Novel & Cerita Veteran Poem

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

On the day before the Christmas holidays start, my wife, Irene Owens, intends to promote me and give me a raise in order to celebrate my feat of closing a hundred-million-dollar deal. But her assistant, Cody Harrington, purposefully feeds her some cake. Irene, who's known to be a germaphobe, doesn't show any trace of disgust as she subconsciously accepts the spoon, which is tainted with Cody's saliva, into her mouth. The employees begin cheering for them on the spot. Some ask if they are about to get married. Not only does Irene not refute those questions, but she also promotes Cody to a department manager on the spot. When a colleague next to me realizes how silent I've been, he nudges me in the side. "Hey Seb, you're the veteran employee who's stuck by Ms. Owens' side for so long. Why aren't you reacting to the news?" I merely sneer as I toss my share transfer agreement to Cody. "A promotion isn't enough, is it? You can have these shares as your wedding gift."

A novel of love, loss, and survival in a city consumed by darkness. After years on the front lines, Australian Army veteran Jake Michaels returns home to Sydney hoping for peace. Instead, he’s met with tragedy—his father lies comatose after a mysterious car accident, and the only survivor is an eleven-year-old girl with no name and a haunted look in her eyes. But that’s just the beginning. A deadly werewolf outbreak is sweeping through the city, transforming ordinary people into savage, unstoppable werewolves. The infection spreads fast, and Sydney is falling. Entire suburbs are lost overnight. The moon no longer matters—once bitten, there’s no turning back. With chaos in the streets and the government in retreat, Jake finds himself leading a desperate mission across the city. By his side: his ex-girlfriend, a battle-hardened team of soldiers, and the strange girl known only as Jane Doe, who may be the key to everything. Their destination: Camp Alpha, a heavily fortified base in Parramatta and humanity’s last hope. But as the group fights to stay alive, Jake discovers that the line between man and monster is thinner than he ever imagined… and some battles must be fought not just with bullets, but with the heart.

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

They sold me to the Dungeon to save themselves. My own family — my brother Caleb, my mother Anya — fed me to the system like I was nothing. A sacrifice. A liability. The last thing I remembered before the darkness swallowed me whole was the relief on their faces. But I didn't die. I came back. And I came back wrong. Welcome to the ARG — where pocket dimensions bleed into the real world, and only the strong survive. Every player gets a starting ability, gear, a guild, a fighting chance. Every player except me. No ability. No gear. No guild. Just Kiera Vance, standing in a room full of veteran wolves who think I'm dead weight — and one sharp-eyed Alpha named Liam Reed who isn't quite sure what I am. Smart man. They'll call me weak. They'll call me a Luna with no bite. They'll call me crazy. They're only right about the last one. I clawed my way to the top once. I'll do it again — but this time, I won't stop until I've burned the whole system down. My name is Kiera Vance. I was the most feared player in the game. And my Alpha? He's a lunatic. Almost as bad as me.

Mikel Rysdale needed an escape after a devastating blow to her heart and lifestyle. The number of people she can trust can be counted on one hand. Escaping to the one place she was free, she finds the most unlikely person to lean on. In his eyes, he was a broken man incapable of rejoining society. Army Veteran Killian returns home to live on his family's land in peace. Happy to see his sister again, he wasn't prepared to welcome a guest. What started as a tolerable relationship, the two found the need to be there for each other. Old wounds are hard to heal especially the ones in your heart. “Who are you?” His question was meant to be gentle but they came out as an angry ogre. She laughed at his question. The first chord of that sweet laugh was now trapped in Killian's mind and heart. Slowly she stood up and walked towards him. She was within four steps of him and her scent was intoxicating. Vanilla and the scent of fruit he had to know of. Up close she was perfection in his eyes. Unconsciously he stepped forward wanting to be close to her for some reason. The pain, the memories none of it was on his mind. His sole focus was on her. “Name's Mikel Rysdale. You can call me Mik for short.”

