A Well Traveled Man: Stories

William Hudson Bowman III was young, and he lived in North Dakota. His friends and family called him Trey. His dad was William Hudson Bowman Jr., age 35, 6'2" tall, and an Army Captain in the Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (ODAs). He was on alert or deployed most of the year. He only made it home once or twice a year for a month's leave. His mom was Kay Whitehurst Bowman, age 32, and 5'11" tall

Griffin Jayden Steele led an interesting life from the moment he was born. His father, Thomas Steele, was a biochemist, and his mother, Mia Bushi Steele, was a practicing psychology professor. When Griffin was born, his family took him on nature vacations. On his second birthday, they went to the desert, and he felt the urge to leave the RV in the middle of the night. Griffin climbed a nearby hill and was taken by aliens for two days. His family urgently searched for him with the authorities and

A young boy goes on vacation with his parents. Their spaceship is attacked by pirates, and he is put into an escape pod. He lands on Earth and has to start a new life alone.

Maggie Sterns worked for a top-secret lab in the foothills of Southern California. The lead scientist was Doctor Henry Paxton, a hard-driving, grade-A asshole. The lab had ten artificial wombs and had successfully grown babies. The doctor was trying to create superhumans and would incinerate the failures. One survived, but the doctor ordered #10 destroyed. Maggie smuggled #10 out. But Doctor Paxton found out, and a manhunt was on. Out of desperation, Maggie put #10 in a dumpster and Carol Stone

Chase Tan Nguyen Reynolds was born 18 years after the Vietnam War. His father met his mother while serving during the war. Unknown to Chase, his grandmother was a descendant of the last Emperor of China. Chase was the first male child born to a descendant and inherited the Emperor’s gene. His mother and grandparents anointed him “The Golden Child.” Chase grew up with special powers the Emperor’s gene provided and had to avoid detection because there still was a bounty for the Emperor’s descendan

Kane was born to William Armstrong Jr. and Sofia Guerrero while they were in college. Will was a senior when he graduated, and the CIA recruited him. Sofia graduated a year later and was recruited by the CIA too. She became a NOC, and Will raised Kane with the help of his parents, Admiral William Armstrong (Naval Intelligence) and his mother, Ellie, a defense attorney.

Barrett Kendrick Thompson was the son of William Jr. and Meredith Thompson. William and Meredith were from wealthy families and lived off their trust funds. Madeline Thompson was the family matriarch with three children: Benjamin, Melanie, and her youngest, William Jr., named after her late husband, William. Benjamin and Melanie's children were all girls, and Madeline pressured Junior to have a child. She wanted a grandson and hoped Junior and Meredith could produce one.

Li Lee was born as a result of an overaggressive football player, Joe King, taking advantage of his mom, Kim Lee. Kim was a genius and was working on her doctoral degree at 18. When Kim found out she was pregnant, Joe walked away, and his parents paid Kim off. Li was born with a disease and needed a bone marrow transplant, but Joe refused to donate. Kim, desperate to save Li’s life, stole a formula from a professor she worked with and injected Li with it, saving his life

When Michael Forte was born, he was left on the steps of St. Thomas Orphanage in Chicago, Illinois. Sister Anna found him and fell in love with him. Since Michael didn’t have a name, she named him after Michael the Archangel and chose Forte, meaning "strong," as his last name. Michael was a gifted child, and the story follows him as he grows up in the orphanage and flees after witnessing a murder.

Griffin Barrett was Fourteen and lived in Granbury, outside Fort Worth, Texas. He lived with his Father, Richard Barrett, a chemical engineer at Allied Technologies. Four years ago, Griffin’s mother, Ashley Barrett, divorced his dad for the bright lights of Hollywood. She went to Southern California for plastic surgery on her nose after an accident and fell in love with the area. Dad said she met someone with money, and he wasn’t sorry she was gone. Grif, as everyone calls him, agreed.