The darkness of the tunnel was banished by the bright pulses of laser fire, while the shrill screams of dying Kirrix rang in John's ears. There was a momentary lull in the carnage as Irillith followed the ramp up and around the corner, her sister hovering protectively at her side. The insectoid troops lurking around the corner in ambush rushed forward, but T...
Freebird! Eddie Nesbit could not carry a tune under the best of circumstances but with only the uncaring wind to hear him bellow, emulating Ronnie Van Zant was not the hardest task. Above the hearty drone of the 351 Ford motor pushing him up the mighty Mississippi in an old Ski Nautique, Eddie and the late Van Zant sang their hearts out in praise of the als...
..........................*** Chapter 27 ***........................... Esther closed her eyes and gripped Abuela's hand. Nicola's warm body pressed against her back, one arm around her stomach, the other woman's physical presence calming the part of her brain that would otherwise refuse this task. When Abuela's onslaught came, it swept right over her, a h...
A note from the author This is very much a make or break story for me. The more I wrote, the more ideas came flooding in, but one thing remained very much constant. Louise and Jade. I kept wanting to write for them. Nicola, Heather, Crystal. They all have backstories that I'd love to explore, but I keep coming back to these two. Perhaps because the main cha...
Chapter One - Paths - The wind gusted strongly through the small town. Fat flakes of snow fell, whipped into a frosty froth by the powerfully gusting wind, from slate gray skies gradually turning black at the unhurried approach of evening. I like snow, I always have. I could dimly remember cheerful childhood memories of running around through knee-deep...
Last year's Geek Event led me to some of my favorite characters, and I'm pleased ChloeTzang took on this year's event. Chronologically, this story falls some hundreds or, perhaps, thousands of years before the events of the "Dry, No Lube" stories, and in turn some hundreds or, perhaps, thousands of years from now. Thanks again to Chloe, and thanks to you fo...
1 The neon glare from St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect was the only light that shone in Sergei Arkedyvich's dim, spartan office. The gangster was seated in an armchair by the wide window, burning cigarette dangling from his meaty lips. He considered the liquid line over halfway down the vodka bottle before him, and regarded the paunchy man sitting across fr...
Chapter XI Collapse Author's Notes: A heartfelt "thank you" goes out to the people who helped in refining and improving this chapter. My lady love for her undying support and the harshest critique one can hope for, my editor bikoukumori for his unending patience and a host of volunteers who suffered through the early drafts of this tale. In no particular...
"Fuck!" John snarled, incensed that the Brimorians were causing him even more problems. *Let me get this straight... the Maliri fleets won't make it in time, so now we're rushing to save the Kintark from an Enclave invasion?!* *That's correct,* Edraele replied mournfully. *Except we won't make it in time either,* Alyssa added, sounding heavily distracted....
Chapter V: A Visitor Author's Note: A very special thanks to my lady love and two faithful beta readers -- MisterWildCard and John998 -- for their invaluable feedback and encouragement. This chapter somehow was quite a slog to put together and I couldn't have done it without you. Also, as usual, thanks to my editor bikoukumori for a splendid editing job....