"Trick or Treat!"
Chorused the children as Jack opened the door. He smiled and held
out the bowl of candy. "What have we here? A princess, a
dragon, and you, young sir. No, don't tell me, let me guess. Hmm…
Deerstalker's cap, long overcoat, pipe, and a magnifying glass.
Why, Sherlock Holmes, what an honor to see you here!"
The boy grinned widely
at Jack and skipped off to the next house, obviously pleased that his
costume had been recognized.
Jack closed the door

I remember the evening when everything started all too well. Susan's team at work had just made a breakthrough, and the two of us decided to have a private celebration of our own. I wish I'd talked her into going on the trip to Tijuana with the rest of the group instead.

At the time, neither of us had any inkling of what was going to happen. We were both fully occupied with her good fortune, and everything in the world seemed to be going right. We had just finished a wonderful dinner wh

The unbirthing of Franklin Daryl Robertson


<p>It was the middle of the afternoon when I felt the first mild contraction. At first, I thought that it was another of the Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having intermittently for the last week, but the strength and regularity quickly convinced me that this was the real thing. I called Linda, my midwife, then went in to check on Frank, sleeping in his crib. Once again I was taken aback by how small he had become. You'd never have gu

Carol awoke slowly, trying to clear a tenacious fog from her brain. She tried to move, but met resistance. Blinking, she managed to sit up and look down at herself. She was naked, lying on her large bed. That would be fine, but her feet were bound together with some kind of organic-looking substance, the bindings tapering to a blunt point at the end. More was wrapped around her knees, preventing her from bending her legs, and her hands seemed glued to her sides by the same stuff. The skin