"What the hell?" I took a step closer to the mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief. The person looking back was still me, but at the same time it wasn't. I had the same thick, dark, curly hair. The same hazel eyes. The same olive skin with a light dusting of freckles (ugh) scattered across the bridge of my nose. But my curls were now streaked with highlights. And not the subtle, golden-brown ones that sometimes appeared during the summer. No, these were an aggressive, dazzling blond that went from the roots of my hair all the way to the tips. It looked like I had spent a full day getting my hair done in some upscale salon. Never mind that I had never set foot in such a place since the day I was born. My eyes appeared somehow wider and more luminous. The colour brighter, my eyelashes darker up against them. And, when I looked closely, my pupils seemed to be slitted almost like a cat. I looked down at my body. My skinny arms-which had always refused to gain any definition no matter how hard I exercised-were lined with flat, wiry muscles. My bony shoulders were now curved and smooth. My scrawny legs were toned like a dancer. I reached down and lifted my shirt, revealing two subtle lines running vertically down my perfectly flat stomach, hinting at the rock-hard abs underneath. My whole body was rippling with strength. Like liquid steel.

Twist Rhodes doesn’t remember anything about her life before she was dropped in Bob and Sylvia Rhodes’ Kansas cornfield. She doesn’t want to remember. But now the nightmare that has been with her for as long as she can remember is getting worse. Her memories may be coming back. All she knows is that she doesn’t want to remember. She just wants to be normal, despite the fact that she can read the thought dust other people leave behind on things they touch. But it doesn’t look like normal is what fate has in store for her.

The world as we know it ended 209 years ago. From a desert wasteland springs a single kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical King and trapped in an endless war against the shadowy desert warriors. As a desperate bid to save what remains of humanity, society has been split into two distinct classes, nicknamed the Court and the Commons. For an oppressed population on the brink of revolution, a common thief could be the last hope. Up until now, Kay has survived by her wits alone. Reckless and impulsive, wanted by the King's guard, Kay has become known as the Runner. Using the city's rooftops as her personal domain, she manages to keep one step ahead of the King with one hand buried in the purses of the courtiers. Driven by the plight of the commoners and the unjust death of her family, Kay seizes the chance to graduate from small-time thievery to full-scale rebellion. Her opportunity comes in the form of Will, a wealthy ex-soldier with a dark past. Plucked from the streets and thrown into the shimmering palace court, Kay must use her every strength to blend into a world where she doesn't belong, closer to the enemy than she ever thought she would be.

Part 2 of The Runner series. ================================== The Runner's Rebellion was only the beginning. Tensions run high as the City struggles to repair itself after a civil war. Intacts and Fragments fight to find themselves a place in the new order amid whispers of a Queen being unfit to rule. The delicate balance will be upset when a new evil threatens the City, this time from outside it's walls. The war with the Wastelanders has finally begun. Kay and her friends are rebels transitioning into leaders. Tasked with keeping the City safe from war means forming an alliance with the enemy and going back into dangerous territory. Back into the Wastelands, into the desert where it all began.

Growing up in a tower isn't easy, but it's the only life Rapunzel has ever known, and she wouldn't trade it for anything. The only real blemish is the suitors who persist in attempting to rescue her, despite her repeated declarations that she's perfectly happy right where she is. But her seventeenth birthday is fast approaching, and if she doesn't find her one true love by then, she'll have to leave the tower forever. What's a princess to do who isn't interested in, well, anyone? Winner of the Once Upon a Time contest by @lgbtq and @_Once_Upon

A companion to The Runner series. ================================== You already know the hero. Now, meet the survivors. Friends, enemies, Intacts and Fragments. These are their stories.

Alena Langley has always believed that life in another planet exists. But what she didn't expect was that an alien would visit her anytime soon. On a bright starry night while Alena was looking at the constellations, something big fell from the sky. It turned out to be a spaceship, opening in front of her, revealing a pale girl about her age, the latters skin glowing radiantly, beautifully in the dark. As Alena gazed into the gorgeous girls eyes that reflected the sun with its orange color, she knew in her heart that life would never be the same again.

What would you do if someone was to tell you that you are an alien? Would you feel upset? Surprised? Or perhaps scared? Well all of those would work, except the girl that received the news didn't exactly know who or what she was. Read her adventure as she learns to live, breathe, and be an alien while retaining her human side.