It was a bit of a rushed day, but we got the nature reserves in, complete with a sighting of a kingfisher. An Island tour was completed by car, with just a few tick-box moments, such as a ride on the Alum Bay chairlift and a stop at the top of St Catherine’s Down. Rita was bouncing about happily, and her English was just about good enough to ask how big the Island was. That, oddly, was something I knew, thanks to a friend who had cycled the thing for his 50th birthday.

“There is a cycle route all the way round the edge, and it is a little over one hundred kilometres long”

I could so be a good girlfriend to a nice boy. If only...

As always - All rights and Characters © Beverly Taff

“I’m tired. Please let me get some rest. Today we, the people of the world worked together. Men and women from all different races and religions saved the planet. Tomorrow I’ll tell you how we work together to save humanity.”

The whole world waited on what this amazing man had to say.

The next morning, Charlie stood at a podium outside the Darwin factory. He waited for the crowd to quiet down before he started.

I con Jack out of some of his beer...

Straight
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

The first thing that I did was come straight out and tell my family that I was gay. I guess a lot of guys have real difficulty with this, but at the end of the day you just have to get it over with. You have to be straight. As it turned out, it went well. My Dad was not surprised – in fact, he was almost relieved. It seemed to explain everything about me.

The feed cut off and the world watched in horror as there was a series of explosions on the surface of the asteroid. The ships were exploding as the power surged through them. They extra power had given the engines a massive boost. The exploding gravity field fields pushed the asteroid out of the atmosphere.

The earth was safe. Cheers erupted from the whole world. In the control room it took a few minutes for the screams to die down. In the control room.

Peter looked up from his coms screen. He was crying. Chloe stared and shook her head.

I woke early once again, nervous about Pablo’s mood in the most peculiar way imaginable. I found myself worrying that some odd mental link might have led him to suspect what I had been up to in the night, but then again, he might just have heard the creaking and done some simple addition. I took a few minutes to finish loading tents and other hardware into the car, and then started the kettle going.

In the event, it was Rita who was first down, and I was oddly comforted by the way she seemed to know where everything was, and to be utterly relaxed about preparing her own breakfast.

The two Texan girls are successfully transferred to a 'safe-house' the UK to keep them out of reach from the trafficker's long reach.

“Jonny, why are you such a girl?” he asked, grinning down at me.

"Okay then," Luke said confidently as he looked up at his twin sister. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lucy replied. "We do this together, right?"

"Aye, always," Luke said, giving his sister a gentle pat on the back as the two of them walked toward the imposing main gate of Durham University...

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NB Although all of the great houses and historical figures are real, current period characters are purely from my imagination and have no link with anyone living or dead.

Part 2 The New Born

They put the boy on a gurney and then in the ambulance, draped a blanket on my shoulders and sat me in a seat in the back. My mother got in the front with the driver and we were off to the hospital in Colchester where I had been born. It looks as if the same venue would be the confirmation of my re-birth.

Reluctant Diva 22
Inspired by Lipstick Discipline
Chapter 22 – Girl Talk
“What are you doing down there?”

Rachel’s voice, filled with concern, roused me from my trance. I opened my eyes and discovered I was standing in the section of the drugstore which stocked exclusively male items. “Are you okay?”