2016-17 Short Stories (one per student).

   "Beneath the Waves"

by Rebecca Arnold

 Allison’s heart raced as her family pulled up right next to a tall palm tree. It was June 21st, the day the family had set aside weeks earlier to travel down to Florida and visit the beach. They had just arrived in a parking lot within walking distance of the ocean. But before she could climb out of the car, her dad began carefully repeating the rules of the trip. Allison stared out the window, not listening, because she was eager see the ocean rather than suffer through another one of her dad’s rants about safety. Through the vehicle’s dark shaded windows, Allison could make out the beach, waves rippling and seagulls flying overhead.

     “...and out we go!” Mr. Hollist finished cheerfully. Allison looked at her father with relief, glad that he was finally done lecturing. Emma and Luke, her older siblings, got out first. Then Allison and her 12 year-old brother Sam, only two years younger, came out right behind them.

    The sun was shining bright, sending warm waves of light and heat through all of them. Allison took a deep breath, allowing the salty air to enter her lungs. She loved the smell of the ocean and the serenity it brought. However, her happy embrace of the beach was soon interrupted by Emma dropping a couple boogie boards and towels into her arms. “Take these,” she said in an annoyed tone. Allison struggled to keep everything from falling and looked angrily at her sister. Emma didn’t like the beach and didn’t really want to come. She was only 16 though, and since it was declared a family trip, she was sadly dragged along.

    Luke grabbed some more stuff out of the car and tried to cheer up Emma. He cracked a smile and began trying to get her to look at the beach in a more positive way. Despite their almost identical features, Emma and Luke had completely different personalities. Luke was the optimistic one who loved to go new places and try new things, while Emma was more of a classic, stay at home, hang around town, kind of girl.

    Sam grabbed an armful of stuff and began leading the way, immediately followed by his mother, who told him to wait for the rest of the family. Allison watched her dad shut the trunk and then declare that they had everything they needed. So with Sam leading the way and Emma trailing in the back, the Hollist family made their way down to the beach.

   Allison was absolutely mesmerized. She laughed wholeheartedly as she watched a little girl near the water throw a piece of sandwich bread in the air - which was then instantly snatched up by a hungry seagull. A gentle breeze blew as they continued down the boardwalk to the sea. Allison’s long, strawberry blonde hair danced around her shoulders.

   They finally made it down to the sandy beach and found a spot not far from the boardwalk to set up their beach chairs and lay all their stuff. Once everything had been  set down at the spot, the kids began to split up. Sam grabbed his net and went looking for little fish and sand dollars, while Emma forced Luke to walk with her up to the pier. Allison decided to simply walk down the beach first. She told her parents she wouldn't go far, and her dad agreed to keep his eye on her as she walked, just to be safe. Allison smiled and slipped off her sandals, before walking briskly towards the water.

    After she scanned the ground to make sure her delicate feet didn't touch any hard shells, she let the water wash over her toes. It was cool, but not cold. And with the hot sun licking her skin, she decided she would save walking down the beach for later. She was ready to swim and cool off. She took off her large t-shirt, revealing a modest black and white striped one-piece swimsuit. She then slipped off her black nike shorts and held them by the tips of her slender fingers. She was about to go put her clothing down when she felt a strange urge to look at the water. Obeying her conscious, Allison scanned the many moving bodies of people swimming and paddling with their boards - when suddenly something caught her eye. Not too far out, a dark gray fin sliced through the water for a few brief seconds before disappearing beneath the waves.

    Allison frantically sprinted across the sand and back up to her parents who were lounging in their chairs. “What on earth is the matter?!” Mrs. Hollist demanded as Allison came bounding up to them, out of breath. Before Allison could reply, screams broke out all around. Everyone laying in chairs jumped up and looked around. Even those up on the pier, including the twins, all looked down in horror. A gray figure, indistinct beneath the waves, tousled around a small boy who was fumbling in the water. A dark cloud was forming around him.

    Suddenly several men ran into the water shouting, reaching out for the helpless young kid. “SHARK ATTACK!” was shouted in every direction. Like a ripple effect, loads of people began swimming as fast as they could out of the water farther down the beach. The shark swam deeper into the water and was soon out of sight. Yet cell- phones came flying out of pockets - cameras flashing, 911 being dialed, and people trying to find their kids amongst the chaos. Allison stared at the poor soul being delicately carried through the water. He couldn't have been much younger than her. And as she continued to stare, her heart stopped cold.

    “SAMUEL!” Allison heard her mother scream, before Mrs. Hollist began rushing up to the man cradling her child. Allison didn't come any closer. From where she stood, what she could see was bad enough. Blood was steadily flowing from a gaping wound where part of a leg should a have been. What had once been a lovely vacation had instantly turned into a nightmare she had never even imagined. People continued to rush by, voices mixed in a storm of horror, and Allison was still standing in the same spot when the paramedics arrived and took him away.

    

    Allison woke up sweating. Her heart was beating faster than ever. But as she looked around her, she saw nothing but pitch black. She realized her hands were clasped to her thin sheets, and her phone lay beside her on the floor. Still confused, Allison reached down and checked the time. Her phone read 3:07am. She sat there dumbfounded until a loud noise came from across the room. Allison sat straight up.

     “Everything alright Ally?” Emma mumbled sleepily, slouching in her bed. “You’re breathing pretty heavy.” Allison rubbed her eyes, remembering ever vivid image from the dream she just had. “What day is it?” she asked nervously. Emma chuckled half-heartedly. “Really? Its June 21st. You know, the beach trip? The one I've being forced to go on-”

“Sam. Where is he?”

“Most likely asleep. Calm down. What's gotten into you?” Emma whispered, less sleepily and more concerned.

    Allison rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't so sure about this trip anymore. The seemingly-real dream had made her more than aware about the dangers of the sea - ones she'd never worried about. Now she couldn't help feeling like this was some sort of sign, and she wanted to heed the warning. But the plans were final, and they would be leaving later that morning. Maybe she was just overthinking. Besides, it was just a dream. But as much as she tried to convince herself, Allison didn't know if they should still go. And the same question kept appearing in the back of her head; what's lurking beneath the waves?

“Green Eyed Sacrifice”

Miranda Belflower

He fiddled with his radio trying to get any signal he could. He did not quite understand how it worked but he hoped that by flipping through the stations he would find something. If his father was still with him, he could definitely get it to work. John began to think of how much he truly missed his father. No, his father was not dead. He did not think he was, but in reality he did not know where he was. John did not know where anyone was. His friends, his family, his acquaintances, they were all gone, He didn't know where and he didn't know why. He did know, however, he would find them. He would do anything to find someone on this empty planet.

John tossed his silent radio aside and gave up. He hadn’t heard a live voice from his radio for two months. He picked himself up from his spot on the sidewalk and continued his daily tasks. His daily tasks were always the same and after a month of sticking with his tasks, he was bored with them. He had things he wanted to do and places to see that he could never go. Now that he was by himself, he had all the freedom in the world but he was determined to find someone. He went around his town plastering flyers and signs on abandoned shops and street signs that gave directions to his home. But he didn’t only wait for people to find him, John ventured out everyday for a few hours in hopes of finding someone. John has been doing these rounds for a month now and has yet to find anyone.

Before John went searching he would always inspect his surrounding looking for changes in the scenery. Maybe a foreign foot print, a leaf that was out of place, or trash that was not there before. All of these would be signs that someone was there and he was desperate to find someone. John was on his way now to begin his inspection. He first checked the alleyways and then scanned the courtyards and roads. After a hour of hopeful searching, it quickly became doubtful. Everything was the same way as it was when everyone disappeared. He came to realize that no one was out there, no one was looking for him, and there was no one to look for. He was alone and he was forced to accept that.

John didn’t bother going past the city limits today. He saw no point in it anymore. He slumped back to base camp and focused on the rock he was kicking with him. With every kick he remembered all the people he lost. “Gwen, Stacy, Sara…” he said allowed. Tears began to swell in his eyes as he began to think of Julie. John missed her most of all. He kicked the rock forcefully out of frustration and watched it skid across the pavement until it landed inside of an upturned hat. John instantly knew something strange was happening for that hat was something that was not there before. John walked these streets multiple times a day and that hat was nowhere in his memories. Someone else was here and he knew it.

He ran to the hat, hoping to find something that would lead him to its owner. Inside the hat, he found his rock neatly fitted in the folds and beside the hat was a key ring. He recognized the keys as belonging to a shop owner in the town. The owner was long gone but his shop was still there. John snatched up the keys and the hat and headed back into town. He had a theory that whoever had taken these keys were headed that way and John could maybe find them.

John’s theory had been proven true as he peeped around the corner and saw a young girl pulling on the shop door. The girl’s hair and clothes were dirty and there was an open wound on her leg that was spilling blood by her feets. All this did not seem to bother her as she continued to pry open the shop door. John wanted to call her attention but his lack of social interaction and disbelief left him lost for words. “What could I say…” he thought. But before he could think of an icebreaker, she was already on it.

“Maybe instead of staring at be from behind that building you could help me!” she turned and looked into his direction like the sight of other life was nothing she had never seen before. John was stunned. How did she know he was there. John must have been waiting too long she called out to him again. “What are you waiting for? Your family to come back?” He hurried over there and presented the keys to her. He began to explain that he had found them on the road but the girl cut him off and said, “Yeah, thanks. Do you have my hat too?” she took her belongings, put on her hat, and opened the shop door.

Inside the shop, the girl had pushed aside the racks, desks, and shelves to create a living space equipped with a sofa, bed, and a table and two chairs with what seemed to be her gear. John noticed the strange sketches and writing hung on the walls by ridiculous amounts of tape. Out of all the documents, John could only make sense of the calendar. The month was November and the 12th day was circled in bright red marker. The twelfth was two days away. “What’s so special about the 12th?” John asked, gesturing to the calendar.

The girl chunked a soda to him and told him to have a seat. “This may be a lot to take in all at once, but-” John interrupted her.

“I think I have a better question, actually. First off, who are you? Where is everyone? How is it I have never seen you before?” John was yelling at this poor girl who he had just met and he couldn’t believe that this was her first impression of him.

The girl was oddly calm with the yelling.”Yo, chill, man. I get it. You haven't seen any life in two months and you're overwhelmed. To answer your questions, John, My name is Maya. I do not know for sure where the people have gone, and you have never seen me before because I stay in this building when you are around.” John was furiated. How come she was hiding from him? He spent two months searching for anyone and she obviously knew that. How could she avoid him like that. He explained all of this to her in maybe not the nicest way. Just as last time, she stayed calm and never yelled back. “I wanted to see if you could find anyone else. I believe there is someone else out there and I needed you to find them. That person will have the power bring our people back.”

“Why must I be the one to find him? I’ve been searching ever since the first person disappeared. There can't be anyone else out there.”

“John, I'm blind. I only heard you outside this shop earlier. I couldn't see you. Speaking of which, can you please find my bag? It has my wound kit and if you haven't noticed, I'm bleeding out.” John immediately jumped from his seat to help aid her. He rummaged through her bag until he came across the kit. John helped Maya clean her wound and get her situated on the sofa.

The two talked for awhile and Maya explained to him who to look for and how that person can bring the people back. This person was born with strong abilities and have little to no control over them. Her theory was that this person stays within the city limits near the old library. She had heard movement there once before and she was determined it was him. The two planned to head to the library the next day and search. John stayed at here place for the night in order to get started as soon as possible

The next morning they awoke early and walked the roads to the library. The library was not far. Maybe a ten minute walk. John looked up ahead on the road and saw a large figure moving swiftly across the sidewalk. John alerted Maya and she told him not to scare him or yell. They walked faster and faster until John spotted the person once again. It was a large, male figure whose feet were levitating above the earth. He was facing away from them and seemed to have not noticed the pair behind him. John made a thumbs up in Maya’s hand to discreetly tell her that they had found them.

Maya began to speak to him but was cut of by the man’s own words. “Do not bother speaking, young girl. I know what you are here for and I am afraid that you can not have what you desire… without sacrifice.” The man turned to face them. “But I will give you an option.You must both give up a part of yourself or one of you must give me enough for the both of you. I will give you a moment to decide.”

Maya pulled John away for a moment and John just knew that she had an idea. “My eyes, John! I know you must be thinking I’m crazy but think about it. They are of no use anymore and I have two! You wouldn’t have to give up anything, it’ll all work out fine.” John tried to argue with her but the man silenced them.

“Have you come to an agreement?” the man asked. Maya quickly told him yes before John could get a word out. Maya explained the trade and the man agreed to take her eyes. “As you wish…” The man then waved his hand in front of Maya’s face and in his hand he held two shiny, green eyes.

Where Maya’s eyes were once were now sealed with skin. Before they were able to ask him where and why he had taken the people, the man put her eyes in his pocket and disappeared into thin air. Now in his place stood the people of their town. They were roaming and going about their business as if nothing had happened.

The two hurried out of the road before they were hit by a car and John got the attention of a bystander and asked for the date. “September 12.” The day everyone disappeared.

Escaping My Home

Gracee Boston

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” my alarm clock sounded as I crawled out of bed.

I glanced out my window as I did every morning, and to my surprise, there were fish swimming around our domed home. This rarely happened. On a normal day, they would swim right past our globe of a house, but today they decided to circumambulate the premises. Their scales were an iridescent violet with hints of a coral pink showing through. The Sun was radiating golden beams down through the sky of water over my house on this unusually beautiful morning.

I strolled through the house hearing almost no sound, and I reached the kitchen corridor, just as my parents yelled goodbye to me and left the home we resided in. I fixed my normal bowl of Rice Fishies and turned on the television. I knew what i wanted to watch, so i flipped it to, “The Beautiful Destinations of America.” I was aware that I lived in a protected area under the ocean just outside of Orlando, Florida. I was also aware I hated the sea life, and I was determined to leave one day. I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

I got dressed in my usual distressed denim shorts and graphic tee. I laced up my combat boots, and I was about to head out the door, when I heard a knock. I opened the door slightly, only for Cato to push it entirely open afterwards. He walked in and took a seat on my bed as a combed through my hair with a fork, just kidding I’m not Ariel.

“I want to live outside this dome one day.” I suggested to Cato as we sat there in comfortable silence.

“Seems fun, but it also seems too far for me to venture.” he spoke in an uneasy voice.

I sat there thinking hard about my plans for today. I would leave for school in about 10 minutes, then I would come home after school and hangout with Cato, until about 9 o’clock tonight. Once he leaves, I would get ready for bed, go to sleep, and repeat the next day, as always.

“Aqua! Aqua! Aquamarie!” Cato screamed, awaking me from my thoughts, “We are going to be late if we don’t get moving now!”

“Alright! I’m coming!” I yelled back in a rushed tone.

While we were walking to school that day, I saw the stairs to the land where kids can play in the sand. I always saw the stairs on my way to school, but I had never had such a strong urge to climb them. I stopped walking on the path to school, and with Cato shouting as he followed, we climbed the staircase that awaited a world of people, places, and things I had never seen like dry sand. As we reached the top, Cato yanked my arm pulling me backwards.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? You are only 18! You can’t go out there. How do you expect to survive?” the 19 year old questioned anger evident in his voice.

“I’m going to live out my dream! I am sick and tired of waiting around for a chance to be released from the tiny world we call home.” I explained trying hard to remain calm as I continued climbing up the stairs.

Moments later, I heard Cato follow. I pushed the metal door open, and suddenly I felt the freshest breath of air fill my lungs. A huge radiant smile was plastered on my face, because for once in my life, I felt at home.

We then ran out of what looked like a shack and ran down the warm blonde sand. The place I once called home looked like it went on forever from where I was standing. I looked over to Cato, his bright blue wide eyes matched the ocean horizon, and his beachy blonde hair was tasseled with the wind whipping it back and forth like the waves.

Cato has always been my best friend, and I may or may not have had a crush on him for as long as we’ve been friends. I know it will never happen, because he does not see me in a romantic kind of way. So, I would rather be his best friend forever than a girl he once dated, so I am completely fine with just being his friend.

We strolled along the beach, mesmerized by the beautiful landscape surrounding us. I was purely in awe. As we were walking about silently, I realized a terrible thing. The door to the Dome was always locked from the inside, so it made sense how we got out. The problem is we could not get back in without the password, that neither of us had. I suddenly stopped in panic that I would never be allowed to return.

“What’s wrong?” Cato asked concerned.

“You know how the door is always locked from the inside of the Dome so no one can intrude.” I said slowly so he could take in what I was saying.

“Yeah. What’s your point?”

“We can’t get back in without the password that we don’t have.”

“Oh.” that was all Cato managed to say.

We kept walking every now and then throwing out ideas on how to get back. I knew that soon we would need a place to sleep, but we did not own any U.S. currency. I knew we would need to find someone to take us in until we could get a job. That seemed to be a tough thing to accomplish, because who wants to take in a stranger from the sea? We needed to earn someone’s trust and do it quick because the sun would soon set. Cato and I were definitely not going to be used to the temperature drops the land got at night, for it was mid-October, and the cool air would soon start setting here in Orlando.

For the next hour, we wandered around trying to make friends, but this was new for us and really hard to execute. We strolled across a young lady sitting on the beach with her nose in a book. Her hair was a soft golden brown, and her eyes were a hazy green that almost matched mine. I somehow got this feeling she was willing to help us. I stopped Cato, and we soon approached her.

“Hi, I’m Aquamarie, but you can call me Aqua. This is Cato. We are new to the Orlando area, and we really need some new friends. I love that book by the way.“ I spoke with a friendly attitude.

She looked up with a perfect white smile beaming at us. She stood up and brushed the sand off of her.

“Hey, I’m Hailey. I also just moved here from North Carolina. I really need to make friends too, so I think I could take some time to get to know you guys.” Hailey said still smiling.

“Wonderful!” Cato and I said in unison.

She picked up her book and motioned for us to follow her, as we made small talk about ourselves. Everything we answered, she would answer back. This made communication a lot easier, because we never had to pry into her life. She just spilled her whole life story to us, and we did the same.

“Wow! You guys have never been above the ocean until now!” Hailey exclaimed in amazement.

“Nope, we are completely clueless about this place. We really don’t have anything here.” Cato spoke.

“So, you don’t have any clothes, a house, money, or food do you?”

“No. We were hoping you could maybe help us get a job.” I spoke not wanting to be too forward about wanting a place to stay.

Hailey quickly agreed to not only help us get a job, but she would also let us stay with her until we got one. She insisted she should take us shopping and out to eat tonight. We wondered how she could easily spend all this money, but she told us she was from a very wealthy family.

We spent the whole night shopping and eating. The next few days we looked for a job around Orlando. I soon was hired as a marine life caretaker, as I was well equipped for the job. Cato was hired as diving instructor.

Soon after we got on land, we mailed our parents and told them of our plans. After many long letters of disappointment, they finally agreed to let us stay.

Cato and I enter this adventure as best friends, and we started a new adventure once we got married. We now have 2 kids and a dog. We are still friends with Hailey, and we have been able to visit our parents multiple times. Our home is now on the land, where the ocean is my view and not my home.

“Sterling Valentine and the Missing Slipper”

                                           Brooks Braswell

Do you ever wake up and think, “What could possibly go wrong,”? Well, I did that about a week ago and the worst possible thing happened. My slipper was stolen!

It was a Saturday morning and all was nice and quiet in my apartment building. I had just woken up and was lying in my bed, thinking about the day ahead.

“Ok, I need to take a shower, feed Cody, feed Sam, and walk down to the grocery store,” I said, thinking out loud. A few minutes later, after much mental preparation, I swung my legs off the bed and sat on the edge, feeling for my slippers. I found my left one with ease, but couldn’t seem to feel the right. I sighed and got off the bed, looked under it, around it, on the headboard, on the vanity, in the bathroom, and every other inch of my room.

I let out an even more exasperated sigh and called out, “Cody!!” Seconds later, a wonderful fluffy dog bounded into my room and started licking my face. I gave him a stern look and said, “Did you take my slipper?” To this, my wonderful pup cocked his head and barked. “If you didn’t, then who did?” He gave me a lick and a smile and ran out the door. “That didn’t answer my question!”

At this, my roommate Sam came in rubbing his eyes and messing with the curly red mess on his head. “What are you yelling about now, Mr. Valentine?”

“Cody stole my slipper and he won’t admit it,” I said as I walked into the bathroom to wipe the dog drool off my face, “He says it wasn’t him, but who else could it be? Ghosts?”

Sam thought for a minute. “Well, ghosts might not be the most far fetched of culprits. I read a thing the other day…,” and then went on a tangent about how ghosts might be real. Sometimes I wonder how I put up with the kid.

I snapped my fingers in his face to return him to reality. “Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, it was a joke, we aren’t haunted. Now, what else could have stolen my slipper?”

“Well,” he said, tilting his head and looking at the ceiling, like he always does when he’s thinking, ”like most apartment buildings in Atlanta, we might have rats and they could have stolen it.”

I gave him a look of dismay. “If rats stole it, I’ll never get it back…,” I said quietly as I sank onto the bed.

Sam looked over to my window. “Has that been open all night?” he asked, adjusting his stance and pointing at it.

I looked back at it. “Yeah, I got hot last night and I didn’t want to leave my room to change the thermostat,” I said, thinking back to a time when I still had my slipper, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, that means an animal could have came in during the night and stolen it, maybe from one of the other rooms nearby,” my wonderful roommate reasoned.

I jump up off my bed. “The neighbor has a cat!” I exclaimed, imagining the chance of being reunited with my favorite slipper (sorry lefty). “Go and get ready Sam, we’re visiting our wonderful neighbor, and it won’t be for a cup of sugar.”

I took a quick shower and threw on my clothes, my trademark jacket, and some comfortable shoes. I speed walked into the kitchen, where Cody was already holding his bowl, ready for his breakfast. I sighed and said, ”Sorry pal, you’re a suspect, I’m going to have to find my slipper before anything.” He gave me a sad whimper and dropped his tail. “Oh come on, that’s not even fair! Ugh, fine,” I said as I stooped down and picked up his bowl. His normal smile returned to his face and his tail started wagging again. I look at him and pat his head, “You are so adorable,” I said and he jumped up and licked my face. I pushed him down and filled his bowl. Like clockwork, Sam walked out of his room right as Cody started chowing down.

