I and Charlotte, my wife of more than ten years, had moved to a new neighborhood of the Southern French city of Lourdes. Now you may have heard about this city as a famous pilgrimage site. It is what makes us Lourdes citizens relatively wealthy – and in fact, both Charlotte and I work in separate hotels here. But beyond the everyday business of hosting inter...
Since Christopher had been bounced, there had been three more interviews, and another couple of dozen applicants rejected before then. People had been rude, or had sketchy references, or just given one of us a bad vibe. It turned out that consensus was a very hard thing to reach among six very different people. I was beginning to get frustrated. Did we reall...
Sometimes in the summer, when the sun would melt the asphalt and the wilt the church's immaculate green lawn, my friends and I would jump on our bikes and ride down to Willow Falls. It's three miles from town, through two trailer parks, past the dollar store, and over a highway. If you're still alive after playing Frogger on Rt. 22, you have two options. Eit...
Marcos and the girls took a carriage. The slave girls rode with Kaarthen in a wagon behind them. The ship they had chartered for the voyage was a caravel. A long slender ship with a single deck, and a raised half and quarterdeck in the front and rear. The heavy assault infantry detail would also be riding with them back to Pessilberg. After the voyage, Marco...
It was a terribly hard thing to say goodbye to her boyfriend, especially since this was their first extended separation. Katie had been dating Nick for 5 months now, but as she quickly learned, a relationship in college can bring you incredibly close in a short amount of time. Katie was 19 now and returning home for Christmas break of her sophomore year. Aft...
Throughout the world, researchers had gathered to review the findings of their fellow researchers and discuss what to do with the data presented. Begrudgingly they had agreed to hear an outsider speak. Many of them feared the woman walking towards the podium, if she could truly be called a woman was even part of the debate. Her ears set high on her head twit...
I picked up my pants from the floor. At least, I thought they were my pants. They looked the same, but when I tried to wear them, I realized they were the wrong size. I looked at Jane in bewilderment. She had already found her clothes and dressed. I then looked at the two naked strangers in the room. My head was swimming. I shouldn't have drunk so much. "Qu...
Chapter 3: Pride Breaker She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally came to. The first thing she noticed was the soreness between her legs, causing her to let out a weak groan. The second thing she noticed was the pain from her right ass cheek, where Kardris had branded her. Looking down, she saw the emblem of the Horde seared into her flesh....
It was Tuesday morning, the second day of the weeklong teacher's conference, and almost the entire room was paying close attention to the speaker, one Martin Greenman, forty-seven-year veteran of the classroom and expert in educational theory. The only one not paying attention was Pam. She was in the front row, doing her best to listen and sit still. Next...
In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. Summary by Universal Pictures. "David? You...