Onc2022 Stories

In a world where androids are designed to serve, Xander was never supposed to have a will of his own. Leo Newall has spent years putting his own life on hold to care for his disabled father. When Co-Life Industries sends an advanced new android to their home, Leo expects another emotionless machine programmed to follow orders. But Xander is different. He plays the piano as though he can feel the music. He responds to kindness. He asks questions. He makes choices. And then, without explanation, he calls Leo by a name that belongs to someone else: Rudy. Intrigued by Xander and unsettled by the secrets he seems unable or unwilling to reveal, Leo begins searching for answers. The deeper he digs, the more he questions what he knows about Xander, Co-Life, and even himself. Because if an android can choose who to be, what does that say about what it means to be human? ***** ONC 2022 Prompts: 99. It's always what/who you least expected to blow your mind away. Copyright © 2022 by Leslie Lee Sanders

To say Amare isn't from 'around here' would be the understatement of the century. But Cynthia Orvin doesn't quite know that yet - just as she doesn't know much about the story behind her parents' demise or why her mother's family seems to despise her. What she does know is that in her nearabout eighteen years of being, this is the first ever time she has found a friend. Maybe more than a friend. But Amare has come with a ton of secrets on his back - secrets that stand to both answer all of Cynthia's questions but also destroy the trust she has in him. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Lying curled up on the road before her, with nothing but his hands covering up his modesty, was a naked male. Her eyes involuntarily traced his muscled torso, the vast span of his dark olive to light brown skin which was coated with thick lumps of mud in places but seemed to carry no visible wounds. The ebony hair atop his head were coiled up in tight curls, as luscious as his thick eyebrows and the eyelashes fanned over his wide, curious eyes that housed the most brilliant cerulean irises she had ever seen. Given the youthful fullness to his cheeks and the vibrance of his coral lips, he looked not much older than her. Cynthia would have perused the individual longer, lost in her curiosity at his state, had he not cleared his throat to toss her out of her thoughts. His brow scrunched up and lips pursed down, before he opened his mouth with a sharply snapped, "I need to talk to a human." She stepped forward with a hand extended towards him. "Um. I am a human. Are you okay?" He looked her up and down, eyes brimming with amusement. Then very slowly shook his head. "No, you're not." What... on earth did that mean? ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ↪ 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 2022 | 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱◂

After tragic circumstances, twin sisters Pat and Kat find themselves in front of a magical mirror. A decision to step through lands them in Uther Pendragon's court. Legend says only he who is fit to rule England could pull the sword from the stone. Yet Pat finds herself poised to do just that, and the outcome could change history... forever.

*Under Construction*

Vincent Bauer lives by the motto, "curiosity is the lust of the mind". So when he notices a loose brick in the chimney of the job site he was working on with his dad, he naturally has to unravel the mysteries inside. He discovers Auriferous, an ancient book filled with riddles and a map leading to buried treasure. Will he be able to find the treasure, or will he follow the fates of those who discovered Auriferous before him? ~THANK YOU @Aptionia FOR MAKING THE COVER!~ -ONC 2022 Entry -Work in progress -PROMPTS: When reading a book, you find it's more than just a story. It consists of clues, some hints and a hidden map to a hidden treasure. Assemble the clues together, find the map and head towards an adventure in search of the hidden treasure! While cleaning out the chimney, you notice a loose brick. When you pull it out, you find something unexpected.

|| WILL BE REMOVED FROM WATTPAD AFTER AUGUST FIFTH ||

Humanity is right in the middle of an epic battle between heaven and hell. Standing on the sidelines are the laziest man on earth and the President of the United States who just might be the savior, the antichrist or both. Personally, I think we're doomed. ------------------------------------------------------- This is my first attempt at the Open Novella Contest where you choose a prompt and write a novella. The prompt I chose: "Heaven and Hell collide once again. The War Demons march to meet the Battle Angels in a struggle for dominance over the Human Realm." I almost chose the prompt which involved taking a cow for a walk, but come on. Battle Angels! Heck yeah. Moo!

A retelling of Grimm's King of the Gold Mountain Odessa made a bargain with a Saint, offering ten years of her life in service at the convent in exchange for a home after her mother dies. And if she tells anyone about the bargain or breaks the rules, the saint warns her that something terrible will befall the person she loves the most. "It felt almost blasphemous to say, but the moment her Saint had saved her, she knew she had also been cursed."