“So, what’s the neighbor's name?” Sam asked as he buttoned his shirt.

Now, I’d never talked to the folks, so I had absolutely no clue. I decided to bluff so I didn’t look like an idiot in front of my companion. “Um, Johnson, I believe,” I said the first name that came to mind.

“Ok, let’s go greet them and see if they have your slipper!” Sam exclaimed. His excitement, although childlike and silly, wasn’t misplaced. He is, in exchange for letting him live there, my assistant, my Watson, my partner in crime solving. You see, I had been doing a few solo cases for the past month and Sam had been left at the house to take care of Cody. He was ready to get back out into the field, may that field be the mean streets of Atlanta or next door.

We walked out the door, a couple of paces to the left, and we were at ‘Johnson’s’ door. I looked at Sam and put my finger on my lips, signaling to let me do the talking. I knocked on the door in front of us and took a step back, pulling Sam with me.

The door opened and, to my surprise, a little old lady is behind it. “Oh, hello dearies,” ‘Johnson’ said in a voice that reminded me of Robin Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Sam took a step forward, completely disobeying me. And he wonderers why I like my solo cases so much. “Yes, hello ma’am. I’m Sam McFarland and this is Sterling Valentine, we’re your neighbors,” my charming companion said with a smile.

I, resisting the urge to strangle him, flashed a smile at her. “Yes ma’am, we’re here because my slipper seems to have gone missing. My dog doesn’t have it and my window was open, leaving your cat as a potential suspect,”

“Oh my, that seems very serious indeed,” ‘Johnson’ said with a concerned look on her face,“Please do come in.”

She turned around and headed back inside, and as she did I slapped Sam in the back of the head. He rubbed his head, but gave me one of his “I know I did something wrong, but it got results” looks. That insufferable know-it-all, why I otta… Oh sorry, where was I? Oh yes!

We followed ‘Johnson’ into her apartment. Now let me tell you, this was one of the most crazy cat lady places I’ve ever seen. Sam loved it for some odd reason, even though he’s allergic to cats. Poor kid’s eyes turned red as his hair, and you could see his nose getting clogged. She then started to bring all 20 of her cats out and line them up. This worked as well as you would expected.

“Now, Fluffy, get over here. Cassandra, stop hitting Harry! Clair, get down from there!!”, the poor lady said as her cats were going wild.

While all this was happening, I decided to take the liberty of looking through the cats’ toy box (yes, they had a toy box). I got close to the bottom of the box, starting to lose hope.

But then I saw it. My beautiful red velvet slipper, with very minimal damage. I held it up like Simba from “The Lion King”, the song playing in my head.

“Finally, I have found you!!”, I exclaimed, overflowing with joy. I walked over to ‘Johnson’ and shook her hand. “Thank you very much for letting us come in to look for my slipper!”

“Oh, no problem dearie, I’m glad you found it,” she said with a smile.

Sam was too congested to even realize what was going on, but he was smiling ear to ear.

I dragged Sam out the door, clutching my slipper under my arm. “Oh, I don’t believe I ever caught your name,” I asked, wanting to fulfill my curiosity.

“Oh, it’s Suzy, dear. Suzy Johnson,” she said as she was closing the door.

I shrugged and thought, “Dang, I’m good.” We got home and Cody was barking at us, wanting to know where all the cat smell came from. I just dropped Sam on the floor, went to my favorite recliner, and sat down, happy that i had finally been reunited with my slipper.  

“Taken”

Anna Brown

She woke up in a cold sweat. She was not sure where she was or what had happened. She felt pain on the right side of her head, but when she tried to touch her head, her arms would not move. Her arms were tied together. She extended her long, lanky fingers as far as she could, but she still could not reach the knot holding her arms behind her. She wiggled around fiercely; the blindfold she was wearing slowly falling below eye level. It was so incredibly dark, and her eyes strained to see what was around her. Thousands of thoughts were running through her mind. The most common ones, however, had to do with her little sister, Maislyn.

Though it was difficult for her to concentrate, probably having to do with whatever caused the wound on her head, she searched her brain for what she had been doing before she was taken to this place, wherever “this place” was. She started off with easy things, remembering that her name was Aarenda and that she had just turned fifteen years old. She remembered she had been babysitting her little sister Maisi, who was six, because her parents were off doing something related to work. They had been playing with Maisi’s baby dolls when Maisi decided she wanted to go down stairs to get something to drink. Right after she got down the stairs, Aarenda heard the door open. She recalled looking at her phone for the time to see if it was time for her parents. The time had been 7:46, but her parents were not supposed to be home until eight o’clock. She tucked her phone back into her boot, a little confused but not too badly worried. She remembered hearing a high pitched scream come from down the hall and running out to see what was wrong. She then realized it had not been her parents entering the house, but a kidnapper who was taking Maisi away. Panicking, she ran to attack him, but as she did, another man came around the corner and tackled her. She supposed that was when she hit her head.

Aarenda replayed these thoughts over and over again in her head. As she thought about her phone, she hoped it was still wedged within her boot. She painfully swung her leg as far behind her as possible and reached her tied up hands into the boot. Thankfully, it was still there.

Aarenda rubbed her fingers across the back of her phone, and a brilliant thought occurred to her. Just a couple of days ago, her best friend, Amanda, had been playing with her phone case and broke it in half. At the time she was angry, but now, she could not be more grateful. Blocking out the pain, Aarenda twisted her arm in an angle which made it possible to separate the phone from the case. She continued to twist her hand until she could feel the rope holding her arms together. She took the sharp end of the broken case and began to scrape it against the rope. After what seemed like forever, her hands became free.

She reached for her phone and began to dial her mother’s telephone number, but as she did so, something caught her attention in the left, upper corner of her cell phone screen. “No service,” it read. She tried to call her anyway. In fact she called all the numbers she had saved, but they all went straight to voicemail.

She knew the only other option was to somehow get out and find Maisi, and she was going to have to do it herself. She slowly, being as quiet as possible, stood up. She was overwhelmingly lightheaded, so she got into a crawling position instead. She roamed the area cautiously. As her eyes got used to the darkness, she used her hands to try to feel if anything was in there that could be valuable in helping her escape. She only had one corner left to search when she heard a noise coming from the right of her. By instinct, she dropped to her stomach and rolled, squeezing herself as close to the wall as possible. “H-H-Hello. Is anyone there?” It was Maisi. With unbearable relief she leaped over to her sister. Startled at first, Maisi began to cry tears of fear; however, after Aarenda said,” Don’t be alarmed Maisi. It’s me,” her tears became those of joy. They held onto each other and did not let go, fearful they would be separated once more. Aarenda asked Maisi what memories she had of what had happened.  

“After they knocked you out, they tied to me a kitchen chair and started going through all my stuff. I don’t know what they were looking for, and I’m not sure if they found whatever it was. I heard a car coming up into the driveway and prayed that it was Mom and Dad. Apparently they heard the car too. They drug you into my closet and stuck me in there too. Then they squeezed in with us, holding a gun to my head. They told me if I made the slightest noise they would shoot me and the rest of our family. Silent tears streamed down my face as Mother checked my room. It seemed as if they searched everywhere but the closet. When the the men heard Mom and Dad run downstairs to check the front yard, they opened the closet and smashed the window to the backyard. They threw you out, and I think you hit your head on a rock or something. I’m not sure. Then they tossed me out too. They climbed out a second later. They tied both of our hands together and put blindfolds on us. They ran, one carrying me and one carrying you, for a while, and then they loaded us into the back of a car. That’s when I fell asleep.”

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as Aarenda’s absorbed all her little sister had endured at only six years old. She embraced Maisi, never wanting to let go. As they sat there, Aarenda replayed in her head what Maisi had said about the smashed window. A flicker of hope was ignited inside of her. Her Mom and Dad would obviously recognize a broken window, right? She tried to think positive thoughts. ‘‘Help is on the way,” she repeated to herself and her sister. Little did she know, it actually was just a few miles down the road.

The cops searched their house, looking for any evidence to help them track where they were taken. “ I found something!” one of police officers on the case exclaimed. Everyone ran to see what had been found. When they saw the smashed glass and the broken window, they sprinted down the stairs, two at a time, and ran into the back yard. More cops had arrived at the scene by this time. Everyone split up to search for more clues in the back yard. One FBI agent began to walk in the opposite direction of the others, when something to the left of him, at the end of a narrow dirt road caught his eye. It was a small, pocket-sized baby doll. He called the others over to him, and the girls’ parents quickly followed. The mother’s bloodstained eyes grew wide. “That’s Maisi’s!” she exclaimed. The detective wondered what could be down that road. He gathered all the officers on duty and the girls’ parents, and they started down the road. After driving for about 15 minutes and seeing nothing but trees, they were about to turn around when the father yelled, “Who’s that?” The officer driving the car rapidly turned his head. Though he could barely see in the darkness, he could definitely make out two figures running through the woods.  Just as the police was trying to figure out who it could be, someone came over the radio and said that the kidnappers had been spotted. ‘‘We are going to surround them,” the voice proclaimed. Immediately the cop swung his car around and drove into the woods to where they had last seen the people. They saw the men, hiding behind some trees and quietly called the other cops. “We have spotted the suspects,” he said. At that moment, all the officers jumped out of their cars, guns raised, and demanded the men to put up their hands. Knowing they were outnumbered, the men obeyed. The FBI officer who had found the doll then forced the men to lead them to where the girls were being kept. They did as the officer said and walked them to a small cabin completely covered by vines, bushes, and trees.

Aarenda was still holding on to Maisi, praying, when she heard the door open. Maisi shrieked, but the noise was muffled by her older sister’s hands. They held onto each other, scared for their lives, when they heard familiar voices. “Aarenda! Maisi!” It was their parents! “Mom! Dad! We are in here!” Maisi and Aarenda continuously yelled. Suddenly a door swung opened and what seemed like a hundred flashlights were pointed at them. Overjoyed, their parents ran up to the girls and hugged them as tightly as possible. Maisi was untied, and an officer checked out the laceration on Aarenda’s head. He said she would need stitches, but it was not a serious wound. The girls and their parents were then loaded into a cop car and taken back home

For the next year or so Aarenda and Maisi were watched at all times by their parents. Their parents got all of their work sent to them by computer, so they never had to leave the girls alone. Though the experience was the scariest thing a teenager could go through, Aarenda knew the experience taught her many lessons. Looking back on it, it actually taught her how to be a better friend, daughter, and especially sister. While the girls and their parents were at the dinner table one night, Mother asked Maisi what she had learned from the experience. Maisi answered,” Never go downstairs to get something to drink by yourself, and never go anywhere without a doll.” As she said this she pulled her baby doll from the pocket of her dress. They all laughed and got into a family group hug. The fact that they could now laugh and talk about what had once been a nightmare really made Aarenda and the rest of her family believe that no matter what happened to them, they could get through it. They were a family. Not even a kidnapping could change that. Even if their bodies were taken, their hearts would always be together.

                                                                       “Time”

By Shane Bryant

“Riiinnnggg” the best part of school had come it was time for Tom to go home. It was tough for Tom. He was only in the tenth grade, but  he had experienced more hard times than most people do in their whole lives. His dad had walked out when he was in fourth grade. Ever since the divorce, his life had become filled with pain and anguish. All the legal battles for his custody left him feeling like he was fighting a battle of his own trying to keep going. He did not want the bad decisions of his parents to affect him anymore.

Tom’s bus driver loved him. He could never tell whether it was actual love or just pity for him. Every time Tom was getting off the bus she would always stare at his house. Tom’s house was an old house. It had been built back in the 1800s. It was a “shack” as all the other kid on the bus called it. The paint was faded and it needed roofing done, but they didn’t have enough money for either.  They all knew it was a wreck, but they never talked about it. His favorite part about getting home was seeing his dog Sam. Sam was a mutt that Tom had found while walking in the woods near his house. He took him in and gave him his table scraps when he needed food. They were too poor to spend there money on dog food his mother had told him.

This never ending cycle of boredom and pain continued on until Tom open a chest that changed his life. It was just another ordinary day for Tom. He was riding the bus home from school and could shake a strange feeling. Something  had felt different about today. When the bus driver arrived at his house, he noticed an odd quietness. Sam had not come to meet him. Tom sprinted to Sam's dog house out in the yard. There he lay with a bullet hole in his abdomen. Tom sunk down on his knees overcome with sadness and confusion. Then his step father walked from around the corner holding his rifle and a whiskey bottle. “Stupid mutt wouldn't stop barking” he said. At this moment, Tom felt more anger than he had ever felt in his life. He sprung at the man with the ferocity of a bear and a lion put together. His stepfather was too drunk to move and was Tom hit him over the head with a shovel. His stepfather was knocked out cold.

Tom was numb as he turned back to Sam. Sam was lying there still warm.  Tom’s stepfather must have shot him moments before he stepped off the bus. Tom decided that he would bury him beside the oak tree in the backyard. He grabbed the shovel and began to dig his best friend’s grave.

As he was digging Sam's grave, Tom hit something hard. He thought it was a rock.  He began to dig a few inches over.  Again, he hit an object that was as hard as rock. Tom decided to dig up this mysterious object. After over an hour of digging and cutting through tree roots, Tom freed the object. It was an old trunk, or atleast it looked old.  Tom thought it looked like something from a pirate movie. Tom thought “what would a pirates treasure be doing all the way up in Ohio.” There was a lock on the front of the chest.  He brushed the dirt off the chest and pull off a root that had grown between the lock. Time had taken it’s toll on the lock. When he struck the lock with his shovel it came off with ease. He opened it up he noticed that it was just a trunk filled with clothes and a pocket watch.  On the back was a small crank. He thought to himself that it must be one of those old wind up watches, so he winded it. As he did, he noticed that he was in the dark. It was night time. This was crazy. Had he found a watch that could allow him travel in time? He turned the wind back five hours and watched time travel back to day.

Tom decided to keep the watch a secret. Later that day, his mom and his grandpa Jeff were arguing about how to pay the bills. While they were arguing, he overheard his mom saying “we are going to lose our house if we don't pay this mortgage payment”. Tom turned on the television in an attempt to tune out the argument. He turned on the only channel they got, the channel 5 news. As he was watching it he heard the anchor talking about the lottery drawing tomorrow he said that it was the biggest lottery jackpot that the state of Ohio had ever had.  The jackpot was up to two point five billion dollars. “That’s it!” Tom thought. He would go forward in time, get the winning numbers, and then come back to buy a ticket. He set the dial forward on the watch until he traveled into tomorrow. When he did he walked into the living room and cut on the tv to channel five news. The lottery was being drawn.  The numbers were nine,six,three,four,and one. He cranked the wind back on his watch and pressed the dial and he was back to the present.

He would buy a ticket and he and his family would never have to worry about anything ever again. He got two dollars from his change drawer and went down to the store.  It didn’t matter that he was underage at this place, they never cared. He bought the ticket he needed. He came home from school that Tuesday morning ecstatic. He turned on the news looked at the numbers and there they were. He took the ticket to his grandpa. His grandpa thought he was pranking him at first. Tom said that he was serious. His grandpa still did not believe him. So Tom told him the whole story about how his stepfather had killed Sam and how when he was burying him he found the chest, got the watch,  and traveled in time. His grandpa said “Show me. I want to see how it works.” So he did. They went forward three hours and Tom showed his grandpa that it was dark outside. His grandpa was amazed. He said “Let's go get our money”. So they set off toward Cincinnati, Ohio where the lottery center was. When they got there they claimed their prize. It was more money than they ever thought they would ever have.

With the money they established a charity for kids who were in a family that had been through a divorce. When he went back to school, he was dressed in new clothes. He did not ride the bus any more.  Instead, his mom picked him up in her new car. All the kid at his school asked him how he had gotten so rich and he told them that his mom had gotten a new job, but they never believed him. He never told any one except his grandpa about the mysterious watch he had found in this chest.

   

“A World with no Morals”

Hugh Cairney

It was envelopes like these that ended any chance Mr. Buff had at a good day. He regarded these envelopes as the single most destructive object in existence. Its presence gave him a dreadful feeling.  Nonetheless, he could not ignore it, and he found that he would have to open it and see what malevolent messages might be inside.

The elaborate detail in which the envelope was decorated gave away its sender and its purpose immediately. It was mostly pure flat black with gold trims and gold lettering. Mr. Buff did not even have to read the return address to find that it was sent from the offices of the Program. Past experiences allowed him to recognize what was probably inside. Although he knew what to expect, he could not help facing the inevitable, and he slowly sliced open the envelope.

The appearance of the actual message was similar to the envelope that carried it. It had the same flat black paper with letters in gold. As Mr. Buff read the message, his heart sank even further than he had expected.

The message was a notification that revealed that the Program had successfully obtained an even higher percent of Mr. Buff’s company, Buff Technologies. Mr. Buff realized with increasing concern that if the Program continued buying stock at this rate in his company at this rate, his company would not be his for much longer. His company would be another gain on the Program’s quest for the ultimate monopoly. In times like these, that seemed like an inevitable reality.

Mr. Buff wished that something could be done about the Program. He knew that attempts had been made to hack into the Program’s program, which was completely illegal, but all attempts had ended in vain. The creator of the Program had taken this danger very seriously. In fact, the Program was able to continue to build defenses without the aid of a programmer.

Mr. Buff was one of only a handful of remaining businesses that were not under the control of the Program. He and the few remaining businessmen all felt that it was just a matter of time until the Program controlled their businesses as well. When that happened, the Program would be able to make decisions without being checked or having to face consequences.

There was only one difference between the Program and Mr. Buff. The Program, being artificial intelligence had no regard for the quality of life for his workers or, in fact, the quality of his product. It was only a computer that computed what combinations had the highest probability for success. Mr. Buff, an actual person, had a sense of ethics. He had difficulty in making decisions that would harm his workers or lower the quality of his product. In fact, it was only Mr. Buff’s sense of ethics that kept him afloat. Many people wanted to work for him, but the Program was able to use other methods to entice possible workers.

As Mr. Buff walked to work that day, a cold, dreary New York morning, he tried to think of a solution to his problem. As he walked, he heard a clap of thunder behind him and it began to hail. Mr. Buff was forced to run for cover and call for a taxi. As he waited, Mr. Buff thought of his options, but just then, a black and gold taxi cab rolled up. Mr. Buff had forgotten that the Program also controlled the taxi companies.

“727 5th Avenue,” shouted Mr. Buff over the pounding of hail. The taxi driver did not even try to reply, but he did nod as if he understood. The noise was overpowering during his ride in the taxi to work. It sounded like a drum with no rhythm. Finally, the taxi pulled up in front of his office tower. He thanked and paid the taxi driver and made his way to the great door of his building. Before he entered, he stopped and stared at the grand sign that was bolted above the door. “BUFF TECHNOLOGIES” it proclaimed proudly. How soon, he wondered, would his business be just another asset of the Program’s possessions. Mr. Buff walked slowly to his office, took a deep breath, and began the long and probably dreadful day.

Mr. Buff had thought of two real options during his ride. He could either hold off the inevitable takeover by the Program for as long as possible. Or he could try to fight back by using similar tactics. He could see that his dilemma was forming into an awful “Catch 22.”

He realized that if he just held off the inevitable, the world would soon be under the control of artificial intelligence doing what it was programmed to do, and with that, the Program could lower the quality of life for workers even further. On the other hand, if he attempted to compete, he would have no choice but to lower his workers conditions as well in order to save money, making him no better than the Program he was resisting.

All the rest of that day, Mr. Buff tried to keep his image cheerful while he privately felt quite crummy. Whenever there was no one in his office, he would collapse and slouch over in his chair. He glanced around the room trying to find an object that would give a clue to what he should do. It was as if he was taking a test trying to find an answer somewhere on the walls. When taking the metaphorical test, you usually search to no avail. As expected, he did not find anything that would help him. However, he continued to search the room with his eyes. It came to a point where he was searching blindly, but he just kept looking because it helped him think.

While he looked around the room, it occurred to him how fortunate he was to still be in business given the current climate. The walls of his office were fashioned in an old-fashioned manner. He had a portrait of himself on the wall behind him and large bookshelves on both his left and right leading to the large, ornate door. It was at that moment that his personal assistant, Ms. Sarah Cassidy, knocked and, upon his approval, entered and began to give him some news.

The first words out of her mouth brought relief to his ears. “Many workers that work for companies under the control of the Program have gone on strike. They are demanding better working conditions. The strikes are mainly occurring at large factories in the rust belt,” she said. Mr. Buff was astonished by his change in luck, hopefully the strikes would allow him to make a comeback by creating jobs that paid less. However he  would offer better conditions. This would allow him to save money and consequently expand his company. He knew that many people would prefer conditions over wages because of how bad their conditions had previously been.

Mr. Buff then realized that he was exploiting a weakness in his possible employees. It bothered him that that is what would have to be done in order to free the world of the control of the Program. Ms. Cassidy continued, “I daresay you understand that you could use these riots to your advantage.”

“Yes, yes,” replied Mr. Buff excitedly. Indeed, this incident practically shouted opportunity. The day that he had started in despair had suddenly changed course. In the world that he lived in, Mr. Buff realized that his priority was to directly compete with the Program. The only way he saw to do this was to give up some of the morals that he wished to keep. This would allow him to work in a way that better matched with the Program’s style of play without going too far. Combined with the fact that strikes were happening in the Program’s factories, Mr. Buff would have a realistic chance to challenge the Program in a way that was not completely devoid of ethical reasoning. The people of the world would just have to accept a world with no morals for a time until things got better.

For the first time in years, Mr. Buff had a feeling he had not gotten in a long time: hope. There was a light at the end of the long tunnel. He would be able to look to the future with a smile and with an attitude that said, “Bring it on!”

