500 < Short Story < 7500 words

The top brass at Spellcrafters Inc. have it in for the Spells R Us wizard. They've brought in hired muscle from overseas to do their dirty work- a ruthless and powerful mercenary sorcerer named Necromancer Sato. Can Wizzie survive their deadly scheme? And will our "somewhat ridiculous heroine" Wendy manage to avoid getting caught in the crossfire? This is an evil little story about an extremely nasty bunch of people. In the words of William Burroughs, "Hold back the edges of your gowns, Ladies. We are entering Hell..."

Okay, it's been awhile and I apologize for the wait. I know this is a short chapter, but I wanted to get it out there so hope on the story wasn't given up...

In this chapter plans are laid, some are nixed, and in general, the mayhem continues.

Kerry and The Home That Love Built

By Theide

With Permission from Catherine Linda Michel

This story is posted with the permission of Catherine Linda Michel, the originator of this universe.

That said, anything you don't like is entirely my fault.

Kerry darted across the cold rainy street, huddled in on herself to preserve any dregs of warmth she might have left in her. Hiding herself was so routine she did it with half her attention, slipping silently between dismal little pools of light.

Another fit of shivering wracked her bony frame as the wind gusted through a too thin layer of cloth that was soaked anyway. It had been a month since she slept indoors and after that experience at the shelter she wasn’t going anywhere near one of those places. It hadn’t been violent this time, at least, just incredibly humiliating. She’d showed up with other people seeking a place to sleep and watched with hope as a family ahead of her was even given a room. Then she was standing in front of the table as a kindly looking man eyed her up and down for a moment before speaking.

Synopsis: It's just a typical spring morning for John, as he arrives at Cartwright Collectibles for his Saturday job. But an unexpected encounter with a creature he thought only existed in legend leads to a life-changing decision...

This part is a re-post of my original Universe introduction.  More stories have been written and will be posted here as soon as possible.  Catherine Linda Michel:

The Home That Love Built
A new universe from Catherine Linda Michel

Consider this an introduction to my dream of a place where abused, impoverished, cast out T-girls could go to and be respected, helped, and loved. It's been my dream for many years of such a place, and I thought I'd write about it.

“Well” I thought to myself, “it worked”. It was odd, just a moment before I had been feeling so incredibly happy and now here I was in the depths of depression.

“I finally managed to become the woman I’ve always wanted to be and here it has just fucked my life all out of recognition.” I said these words to the image of the teenager in the mirror.

“Omygod, he’s gonna freak when he gets home and sees this waiting for him. I can’t be any older than 17 and here I am waiting for my husband of 21 years to get home and see me. What the fuck am I gonna do? He’s never gonna believe that I’m me.!”