms set up in what used to be the teacher’s parking lot at White River Unified High School and it kept me from getting away.

Whistleblower
A Mercynaries Story from SinComics.com

John Martin had turned his successful engineering business over to his kids -- much to their consternation. While camping deep in the national forest, he met a fox hybrid in great need of help.

Note: I added the caution because violence exists in the story. It isn't very graphic, but it is there.

"...I think people might be staring," I whispered to Ophelia as we walked through the cramped shopping centre.

"What they wish to do with their eyes is their business, not ours," Ophelia replied, holding her head high even as every head we passed turned to look in our direction.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled as I tried not to let my cheeks go too red.

Smoky Corners 6-V: JC Salinger

Whoever heard of Smoky Corners, Montana? You can’t even find it on a map, unless you are looking for it. It’s perfect…

I needed a place serene, someplace to get over… Well, get over everything. My wife, Sophie, had been shot in front of me by her lover. She had obviously been cheating on me. I couldn’t write anymore. My publisher was begging me for another book; I was empty. I don’t know what drew me to an old road atlas. Google seemed to have taken over the map, literally. I remember driving through the northern half of the US in my youth. I was trying to find myself. Jack Clay. Well, that was who I was when I started out. Funny, that’s who I’m trying to find again. So, Jack Clay, welcome to Smoky Corners, Montana.

The man, who appeared to be about 55 years of age with silver coloured mid-shoulder length hair, wearing a medium brown lightweight woollen suit with vest and a hideous bright orange tie that made it look like he was about to burst into flame, sat in his usual chair in front of the roaring fire at the back of the small but cozy bar in the Midwest college town that he had been frequenting for almost six years now.

I loved watching the beautiful trees go by in the fall when I ride in the car. I felt dreamy and a bit overwhelmed but happy on multiple levels. I was just caught looking at a pair of pantyhose in Macy’s by this girl who is in my math class. She never talked to me before and when she saw me looking at the pantyhose package, I thought my life was over. However, she treated me with kindness. She is very pretty and I think I like her a lot. Now that I have her phone number, I will call her and hopefully we can become friends.

Even though it was a Holiday for most people, I still had to work. This was going to be the first day back to work since last Friday. When I had left here three days ago, I had just been presented a release form that the owners of the coffee shop wanted me to sign releasing them from any liability if I was harassed. I don’t think I had ever been as mad as I had been that day. Luckily Jenny had a calmer head then I did. She immediately called her Grandmother who had lined up an attorney for us from the firm she uses.