Chambers, Willie

It was 10 seconds left on the clock. I had the ball in my hands. The score was 68 to 70, and we were losing. Our rival team, the Tigers, was undefeated and so were we. This game meant a lot to me. My whole family was practically here, and over half of the student body. I could not let them down. I dribbled up the court as fast as I could. Now only 6 seconds was on the clock; I had to make decision to shoot or pass, but my defender was on the side of my hip. I did not want to go into overtime at all. I did two crossovers and left y defender and drove in the paint. I was laying on my back and all I heard was the buzzer go off.

My teammates helped me up with shock. I looked up at the scoreboard and it was 70 to 70. Somehow I had made that layup and got fouled. “If only I can make this free throw, I said to myself,” we would win the game.” The referee gave me the ball and i bounced it a couple if times, then i notice that i was feeling sharp pains in my arm. There was no way I could make this free throw, but I had faith thought. I bent my knees slightly and released the shot. The ball circled around the rim three times and…………….went in. All I could here was chanting and yelling. I literally cried on the court. We had finally beat the Tigers. Although this was a day of celebration, it had also been the worst day of my life. I failed my math and science test, my best friend was mad at me,and I had been informed that I am getting my car taken away for the rest of the year. Not only that but my parents were kicking me out the house.

High school is nothin like middle school. I had to actually study, which took time from me hooping with my bros. On top of that I had basketball practice everyday after school. Therefore it was hard to achieve my goal. To get a D1 scholarship. At the moment I was only a sophomore, and I started on varsity football and basketball. Also I ran track, so I was  extremely busy. I was always an A student, until sports came along. Now I do enough just to pass. What makes this situation even worse is that I do not have my car at all. My parents traded it in for a car of their own. Now all I do is sit here and be jobless, carless, and even parentless.

The playoffs is coming up and I needed to focus on the game, but there could be a chance that I was not gonna be able to play. My grades were now suffering terribly. I was failing math and science. After class my coach pulled me aside and told me I was not going to be able to play in our first playoff game unless, I brought my up average. Well my next test was right before our first game, which made it even harder to focus. The night before the test came, and I was studying my tail off. I knew all my science questions like it was the back of my head……., or at least I thought I did. Apparently my test grade did not correspond with my study time. I barely passed making a 70 on the dot. My average in science was now a 70.00001. Not only could I now play, but also take my team to the finals.

Practice that afternoon was rough, we ran, ran, ran, and ran some more. Coach was insisting that our stamina was going to have to be better, if we was going to win this game. We ran gassers(suicides) all practice long. Matter of fact we did not even touch a ball that day. Well that practice that day helped us out alot. We won our first playoff game and more. We went all the way to the semifinals. My grades was coming up, my parents let me move back in, and I got a brand new car. These few weeks could not have gotten any better, until I got a scholarship to the University of Kentucky to play basketball. My heart was literally exploding out of my chest. This was my dream, and I had accomplished it in the 10th grade.

“We are proud of you son”, said my parents,” is there anything else in this world that you want?”

I shook my head no, but on the inside I was screaming, that I wanted to win this championship.

We won in the semifinals by forfeit. One of the team's key player had got hurt, and did not think they could win without him. So put us in the championship game against our lovely opponents, the Tigers. During ur practices we would often chant” If we beat them before, we can beat them again.” The only problem was that, we only won by one point last time, but hopefully this game would be a different story.

It was halftime, and the Tigers was beating us 46-21. I was extremely tired, because I had score all 21 points. I came into this game focused and prepared, but my teammates looked and played like they did not. I knew that I could not do this by myself at all, but I did not have any help whatsoever. What made this even more embarrassing was, that this game was being televised. Many people were watching us get blowed out by the Tigers. This was humiliating. In that locker room I made up my mind to not lose this game. “If I had to do it all, I was going to do it all,” I said to myself. The third quarter came and the defecate shrunk to them beating us by 10. We had them where we wanted them. We had came back and had a chance to win the game. Unfortunately we lost by 25 points, the score was 63-38. After that game, I threw the ball at my coach, and never played basketball again.

Years have passed. I now have a wife and three kids. To this very day, if I see a basketball; I cry a little. I still remember that night. I carried my team, and we still lost. I had an outrage on the court, which canceled my scholarship, and in the locker room. I remember going home that night and punching holes in my wall. I was so angry at my teammates for not making shots. How could they have not been prepared for the tough atmosphere?  Now everytime I see them; I give them a dirty look. Many times I have wished to go back in time to that game, so I could have never played in it. My future was so bright and wonderful. Everything was going just fine until that day. When I look back now, all I can do is regret. I regret even touching a basketball. I wish I could have played a different sport. Now all I do is work come home and sleep. I screwed up bigtime. I could have been a millionaire, perhaps billionaire. I could have been easily the number one draft pick into the NBA, but it was all because of an outrage. Do I regret it heavily? Yes, but to this very day I still blame my teammates. I had a total of 35 points, and my team scored three lousy points all together. Sometimes I wish basketball was not a team sport.

Although I thought those things, now that I am older, I come to think that it was maybe for the best. Basketball maybe was not for me. I try to think positive about the situation. All things happen for a reason rather we know it or not. When I think about it, I notice that I could only handle so much pressure before raging. The NCAA or NBA would not put of with fighting or outrages on the court. I probably would have easily been ejected from the game or even suspended. Who knows what would have happened to me if that were to happen. I could even possibly be broke and in jail right now. Not only that but I would not dare give up the chance to have three beautiful children and a lovely wife. Although my career was mapped out, God had a different path.

A Tale of Two Dinos

Thomas Conner

  A baby dinosaur is a delicate, fragile thing. During the time when these magnificent beasts were around, the king of them all was the Tyrannosaurus Rex. These apex predators were carnivorous and ate any animal they could get their hands on. A baby though, was quite the opposite. They were young and they needed much care. They didn’t have a grasp on what life was like, and needed someone to teach them. Thankfully, they had their parents.

  There’s a special thing about being a vulnerable baby in a ferocious world. Some don’t make it, others lose their parents to predators, and some are Rexes. Whenever you have parents twice the size of most other predators, you don’t have many things to worry about in your childhood. There’s no way that anything other than a ferocious plesiosaurus could take down a Rex. The only reason that would even happen is because virtually any land dinosaur was vulnerable when in water. Nonetheless, the Rex would still put up a fight.

  Ryker was different than most Rex younglings though. He was intrigued by pterodactyls. One morning, he saw one flying in the skies above and was attracted like a moth to a flame. He wanted to fly. The other Rex younglings teased him about it, saying he was stupid for even thinking that was possible. He didn’t care though. He was determined, and that was all he needed to be driven.

  **********

  

  As time went by, Ryker’s obsession with flying was nothing short of a passion. He worked to become a good hunter, but in his free time he secretly created a pair of makeshift wings using sticks, stones, and cloth, a device mimicking the wings of a pterodactyl, the king of the skies. He had the determination, he had the gadget, he just didn’t have the plan. He knew he wanted to fly, he knew he could fly, he just didn’t where, how, or when.

  He decided to go to the peak of the highest rock in the land, wait for the pterodactyls to fly by him, and soar along with them, which was a risky plan. He knew if the wings didn’t work, it would spell his demise, for no creature could survive that far of a fall. He believed in himself though, which was something no one else ever had done.

  He left early the next morning, getting in some hunting practice. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the idea of the coming afternoon’s events out of his head. The vision of flying had clouded his mind for the past three years, after all. He knew of nothing he would rather do with his time than fly. Though he knew he had his mandatory responsibilities at home, his drive and ambition were on the same thing for three years straight, and he wasn’t going to give up now.

  The day was cloudy, but sunlight shone through the clouds and baked the peak of the mountain. It seemed like a day for achievement and destiny. As Ryker made his way up the mountain, he was precariously hit with the beams of sunlight. While they blinded him, they also warmed his nervous soul, almost to the point of complete confidence. He carried nothing other than his makeshift pterodactyl wings. He knew this was dangerous but his ambition got the better of him and he was fearless.

  As he reached the summit, he noticed the pterodactyls were beginning to head in his direction. Their timing was perfect. He strapped on his wingset, waited for the winds to shift, and jumped.

  The air shot him off like a rocket. He felt like he should be scared, but his adrenaline wouldn’t let him. From the ground and the air, all the dinosaurs admired him as he flew by. He had done it. He was soaring through the air just like he had dreamed. On he went, flying over mountain peaks, volcanoes, and through the clouds. He even had a conversation with some brachiosauruses as he flew over the treetops and canopies. It was exhilarating, and it was all he had dreamed for most of his life.

  Although, while he made his dreams come true, he created a living nightmare for another.

***********

  Peter was a young pterodactyl. He was just like most other younglings, except unlike the others, he couldn’t fly yet. Whenever the time came for him to practice or learn, his wings didn’t wish to cooperate with him. They felt like sturdy restraints, but then turned into flimsy twigs. Some say he’s nervous, which he is, of course. When he needs to learn the one thing he needs to do to survive in the world, no wonder he’s nervous to get it right. His worst fear was failing his family, but something much worse was about to come upon him.

  When everyone saw Ryker fly, the news spread like wildfire. Especially in the pterodactyl community. Peter’s parents were flabbergasted. They couldn’t believe that a wingless creature could find a way to fly, but there own son, who had wings, couldn’t hack it. Ashamed of their son, they shunned him firm the house and family in general. Peter believed they were being too harsh on him and that he would eventually get it all under his belt. His parent’s though, refused to believe in any hope that could have been left and he was dismissed immediately. What was Peter to do now? He had no family to run to, no shelter to stay in, no food to feast on. While Peter’s parents were trying to forget him, he was trying to find someone worthy of remembering.

  

  Peter survived by eating vegetation with friendly brachiosauruses. They took him in and cared for him in a way he had never been cared for. The true children of the brachiosaurus family didn’t take to him too much. They picked and teased him. They called him names like runt, spineless, and a faker. They were the one thing he had wanted, but also didn’t want at the same time. Siblings. He wasn’t very used to this new life style, but he hoped it would become normal.

  For the next few months, he grew in size, and in character. He was nothing like the youngling he used to be. He realised that life was about learning values, love, and relationships. Not flying. The time was coming for him to start catching his own prey. In order to do that, he would need to fly. Naturally, pterodactyl’s were not very good on land. That was their most vulnerable spot. When they were in the air, they were swift, deadly hunters, and a feared monster. The only step left for Peter to be up with the elite, was to fly.

  He wasn’t exactly sure how he would approach the situation. He decided on a very strange, but clever idea. The whole reason his parents had disowned him was because they were ashamed that a Rex could fly and their baby pterodactyl couldn’t. So he thought, If he got me hear, maybe he can also help me out of here. He ventured off towards the home of the Rexes, looking for the one that could fly.

  When he arrived, he immediately recognised the dinosaur known as Ryker Rex. He was wearing wings, and some goggles that looked like makeshift pilot glasses. Peter approached him and explained his situation. He also explained how when he flew, how his parents had reacted.

  Ryker apologized for the dilemma, and agreed to help Peter. For the next few weeks there was nonstop flight training. Ryker may not have had wings, but he understood flight. The physics, after studying them for years on his writing wall, were like a simple math problem to him. He explained the needed velocity, the required wind speed and how to change the wind speed, the height and drop factors, everything there was to know, he knew. Peter learned how to soar, glide, free fall, and catch prey all while flying.

  Ryker had a dream to chase, and Peter had a life skill to learn. Though Ryker was the cause of Peter’s childhood nightmares, he held no grudge against him. It wasn’t his fault his parents acted in such a harsh manner. In the end though, Peter learned the one thing that had held him back all of his life, and Ryker was able to achieve the biggest goal of his life, as well as help somebody else with theirs. Neither of them could be more happy.

                                                “ The Lowly Knight’s Quest ”

                                                       By Logan Crooms

              The Knight awoke from his long, undead slumber, so that he may continue a quest that he failed as he lived. This undead knight was unknown, and rightfully so, as who would grant fame amongst failures? He looked around and realized he was imprisoned, most likely because of his undead nature. He looked behind him to see if there was a way out, but as he did a small clunk was heard in his cell. He picked up the object and realized it was a key, though when he looked up there was bare rock. He looked at the rusted, beaten key. He reached through the bars of the door and unlocked it, but walking out he discovered he was in deeper than he could've imagined.

              He looked down at a warden's corpse, and took his club. The one thing he forgot to think of is, who or what killed the warden? Nevertheless, he carried on. As he walked past the sorry, undead fools in their cages, he wished them luck as he was certain they would never get out. The knight came to a small, round hall, and started to walk toward the exit. There came a large thud behind him, and the gate closed in front of him. He turned and witness the first demon to appear in the land for centuries. Armed with only a club, he had to fight.

              He hit the demon once and it fell. Only on closer inspection, did he notice the single arrow pierced through it’s heart. He looked around for the hidden archer, but was unsuccessful. He left quickly, as he did not know if the archer would turn the arrow on him.  He came to a small courtyard, and met a fellow knight. They greeted each other, and the new knight revealed his name as Mikolash. Mikolash granted the undead knight a blade and a shield, so that he can complete his task easier. The undead knight thanked him, and left, headed toward the large hill behind them. As soon as he stopped, a large animal picked him up, and flew him away. Unaware of the journey ahead, the knight allowed it to carry him to the next destination.

               The animal brought him to The Undead City, but he had no need for pickpockets, thieves, mercenaries, pubs, or overpriced trades. He continued, but hesitantly, for this is an extremely dangerous area. He proceeded, yet could not shake the feeling that he was in over his head. He stopped at a trader who was selling a bow and arrows. Naturally he thought it was too expensive, but bought it anyway. Who knows what good it could do? Just as he finished the trade, he heard a large, beast-like growl. He could hear screams of the victims, crying children looking for their parents, the terrible rips and tears of the beast feasting on the populace. The knight turned, and saw it. He couldn’t describe it, but he knew he had to run. He could hear it chasing him, the beast was so blood hungry that you could throw a rotting corpse with a little blood in it, and the beast would eat like it was its last meal. The knight came to a cliff, blocked by a 50 foot drop into water and sharp rock in front, and blocked by the beast in back. He had no choice. He dove off the cliff.

                The knight awoke upon the beach, surprised he had not drowned. He looked around and saw Mikolash not far away. “ Ahhh, you’re still alive I see. Good. You should continue to the hidden fortress, but before you go. Take this, as it can help on your journey.”

Mikolash gave him a large, translucent sword. Grateful, the knight left for the fortress. The knight slept that night, but had nightmares about what he witnessed in the Undead City, sorry he could not save anyone. The knight woke in a cold sweat. He was close, but he slowed his pace as he was worried about what's coming up. No one has survived the fortress in years. He may be undead, but he feels pain, and death over and over again in painful.

“Tropical Storm”

Katie Curry

“Arianna I’m not touching you.” “I’m not touching you.” Josh said. “You are being aggravating, so leave me alone.” I said with an angry tone. Of course, he did not stop, so I hit him on his arm. After I hit him, he did not stop, but got more obnoxious. From this point forward, I knew this was going to be the longest car ride ever.

Josh, which is six, is my little brother. As you can tell he is very obnoxious and NEVER leaves me alone. I love my brother, but he is a pest. My parents, Sue and Michael, are great, but strict. My dad owns a construction company. My dad is a strong, but stubborn man. My mom, on the other hand, is more laid-back. She loves to help people. Last, but not least myself. My name is Arianna, and I’m seventeen. I love my family, but I am ready to leave the tiny town, I call home, in Mississippi. I’m going to college in a few weeks, so my parents decided to take a vacation for my graduation. We are going to the tropics of Hawaii.

While in deep thought, I was thinking about how college is going to be. Is it going to be scary or fun? Am I going to make any friends? Thinking to myself, no one was going to answer these questions, and I knew that I was going to be the only person that could. Suddenly, I was interrupted by my brother crying. I asked him “ What’s wrong?” He said, as he was sucking up snot, “I’m hungry.” Then, I said, trying to keep my calm, “We are going to stop for food shortly.” Then, Josh said “Thanks big sister, I love you.” When Josh said that, it made all my worries go away, and I was ready to spend this week with my family. Just us and the ocean.

We board our plane, and finally reach our destination. Hawaii is beautiful! The water is clear, and sparkled as if diamonds were floating along the surface. There are so many things to do, but the one thing I want to do most is to see the volcano. We get settled in, and my parents ask “Arianna, what do you want to do first?” I say, with an overly excited tone, “I want to go see the volcano!” They said “ok let’s go.” The volcano is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. After that, Josh says he wants to see more of Hawaii, so we go sightseeing until we cannot see anymore. Finally, we hit the sack for the night.

“Rise and shine!” my Dad says. Then yells, “It is time to get up!” Mom, in a calm tone says, “We have a lot to do today.” Josh and I finally get up, get ready, and eat breakfast with our family. Dad is excited for what we are about to do, and my brother nor I know what we are going to do. Dad finally asks us, “Do you know what we doing today?” Josh and I answer simultaneously “ No.” “Well,” he says, “we are going deep sea fishing.” The one thing everyone knows about my family is that we love to fish. Our family motto is “ Eat, Sleep, and Fish on.” We get dressed, and pack a picnic. We board the boat, and start cruising until the fish finder finds something. We eat, and realize it was starting to get late, but we stay a little longer. Out of the blue, thunder rolls, lightning strikes, and rain starts to pour. It was raining too hard to see, so dad says “stay calm, and everything will be okay.” We are calm, and luckily we had a little roof to protect us from the rain. It was not much, but it was good enough. None of us could go to sleep. The waves are extremely bad, so it feels like we are on a sideways rollercoaster the entire night. Lightning strikes the boat, so Dad rushes over to the radio to see if the lightning messed anything up. It was terrible. Nothing on the boat that is electronic is working. I see the panic in his eyes, but very stubbornly, he tries to hide the fear. I walk up to him and say “Dad, everything will be okay.” For a moment the fear fades from his eyes. I walk over to my brother clutching him in my arms, because he is shivering frantically. Water from the waves, which were at freezing temperatures, feels like someone is punching me in my stomach over and over again. A wave came with every breath I took, until finally I could not breathe anymore.

I woke up to the sun rising. Josh and I are still huddled together like penguins. I wake him up and ask if he is ok. His words are slurred, his breathing is shallow, and his pulse is weak. In high school, I took a health care class. My brother is showing signs of hypothermia. Then, suddenly, he goes unconscious. Mom and Dad rush over, and they start to cry over his unconscious body. I know that he has three minutes to live without oxygen. In health care, I also learned CPR, so I decide I would do everything in my power to save my little brother. I start to do CPR immediately. I do CPR for at least thirty minutes, but never get a pulse. At that moment, I know my brother would never wake up, and he would never say the words I love you again. I start to cry, and as I cry, I feel like the rain is crying with me. The harder I cry the harder the rain comes down. My parents are crying, I am crying, and the storm is crying with us. The storm rages on, so I cry myself to sleep.

The next morning, Mom and Dad, wake me up. The storm has cleared up a little, but not much. Dad tries to crank the boat, but the arrow reads empty. My mom is sitting in the corner of the boat staring out into the ocean. Her eyes full of regret, sorrow, and tears never wanting to meet with mine. I tell her that I love her, and that we will get through this no matter how hard it gets. She turns to me, finally making eye contact, and states I love you too, but never reassures me. Tears start to form in my eyes. I need my mom right now. I need her to reassure me that everything is okay, and to tell me that we will get through this as a family. I go sit in my own corner, and start to cry. Night falls, and so does the rain. Another heavy storm blows in, but it is even worse than the first one. Waves crash into the boat. I can feel my chest getting heavy. It feels like I cannot breath. I close my eyes, thinking maybe this just a dream, but being realistic I know this is a nightmare I will not wake up from. Then, everything goes dark.

I am awake, but I am not on the boat anymore. I realize where I am. I am in a hospital. “Excuse me, I’m Arianna, and I’m looking for my parents.” I say. She acts like I am not even there. I ask several more nurses, but they do the same thing the first nurse does. Suddenly I hear my mom’s voice, but it sounds like she has been crying, so I follow her voice. I make it into a room, but weirdly it has my name on the door. I walk into the room, and see my body lying on the hospital bed. I run to my mom, but she acts just like the nurse. No one notices me. I sit in the chair listening to the doctor and my mom talk. The doctor tells my mom that I am in a coma, and that if I do not start showing signs of brain activity, then I will have to be taken off life support. My mom starts to cry and answers the doctor with an okay. My dad walks in and Mom tells him everything.

Then it hits me! I am having an out of body experience, and I am going to have to wake up. I hear my mom talking to me she says “I love you Arianna, and you are the most amazing kid, I have ever met.” “Arianna, you are a fighter, and I know you will fight your way back to us.” Then she kisses me on my forehead and says “Fight, because we love you. We cannot afford to lose another kid.” she says, holding the tears back. My dad comes in the room next. He says, “Arianna, you are my only daughter, and I want to be able to see you go to prom.” “I want to see you meet the love of your life like I met your mother.” he says. “I want to walk you down the aisle, and give you away.” he states while he is choking up with tears. “Like your mom said “You’re a fighter, so fight.” They both walk in, and sit beside my bed, and suddenly I remember the last days with my brother. The last heartfelt conversation we had was while we were in the car to the airport. His last words were “Thanks big sister, I love you.” I have a vision, and Josh is in it. He says, “Arianna, I want you to know that I died loved.” Josh says, “I know you miss me, and I miss you too, but you cannot leave Mom and Dad behind.” “They need you.” he says in a stern tone. “I love you, and I will always be watching over you.” Mom and Dad are holding my hand now, and i hear the doctor walk in and say it is time, but before he pulls the plug I open my eyes and say “Mom and Dad, I love y’all, and I fought my way back!”  

“Winter’s Fire”

By Shayla Dean

December 18, 3 Days Until Solstice...

Drip. She raised her hand for the fourteenth time, she sighed as once again nothing happened. Drip. A small splash hit the palm of her trembling hand and ran down one of her pale fingers. Drip. A splash hit her cheek and her palm at the same time. It did not take her long to realize the splash on her cheek was not the strange substance coming from above but instead a salty tear. She shook as she wiped it away.

A sudden bang sounded, one which should have startled her, yet it did not. Her body was too weak to involuntarily move, so she simply stayed still.

