《Will You Be Alone? After The End? Don't You Know We're All Still Here?》Maya & Ashley ~ 6
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"What are you two lazy little wenches doing asleep? It ain't even proper dark out yet!"
Ashley and Maya woke to see their mother standing over them, wearing her special clothes.
"Don't you two brats listen to anything I say? I TOLD you to stay awake until I got back, didn't I? Ah, up now anyway, up now."
Ashley was immediately suspicious of this apparent good mood—as she passed by her mother she sniffed, but it wasn't the stink of cheap booze that assaulted her nostrils, it was a perfume that was trying to imitate the scent of a rose and failing by a wide margin.
"Ashley, you're to stay here," Ashley heard her mother say, as she washed her face. "Mind the house and clean up a little. I've brought some bread home, you can have half of it if you get hungry."
Ashley glanced back at her mother, frowning, then she dried off her face and straightened.
"What about Maya?" she asked.
"Maya's coming with me. It's about time she started earning money for this little family."
"She already does, she helps me on my jobs—"
"Don't bring no more money in doing a job with her along than if you were alone, do it? No, no, not that one," said their mother, snatching the plain brown dress Maya was holding from her hands, "I've bought you a new dress, look at how pretty it is."
Ashley watched her sister's face as she looked at the dress—it was red with black buttons, cut short with a ruffled hemline.
"Oh, it's beautiful!"
"Don't I know beauty? Put it on now, let's see how you look in it."
"What kind of work is it?" Ashley asked, as Maya put on her new dress.
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"The kind that puts food in our bellies, there ain't nothing more you need know about it."
Ashley's eyes narrowed. "Maya's tired," she said. "She can't work tonight."
"You ain't tired, are you sweet?"
"No, I'm okay—Ash, it's fine, I want to help earn money."
"See? The useless daughter turns out to be a good girl in the end, just like a story," said their mother, fussing over Maya's hair, roughly combing it straight. "And we won't be long, won't take more'n an hour or two."
"No," Ashley said, stepping towards them. "Maya ain't working tonight."
"You'd best shut your mouth, Ashley Thompson. You ain't bigger'n your ma, not yet."
Ashley stood there, fists clenched at her sides, glaring at her mother, watching her prepare Maya for work. After a few seconds her mother glanced at Ashley again and laughed.
"Oh, don't be jealous now, grouch. You're doing well enough with your little jobs, Mr Amon's treating you right good, just because you ain't pretty enough to work like your mother—"
"Shut up. Shut up and get away from my sister." Ashley's voice was low and dangerous. She could feel herself getting hot, felt her face flush, her palms itching. "She ain't working, not like you do."
"Would you listen to your fool of a sister," their mother said to Maya, as she pinched her cheeks hard. "She doesn't know WHAT she's talking about, does she?"
"Hell if I don't!" said Ashley, her palms itching more now, the prickling sensation spreading to her fingers as she clenched her fists. "And hell if you're taking her out!"
"She ain't going on the streets, if that's what you're worried about," said their mother, pushing Maya's hair back away from her face before staggering suddenly, the force of Ashley's punch enough to unbalance her—but only for a second.
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"Ma, don't! Please! I don't mind working, I want to work, don't hurt her!"
Ashley squirmed in her mother's firm grip, legs kicking out, her hands grasping at her mother's thick arms.
"That temper of yours is gonna get you into a lot of trouble someday," their mother growled, as she held Ashley tight and slapped her across the face, hard enough to leave a harsh red mark on her cheek. Ashley growled, tears in her eyes as she glared at her mother.
"I hate you!" she screamed, before another slap, even harder than the first, sent her sprawling to the floor. She clutched at her cheek, crying in frustration and pain. "I HATE YOU!" she screamed again, as she twisted around, saw through blurry, teary eyes her mother pulling Maya towards the door, taking her out to—
Ashley pushed herself to her feet, the itch in her hands spreading to her knuckles, the prickle of before now more like a burning, but she ignored that as she burst through the door, running after her mother and sister, along narrow, dim corridors and down narrow, dim stairs, catching the two of them in the corridor leading outside.
"LET HER GO!" Ashley screamed, as her mother went to open the door leading out on to the streets.
"You ain't never been smart," her mother said. She looked down at Maya. "Stay here, sweet."
"Ma, PLEASE don't hurt her! She doesn't mean it, she's just upset—"
"Oh, I know she's upset, sweet. But that ain't never been an excuse, not in my book."
Ashley breathed hard, in and out, as she wiped her eyes and watched her mother approach, clenched her fists and put them up, like Mr Amon taught me, she thought, just—
Ashley shrieked as her mother reached out and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her off the ground.
