A ring appears in the sky. No one knows whether it is natural, artificial, divine, or alive. Dr Shen is asked to help answer a question no government is willing to ask in public: what happens when the first sign of intelligence beyond Earth cannot be approached, touched, or understood - only seen? Across the world, certainty begins to fail. Scientists argue. Governments conceal. Faith gathers. And above them all, the sky remains open. Silent. Beautiful. Watching.

In the uneasy calm after the first wave of 2020, life on a university campus seems to return to normal-online classes fade, friendships resume, and late-night routines reclaim their rhythm. But when a broken girl with a shaved head stumbles out of the rain and vanishes again, the town of Rusville begins to fracture. A subtle earthquake, a beam of light from an isolated well, and shared visions of a dead, unfamiliar world signal that something long buried has awakened. As one student is declared dead under impossible circumstances and another disappears into the woods, a small group of friends is forced to confront a truth far larger than grief or coincidence: humanity is not alone, some humans are not what we think, and some doors-once opened-can only be closed through sacrifice. What begins as loss becomes revelation, and 2020 marks the moment the world quietly slips out of its familiar orbit.

Going through my pictures, I went to the one that I had just taken, and the phone slowly slipped out of my grasp. What had escaped my notice before is that the couch I had taken the picture on was against a window, which showed the backyard of the house. But in this picture, it wasn't an empty backyard. No, behind my smiling face was another one, outside the window. It was his face. Covered with a black ski mask, watching me. *** All 19-year-old Layna wanted to do was forget about the guy that broke her heart, and move on with her new boyfriend Brian. But instead, she unwittingly attracted the attention of a stalker. Someone who had been watching her every move for a month, plotting and planning for the perfect moment when he could take her. What Layna never would have expected was that when he finally kidnaps her, she would have to undergo "The Test". The Test that the girls before her had gone through. The one they failed, and payed heavily for. Will she pass The Test or will she die like the others?

For months Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her - and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect, pure flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...

When orphans vanish, Nick Sperry takes on the case. What do the missing children have in common? IQ's higher than Einstein's. P.I. Nick Sperry investigates the disappearance of Sidney Ryder. Nick's girlfriend, Melissa, brought the child to Sunshine Children's Home, D.C. eight years ago. Nick isn't fooled when the federal orphanage claims to have no record of Melissa's son. As an ex-CIA agent, Nick understands the immoral capabilities of the US government. Fueled by his suspicion, he discovers Sidney isn't the only lost orphan. Moreover, an unidentified man claiming to be their uncle took the children away from their foster families at a very young age. Meanwhile, Dr. Jack Kerwin begins to work with Tabula Rasa, a highly effective think-tank based out of the Center for Interactive Research and Solutions, or CIRAS. Under the direction of Tabula Rasa, Jack's research on childhood leukemia could save countless lives. But, his enthusiasm recedes when he notices strange things lurking behind the center's shiny walls.

A short story for Forbidden love collaboration contest. "Your lover died years ago, so you try dating again but the love you feel for him/her is as strong as ever."

Have you ever regretted a decision you made in the past? It's been four years and Jay is still not over what happened in the past. He knows that he messed up and as a result, He lost the two most precious people in his life. So after all these time, He is coming back to where it all started, Or ended...But this time, He is determined to get both of them back, No matter what. But the time has changed and Is it really possible? ****BLURB**** "Are you single?" Jay looked at me. The whole table was silent and I was frozen in my spot. "Of course not!" Aryan said rather 'warmly'. "She's already taken, Jay." "You...you are together?" Jay asked again, disbelief clear in his eyes and Aryan brought our intertwined hands up. "Not just together, we are engaged," he laughed and turned to me. "She's mine." And I knew suddenly... I knew why Aryan took the pain to find me after all this time, why he had to doll me up today and take me to the get together. It's not me he's targeting! It's Jay! "Let's start then," Amit said quickly, Trying to dissolve the tension around and everyone nodded. But Jay was still staring at us, his eyes noted the ring; the fake engagement ring on my hand. "How long have you been together?" Aryan's smile slipped for a moment. "One year," he said and Jay raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I never saw you taking her to any of your gatherings," he said again. "She wanted to keep it low and I didn't want to pressure her," Aryan said firmly. "But why do I feel like you are interrogating me, Jay? Don't tell me that you have unresolved feelings towards my girl?" I spilt the drink over as it came as a shock and the table went quiet again. "Ooh, that's right, you never had any feelings for her to begin with, It was all a joke" Aryan said again and it was like someone had cut the lifeline out of me. I was in pain. I realised another thing that night; I am still not over it...It's still paining me too much...