“Ahh, I see you have awoken child. Tell me, how was your nap?” a cold voice loudly stomped into the room.

“Just wonderful, how may I ever thank you for your hospitality?” a small, razor-sharp mutter rose up from the straw bed on the hard floor.

A booming laugh echoed in the dark, which caused the girl to wince, “I love your fire Rose, such a strange element in such an icy world.”

One Hour Earlier….

Alone on a bench sat a man. A very large man, he would be featured on a television show if he lived in the human world. The bench creaked awkwardly under his 12 foot build, but it held his 400 pounds steadily. He gazed through the ice garden. His eyes lazily passed over the frozen, extravagant fountain in the center and then the trees that spread out in the horizon. In the land of permanent winter, trees never went a day without snow heavily coated on their leaves.

In the serene night Horatio was not surprised when the princess had requested a walk through the gardens. She was a wonderful girl. She had a loving spirit and cared more for the seasons than anyone else. He had been her protector since the day she was born. Suddenly he felt a presence. He jumped to his feet quickly. He knew his princess would have greeted him. He was horrified when he saw the woman who stood behind him.

Ice began to crawl out of her mouth like spiders crawl along their webs, slowly the icicles crept across the ground and covered the giant in what felt like hours. “I believe your services are no longer needed, Horatio.”

Right as his head was being covered in the crystal-like substance, he heard a scream. His princess’ scream.

December 20, 1 Day Until Solstice…

Laying on the floor, Rose thought of her life. She thought of her mother, who died giving birth to her. She thought of her father, a kind old man who constantly reminded Rose she looked exactly like her mom. She thought of Horatio, her protector and best friend. And lastly, she thought of her betrothed. Jason, Prince of Ice. They were set to marry on the 21st day of December, the winter solstice. It would be a large celebration of their power and would begin the season of winter. Unlike her, he embraced his royalty. He was very vain and loved being the center of attention. Although she did not wish to marry him, she had no choice as he could not rule without marrying a princess. He could have chosen any woman in the Kingdom with his devastatingly handsome good looks, but he seemed to genuinely care for her. It was almost as if he loved her.

The bang of the door once again sounded and immediately the princess demanded to be released. “Maria will not stand for this,” she warned her captor.

“Respect your queen, mutt.” a loud, clear voice rang out. The voice was normally kind and soft to her, but now these words had a very harsh tone.

“Mar-my queen,” Rose realized she was doomed. Her powers were great but nowhere near as tenacious as the queen’s.

“You thought I would let you marry my son after what your mother did to me?” the queen snorted, “I agreed to let you become the queen because I wanted to watch her die, the way every princess’ mother dies during birth. She couldn’t handle the power growing inside of her. She was too weak. How stupid did she think I was? I couldn’t forgive her after she stole the only man I could love. You are going to die now Rose.”

As the words left her lips, Rose felt ice trickle towards her.

“No!” somehow Rose found the energy to yell as tears and snot travelled down her face. She raised her hand to stop the ice. In a fairytale, the ice would have stopped, Jason would have saved the day, and they would have lived happily ever after. Unfortunate for Rose, she was not in a fairytale.

Maria laughed, “I will forever rule this land as you and your beastly giant rest as ice statues in the bottom of the lake.”

The ice coated Rose and she was carted away. The journey to the only lake that had not frozen over was long. Horatio watched as his charge was brought to the edge of the water. He knew there would be no saving them when the water froze over. He hoped for someone to rescue his princess, but he saw her hit the water and knew it was over.

Maria was enveloped with her wicked glee and rushed to tell her son of the ‘horrid’ news, “Jason, my darling, I must tell you something.”

“What is it Mother?” Jason looked to the woman he knew faked everything. His mother enjoyed putting on shows and causing pain to other people.

“Rose has went missing.” Maria seemed to have tears shining in her eyes.

“What?!” Jason roared.

Bystanders quickly fled. Everyone knew not to be in the way of their prince when he was angry. Jason insisted that all the Kingdom’s land be searched for his bride.

December 21, Day of Solstice….

Inside of her icy prison, Rose felt hot. Her skin burned as if she was standing on the sun. The heat radiated from her bones, and Horatio watched in awe as she glowed a vivid golden color. He had to look away as she shined brighter and brighter. Her shell began to crack. It exploded away from her suddenly and she was free. She hurriedly swam to Horatio and released him as well. They made it to the shore, and her skin began to dim back down to its natural color.

“Wha-what happened to me?” she pleaded to her guardian as tears filled her eyes.

“We must talk somewhere safe,” he ushered her through the trees until he reached a certain circle of frozen over willows with interlocking branches. The moss hanging from their branches shifted like a curtain for them to walk through.

It was a large circle, completely closed in. Rose had never seen it before, but Horatio assured her it was a place of her mother’s.

“Please tell me what happened in the lake,” a tear slipped down the cheek of the frightened girl.

“Your powers woke up,” Horatio seemed happy and heavy hearted at the same time.

“Powers? I don’t have summer powers. I’m a winter princess.”

“Your father was a winter knight, you know this already. Your mother, on the other hand, was a summer princess. She ran away to be with your father after they fell in love.”

Strangely enough, it made sense. Rose did not have the pale white or pitch black hair of the winter court. Rose had hair the color of bronze and green shiny eyes she received from her mother.

“The people of winter do not have green eyes or golden brown hair. Your mother claimed to be half human to hide her true summer heritage.”

Rose was speechless. Without a word, she turned on her heel and ran. She knew she looked appalling, but she could not let Maria get away with harming her.

When she arrived at the castle, she was greeted by the sight of Maria giving a speech. A speech that Rose should have been giving right before she was crowned. She ran through the crowd and found Jason.

“Jason, you have to help me. She did it! Maria kidnapped me and threw me into the lake with the help of Mr. Wolfe!”

Jason laughed as he turned to the people gathered below him and declared her as a traitor, “She abandoned us. She will die.”

Rose screamed when she realized her betrothed wanted her dead, and suddenly she was being shaken. With a gasp, she shot up in bed.

“Pre-wedding jitters?” Jason asked gently.

“Yeah,” her reply came out shaky, “it was just a bad dream.”

The town of magic.

Edge, Riley

The sunset. That is when everyone gets done with their work outside and come inside. Those people work for 12 hours. They would come inside sometimes to get a drink of water, then go back outside to work. When the people who worked would hurt in their back, they knew that their ward work payed off.

Cornelia Winter, a 47 year old woman with blonde hair and light green eyes, took a day off from work. While enjoying her day off, she started thinking. She thought to herself,”I am getting tired of working. I do my job everyday. I deserve a break.” Cornelia liked that idea and made a plan. Her plan was to get everyone in the town to meet up and talk about working and the break. Cornelia did not know when to have the meeting, so she started thinking some more. She thought since she was getting tired maybe everyone else is. After she got finished picking around in her brain, she knew when she was going to call up the meeting.

Posters were set up everywhere outside. People looked at the posters which said that there was going to be a meeting held on the second day of next week. The people of the town were curious and decided they wanted to go. Those who read the posters went home at the end of the day wondering what was going to happen during that meeting.

Finally, the day of the gathering came. Everyone who knew about it went and sat down in their chairs. Cornelia was trying to get everyone to pay attention so she could speak. It was so loud that she had to yell to get everyone’s attention. Once the people were quiet and paying attention, she started with her speech.

“People, you have gathered here because I wanted to tell you something. Most of you in here work, right. I do. I work and get tired. That got me thinking that a break would be nice. You all want a break, right?”

“Yes!” most everyone shouted.

“Well then. Everyone who wants a break, raise your hand.” Cornelia counted how many hands were raised. “ Now, for those who do not want a break, raise your hand.”

Cornelia add up how many hands were raised for no break. After that, she found out what was majority. It was the break. People were happy now. They just wanted to know one thing.

“How long is the break?” someone asked.

Cornelia did not know how long to make it. She thought to herself that if the break was too long, people would be too tired to go back to work. Then she found out that if the break was too short, then the people did not get the rest they wanted. Cornelia thought so much that she forgot she was at the meeting.

“Hey, we asked a question and we want to know what is answer is.”

“Fine,” Cornelia finally answered, “our break will be two days.”

“When does it start?” asked another man.

“Tomorrow,” Cornelia said getting mad over all of the questions. Now that the meeting was over, she was glad.”

The next day came, and it was very hot. It was hotter than it usually was. Cornelia went outside to check the thermometer she had set up outside, but she saw something that struck her attention. People were outside. They were not outside just to be out there, they were working. Cornelia was curious about why everyone was outside working. She went and asked someone why they were out there. She was expecting a response, but there was no response given. Cornelia went around to face the person working. Something was strange about the working person’s face. The eyes were swirling. Cornelia left the person and went inside to see what happened.

After she went inside, she remembered that there was an evil fairy who liked to mess with people. She then thought about the whole thing and said,”The evil fairy did this! She put her dust on everyone to make them go back to work, even though they did not want to work!” Cornelia did not know what to do. She just waited until the next day.

The next day came. Cornelia walked outside and heard a noise. She looked around to see where the noise was coming from. It was not coming from the working people. She went around the corner to find the noise and there it was. The noise was coming from the bad fairy. There was a good fairy involved. They were fighting. Cornelia noticed that the bad fairy had taken the dust from the good fairy. The fairy was good wanted her dust back. She could sprinkle it on the people to make them how they were before.

The good dust was finally rescued. Now the fairy was able to sprinkle on the people. The good fairly started putting the dust on people, and the bad fairy just stood and watched. Cornelia thought that was unusual. Because of that, Cornelia watched to see if the people would quit working. They did not.

“Your dust is not working, is it not?” said the evil fairy.

“What have you done?” replied the good fairy.

“Nothing. Just taken the good out of your dust and put it in this jar.”

The jar is held in the air. Cornelia had an idea. She would run and grab the jar, the evil fairy had her back facing Cornelia, with only herself and the good fairy knowing. Well, she went and grabbed the jar with the good in it. She threw it to the good fairy and said,”Go put it on the people. That will make your dust work.”

The evil fairy was mad and started running towards Cornelia. They started to fight. The evil fairy did not even think about the good one. She was to focus on fighting Cornelia. While they were fighting, they started talking.

“You just had to get the good.”

“Yes. I am not evil like you. I am not thinking about it, nor will I ever think about it.”

“Who are you?”

“Cornelia Winter.”

“I have never heard of you.”

“No one has.”

“What do you mean?” said the evil fairy confused. Even though she was confused, she still spoke with mad tone in her voice.

“I am really a trained agent. No one has ever know that, except for my trainers.”

“Well, now someone knows.”

“No they do not.”

“Again, what do you mean.”

“Oh, nothing,” said Cornelia, so she is called. She then punched the evil fairy. The evil fairy fell on the ground. “Cornelia” was happy, the people were saved, and the good fairy got her good dust fixed. The town was happy now.

 “Will You Help Us”

A Really Short Story, by Abby Enzor

I had only opened my store 30 minutes ago, and I was already getting irritated with my customers.“I’m sorry ma’am, but I can not take songs off of a CD that you haven’t bought. If you’ll buy a blank CD, I can burn any songs you want onto it.”

“But that will cost me more!” complained my customer.

“Well, yes, it would, but there’s no other way.”

“Humf. I’ll just take my business over to Randall's Records.” and with that, the customer walked away, with her nose in the air, acting like a spoiled child who’d been denied ice cream before dinner.

After I was sure she had closed the door, I let out a sigh of relief. You would have thought that I would have been a little distressed about losing a customer, but honestly, I wasn’t. That woman was always a pain in my butt every time she came into my store. She always wanted to buy half a record, or get a 75% discount on her purchases because she stubbed her toe on her way into the store. “At least she can give Randall trouble.” I thought happily to myself. At least now I don’t have to deal with that woman's crazy antics.

Randall has always had some unknown revenge plan for me that I could never stop, and I could never figure out. Even when we were kids he would harass me constantly. He acted like I ran over his dog, and stuffed cute little woodland creatures into pies in my free time.

The woman hadn’t been gone long when my next customer popped into the door. As soon as he was inside he was dashing around like a madman. First, he went to the front left corner (where I had no displays), then to the front right corner (which just had windows on both sides). I stood there in wonder for a few seconds, just staring at him. His long trench coat brushed the ground as he moved about, giving the illusion that he had no feet. Finally, I remembered my words and decided to speak to him.

“How can I help you, sir?” I said uncertainly.

He didn’t respond, instead, he turned to look at me and I realized that I’d made the mistake of calling she a him. The person who turned to look at me was not a man in a trench coat, but a woman.

“Uhhh, I mean ma’am. How can I help you, ma’am.” I corrected myself.

Instead of answering me, she simply stood there and stared at me for a few seconds, narrowing her eyes until they were slits.

“I seriously doubt that you could help me, but I suppose it's worth a try.” She paused a second before continuing. “Have you ever, in your lifetime, seen this symbol.” she held her hand out towards me with the palm facing the ceiling. From her palm, an image like a hologram materialized. The image was of a spiral, but it looked like the spiral had been originally an arrow and someone had twisted it so that the fletchings were on the outermost part of the spiral, and the arrowhead was on the innermost part of the spiral. At this display of a hologram sprouting out of a mysteriously cloaked woman's hand, I fainted.

When I woke up I found several faces staring down at me,including the strange hologram woman.

“See, I told you she’d wake up eventually,” I heard a New York accent say, “It only took her two hours.”

“Well that's still two hours that we’ve wasted, and I’m sure that they're not going to give us any more of a head start.” stated the hologram woman. “Come on! Up, Up!” she urged me, while she started to reach for my shoulders to pull me up. But before she could touch me I wriggled away on my back, pushing off the ground with my feet. I managed to evade her grasp but could go no further than a few inches because my head bumped into someone’s feet. “Now dear, we don’t mean to hurt you. We need your help.”

“You need my - wait what?” I couldn't get my mind wrapped around all of this. First, this woman comes in and shows me a weird symbol, then whenever I faint, she invites all of her weird friends over to stare at me on the floor, and then she decides to ask me for my help. What kind of wack jobs are these people?

“I said, we need your help. What part of that is hard to understand.”

“The part where you and all your friends just show up and stare at me on the floor and want me to help you with something.”

The woman just stared at me then. She seemed to be running out of patience for me. “Oh well I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t realize how busy and successful your business is. I mean not a single person has walked through that door since me and my companions, but maybe I'm wrong and you don’t have loads of free time that you could spend helping others.”

“Well I-”, I couldn’t finish my sentence because she had a point, and there was no need in wasting my breath in a fight that had already been won. I let out a sigh of defeat, “Fine, what do you want.” at this the hologram woman and her companions looked at each other in disbelief.

“We need a place to hide.” the woman replied. For a second I forgot to close my mouth. When I realized that it was open I closed it, swallowed, and tried to form words.

“And how am I supposed to do that.” I made sure that each word was articulated as well as I could so that no miscommunication could happen.

“Just keep us in your back room, we won’t make any noises that would cause suspicion, and all you have to do is give us enough food every day, which we will fund obviously.”

“Ya’ know what, fine. Just fine. I don’t even care anymore at this point.” and with that, I got up off the floor, dusted off my butt and thighs, and crossed the room to the bookshelf behind the counter. “Well, are you comin’?” I asked all of them. Until now they had all been staring at me with their mouths open, looking extremely surprised, but now they were all hurrying towards me as a group.

I pulled a book off the shelf that was located close to where a doorknob would be if this were a regular door and placed it on the counter behind me. Then I reached into the bookshelf where the book had been and twisted. I heard the click of the doorknob hidden behind the bookshelf and pulled, revealing my hidden back room, where I keep my safe and other expensive items that I don’t trust to leave out on display. “Ta-da.” I said as they all shuffled through the doorway., “A perfect place to hide out.”

The next day when I opened up my shop, someone was waiting for me at the door. It was the exact person I didn’t want to see ever in my life, Randall.

“What do you want Randall.” I said.

“Well good morning to you too.” he replied.

“Don’t you have a store to open too.”

“Ehhhh, my hours are flexible. And besides, I want to know why so many people came into your store between eight thirty and nine yesterday but didn't come back out again.”

“I see you're stalking me again.”

“Answer my question.”

“Because I had a family reunion and I let them go out my back door so they could get home faster. Last time I checked, that's not illegal.”

“Maybe it’s not but it sure is weird because I could have sworn that the way from the back of your store was a longer route.”

“Why do you know where my family members live.”

“Not important. Well I must bid you ado, I have a shop to open.” and with that, he walked away from me.

   Later that day two official looking men came into my store. “Excuse me ma’am is your name ‘Nancey Flood’?” one of the two men asked me as he pulled out an FBI badge.

“Yes sir, it is. Can I ask what your business is here.” I replied

“Certainly. We are investigating a few missing persons and wanted to know if you’d seen any of them.” he held up photos of the people that I had hidden the day before. My mouth went dry, and I knew I had to choose whether I should lie or not. Then the other man who had been quiet this whole time pulled a gun out of his coat and pointed it at me. Suddenly the option to lie seemed to vanish.

“Uhhh, just a second I’ll get them right to you.” I turned around to the bookshelf, pulled out the book, and turned the knob. As the door was opening a crack I put my face to where everyone inside could see me mouth “I’m sorry.”, then I threw it open the rest of the way so that they could see the two men and the gun. I could see their faces turn from betrayal to rage as they stood up and faced the door.

Before I knew it they were all at the doorway glaring down the two men. Then they were out of the room and past me like they were challenging the men to shoot. When they got within three feet of the men, the group of mysterious people did strange things. One man seemed to produce four knives from his chest and throw them at the men, another grabbed the nearest metal object and began to melt it and throw globs of glowing  hot metal at the men, the hologram woman unbuttoned her trench coat to reveal a blinding light that pushed the men, cut and burnt, out the door and staggering out onto the street.

“We’ll be leaving now.” said the woman, and before I could object they were out the door and following the FBI men.

“The Old Man and the Pigeons”

Jack Fernandez

         Mr. Harold Jernigan is an 80 year old man who has been living alone for quite some time since his wife passed away.  Sitting on his couch late in the afternoon watching the evening news, he sees a news report about the pigeons in one of his local parks being waved away by children and adults. This upsets Mr. Harold because of his love for pigeons and the company they give to him when he feeds them almost everyday. It is hard for the pigeons to find food because of the cold Christmas season in New York City. The pigeons at Mr. Harold’s favorite park, Central Park, are so used to his visits that they wait for his arrival to his spot in the middle of the park at a bench perched right under a sycamore maple tree. The number of pigeons that visit become greater and greater each week as more pigeons come from other parks. Harold enjoys feeding the pigeons and always has plenty of bread crumbs with him on his visits to the park.

         It was evening in the big city. Harold had just come back to his apartment after a long visit at the park. He sat down in his recliner and waited for 2 phone calls, one from his son who is married and lives in Alabama, and the other call he was expecting was going to come from his daughter who is also married, but she lives in California. Both of his kids were supposed to come visit for Christmas. Suddenly, the phone rang. The first call was from his daughter, Sarah.

         “Hey Dad, how was your day?” Sarah started with a chirp in her voice.

         Mr. Harold told her all about his day at the park and about the pigeons meeting him at his bench everyday. He got so into conversation that he grew more eager to hear that she was coming to visit for the first time in 2 years.

         “That’s great Dad,” the chirp in Sarahh’s voice had vanished as she tried to sound happy for her father. There was silence over the line. “Listen Dad, I’m really sorry but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it out all the way to New York this year. Money is tight and the plane ticket it just too much right now. I hope you can understand. I love you and I’ll make it up to you.”

         Harold looked out into the dark snowy street after he had received the bad news and decided that just because his daughter could not come for a visit, that does not mean that his son, Jason, would not be able to come either. His heart had dropped, but now it was halfway up again as he waited for his son’s call.

         The call came. It went just like the first. Jason had asked his father how he had been doing and then whined out an excuse as to why he and his family would not be making the trip this holiday season. That had done it. Harold’s heart had dropped even farther than before and he burst into tears. He had been alone without his wife for 5 years and he had not seen his kids in 2 years. He had little friends, only the nice people from the church that he attended regularly every month, he had no company except for the pigeons that he fed every day. Mr. Harold Jernigan had never felt so unloved by his loved ones.

         The next day, Harold had stayed in bed all day because of the depressing news he had received the night before, twice, by both of his children. The sun was pouring through his window. It could have possibly been the warmest weather New York had ever received only 4 days before Christmas, yet he stayed in bed not even feeling the urge to go see his flying friends. After his third nap of the day, there was a soft tapping sound at his window. Curious, he stood up and approached his window to find out that there were pigeons reminding him that he was not alone. Harold threw on some clothes and headed to the park.

         Once he was near his bench, he noticed that today it was not empty. There sat a man and a little girl.

         “Hello, my name is Harold,” he started as he began to sit down, “don’t mind me, I just enjoy feeding these pigeons.”

         “Hello, sir, I’m Jason and this is my daughter, Annabell. You can call her Anna,” the man introduced himself as he looked up in disbelief at how many pigeons were flying in, “uhh, it’s nice to meet you.” He was still bewildered as he sat down again.

         Mr. H talked back to the man as he started throwing out the bread, “Nice to meet you as well, Jason and you too, Anna.” Harold smiled genuinely at the little family, which had been his first smile all day.

         “Anna, would you like to help me feed the birds?” Harold offered.

         “Yes, please.” She replied as he started to hand her bread crumbs.

         Harold noticed that she was a bit shy, which was normal for such a young child. He wondered her age, so he finally asked. He found out that Anna was 8 and her dad, Jason, was 36 and that there was no mother anymore because she died of cancer a couple years back. He also discovered that their family lived far away and would they would be alone this Christmas.

         “We’re in the same boat this season,” Harold announced with a sigh, “my son and daughter called me last night and told me that they cannot visit because of the distance of travel. But all is well, at least we have each other right?” He ended with a laugh because he was only half joking.

         To Harold’s amazement, Jason offered up a thought, “You’re right Harold, why don’t you come over and eat with us on Christmas Eve?”

