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One night on an unnamed tropical island, a young single man and a young married woman slip away from their village into the jungle for a close encounter of the sexual kind. In surrendering to passion, they have broken a tribal rule regarding adultery. When their illicit affair is exposed, they will be subjected to an awful test designed to reveal the truth, and one of the lovers will pay a horrific price as a consequence…. A short story.

A long-held axiom maintains that morality cannot be legislated; morality, after all, is a personal concept that comes from within each individual, while laws passed supposedly for the good of all are imposed from without. So, what happens when the government steps in to regulate a particular human trait and everyone jumps on board to ensure the law doesn't get broken? Conrad accidentally breaks one of the laws of the land and finds himself being pursued by bystanders and police alike, he quickly discovers that one simple mistake could be the end of his freedom…and possibly his life. A short work of a dystopian future from our Orbits sci-fi/fantasy line.

Eleven-year-old Travis has learned to be glib in the process of selling his mother's handmade products door-to-door to help contribute to his poverty-stricken family's finances. Usually, the seventh-grader only works the immediate twenty-square-block low-rent neighborhood, where he has become a familiar and unwelcome figure hawking items of dubious quality to customers with little money to spare and less inclination to buy. One evening, Travis and his mom decide to try new territory. They drive across town to an upscale subdivision in an attempt to sell batches of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. In the course of the night, young salesman Travis discovers that rich folks have just as many sins to hide as poor people and, better still, that the wealthy are willing to pay to protect their secrets… A short story.

Even in the minor leagues, baseball is a cutthroat business. There are only so many places on team rosters for successful players, coaches and managers. The competition is fierce, because everybody's looking to move up, to make it as a pro in the major leagues where fame and fortune await. On the diamond or off, winning is everything, and some people will go to extreme lengths to gain an edge... A short story.

In bleak, frigid Western Montana, a high school on a poverty-stricken Indian reservation is the scene of a crime: a valuable pocket watch has disappeared. The owner of the watch, a young white English teacher, plays detective attempting to reveal the culprit. His investigation yields unexpected results. A short story from our Nibs literary line.

Many people own pets. Some people are owned by their pets. And a few, like elderly widower Rolf Stenstrom, take the concept of animal care to the extreme. A short work of horror from our Spectres line.