Between 1813 and 1819, the great composer, Ludwig van Beethoven almost disappeared from public life. Many stories passed about the reason, but none could ever hope to know the truth. Until now. In 1818, Bernhard Gerber experiences something terrifying and heartbreaking, bringing him in contact with the great man, Beethoven, himself. Though Beethoven proves nothing like the person known all across Europe. Between them, the two men take on the task of ridding the world of the greatest horror ever to walk the Earth and, in the process, perhaps lay to rest both men's greatest tragedies and guilt. A deadly serious story with a character that doesn't know it. And doesn't care. A novella, written for #ONC2022. Based upon Prompt No. 70 and in the 'Creature Feature' category. Cover created in Canva, using an AI generated picture.

Elizabeth Grayson was still caught on Christopher Milton. The one that got away. Her childhood friend; her first crush and the unrequited love of her life. When he suddenly gets back in touch, Elizabeth knows this is it: her chance. Only things don't go quite to plan when Chris turns up at a reunion dinner with a new fiance, and the announcement that he's getting married in a month. With her second chance gone, and a month's worth of activities planned for the wedding party, Elizabeth has to decide whether to keep pinning her hopes of happiness on Chris or to take a chance finding it somewhere she'd never thought to look before. One thing is for certain: this month is definitely going to be interesting. Prompt (89): You thought you still had a chance with your childhood friend, but it turns out they're getting married in a month.

She is light. He is smoke. While growing up at the orphanage, Anya and Kieran built a strong friendship through each other's differences. Until the day Lord De Vous and his wife arrive at the orphanage and things suddenly turn to the unexpected. With their lives diverged along separate roads, each must come to terms that time has passed and changed them. And while Anya doesn't want to betray those now closest to her, Kieran can't abandon his people, people who were also close to Anya. With powers and feelings colliding, which will defeat the other? Can love be stronger than justice or can friendship dissolve anger? Anya must make a decision and she knows, no matter what, someone will end up hurt.

Everyone knows about the red thread of destiny that binds soul mates' pinkies to each other. But not many know of the golden thread that brought an aspiring young woman from the modern world and an Imperial Prince from ancient China together. This is their story.

Nine-year-old Sarah and seven-year-old Xavier were siblings who loves adventures but also were always into different kinds of trouble. That's why the people in their street decided to call them, The Menacing Duo. There was only one thing the siblings ever wished for, and that was to have a feline pet of their own. On Easter Sunday, during the egg hunting adventure in their neighborhood, they found something more than the eggs. It was a furry animal named Mr. Cuddles. Because of this, they were sent off to stay with their grandma for the whole summer. Grandma Norma used to tell a story about a train that goes to Dreamland. The siblings never believed this until one night they heard a whistle and they could not resist hopping on a new adventure. And on that ride was Mr. Cuddles, too, their new furry companion. *An Entry to Open Novella Contest 2022. Based on prompts #8 and #9.

Han Nayeon works as a ghostwriter in Hermes Tower, a prestigious company that offers solutions to problems. Choi Junhyub is the man she meets the day she arrives late for work for the first time, the man she's attracted to but has never met before, the man with whom she will be trapped in the elevator. Not for long, anyway. The elevator plunges countless floors down and the duo finds themselves in a crypt haunted by ghosts. To survive, they strike a deal with the guardian of the crypt, an angel named Ramiel: solve the four ghosts' issues and both Nayeon and Junhyub can return safely. When the fear is mutual between the humans and the ghosts, they all know it's going to take a long while till any one of them sees the light. [Longlister for ONC 2022]

Naomi Grace has been anxiously waiting for the summer break to come. This is will be her first without Elijah Job. So, her summer will finally be drama free. Even when she loses her precious slam book that she always carries around the last day before the summer break, Naomi decides that she will definitely find it. She didn't want anything to ruin her summer even her slam book. When she gets back from school, she finds the slam book miraculously waiting for her on her bed, opened on a new page with a new entry with a very familiar handwriting. So much for a drama free summer. All rights reserved.

Parker Beck was just your average high school girl. Got decent grades, had a part time job, listened to music religiously. When her favorite small-town artist, Soren Sheets, has a concert in her hometown, she was ecstatic about the news, but disappointed that she couldn't go. That is, until she runs into him in Target. It was almost like fate. When he gives her two tickets to his show, she could never have been happier. A few years have gone by since that night, and they suddenly cross paths once again. This time, at a big stadium with thousands of fans. Is this fate striking again?