         “Well,” he was taken by shock at this, “that would be delightful.”

         The three continued to talk, even after the pigeons had flown off, and came up with a plan for the dinner. Jason and Annabelle would walk over to Mr. Harold’s apartment to pick him up and then guide him back to theirs. Harold tried not to seem too eager for the dinner, but his heart was overjoyed. They finally got up and went their separate ways. Harold thanked them for their company and for the invitation. He was starting to feel loved again.

         The day had come. It was Christmas Eve. Harold had been looking forward to his evening with his new friends. He looked forward to his evening so much that he got ready 2 hours too early. He sat in his recliner and just smiled until he heard the knock on his apartment door.

         “Merry Christmas Eve Mr. Harold!” Anna burst through the door and gave Harold a big hug. He went to grab his coat on his recliner and then they were on the way.

         They carried on a conversation all the way to the apartment, which was only about a block down from Harold’s. Annabelle took the lead as she ran up the steps to the door,

         “Come on Dad I’m starving!”

         Jason laughed at his daughter and her overdramatic fashion. He unlocked the door and the aroma of the food drifted right into Harold’s nostrils. The smell was almost glorious. He had tried cooking for himself before, but he had not had a good home cooked meal in a very long time.

         Harold started to cry. When he was asked what was wrong he replied that nothing was wrong, but the last Christmas Eve dinner he had was with his wife before she passed away and he was just very thankful that he could join in with his new friends tonight and eat.

         The dinner went great. There was never a dull moment at the table. Harold had not had such a great time in a while. He was grateful that God had put this little family into his life along with his birds. Now he had 2 sets of pigeons to keep him company, only one set could not fly. Jason and Annabelle continued to visit with Mr. Harold Jernigan weekly & he never felt unloved again.

“Little World”

By Nicholas Gareis

The house came to crashing stop, causing plates and bowls to come tumbling down from their resting spots upon kitchen counter. The man of the house stood up quickly from his bed in a fit of rage. “Honey, we REALLY need to think about settling down somewhere permanently!” he yelled to his partner in love.

“I know that we need to Kurt, but we haven't come across a good spot to stop.” replied the man’s wife sweetly trying to calm him down. Kurt grumbled as he walked to front door of the old wooden house. The boards creaked under every footstep from being overused for so many years. The door opened with a squeak of protest and a wave of salty air rushed Kurt’s nose. Kurt’s mouth was dropped open with shock of the mass of blue before him. He stared out into the sea attempting to take in the site. Kurt snapped out of his shock to the sound of a low moan. He moved to the railing and leaned over trying to get a better view of the source. It came from the turtle which the couple’s house currently resided on.

The little couple, Kurt and Anni, had built their house upon the back of a turtle as a safety precaution. Being up high and on a powerful turtle keeped them safe from the hungry rodents and insects below. Most bigger predators- like foxes and eagles- were caught off guard by the strange giant wooden growth on turtle’s back. They had made a rough life pretty easy so far.

Kurt grabbed a pair of strong gloves from a little wooden box, residing next to a rope. He jumped onto the rope, quickly descending down with his gloves to protect his fragile hands. Once upon the ground, he ran out onto the sand away from the turtle. Kurt flopped into the sand, watching the tortoise dig heartily into the sand with its humongous front claws. Kurt was not focusing on the tortoise but the wonderfully blue ocean past it.

He was caught by the beauty it showed him until fear slam into him. Kurt suddenly realized what was happening before him.

The turtle was not digging a hole to relieve itself but to make a nest. Kurt the understood everything that was happening. The turtle was actually a tortoise and for that reason they were at the ocean shores. It was a making a nest to which to lay eggs in and protect the young. Finally it would go out to the ocean back into it’s natural habitat. Kurt paled as he made the connections in his brain. The house would be completely destroyed in the ocean leaving nothing remaining. Little time was left as the tortoise was finishing it’s deep hole. Kurt trudged through the sand as he sunk into it, making his progress painstakingly slow back to the house. He could not tell how long it took him to make it back to the dangling rope. With the gloves still on his hands he ascended the rope as quickly as his arms could take him. He groaned while pulling himself upon the porch of his old house, before rushing through the door.

Kurt yelled loudly “Anni, gather your things, we need to get out of the house quickly!”

There was loud clanking and crashing as Anni came rushing from the kitchen repeatedly asking “What’s wrong Kurt?”

Kurt with fear racing through him told her “No time to explain, we need to leave!”

Anni noticed the sweat, his terrified expression, and him rocking side to side on his feet. Without another word she ran to her room upon the second floor boards creaking as she went. Kurt, following his own orders ran after her to gather his own stuff. The house was no longer being shook around. The tortoise must have finished the nest and was being the process of laying her young. The couple did not have much time before the tortoise hid her young and made for the ocean waves. Anni was threw a heap on clothing into a large bag before grabbing another one and sprinting for the kitchen. Kurt followed in his wife’s footsteps and throwing a heap of his clothes into his travel bag. He proceeded to grab a small red bag from the old closet and walking into the bathroom. He scooped whatever medicine he could find, not bothering to see if it was really medication. Putting the strap of the red bag through his arm, to rest it on his shoulder. Kurt sprinted from the bathroom through the bedroom, snatching up his and Anni’s bags. He tumbled down the stairs upon as the house shook violently. Ignoring the pain he adjusted the bags and returned to sprinting for the front porch. Anni exploded from the kitchen as silverware and kitchen appliances tumble and crashed to the ground. She also carried a bag on her shoulder except her bag was filled crashing of items forcely ramming against each other.

Once on the porch, Kurt noticed the box containing the box of gloves had been knocked off into the sand below. With the three bags still on his arms he pulled off his gloves and gave the hand protection to his wife. Anni hesitated before accepting the gloves. She knew he was just doing his job as a man. He swore during the wedding so many years ago to protect her, against the dangers of the world. She went down the rope with her one bag resting on her shoulder.

Ocean began to eat at the sand as the tortoise slowly descended into the endless waters. Kurt wasted no time following his wife down the rope. The rope felt no remorse as it peeled and blistered his Kurt’s hands. The three bags on his shoulders increased the speed in which he slid down the rope, which made the pain nearly unbearable. Within seconds Kurt landed in a heap beside his wife. He stood up, dropping the bags into the sand. His wife stood there mouth opened wide, staring at the tortoise as it entered the ocean. The harsh waters devoured the house in a matter of seconds. The sounds of wood snapping and crashing into each other was audible in the air. It only served to hurt the couple ‘s feeling of hope or happiness.

Kurt grabbed Anni with a scraped and bleeding hand, to pull her away from the grabbing waters. They trudged through the sands with the bags slowing their progress. It could have been a hour or even four. They did not care about the passing of time yet exhaustion would not be forgotten. They flopped into the sand totally worn of all energy.

Anni looked at Kurt, her fast lacking any sign of hope. “What do we do now?” Anni asked sounding depressed. Kurt searched through his bag rigorously for something. He pulled out a pair of toughly woven hiking pants, and from the right pocket he pulled a crumpled map. He spread out the map holding the top corners with his hands and the bottom with his knees. Anni watched desperately look over the map over and over.

“I..I don’t know what to do,” he fumble to say, “the closest surviving civilization is Ravenholm. It could take weeks to get there and, you know that place is cursed with plagues and enemies.”

Anni’s eyes hardened at the sound of Ravenholm. “If that’s what it takes to survive, then we shall march their until we die.”

Kurt nodded heavily. He did not like the idea of going anywhere near Ravenholm at all. He stood up gathering his three original bags and Anni with her one stood up. Remembering the words from travelers “Old Ravenholm, we don’t go there anymore.”

He took his first step on a long and difficult journey.

“A Silent Assassin”

By Carrie Gilbert

Celeste steadied her hand, taking a deep breath. She softly pulled the smooth trigger and watched as the bullet slipped silently through the barrel and into the dummy’s head. She exhaled and turned around to see Jasper’s approval at her success. He grinned, giving her a thumbs up from inside the bulletproof glass room. He entered the training room with his carefree air. He was so laid back all of the time, unlike Celeste.

“Oh, Celeste,” his voice echoed in the spacious room, “I always knew you were special! With an aim like that, you will have no problem with the president of the rebellion tomorrow. ”

Celeste’s stomach churned at his praise; she had tried not to think of the dreaded day that seemed to loom over her like a dark cloud. She faked a smile, for she did not want Jasper to know of her fears. His eyes flashed with what looked like suspicion, but as soon as she had noticed the change of expression, he was smiling again. Celeste avoided his piercing gaze as he dismissed her to dinner. She stiffly walked out of the training room, aware of Jasper watching her the whole.

After eating dinner, Celeste went straight up to her room. Well, it was not exactly her room, but it was the room she stayed in at the Main Mansion. She had been there for almost two months, training. She was just getting used to the fancy food and soft bed they provided her with, and she knew if she completed her task, she could always live like this. Celeste thought about this as she sunk down in her silken bed. It would really be too easy; she would just aim the gun, pull the trigger, and in less than a day, she would be a hero. Though no matter how many times she went through the steps in her mind, she was always uncomfortable with what she had to do. She did not want to kill the rebel’s president, but she did not want to betray her home country of Irema either. Besides how did she know the rebels were not right? Their intentions always seemed good, and they rarely hurt or killed anyone. They seemed so different from the government officials of Irema, who killed without thought and were cruel to anyone suspected of treason. These thoughts of rebels and death crowded Celeste’s thoughts as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, Celeste felt like it had only been a few minutes since her head hit the pillow. She rolled over to see three young women waiting patiently beside her bed. She would have been alarmed, but these girls worked with her a lot. They would bathe her, clothe her, fix her hair, and do her makeup on special occasions, and Celeste guessed assassinating someone qualified as a special occasion. Her hairdressers were actually her closest friends at the Main Mansion, and they were always so kind.

One of them, Tressa, explained to her what they would be dressing her in and how her hair would be done. Celeste barely heard her, though; her mind was solely fixed on the impossible task ahead of her. The other two young women, Kallie and Dina, gently guided her to the bathroom that adjoined her room. They both seemed to realize she was in a fragile state. As the girls washed her, dried her, and tugged her hair, Celeste realized how grateful she was for them; they excelled at their job, and each of them held a special place in her heart.

When they were finished with her hair and makeup, they helped her slip out of her satin bathrobe and step into a fitted, dark gray suit. They made some finishing touches on her makeup then turned her around. When Celeste looked in the mirror, her breath caught in her throat. She was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in an intricate braid, and her makeup was simple yet astonishing, causing her hazel eyes to pop. Her outfit was dark against her fair skin, and the fitted material flattered her figure. She was surprised at how her hairdressers made her look innocent and menacing at the same time. Celeste turned around to see the three girls gazing at her in wonder. She swept them all in a huge hug, tears stinging her eyes.

“Thank you for everything,” Celeste whispered, becoming sad for her friends. “I am going to miss you so much.”

“But you are not going anywhere, Miss,” Kallie said, confused. Celeste just held them tighter because little did they know, she was going somewhere.

Celeste was escorted outside by four soldiers. The wind was blowing in cold gusts, almost knocking her off of her feet. Dark clouds covered the sky as if promising an inevitable storm. Celeste shivered, not only from the cold. She could not help but feel like something very bad was about to happen.

“...all for coming to hear me out peacefully.” The rebel’s president was just finishing a short speech when Celeste and the soldiers arrived unnoticed at the supposedly “peaceful” meeting between the rebels and Irema. She was still unsettled by the fact that Irema’s leader, President Rozon, had lied to the rebels. He was manipulative and devious. This was not going to be a peaceful meeting at all if he had anything to do about it.

The rebel president (Celeste was pretty sure her last name was Dubree) started another speech about the rebels intentions and opinions on government when Jasper subtly tapped Celeste’s shoulder. He gave a small nod towards President Dubree, and Celeste gulped; it was now or never.

She raised her small rifle, the metal cool against her hands. No one seemed to notice the small action since she was almost in the very back. Closing one eye she aimed, the sight on President Dubree’s temple. One million thoughts went through Celeste’s mind in a split second. What would her future hold? Why did everyone expect her to do this? What if President Rozon was wrong? Why was this happening to her? Before she knew it, she turned the gun away from President Dubree, her mind made up. She had just taken a breath when, without any warning, President Rozon crumpled to the ground, sending a chain reaction of confused murmurs across the crowd. Celeste gasped. The smooth black rifle slipped out of her quivering hands, and the sound resonated in the now still air. It was as if even Mother Nature was holding her breath. A wave of heads turned toward her at the sharp sound of her gun hitting the cobblestone street. She could feel hundreds of eyes burning her, but none as smoldering as Jasper’s.

Celeste ran. She flew across the cobblestones, faster-faster-faster, away from what just happened, until she collapsed to her knees. Taking gulping breaths of cold air, she heard gunfire in the distance behind her. She thought about might be going on back there. She hoped no one else was dead. She was beginning to worry about her Ireman friends and was contemplating turning around, when she heard quick footsteps and loud voices approaching. No one else was on the street, and all of the small shops were closed, so she was sure these people were coming for her. Celeste began to flee again, all the while looking behind her for the source of the noise. Just when some people came into view, her foot caught on one of the rough cobblestones, and she found herself falling forward. She tried to catch herself with her arms, but her reflexes were not fast enough. Everything went dark.

Celeste awoke with a throbbing head. Her mind felt like an empty void. She blinked several times to clear her blurred vision, and she realized where she was. She was on an enormous helicopter with several strange people surrounding her. She scrambled up to her feet; these were rebels. The strangers turned to see her, now awake, with a wild look in her eyes. One of them, a woman, stepped towards her with a grateful expression.

“Thank you,” she murmured holding her hand in a strange gesture, and the rest of the group followed suit. Celeste was extremely confused.

“For what?” she asked. “I did not do anything.”

The woman gave her a strange look. “For shooting President Rozon.”

Celeste swallowed. “That was not me,” she said inducing many strange looks from the rebels. “I was going to, but before I even pulled the trigger, he just...he just collapsed,” Celeste explained, her voice shaking tremendously. The group of rebels gathered together and quietly talked for a few moments. Then, the same woman from before came forward.

“We do not know who shot him, but what we do know is when you dropped the rifle and ran off, you started a small revolution.” The woman paused. “I’m happy to say that the rebels won. Some of the Ireman soldiers were actually rebels in disguise, and with their help, we overtook the government. No more Ireman citizens died other than the president. We thank you for the signal you unknowingly gave.” The woman stepped back again.

After hearing this information, Celeste let out a breath she did not know she was holding. Her Ireman friends were okay! She thought about how she had almost killed President Rozon. She was mostly glad someone else was the killer, but she was almost regretful she had not pulled the trigger sooner.

“So, what state is Irema in now?” she wondered aloud.

“Not Irema,” a familiar voice said, and Celeste’s heart stopped when she turned around to see Jasper’s smiling face in the shadows, “America.”

                            The Lights

by Jakob Hill

It was the 11th of January, a blistering cold Wednesday, with the smell of pollution lingering in the air. My car would not start probably because motor might be frozen, because of these extreme North Dakota temperatures. My daughter Susie was throwing up sick and since her mother was not around anymore, I had to stay home to watch her. This would be the first time in a long time since I had three jobs, and sometimes I even needed donations just to help pay some of the bills I could not otherwise.

Later on that day after I got my daughter’s fever down, I called a repairman to come look  at my truck. He said my battery was completely frozen through. He generously said he would get me a better one that would not freeze for free. I asked the kind gentleman, “Why for free?” He then replied,”Because you do not have have much else going for you.” I said thanks and let him be on his way. I did not know how to take his comment, rather he was showing care or he was joking in a cruel manner. I hate how people pity me so much, I am a grown man, I can take care of myself and my daughter I do not need any pity just because I have had such an unfortunate life.

It was early Thursday morning, I had to go to work or I would not be able to take off this weekend to take my daughter to see the northern lights in Alaska like she always wanted to. I wanted her to be able to do everything she wanted to do before she had to go be with her mother until I am able to see her again. I finally arrived at the mining mill to do my day's worth of work. I walked up to where I clock in at and saw a sign that said the mill was closing, my jaw dropped this was my main source of income I did not know how I was gonna take care of myself let alone my daughter. I was determined to still take my daughter to see the lights. I could not tell her my job shut down, she would be so upset.

It was later on Thursday afternoon, I had a couple choices to pick from I could be a clerk at a grocery store, a park ranger, or even a garbage man. I decided I was gonna be a garbage man because it was the same pay and same hours as the mill. I am also gonna start chopping wood and selling it just to pay for my gas or maybe a couple things for Susie. Susie and I are leaving Friday night to go to Alaska. We just have to finish packing and be ready. So I went I cashed my checks in for the week, filled up my truck, and went home. When I got there I heard her screaming from her head hurting, and she was throwing up sick. I asked her if she still wanted to go and if she was alright, she replied with a simple yes.

Just to be on the safe side tho I took her to the emergency room to make sure she was alright. The doctor made her stay over night. They said she was dehydrated and was going to have to stay over night to get fluid that she could leave in the morning. I understood so I left her there and went home to pack our bags so we could be ready to go. When I got home I video chatted her to see what she what she wanted me to pack for her, this took way longer than it needed to, when I was done I told her bye and I loved her and that she needed to try and get some sleep so she would fueled for tomorrow's trip. I hated telling her goodbye cause I knew very soon she would go and be with her mother.

I prayed all night that my daughter would be alright, I could not bare the idea of how her face would look if I had to tell her there would be no trip to Alaska. I texted her to see if she was ok, I never got a reply, I thought my baby girl was asleep and a smile I have not had in awhile came across my face. I did not know what to expect other than I had to make my daughter proud. All this hard work I have been doing lately would hopefully pay off. Before I fell asleep a shot or worry entered my soul and I felt horrible. I thought to myself what if she could not go. I had trouble sleeping that entire night, constantly tossing and turning.    

I woke up early that morning. I went by her favorite breakfast shop and got her two muffins and some orange juice. I got to the hospital and went up to her room. There was a doctor in there and two nurses left as I entered. She looked so sick, her skin was pale, and she had a little sweat above her brow. The doctor said she would probably have to stay another night, I tried reasoning with him, that we had an important trip planned for this weekend. He kept saying no over and over that it would not be the best thing for her. So I just nodded my head in agreement. I was so disappointed, but then a thought suddenly popped into my head.

I told the doctor me and my daughter needed a moment by ourselves. He said he had to go fill out some paper work anyway that he could go ahead. So I quickly told my daughter my plan of how I was gonna sneak her out of the hospital. I gave her some clothes out of the luggage, and we swiftly made it to the elevator. It was a success so far. I made it to the door when a security guard stopped me. He asked me if she was checked out and I replied yes. You have no idea how hard my heart was pounding. I successfully snuck my daughter out of the building and into my truck. She complained of a headache so I stopped by the store to get some Tylenol. I rushed in and rushed right back out.

The good lord knows I regret that day more than any other. Cause when I got to that truck I went to her side of it and shook her and shook and shook her. So I decided to rush her to the hospital to see what was wrong with her. I got there she had no pulse, not a thing. I broke down, her stage 4 brain cancer finally got to her. I cried that whole night, she was finally with her mother again. I had lost everything in my life. I'm still punished for I have been in this jail for 2 years for sneaking her out of the hospital and forging a doctor's note, to get me some pain medicine because it was hard to deal with losing my wife to the same thing that took to my daughter's life. I have lived a terrible life, that I hope no one else will have to deal with. I will be with them soon, whether I check out soon, or I leave when I'm suppose to.

         

         

“The Good, The Bad, and The Better”

By Kat Johnson

Lilian Rose pulled her wooden stool from alongside her bed, placing it by the window. She sat herself upon the stool and gazed out the window at the drizzling rain, that was falling from the heavens above. She pondered of great things. What will her future be like? How is she not as normal as any other teenage girl in her school? Why did she have to be born with autism? Why does her mother struggle to pay her doctor bills? Why does she not have any friends?

Lilian arose from her stool and glanced at her alarm clock. It read 7:02 in the morning. Today is Friday, and Lilian has school. She ran to her bathroom and hopped into the shower.

After she finished her shower, she threw on a pair of ripped white skinny jeans and a tie-dye shirt along with her purple Vans. She then lazily grabbed her bookbag and hustled downstairs.

Lilian took her box of Fruity Pebbles and poured some into a bowl and added milk. She quickly gulped down her cereal and milk and went to grab her keys.

“Have a wonderful day, Rosey,” called her mother, just as Lilian exited the doorway. “You too, mum! I love you very much,” Lilian shouted to her mother, whom of which was still in her bedroom upstairs.

Lilian got in her car and drove to school, which was on Pike street. You see, Lilian has only been at this high school for two months, and being an autistic junior, she has not made any friends. Lilian is usually on her own, which has caused her to suffer from major anxiety and depression. She wishes to have friends some day soon, but she is not very good at wording things, speaking to others, or just social interactions in general.

She arrived at school and stepped out of her car. “Another day in paradise,” Lilian whispered under her breath as she rolled her eyes. She pushed through the front doors of her school and nudged her way to class, dropping a few apologies along the way.

“Okay class, we have two new students. This here,” the teacher gestured to a beautiful girl with long chestnut hair, who was dressed in a long white flowy skirt, a white fitted blouse, and beige sandals, “is Enepsigos. Everyone make her feel at home. And this,” he turned to an equally beautiful guy, whom of which had dark, messy black hair, and was dressed in a black tee shirt, black skinny jeans, and black Vans, “is Lucifer. Make him feel welcome to our class as well.” Everyone clapped.

The only empty seats in the tiny classroom were the ones directly in front and directly behind Lilian. Enepsigos took her seat in front of her, and Lucifer behind.

“Hello, I am Enepsigos, as you may have heard. I just wanted to let you know that you are absolutely beautiful. So, would you like to be my friend?” she turned around.

Shocked, Lilian paused for a moment and then said, “Sure, sure. I am Lilian Rose, but you may call me whatever you prefer.” Enepsigos just smiled and turned back around towards the front of her desk.

“And I,” Lucifer said, pausing for a slight moment, “am Lucifer. And you are Lilian, I presume?”

