Jesse and Renata sat in silence as each watched as the Mexican landscape went by. Both were lost in thoughts of their own as they traveled with this strange guy that was nice to give them a ride. Renata was wondering if she should tell Ranger Jesse the truth about herself. He would find out either way when they ran her name to verify her citizenship for him to get her across the border.

“Jesse, how do you feel about people born one gender, but feel they should had been born the other gender?” His response would determine what she tells him.

River

By Dawn Natelle

Chapter 11

So far: Jerome the yearling wolf has died, but two new wolves have joined the people. One of them decides that Moonie can atone for his sins, and over time the river cleanses his soul. The story of Moonie was told, both before the time of this tale, and after.

Renata and Ranger Jesse manages to make their way to an abandon warehouse. Jesse had managed to stop the bleeding from Renata’s gunshot. He looks at her and wonder why she is tied up in this mess.

Renata couldn’t believe the mess she was in. Why did Ichiko do this to her. She had never done anything to her. Why couldn’t the cartel just leave her along? Their leader was in jail and he deserve it for all the people he killed that day.

“So, any idea on how we are going to get out of here?” Renata had found a wooden box and turned it upside down to sit on.

Angel slowly opens his eyes and looks around. He was sandwich in between D.A. and Angie, lying on his side. He had buried his face against D.A’s chest during the night. He could feel Angie behind him with one arm draped over his slim body and her chest pressed against his back. Angel snuggles closer against D.A.’s chest and body. He felt safe between his mother’s body and didn’t want to leave.

My mind drew back from the happy memories of our beginnings, the memories I knew he would, could, never share. When next we met he would not remember me, would not remember his children and grandchildren…. He would be the innocent young man, just having made the decision to join the world, so many decades before I was even born.

14 Jade's New Sister and Her Past

Gina wakes up early and looks up at the ceiling above her head. It had been painted like the sky with birds flying in it. She could feel Cadmus curled up next to her legs. The quilt covering her young body had butterflies and puppies on it. Gina slowly moves and try to get out of bed without waking Cadmus, but as soon as she moves. He wakes up and looks at her. Cadmus leans in and gives her a lick on her face as he hops down off the bed and waits for her.

Jack and the girls had met up with Debbie, Alex and Robert at the movie theater the next day. Julia and Gina held onto Jack’s hand tightly and stood close to him. Both were nervous and a little scared as they walked away from the safety of the hummer towards the movie theater to stand in line to wait for the tickets. Debbie had suggested the new Smurf movie for the girls. Julia and Gina kept close to Jack as they waited to buy the tickets and then when he took them inside to buy popcorn, candy and soda pop.

Jack had been watching Julia as she stood by the fence watching him and his friend Alex spar. Her recovery had been progressing greatly since she has been seeing Dr. Bailey. Gina on the other hand was still having a hard time, but she was getting better. At Julia’s request and Dr. Baileys suggestion he had Julia’s breast reduce so they weren’t putting too much pressure on her spine and made her look and feel a little bit more normal. After he watches Julia turn and walk away from the fence with Sphinx next to her. He stops sparring with Alex.

Angel feels his shoulder being lightly shaken. He opens his eyes and notices his mom looking at him.

“Hey! Sleepy head.” She picks him up and sits down on the sofa with him on her lap.

“Brenda told me you slept all day long. Are you feeling okay?” Angel could tell his mother was concern.

“I’m okay mommy, have we arrived yet?” Angel was still feeling sleepy.

“Yes, we’re here and dinner is set-up outside. Are you awake enough to go outside and met Roy and Joyce?” D.A. was watching Angel.

“Yes Ma’am.” Angel covers a yawn.

Rafael looks at the men gather in the warehouse before him. Their objective tonight was two folds. Their first objective was the capture of one Renata Magdaleno. The person use to be known as Roman García Lozada. The person had testified against their leader and stole their money. Their second objective was the capture of one Texas Ranger Jesse B. Baylor. The man has stuck his nose into their business for the last time. Their boss wanted this Texas Ranger dead. Rafael knew which route Renata was taking because his informant was bringing her here, herself.

