Nicole’s mouth was suddenly arid as she processed that she was hearing not only English from some ancient entity, but that it also knew her name. She also didn’t know what to make of the title it had called her by. The light dimmed as soon as the voice finished, then pulsed down the empty corridor. A moment later the pulse repeated, as if guiding her along.
“...
2024-12-30 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostNicole woke with a start to the crash of thunder still echoing through their cave. She heaved out a heavy sigh when she realized what it had been and sat back down against the corner of their makeshift shelter. Maraline was still sound asleep, and it was hard to accept that the Sylan general could be so vulnerable. There was a temptation to take a rock and smash her head, deli...
2024-12-23 21:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostUnderground. How the fucking hell were they underground in a massive jungle in the light of the goddamn day!? Were they even on Earth or had they somehow ended up across the galaxy or lost to time? There were endless possibilities when it came to crazy alien tech and freak accidents, and she had no clue where to even begin.
Nicole forced herself to take a breath.&n...
2024-12-20 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostIt was with squinting eyes that Nicole took in the first rays of the morning light. At first she tried to roll away from whatever window was letting it in, but a rock dug into her side and quickly reminded her that she wasn’t in her bed, but a cave somewhere on the other side of the planet. She rose to a sitting position as the events of the night caught up with her, from her sad ...
2024-12-19 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe world whipped in a chaotic torrent, up and down were interchanged as Nicole struggled in vain to right herself only to crash to the ground before she realized she was free of the effect. Unfortunately her vision was still clouded by spots, and blinking them away wasn’t helping nearly as much as she hoped it would.
Worse, everything was spinning from whatever had happened...
2024-12-18 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAll she wanted to do was curse as the lights drew closer over the treeline. It had been a mistake to humor her father for as long as she had, but the damage was done. Now she had to figure out how they were going to get out of this one intact. Fighting the police wasn’t an option, and revealing themselves as Rangers would be a disaster they couldn’t walk back from. 2024-12-16 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Trees lined the road, their leaves having long since fallen in the face of the recent freeze. It was about two hours before sunrise and they were making decent time as they drove past the sign announcing the city limits of the town that Grace had once sworn to never enter again.
Somerville had barely changed since she left. The most notable difference was a second dollar...
2024-12-13 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the mess that was the last few hours of dealing with that absolute clusterfuck of a chemical fire, not to mention finding out the facility under it was owned by Xavier Sinclair, Grace just wanted to collapse into bed and stay there for the next day at a minimum.
Nicole was snoring gently beside her in her usual adorable way. Her girlfriend would often deny snoring,...
2024-12-12 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostNicole collapsed into her normal booth, her team taking their own seats around her. Being unable to report the exact specifics of what she uncovered wasn’t sitting well with Nicole, but what was she supposed to do? Nicole reported that they found bodies at the site of the accident and left it at that. Sinclair had the people needed to clean up the rest of the mess he dug for...
2024-12-11 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostNicole fell sideways, physics pulling their best impression of a funhouse mirror even as the energy that permeated the air surged through her. It was warm, and all too familiar. The budding warmth surged to searing degrees within her as Nicole let out a muted scream, the sound not quite traveling right through the air.
Dimly she was aware that she wasn’t touching the g...
2024-12-10 09:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe stairs were devoid of smoke, the fire not having made it into the depths of the structure, yet Nicole could tell that all the oxygen had been sucked out by the rising heat. The emergency lights remained on despite the chaos above which gave her some hope that survivors might be located.
It was slim, but she had to hold onto it. There was a reason they directed her to...
2024-12-09 23:37:15 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone! I thought that my supporters would appreciate a download of the first volume now that it's all available for paid members in both pdf and epub formats! (Complete with some bonus concept art from my discord server!)
2024-12-07 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostNicole was ready to get home after all the loops she had just been thrown through. It was nice that Julie hadn’t outed her or anything, but it was still disconcerting to know that her life could be upended so easily by a single picture taken by someone with malicious intent. It was a sobering experience.
Grace was heading back to campus and the others each had their ow...
2024-12-06 21:00:46 +0000 UTC View PostNicole stretched, looking over her coursework. She was bored, and that was always dangerous for someone with the kind of power she held. She’d tried to keep up with the work, but it was proving difficult to remain focused. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug and her work as a Ranger gave her a rush unlike even the peak of her gymnastics career.
With a heavy sigh Nico...
2024-12-04 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post(Readers of the old draft will recognize this from the prior version, it has been edited and expanded to fit it's new place in the plot)
---
“Hayes, Evans, hang back for a moment.”
Nicole paused, the commanding voice of Fire Chief Grayson catching her off guard. With Carlos back in New York to help in the aftermath of the latest Sylan attack on his home turf, s...
2024-12-02 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re making a lot of progress” Rebecca continued, a massive grin plastered across her face. “I think I solved the bleedoff effect and Kelly is authorizing more testing tomorrow.”
