Gideon Groebel is barely old enough to remember what the bees looked like and only knows about the Dieoff thanks to the internet. Suddenly finding himself in possession of the only known hive in the country—and hunted for it—he seeks sanctuary on a small farmhouse off the road, which only lands him as prime suspect in the pipeline bombing. For protection, he strikes a deal with a local deputy to gather evidence on the real terrorist. But when his efforts are sidelined by a forbidden romanc...

Brothers Mark and Orin make a habit of attending Gatherings. This one begins like all the others. The healer claims unnatural powers and uses poor Latin. But there has never before been a snake-bearer. As the ceremony begins and the role of the snake-bearer becomes clear, Mark is scandalized. The prices the Healer demands are too high. And the outcomes, questionable. "He's just another fraud," Mark says. So then, why does Mark keep feeling the Healer rummaging around in his head? This stan...

Titus' life as a stay-at-home dad is disrupted when his husband, Lucas, loses his job. He re-enters the workforce as a stockboy at Glenn's Value Plus, where an encounter with a woman stealing tunafood and a coworker vowing to get him fired cause him to wish he lived on Mars. The X-Tellus company wants to give him that wish. But what would it take to leave his life—and his family—behind?This stand-alone short story from the Helium Quest series follows the events in "A Land Overflowi...

Decades after Nancy Myers is threatened to keep quiet about travels she can't remember, struggling magician, David Aguilera, and Richard Jackson, a pilot on thin ice with both his boss and wife, are sole witnesses to strange lights while their plane plummets. Miraculously surviving the fall, David can't stop talking about the Virgin Mary appearing to him--and some people don't like it. David's priest condemns him while the televangelist and his atheist co-anchor play him for ratings. Meanw...

University student, Josiah Greene, has a secret. He's a musical savant poised for greatness from a young age. Growing up under an abusive father and exploitive mother he developed self-injurious practices to repress his music. Finally free to make his own decisions, he obsessively seeks affection from Maya, cashier at the local super Mercado. Her beauty elicits the music he hates.When Josiah uncovers Maya's bruise, he vows to rescue her, no matter the cost. But under the glower of J...

In this final transcript from the "Helianthus," First Lieutenant Hyland Rivera confronts his own desire to take the vessel on a collision course with the sun, because as he says, "God told him to." Torn between his love for Captain Zephaniah Cass, "the only other man in the universe" and his own fears, he grapples for any meaning in life and death. Once Zeph gets wind of Hy's plans, the battle for the fate of the "Helianthus" begins.This stand-alone short story from the Helium Ques...

Braving a cold night in Myra to give his gifts in secret, Our Bishop encounters a child who seems intent on stopping him. But is that the child's true intent, or is he offering a chance to give more than mere fruit?

In this short story, Christie, a relapsed alcoholic, faces her first Christmas apart from her children. As she window-shops for gifts her ex-husband won't allow her to give, she finds a family huddled around a fire in the alley behind the store. If she wants to offer help, she must face her own fractured heart.

Trace has had a run of bad luck. He lost his job, his boyfriend of two years was cheating on him, and his apartment building burned right to the ground with all his worldly possessions.So Trace heads for the ranch owned by his aunt Lois. But before he arrives, Lois is in a terrible car accident that nearly takes her life, and Trace finds himself in charge of the ranch kitchen. Sounds simple enough and it's the least he can do for his recuperating aunt.Then Sawyer happens.

A male escort takes on an inexperienced client and breaks the first rule of rent boys: don't get attached.After updating his Rent Boy blog profile, well-endowed porn star Ty receives a text from a sexually inexperienced client. Andy, the client, asks Ty to provide him with the necessary know-how so should he ever get a date with the guy he's attracted to, he'll be fully prepared.Little does Ty know that this hookup will lead to a friendship that will subsequently change his...

1970Will has known Bran since he first taught him to swim, when Bran was eleven years old. But now, seven years later, Bran has returned from a year of hard work on a ranch outside of Houston and he is no longer the boy Will remembers. He is now eighteen, quite grown up, and making no secret of the fact that he's interested in a sexual relationship with Will. At first, Will is horrified. He has a hard time forgetting the Bran he knew as a child, and given their seventeen-year age d...

Throughout high school, Benjamin Alcott had a single goal in mind – to escape a home environment that was anything but loving and supportive. With determination and perseverance, Ben has risen to the top of his class, both academically and athletically. And with careful planning, he has secured scholarships which ensure he has a real chance to see through his goal of becoming a doctor. But beyond that dream, Benjamin also wants a place where he can live freely and openly as the young gay m...