Author's Note. I took a long break from this one because I was having trouble coming up with the next relics that would drive the story further. I have finally found what I was looking for and am looking forward to moving this story on.

Chapter 10 — The Weight of Two Relics

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 6

She passed the open book to him, and his eyes went wide as he looked at the picture.

“I remember the day that was taken. I had managed to get them a short tour of seaside towns as an opening band. That was the beginning of the growing fan base. Where did you get this book?”

Alex had a terminal Cancer diagnosis and thought she would die before she got to be the girl she always was inside. That all changes when she's in the wrong place at the right time and gets transported to another world and into the body of a girl. So what if she's not human, she's alive and a girl. Now if only she had her sister with her to navigate this new world and her new responsibilities. Wait, she's here too? The passage of their souls between worlds may have doomed the Earth to apocalypse, but Alex and Michelle won't be there to see it and they have enough problems on their hands.
 

Matty Caff AI Comic Fantasies: These are independent stand alone AI and Face Swap created comics of fantasy and some personal experience. I use my face in every comic.

Chapter 5

The day after they arrived home, the Randalls were sitting at the kitchen table after breakfast. Willow sipped her tea and smiled.

“It was nice for Mac to give us the Watford shed. I’m not certain that we’ll have a magnificent recording studio, though. I’ve been trying to remember the times we’ve been there, and it didn’t seem that big.”

Chapter 4

Willow got the two bands together in one of the function rooms after breakfast.

“I have some news that will please you. I received a phone call from Rufus, our manager, this morning. As of yesterday afternoon, he has made a deal with the manager of ‘Enlightened’ to be their manager outside of Australasia, as your manager doesn’t normally work outside of Australia and New Zealand.”

Samantha and her friends looked puzzled.

“What does this mean for us, practically?”

By Iona Laing

Chapter Nineteen – Nightmares and explanations.

(Julia.)

I was back at school, and it was playtime, and as usual the favourite game was shove Julia around.

“Who would want to be a foster carer for you?” Shove!

“You are a worthless piece of shit!” Shove!

January - London - Mark (as Angel)

The weeks blurred into each other like smudged lipstick.

Every morning, Mark got up, put on his gym kit, and ran laps around the canals, lungs burning, legs raw. If you looked past the stares from construction workers and the old women walking their dogs, it almost felt normal. Sweat, pain, the grind. He clung to it—routine was the only thing left that felt like his.

When billionaire financier Mark Steele opens an anonymous Christmas delivery—a rare First Folio containing a strange, shimmering parchment—his meticulously controlled life begins to unravel. Across the city, Angelique “Angel” Valentine, a sharp-tongued dancer with debts, secrets, and a crippled friend to protect, is blackmailed into entertaining a mysterious guest at a corporate Christmas party. Their worlds collide in a night of lust and deception—and by morning, Mark wakes up in Angel’s body, and Angel in his.

Trapped in a life of cheap wine, bruised knees, and rent arrears, Mark must learn to survive as the woman he once dismissed. Across town, Angel revels in her new power—money, muscle, and a Manhattan skyline at her feet. But as each struggles to master the other’s world, the lines between identity, class, and desire blur. Beneath the sex and glamour lies a simple question: when you strip away money, body, and name—what’s left of the self?

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.

By Iona Laing

Chapter Seventeen – Jessie is told she has to back off!”

(Jenna.)

Once Jacqui and Deborah had taken Julia off the ward, I closed the door to the side room.

Dr Hunstanton sat in front of Jess and studied her carefully.

Chapter 3

The band went back to the Watford shed for a week, putting together a show that should last about three hours. They needed to introduce themselves to the world, as well as promoting the school that nurtured most of them. They went through some of their own back catalogue, picking out a couple of songs that Zara had sung with the G’s, a few of Willow’s with Summer Rose, a few of the Rock’s old numbers, as well as a few that were still being played from the final boxed set.

Project Mnemosyne
10. Allowances
by Suzan Donamas & Chat GPT

Chapter 10 — Allowances

Morning began to speak more softly.

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 12

The envelope Fran had found in the wastebasket contained a birthday card. It was hard to be certain, but the card might never have been out of the envelope. The handwriting on both the envelope and the note inside looked like a teenager’s—loopy, uneven, and earnest. The return address read Ashley Bernard, Riverside, California.

Fran paused. Mitch Bernard—Reggie and Debra’s nephew over at Spotless Solutions—shared that surname. Could Ashley be his sister? It bore checking out.

She yawned and glanced at her watch. Four A.M.

They’d been called to The Chicken Coop by Chick at eight the previous morning. Twenty hours of nonstop investigating had left her running on fumes. She locked the evidence they’d collected into its locker, then flipped off the lights. The alarm panel blinked its now-familiar flicker when she armed it. She disarmed and rearmed it. This time, it came on normally.

Alex had a terminal Cancer diagnosis and thought she would die before she got to be the girl she always was inside. That all changes when she's in the wrong place at the right time and gets transported to another world and into the body of a girl. So what if she's not human, she's alive and a girl. Now if only she had her sister with her to navigate this new world and her new responsibilities. Wait, she's here too? The passage of their souls between worlds may have doomed the Earth to apocalypse, but Alex and Michelle won't be there to see it and they have enough problems on their hands.
 

By Iona Laing

Chapter Eleven – Feelings, Plans and Decisions.

(Jennifer.)

‘That’s the front door, and one, no two sets of footsteps, that’s good, both my girls home safe and sound.’

“Come on girls, I’ve got you some homemade lasagne just coming out of the oven!”

By Iona Laing

Chapter Nine – Ten Years Later.

They were on a balcony of the parliament to see the New Year fireworks, with the sparkles making the jewellery glitter. Willow stood, Garry with his arms around her, thinking back to previous New Years, and she wondered just what lay in store for her in the future. Surely, it couldn’t be as exciting as the recent past, now, could it?

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Easel

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

I sat beside my mom as silence filled the car. I really didn’t know what to talk about, I can tell that like always mom was trying her best.
“So, what’s bothering you? I can tell there’s something in your mind,” mom said her eyes on the road and catching me by surprise. Does she know? I mean my mom is very smart and it’s impossible to trick her.