[ 2019 ONC ambassador's pick and ONC shortlister ] The three degrees of Danger are as follows: Denial. You pretend that it's not there and you lie to yourself that it'll pass. It won't. The second stage is evolution. You tell yourself that the worst is over but you're gradually changing inside, slowly adapting to the new environment. The final degree of Danger is succumbing to temptation. You give up listening to your fading instincts, give in to the voices in your head and you give it your all. Because the world is changing and if you don't change with it, you're dead by daylight. *** Danger is a virus that is spreading through everybody's Software. It turns you insane, kills your moral compass. No one knows where it came from or how to stop it but one thing is clear- nothing will ever be the same. In a world where it's kill or be killed, you can't just stay on your toes and pray that you will survive. Murder is crucial if you want to live. These are the rules that Vic lives by as she races up the social ladder, ready to clinch the only thing that will vindicate her- the position of an Elite Killer, a title only given to the best serial killers. It is only when she meets a mysterious boy who refuses to play by the rules of society even when it means inevident death, does she start to challenge the system. In a world where mercy does not exist, Vic has to stop the deadly massacres without getting assasinated before the basic laws of a functioning civilisation starts to break down. Or is it already too late? Blurb written on 6 January 2019 Published on 18 January 2019 (Written for #OpenNovellaContest2019) Completed on 21 March 2019 Brought back on 1 Febraury 2023(: Cover by @Anonymous_115

"I brought you here because I wanted to ask you something really important." He said and I smirked, knowing what he was going to ask me. "What is it?" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "After last night, which was amazing, it got me thinking. What exactly are we?" The question that has been running through my mind ever since last night too. He sighed and held my hands in his,"Maddison, I like you, a lot. And I mean a lot. You're the most prettiest woman I've ever seen in my life, seriously. Both inside and outside. I want you, and only you. Shit, I'm bad at these things but, can you be my girlfriend?" ------------------------------ Lets start like this, Connor comes from a troubled past that soon turns out to be fading away as he moves to Missouri. After 2 years of living there, a new boy in town offers to be his friend. Connor hasn't had friends for his whole life so he saw this as an opportunity to get a real friend. Soon, Connor tries a lot of different things he hasn't tried and comes out excellent in all of them, but he makes enemies on the way. Their friend group expands and now there is 4 bestfriends in the group, but Connor only has feelings for 1. Will he mess up? But what will happen when his past starts following him everywhere he goes? What will happen when old feelings arise with just a glance at a dinner table? That's for you to find out. ------------------------------------------ *Warning- Strong language, Violence, Mild intimacy, Mentions of sex. All copyrights reserved BWentMissing Started: 20 August 2020 Ended: 4 January 2021 ---------------------------------------

After Earth is ravaged by climate change and the Cataclysm-the largest earthquake in history- humans are struggling to survive. Swathes of unlivable landscapes, the Barrens, continue to grow. Everywhere else is a battleground, where humans fight each other for food, water, and shelter. Humanity's numbers further dwindle as they fall victim to a new bacteria unearthed by the Cataclysm, Dementium feralis. It causes humans to lose their higher cognitive functions and turn feral, like the primates they originated from. There is no cure. Nia is a survivor of this world. She makes a living doing the riskiest endeavors-traveling the Barrens, collecting survivors, and hunting for the remaining vaccines that can help delay feralism. People are in awe of her willingness to risk her life, but it's easy when your days are numbered, and hers are. She's turning feral. However, her latest foray into the Barrens leads to an incredible discovery: someone with the potential to create a feralism cure. But it takes time and risk to create a cure, without promise of a payout. To Nia, some fates are worse than death, and the only absolute is the oblivion of feralism awaiting her. She must choose what to embrace: the feralism that could be humanity's only survival, or the risk for a cure. **** Now available on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Well-Organized-Mind-Andrea-Soung/dp/B0C6BQTZ2B/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=Fl3EC&content-id=amzn1.sym.ed85217c-14c9-4aa0-b248-e47393e2ce12&pf_rd_p=ed85217c-14c9-4aa0-b248-e47393e2ce12&pf_rd_r=139-9204535-3864644&pd_rd_wg=rvk9V&pd_rd_r=1a892e06-01ad-4e5e-802a-e856a57daf20&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk **** Cover art compiled by Andrea Soung Man image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/man-destruction-double-exposure-1519665/ Wasteland image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/landscape-scenery-nature-deserts-6880552/

