CHAPTER ONE Lena sat quietly not paying attention to the soft murmur of voices around her. A woman approached her, smiling. "Happy birthday, Lena." She said. "Yes, thank you." Lena replied, putting on a fake smile. The woman noticed something strange and instantly looked confused. "Where's Yulia? It wouldn't be like her to skip out on your birthday." She...
When Barra's warband attacked the sleepy southern village, they expected to be able to steal cattle and grain and be away before anyone could sound the alarm. What they didn't expect was to meet a well-armed group of villagers who slaughtered most of the warband who weren't able to run away. Barra was badly injured and left for dead. He was saved by Niamh, t...
Trading Stocks for Bonds (How Linsey was Collared) Her teacup chinked against its saucer. Not once, but five or six times in quick rattling succession. She was trembling and couldn't hide it. "I can pay you back," Linsey Altmell pleaded with passion. "You know I can net that amount in just one year. I did it two years ago." Apart from a security man blo...
*Author's note: All participants are 19 and older Leonard Leonard Mynon couldn't believe his ears, in all 92 years of his life he had never experienced such audacity, war, famine, segregation, a plague, and even the genocide of the Spiritus Magi didn't prepare him for this. This boy really thought that he could just waltz in and make demands, what could he...
It was about 8.20pm by the time we got to the Mike's cottage up north. Francis pulled his truck up next to three others: two that looked as beat-up and road-worn as his and one super-shiny, first-time-off-paved-roads beast that almost made his one look like a Fiat by comparison. I whistled in amazement as we pulled up next to it. "Jesus, who's driving that...
While the men worked we got cleaned and dried and combed our hair. Sue and I put on a little makeup but Judy declined. She said she liked her 'little girl' look and the lack of makeup helped. I found out that she had been a gymnast all her life. She did a few stretches that almost hurt to watch. Sue said that Judy could do every position in the Kama Sutra an...
Rose had lived in the same apartment in New York's lower east side, all of her life. Her parents had brought her home from the hospital... to this apartment. After college, she had returned to New York.... to this apartment. When her parents died a couple of years ago, in a car accident, the lease and the rent-control binder, had transferred to her name an...
Part I: Celia tried to go about her business like she didn't care, but it was hard. She had written a few cheery notes and sent them off to a couple close friends, wishing them a special day. The day before, she had ordered a box of chocolates to be delivered to her daughter who was living two states away. Earlier that morning, she had slipped a chocolate b...
We're going to start off soft . . . and end . . . rough. *** I waited within the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of her once again. I knew she came to this particular spot in the stream every few days or so. It was right where the lonely tributary made a wicked bend on its way down the mountain and was thus hidden by the tall firs that flanked both banks....
April 12, 201X Dr. Megan Davis ran her fingers through her long red hair. Usually, it was kept in a tight bun at the back of head, but it was after midnight now as she poured over the latest reports coming out of Afghanistan. She adjusted her reading glasses on the end of her nose as exhaustion made it even more difficult to focus on the words. She realiz...