Golden Hours
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I always considered that I would be involved in medicine somehow – I wanted to save lives. I considered myself a caring person, but I also liked the idea of adventure – of standing between life and death and fighting to allow somebody to live. It seemed to me to be the noblest calling.

Chapter 3

Back in the office, that afternoon, they called the council and was told that the surname was Raddison. The address was in Walton-on-Trent, and that he has done a bit of work for the council and was classed as a good worker.

Hunter slowly wakes up in a strange room under a warm blanket. The last thing he remembered was passing out on the side of the highway. He had walked as far as he could before he passed out from the cold and exhaustion.

He looked around the bedroom and saw that it had an old-style dresser drawer like his mother's. There was a nightstand next to his bed with a lamp on it. The bed he was lying on was more significant than the baby mattress on which he was forced to sleep.

Sometimes, losing isn’t as important as how you lose.

A Needed Change - Part Five

The Norse and Zebrins have been confronted by a local force with an officer who wants to shoot first and not bother asking questions. Eriana and Ursula do their best to pacify him but then another vessel arrives... and another, and another! The first of these newcomers is an unexpected surprise but the occupants are able to answer many questions.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

82 - Gathering at Hamalbek

 
Do not complain

I decided not to complain too much because I was already complaining about the food. I didn't want to seem like a spoiled child.

Sunset Beach
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

From a personal perspective, the conference was a disaster. They had listened to her but from the podium she could see that wave of realization start to take hold in the audience. Although she could not hear, she could see the lips and guess what they were saying. “That’s a guy.”

I looked down at two unfamiliar shoes running on a green surface that resembled a carpet made from artificial grass. My hands were gripping an L-shaped piece of sports equipment, and looking to my right, I could see a white ball making its way to my exact position. I crossed over a curved white line on the ground while stopping the plastic ball in its tracks using my stick. A high-pitched voice yelled out behind me, but due to my concentration on the physical activity, I was unable to make out the words.

“You used the wish, didn’t you?” I whispered as we entered the locker room with our shirts back on.
“I didn’t think about anything except how I just wanted to win just once, maybe that triggered it, like a sub-conscious thought made the connection.”
The score was thirty-six to zero by the time the coach yelled for us to hit the showers.

I entered the pilot quarters, the first door on the left after leaving the bridge. The room was cozy, with dimmed lighting and a comfortable-looking bed. As I stepped inside, the door slid closed behind me, sealing me off from the rest of the ship.

Alternate endings to the Scheherazade/Arabian Nights story. All vignettes, 3-20 lines.

Chapter 2

She laughed and went back to her desk. Tomorrow, she hoped, a few more answers would be forthcoming. This one had the feel of her last big case, in her mind, this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

The next day, the three detectives went north to see the doctor and the bank manager. The first would see them, in his clinic, at ten, the other, at the bank after eleven. Sally had spoken to her friend, and they had agreed to meet on his lunch break, at a café in Burton.