C James

Thanks Graeme!!!! Nope, I wasn't misdirecting, that line by the Piedmont Sheriff, as we will learn over the next two chapters, is absolutely critical. Regarding Eric's relations, all I can say is that this story is told in a 1st person point of view, so the narrator is Chris, and the story is only what he knows at that point. He can't read minds, so we can't even be sure he knows what Steve knows, though regarding Eric and the Sheriff, Steve knows nothing. I will confirm that Eric isn't adopted.

Sitting back and "letting the cops do their job", has been, in my personal experience, often the least desirable course of action (in real life, let alone fiction). The sad fact is, often the job doesn't get done. My personal rule of thumb has been "If the investigation is active and proceeding well, leave it alone. If not, do it yourself". I've had to do this before so to me, this isn't a stretch at all. I was only dealing with car thefts and burglary, nothing too major, but had I not taken matters into my own hands (investigation-wise) nothing would have happened; the police had just moved on. So, I have some atypical views of that issue, but I don't feel it's incongruous at all for the rural west. (of course, what Chris did in going to Piedmont was just plain stupid!) For example, some friends of mine were building a house in a remote area. Their place was often left unguarded, and someone was stealing things, such as major construction supplies (windows, water tanks, skylights, timber, etc.). This was reported the the police, along with the tire-tracks of the offending vehicle being pointed out. The case went nowhere, so I did it myself; I examined the tire-tracks, noticing that the vehicle was a dualy, Four tires on the real axel. Some big pickups have that configuration, and contractors are fond of 'em. That narrowed down my suspect list, becuase I knew of one contractor in the area, and he had that kind of truck. And a contractor has use for that kind of material. Sooo, I found out where he lived (he had a spread nearby, a house and some outbuildings) so I borrowed some camera gear, and climbed a nearby ridge (which was on public land, overlooking his spread). I used a telescope to look around, and spotted the skylights stacked behind the barn, talking a few pictures. I then found out where he'd been working, and found that, low and behold, he'd sold some windows and a water tank (the latter having a serial number) to the homeowner. With evidence in hand, I turned it over to the police, and an arrest was made (he plead guilty.) Had I left it alone, nothing would have been done. And come to think of it, maybe this event influenced me regarding Chris going to piedmont. (though, I'd like to think I wouldn't do anything that crazy without a good reason). Yes indeed! Thanks, goat-buddy!!! I have indeed often said that I don't do cliffhangers. And, though I concede that this chapter ended in a slightly tense situation, we don't know for sure what the sheriff has in mind; his next words might very well be, "Let's be nice and teach that guy how to use a camera-phone, he obviously doesn't know how!" And yes, we do have a pool party coming up. What? Me, do a cliffhanger? Conner is right; I have often said that I don't do cliffhangers. Actually, as a practical matter, there wasn't anywhere I could really break the chapter once Chris went to Piedmont and not have it as a tense ending. Glad you liked Betty; she's a little crazy, and a little mean-acting, but has a heart.

Thanks Steve!!! Fear not for Chris; been as this is a 1st person narrative, he can't be killed while the story is ongoing, unless I want to have the final chapters recounted by his ghost. Heh, As for not expecting a flash, that's the one thing in this chapter that was no streach; if you had never seen a camera-phone before, would you know that they had a light for taking pics? The reason I'm so sure on this is that I'd never seen one, and had no idea that they did that until I did some googling, plus checked with my anonymous beta reader, Shadowgod. It did occur to me that it might have a flash of some kind, but only after researching the things. LoL And BTW, it's Veronica who does the bleaching. Val drives a mustang in Living in Surreality (Our anonymous beta reader's story). The reason I mention this is I often confuse names that begin with the same letter, so on occasion I've typed "Valerie" when i meant "veronica". I had the same problems with typing "Chase" when i meant "Chad" in FTL. Hi Jack! The genre is action/adventure, so I do indeed take liberties with plausibility. I know there are quite a few stretches, but the one thing I'll defend is their penchant for doing things themselves rather than sitting back and letting the "authorities" handle things. Rural folk in this area are far more self-reliant than seems to be the norm nationwide. When I need something done, I do it myself. That means, for example, if I have an intruder, I take ';em down myself, not call the police and hope they get here in time. Same with a fire; I fight it myself, or get the hell out of the way if it's too big. It also means that if I have a legal issue requiring an investigation, I am very inclined to follow the old maxim "If you want something done right, do it yourself", and, in fact, I have done so (though not to the level of danger Chris and Steve are in). That said, granted, it was incredibly stupid for Chris to go to Piedmont. However, Teens sometimes to rash, impetuous things (which is why they have such a high mortality rate).

