Jessica smiled for the passengers as they disembarked the plane, stretching their tired muscles after the long flight from Madrid.

“Thank you for flying with Soixante-Trois Airlines,” Jessica gushed in her practised overly-saccharine ‘stewardess’s voice’. “Enjoy your stay in London!”

“I live here, you dumb valley girl,” one of the passengers snorted as he passed Jessica with a backward glance.

Choices, Choices

The exchange was a set-up. My partner, James, and I with backup from a few other teams were to meet with an anonymous informant to learn where the disappearances were taking place, how they were taking place, and why. We had gotten indications that an ancient spirit from the Eastern Asia area, possibly Korea, possibly Japan, possibly some of the islands between. This is why we were called in, because we have been trained to deal with them.

The Waltz

The best friend asked me teach him the waltz for our school's formal winter dance. What happenned later was completely unexpected.

An aging overweight man who plays too much online gaming receives a gift from Freya, the
goddess of love, lust, beauty, sorcery, fertility, gold, war and death.

Freya's Gift

Chapter 23: Family Trip

Friday 14 Aug '15 late afternoon

Back to school day is here. We decided to fly even though we had just barely escaped disaster. We didn’t figure lightning would take a second shot at us, and neither of us wanted to endure the long drive in the Corvette again. I was happy not to have the specter of surgery hanging over my head. My new parts were still tender, but could hardly wait to take them out into the world.

“Mr Charlton, unless you are prepared to tell me your troubles I really see no point in us continuing these sessions. Well?”

I’m Paul Charlton and I’m sitting ‘in the Psychiatrists Chair’. I was here because I'd lost it in a very big way and had a breakdown. That breakdown had led to the end of my marriage and thence to me becoming homeless and virtually penniless. Now three years later I was trying to rebuild my life but one huge thing was getting in the way. That was my secret.

I didn’t reply straight away. That didn’t matter to Dr Yacub Pakker, my Psychiatrist.

A Love So Bold
by Anon Allsop

The story continues - Hope you enjoy!

-Fifty Eight-

From a great distance away, it had been lost in the clouds. The closer the wagons neared, it loomed over the treetops and could be seen for miles and miles around. "Mount Hood," Gideon whispered in awe.

"That's a huge hill, Pa!" Cade chirped as he looked on between his parents, "Are we going to have to cross it?"

"Oh dear, I hope not," Hanna sighed fearfully.

"No son, we will skirt the south end of it and move on from there." He glanced at the both of them, "Next big stop will be the Willamette Valley!"

“The Many Faces of Adira Potter: Chapter 6”

By = Fayanora

Chapter Six: Snakes and other slithering things

Note: Text in 'Italics and British quotes' is Parseltongue.

In all the chaos, Mrs. Weasley had forgotten to be uncomfortable with a girl sleeping in one of her boy's rooms, but when Iliana came downstairs that morning for breakfast, her appearance seemed to remind the Weasley matriarch of it.

Agent Ryan tapped her desk top, taking very slow, deep breaths to keep from yelling at the incompetent excuse of an MCO agent who was standing shamefaced before her. She'd had to send an intern to pick up Agent MacArthur, from some little no nothing town on Christmas eve, and now when she should be reading “The Night Before Christmas” to her youngest, she had to deal with a total mess.

CHAPTER 50
She looked like a rabbit in headlights, checking around for someone to support her.

“Inspector Powell, aye?”

Sod it. I initiated a hug; get the personal space closed down before she runs, Lainey.

“Annie now, isn’t it? Sar told me the story, no way I could miss out on this one, so we brought the family, aye? You know Siân, my missus?”

I massaged my leg which was horribly scarred as people worked on the estate that was spread out before me. People, humans and others, were tending gardens, herding reindeer, cleaning the steps of the mansion which looked like it was made of ice. They were the people I had helped save, and their descendent. Watching them creating beauty in the frozen north, even with the odd perspective from having a single eye, and knowing that my once strong muscles had wasted away over the years of pain that never went away and my own lameness, made it worthwhile.