《Shades of Gray》19. Your Gray
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Graham stirred groggily from his slumber to the clang of the cell door opening. Carmen was being thrown back inside by a prison guard, thankfully conscious this time. She limped over to the cot and flopped down on it, wincing in pain as she did. From her sitting position, she leaned back on the wall and rubbed her eyes wearily.
Graham sat there for a while in silence before carefully inquiring, "Are you alright?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how stupid they sounded. Of course she wasn't alright. They were both prisoners of V.I.L.E., after all.
Carmen raised an eyebrow at him. "Doing fantastic. Thanks for asking."
"Sorry, that was a dumb question to ask," Graham said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Um... so do you still hate me?"
He half-hoped Carmen's crazy hostility the night before (or whatever time it was; it was hard to tell in a prison cell) had just been a stressful dream caused by his own exhaustion.
But Carmen's response quickly shot down that idea. "I don't know," she sighed anxiously, dropping her head into her hands. "Maybe? Maybe I feel the exact opposite? I don't know anymore."
She raised her gaze after a long silence to lock eyes with him. "Who are you, really?"
Graham could hear the torment in her voice as she asked the question. He wanted nothing more than to hug her, but he knew the gesture would not be appreciated right now. He had to convince her it was really him.
"I've been Graham Calloway, a simple electrician at the Sydney Opera House," Graham told her. "I've been Crackle, an operative for V.I.L.E. But neither of those are who I want to be anymore."
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She blinked at him, confused, so he continued.
"I want to be Gray. A good guy at heart, even though he makes mistakes. Someone who helps people and makes their lives better. But most of all, I want to be your Gray. "
Carmen weighed this statement for a moment before suddenly throwing her arms around him. It took Graham's brain a few seconds to process what was happening. Carmen Sandiego was... kissing him? Graham decided to stop trying to figure out what was happening and enjoy the moment.
She pulled back after what could have been an eternity, tears shimmering in her eyes. "If you're going to be my Gray, I want to be your Carmen. What do you say?"
Graham's heart swelled. Instead of responding, he kissed her back. "How's that for an answer?"
Carmen laughed joyfully. It was such an alien sound in a V.I.L.E. prison cell, but at the moment, Graham didn't care how horrible this place might be. As long as he was with Carmen, he was alright.
"I love you, Gray," she whispered, her breath warm on his face.
"And I love you, Carmen," Graham was smiling so wide it almost hurt. He didn't think he could ever stop smiling again.
"Don't you ever die on me," she ordered him, burying her face in his shoulder. "If you do, I'll kill you."
"I don't plan on it," he replied, smirking. "But what I do plan on doing is getting out of here. And I need you to help me figure out how in the world we're going to pull that off."
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Unliving
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon, November 2021] For the longest time, Aideen Fiachna had only one prescient wish; to be the daughter her parents could take pride in. The idea was a tall order, especially as her father stood at the head of the Templar order, and her grandfather as the Pope. However, she endeavored to try nonetheless. Yet fate had a different path in store for her. For all her efforts, all her best laid plans, were but the broken off crumbs of 'one day'. That day, she was brutally slain by a vile, accursed undead being. Though, not even restful eternity awaited her in death. She awakened inside a coffin. Her coffin. During her own funeral wake. Discovering, to her horror, that she had risen. Not somehow resurrected, no, but back in the form of that most hated of beings--the curse of undeath. What will fate deal her next? Chapters will range from 1-2.5k words, scheduled for release every day from Monday to Friday. --------------------------------------- Expect: -Character progression in a journey of self discovery that spanned the ages -World building -Tragedy and Comedy in roughly equal measures -Occasional action Do not expect: -Much in terms of romance -Politics, barring passing views and mentions -A lighthearted tale. This story will be a good bit grimmer than my previous one Any comments, reviews, and criticism will be much appreciated. And thank you for reading. --------------------------------------- Disclaimer: This story is my original work and only posted on the Royal Road website. If you should find this story elsewhere or under another name, please let me know. Also please don't be too hard on me when I make occasional grammatical mistakes, English is my third language after all. XD Edit suggestions are very welcome though.
8 152A Different Kind of Hero (-)
Have you ever been abandoned? Forsaken by the people you saw every day? Lucas was an average boy, if you were to even call him that. He was weaker than most, and he didn't have the best grades either. His family was not wealthy, and it didn't help that his classmates picked on him every day. There was always a set of boys that hurt him, but everyone was a part of it. The girls in the back, the teachers, the ones actually hurting him. Nobody helped him. Then one day, as class started, his whole class was teleported to another world. He finally thought that his time for redemption has come but to his disbelief he was the only one out of all the students to not get any sort of buff. He was still the weakest, and upon being abandoned by his classmates and thrown to his death, he chose to forsake his humanity and set his destiny in motion. With a 'little' help from a god, how will this new way of 'living' befit him? Inspired by: 'The Epic Tale of the Forsaken Hero' and 'Arifureta', but by no means is a Fan Fic. It'll start out very similar, but will change drastically.
8 125A Hero, Down To My Bones! (A Skeleton Isekai Story)
One day, a hero awoke, and he was nothing but bones. But he was a hero nonetheless! A man is brought into a new world of fantastical dread. Dark forces are amassing by the will of old, wicked Gods who mean to destroy the many tribes and clans of Humanity and lead the world into their own ideal states of ruin. But a Hero wouldn't stand for that, even if he was nothing but bones! But can a random skeleton from a dungeon really be a hero? There's no choice but to try! [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 87Bekowe rozmowy || Supernatural ||
Będę wstawiała tu bekowe rozmowy postaci z Supernatural stworzone przeze mnie :DDD ________________________________________________ #134 Humor 3/8/2016 #123 Humor 14/8/2016 #105 Humor 16/8/2016
8 84The Day She Left Him
September 16, 2012 was no ordinary day for Lisa. It was the Sunday that changed her life forever. After 6 hard years, the grueling battle to keep her marriage intact had left her feeling empty and drained. Her eyes were dry as she packed her luggage that morning. They were still dry when she sat down and wrote the letter he would read when he returned home later that day. If he returns home at all...
8 169The Hawthorn Throne (Book 1, The Blood Of Emrys Duology)
Aidan and Riona, an outcast and a witch, must survive the dark ages and unravel the threads of two kingdoms tied together by prophecy and blood. *****ALL OF MY STORIES ON WATTPAD ARE PARTIALS ONLY, FOR THE FULL STORY GO TO MY PATREON.In the Kingdom of Elmet, a boy named Artorious has pulled the sword from the king's stone and taken his place as Lord of Elmet. None of that matters much to Riona, local witch and self-described hermit of Cornwall - until danger forces her into wary allegiance with an outcast druid named Aidan. As their journey together continues, Riona unwillingly finds herself balancing between the dying world of her mysterious druidic parent and the burgeoning reign of King Artorious. Her mere existence has inspired enemies only Aidan can protect her from...or so they would have her believe. The Hawthorn Throne takes on the legend of King Arthur from a historical perspective, injecting non-binary druids, Sasanian and Numidian Knights, queer Celts, Jewish love interests, and even a dash of plague.Content and trigger warning: This story contains violence and mature sexual content, as well as content around anti-semitism and abortion, which may be triggering for some readers.Cover Art: Maddy Haynes
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