Eeriness was starting to seep over his frame and crawl around his skin, making his joints stiff. Where in the world was everyone? “Terrie!” He called, waiting for the woman to arrive in the kitchen. “Terrie-,” “How do you know that name?” Adam spun to see the woman barely standing in the doorway. She was looking around while cautiously keeping her eyes on him as well. “You attend the same rehab institute that I do, I’ve heard Donna shout your name a few times,” he hastily explained. “My name is Adam, by the way.” He paused to allow her to process the information he just shared with her, studying the mistrust she held in her eyes as she looked at him, “Do you see anything wrong here?” She kept her eyes on him a little bit longer until she looked around the obviously empty space before muttering, “It’s only getting worse. The strangeness.” “Where do you think everyone is?” He asked her, walking further into the kitchen to take a better look around. “Hopefully they are playing a practical joke on us,” she answered, not moving from the doorway. “Maybe that’s what’s happening. It’s all a joke. If we go sit back at our tables they may yell surprise and it’ll all be over?” He turned to look at her as she backed out of the door, looking every bit frightened. Maybe she was right. If he sat down and showed patience, they may get confetti and cake. Summary: The process was rather simple. Fill out the application and send it in for what was supposed to be a relaxing two weeks, All Expenses Paid, vacation. But, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. For Adam, every day is a step towards a better him. After having abused substances for the past ten years of his life, he is finally on track to doing better, being better. During the last few months, he's only been focusing on his recovery. So when he is presented with a chance to go to an All Expenses Paid vacation, though apprehensive, he thinks that maybe he should go. Maybe, after so long of only bad things happening, he deserves something good in his life. When he arrives on that vacation, however, he realizes that he recognizes a person there, a woman. Someone who is from the same rehabilitation clinic as him. After meeting her, things only seem to dissolve into a type of chaos no one could plan for. Well, that's not true. Someone could plan for it. After all, for him, it was a free vacation. He didn't pay for it, but someone did. And as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. [COMPLETE] #Escaping- Suspense/Thriller Writing Contest I

Juniper Green has reached her breaking point after eight years of being devoted to her husband. She discovered that the man who she’d dedicated her life to, was cheating on her. So she decided to call it quits. But she had no idea how her hasty decision would greatly impact the lives of her now destroyed family. Divorce seemed to be the answer, but what was she going to do without a steady income and two emotionally distraught children? She needed to find a job to be able to provide for her family while being both a mother and father. After a long day of job hunting, she was finally called to do an interview. But the man she has met with wasn’t asking the typical questions she was accustomed to. Who was this person and was he looking to hire her for the job? Or for something else? #DreameWritingMarathonII

“Here, some more water.” He said it as softly as he could even though she still stiffened worse than before at the sound of his voice. He pressed the container against her lips while he lifted her at her back. She kept her lips tightly pressed together while squeezing her eyes shut. Just those small actions seemed to tire her out greatly as she eventually loosened and began breathing deeper as if she were tired after a run. She gulped at the water, not pacing herself and choking, “Slowly,” he reprimanded. She stiffened again but listened as the water went down much smoother. He laid her back once it seemed she got her fill. His mind wandered to the other things he needed to finish when it came to this woman. But first, he grabbed his uniform blazer that held all of his medals of honor and placed the thick fabric over her bare frame. He knew the sheets weren’t finished, though they should be done washing. The machine should’ve clicked over to dry them by now, but it would take at least another hour before they were fully dry. He walked over to the curtain, closing it enough to where the light wasn’t shining in her face but was still covering the rest of her body. She needed as much Vitamin D as she could get with her health in such a condition. Eventually, he returned to her side, seeing she was trying to peep her eyes open again without such obtrusive light. She opened them to slits before allowing them to open more. She had a delicate eye shape, with an unruly amount of eyelashes lining the top and bottom. After some time, her eyes were able to focus as she looked directly up to the ceiling and nowhere else. She didn’t say anything, though he didn’t expect her to. She just breathed and kept a laser focus on the ceiling while he watched her closely. “We’ll get you back to health,” he said calmly. Knowing his words to be a promise to himself more than to her. ---- In a world where being a part of the most ruthless clan meant absolute power in multiple galaxies, being a part of their renowned Space Pirate program meant absolute freedom. For the Lieutenant of the Octan Space Fleet, being assigned missions for his clan and having had the number one success rating meant his fleet was especially skilled at their jobs. Assigned to clean up an outpost of a defeated general on his home planet, Earth, Lieutenant Liam Hannan finds a starved, near-death personal servant. Liam is dedicated to completing his task swiftly and thoroughly. Included in that is nursing the near-dead woman back to health. #Dreame Writing Marathon -- Love Story Contest #KickButtHeroine #SciFi #Romance #LoveJourney #WealthyRelations #IntergalacticHearts