True Life and Fiction

Yes, I know it is actually Monday. Better late than never I guess. For your reading pleasure: Alexis walked into the cool darkness of the Pink Pony Bar and Grill, swiveling her head left and right, looking for a bathroom. The walls and windows had all been painted over in black or dark purple, and a small stage extended from the back wall with a long catwalk in the center. Three men sitting together seemed to be the only customers in the place. They all stared at her as if dazzled by the sunlight streaming in behind her through the open door. This was not looking much like a respectable bar and grill. A lone bartender stood behind the bar, washing glasses and whistling to himself. He looked up as the door closed behind her. Alexis saw a small sign marked "Bathrooms" at the far left of the building, and made a beeline to the alcove under the sign. "No free bathrooms," the bartender yelled, as she entered the alcove. "Bathroom use is with purchase only....

Gravel crunched under the tires of the car as Leonidas pulled into the auto repair shop that also served as Ellijay's taxi garage. Two of the company's three cars were parked inside the garage, so there was a good chance one of the drivers would remember Alexis. It didn't take much to come to the conclusion she had taken a taxi somewhere. She did not own a car and, as far as Leo knew, she'd left her family's property on foot. There weren't many places to go in Ellijay with its one main street. If Alexis had not left town in a taxi, she would have to be hiding out somewhere in the vast forest of the Rich Mountain Wilderness. If she was in the forest, he would have no problem finding her. No, she would not go to a place where they could both run free in their shifted form. She would choose the city where the overload of sights, sounds and smells would make it difficult to track her. "Hello?" Leonidas yelled into the empty garage, his voice echoing bac...

This is the scene that sets the rest of the story in motion. Alexis is woken up by the bus driver and finds that she is not in Atlanta. "Miss, we're here. You have to get off the bus now." Alexis opened her eyes to see the shadow of a man with his arm extended to her shoulder. She jumped in her seat, nearly shifting on instinct before realizing it was just the bus driver waking her. "Thank you," she stood and sidestepped into the aisle. She looked out the windows as she walked toward the front of the bus. Nothing looked familiar. She had been to the Atlanta bus station a few times before, and remembered it being much busier. She did not see the metro buses lined up in their usual places. The late morning sun bleached the concrete in a seemingly empty lot, and there was no din of traffic, or dark wall of tall buildings. "Excuse me, Sir," Alexis tapped on the driver's shoulder. "Are we in Marietta? I'm paid all the way to Atlanta." T...

This scene introduces a new character, Tatianna. Tatianna was very briefing mentioned in the first few scenes but that was mere foreshadowing of a character that one may find is much more of a main character than previously thought. Tatianna becomes a driving force for many events throughout the story much like weather becomes a character is some stories. As one might discover in this scene, she is not a normal, mortal human. Rather, she is an Imp, a third-class demon that is normally seen as neither good or evil. imps can be both and like to play tricks on humans like poltergeists. But this Imp is different. Tatianna has a means of gaining strength and knowledge from all creatures -humans and demon alike-and the more she interacts with others, the more her power grows. Enjoy, and don't forget to comment below with your thoughts and criticisms. Alexis felt a presence in the seat next to her and knew who it was before she opened her eyes. A tickle in the back of her mind remi...

I n this scene, Alexis recounts her reasons for hating Leonidas as she leaves her small town on the way to the Greyhound Bus Station in Dalton, Georgia. Alexis looked out the window of the taxi, more to hide her face from the driver, then to look at scenery. She wondered if Leonidas had left a mark on her throat and tried to look at her reflection in the glass. She only saw the North Georgia Medical Center as the taxi sped out of town along Main Street. She turned to look out the left window as they drove past the Gilmer County fairgrounds, her anger and hurt still burning her cheeks. An angry heat rose again in her as she remembered the first time Leonidas had shown his true nature. She was just eight years old and at the apple festival with her parents. She remembered it as a time when everything was true and innocent, a time when she still enjoyed her secret identity, and felt like she was a kind of superhero, hiding her powers from the normal, unassuming humans. That was, until ...