Posting Schedule Change: Due to an intermittent computer problem, that appears to be a hardware failure, I could not be sure I'd have a computer operational by midnight, so I decided to play it safe and post FTL 25 early. FTL 25, "Thicker Than Water", is up!

Hmmmm, why do i feel that you don't like that idea? Well, you could always make part four 50 chapters? I can't wait to see what you new one turns out to be!

Speaking as a reader, I'm DELIGHTED that the story has grown, as it is really excellent! Here's hoping for a five and six, as well.

Wow, that "Onion Volcano" sounds like quite a show! Looking forward to hearing more of Gio and Zach, too, and I sure hope Zach doesn't take Gio back.

One? Shall I name more? Ahh yes, Raul's hands are far from clean. Mayhem and Chaos are indeed in order! I'll bet he will! I just loved the predicament; locked out without clothes! They could have asked Val to bring them some clothes, but, they probably knew what her answer would be.

Now, now, Frosty, don't be a size queen.

Winter clothes are indeed bulky; I've had to pack for trips to multiple climates, and ended up with quite a bit of luggage. Besides, we know you don't carry rocks in your suitcase, but between your ears instead. I don't know whether they will or not, bur seeing more of Montreal would be my hope, and I do wonder if Ben's Ex will make an appearance.

What follows (and my prior comments) are merely my opinions... I'm not trying to slam the story, for indeed I like most of the story. My strongest objection was to the following' As you had covered it in detail before, couldn't the second sentence be omitted? It was covered by "brian did just that" Just about every human does things in the bathroom that aren't pleasant to read about, and can be alluded to once, as you had already done, the procedure had been explained. As for the incontinence during sex, my suggestion would be to cover it other than as part of the scene, instead of describing it as part of the scene. Perhaps end the scene before that point and have them mention it in dialog afterwards. I do realize that this issue is a major one for people with spinal injuries, I'm not suggesting omitting it, just presenting it differently. For example, mentions of specific odors in writing tend to evoke a reader's mental recall of such an odor. If that is what you intended, okay, but to me it made the scene, which would normally be a heartwarming scene, unpleasant. Again, if that is what you intended, then it's right, but if not, you might want to re-think how you present the information. I do realize that this is a story with a purpose far beyond being an enjoyable read, so please bear in mind that my opinions are directed more towards general readership issues, which have limited applicability in this case. If you really want to drive home the effect of all this on Brian, doing so in the dialog might be one option. He does seem to be dealing overly well, BUT, that could also be a "dam about to burst" situation too, in which case taking my suggestion would be counter-productive.

I agree on both the public sex discussion (I've found earlier ones incongruous, specifically talking about sex in froint of parents, though this one was just slightly improbably in my opinion, as some teens can be like that, though yes, I found it kind of rude.). And, um, yeah, the "unpleasant problems" turned what could have been a sweet scene into something I did not enjoy at all. Speaking for myself, I'm not becoming desensitized; I still hold the same opinion and recation I did previously, though moreso due to the repetition. We already knew, in gory detail, what Brian has to go through, so why ruin what could have been a touching birthday scene with it? As you yourself once said (regarding how the little brother knew about Brian) , you don't have to cover everything in fiction.

