Chapter 2 — “Missing Shipments”

In the quiet heart of southwestern Wyoming, a small town clings to its small-town ways. But when a sudden boom brings big money and bigger secrets, what’s left of the town they thought they knew?

As usual, I want to than Malady for beta reading, and helping edit.
I'd also like to thank those who comment for their part in beta reading too! :-)

Chapter 27

June 30, 2028

7:46 AM

Agent Marla Keene arrived the next morning, and when she met her, Fran had to admit that cyborg seemed forgiving. Deputy Carlson picked her up at the airstrip at what was colloquially called the “bottom of Grade”. Grade was so named as it sat on a hill. The top was the edge of city limits, at which was the county sheriff’s office. The bottom was an airstrip, situated where the small planes that landed and took off were sheltered from the winds that blew, uninhibited, across the landscape.

He spotted her the moment she stepped off the plane. Her tailored black jacket looked like it was made from graphite – the shirt underneath, looked like it didn’t dare wrinkle.

Chapter 3

Jim woke slowly, wrapped in a warmth he hadn’t felt in decades. His limbs were heavy with sleep, his mind still floating in that soft, dreamy place where nothing hurt and nothing worried him. He hadn’t woken up to pee at 3 AM. He hadn’t woken up at all.

Then he shifted, and froze. The mattress beneath him was cold. His stomach dropped.
No. Not again.

After they’d eaten and cleared away,
“Is Calum’s ‘grand plan’ becoming a bit clearer?” asked Sarah.

“I can sort of understand why Calum invested in the Salmon farms. It is a growth area, but some of these other businesses seem a bit weird to me,” said Jak as he reviewed the descriptions of the businesses that he’d left them both.

The Mine Shaft:
Jessie shakes her ass while dancing around on stage in her leather corset, garter belt, leather panties, stockings, and thigh-high laced-up leather boots with four-inch heels. The song she was belting out was written by another member of the band. Her long, neon-purple straight hair swirled around her head each time she twirled.

Timesharing
A Short Story from an Idea by Erin
By Maryanne Peters

“How good is this?” He had only just closed to door behind and cast around his first glance when he had to say the words out loud. It was as if Cherise was standing beside him, wearing something summery, and they were sharing this view. But she was not there. She was in the suitcase – and he could not wait to get her out.

In the quiet heart of southwestern Wyoming, a small town clings to its small-town ways. But when a sudden boom brings big money and bigger secrets, what’s left of the town they thought they knew?

As usual, I want to than Malady for beta reading, and helping edit.
I'd also like to thank those who comment for their part in beta reading too! :-)
Chapter 17

For all the trouble he’d gone through, Fran decided to let Trey serve the warrant.

They stepped into the lobby of Spotless Solutions. Bill sat behind the receptionist desk, hunched over a clipboard. He glanced up—and his expression soured instantly.

“You again?” Bill asked, exasperated. “What have we done this time?”

His tone wasn’t curious. It was tired. Defensive. Like he’d been bracing for this moment since the last visit—and had finally run out of patience.

Trey didn’t flinch. He stepped forward, warrant in hand, and held it out. The silence stretched—just long enough to make Bill squirm.

There was no help for it...

Another Country -5-
Erin Halfelven

I came at our house the back way through the alley, but Mom was there, chopping at some weeds with a long-handled hoe. The back gate made of pigwire stood wide open. At least I didn’t have to get off my bike to open it.

“Bobby,” she said as I rolled past her. “Grab the garden rake and help me here.”

Chapter 2: Lucy Sep 8th

Lucy crouched beside the recliner and unlatched the valve on Anothony’s catheter bag. The plastic hissed softly as the urine emptied into the pitcher she kept for this. She checked the line, wiped the spout, and tugged at the edge of his disposable brief, clean, thank God. No mess today.

CHAPTER 2
He was teasing, of course, or at least I hoped so. To my surprise, Alwen bit back, albeit gently.

“Dai, if I am going to be walking barefoot on sand, I want it to be warm”

“Ah, after thirty seconds in that water, you won’t notice”

When evil rises from the weak minds of the world.
Look into your heart and let your love unfurl.
Take up the mantle, take up the fight
Champion against the wrong, battle to defend what is right.
Summon the love, for all the world to see
The HIGH SCHOOL SENTAI, Cherry Jubilee!

Dinner was a bit…awkward.

That night, Jak had a nightmare. The size of Calum’s estate had been so big that it took hours for the numbers to register. He’d gone from literally counting nickels and dimes to being a multi-millionaire. What caused the nightmare was the vision of his father exploding when he found out about his brother’s legacy and that Jak would be right there in the firing line and… The actions that his father would take terrified the life out of him.

Sometimes death isn't the end. Sometimes, people can come back with new lives and new powers. This is one of those times.

This is a serial story with litrpg and gamelit elements.

Darren “Whit” Whitlock punched in his code and walked into the mailroom. As usual he was greeted by the smell of cheap coffee. He rubbed his eyes and made a beeline for the breakroom where took his stained St. Louis Art Museum mug from the shelf and filled it from the ancient stainless steel coffee pot.

Adjustment School
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

"You have always been yourself."

We had a fortnight or so to get back into reality, of course, which meant some serious time at the State Government offices on St George’s, catching up with the usual suspects, and not just Bobby and Colleen. Our first few Proper Working days were nominally spent in a conference room with a group of around fifteen delegates from various ‘hubs’, which summed up what could be called Western Australia’s human geography. Like the rest of the country, people flocked to the bigger cities or the coast, and in most cases that added up to the same thing.