Mature / Thirty+

Bethlehem

Author's Note: This short story is intended to be read after The Light Between and before the upcoming new installment, Hope's Light.

If you have yet to experience the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Bethlehem

Bethlehem

by Erisian

A Light Novelette

 

 

The travelers had gathered in Jerusalem’s lower city not far from the hippodrome, the great stone-worked amphitheater built by the king to curry favor with his land’s conquerors in the hopes to placate their need for sport made by the speed of horse and blood of man.

A Sister 'til Christmas 2

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A Sister 'til Christmas 2
By Sabrina G. Langton

***

Author's Note: Hi, just suddenly realized how close this Christmas thing is a coming... Phew, I better get moving... I hope YOU like it...

***

'Listen to me baby
Listen to my plea
I'm in the middle of nowhere
And it's worrying me'

House of Women

House of Women
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I was one of three boys growing up on an isolated farm, so my original experience of women was my mother. I knew that she was different because my father always told me so – he told all of us.

“Your mother is a woman, and women are different,” he said. “They need to be looked after by men - like you will grow up to be. They need to be admired and respected. If you are lucky like me, you will end up with a woman who will be the greatest thing you ever possess.”

Masks 27: Tales Old and New, Part 1

Masks XXVII: Tales Old and New

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

The domestic bliss of the Peltior household was disturbed by a muffled exclamation from the kitchen.

"You all right in there?" asked Michelle, concerned, from their couch in the living room.

"I broke another garlic press," said Vic, sourly.

"It's all those fingertip pushups," said Michelle, laughing. "I've shown you how to smack the flat of a knife blade to crush garlic."

"Yeah, but the last time I tried that I... well, let's just say I used too much focus."

Cuz -You're Sweet. Part 2 of 2

Chapter 2

Next morning, Sally met with the paramedics when they arrived for work.

“Thanks for seeing me, gentlemen. Can you tell me about the time you attended Fred Williams?”

“It was a pretty normal visit. The guy had died, the attending nurse had called it in when she found him. He was on the floor, on his front. He had vomited and is bladder had emptied.”

“Vomited? That wasn’t in the official report. Was it where he was found, or was it in other places in his home?”

Frock Therapy

Frock Therapy
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

If I blame anyone for anything that happened, then I would blame my job.

I worked on a trading floor with a bunch of young men. There were some women. But let’s face it, stock trading suits the male ego. Women give up and move on to something without the bullshit. That was what I wanted to do, but I stayed on until the pressure drove me crazy.

Space Queen Chapter 7

We entered the throne room, and I had Spire show me what was going on outside the station. We saw Queen’s Rage firing on three ships that had come into the system. “Spire, get me in contact with Admiral Stook.” A separate screen flashed up showing Admiral Stook in the command chair.

“Admiral, what is going on out there?” I asked.

Mermaids In Space!!!

In an overpopulated world rescuing the wrong person can be a crime.
Ambulance driver Nick and his partner Eliza were sentenced to forty years in prison.
But after a year they get a strange offer.
The company Nixen will pay off their debt and get them out of jail.
All they have to do is go to space for a year.
And to give up their body.
Not to worry, their new ones will be shiny and will have a tail.

A Girl, a House and a Secret, part 3 of 7

For reasons that seemed obvious at the time, I dreamed about my grandfather again that night. He and the other old man I’d seen in my previous dream were sitting around a fire, talking in low voices, frequently glancing at me where I was tied up and struggling to get loose.

 



 

Arctic Fox Book 3: Pursuit of the Dream - Chapter 30

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Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

Marcia is seventeen, and along with Darryl, has moved south in Alaska to attend the Anchorage campus of the Alaska State University. She wants to pursue her dream, but will it pursue her instead?
I want to thank Malady, once again, for his help checking through this story for the many errors I frequently insert, as well as listening to my sometimes completely crazy ideas about the direction of the story and telling me how crazy they are!

Darryl pulled the Mustang into the parking lot at George Pratt’s office. It was a nice building; definitely upscale. He and Marcia got out and went inside where they were ushered through to Pratt’s private office. Pratt, Heather Shore, and a social worker they hadn’t met were present. Pratt introduced her as Caroline Ogilvy.

Heather was seated in a chair, looking very sullen. Marcia sat down beside her and asked how she was doing.

Rather than answer, Heather just shook her head. She didn’t want to talk.

Essentially Egg. Part 39 0f 39

As I said at the beginning of Chapter One, I have to thank Jill and Eric for their input into this story. I hope that I achieved something we can all be proud of.
Marianne

Chapter 39

The upshot of the whole thing was, as usual, a lift in sales of all the albums that Josie had been on, even the forgotten one she did with the girl group in L.A. I got Allan to put all my part of those sales into a trust fund for the twins, which also took the proceeds of the sale of their family home, as well as their shares of the estate.