D.A. had spotted Clair and Angel heading towards the bathroom. She wonders if she should tell everyone Angel’s secret. All her officers already knew Angel’s little secret and none of them thought it really matter. Angel looked so much like a girl of his age, that they felt that it wasn’t necessary to tell anyone anything now. Helena had said she could get a Doctor friend of hers to prescribe estrogen pills for Angel to take. It wasn’t like he wasn’t already developing the secondary sex features of a girl of his age already. D.A. gave the okay for Helena to make the call.

Sometime after mid-night, Angel started coming around. He notices his chest hurt and that he was wrapped up as well. He could feel someone lying next to him and the perfume from them smelled familiar to him. Tears start to slide down his face and cheeks and he turns slowly and buries his face and wraps his arms around the person sleeping next to him.

“I’m sorry mommy for making Daddy angry. He said I should have never been born and that it was your fault that I was born the way I am mommy. He said he would be better off with me dead mommy.” Angel cries against D.A.’s shoulder.

Kevin couldn’t believe his luck now. He had finally taken care of his sissy ass son and dumped his lifeless body in a ditch out in the country far away from their home. There is no way no one could blame him for killing his son. No one saw him leave their house last night or even seen him dump the body in the ditch either. His neighbors knew that he punishes his son a lot and they didn’t like him either. They thought he should have been more of a boy as well, instead of acting like a sissy.

More often than not, upon graduating from high school, a Familiar is faced with two choices.

Giving up their Artifact or Fragment, or continuing to use it.

If they choose to continue mastering or unlocking their Fragment, they can proceed down a number of avenues.

One of those avenues leads to tertiary education, or employment by their affiliated Pride. Alternatively, they can attend tertiary studies while being employed by the Pride.

Not all Artifacts were the same.

Some were weapons and some were not.

Within this separation, they were classified into classes and types.

For example, there are Artifacts that fall into the Ruler Class.

Then there are those that fall into the Celestial Class.

Others belong to the Pantheon Class.

Within a class, they are further distinguished by types, and sometimes the classifications become messy. One example of this are the Valkyries.

The Prides called them Artifacts.

To the people of Pharos and the colonized systems under the control of the Prides, these Artifacts were powerful and mysterious devices found after the Cataclysm had torn our little corner of the galaxy apart. That is indeed true, since the Artifacts were fished out of the thick cloud of the Hurakan Nebula by numerous starships built for this kind of salvage.

Artifacts were also referred to as Fragments.

This is because Artifacts came in two packages.

River

By Dawn Natelle

CHAPTER 10

So far: Shortly after a traditional religious ceremony at the river had been a huge success, River and Wayne are running full tilt through the reservation towards the highway, where Moonie’s chicken hatchery stands. Two shotgun blasts had been heard, and one squeal from a wounded wolf.

When the Cataclysm ripped the galaxy apart for a radius of fifty three light years, it left behind the Hurakan Nebula.

Basically, the nebula formed from the remains of numerous planets, moons, and stars blown to bits by the trans-light shockwave.

That was more than two centuries ago.

Two hundred and thirty seven years to be exact.

Twenty years later, humanity had picked up the pieces and put together two spheres of political influence.

Class 1-D at Sanderson High School for Regulars.

Pharos Colony. Island Two. Habitat One.

Semester One – School Week Twenty.

Friday morning Homeroom Period.

Today was the big day – the final day of the school semester.

The mid-year break would start tomorrow, Saturday.

Needless to say my classmates and I were all looking forward to our measly five week break before starting Semester Two.

Jordan Price was like most boys on New Holland. He dreamed of dancing in the sky like the Sky Dancers. To fly among the clouds under his own power. There is only one problem. Only women could be Sky Dancers, and Jordan was a boy. Then came the day that would all change