*Dark Short Story with triggers including abuse/torture and violence, sexual assault, stalking and home invasion* Someone has been been following me. I never see a face or catch a glance of a shadow but I know somethings not quite right. My life changes forever when I arrive home one day to a nightmare. Just when things seem to be looking up he comes back for me, and this time he wants me for more than just one night. ------ Please note: This is a fictional story. Many, if not the vast majority, of the actions taken by the fictional characters are absolutely not ok in real world, non-fictional settings. This is a dark short story that contains triggers and themes such as kidnapping, graphic sexual assault/ sexual objectification, drugging and abuse/torture. DO NOT continue if you don't enjoy reading that sort of thing in fictional worlds. ------ #1 in: HomeInvasion (January 2024) MatureAudience (January 2024) Heldcaptive (January 2024) Captor (January 2024) #2 in Dark (April 2024) #3 in Force (April 2024) #5 in Force (January 2024) ------ Below are some crisis and help hotlines (US numbers) Suicide, Mental Health Crisis: 988 National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1 888 373 7888 National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 800 799 7233 Emergency Services: 911

Year 2456 Humans have become so technologically advanced that they are able to manipulate genetics to make humans do amazing and powerful things. Diseases such as AIDs and Cancer are as easily curable as the common cold. But before this flourishment there was....bloodshed. In the year 2252, The United states waged war against other nations, this war raged from 2252 to 2400. Killing billions and destroying the once great United States. The once great country was split into five colonies Montag, Crishun, Pyrin, Sendrill and Kami. Once these colonies formed they had no way of enforcing laws. Well they didn't until a 20-year-old man named Robert Cross came into the colonies, in year 2430, with his latest creation. He was able to create a synthetic human that didn't have the human weaknesses. Sickness, lust, Greed, and death was of no importance to them. After Cross revealed his creation crime rate fell almost all the way to zero. For many years this seemed like the best things ever created by man. Robert Cross was seen as a man who saved these colonies from themselves. He was awarded a Nobel peace prize for his contributions to mankind. After a while Robert became greedy, he didn't want accolades, he wanted power. When the colonies failed to give him so, he seized control instead. He programmed his once amazing creations to attack anyone who got in his way. When he seized control of Kami he created a government he called "The Axis Prime". Cross, with the help of his synthiziods, controls Kami, Montag and Sendrill, his hunger isn't satisfied till he has it all. Many of these colonies people were slaughtered for trying to rebel against Cross. Around the year 2441, he tried to capture the colony Pyrin. Cross felt something odd when the Commander of his synthizoid brigade did not return. He found out of a group trying to liberate the colonies he controlled. The name of the group is Salva and this is their story.

"I want to create a better world where no one hurts each other, to foster a place where love doesn't have to make hate, where no one hurts or kills anybody. A world where I don't have to hurt anybody anymore." The First Dawn has concluded; Children of Blight are running rampant, and the last remaining Bastions of humanity are searching and killing for them for their last chance to find one to restore the earth. The World Capital stands above everyone, with a shadow government smothering the people. The power balance has been tipped for a century now- then came a girl named Armageddon, changing the world forever. Lydia Armageddon, born on the nuclear fronts of the decimated America, was sold to be a child soldier of The World Capital and is found out as a Child of Blight, her trait being named 'Convergence.' The world is at risk of war once more, with the starting gun being fired for the race to control her. Subject to all matters of mutilation, violation, and experimentation, she escapes Blight Laboratories and finds that the world outside is no better than the months she spent in captivity. Hatred for humanity forms, and a monster is coming to be, slowly, just as a fanatical religion predicted all those years ago. Father like daughter. Until she decides to rob an old man sleeping by a fire with an empty gun, not knowing her life was about to be changed forever. The world prepares for the second dawn as Armageddon's child is born-their saviour. The world looks red, and Armageddon is there in the middle of it all, atop a mountain of corpses upon Mother Earth's flesh. March 17th, 2157: A family of three Children of Blight was found hiding on the edge of the Chinese Blight. The events that unfolded that day, as reported by the 48th Platoon of Russian Cyber-Militia, are as follows:

(This is book 3 of the P.O.E. Chronicles, Read book 1 Evolution and book 2 Selection if you haven't already) I never wanted a war. All I wanted to do was to get things back to the way they were and to keep those I love safe. But it turns out that everything was just an illusion, that the reality I lived in was all but a lie. That world was no place to live, and in order to make a better future, a future that so many have sacrificed so much to try and archive before me, I had to fight. And to do that I needed to find out the truth, no matter what horrors lie beneath it. The web of lies, of secrecy, of betrayal, is spun so far, so fine, so wide that I had been seeing only a corner of it. I didn't know if I have the strength to go on, but I know that if I don't step up, the world as we have known it will end. If you asked her four years ago what she imagined herself doing in the future, Abigail Beckett could safely tell you that it doesn't involve political meetings, living in an ancient castle and seeking advice from a three hundred years old Original. Having discovered her roots, she had inherited the responsibility to make sure the world doesn't end by the terrorist group Apocalypse and make peace among POE and Legres. With the fate of many of her friends still uncertain, she must race against time to uncover the Apocalypse's plan, pacify the government, and tried not to get killed by her grandmother. Amazing cover by @MulanJiang Now available on Amazon as kindle/paperback and renamed Revelation : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753GS4FH

