My mind kept circling around the same questions. How is it that my body is female? Where am I? And perhaps most troubling of all . . .

. . . Why do I have a hole in the back of my skull?

“Petra,” Ella called. “Come out from under the bed. What's wrong?”

I was huddled in the corner of the Monster Under The Bed's room, clutching my knees to my still enormous chest. The Monster was patting my head with her trunk, making cooing sounds trying to calm me down. One of her long, multi-jointed arms took a cookie from a plate on her table and held it up to me. I didn't take it. I barely noticed it.

“Shapes, not bodies,” I corrected.

“What's the difference?”

“I have no idea, but seems important.”

The boys were staring at me again.

"I don't know," she replied, undaunted. "But think about vampires:
how come some people get bit and die, and other people get bit and turn into vampires themselves?"

"I don't know the answer to that," I exclaimed, exasperated,
"but vampires aren't real!"

Our newly acquired vessel was currently being filled with essential provisions and ammunition, allowing Mir'tan and I the opportunity to indulge in some personal weapons shopping. As we strolled into the arms boutique, we marveled at the diverse assortment of weaponry - from tiny laser daggers to gargantuan shuttle-sized anti-personnel gear. Affectionately, I turned to Mir'tan with a tender voice and said, "Darling, you never cease to amaze me with your impeccable taste in destinations." We shared a heartfelt chuckle as I flirtatiously batted my eyelashes at her.

Hanging by my skirt, looking down at the mock hydra who was almost close enough to touch, with only a small tree keeping me from falling on top of the monster, I silently sent prayer to every single god and demon I knew of, including my history teacher. It didn't seem to help as the tree cracked again and I got another inch closer to the reptile.

Jem… Chapter 219

Jem…Chapter 219 by Bailey Summers Copyright © 2013 Bailey Summers All Rights Reserved.

As he watched the sunrise on the horizon, causing the brilliant golden spires of the city to twinkle like the multi-colored stars that had just retreated from the sky, the King couldn’t help but issue a forlorn sigh. Even the flock of yellow and green dragons that passed by overheard shortly thereafter, off to begin their morning hunt for the red whales of the nearby purple sea, did little to lift his spirits.

After a break from Lilith, I found my muse again so that I could continue on with the story. I hope that you all have enjoyed the trials Lilith.

Author's note: I am sorry readers for the long delay in getting this out. I moved into my new house recently and had to do so many things to get it how I wanted it. So, I have had little time to write in the last couple weeks. I hope that now that most of the work is done around the house that I will be able to put more time into writing.

Marching in time with his fellow recruits Mirek tried his best to ignore the bitter wind that swept through the mountain valley. It wasn't easy. Gritty snow that was more like sand peppered his face, frost hung from his eyelashes, and his woollen scarf was icy around his mouth. His fingers felt brittle, as if the bones had turned to ice.

Hi Mom and Dad,

Just thought I should let you know that I'm still alive. Barely.

Doom Valley has been really interesting. I've been killed about twenty times. Don't worry I got better.

And guess what, have a nemesis. Three of them actually. One of them is a paladin who thinks I'm evil incarnate, he almost killed me.
I've also almost been brainwashed three times, those were from my other two nemesis's? Nemeses?

Drying off after the hot tub, I leaned over and quietly asked Ella, “What exactly is a manicure and pedicure?”

“You really are a boy,” she whispered, her smile taking any potential sting out of her words. “They're going to clean, massage, and colour our hands, feet, and nails. It feels really nice, just relax and go with it.”

The Lucky One: Luck be a Lady (Part 1)

For those who haven't read the first adventure of Fluke, you can find it here: https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/23823/lucky-one

This is my May 2023 Free Comic Book Day Challenge entry, even if I couldn't find that in the contest section . .

Every now and then
The darkness tries to chase me
And my legs are getting tired of running
Ohh, please don't,
Please don't let it get to me
Ohhh, I don't want to give up that easily
But the darkness keeps chasing me, me

He smiled and looked me in the eyes,
and in that moment I didn't like him any more.

He said, "It's pretty simple. There are links missing from the chain.
We don't have John Doe number one, and we don't have Anson Charpont.
All we have is you."

"And how is that a problem?" I asked, my mouth suddenly gone dry.