Adeline
only agreed to go on a camping trip because her mother constantly
worried that she was not “socializing” enough.
“These
nice girls, they ask you to movies. You do not go. They ask you to
sports. You do not go. They ask you to, what, malling. You do not go.
You are lucky they ask you at all, now.”
Adeline
had tried to explain that Facebook invites were not the same as being
asked to go somewhere, but her mother only shook her head. She
managed to hold out until Samantha and Chris

Alice
King's stomach was very active tonight. The normally plump belly was
sporting quite a bit more plump than usual. The swollen curve of her
white gut rested on Alice's red thighs, hiding her soft lap from view
under the mound of flesh. From time to time, a bulge would roll along
the surface of her gut before sinking back down. Low sounds like
groaning trees came from her belly.
All
of this only served to draw Miles more and more to the Latias' gut.
The blonde haired boy lay against it, stro

A
small body floated listlessly across the ocean. Because of the blue
hue of its skin and clothing, it was almost impossible to make out
among the waves. Only a keen set of eyes and careful focus would see
her as she bobbed up and down with the churning waters.
Luckily
for Lapis Lazuli, such a set of eyes were on her. Those belonged to
Sardonyx, who strided through the waves, hammer lazily thrown over
her shoulder. She walked across the shallow ocean floor to the
drifting Lapis until the small b

Will
had no idea how long they'd been in the undersea tunnel, but if his
poor stomach was anything to go by, it must have been days. At first,
the only sound they'd heard was the steady, soft drip of the ocean
over their heads leaking through the rocks in its slow way, but now
the tunnel resounded with the groans of hungry bellies. Everyone
tried to ignore the others' pains as they plodded along, but Kara
finally broke the silence by shouting.
“I
want a steak! I want a salad! My skin has gone

After
the beating Facet Five took, almost nothing was left intact inside.
The control consoles no longer responded, the cores stuck in place,
and the monitors refused to activate. Peridot groaned in frustration.
“Those
stupid clods,” she shouted. “Everything. Damaged. I can't even
activate the Kindergarten, let alone contact Homeworld with these
worthless machines.”
She
kicked the central gem that once controlled the facility, stumbling
backwards from the blow and falling on her butt. Th

Leaving
her apartment, the early morning sun shining onto the new carpet
she'd just installed, Raina Lewis walked across the hall and into the
security room. The night watch man, Forsythe, was darning in his
chair before an array of monitors.
“Boss,”
he said. “Good night's sleep?”
“Good
enough. Had to stop a couple of kids getting too carried away in the
second floor stairwell. One started licking the other's hand.”
“Seriously?”
Forsythe looked at the monitors as if it were happe

The
gods haunted the great mountain, and Tamilin's brother was lost in
those hills. Timo, only twelve and always more certain of his own
strength than any man of twenty, had gone out fishing with his
friends at the northern river, at the foot of the great mountain.
Before leaving their shared cottage, Tamilin told him, “Don't go
north of the river.” Timo thrust his cane pole into the air and
hollered, “Forward the guns, boys, march,” the same as he always
did when she warned him to stay

Late
Monday night, a piece of rock broke loose from the Shingle and caused
a minor avalanche. Camilla was still sorting samples by the thin
light of her phone when the tremendous thunder of moving earth rolled
down the hills. She crouched there in the half-light, listening as
the waves of cracking and breaking surged, cascaded, climaxed, and
finally settled.
Beside
her, Warren started awake, trying to jump from his sleeping bag but
only ending up tangled in the folds.
“Christ,
coming down,”

“And
that is the limit,” shouted Soren Reese, head librarian of DeWitt
Library. The tall, fair-haired man had to shout to be heard over the
noise that now filled his library. Almost one hundred people were
crowded together for the library's anniversary on the main floor of
the library below him. They huddled in the wide spaces between the
circulation desk, the new stacks, and the causeway to the library's
massive children's area. Here was utter chaos. Children were floating
over the stacks,

Abitha's
company transferred her to the lunar town of Shackleton in spring.
Before the year was out, her doctor found evidence of osteopenia in
her bones and, aside from supplements, prescribed her to see a
trainer for a few weeks to strengthen her back. Abitha was less than
happy.
The
trainer, Colan Dane, took the train from the basin just for their
sessions. Instead of appreciating his willingness to travel, Abitha
hated Colan all the more since she now had to be grateful. Her boss
back in Fra