**WARNING** ~contains explicit content that may not be acceptable to all viewers. discretion advised~ "No no no no..." My words trailed "NO!!" I screamed, pulling harshly at all my restraints, attempting to get free, hearing the harsh clank of metal on metal with every movement. Colder than the table beneath me, chills ran through my body. This couldn't be happening, please. A sadistic laugh rang through the room and my head fell in defeat as my eyes squinted closed, not wanting to see his face. "Yes, actually." I felt his disgusting, filthy hands trail down my arms. I could feel him leaning forwards, moving himself closer to me. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, so I just lay there, waiting for what I knew was to come. "You're mine now, mut." His voice made my body tense more than it already had. The way he sounded so angry. So possessive. I dared myself to speak, "W-what ar-are you gonna d-do to me?" My voice shook and wavered so much in my fear that it was numb to my ears. Alpha Dave let out a low, calloused chuckle that sent chills throughout my body. He said, in a deadly low voice, "I'm going to remind you who you belong to." * DISCLAIMER- In this story world, each person gets five potential mates! * Blake Daniels' story has been one tragedy after another, Complications littering his route, tripping him on his journey through life. At this point, he's entirely disgusted by his Complacency. For as long as he can remember, he has been at the whim of everyone's desires, neglecting his own. This left him wondering: what it is he wants? Could it be the sweet relief of death? Escape? Or simple Convalescence? *** ~Ms.Witch *** BOOK ONE IN THE ~Escape~ SERIES! Book 1: ~Complications~ Original Created- 2015, Completed- 2016 Rewrite Created (October) & Completed (December)- 2023 Book 2: ~Complacency~ Created (January) & Completed (March)- 2024 Book 3: ~Convalescence~ Created (April) & Completed (May)- 2024 Thanks for reading!

100 years ago, amidst WW3's nuclear bombing, a deadly virus was released in the atmosphere and nearly wiping out the humanity. It lives inside the human brain thriving on the empathy receptors, leading to irrational behaviour and ultimately brain death. To slow the damage, scientists created L.O.V.E, short for Living Off Vital Emotions, a nanovaccine that numbs the virus and switches off all strong emotions. As a last resort and with a dying planet, the Supreme Government created the City, a place to contain the infected survivors suitable for the experiment. Those in the first stages of illness became ideal candidates to receive the neuroinhibitor. Having their feelings restrained and their memory altered, those who come of age are designated a life partner through a Selection process, thus preserving the humankind. A few decades after the trial had started, scientists had a major breakthrough. The nanites, which are highly chemically reactive organisms, are changing their bio-engineered purpose when dopamine levels are high. With a new generation of nanoids, stronger and smarter to fight the battle, the virus doesn't have a chance. Many attempts were made to create a man-made version of synthetic dopamine and each time the outcome was a disaster. Their goal is to create new generations, immune to the virus. These are called Purebloods, the offsprings of those who find pure love, the only cure to save them from a violent death. Running out of time, the Experiment entered in its final stages. To minimize the threats, the Colonies have sent their best soldiers to oversee the trial and protect its key subjects. If only things were going according to plan, or better...stay hidden. With Iron Guard, the resistance outside the walls, hunting the Purebloods too, will the trial save human race before it's too late? #3 in #dystopianfuture (27.06.2020)

(This story contains extremely sensitive topics) Around 20 years ago, an unknown virus plagued the Earth, one that attacks genetic codes and destroys whatever it infiltrates. Humans, animals, plants, you name it. In order to adapt to this living nightmare, daily routines suffered an overhaul. But even so cities fell, nations were destroyed, countries obliterated by the scourge of war. Humanity driven to the brink of extinction. In a desperate attempt to save the remnants of mankind, "Colonies" were created. Strategically placed in areas the infected are naturally unable to congregate in. For some unknown reason, they disintegrate or break themselves apart in desperate attempts to escape the inside of a Colony. On the flip-side, they often create nests where they're attracted to others of their kind. The motives that result in such behavior have yet to be discovered. These are called "Contamination Zones". Pools of infection that produce genetic amalgams beyond human comprehension. The fuel for nightmares that plague even the strongest of minds. In addition, several of these Colonies and outposts have started to rapidly perish. Dozens of them breached all over the continent. The infected seem to be growing stronger. This world has given Kayden Moss gentle insight into it's offers. It has made him travel from place to place, Colony or not, in order to simply awaken to fight another day. Eventually, at 19 years old, he came across a peculiar Colony named Zamaton, where he's lived ever since. News of the breaches reach the Warden of the Colony, Rhys, who demands measures to ensure everyone's safety start taking effect. Kayden however, is unaware of them, getting summoned into Rhys's office without previous notice. This only occurs for important matters, or for him to receive scolding for his actions. Whatever the case, he's sure the news are sour. Depending on the situation, the breaches might remain away from the Colony. Or so it seems.