[Yeladim]

Here are those other two stories-


Egg On Your Face

And while it is known that many female species will kill their mates and feed off them to help develop their eggs, the Preying Mantis being the most famous, certain species of spiders have been found in the Amazon to lay their eggs into their mates so the newborn have a ready source of nutrition when they hatch.


I first heard that in my second year at St. Vitas' High School for boys. Of course it wasn't the school work I was interested in. Next door to our school held my interest. Georgiana's Finishing School for girls was located just across the street and in a school full of wild young men, there was nothing our boring professors could teach us that would gain our attention beyond the rudements needed to graduate. How I wish I had paid more attention for I did not remember that lesson until this morning. Far too late to be of much help to me.





Story #3 - The Jester





It shocked her, the sound. It was so loud out of the speaker just above her head. "Hehehehehe," came the maniacal scream/laugh and then, "wipeout." The drums gave her a headache, or was it the beer. Didn't matter, the party was dead and so was she. She could hardly wait for her ride to get back so they could leave. Maybe if I close my eyes, she thought, I might get some relief.



"Do you want to get lucky?" The voice pierced steady sound and brought her back. Even with the loud music he didn't sound like he was screaming. But she wanted to go home, not get picked up. And that pickup line was a complete train wreck. Opening her eyes she looked at him. Strange looking man, pale skin, almost white. Black hair, almost like it was painted. Odd features. A jutting nose that didn't jut, almost two dimentional. But she wanted to go home.



"I'm just waiting for my ride," she yelled. "I'm not interested."



"I didn't ask if you wanted sex, I just asked if you wanted to get lucky?" And he looked at her, as if she was an open book or a blank page waiting to be written on. She was speechless. He thrust his had into hers, "I'm Robert Zimmer. You look like you have a headache and more important, you need some luck."



She pulled her hand out of his. "You are very presumptuous. I am not interested in you or anything you have. Now leave me a lone." And with that she stood, found her friend and left the bar.



In the car, speeding home, friend at the wheel. What a bizare night. It started by trying to break out of her morose self pity but the bar was like a morgue, the music was 50 years older than what is hip, and the liquor was too much. The two girls talked about the day but she wasn't interested. She drifted through the conversation, zombie-like, staring out the window.



What was that?



It was that guy, from the bar, standing on the side of the road. But it couldn't because he was already miles behind. "Did you see something?"



"See what?"



"A guy. No, nothing I guess, I just must be ready for a long sleep."



Then, something burst onto the road, tires squealed, brakes locked, the car flipped, once. Twice. Then landed on the roof, crushing the two occupants. So this is how it ends she thought to herself.



"It didn't have to," she heard. It was his voice. What did he say? "It didn't have to ... end this way. If only you had taken a bit of luck."