I've worked with my wife, Naomi Prescott, for seven long years. Yet, she refuses to make my identity public in the company. Naomi claims that she's worried that the entire company might think of me as a man who relies on his partner. Believing her excuse, I stick to myself and keep a low profile all this time. But on the day my project team secures a ten-million-dollar business deal, Naomi is quick to make me give the credit to her childhood friend, Matthias Crowell. When faced with my questions, Naomi retorts in a matter-of-fact tone, "Matt is new to the company. Can't a veteran employee like you take care of him at work?" I'm furious, to say the least. "What if I say no?" Naomi throws a resignation letter at my face. "Well then, you can pack up and get lost, you pathetic loser!" I pack my belongings calmly and leave the company afterward. Three days later, Naomi's company is on the brink of bankruptcy. She sobs loudly as she begs me to return with her. I produce a business card and give it to her. "Sorry, but I prefer being the boss of my own company. It so happens that my company still needs a janitor. I suppose I can reserve that position for you, seeing as we used to be married and all."

In the 1860s, Hunter Eldridge is a military veteran with a tumultuous home life and a fraught relationship with his father. When he returns to London, Hunter reluctantly visits the family bookstore, dreading an encounter with his loathsome father. Upon entering he sets eyes on the enchanting Eliza Carlisle. They fall deeply in love—soul mates to the core—and spend fifteen years happily married before tragedy strikes. On Hunter’s birthday, after enjoying a wonderful night with family, he and Eliza are out for a leisurely stroll when a horrific creature of the night attacks them. Eliza is murdered, while Hunter is transformed into a vampire. In this new state, he finds a mentor in his father’s peculiar business partner Garret Wilkins. Hunter also eyes a suspect in his tragic attack and vows revenge. Over the next century, Hunter must rebuild his life as an immortal. He is lucky enough to find love again after years of loneliness and despair. Endless time allows him to unravel the mystery of reincarnation while struggling with a darker side of himself. In Hunter’s continued thirst for vengeance, he realizes death is only the beginning as he reveals a small piece of a bigger event that is about to grip the country.

Grace Hammond lost the most important person in her life, her grandmother, Juliet. Left with little beyond a failing farm and not much clue how to run it, she's trapped-- either she gives up three generations of roots and leaves, or she finds some help and makes it work. When a mysterious letter from Juliet drops a much needed windfall in her lap, Grace knows she has one chance to save the only place she's ever called home and posts a want-ad.The knight that rides to her rescue is Robert Zhao, an Army veteran and struggling college student. A first generation Korean American, Rob is trying desperately to establish some roots, not just for himself, but for the parents he's trying to get through the immigration process, a secret he's keeping even from his best friends. Grace's posting for a local handyman, offering room and board in exchange for work he already loves doing, is exactly the situation he needs to put that process on track.Neither is prepared for the instant chemistry, the wild sweet desire that flares between them. But life in a small town isn't easy. At worst, strangers are regarded suspiciously, and at best, as profoundly flawed-- and the Hammond women have a habit of collecting obscure and ruthless enemies. Can their budding love take root in subtly hostile soil and weather the weeds seeking to choke them out?

At the year-end party, everyone receives their year-end bonuses on the spot. While my colleagues receive cars and gold bars, I, on the other hand, get ten packs of instant noodles as my bonus. The veteran colleagues have me surrounded immediately. "Hey Dana, this prize suits you a lot! You keep meeting the clients outside the company, after all. Instant noodles really are a useful gift! I, on the other hand, have to pay for my new car's maintenance! Seriously, I'm really envious of you!" "I know, right? I just received a gold bangle as my bonus, and I'm really scared that I might get robbed if I were to wear it. Dana, your instant noodles is a reassuring sight. Once you get hungry, you can eat it right away. Mr. Vance cares a lot about you!" "Mr. Vance really is a kind-hearted man! To think that he shows this much concern toward Dana, who works the hardest among us! From now on, we must work even harder for him!" My boss, Harvey Vance, just waves a hand in humble pretense amid the crowd, though he can't stop himself from smirking smugly at me. That's when I flash everyone a smile abruptly. Then, I walk to a corner and dial the number of my company's rival. "I shall accept your proposed offer as the deputy CEO in your company."