Deep Water Novels & Stories

My coworkers and I are forcibly dragged into a bizarre game with the initial title displayed as "War of the Plants". Everyone crowds around to choose camps or safe houses with abundant water resources. I am the only one who picks a plastic apartment in the desert with no water or electricity. My female supervisor mocks me in front of everyone, saying I must be out of my mind. No one is willing to team up with me, and they even bet I won't last three days. When choosing abilities, everyone rushes for practical powers like spatial storage or metal control. I, however, choose reverse photosynthesis that allows me to gain energy from air humidity. Everyone immediately mutes me in the game. Clearly, no one wants to hear my desperate cries for help later. But when the system revokes team permissions and administrator functions, everyone is stunned. The game's name is reset to "Magnet Apocalypse".

“Mom, Dan, I received an offer from an overseas university. I plan to take it.” Lucille Shaw’s voice was soft in the silent living room, like a single drop of water rippling across a still pond. Her mother Victoria exclaimed with joy, "Really? Congratulations! When are you planning to go?" “In Ten days.”

"You will be treated like nothing except my fuck toy. You will get spoiled food once a week and water one sip a day. You will always stay naked. No clothes for you. No electricity for you. You will be locked in 1 room with just a floor forever. You will never be treated like a human being again from this day on."

After getting married, I followed my wife to the desert to help build up a remote research base. After months of severe drought, I applied for 17 ounces of water just to wash my hair. But as station chief, June Sheffield rejected me without hesitation. "The water supply has to go toward cultivating the samples first. You need to learn how to tough it out." Then the next moment, I came across a new post the intern had uploaded on social media. 'Wanted to try an outdoor bath, and Ms. Sheffield approved a whole ton of water without even blinking! She even set up the bath tent herself. I'm so happy.' Furious, I went straight to confront June Sheffield. Usually cold and distant, she softened her tone for once. "Conditions here are harsh. If Morgan can't handle it and decides to leave, the base will end up even more short-staffed. You're one of the core staff members. Once the project pays out, your share alone will be at least four million. An intern like him doesn't get that kind of treatment." In the end, I swallowed my anger. That was, until the first-quarter project wrapped up. When there was still no movement in my account, I nervously contacted headquarters. The moment I gave my identity, the person on the other end sounded stunned. "You're just an intern. What project bonus are you talking about? And the head of the research department has always been Morgan Wilder." I stared at June's signature on the personnel registration list and suddenly understood everything. Without another word, I packed my bags and booked a flight home. Life in the desert was bitterly cold and unforgiving. This time, I was not staying.

Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival.They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

The heat apocalypse struck without warning, and the office turned into hell on earth. Global temperatures spiked past 126°F. Ellie Ramsey, the receptionist, collapsed against the water cooler, her skin fused to the plastic tank. When Frank Higgins tried to pull her free, a layer of skin tore away with his hand. Of the hundred-some people who'd worked in our building, only seven of us were left. The survivors retreated into the underground bunker beneath the building, sealed off from the heat above. Water and food ran out fast. We'd have fought over a single rat's blood just to wet our throats. Then Jake Collins, the technician who'd gone to check the UV lamp in the incubation unit, came sprinting back like he'd lost his mind. He was clutching a part in his hand, his face bone-white. "This temperature control module—" He shoved it in front of my face, his fingers shaking. "The manufacture date. It's from last March."

"I still love her, Brother Ezra. And I can't live without her." Razel's tears began flooding his cheeks. "But she loves me, Razel. And I love her too." I replied with conviction. "I am done swallowing my pride. I love you because you are my stepbrother. But that doesn't mean I will always let you have what you desire. Can you just be happy for us?" "Can you give her back to me, huh?" to my surprise, Razel dropped his knees on the ground. "She loves me first, remember?" Fated to my Stepbrother's Mate is packed with love and betrayal. Two men fell in love with one woman and are willing to bend the written rules of the werewolf world. Kill for Love. Betrayal for Love. Who will have her in the END? The older brother who prefers BLOOD than WATER? Or the younger brother who prefers WATER than BLOOD?

My mother asked me to step aside and let my twin sister have Ronan, my mate-to-be. She held my hand gently, her eyes full of pleading. "Mara, your sister has given in to you for twenty years. Just this once, let her have him, all right?" She was not wrong. I had been fighting and grabbing since I was a child. Whatever my twin sister, Aurelia, had, I had to have too. Even when she took medicine, I would insist on stealing a sip. Mom always said I had been competitive before I was even born, that I had taken too much from Aurelia in the womb, and that was why she had come into the world so weak. So dad would wade through freezing river water and go deep into the forest to pick moonfruit for her. Mom learned to weave so she could make every dress Aurelia wore from childhood to adulthood with her own hands. And I had nothing. All I could do was charge forward like a little thief, snatching whatever scraps I could reach. Because I knew that if I did not fight for anything, nothing would ever be mine. This time, Aurelia fell in love with Ronan at first sight. And I, who had never given up so much as an inch, obeyed without a fight. "Fine." After all, I had been poisoned by wolfsbane while saving her and mom, and I was already living on borrowed time. After I died, regret drove them all mad.

The day I learned the family's secretary had been Richard's mistress for three years, I called off the wedding without a second thought. Heartsick, I took a family flight and moved out to the West Coast, only to walked straight into an ambush. When they had me surrounded, Richard appeared out of nowhere and threw himself in front of the bullet meant for me. He ordered his most trusted guards to keep me alive, whatever it cost. Dying, he stared deep into my eyes. "Elise, I have no right to ask your forgiveness. Just live. Live well, and let me love you properly in the next." The sea ran high and wild that day, and they never found his body. By the time the rescue boat pulled me out of the water, I had already cried myself hoarse. After that I lived to eighty, carrying the guilt of him every single day. Then I opened my eyes again and found myself back, before he had ever betrayed me. This time, before I could even speak, he fired Charlotte right in front of me. Apart from family business, his greatest interest was cooking dinner for me. Everyone marveled at it. The Don himself, Richard, loved Elise nearly to the point of madness. And then, the night before our wedding, I heard his thoughts. [I'm finally about to have Elise.] [This time I can't let her find out Charlotte exists.]

The apartment that I bought four years ago isn't renovated or lived in at all. Yet, I suddenly receive messages on unpaid water and electricity bills. Puzzled by the sudden barrage of messages, I return to that particular apartment to check things out. That's when I realize that a stranger has been living in my apartment this whole time!