Nicole nodded along, working on her latest essay as her best friend continued her explanation that Nicole couldn’t hope to follow fully. She was content to let her best friend gush...
2024-11-29 21:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostGrace ended up making three additional blades for future stock before calling it a day. Her girlfriend really needed a shower, but Nicole found she didn’t mind the combination of smoke and sweat coming off of her. She had opted to tie her jacket around her waist rather than wear it following all the hours of work she had put in.
She’d worked hard and worn herself out...
2024-11-28 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe drive to the forge would take over thirty minutes, and Nicole was thankful that Grace had her music playlist going. She recognized the song right off as one of Grace’s favorites, though she couldn’t claim the same. That hadn’t stopped her from listening to it over and over just so she could feel closer with her girlfriend.
What that meant was that Nicole knew t...
2024-11-27 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostSinclair Industries had rebounded quite well since Nicole’s first visit, which wasn’t saying much given the building had been on fire at the time. Some experiment was being demonstrated for a group of shareholders and suffered a catastrophic failure, or at least that was the story that Kelly Rivers had given when asked.
Nicole knew better than to trust the Chief Researcher...
2024-11-25 21:05:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe beast snarled, saliva dripping to the ground in thick strings. Nicole stood stock still, watching as muscles coiled and the beast leaned forward, the tails twitching much like a feline’s. She didn’t dare move, not when it was clear the mutant was just waiting for a reason to pounce. It was the first time Nicole would be fighting something remotely like it without her m...
2024-11-22 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Parley,” Maraline said, holding up her hand. “I have not come to do battle.”
“Funny way of showing it,” Grace said, her helmet shifting to regard the automatons.
Maraline chuckled, the sound every bit as melodic as Nicole remembered. “A distraction, should you prove hostile to my overtures.”
Nicole didn’t buy that for a second. ...
2024-11-20 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMud clung to her uniform as Nicole pulled herself through the muck. She was determined, because so much rode on this singular moment. Two months of training, in addition to her schooling and other duties. Given the relative calm that followed the Battle of Anoka as it had become known, she had needed something to distract herself.
Hence throwing herself into the tr...
2024-11-18 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostSylan technology never ceased to impress. From the lack of any seam or weld line in their automatons to the material perfection of their manufacturing process. There were no doubts in Kelly’s mind that the Sylan had access to advanced replication technology. Unfortunately, neither of the recovered wrecks that Sinclair Industries had access to were equipped with such marvels....
2024-11-15 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostStep. Shoulder tensed. Strike coming wide and low. Adjust spear. Impact. Manageable. Adjust. Thrust. Contact.
“Point, Cunningham!” The judge called.
Jeff stepped back, a grin on his face as he pulled his helmet up. His HEMA instructor did the same, only he was breathing heavily under his own protective helmet. Cur...
2024-11-14 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostNicole had an hour until Grace’s last class let out, which gave her plenty of time to cut loose on the jogging trails. She would need to rein herself in enough that people didn’t look too closely, but she also knew that a lot of people just weren’t that observant. Sure, some of the people she ran past probably looked at her a little funny, but most would shrug and forget about...
2024-11-14 07:00:57 +0000 UTC View PostWaking up with two girls sprawled across her was not something Nicole ever expected in life, but she was all too happy for it given the circumstances. Becca’s head was in her lap, Nicole’s own fingers tangled in her hair from where she had been gently stroking her friend’s head. Grace’s arm was still slung over her shoulder, but her girlfriend’s face was buried in said sho...
2024-11-13 02:40:12 +0000 UTC View Post“Cultivating?” Kayla asked. “That makes it sound like they’re fucking growing us.”
“That isn’t an inaccurate statement,” Sinclair said with a sigh. “We’ve been tracking every attack we can across the globe. Each new Ranger team appeared during a mass attack against a civilian population. Some came from civilian populations within, others c...
2024-11-12 11:19:07 +0000 UTC View PostI've got some good news! I've just finished uploading all my edited chapters! Up through chapter 35 is now available in a collection (the old draft collection is now renamed and the cover art reverted to reflect that shift) So while it isn't as far along the story as that version was, this is now going to be the collection I update as I go. I hope everyone enjoys the cleaned up and expanded...
2024-11-09 09:19:27 +0000 UTC View PostThree days had passed since Nicole first woke in the hidden hospital deep below Sinclair Industries. Whatever that strange wand did, Nicole felt better than she had any right to, and the provided physical therapy was almost unneeded. She was being attended to by actual medical staff now, and had only seen Kelly once since their talk while Sinclair was busy with other matters. ...
2024-11-09 09:15:29 +0000 UTC View PostA whimper broke the silence even as sheets stirred. Raw nerves protested the action as Nicole hissed out a curse through cracked lips and a dry throat. Blinking open her eyes, she was greeted with a darkened ceiling only illuminated by the dull glow of a monitor. That awareness brought more of her current predicament to the fore and she shifted experimentally only to bite down...
2024-11-09 09:12:36 +0000 UTC View Post