"Nuh. You ain't near big enough to—"
With a roar of powerless anger Ashley swung her arm out, catching her mother across the cheek with a weak slap, the itching, burning feeling in her hand intense as she felt the impact, felt something more than the impact, and then her mother was screaming, and there was a horrible smell, and Ashley felt a hard shock as she was dropped, fell heavily against the wall of the narrow corridor, was dazed for a moment—and then she saw her mother, still screaming in terror and pain, on her hands and knees but with one hand cradling her face, and beneath her hand Ashley could see the charred and burnt skin beneath, and then she looked up to see Maya, her sister's eyes wider than she'd ever seen them, and then Ashley was reaching out, grabbing her sister's wrist, and they were running, out of the door leading to the street, out of the building they'd lived in for the past few weeks, out of their neighbourhood, out of Unity ... just out.
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The Twelve
In a world marred by the supernatural, Japan suffers from its own fair share of evil and demonic disasters, with generations of shamans known as Onmyoji protecting their homeland from these forces of evil. Capable of wielding magic and using spirits of their own, these shamans were not only skilled in battle, but also divination. However, they were unable to correctly predict Japan's loss in World War Two, and suffered the punishments that followed. Persecuted and torn apart by infighting, the Onmyoji reunited under the banner of the Tsuchimikado clan, descendants of Abe no Seimei, one of the greatest Onmyoji to ever live. The Onmyoji began to rebuild and to regrow. Ren is the sole heir to the Tsuchimikado family, but has been unable to practice Onmyodo ever since his birth, even though he possesses the greatest ability in the family. But when disaster befalls his family, Ren has nobody to turn to, and no idea how to use his powers. As he journeys to escape the same fate his family faced and attempts to learn how to use his powers, there is only one question on his mind; as the Tsuchimikado heir, how can he save the Onmyoji... from themselves? ---------------------------------------------- note from author: I'm writing this based loosely on the very real theories of Onmyodo, and so my writing may not be a truthful or accurate depiction of Onmyodo or other related areas, such as religion, for instance. That is why, while depicted in the real world, events that happen may seem unrealistic and it may be easier to imagine it as a parallel universe that is the same as ours, but with slight differences so that my possible errors will be easier to overlook. Sorry, and thanks!
8 119Conquer Everything
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8 199Liber Nominum Universalia
In this world there are things and beings who roam freely in the corners of our visions and places where the light of the sun and moon do not reach. There are things that raindrops have never touched, lands where humans may rarely set foot. And there are those whose names have been forgotten. Maeno Ayumu wanted to be one of the majority who lived without the knowledge of such things. But one summer, a pocketbook and a black cat opened the doors to the Other Side- doors he could no longer keep locked. And thus begins his journey towards learning forgotten names and forging unlikely bonds, so that those who live in darkness may never fade forgotten. Cover picture taken by Julissa Helmuth
8 73Looking for the Sun
Somewhere among the myriad worlds there is one which has lost its sun. All the hydrogen's still there at the centre of the solar system, where the sun used to be, but the world is in darkness and will eventually die if something is not done. Kite is following a trail of changes across worlds - changed laws, changed histories, changed lives; hoping to locate the missing sun and return it. But the very act of searching will change more than she could imagine...
8 190Finding them
Daniel has 4 sons with his ex wife and things have never been great. He got a girl pregnant when he was young and married her to do the right thing. They never really loved each other but stayed together for there children. When the youngest child turned 4 his wife decides to leave and signs away her children. Daniel devotes his life to his sons, Mitchell the eldest is now 22, then there is Jamie who is 20, Hunter is 18 and his youngest Edward is 17. Daniel has had many one night stands and hook ups but never wanted to be married again, women couldn't be trusted after what his wife did to him and his boys. He travels overseas for business often and has different women he meets while over there for a casual thing but nothing serious. Daniel is a business man and owns an import and export business which is doing very well. His eldest son has started to help with the business and the others will too when they finish at university. Daniel gets a call from a detective late one night asking him to take his two children in. He had no idea he fathered another two children at all but is forced to prove that by providing a DNA sample. Dakota and Darcy are 3 year old twins, they have been bounced around foster care homes since birth. After they are found during a police raid a detective takes on the case of finding them a home. Dakota is the eldest by 25 minutes and a little protective of his baby sister Darcy. How will he react when 5 other males want to help care for Darcy?⚠️ brief mentions of drugs and abuse⚠️This story is unedited
8 124Conjoined Little Dreamers
A book full of dreams from conjoined mixels. It's easy to understand what the dreams of ordinary, separate mixels would look like, but have we ever imagined what the dreams of conjoined mixels would look like? WARNING: Most of these stories do not make any sense at all. Be aware of any and all randomness.
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