Lilian slowly turned around to meet his eyes and nodded, “Yes, I am Lilian, but you may call me whatever you would like.”

“Ahhh, so today, we will be working in the book on page 182,” the teacher stated. Everyone grabbed their literature books from below their desks and began working.

School ended around 3:15 that day, and Lilian trudged her way to her car, only to find Enepsigos waiting for her by the driver’s door. “Hiya Lil! I was wondering, since I am new, and do not have very many friends,” Enepsigos twinkled a smile, “if I could come hang out with you? After all, it is Friday.”

Lilian gasped. She did not have any real friends, whom of which wanted to hang out with her. “Yes! That would be absolutely wonderful!” Lilian screeched.

“And your mother is okay with this?” Enepsigos questioned with a scrunched face. “Indeed. She loves meeting my friends!” Lilian giggled.

“Yay! We are going to have so much fun, Lil!” Enepsigos smiled.

Lilian and Enepsigos soon arrived to Lilian’s house and bursted through the door. “Mum, I am home! I have someone that I want you to meet!” Lilian shouted from downstairs.

In a mere second, Lilian’s mom was downstairs, “Hey hi hello. I am Lilian’s mother, Doris. It is nice to meet you,” Doris flashed a huge smile towards Enepsigos.

“I am Enepsigos. I am new to this world, and Lil is the first person I have met so far. I really like her. She is super sweet,” she enthusiastically stated.

“Okay! You two have loads of fun. If either of you need me, I will be in my bedroom,” Doris smiled as she turned and walked up the stairs.

Not after very long the two girls were exhausted and decided to watch a few movies. Lilian fell asleep around 2 in the morning, but Enepsigos never slept. Enepsigos was a different type of person. In fact, she was not a human, but an angel, sent from the heavens to watch over Lilian. And Lucifer, he was sent from the depths of Hell to also watch over her. But there is a secret connection between Enepsigos and Lucifer that no one yet knows.

Enepsigos decided to walk outside and sit in a tree that was perched outside of Lilian’s window, “She is so beautiful, and so at peace. Why do people choose not to be her friend? She is so nice,” she whispered to herself, while gazing at Lilian’s resting body. Enepsigos climbed back inside of Lilian’s room around 4 in the morning and perched herself on the bed alongside Lilian.

Lilian woke up at around 9:28 that morning, to the smell of pancakes and the sound of bacon sizzling from her kitchen. She bounced her way downstairs to find her mother, Enepsigos, and Lucifer all gathered in her kitchen. Her mother was cooking and Enepsigos and Lucifer were sitting at the table, conversating.

“You are finally awake! Yay!” Enepsigos cheered, as she stood up and made her way towards Lilian to hug her, and then walked back to her seat.

“Indeed I am,” Lilian yawned and chose the chair that was in between Enepsigos and Lucifer. “Why are you here?” Lilian rotated towards Lucifer.

“Enepsigos did not tell you? She is my sister,” Lucifer laughed, “and she invited me to come over and get to know you better. Also, your mother said that you would enjoy having some more company besides my little sis.”

Lilian’s mother smiled as she carefully brought two plates at a time to the table and sat them down in front of everyone. Lilian’s stomach growled as she picked up her fork. “So um, Lilian, you look very beautiful this morning,” Lucifer said, covering his face.

Lilian blushed, “Why, thank you, Luci.” She said while smiling really hard. Enepsigos giggled and nudged Lilian in the side and winked. “Shut up!” Lilian whisper-yelled to Enepsigos. Lilian twisted her head back to Lucifer and smiled.

They all finished their delicious breakfast and Enepsigos and Lucifer had to be home soon, so Lilian walked them out to Lucifer’s car.

“Hey guys, thank you both very much for deciding to put up with me. I truly appreciate it,” Lilian flashed a smile towards both Lucifer and Enepsigos. “It was our duty, but yet also our honor. It is a pleasure to be serving you, my dear,” Enepsigos hugged Lilian and smiled.

“Yeah,” Lucifer grinned, “what she said.”

Lucifer and Enepsigos turned to get into their car, when suddenly Lilian ran into Lucifer’s arms and hugged him very tightly, “Thank you. Your sister and yourself have helped me alot in the past day. It is funny to me how I have only known you for a single day, yet I feel like this is only the beginning of a very lovely friendship.”

In the end, you can not judge a book by their cover, or dislike someone for their disabilities. The guy dealing with depression? He has the kindest heart. The girl that was born with autism? She makes the very little friends she has smile. The person with dark circles under their eyes? They stayed up all night, helping their closest friend deal with a tragic loss.

Your life is how you make it. Do not judge someone, simply because they are not like you in every way. People are different. It is just how we were made. The rest is history.

“It’s Not Always Happily Ever After”

Nataly Lassiter

Elizabeth and Jackson were enjoying their summer break before their first year of high school, when one day it got even better. Elizabeth woke up at around 10:30 am to the sound of something taking fast little steps in the hallway. She hurried out of her door to see her parents, Jenni and Stanley, standing there with a little white puppy. Elizabeth bursted into the air with a great excitement. She loved dogs of all kind, but labs were her favorite. She yelled for Jackson to wake up and come see the puppy. Her dad said, “This is a full-blooded white lab. They aren’t as common as chocolate and black, so I thought you would want something a little different. I know you guys wanted a puppy, and Ms. Cindy’s dog had a litter a few weeks ago. We didn’t come up with a name because we figured you would want to.” Elizabeth knew when she saw the puppy that she wanted to name her Paisley. She liked that name for dogs and always wanted to name one that.

The day went by super fast as they got to know Paisley. Elizabeth held her until she fell asleep in her arms. She tried to put her down, but she woke up. Of course, Elizabeth had to pick her up again. She was in love with her new furry friend and never wanted to let her go. They sat in a chair in Elizabeth’s room, and Elizabeth started to notice she didn’t feel well. She put Paisley on her bed and went to check her temperature. The thermometer read “101.2”. She went to the kitchen and told her mom, and she gave her some medicine and told her to take a nap and it would probably go away. She went in her room and layed down beside Paisley to take a nap. Thinking the fever wasn’t a big deal, her mom went on about her day.

Elizabeth woke up to her parents fighting. They were getting loud, but Elizabeth couldn’t make out what they were saying. She went to her door and put her ear up against it, trying to listen to their conversation. Elizabeth decided it was getting out of hand so she walked through the kitchen to the back door to make them think she was just taking out Paisley. It didn’t take them long to stop arguing when Elizabeth came into sight. She was really curious to know what they were talking about, but she didn’t want to ask them.

When Elizabeth came back inside, her parents and Jackson were all just sitting at the table. She could tell by the looks on their faces that it couldn’t be good. She asked, “What’s going on?” Her mom told her to go sit down at the table so they could talk. Elizabeth suddenly became worried about what they had to say. Her dad said,”No matter what, we will always love you, both of you.” Elizabeth’s heart felt as if it stopped. What did this mean? She thought to herself. Her mom proceeded to tell her that they were getting a divorce. They both agreed that their relationship just wasn’t what it used to be, and they weren’t happy together. Elizabeth had a few tears running down her face because she never wanted this to happen. From there on she wondered if it was her fault. She didn’t want to ask questions because she was too scared to know the answers.

Later that day, they all sat down for dinner. They were eating Jackson’s favorite; spaghetti. Elizabeth’s mom kept staring at her, and it was creeping her out. She finally said, “Elizabeth, your lymph nodes look a little swollen. “Do you feel okay?” She told her that she had been feeling a little weak all day, but it may have been because she was tired. “If you still feel like this in a few days, let us know,” said her dad.

Jackson had just finished his big plate of spaghetti and said he was about to go take a shower. Her parents started cleaning up, so Elizabeth just went to her room to lay down. She fell asleep shortly after she got in there, though it was only 6 o’clock. Jackson went in Elizabeth’s room because he needed to ask her something about Paisley. He went in there and noticed she was asleep already, so he went to the den to ask their parent the question. They were in there sitting as far away from each other as possible. It broke Jackson’s heart to see that. They asked where Elizabeth was and he told them she was already asleep. They both said at the same time, “I hope she’s okay. She never goes to sleep this early.”

A few days later, Elizabeth wasn’t feeling any better. They decided to schedule an appointment with their pediatrician, Dr. Jones. The lady at the desk said they could fit them in at 3:00 that afternoon. Elizabeth hated needles and going to the doctor’s office, because she would get very nervous before each one. Elizabeth just waited around for the time for her to leave.

Dr. Jones said she would like to run some blood tests to see if it is what she think it may be. Elizabeth’s heart started to race. All types of needles give her anxiety. Her mom noticed that she looked extremely nervous so she talked to her to help calm her down. The doctor came back in the room with all the supplies she needed. “Okay Elizabeth, are you ready?” the doctor asked. Elizabeth just nodded her head and closed her eyes. She just wanted that doctor visit to be over. The doctor said we could leave and she would call us to come back when the results were in.

The next morning, the phone rang at around 10:30. Jackson answered with, “Hello.” The voice on the other side of the phone said, “May I speak to the parents of Elizabeth Smith?” Jackson put his hand over the microphone of the phone and yelled, “Mama! This lady wants to talk to you.” His mom came down the hall and grabbed the phone. “This is Jenni, can I help you?” “Hello, Jenni. Elizabeth’s test results are in, and we need you to come back in as soons as you can. When can that be?” said the office secretary. They made an appointment for that day at 11:30. Jenni told Elizabeth to be ready by 11, so they could be there on time.

When the doctor got into the room she had a very serious look on her face. She is normally very happy and is smiling, so they knew something was up. The doctor informed Elizabeth that she had cancer. She said she had it for a while, but the symptoms just got bad enough to notice something wss wrong. Her and her mom’s heart dropped. The room went silent. They didn’t know what to say to such terrible news. What were they going to do?

The doctor proceeded to tell them what they should do as far as treatment plans. Elizabeth and her mom were at a loss for words. Elizabeth left the doctor’s office with tears running down her face. First her parents were getting a divorce, now she has leukemia. She didn’t know if she could handle it anymore, but she knew she had to stay strong.

When the whole family was together in the kitchen together, Elizabeth’s mom told them the news. After thinking about it, Elizabeth decided she wanted to go to Alaska before she started her treatments. She had always wanted to go because it was the complete opposite of where she lived: California. She wanted to go before her treatments started because she wanted to go as a normal girl, without worrying about the side effects soon to come. After her mom got done talking, Elizabeth mentioned the idea. Her family agreed with it, so they decided to go the following week.

As the week went by, Jackson and Elizabeth noticed that their parents had been talking more than they had been. They figured it was just about the trip, or money. When they were all packed up and ready to go, their parents stopped in the kitchen and told the kids they decided to stay together and call off the divorce. That put a huge smile on both of the kids’ faces. That made Elizabeth so happy that for a few minutes, she forgot she had a disease that would soon take over her body.

They got on the road to go to the airport, and they spent some good quality time with each other as a family.

The plane ride wasn’t very long, but they were all exhausted. They went to their hotel room to take naps, but it wasn’t long after they fell asleep that Elizabeth woke up because of a terrible headache. She woke her mom up to tell her she was going outside to get some fresh air.

Elizabeth went outside for a few minutes, then walked back inside. She watched netflix for about two hours, then her brother woke up. By then, her headache was so bad she was crying. Her mom woke up, and told her they needed to go to the hospital.

They went to the hospital, and the doctors did some tests to see what was going on. They were there for what seemed to be forever. The doctors came back and said that the cancer had spread to Elizabeth’s brain and spinal cord. This is what they wished wouldn’t happen. Elizabeth said she wanted to go home, so they did that night. Elizabeth’s mom called the doctor from home to tell her what happened, and she told them there was nothing they could do anymore. Everyone in the family was heartbroken, and that was the first time Jackson cried about something that wasn’t because of pain. They went home and played Elizabeth’s favorite game, monopoly.

A few days later, Elizabeth sat in her room writing letters. She wanted to write letters to her family telling them that she was sorry and that she loved them with all of her heart. Tears were streaming down her face each word she wrote. Jackson’s was the hardest one to do for her. She loved her brother so much, but she would never admit it. She put their names on the outside of the envelopes they were in, and put them under her pillow.

Once they were all asleep, Elizabeth went into their rooms, and put their letters somewhere she knew they would see them. She knew she was getting terribly sick, and her time would soon come.

The next morning, everyone woke up to their letters and read them before they left their rooms. They were so confused until they went into Elizabeth’s room to find that the night before was their last night with their sweet Elizabeth. Everyone hit their knees crying so hard. They all wished they could have done something different, and maybe it wouldn’t have happened.

For the next few weeks, Jackson wouldn’t talk to anyone. He blamed himself for the death of his precious sister because he didn’t try to talk her into doing the treatments. The family was never the same after they lost Elizabeth, they realized it’s not always happily ever after.

“The Journey”

By Louie Lumley

There came a time when the United States allied with Canada, Israel, Russia, Italy, France, and England to begin the most widely known and longest remembered project ever. The project would be the largest of its kind, the area it consumed was more than four hundred square miles, and the most expensive, costing an approximate $8.3 trillion. It was coded as “The A Leap”. Only the highest clearance personnel from each nation was even allowed to speak or hear of it. The nations decided that it was essential to be capable to travel great astronomical distances if an unavoidable threat were at hand.

The United States gathered the most brilliant minds of the allies to develop adequate launch site as well as highly durable ships. Analysis of the necessary strength qualities and radiation absorbing qualities that would be vital required physicists to work endless hours trying as hard as they could to develop new elemental metals. The design team worked with virtual 3D software that was capable of being brought up to full scale. A total of five, twenty crew shuttles were built after twenty-three years.

However, there was another major part to this secretive mission, and that is where I came in. I, an American named Brad Everight, was one of the thirty men and women to test how easily a cosmonaut would be able to maneuver around the cabin, sleeping quarters, dining area, cargo hold, greenhouse, and many other rooms. Originally I had absolutely no intent of ever leaving Earth, yet I was in need of a job, and testing the shuttles paid greatly. On top of that nobody had to pay for anything because each and every item on the base was paid for ahead of time by the United States through a heavily safeguarded account. Any authorized personnel could walk freely on the base since no one left and no one was allowed to enter. There were no laboratories that something such as “only class AA1 allowed” was posted on the door.

On the fifteenth of August, the team of architectural engineers and designers, after months of meticulous blueprint drawing and material assembling, travelled out to set about pouring the concrete and constructing the massive structures that would assist the passengers in loading and boarding the shuttles, and the structures would be beneficial to launching the shuttles into the cosmos on their way to the planet. The planet had, to this point, no official name, however a majority of the personnel had dubbed it “Planet Nine” and “The Absolutely Final Frontier”. The astrologists along with a scarce few physicists, planned out the nearly six hundred year long voyage through the dark, cold, endless space between Earth and “Planet Nine”. It took them the rest of August and all of September to plan it out fully, and I know from experience that that seems like a long time, but considering that the trip is almost twenty-six trillion miles, they outlined the path we were going to take in a fairly short amount of time.

Finally, the five shuttles were ready to be launched. Large crawlers carried the ships to the launch pads and positioned them. All the necessary cargo and food was loaded onto the shuttles and the crew of one hundred boarded the five of them. At exactly 4:45 on the morning of October third, the countdown commenced. All were overwhelmed with joy and excitement right then, and we were strapped in and feeling the rumble of the three billion pounds of thrust produced by each of the five rocket’s engines. Ten seconds later, it felt like a lifetime, the first ship made liftoff, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth. The rest of the crew and I watched out the main window on the front of the shuttles for the first bit of outer space. It would be only the beginning of the long, long journey ahead. We gazed at the moon with its cratered and bright surface, the sun, and the infinitude of other stars within sight. They gleamed with a steady, never fading light that was dwarfed by the dark, vast space that lay between and beyond the stars themselves. After most of the crew had become bored of the seemingly identical view of space for weeks, we noticed that we were heading farther outwards into the solar system. I watched with strong interest, as we passed by Mars although from about two hundred miles away. I was simply taken back by incredible amount of detail that I could see in the landscape, if you can even call it that. I saw the polar ice caps and Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system, both of which I had previously only seen in textbooks and on the internet. Within mere hours the “Red Planet” was no longer able to be seen except as nothing more than it can be from Earth. During the time between when we could see Mars and see the asteroid belt, was one of the many dark places in our long trip. Since the shuttles were facing outwards from the sun and the nearest star, our destination orbited it, was no bigger than an average sized marble, the crew was forced to use the onboard power supplies. The powers supplies obtained their electrons from the one thousand square feet of solar panels built into the outermost layer of the hull on  each of the five ships. The systems were designed to be fully capable of holding enough electricity to power each ship for eight straight months, and it was also enough electricity to power all of the one hundred-thousand homes in New York City for three months.

It was nine years since any of the one hundred passengers had viewed Earth with their own eyes, and even I myself had all but forgotten the great planet we departed from. We still had not passed beyond the far, outstretched orbit of Pluto, and had just be began to see the outermost limitation of the solar, the Kuiper Belt, when the fourth shuttle started drifting upwards and clockwise. Immediately, the other ships contacted the captain of the distressed shuttle. He reported that the drifting was caused by a rather small asteroid clipping the stabilization fin and damaging two of the twenty positioning thrusters. Using the eighteen remaining positioning thrusters, and having the captains of the four other ships guide the troubled captain, the fourth rocket, slowly, yet successfully was reoriented. Two months later, the group of shuttles flew beyond the Kuiper Belt and out of the solar system. Now, the autonomous captains of each ship were activated, and the entire crew of one hundred went to their sleeping quarters for the deepest sleep any one of us had ever been through.

The day we awoke was like an entirely new lifetime, no one yet had any idea of what the date was. I being one of the most curious crew members, was the first to figure out just how long we had slept. I discovered that the autopilot actually had a time recorder in it, and I decided instantly to check it. The record was that we had been in deep sleep for five hundred, seventy-four years. That seemed like a ridiculously long amount of time, and it was. However, the full realization hit only hours later, anyone that we had known on Earth was long dead. No one spoke for days. It was the single most depressing point of time in the legendary journey, and until now, nobody else has said anything of it.

Within six months, excitement overtook all of the crew, and the extreme sadness was forgotten. We could finally see our destination, “Planet Nine”. I knew that we would be there in only a year, and each day, at least for eleven days, I watched the planet orbit Alpha Centauri. Each of those days, I carried out precise measurements of the size of the planet from that distance, and using triangulation, I determined exactly how many miles we were from the destination. Sharing my results with the others, I quickly learned that many of the others were almost as intrigued about my calculations as they were about how soon we would be able to walk on the surface of “Planet Nine”.

It came faster than we felt it should have, and we were absolutely overwhelmed with the joy and anticipation. The entire crew watched intently as each of the shuttle’s preprogrammed guidance systems lowered the ships to the ground. As soon as all of the shuttles had completely landed, the crew rushed out with their suits on to walk on the never before seen surface. The air was tested and was found to have substantial amounts oxygen along with traces of hydrogen, nitrogen, argon, helium, and ozone. Over the next few days, construction of the land bases commenced. They would have five levels to them and a total of twenty thousand square feet. It was the beginning of a new life.

“Kate”

Lizzy Parks

The dark wood walls fed off of the tension in the room of the coffee shop. The walls seemed to be growing darker with every second, and the dim lighting did not help the depressing atmosphere. The echoing whispers reflected off of the high ceiling. The barista seemed as if she did not notice and was still patiently making some sort of drink. I could image even she noticed that the air was a bit different that day.

At my usual place across the table from my best friend, Jack, I heard a girl laugh. I can still hear that awful sound. I remember exactly how my fingers found their way to the edge of the metal tabletop and clenched. Even from across the room her voice stung my eardrums and made my skin crawl. Then as soon as I could bare it no longer, the laughing girl left and took her horrible laughter and my best friend with her. At first I was glad she left, but had I known that when my best friend left that little coffee shop at the corner of Main and Third, he would was leaving my life forever I would not have smiled. I can still remember running outside, my smile vanishing when I heard the loud honks of cars and the screeching of wheels. The shrill of the ambulance siren as my best friend was taken to the hospital has been forever imprinted in my head and kept me from smiling for some time.

My thoughts began to spin, and suddenly I could not breathe. I had to stop remembering, but maybe everyone does what I do. Do they think and brood over terrible memories? Do they, too, dream of the day their entire reason for breathing died? My mom always tells me that it was not my fault, but I can not help feeling that in some way it was. There is another reason it absolutely tears me up inside that my best friend died. He had something to tell me and never got the chance to do so.

I was in his house with his mom one afternoon not long after the accident when his mom pulled out her dead son’s journal. She flipped to page 106. At the top of the page it read “June 17”. It was the day right before Jack died.

What I truly found in the diary was not the name of his crush or a confession of some sort of miniscule crime. No, it was a small piece of hope left he had written about me. He wrote of how much he cared for me and how much of an impact I made on his life. I have not forgotten those words of love from him, and I carry that page around wherever I go.

“Everyone has someone,” said some voice, “who has made an impact in his life.” The voice that had cut through my thoughts was that of my history teacher. “I want you all to write me an essay on how someone in your life has impacted you. It is due on Monday.”

I knew exactly who I would write about. It probably would pain me to write about Jack, but he was my best candidate to write about. The bell finally rang, and I shuffled out of the classroom along with the other students. Most of them were excited for a Friday evening at some party, while I was eager to meet with my small group of friends in my favorite coffee shop.

My thoughts were consuming me as I walked down the street. I know I have a pretty good life. I have always known that. It is not my sarcasm or anything of the sort that pushes people away. In fact, I really do not know what it is. The only thing that I could think of would be the fact that I find it hard to share my heart with others. Ever since Jack died, I have had a constant cloud over me. Of course I was happy for Aunt Amanda when she got engaged a few months after the accident. I squealed with joy when Carol found out she was getting a baby sister, but what about me? Would I ever find my happiness again?

“Hey!” said my friend Carol as I sat down beside her. “I’m so glad you could join us!”

