A Different Life
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Three Weeks After

Doctor Gillies steepled his fingers. It was not a gesture he did often – not anymore. He had done his stint in general surgery, but now that he had found his niche he understood that he needed to be more empathetic. He was, in the main. But now was the time for plain talking. This patient, Alex, needed to be told.

Allie - The teenage years of Alexander Horten

January 24-30 , 2016

Link: The Road to Hell Title Page and Description

--

Trapped in a one-car garage filling with smoke, Josh found it strange that he could breath just fine. It was then that he saw both Jennifer and Grace were there and choking on the deadly fumes as he watched helplessly. Suddenly, he noticed he had a respirator in his hand and looked at the two girls in turn. He knew that he could only save one of them at this point, as they were both so close to death that by the time he'd saved one, the other would be gone. Frozen in indecision, he stood there and watched as both succumbed to the smoke and fell lifeless to the floor as he screamed.

Chapter Five

DISCLAIMER: I am not a canon author.

Monday morning while Brita and Sally got driven to the DPA offices to get tested Fred ran by himself again and practiced his new running spell.. He was planning to surprise the other two with it some time.

Fred saw them at lunch, "Hello ladies. How did it go?"

"It went well," Brita said. "Sally was great at moral support. I am an avatar 1, induced Exemplar 3, and an Energizer 4a at least for now."

"She can produce both light and heat in great amounts but with little control as yet," Sally said.

Chapter 4

"Hey, Sally?" Fred asked one weekend in February.

She looked nervous but replied quickly, "What is it?"

"Have you been having odd dreams lately?" He asked. "I've been wondering if maybe they are my spirit trying to communicate."

She looked relieved, "Actually, I think I have. I'm not the best at remembering dreams but now that I think about it I remember a few."

"You thought I was going to ask something else I guess from your expressions?" Fred said.

“It’s weird how this has become just, like, normal again,” Lee says as we pull on our coats and head out of the flat, locking the door behind us as we go. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love university, but you know? I kinda, like, got used to it being summer, having all the time to myself… Am I making any sense?”

“Maybe a little,” I reply, smirking as my flat mate rolls his eyes. “But I kinda get what you mean, I think.” Even though my summer was a hell of a lot busier than yours…

Nyx’s Hotel room:
Nyx just fell asleep a couple of hours ago. She had stayed up talking with Sabrina and learned a few things about Hawk Innovations. One of their top engineers named Jason Bush who helped design the power armor unit had been fired from the company. He stole the blueprints to the armor and was using the working model as a demonstration of what it could do.

Part 12 Here comes the Sun

The next morning I woke with a man cuddling me for the first time. I took advantage of his readiness one more time before we went and showered; then dressing before going down for breakfast.

He dressed quickly in his outfit from last night and sat on the bed and watched me as I selected a top and skirt to wear.

When I sat at the vanity to brush my hair he came and stood behind me with us looking at our reflection in the mirror.

Link: The Road to Hell Title Page and Description

CAUTION: Attempted Suicide
CAUTION: Referenced / Discussed Suicide
CAUTION - Highly Emotional Content

--

As the school year came to a close, Josh and Grace were getting closer to one another, but he continued to struggle with his feelings while still clinging to the memory of his love for Jennifer and all that she'd tried to do for him. No matter how many times he tried to look at it, he couldn't figure out what the right thing to do was.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Canon author.

Chapter Three
Fred got to sleep in his own bed that night and appreciated it. He also appreciated taking a shower by himself rather than having a nurse wash his unburned bits while the water quickly flowed past him in the high tech tub. He had a lot of pent up frustration to release now that he had privacy.

After a good night's sleep he awoke and went down for breakfast, "Hi Sally! It almost seemed weird not talking to you before going to sleep last night but I'm glad we're out of the hospital."

Sasha’s Apartment:
Dotty yawns as she gets up out of bed. It takes her mind a few seconds to remember where she is. She walks to the bathroom and does her morning business. Her mind was still waking up as she walks into the kitchen and brews herself a cup of coffee. She was surprised to find that Sasha had a varied selection of coffee.

Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: I am not a canon author.

A few days later, Dr. Wang examined them again, “The first degree burns are gone already, the second and third degree are healing nicely. If this continues, you should be done in a few weeks instead of the months it would normally take and have minimal to no scarring.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Fred said, “I could wish for a book to read, but it would get waterlogged.”

“Maybe they can set us up with audiobooks?” Sally asked.

“We can do that if you don’t mind both listening to the same one,” Dr. Wang replied.

I am Not Julia - Part 3

Taylor has a best friend and when she is gone, he has to replace her. How can a boy take the place of his best friend, who is a girl?

Link: The Road to Hell Title Page and Description

--

Turning in place and looking at himself in his closet mirror, Josh sighed at the utter futility of looking anything like a boy. He'd bought some boy's clothes in a department store; a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap. Even with his hair tucked up in the cap and his still-growing breasts strapped down with an ace bandage, the image he saw reflected in his mirror looked like a pre-teen girl wearing boy's clothes. Once he took off the cap and his hair spilled out, the vision was complete and he would even be hard-pressed to say they were boy clothes. On him, he felt they still looked girly.

Part 9 Money, Money, Money

The band stopped playing and the police in the hall went to see what the noise was all about.

One of them came back to me, “He claims that you’re his long lost daughter and he says he wants to make up for what he did. I suggest you have a little chat with him because he won’t go away unless he sees you.”

I motioned for the band to start playing and followed the policeman, the surfer surgeon joining us. Out in the foyer two burly guys were standing next to a chap sitting on a chair with his face in his hands.

Freya's Heir

DISCLAIMER: This is Whateley Academy fanfiction. I am not a canon author and neither is Buggycas.
Author’s Note: Many thanks to my beta and co-author, Buggycas.

Chapter 1
On New Year’s Day, there was an attack on the Nilsen Family Estate. The guests were all asleep, drunk or sober, and the only guards active were the perimeter guards. Fortunately for those inside, one of those guards lived long enough to sound the alarm, and the other guards of the Nilsen family came awake and were moving seconds after.

I am Not Julia - Part 2

Taylor has a best friend and when she is gone, he has to replace her. How can a boy take the place of his best friend, who is a girl?

I am Not Julia - Part 1

Taylor has a best friend and when she is gone, he has to replace her. How can a boy take the place of his best friend, who is a girl?

Link: The Road to Hell Title Page and Description

CAUTION - Indirect Reference to Suicidal Thoughts
CAUTION - Intense scenes involving a minor
CAUTION - Highly Emotional Content

--

Josh was 'sick' the next week, which wasn't far from the truth as he was lost in a near constant fugue state. Friday came and he was taken down to Dr. Biggs's office and got his first three-month shot of puberty blockers. The next Monday, he went back to school and met Tracy at the bus stop.