There are a lot of good things about public transportation: It's affordable, environmentally responsible, good for people watching, cheaper than owning a car. There a couple of bad things about public transportation: It's slow and you often have to spend a lot of time in the cold or rain walking to the bus stop or waiting for the bus. Maybe the responsible rider is lucky and has a subway stop in front of his doorway, but not so the hero of this story.

[central Smithfield, NC]

“I was beginning to think that you weren’t coming,” said Sylvie when I arrived in the diner.

"I had a bit of personal business to take care of. That's all done so we can get out of here."

“Where are we going now?”

Chapter 3.16

June 9th, 2023

Chatham Yardworks, North Pole

2:46PM

The office building was half a block off the main drag in North Pole, but there was a large sign that was placed at the corner, pointing down the cross street letting people know where they were. Beside the office was a salon on one side, and Ross’ Diner, the same fast food joint where Chet had finally realized how he felt about Mage, on the other.

Bob pulled the car he and Mike were driving into the parking lot. They’d called ahead and found out that it had been a busy day at the office, so when they got out of the car, they went to the diner and ordered some burgers for the office staff, which consisted of Rick and his wife Carla.

Chapter 1
I find myself stumbling across the brush that fills the valley. My memory of how I got here was a complete blank. The last thing I remember was loading up to go on a convoy to Kandahar. I no longer have my weapon with me. I still have my body armor and assault pack with me. Soot and blood cover my uniform.

I touch my head and feel it wet and sticky. Blood is covering my face. Grabbing my first aid kit from my body armor, I proceed to wrap my head wound. My head is still pounding in pain.

March 11th, 3040

In the middle of battle Eriana has fallen and it is Ursula's task to save her if it is possible. Once the situation stabilizes tough decisions must be taken to protect those in the arena and to rescue the two Counts. Eventually the weary survivors return to their hostel where the injured must be more closely inspected.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

68 - Consequences

“Stop whining, Alex,” she said sternly. “it is unseemly for one whose veins carry the blood of Zeus himself. I was celebate for almost 500 years before you were conceived. Surely you can manage a week between strumpets?” Alex ground his teeth. Athena sighed again and added, “Alright, fine. You can’t. How about two days?”

I spent the rest of the drive watching the scenery flash by. The plains are pretty boring from a landscape point of view. This was a far cry from the beauty of the cabin and the mountains.

Judy involves homemaker Andy in selecting dresses, with a surprising result.

The party was sprawling down the lawn towards the harbor, splashes of bright colors against blue skies, scudding white clouds and a crystal clear view of the Boston skyline. It reminded me of the dream I had taken across the threshold into morning. It had been years since I had seen that dreamscape, but there it was, whole and healed and perfect: me, making a graceful dive from a wooden pier into a deep, pristine lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, pine forests and the clearest air in the world. Wearing a lime-green one-piece and curves that were, finally, all my own.

-24-
Blood on the Plaza

According to the sun it was around the middle of the day when Oliver, as tired as he was, followed me into the center of town. I had set a blistering pace after the bandits had ambushed us, and Oliver, though he struggled, had managed to keep up with me. Oliver was covered in blood, not his blood, but blood from the bandits that had tried to ambush us. The boy's long brown hair was matted with sweat and his feet were blistered and bleeding.

The Imp ran at the strange human, it's mind filled with blood lust and glee at the impending kill. The human was sick and injured, barely able to hold its blade. Its claws would gut the prey, then it could find the unarmed humans, the weak and young. It would play with them for hours, listening to them scream, tasting their flesh, feeling their life leave their bodies.

“She already knows, Cami. I talked to her.”

I must have looked as astonished as I felt. Though he was uncomfortable, he didn’t look away.

“It was a couple days ago. Before we made love. I knew what I wanted, but I was so afraid that I would hurt you, somehow. Especially because of your issues with PTSD. So I talked to Fiona. She’s your dragon. I figured if she thought there was any likelihood of a problem, she would wave me off. She . . . ah . . . well. She didn’t.” He was blushing, bless the man. “She also wasn’t surprised.”

Previously: Amber has been trained at a slave school in the ways of a pleasure slave. Sold into the house of a feudal lord named, Gaius, she has proved useful in enlarging his fortune; but at the cost of enraging the emissaries of the Seven Gods who have promised to chasten her. She disappears suddenly from Gaius' villa in Albion, and awakes in Thamud where she is sold into the royal household. A break in the narrative follows.

Chapter 6 - Old Friends and Enemies . On Serum Girls . I Meet My Master's Family

Dear Reader,

Marcy’s epilogue

It had taken Marcy a while after John was finally permanently gone from her life to truly relax. She had felt his eyes and control on her for so very long that even now after weeks she still felt like she was being watched at times. It was always slightly unsettling, but in the end she managed to tell herself that it was just her imagination, after all if John hadn’t been gone he would have certainly reared his ugly head by now.

GAMBIER TERRACE

There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

1

This is an experimental first chapter just testing the waters.

The Story So Far: A story taken from the Journal of Lady Zhou Yu, (known to us as Amber) – a slave girl living in the capital city of Thamud. A war currently rages between Talos and Thamud. Amber is a former Chinese military contractor from Earth (Ki) who has been kidnapped and transported to the planet, An. Now transformed into a slave girl, she has been tasked with infiltrating the Qin (the Chinese-like people of An) in order to regain her male body and return to Earth.