A mother duck's eggs hatch, but the biggest egg takes longer than all the others. A nosy neighbor opines that the egg looks like a turkey egg. When the egg finally hatches, Mother Duck is relieved to see that her newest son swims - he must not be a turkey - but as ducklings go, he's not very good looking. The unnamed ugly duckling lives an unpleasant life in the "duckyard" of the farm on which his family lives. With the notable exception of his mother, he is not only disparaged for his looks, he is often bullied and brutalized.

Short stories are a great place to experiment with concepts and ideas and this is a short piece (even for a short story) which combines those end-of-the-world 80s movies with a few of the many conspiracies that are out there. Sorry if that offends anyone. Actually no I'm not. If you don't like it, don't read it. The story isn't true, it's not my opinion or in any way meant to attack anyone. It's just one of those "What if..." scenarios and I think it's a little humorous too.

The story follows the decadent heir Henri de Marsay, who becomes enamored of the titular beauty, Paquita Valdes, and plots to seduce her. He succeeds but becomes disillusioned when he discovers she is also involved with another lover and so plots to murder her. When he arrives to kill her, he discovers that she is already dead by the hand of her lover, his half-sister. She declares that Paquita came from a land where women are no more than chattels, able to be bought and used in any way. In the last lines of the story, de Marsay tells a friend that the girl has died of "something to do with the heart.

Gerald White thought that his self-imposed exile would be enough punishment for his past actions that cost his Mistress her life. But Lady Fate seemed to have other plans when she tasked him to find a replacement for the dead Queen. Could Mariana Crimson really be the one? And even if she is, how could he trust another human female after what happened the last time?

Four young freshmen from UCLA, two couples, decided to wander around the city suburbs of LA, on their bicycles, this weekend. They thought this was a good idea since they were going to be staying there for the next four years of their lives. Following the street signs, they begun their journey and into the woods through a pathway. After two hours, they stumbled upon a big sign which signaled “Dead end, warning”. The one couple, Bob and Jackleen, bold and armed to the teeth, trained in one of the best war simulation academy in LA, ignored the warning and continued past the sign. The other couple, being more scared, decided to follow the longer route that was nearby. They had a rendezvou some miles ahead. Would they make it to that point? What was about to happen to both of them?

“But why are you leaving?” asked Larry the janitor, the last man to be shown to the door.

Nothing more than a simple wish...

The story takes place in a dark and dirty room, in an old warehouse in the worst neighbourhood of the city. 5 young guys, play in a hustle poker game. They all bet their money in this game, each one of them giving all they could relative to their financial statuses. The risk is high. They are all nervous for the outcome of the game. Each round is harder than the previous one. Who will win, who will lose and what!

Alice is sitting with her sister outdoors when she spies a White Rabbit with a pocket watch. Fascinated by the sight, she follows the rabbit down the hole. She falls for a long time, and finds herself in a long hallway full of doors. There is also a key on the table, which unlocks a tiny door; through this door, she spies a beautiful garden. She longs to get there, but the door is too small. Soon, she finds a drink with a note that asks her to drink it. There is later a cake with a note that tells her to eat; Alice uses both, but she cannot seem to get a handle on things, and is always either too large to get through the door or too small to reach the key.