When a deadly plague spreads like wildfire, 17-year-old Bren Watts is trapped at Ground Zero of a global pandemic. ---- Bren and his classmates are stranded in New York City, now filled with thousands of murderous infected and desperate survivors. Forced into an unlikely alliance with his school bully and former friend, Logan Hardy, the two boys must find a way back home, traversing through the ravaged landscape of the United States. With their odds stacked against them, Bren has no choice but to use the skills taught by his ex-Navy SEALs father to fight and survive. But the path ahead is bloodied and broken, and if he wants to reunite with his family, Bren must tap into his darkest heart for not only the infected are capable of hatred and violence. The Bren Watts Diaries tells a dark and gritty account of the end, all narrated in the survivor's own voice as a first-hand witness to humanity's end. The story will cover the first year of the Apocalypse, depicting the beginnings of the disease, society's war against the pandemic, and the eventual collapse of civilization. [[Current word count: 450,000 - 500,000 words]] ----- The series portrays an LGBTQ+ protagonist and numerous other characters. Violence, like any medium of zombie stories, is described in detail.

COMPLETED [boyxboy] Wren Ridley is always two steps ahead of everyone, or so he thinks. His life seems out of his control when he starts having feelings for someone he knows he shouldn't, someone who he's better off avoiding at all costs. Landon Reilly is still trying to figure himself out. After coming out to his parents and nearly getting sent away to conversion therapy, he finds it hard to get close to anyone. He's ice cold, closing himself off to anyone. But when the two constantly bump into each other on their daily runs, avoiding each other becomes nearly impossible and the two are drawn to each other more than either will admit. "On Thin Ice" spinoff. Can be read as a standalone, but contains "On Thin Ice" spoilers and will make more sense if you read that first.

17-year-old Galen lives with his adoptive father in a small province called Thryn. He doesn't look like the other people there, and the only clue he has to his true origins is a silver pendant that belonged to his mother. One day, while gathering healing herbs in the forest, Galen encounters a strange man on the run. The man spares his life but takes his pendant, leaving Galen with an even greater mystery. Galen thinks he'll never see his pendant or the man again, but months later, a chance encounter changes everything.

A few months ago, I bought a mug with gold gilt. On sale. Not a gift either nor because of an occasion to remember by it. Just plain, pretty mug for 15PLN. I drank my coffee from it since. I spat loose tea leaves into it. It never felt particularly significant. An ordinary object. Only when I lost it, I realised its true value. I sat comfortably at my desk one evening. Looking at my phone, I reached to take my song-text notebook. Trivial situation. My clumsy fingers were unable to avoid the mug. They allowed it to topple over, to slip from the desktop. Even though I did not see the split-second occurrence, I felt the pressure of unease. My head painted the trajectory of the fall on its own, the shattering, spillage. The loss. For a millisecond I still had hope, that I would be able to catch the mug, that I would be able to avoid what was about to happen. But I knew I was headed for failure. I don't have any superpowers. I only scalded my fingers. I looked at the mug's new shape for a long while, at the shattered pieces. At the spilling liquid. Our adventure came to an end. Irrevocably. I won't be drinking coffee from it anymore, nor spit tea leaves into it. Well. I shouldn't be sad, it was just a regular mug, just like thousands of others. I grew to like it, it kept me company throughout hundreds of warm drinks. I lost it. I hate this feeling the most. In the moment when I am losing something, I stop in my tracks, I hold my breath. It is always a very intense moment. A short one, but one that gives me the tight unpleasant feeling in my stomach. The feeling of loss is always accompanied by hope. Silly and naïve. Making me believe so strongly, that I can make it. That I will still be able to catch the mug mid-flight. When the feeling is entering the body, crawling into me I realise, how important it was to me. Whether it's Nivan or a stupid mug with gold gilt.

Alex has been looking for a sign from the universe. A sign to tell him that he needs to keep fighting. To live on for his brother who died in a tragic car accident. When Alex stumbles across a man in town wearing a blindfold, holding a sign that says, 'You are not alone. If you need a talk or a hug. I am here.' He takes it upon himself to approach the stranger. Was this the sign he has been looking for? - River has been a mental health advocate for three years. With his own demons battled, he takes it upon himself to support others. More specifically strangers. He has always found peace in helping those who suffer in silence. When River is approached by a man who expresses his depressive tendencies, he decides to take the broken stranger for coffee, out of fear of what might happen if he lets him go. River tells him to offload, release all the sadness and frustration he has into someone who knows nothing about him. But when he leaves, River can't stop thinking about him. It's not until Alex comes back a few months later to thank him for listening when he needed help the most. Alex has a lot to thank for his signs from the universe.