Adele knows she witnessed a murder - what she doesn't know is just how personal it is. ***** A girl was brutally murdered in the basement of a sorority house in spring 2011. Adele Theroux thinks she saw the killer - and the killer definitely saw her. What she doesn't know is why this all happened and who this guy is. As she tries to solve the mystery from a distance while in witness protection, the connections keep getting weirder and more personal. Might she be able to relate to the killer in a way that no one else can? And what does that mean about her own psyche? *2019 Watty Award for Mystery/Thriller* [[word count: 50,000-60,000 words]] Cover designed by April Alforque

Highest Ranking on hotlist: #1 #Wattpad Exclusive Story #New paid exclusive chapters available Her confusion multiplied, looking at the unrefined fury in his eyes, the seriousness and finality in his features. "I seriously am clueless here, Alex. What is it that I've done?" she asked. "Tell me." "This." he threw some photos her way. Shaken by Alex's behavior, Kate snapped her face back as some of the photos slapped across her cheek. They crawled down in the air to slowly settle around her feet. He looked away from her like she had burned him. And Kate couldn't help but feel her insides tremor. Instincts screamed at her that a storm had indeed entered her life with the intent to harm the love that she and Alex shared. Bending down slowly, she reached out with trembling hands; she picked up one of the photos from the floor and froze. In the photo, Neil, her best friend, and she was making out. Kate remembered this moment, but it was nothing like this. Lifting her eyes from the photo where she had apparently locked lips with Neil, Kate looked back up into Alex's eyes and got scared out of her wits. The eyes where used to be only love and affection for her. There, those emotions were now replaced with endless hatred only. ~Nothing lasts forever; people change, and so change their lives.~ Kate thought she had one forever with Alex, but that forever came to an end too soon. When she was about to tell him the news of her pregnancy, what she expected was his elation and love, never had she thought that she would be punished instead. Thrown to the street literally, she lost everything she held dear. ~Memories never fade, and pain can never be forgotten.~ And then, one day, Alex enters her life again, this time aiming to break more than her heart. He believed she was his unfaithful wife, only to see the truth when the destruction was complete. Prequel: In the Rain (ongoing) Sequel: And Then it Rained (ongoing)

Oliver looked on amazed as his witch dipped a little backwards, his hand still had a light grip on her upper arm. To an onlooker it would seem like they were in the midst of a slow dance. Oliver kept on watching as her lips uplifted themselves into a pleased smile. Her nose crinkled as another snowflake joined the first one. Her one had stretched out to catch the shiny, multicolored cloud particles. Soon, her woolen cap also got decorated with snow. She sighed out a smokey breath with her eyes fluttering close in the bliss of this moment. And the sight took Oliver's breath away. 'You...,' Oliver mumbled, 'You look...' 'What?' Elli hummed closing her eyes, the smile was still there and so was her addictive bliss. Oliver didn't know his mouth had parted open slightly, he felt a thirst like never before engulfing his very being. 'You look...,' He tried again, a lump was forming in his throat. Hearts beat in rhythm and they beat together fast, it was as if they would keep it up like that until they could combust hand in hand. But Oliver forced himself to return back to reality. Getting a grip of himself, he finished his dangerous sentence finally. 'You look like Santa Claus!' Or what else? Oliver mentally chastised himself for even thinking of saying it aloud that she looked beautiful indeed, absolutely gorgeous, like an angel of mischief, a true witch - a white, beautiful one in that case. He couldn't risk saying all that to her and inflate her already oversize ego bag, he couldn't bear having her walk all over him in pride and... whatever. Elli gasped and stood straighter now, her outstretched hand in it's own accord landed straight on his chest, right over his heart in a - what was supposed be a punishing slap. Oliver hissed. 'This acidity!' *You're Still The One, Book 3* ~~It's difficult for them to be with each other, but then, it's also difficult for them to be without each other. ~~