A clemantine orange is as good as any, I suppose... :wacko: And as for you lacking a heart, believe me, we all know that...

Me and my typos... LoL I'll bet those stairs are a pain. I've been in plenty of paces where I've had to carry luggage up or down stairs, and there's nothing like having a 80lb suitcase in each hand and having to climb half a dozen flights of stairs. Ugh. But Bondwriter (Or, should I say, Frosty Hunter? ) I think he needs to bricks to keep the rocks in place?

I'll have you know that a goat's brain is about the size or an orange. :2hands: This compares favorably with, say, (chosen entirely at random) the brain of an Echidna, which is indeed about the size of a walnut. This of course is no comparison at all to Frost, which, as we all know, lacks even a central nervous system, let alone a brain. I think I shall be needed the horn-sharpener soon...

Great chapter I loved the "tourist's eye" view of Montreal, and am looking forward to more of it. Hermmm, I do wander, though, if Ben's ex will make an appearance? One thing caught my eye;

Uhoh! Ahhh, well, ummmm, that's true, Chris is now blond (though only slightly, so far) and the Charger has been stolen. (Or, perhaps, borrowed, because Eric is surely far to nice to actually steal a car).... But, do you really expect a goat to remember the details of what he writes?

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a good point! LoL! 'course, we do have a blond and a brunette being chased around the country roads in a Charger, by a corrupt sheriff...

I am very glad that Brian was smart enough to handle Marcie as he did. I'm astounded at the degree of acceptance (regarding time-travel) that his parents and Davey appear to exhibit, though! I'd have thoguht that, at least, a simple prediction or two, or something that he could not have otherwise known, would have been required. Mr. Rush wouldn't count, as there are other ways he might conceivably know that. Buuut, now we know the answer to something that has long puzzled me; how did he get "trapped" by Marcie in the first timeline?" Now we know. I had to snicker; most of congress being wiped out.... I also found the ending, worrisome; "Nothing can stop us now." Uhoh, that sounds like he's tempting fate, bigtime. LOL Great chapter!

Yes indeed! I loved this chapter, especially when Jeremy's sister dropped the bombshell that she would be seeing him perform! ROFL! Speaking of his 18th birthday, what on earth is an "Onion volcano"? My hunch is that Jeremy will fall for Robert; the last lines in the chapter certainly hint that he could. An I, too, noticed that the coffee was conspicuous by its absence.

Wow. Ch 14 is up, and all I can say is, Wow. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll use a spoiler space, just make sure you read the chapter first... Superb chapter!

Ahhh, but but I have not yet begun to quander! Certainly you can do that! In fact, I fully support it, as it it re-opens the Great Quarry Quandary! Geologically speaking, the chances of a quarry producing gravel and cut stone are rather slim; Gravel is an alluvial deposit, so it would be rather rare to find it in direct conjunction with solid rock. It is possible (postulating an ancient riverbed against a stone cliff here), though, so what we, perhaps, must do is examine, in minute detail, the geology of the area. Would I do such a thing as that? I merely bespeak the truth; given the mortality rate in your stories, (*cough* winter anthology*cough*) you are unspeakably cruel to your characters, and lets not forget all the mean situations you throw at them. Oh, and the eeevil cliffhangers, too Seriously though, I can't wait to see what becomes of Jacob and Matt's exposed predicament... (and that's not all that's exposed!)

Welcome to GA, Fishwings!

Hi Emoe! Actually, this title is a clue (once the chapter is posted) and I'll explain it here in the thread after posting. I will give a hint: Look for the title in the chapter body. Hi Ethan! The Data stick plays a large role very soon, due to the guys having just figured out the key to unlocking it (hence the chapter name, "finding the Key"). We will all know, soon enough, what is on that Data Stick.

Excellent, Luc!! I think the most moving part of it, for me, was the remaining unknown; why hadn't Chris acted on his feelings before? Just like like, some things are left unknown, and to me that was part of what made this story "click".