A Girl, a House and a Secret, part 2 of 7

“May I ask what exactly Essie’s disability is? I ask because it’s possible it might affect how I need to accommodate her learning —”

 

“You’ll find that out in time,” she said, “if you stick with the job. Suffice it to say that she can’t go to school with other children.”

 



 

Essentially Egg. Part 38 of 39

Chapter 38

By the time we got near Christmas, again, there had been another shift in focus. Ali had been invited to apply for the Juilliard School in New York, a singular honor for one so young. She, however, wanted none of it. In the middle of the year, she would have finished high school and was certain that if Wayne County was good enough for her Aunty Pet, it was good enough for her.

Essentially Egg. Part 37 of 39

Chapter 37

As we moved through the year, we played our concerts, did a couple of spots at the vet shows and looked closely at the music list we had been given. It was the first year that I had not been involved directly in a single album.

The Prisoner of Hender. Part 5 of 5

Chapter 5

After we had cleaned ourselves, he went back out into the corridor, smiling to himself. I did an enema sluice, then got up into my bunk and tried to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he had given me a soft ejaculation during our love making. I wondered if it was the pills that I was taking.

Whatever You Desire - Chapter 3

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Chapter Two – Day Five

Detectives Julie Sanderson and Tommy Lomax disagree when Julie proposes using a honey-trap to catch Stephanie Carter's killer. Final Chapter and resolution.

Space Queen Chapter 6

The Trial

I had all the members of the church and those in positions of power within the station lined up in the throne room. I made sure that this trial was broadcast throughout the Empire. Minsha was sitting next to me upon the dais. Looking down at all the people that I needed to judge and sentence, but I had to seem like a was not a malevolent ruler.

Essentially Egg. Part 36 0f 39

Chapter 36

Sharron had a years-worth of vacation owing and she didn’t need much talking to Carol before she was back to me to get the different contact details. Being known sometimes has its advantages and, within a week, she had been to our doctor, seen a specialist, and was given a date for the operation. Jordan was happy to let her take the time off and then stay in the clinic for a few weeks to recuperate.

Whatever You Desire - Chapter 2

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Chapter Two – Day Two - Day Three - Day Four

Transgender detective Julie Sanderson begins to break down detective Tommy Lomax's prejudices and they actually begin to trust each other and bond. As they get closer to finding out who murdered Stephanie Carter the investigation turns dangerous

Whatever You Desire - Chapter 1

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Chapter One – Day One

Transgender detective Julie Sanderson is teamed with detective Tommy Lomax to solve the murder of young trans prostitute Stephanie Carter and the investigation becomes complicated when the victim is identified as the daughter of a US senator. The case is a political time bomb full of intrigue, deception, lies and deceit but the clock is ticking to get it solved before the media gets hold of the story.

A Girl, a House and a Secret, part 1 of 7

Of course I wasn’t fired because I was trans. No, it was for completely unrelated reasons, as anyone at South Taine Elementary or the Taine County school board would tell you. Besides, Georgia is an at-will employment state, so even if they did fire me for being trans, it would be perfectly legal.

Trauma

Trauma
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

He woke up in hospital. He was puzzled at first. He had no idea why he should be there. The memory of the train crash only came later, after usual questions were asked. He remembered the girl who had been sitting beside him, and how she had fallen into his arms as the railcar left the tracks. They could feel that moment of weightlessness as gravity seemed to no longer apply, just before the impact. He had held her tight, and she had held him.

Space Queen Chapter 5

That night in my room Minsha and I lay on the bed, she told me about her life, and I told her more about Earth. I now understood why Tagnor wore so little clothing, Minsha was hot. I would never freeze with her next to me. Her fur was soft, she let me feel it last night. I think we also made a good start to a great friendship. We may not have similar pasts, but we have similar ideas for the future.

Chameleon - Part 3

After a reasonably early breakfast the next morning, Sergei and his brother-in-law, Tomasz moved the rest of his belongings from Sergei’s SEAT[1] into the Nissan van. Tomasz added a rolled-up mattress and sleeping bag once Sergei had explained that he’d likely be spending at least one night on the road.

Tomasz agreed with him when Sergei told him the outline of his route north. He gave Sergei an old but usable Michelin Road atlas of France.

“That will be a great help, thanks.”

Armored

Cursed, he thought. It was a trap for thieves, not a legitimate work of magecraft waiting for someone named Timala ghe Sulahi to come pay for it. It had protected him from the new scorpion, or so it had seemed in his haste, but who knew what else it would do to him before he could find a mage who knew how to get it off him?

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