“Hey, Carol! You know that I wouldn’t miss a chance to come here,” I said, but as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized that I did not come here often anymore. Honestly, I had almost not come today, but she did not know that.

“Oh, right,” Carol quickly replied back, “you do love this place, but Tina and I were just talking about this really cute guy over there! I absolutely love his hair.”

“His eyes are emerald. He must not go to our high school,” Tina joined in with a look of slight disappointment.

As a teenage girl, I felt obligated to glance in the direction of this boy that my friends were now obsessing over. It was not the way his eyes paired perfectly with his green shirt, or anything like that. It was the way his eyes scanned the pages of his novel. It was the steady breathing of his lungs. I could almost feel the rhythm of the music he was listening to by the rhythm his feet tapped out. I forced myself to stop staring at him and returned my gaze to my friends, who were now staring at me.

“What?” I said to them.

“Kate,” Tina started carefully, “that is the first guy you have looked at like that since the accident.”

“What’s your point?¨ I asked as my cheeks turned red.

Tina looked at Carol, looked back at me, and said, ¨You have to go talk to him!¨

To my surprise, I did. I found out his name was Terry, and he told me he absolutely loved my name. He said that it had always been a favorite of his. The book he was reading was an old book that was a bit tattered from the many times he had read it. He was a young writer and was searching through books to find inspiration. For a moment he stared at me. He told me I was just the sort of character that he was looking for and began scribbling words into his writing journal. By the time we had finished talking, I looked to see that my friends had left, and the sun had set. He asked if I would be there tomorrow. I nodded my head with a smile.

A few months passed, and I found myself coming to that coffee shop more and more to speak to Terry. We met almost every day after I was finished with school. I found out he was homeschooled. He had chosen this so he could have more time to work on his writing.

Daily, he drilled me on how I would react to a certain situation or person. My feelings and thoughts slowly began to be happy. There was simply something about the way his eyes could find their way to every corner of my soul that put joy into my heart. The funny thing was that I never got him to tell me what the book was called.

As he calmly molded his ideas into a book, we poured our hearts out to each other. He knew my every secret, and I knew his, except the name of the book, which he kept hidden from me.

¨Kate,” he would say to me, ¨tell me your thoughts.¨ I never failed in this. I always did have a strong opinion.

One day Terry did not show up at the coffee shop. He had begun to bring me out of my sad, pitiful hole of isolation. Terry did not come the next day nor the next. As I waited once again a week later, suddenly I saw the same shaggy brown hair walk through the doorway with the sound of a tiny bell ringing. A small smile crept onto my face as he walked over to me, but it disappeared as soon as I saw the sad look on his face. He told me his mom had died. The agony was evident in the dark circles under his eyes and pained look on his face. She was a light in his life that had been snuffed out by the darkness of cancer.

Time passed and eventually we were both doing better together than we ever could apart. Terry became more than my best friend. I had finally found someone that I could share my heart with, and he had someone to discuss the wonders of the universe with and to get commentary for his book. Not only did we meet at the coffee shop, which was our favorite place, but we also went to dinner at various restaurants and to each other’s houses. Terry was everything I needed all in one adorable, heartwarming soul.

More than three years after we met on that fateful day in the coffee shop, Terry had me sit down at the very table where we first met.

“Kate,” Terry said as he looked into my eyes, “I have to tell you something.” He sat down across from me and pulled out a book. It had to be what I thought it was, but I had to make sure. He sheepishly slid the book across the table to me. I read the cover and smiled up at him.

“I just want you to know that the day I met you I absolutely knew that you would be in my life forever. I started my book the day we met, and my whole book is about you. I based the entire thing off of you and my love for you,” he said.

Although I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was very nervous as he got down on one knee, I knew that he had sensed my exact answer. With a huge grin he asked, “Kate, will you marry me?”

I could not help but burst with excitement, as I said, “Yes, Terry I will.”

After all that time, I finally found out the name of the book. The book was called Dear Kate, My Soulmate.

Truth or Dare

Austin Perez

      Why am I even doing this? I thought to myself as I took another step up the marble staircase. The steps look very elegant in the day. It brings out the mansion nicely.

 ¨Hurry up Macy before we get caught!¨ Emory exclaimed as I took another step up the giant marble platform.

 ¨You are the one that dared me to do this, so you could always take it back¨ I said in the most pleading way I could.

 ¨No way you are definitely doing this dare Macy. No one has been in that house for at least 20 years. You are going to be fine stop being such a chicken.¨ this time it was Ky making the smart remarks.

¨I am not a chicken!” I exclaimed.

      Finally after climbing what felt like 100 steps, I reached the tall iron doors that lead inside the glorious mansion. Ok calm down just open the doors go inside grab a small object and come right back out, it is just that simple.

 ¨Ok guys I will be back in a second I am going in.¨ I told them as I opened up the iron doors.

       I am sure the whole state of New Jersey heard the loud clanking sound as the doors opened to their full length, like welcoming arms to a homeless person. They were hard to push at first and you would expect the place to be locked up tight, because it is probably worth over a million dollars. As I walked into the main hall there was nothing I could take, so I decided to search a little more. I already told myself that I would come back tomorrow night to return whatever I took, but I do not think I could make myself sneak out of the house again without my mother knowing.

      Finally I saw it, it was small and the only  thing in the entire room it looked like a cup you win would win at a race. As I picked the tiny sliver cup up I heard the doors shut with a bang, and I heard the wind begin to howl. It sounded like a storm, so I dropped the cup and ran for the door. As I was running for the door I noticed the power was on and there was furniture that was not there before. That is strange I thought, I must not have seen it there because I was in such a rush to find a smaller object. I pulled on the tall iron door, it was locked! Who would have locked it? So I unlocked the massive bolts keeping the door in place  letting no one in or out.

 “Who is there?” I heard a strange deep  voice call from the top of the 2nd floor.

     I bolted out the door not daring to look back or even bother to shut my escape rout. I went and hid in the bushes where I last saw Ky and Emory.

“Guys you need to come out! There was someone inside the mansion we need to get out of here before he calls the cops!” I implored as I searched each hedge.

“This is not a game anymore guys I am not kidding come out!” I was starting to panic.

      Suddenly I heard the voice again. This time he was running out the door chasing two people. When the other invaders got closer to me I then realized the other intruders where only Ky and Emory! When did they follow me in there? I thought to myself as I watched them run across the street and back to my mother’s house. Finally the stranger gave up and started walking back to his house.

      I could now see the stranger threw the glow of a gas streetlight about 20 yards from him. He looked to be a middle aged man probably in his late 40’s. He was a big guy and had a very scruffy beard. He looked to be the only one in the mansion because no one came out calling to see if he caught the intruders that invaded his lovely home.  

     After I saw him walk back into the house I scurried across the street avoiding to get into the light of the gas street lamp, like a mouse trying not to be seen by the humans. I ran as fast as I could trying to reach Ky and Emory before they told my mother I was being held captive by the mysterious guy in the mansion. Finally I saw them, they were not running anymore instead they were standing in front of my house just staring at it.

  “Hey I am right here. When did you two follow me into the mansion?”  I said quietly trying not to disturb the neighbors.

     Ky then held up his hand and pointed at my house I turned to see what the trouble was and my house was gone. Nowhere to be seen, that is when I started looking around and I noticed  my neighbor’s houses were gone too. Everything was under construction, but that can not be possible my house is already built. I then watched as Emory went over to the building information about the house being built.

 “Guys, the date on the plan layout says it is March 17th,” she then paused as if she was dreading to say the next part, “1989.”  

     We all stood there processing the information we just received. We were somehow all three in the past. We went back 32 years to be more exact.

  “How did we get here?” Ky asked as if we knew the answer to give him.

  “Ok lets not panic, we will get back to the present time once we figure out how we got here. So first question to solve this mystery is, when did you two follow me into the mansion?” I asked trying to hide the fear in my voice.

  “We went into the mansion looking for you,  because you were taking a long time to get back so we got worried.” Emory explained as she picked nervously at her fingernails.

   “Well  I was just about to come out because I  found a cup to take with me, but then I heard the door close so I got scared and ran without the cup.” I said trying to make it seem I was not a huge chicken, because right now was not the time to play any more games.

   “I saw the cup too it was actually pretty cool, it was first place for some school event a long time ago.” Ky said as if he forgot that we were now back in a long time ago..

      I then began to brainstorm, so if I picked up the cup and if Ky picked up the cup that must mean it is the object that brought us back here!

  “How old is our school Emory?” I asked trying to hide my excitement incase I was wrong.

“It is about 47 years old.Why?” Emory said, but I could tell by her eager voice she already knew why.

     I sprinted down the street hearing Emory and Ky’s foot steps close behind me. We needed to get back to the present before my mom found out we were gone. The school was only a mile away from where my house was, so it did not take long for us to get to the small high school.

 “Ok so we should probably break a window. It will probably be the only way in, so when we break in we make a run for it down to the gym and we will all grab the cup and hopefully it will take us back to the present.” I said as I searched for a rock along the side of the school.

 “Or we could just go through the main entrance.” Ky said as he went to the front door and pushed it open.

 “Oh…right” I said a little embarrassed for not being the smart one at the moment.

      As I walked down the hallway I noticed the several changes the school had made for us. I also noticed there were no electronics and I then felt very thankful for not being born before the electronic era. Thinking of electronics I reached into my back pocket my phone was gone, it must have fallen out when I was in the hedges I thought.

Final we reached the gym hall and there it was the cup that brought us into this mess.

 “Got any ideas to get into the trophy case Ky?” I asked in n annoyed tone.

  “Macy we break it duh!” He said as he grabbed a slippery when wet cone and threw it at the trophy case.

  “You could have warned us Ky!” Emory screamed as glass went flying all around us.

  “Sorry.” Ky said, “I'm just tired and I want to get back to where we belong, so on the count of three we all grab the cup. One…Two…Three.” We then all three placed our hands on the cup the wind howled and then everything went dark.

      We were all three standing back inside the mansion with the small cup on the floor I front of us. The power was not on and the furniture was gone, so we all knew we were safe back in the present. We all three then looked at our time and noticed it has only been 3 hours since we left there is a good chance my mom never noticed we  were gone. We ran out the iron doors of the elegant mansion and we never looked back. That was the last night we ever went inside the mansion and the last night we ever played truth or dare.

 

       

“Subscribe if You’re New”

Garrett Rogers

Lots of mountains, and lots of snow, and not a of people. That is what Wyoming is known for, and to some extent, is true. Many days of the winter getting down to below zero degrees. The extreme weather however does not daunt the citizens of the state.

It was a monday morning, the first day of school after a long winter break. As a normal school day runs, Margaret, the mother of the Hays family made her rounds around the house to wake up the kids. On the first floor of the house, she made her way to the youngest childs room. “Olivia, get up, school today!” Once she was sure that she was getting ready for school, she made her way upstairs to her other children's rooms. James was already awake, just lieing in bed. As his mother came into his room to awake him he immediately proceeded to get out of bed without and words of rebellion. His mother didn’t have to stick around to make sure the he was getting ready, she trusted that he would. After James she made it to Gavin’s room. Similar to James, he was already awake. His mother came into his room, then saw he was already awake, then told him to get ready. After all of her children we awake, she went downstairs to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

As the children began to smell the bacon and eggs, they began to get ready much quicker. James was the first to the kitchen for breakfast, following for a close second was Olivia. Several minutes later, Gavin slowly made his way downstairs to eat breakfast. As they ate there was silence, Gavin and Olivia were busy dreading going back to school and James was just quiet. Soon after eating, they gathered their book bags and other supplies, which they haven't touched in weeks due to winter break, and left for school.

With Mark, the father, gone to work, and the kids at school, Margaret got some time to think about what she wanted to get James for his birthday, which was coming up in less than  a week. She knew that James enjoys piano and video games, for the past three birthdays all she had gotten him were video games, and James printed all of his piano music for free. While wondering what to get James, she called her parents for advice.

After several minutes of combined thinking, they settled on looking on craigslist for any good deals. As Margaret scrolls down the website, she sees a great deal on a laptop. Knowing that James would be happy with it, she contacts the seller and in three days, she had gotten her son his birthday present. Coincidently, her parents also looked online, and the best deal that they found, was a camera set, complete with a tripod and bag.

Finally on January sixth, James turned fifteen. Being very shy he did not have a party but much prefered to stay at home and celebrate with his family.

The only people at his party that could be considered “visitors” were his grandparents from his mother’s side. After a bit of socializing, the time to open presents came. The first present he opened was his parents present. As he opened it and saw it was a computer, his parents could tell he was happy with his present. After thanking his mother and father, he went to the present that his grandparents gave him. The package was quite a bit smaller than the one from his parents, as he opens the present, he soon realizes it was a camera set. Confused yet very happy, he thanks his grandparents.

After his grandparents leave, and the party was over, he went upstairs to his room to set up his computer. He began to wonder why his grandparents got him a camera. He had for the past few years been a big fan of youtube and considered the idea of creating a channel. He had no excuse not to make one now.

Without putting much thought into the video, he created a short video consisting of him stuttering to the camera about his birthday. Within 30 minutes he already created his one clip video and posted it on his newly created youtube channel.

After about a month of a sloppy video about twice a week, he began to gain some small attention. His first comment was “good content, no editing,” James somewhat knew what editing was, however was far from knowing how to edit. After a little research, he found a decent program to edit with and started the very basics.

After several hours of looking up videos on how to edit youtube videos, James thought he had the general idea. After sitting at his computer for nearly an hour, he realized this was harder than he thought, and in order to upload as much as he was in the past, he would have to devote a lot more time to making videos.

Around a month into his youtube channel, he began to gain subscribers, it started out slow, but was rapidly gaining. At this point he knew he had to set a direction for his youtube channel, he couldn’t just upload videos about every topic, he had to set specifications for his channel.

After much thought, James decided he wanted to make a gaming channel, with new motivation, he worked hard for several weeks and also started making money on youtube. After countless hours of filming and editing, he started seeing it massively pay off. With the money he was making from youtube he started to get more equipment, such as a better microphone and webcam, and as the quality of James’s videos went up, the more attention he got.

After all this, the main benefit from the hard work of James, was the he became more social and started reaching out to people, anyone who knew James before, and then saw him after, would hardly recognize the kid who went from never making eye contact, to laughing, and smiling and starting the conversation with other people.

The one thing that didn’t change in his videos, was his outro. At the very end of every video, he would say “thank you for watching, hope you enjoyed, please leave a like if you did, subscribe if you’re new, and I’ll see you in my next video.

“The ‘Gift’”

Emily Sanders

She found herself seated alongside her father’s bed, his deathbed. Silence filled the air all around her. The cold and emptiness of the bland hospital room gave her chills. She was constantly fighting to keep her eyes open, since she had been deprived of sleep ever since arrival, two days ago. Just as she dozed off for a much needed nap, her father spoke weakly, and it brought her to her feet.

The last words escaping from the parched lips of her dying father were, “Be careful with your gift.” What gift? Had she missed something? As confused as she was, she brushed it off, since after all, she had much larger things to spend her time worrying about. Sadly, she knew that there was no saving him now. He had wanted to be happy again, free of all the pain and heartbreak that had been felt ever since he had been diagnosed five months prior. Interrupting her thoughts was a loud, constant noise, indicating trouble.

She looked up at her father’s monitor to see a flatline being displayed. Nurses from the room adjacent, as well as nurses roaming the halls flowed in yelling, “Code blue, code blue!” They did everything in their power to save him, but Quinn knew it was the end of the road for him. A feeling of sadness, escorted by a sense of relief suddenly overwhelmed her.

Seconds, minutes, hours, and then days slowly drifted by. There wasn’t a single moment of any day that lacked thought of her deceased father. The last few months of her life had been ones she would remember forever. The loneliness and grief was too much to bare at times, especially during the times directly following the loss. Her life had been turned upside down, just as she expected it would.

Having now two deceased parents, she had no other option but to move in with her aunt and uncle, two states away. Being unable to have children of their own, her Aunt Linda and Uncle Pete were more than happy to take her in. She tried convincing them that she was capable of living on her own, but no one would be so naive to believe that a girl at the age of 15 with her circumstances would be okay living alone, miles and miles away from the only family that she had left.   

Moving out and then back in again was not the hard part. The hard part was leaving her school, her friends, and her community for a new school, friends, and community and family. Surprisingly, she kept a positive attitude through it all. She was almost immediately enrolled in the nearest school, supposedly one of the top in the state. She became fearful and nervous at the thought of being the new girl. This just made matters worse.

The first day was there before she knew it. Anxiety arose inside of her, but she had no other option than to go to school. Away from the difficulty coping with the death of her father, she lacked self confidence. She walked into the doors of her new high school, unaware of the stress and uneasiness that would come with being the new kid at school.

She survived, just barely. Tears flowed down her face after only the first day at her new school. She was shy and quiet, especially now, and did not easily make friends. She was not like the other girls at her school. She was a geek, and even back home, she was not the most popular or well known. She was not athletic, for she had always spent her free time reading or studying. Not to mention how she had always been insecure about her appearance, which included her crooked teeth, frumpy body and acne filled face. With everything that had been going on lately, she felt as if her small world was crashing and burning right before her eyes. More days like her first at her new school certainly followed. Days went by where she would not even talk in class, unless spoken to. She longed to go back just a few months, before her father was diagnosed, to when everything had been normal. It was not long before she was picked on, not only about her appearance, but also her quietness and awkwardness.

She came home and ran into her room. She wanted to be alone. From her tear stained face, she mumbled, “I wish I was like those other girls… I wish my teeth were perfectly straight.” She continued on, feeling bad for herself, but she sensed something different. What exactly was different she was not quite sure of. It was not until she glanced into the mirror that she found that out.

She literally was not believing what was true. She felt as if at any minute, she would be woken up to start getting ready for school by Aunt Linda. That was not the case. Her teeth had actually shifted, just as she had always wished they would. She assumed it must have had something to do with the fact that she had just wished for straight teeth, but she could not understand how she would have had the capability to do such things. It was at this moment that she knew that this was the gift that her father had cautioned her about on his last day on earth, but she was still confused on why he had warned her about it.

Instantly she started randomly wishing for more things to happen. She wished for milk and cookies to be placed into her hand, then the lights to be turned off, and lastly, she wished for a text message from that special someone back home. She said the magic words with hope, but none of these things came true. She was disappointed, but there was not enough disappointment to cover up her excitement about her straight teeth. She continued testing out her new discovery, and eventually she got tired enough of it and fell asleep.

At school the next day, she was constantly questioned about how her teeth became so perfect so quickly. Her response was that she had wanted a straight smile so badly that she finally got one. Some rolled their eyes and others were just baffled. Envy arose in the students who lacked straight teeth of their own, which only made matters worse for Quinn. At first this did not bother her, for she was contempt with the fact that she would no longer have the problem of crooked teeth. However, each day that the nagging continued, it slowly ate and ate at her. She was an expert at hiding this, though.

Days passed along until she was no longer satisfied with just her perfect teeth. She wanted more, and more she would soon receive. Another wish was granted at the sound of just one sentence. “I wish I had a perfect body like the other girls at my school,” she whined. The jeans she was wearing fell to the floor. The shirt on her back became loose and ill fitting.  She was puzzled. She could not understand why her “powers” only worked when wishing for an appearance change, but not with every other thing that she had wished for previously. However, she did not complain, for any powers at all were better than none. Now she had to deal with the problem of finding clothes to wear to school Monday that did not hang off her body. Luckily, Aunt Linda wore exactly the same size as her new one, which she discovered by sneaking downstairs and playing dress up in her closet.

She was excited for the next day at school, for the opportunity to show off her new slim body. The excitement quickly faded away when the harassment began again, this time at a whole different level. “You must have gotten surgery done over the weekend!” “Those diet pills are really working, aren’t they?” “You still don’t fit in with us.” She did not expect the words to hurt as much as they did. She expected the transformations to boost her up on the popularity chart, but they did just the opposite. How on earth could her father have called this “a gift.” She did more thinking about that night of his death and what all had been said. She now knew why he had warned her to be careful with this gift of hers.

She tried showing them, the teasers, her powers and how they worked, even though she still did not fully understand them. They were in awe and thought it was inhuman and part of a magic act. Like any human being would, they just became more jealous that she had been given the powers to do this and they had not. Instantly, they began trying this out on their own bodies, each and everyone of them failing time and time again. Few thought it was cool, but they were definitely the minority. Now, she wished it really had been all a dream, or nightmare you could call it. Even with a perfect body and the straightest teeth, there was still a hole in her heart that had been empty ever since the passing of her father. Not to mention the fact that she had no friends and did not know if any of them would look at her as ever being a friend to them. She knew now that good looks do not always make you happy.

As hard as it was, she did the only thing she could think of doing that would possibly solve the problem. She knew that she had to change herself back to her original self and looks. It was her only option. That is exactly what she did, indeed. It was an extremely tough thing to do, but she knew it was the only way she would ever feel like she was enough and was not looked down upon by the others at her school. “I wish my teeth and body were the way they were before,” she said slowly. Without hesitation, her teeth and body shape changed back to the way they were before she discovered her power and the things it was capable of, physically and emotionally.

Slowly, but surely, over the course of a few weeks, the people of her school and everyone who had heard about her accepted her for her true self and not for the fact that she had the ability to customize anything that she wanted to change about her appearance. They admired the fact that she had changed her features back, even though now they were not the way she had dreamed about them being a while ago. Some people even got to know Quinn better and became friends with her. All the pain and suffering was finally over. Never again did she wish to be different in any way. She began to accept herself too, just as the others had.

“Intertwined”

        Stephanie Sapp

  Ally Henson and Jonathan Singleton were two unique individuals. She was outgoing, and he was more laid back. She was a little shy, yet he was so confident. She also was obsessed with writing while on the other hand he was more into reading. The way people perceived them was people seeing just the personas that the two had adopted over the years. Ally had been living with her parents in a nice house in Fairview, New Jersey all of her life. While Jonathan on the other hand had moved so many times that he could not even begin count how many places he had been. They seem like polar opposites when you first see them, but as a great author once said “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, and that had never been more truthful than in this situation.

