**Featured Story on Wattpad Crime & Mystery** ~Inspired by a true case~ Seven-year-old Eric Staener once had a happy childhood. His parents that loved and guided him along, his elementary friends who always enjoyed his company, and his siblings in which looked up to him. He was his usual friendly, young, innocent self; until the day he is taken away. Taken away by a stranger. As the years he grows in captivity, he endures many struggles and fights that come from within. But as soon as his captor takes another boy, the now teenage Eric manages to gather up all his strength, taking the young boy with him, and finally escaping the horror he has lived in for the past eight years. (Title picture does not belong to me.)

Highest Rank #1 Fantasy - Bridges are meant to be crossed, aren't they? And yet, Sofia doesn't know of anybody who has ever crossed into Nihon, the shrouded unknown half of the world where magic rules and reality is pliable. One day, Sofia meets Orì, a girl with light blue skin from the other side of the river, and the two girls strike up an unlikely friendship. But Sofia is supposed to follow her aunt and become the Guardian of the Bridge, doomed to spend her life on the lookout for the things that nobody seems to want to see... When Orì suddenly vanishes, will Sofia have the courage to finally cross the bridge to Nihon and go to her friend's rescue? (First Book of the Nihon Series)

Matthias is a struggling writer finally able to move into his first solo apartment. He's thrilled to have a place free of roommates and siblings, even though the building is decrepit and is inhabited by an odd assortment of people including an intrusive neighbor, a little girl who wanders freely, and an overweight orange cat named Cheese. As Matthias settles in things begin getting stranger. Something vile is growing in the dark and it's coming from somewhere on the second floor... where Matthias happens to live. Author's note: this is me trying to get back to my roots: a character driven novella with horror elements. The story of people struggling against an inscrutable enemy, as well as the day to day trials of being poor in America. I have no idea how often I'll update or even exactly how this will all go down because y'girl is a panster. So strap in because this is the first draft and you all get to see it being born! Feel free to comment whatever comes to mind, and helpful critiques are always welcome.

There is a house, notable for its lack of any interesting feature, that serves as home to four tenants. The last of these leads the reader down corridors of mystery and wonder. There's something about that place that makes him feel all is not well with his fellow housemates, none of whom he has ever seen. Pressure is put on him to find out more and his curiosity takes him down a path on which, once started, there is no turning back.

What lies beyond the senses? What secrets have been hidden from you due to your physical limitations? Is the universe as empty as it seems? Are we alone? Dr Thomas Clark has just made a discovery that will answer all of those questions... Hope you enjoy this collection of Sci-Fi short stories starting with "The Invisible Universe" I would love to hear from you. "Traction" The deafening sound of roaring engines. The smell of burning rubber. The rush of the wind, pushing against you at every turn... You don't get these on The Moon, but you do get 400kmh. Racing on The Moon, what could be better? "Alpha Division" In the distant future the human race has spread across the stars, forming colonies on many habitable worlds in a golden age of exploration. However, humanity soon learns that the universe is a hostile place and that they must fight to keep what is theirs. Fresh out of training, Rickey is plunged into the heart of war against a never before seen alien race and to make matters worse he's been placed in the infamous Alpha Division, humanity's first into battle shock troops. Rickey must fight alongside his fellow recruits in bloody battle to push back the enemy on a distant mining world. He's passed the training and survived the simulations but will he manage to keep his cool when the danger is real?

Just a regular job.... Get in, crack the safe, fetch the diamonds. That's what hobby cat burglar and acclaimed jewelry maker Calendar Moonstone has aimed for. Instead she finds a dead body, meets a handsome Detective, has a nosey insurance investigator on her tracks and manages a complicated boyfriend situation. And must solve a century old jewelry mystery!

A classic 1940's style mystery... "Secretary Murders Widowed Mistress in Adelaide Love Nest!" Vivian Sherlock glanced from the screaming headline on her daily newspaper to the pale young man sitting on the other side of her desk. "Nigel is innocent!" insisted the young man.

*** The Vision was shortlisted for the Watty India Awards 2019 under the horror/paranormal category.*** This is a supernatural adventure story of Abhay along with his childhood friend Vipul. Abhay has some visions which were earlier ignored as nightmares but it turned out to be something else. Join Abhay and his friend Vipul along with Officer Madhav as they solve the most twisted cases in the town. Cover Picture designed by- @InfamousPaint This is a work of Fiction. The story and the characters are an integral property of Biswajit Patnaik and all copyright reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce the story in any form. If you are reading this story on any platform other than Wattpad you are very likely to be at risk of a malware attack. If you wish to read this story in its original, safe, form, please go to https://www.wattpad.com/user/Patnaik87. Thank you.