After the visit to the studio, with his frustration mounting, Ryan retreats to one of his old vices. While the obsession with video games had seemingly doomed Mark and Devon, a greater danger looms just outside his window.

Excerpt:

A skipping rope slapped gently against the asphalt, each jump and each giggle caused candy-coated claws to dig into my mind, the claws digging deeper and deeper as my desire to join the girls grew.

“Wow! You did three skips that time! I wanna be good like that!”

I looked out the window and saw a skipping rope tied to a telephone pole. Two girls, one of them Kaylee’s age and one Ashley’s, were taking turns holding the rope. Each time they failed to jump the rope, they switched places. The whiney, nattering voice of the younger girl should have been a massive turnoff, like a beautiful girl with a mannish voice, but instead, it planted a powerful need, an alien yearning to reach out to these girls- to play with them, but it also caused a resurgence of doubt.

“Would they even want to play with me?”

http://youtu.be/NYae3ZAAbLc

Onboard SS ERIN 2030 08NOV17:

Tom put his arm around Elizabeth and proceeded to walk her back to her cabin. Elizabeth nestled close and enjoyed the moment. Her sister and Tom's son fell in behind the couple. Blissfully ignorant of the storm clouds gathering around her and her sister, as far as she was concerned all was right in the world.

http://Youtu.be/B4BZVir_eLE

Onboard SS ERIN 20000 98NOV17:

Then Tom Junior said "I see it too!"...

Tom Dodge immediately stared at Junior and asked "Are you sure?"

"YES,SIR!"

Tom Dodge quickly turned and looked at where the Tuner sisters had pointed. He saw nothing. he turned again towards Junior. Staring at his son, he ordered "Describe what you are seeing!"

Ryan/Kaylee is now safe in the home of Eve and Greg, however, old wounds surface, creating friction between Eve and Ryan. While clearly still in need of help, especially in keeping his secret, other help, however, may prove lethal to Ryan’s battered adult mind. Meanwhile, Ryan’s male self is challenged as Kaylee, who had previously simply been a little girl in the mirror, develops a sense of self and establishes a meagre but still present identity.

Excerpt: I added, “Without Tracy, I’m trapped like this. And every single fucking day, I feel like I’m fighting against myself. You know yesterday I saw these girls just skipping rope? And it looked like so much fun, as fun as sex with Monique and Jessica. At the same time. Fuck, I’m going crazy.”

Greg said, “That’s why you need to get out of here. Come on, man. It’s your favourite restaurant.”

I shook my head, “No way. All the waitresses will make these stupid goo-goo eyes at me. You know the look, it’s how Eve looks when she sees a baby with a puppy or a kitten. I’m safe in here from cheek pinching, gushing bullshit and constant reminders of how I look.”

Greg smirked, “You’re not that cute.”

I retorted, “Fuck, you man. That’s not what I meant.”

"No one there is exactly what he seems" - G'Kar

http://youtu.be/bT7a8Gv9qdA

Onboard SS ERIN 0430 08NOV17:

I woke to a bitter taste and aching in my shoulders. Shaking my head was like moving through pea soup while pinballs rattled in my skull.

My hands were strapped behind me, as were my ankles to the feet of a chair.

“Hello?”

No answer.

The fog lifted and I found myself in a room with grey, cinder block walls, a concrete ceiling dripping with condensation, florescent lights blinking in and out, and a dirty mirror to veil my reflection with handprints and dust. Knowing my luck there were agents on the other side waiting to begin an interrogation.

http://youtu.be/4iOGeCLpAY0

Onboard SS ERIN midnight 08 Nov 17:

Today had been a long day for Eliza and her sister Chrissie. Packing, the long trip to the harbor, getting everything unpacked and stored in the much too small cabin the shared was tiring. Lunch was tolerable except for the most charming Tom Dodge who entertained everyone with his many strange sea tales that his son demanded. Each story more fantastic than the prior story. As a storyteller he was; well, he just was.

To Ryan’s horror, Ms. Daniels continues her bizarre transformation from network executive to doting mother-to-be. Despite this fact, Ryan is heartened by the return of Ashley. Unfortunately, not all was as it was before. Still, when all seems lost, a new hope for escape rises from an unlikely source.

Excerpt: The young woman easily pulled the covers away from my face and kissed me gently on the forehead. “I love you, Kaylee.”

She lingered for a minute, likely waiting for me to say something in return. With my silence, however, she trudged from the room.

I tossed and turned, my mind grappling with my inability to leave and the horrible fate that awaited me as the daughter of a madwoman. My body and mind exhausted with the struggle finally succumbed to sleep hours later.

“They took Katie!”

My Mom blinked in horror, just like she had the last five times.

“Who?” she asked.

“The men in the suits!”

She shook herself. “When?”

I was ready to tear my hair out. “While you and Dad were fucking each other stupid!”

Language like that would have me grounded on an ordinary day, but my Mom wasn’t all there. Every few moments she closed her eyes, bit her lip, and held one hand down to keep from touching herself, just like every other horny fool in town.

“Mom!”

She jumped upright. “Yes?”

Ashley continues to have a positive impact on Ryan, and this growing bond leads Ashley to reveal a painful secret. With the malleable period soon ending, and with it supposedly their chance to return to normal, Ryan and Ashley confront Dr. Travers and attempt to play upon the man’s morality, yet what they learn may make them yearn for Ms. Daniels.

Excerpt: There wasn’t a modicum of emotion to his voice which matched an equally blank expression when we finally saw his face. I pulled my hand away from Ashley’s, and while this would have amused Ms. Daniels, Dr. Travers remained stone faced. He was dishevelled, even more so than before with a thick beard and a heavy, acrid sweat smell. His lab coat was stained, and so were his shoes- a grimy pair of sneakers. Still, his eyes were vibrant, and within them, I saw a man who was calculating and focused. Just a brief glance showed the intelligence residing there, but there was something else too. The way he looked at us made me think of how my science teacher peered at the foetal pig before it was dissected. It was morbid curiosity.

Chapter 8
With the threat of further regression, Ryan and the other transformed adults fall into their roles. As consummate professionals with a thorough understanding of proper technique and position, the filming unsurprisingly moves quickly. Meanwhile, an exchange with Ms. Daniels forces Ryan to consider life as Kaylee. As the filming continues, Ryan finds himself falling deeper and deeper into character, and when an opportunity comes to demonstrate his brazen, confident self, he struggles to reassert himself.

Excerpt: Ashley replied, “I’m not an expert on this, Ryan, but it sounds like you are fighting growing up. You run away from the things that force you to deal with harsh realities. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t really ever tried. From what you’ve told me with your past relationships and your jobs, you never put yourself in a position where you could grow. Did you know I’ve been in the business since I was eleven years old? I begged my mom before that, but she wouldn’t let me.”

She added, “For some people, it takes a really long time to break into acting. And how long have you been at it? Like two years? You didn’t fail. You just gave up. Just like you are now, but here- you have nowhere to go. Do you really want to let Daniels win?”

Blood Splattered Nights

Prologue
Cold, cold is all I feel, no flash off my life before my eyes just cold, no pain as the warmth flees my body, I can't believe this is how it will all end laying, in a pool of my own blood on the pavement in a dark alley, alone it just felt so surreal as my eyes and mind fill with darkness, no bright light where my lost friends and family awaits just… nothingness cold and black...

.

Chapter One

For anyone interested in the further misadventures of Susie and Jeffrey, two full-length novels, Books 11 and 12 - Loony Runes and Strange Day on a Train are available

Jessie and Paul leave the Apache with the Sheriff not far behind. Can they escape him and the risk of the venomous scorpion? WIll Jessie prove her innocence? And what of the mystery of Dandy Jim? For this and more, read the stirring adventure of JESSIE HANKS OUTLAW QUEEN!

Street and Smith’s New York Weekly is proud to present the latest addition to the amazing legend of Eerie, Arizona.

Jessie Hanks Outlaw Queen: The Cameo Murder
By Nicholas Varrick
As Told by Ellie Dauber and Christopher Leeson © 2016

Imagine that you are enjoying a warm summer afternoon on your back porch. Your mother is at work and your father is out of the picture. Your best friend, Aimee, has left town on a plane to visit relatives and your mutual best friend, Kim, has gone to an isolated, disconnected cabin with her family and wont be back for three weeks. Aimee calls while waiting at Baggage Claim and clearly has something on her mind that's bothering her. You offer to talk to her, but she tells you that it's girl talk and she wishes that she could talk to Kim. What do you do?

"Sex & Death: In That Order"
CHAPTER ONE: "Long Oak Lodge"
a Transgendered Erotic Horror Comedy... No, Really.
by TGTrinity

Marc and his six friends are on a vacation in a posh mountain cabin, only to find that half of them have been transformed into women. On top of that, a mysterious force seems to be hunting them as they give into their erotic desires and discover things they never knew about each other.

Author's Note:
I can't overstate this enough: "Sex & Death: In That Order" is a Transgendered Erotic Horror Comedy... No, Really. As such, there will be a lot of men changing into sexy ladies who then sleep with those who haven't changed. There will be some brutal deaths as well, but all of this will happen with a wink and a smile. I hope that you'll join my on this story that was requested by Canada12, but I understand if you don't, and won't hold it against you.

"Welcome to Timber Grove"
Timber Grove: Story #1
by TGTrinity

Chapter 1: "The Sapphire Ring"

Welcome to Timber Grove, a lovely coastal town where changes happen everyday. Meet Samantha Brown, and FBI agent who has a life changing experience with her secretary before going missing. Follow Agent Timothy August as he searches for Agent Brown, and begins to find that things in Timber Grove are never what they seem.

Author's Note: This story is a re-imagining of "Timber Grove: Season One" which was posted online in 2013. There are over twenty other stories in the "Timber Grove" series, but since this is the debut of the series on BigCloset TopShelf I will be posting the stories in order. I hope that you enjoy how the story begins, and I hope to have it completed soon.

THE MIXED TAPE MYTHOS STORIES

In the Australian outback a solitary traveller stops at a strange roadside store and leaves with a mysterious cassette. A homeless busker tells of the night that they became a conduit for a wild and otherworldly force. A young writer meets a man with no shadow. We will encounter her again, a student at an academy for witches and warlocks. The results of a pitched and secret battle in a secluded valley shapes humankind’s destiny amongst the stars. The wondrous and terrifying magic of the Mixed Tapes links disparate tales of sex, superheroes, fantastical kingdoms, and human and inhuman monsters. If you have ever wondered what the little indulgences that frame my anthologies add up to, here they are, all in one place, for your reading pleasure.

Concludes with an announcement regarding the first Mixed Tape of 2016

By Melanie E.