  Ally loved to dance and was apart of a dance studio in Brooklyn. She competed every Saturday and was headed to the state championship that was coming up in April. Seeing as though she was very talented and had a strong determination to do this with her life, Ally Henson had already gotten scholarships to dance at performing arts schools. Ally had been pretty popular because of dancing and being an honors student, but she also had been very shy at times--which in her opinion was horrible because she loved meeting someone new--and that kept her from doing certain things.

 Although she was polite to everyone, she never received the same treatment that she lent out. As most people learn, teenagers are not the nicest types of human beings on the planet. It took Ally Henson a huge change to realise that. She thought everyone was always nice and that no one would ever threaten or put her in harm’s way.

 On a chilly March night in Brooklyn, New York, Ally had just gotten finished with her five hour long dance practice after school. She had the state championship in less than 2 weeks, so she had been working like crazy trying to get everything done and prepared to do her very best on stage. She was walking down the sidewalk trying to find a place to sit, until she saw a sleek, black bench on the other side of the street. She took her earbuds out of her ears and put up her phone that way she could see the cars coming and would not be distracted. As soon as the light from the crosswalk changed she looked both ways, and quickly walked.

 Looked to the left, nothing. Looked to the right, nothing there either. When she looked to the left again, she had an almost sick feeling in her gut as if she knew something was going to happen. Ally had almost made it until she heard a faint honking noise that continuously got louder. She snatched her head around quickly to only see headlights coming towards her. Then everything was black.

 Jonathan Singleton was a mysterious creature. No he was not a beast, but he sure was mysterious. Was it his smile, that was never always truthful, that had made people like him? Perhaps it was his ability to brighten everyone’s day? He seemed like the friendliest person in the universe, almost as if he wanted to be everyone’s friend. Jonathan gave off a laid back vibe, but he was quite the opposite.

 He would let things build up, and act like nothing ever bothered him. He did not like the world or the people in it. How could a person be cruel enough to take another person’s life? He never understood that, and he wished that he or someone could find a way to stop it.

 Third grade was the first time he moved. He moved from Washington State to Florida. It was a very big change for someone that age and the climate change was unbearable. He had to make all new friends, and he has not always been the greatest at that. Then it was Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. He even almost moved to Tennessee when he was in middle school. Every time he would get close to people and make friends, he would have to move. Almost every year this happened, and to him it was almost an endless cycle. That was until he moved to Fairview, New Jersey. Then everything changed.

 As Jon walked threw the doors on his first day in Fairview High the halls were filled with either silence or whispers. He got his schedule and made his way to his Calculus class.

  “Hi I’m Jonathan. I’m, um, new here,” Jonathan said awkwardly to a girl with auburn hair, light skin, and freckles sitting at a table all by herself,”What’s your name?”

  “Hiya Jon, I’m Ally. Do you need a mini tour around the school? I mean after class that is,” questioned Ally Henson to the new kid. As much as he wanted to decline the offer and just stay reclused the amount of time he was here, he just could not take his eyes off of the beauty in front of him. He could not think of anything that was wrong with her, and that is what made him confused as to why she was sitting at a table all alone.

 “Yeah that’d be great, thanks Ally,” he finally replied while just staring at her face light up as he accepted her offer. As the bell rings and everyone begins to go out the door in a hurried manner.

  He could not find Ally until he heard,“Hey! Wait for me,” coming from behind him. He could not find anyone until he saw big tires and a smiling Ally staring up at him. She was in a wheelchair. At one of Jon’s old schools, they would have made fun of her, but the people at Fairview were so happy for her. She was either in a wheelchair until she could have knee surgery or she would never be able to dance again. When the people at Fairview saw her in a wheelchair they were filled with joy.

 After Ally took him around the school, she then asked if he wanted to go somewhere that was “her place”. Jonathan’s first thought was about him wishing he had a ‘place’.

As they got to the one small flight of stairs, Ally showed him a ramp one of her friends made for her. Her place was the roof. The view was incredible and Jon seemed to be amazed by it too.

“The reason I’m in this big thing is because I got hit by a car in March. The doctors told me that I can probably have my surgery this or next month,” explains Ally,”What about you? Tell me about yourself.”

 They had gotten into a talk about why Jon hated the world so much. Ally realized that she loved hearing him talk, even if it was not the best topic. She just liked hearing him go on and on about something.

 “I’m gonna make you love the world,” Ally stated out of the blue.

 “What?” Jonathan was so confused as to why she said that, but went along with it.

 “You don’t hate the world,” Ally then continued,”Do you hate me?”

 “What?! No! How could I hate you?”

 “Then you don’t hate the world. You just hate certain things about it,” and after she stated that, she knew he believed her by the look on his face. She then told him to try writing, again he was confused and said he liked to and read not to write.

She explained to him in almost an angelic way that she fancied the idea that you could make your own world through writing. Although the characters and the world may not be a reality, but as long as she wrote it down they were alive and a reality.

 “I like to read more because I like the fact that there are these other people that are taking me into their worlds or into what they think about,” Jon had told her his thoughts and she did not think it was possible to love a person more than she did at that moment.

 Two months later Jon and Ally went back up to the roof. Ally had gotten out of her wheelchair and could dance again with some time. Jonathan was actually happy with the world and was not going to have to move anymore, and the best thing that had happened was, they had both found their places. Ally’s place was not the roof. It was with Jonathan and Jonathan’s place was with Ally. It was almost like fate had pushed them together. Whatever it was, it made their hearts intertwined and fit like two puzzle pieces. They had found their places with each other.

“The Hut in the Woods”

By: Dalton Shepard

The past couple days have been very boring and I did not know what to do. I had already went outside and played in the dirt like any normal boy would do. By the end of the day, he wished something interesting would happen the next day. The one thing the boy did not know was that everything was going change.

The next day started like any other regular day. I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. Then I finally noticed that no one was inside the house other than me. I thought that my parents and his sister had gone to the city to get some groceries. I started to make myself some eggs and bacon while my bread was toasting in the toaster. Everything seemed pretty normal other than no one in my family was home.

“Hello, is anyone home?” I yelled at the top of his lungs to make sure no one was home. After my eggs and bacon were done he started to head to the table to eat it, but I forgot one thing.

“THE TOAST!” I screamed. Then I looked back and saw that the toaster was smoking and that his toast was all burnt. He quickly grabbed a fork to get it out (which was not the greatest idea). Finally, he got the toast out without electrocuting himself. Landon decided not to eat the toast (because who likes their toast burnt). I started wondering why my family had not gotten home yet. I went to try to call them on the phone, but I had no service. I tried the landline, the line was dead. It was about eleven o’clock and my parents had been gone for over for three hours. I went outside to see if they had been hiding outside. I walked all around the house and searched for him family but they were still nowhere to bees seen.

   “Hello, if you are out there please come here. It’s not fun being all alone in the middle of the woods”, said Landon. No one answered me and no one came. I went back inside to try and see if I could get the T.V. working and it ended up turning on in a couple of minutes. I started watching Sponge-bob because that was my favorite show. After about thirty minutes or so I heard something creak downstairs. I immediately went and closed my door. I ran to my closet to hide in so no one would know I was in his room. I waited about ten minutes before I heard a sound right outside my door. The door knob started to jiggle until the door opened slowly.

   “Landon are you in here?” said Landon's mom.

“Oh My Gosh, where have you been? I have been looking for you all morning!” said Landon. I jumped out of the closet and ran to his mom.

   “Thank the lord you are ok. We need to leave now.”

“Why do we have to leave?”

“No time to explain, but all I can say is-.” and that is when it came. A lizard-like creature busted through my window grabbed my mom and threw her outside like she was a ragdoll.

   “MOM!” yelled Landon.

   “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” is all I heard as I watched my mom get devoured piece by piece until I could not even tell who she was anymore. Then the thing looked at me. I stood as still as could be frozen in fear. It came a little closer and that is when my adrenaline kicked in. I sprinted all the way downstairs until I got to my mom and dad's room. When I got there I instantly ran for their closet. I heard a loud bang as if the thing had fell down the stairs. I heard it slowly creeping around the house. Then all of a sudden I heard the loudest screech that I have ever heard in my entire life. It was worse than my little sister crying in the middle of the night. The thing had made that terrifying noise because I do not know what else could make a noise like that. That is when I had finally seen it clearly for the first time. It looked like it was mutated from a radiation camp or something. I saw how slimy it actually was and it decided to start walking towards the kitchen. As I went to back up farther into the closet.

   “Creeeeek”, the floor that I was standing on was loose and it made a really loud noise. The creature turned his head very quickly towards me in a whip like fashion. I thought if the floor board was loose maybe I could hide under it and the creature not see me. As I was trying to lift up the board the creature kept getting closer and closer until the floor board finally gave. As it gave, the creature made a loud noise such as the thing did a couple minutes ago. I looked down into the floor and saw that there was a staircase leading down into the floor. I quickly hopped in and grabbed the board to put back on once I was in the hole. By this time, the creature was right outside the closet and was about to break down the closet door. As soon as the thing got into the closet I had put the board over me. The thing stepped on it and almost crushed my fingers. I knew that I was safe for now.

I needed to figure out where the staircase lead. As I started down the stairs I heard a lot of loud bangs upstairs. Once I reached the bottom there was a wooden door. I went to open it but it was locked. As I started to give up on opening the door I heard some voices on the other side of the door. So like any other normal person I knocked on the door to get their attention. Almost instantly the talking stopped.

“Who is it?” I heard a deep voice say on the other side of the door.

“It is Landon, I live here”, I said with a deep tone to seem like I was not scared at all. The door opened and I saw my dad standing there with an expression of relief.

“Where is your mom”, said Dad.

   “Ummmmmm”, I did not know what to say after what I saw happen to her.

“Oh My God, did the thing get her!” I slightly nodded my head. I started to see tears start to run down his face. I ran up to him and hugged him. I could not hold it in anymore. I started crying myself.

“I did not know what to do dad. The thing just jumped through the window and just-”,

“Shhh, everything will be alright as long as the rest of us stick together to take down that thing”, said Dad. After that I walked into the room. I saw at least tan people sitting at a dinner table.

“What is this place?” I asked my dad.

“This is out basement just in case of anything happening like a tornado, earthquake, or even a monster attack”, said Dad. I started walking around greeting everyone who was there. I recognize most of the people other than one, but he did not look to dangerous. We all sat at the table until this guy came out of another room, I assumed it was the kitchen, with a whole bunch of food on a giant platter. He laid it on the table and yelled,

“DIG IN!” Instantly, everybody grabbed food at once. I was the last to get my food, but it was worth it because there was still food left afterwards. After all that time I felt like we were safe and then I heard it a loud crack as if the thing could smell the food from upstairs. The thing had found the board where I had gotten in at and had broken it open. There was a little slot on the door where you could open it to see through the door. My dad slowly walked to the door and slowly opened the door hatch. He instantly jumped back to where we were. He said the thing was on the other side of the door.

¨We do not have much time till it gets through that door¨, said Dad.

   ¨Everyone grab your weapons and get ready to fight this thing! ¨ yelled the guy named Harold. As soon as he said that everyone pulled out spears and guns. I was the only one without a weapon until my dad came up to me and handed me a freakin RPG. We were all standing around the door when the thing broke down the door. Everyone opened fire on the monster all at once. Everyone with spears threw their spears, and everyone with gun all started shooting at it. After a couple seconds everyone had to reload. The monster was injured just enough to slow him down. My dad was too close to the monster. I yelled his name. He looked back and screamed, “Ruuuun.” I turned and took off with tears with my eyes. I got to the kitchen and closed the door. After a minute it was too quiet. Then all of a sudden the door that lead to the kitchen started cracking. I readied my RPG and aimed at the door. The monster busted through and with tears in my eyes and pulled the trigger. After a couple seconds, the smoke cleared and all that was left was a tiny part of the wall that was around the door. I walked out of the kitchen and saw only blood on the ground. I started up the staircase. When I got to the top of the staircase I heard some voices above me. I quickly busted out and yelled, “Help!” at the top of my lungs. They were the police here to check out the disturbance in our household. I had finally been found, and in the process of being helped. Finally this day is over. I got to the hospital, for they had to make sure I was fully ok. I looked at the clock and it was nine o’clock.

“It’s past my bedtime”, I said with a laugh behind it. That is when I was just so tired I just laid back and went to sleep.

The House Across The Street

by Caroline Thrower

It was mid-August and the bell rang early on the first Monday morning of the school year. All of the 100 Taylor High students made their way to class. I sat in the same old desk I had every other year at the small, private high school. Peyton sat on my left, and Clay sat on the right. “Good morning everyone! Welcome back to another year at Taylor High!” Mr. Martin had said enthusiastically. The class moaned, showing no emotion, and no excitement to back at school. Suddenly, our principal, with dark brown waves bouncing on her shoulders, walked into the room. Behind the tall women followed a fair-skinned boy. His head hung low while Mrs. Williams introduced him as Noah. The mysterious looking boy made his way to the only empty seat in the room-- behind me. I turned around to introduce myself only to find his eyes looking down at the papers in front of him. I faced back towards the front of the room.

“Brooke!” I heard someone yell as I walked out of the front doors of the school. It was Clay and Peyton. “Let’s meet up at your place this afternoon.” Clay said, trying to catch his breath from the running. “Okay,” I replied. We all made our separate ways to our cars. The sky was dark, and the clouds were heavy. I drove home and threw my backpack and myself onto my bed. Moments later, the doorbell rang. As I got up to let Peyton and Clay in, I saw Noah through my window. The fog outside had made it hard to be clear, but it was obviously him. He stood there. On the front porch of the old, creepy house across the street, he stood there suspiciously staring at my house. In fact, he stared right through my window at me. I ran to the front of my house and opened my door. On my way, I found that my friends had already welcomed themselves inside my house and my pantry. The two of them were snacking on some barbeque flavored chips. “What’s up Brooke,” Peyton said. I waved them towards my room, ¨Come here.¨

As I walked into the room, my eyes were immediately drawn towards the window. ¨Look!” I said with much force. They both laugh. ¨It is just the old Thompson house, and it looks as creepy as ever!” Clay said with laughter still in his voice. I stood there and looked across the street to the empty porch. It had been no longer than five minutes i had been in the other room and Noah was already gone! We all saw a car pull into the driveway at the Thompson house. In astonishment, we watched a man around the age of 50 get out of the car and walk outside. ¨Does someone live--,¨ Clay cut Peyton off and said in awe, ¨Uh huh.¨ I did not tell them that I had saw Noah outside earlier in the afternoon. Mouths dropped, we stared. No one had lived in that house in 70 years, and no one was supposed to live in it again.

It was 1916. Will Thompson had lived in the Thompson house. He was a 65 year old man, with no wife, and no kids. He lived alone in the 3 story house and no one ever came around. Will would sit on the porch in a wooden rocking chair with a cigar sticking out of his mouth. He would sit there for hours just rocking. Everyone was creeped out by him and no kids ever went around him. Until one day a boy the age of twelve received a dare from his friends to walk around the back of the house and open the back door. He did it. It was the last dare the boy ever attempted. It was the last time he was ever seen. No one knew where he was. No one knew what happened to him. Will Thompson moved out of the house two weeks later. No one has ever lived in that house since. Until today.

As I waited for Clay and Peyton to come to school on Tuesday morning, Noah walked in and sat in his desk behind mine. I sat awkwardly, knowing that Noah had seen me through my bedroom window the day before. I was hesitant to ask him about the Thompson house and why he was living there. Thankfully, my two sidekicks walked in and distracted me from asking the question. We sat in class and waited for Mr. Martin to begin teaching. The day went by slowly as we sat through our everyday classes. When lunch approached, Clay, Peyton, and I sat at our lunch table with a group of other people. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Noah sitting alone at a table across the room. Towards the end of lunch, I left my table and sat down in front of Noah. I could tell that Clay and Peyton looked at me strangely, but I had to talk to Noah about the house. The moment I sat down, he got up to put his tray up. In that exact moment the bell rang loud, and the lunchroom flooded with students trying to get to class. I could not find him. Noah was nowhere to be found.

It was raining for the second day in a row. I was driving home from school. Pulling into my driveway, I saw the 50 year old man walk out of the Thompson house. I slammed on breaks and watched him look around secretively. He went around to the side of the house and opened a door! I had never noticed the door until this moment! Taking one last glance outside, he shut the door behind himself. For the rest of the evening all I could think about was what was behind the door.

       I received a text message that my parents got caught in a storm and would not be making it home that night, and that I would have to stay alone. Supper time came around and I cooked soup for myself. I sat at the counter in my kitchen, looking out of the window still wondering what was behind the door. I continue to stare and the door opened! I had not believed what I saw. Noah. Walking out in front of the man was Noah. Once again, they looked around suspiciously before making their way inside of the house.

I laid in bed, unable to fall asleep knowing that something secretive was behind that door. I stared at my ceiling with all of my imaginations wandering around the room. I could not resist. I got out of my bed and look over at my bedside clock. It read 1:48am. I picked up my phone and hesitated to call Clay and Peyton and tell them to come, but I did not want to wake them up. I searched through my closet for my purple raincoat and put it on over my shoulders. I slid my rain boots on, left then right and go to find a flashlight. My dad kept one in the desk in his office. I searched through all of the paper in the bottom drawer of the desk and found a big, black flashlight.

       I walked out of my house ignoring the fact that I could get into a lot of trouble for trespassing onto private property and how dangerous it could be being outside in this weather. With the flashlight turned on, I made my way down my driveway and onto the lawn of the Thompson house. I went to the side of the house where I had seen Noah and the man come out of, and there I saw it. I open the door and look down at a staircase. Slowly, I walk down the stairs. I soon found out what was below the door under the Thompson house. This was the end of my life story.

       The family--and Noah--moved out of the Thompson house two weeks later.

                                       “My Firefighting Guardian”

By: Caroline Turknett

“Wow I was so young.” I told my mom as I looked at a picture of my father and me. “Do you remember him at all, Lucy?” asked my mom. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “A little” As a tear ran down my cheek, I continued to look through the brown box with pink rhinestones that my dad had given me on my second birthday. This was the only box left to pack up before I headed off to start a new chapter in my life as an independent adult . Inside the box was a diary I had started after my dad passed away. “Do you think he would be proud of me?” My mother came up to my side and gave me a hug and whispered, “He would be more than proud. You have become such a beautiful and talented women. I am sure he is looking down from heaven right now.

We both embraced each other for several minutes. Her arms provided the security and reassurance I needed. Hopefully my arms made her feel the love and appreciation I felt towards her.

As we let go of each other and wiped our eyes, we noticed the time. It was here, the time I had been working for and longing to arrive. Today was college move in day. “Are you ready to go?” mom asked. “Yes, I think I have everything.” As we got into the car, I grabbed the diary and flipped to the first page. I began to read it silently.

Dear Daddy,

It has been three months since you left me. I just had my eighth birthday party and I had double servings of cake. Mama said I could eat your piece as well as mine. It was sad not having you around to see me open all my presents. I got a new bike and a barbie doll, but my favorite present of all was your fireman tee shirt that you would always wear around the house. I like to sleep in it because it still smells like you. I miss you.

Love,

     Lucy

I began to cry and tried to wipe my tears, so my mom would not ask me what was wrong. I remember wearing that shirt everywhere I went. Mama would try to wash it, but I refused to take it off.

I thumbed through the pages. I came across an entry that caught my eye.

Dear Daddy,

Hi. I am thirteen now, but you already knew that. I have decided to cut my hair. I donated nine inches to Locks of Love. I have been on the cheer team and we won state this year! Could you see me on the mat? I got best flyer and best attitude award. I am a straight A student, but it is hard. I have to study every night to keep these grades. You taught me to strive to achieve my goals. My hope is to be like you when I grow up. I miss you Dad.

Love,

    Lucy

I closed the diary and asked mom, if we could stop by the fire station where my dad had worked. My mother shook her head. When we arrived my dad’s best friend Pat was there. Pat spoke to me and then continued to talk to my mom. I walked around touching the trucks. After walking past the last truck, I went into the station’s main office. The hallway leading up to the office has all the fireman gear and suits hanging until duty calls. At the end of the hall hangs a picture of my dad that read, “Kade Keller. Fireman. Friend. Father. Hero. 1976-2005.” Under the picture hangs his helmet and suit. I picked up the coat, it smelled like smoke. Just like he did after a long work day. Then I caught a glimpse of a photo above the one of dad. It was a picture of Mama carrying me home from t While I was staring at the photo, Pat walked in.

“We really miss your dad, Lucy. He was such a good man.” said Pat. “I know he would be so proud of everything you have accomplished. Kade loved you so much. He talked about you constantly.” As I began to walk out of the room, I turned and hugged Pat. “I really appreciate all that you’ve done for my mom and me.” I cried, “It really means alot.”  

I got back in the car headed to my new college home and began to look at the diary again.

Dear Daddy,

I am sixteen now, and just got a car. My very own! I know you can not believe I am on the streets. My mom loves my new boyfriend. I hope you like him also. He said his dad knew you in high school. He has brown hair, he’s tall, and has a great sense of humor, just like you. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA so far. I am hoping to attend University of Florida. I just want to live to serve the Lord and make Him happy.

Love,

   Lucy

After seeing the note, I could not believe that my dream was coming true. I am actually on my way to University of  Florida with a full scholarship. I decided to put the diary up and play some music for the rest of the ride.

When we finally arrived, Mother helped me unload all my bags and fix my dorm. “Wonder when we will meet your roommate,” said my mom. “I have no idea. I hope we will get along,” I said as I put on my new sheets. We hung a picture of my father over my desk. I picked up the chest that he had given me and slid it under my bed.

Then there was a loud noise as this girl with blonde silky hair and blue eyes walked in. “Hi! I’m Sarah,” said the girl as she walked up to shake my hand. I smiled and told her that my name was Lucy Keller. “Keller. No way! Do you happen to know a Kade Keller?” When she said my father’s name, my heart dropped. “Yes,” i said quietly, “he is my dad. He passed away a little over ten years ago.” “Your dad is my hero! He saved my life. I was only around eight, but Mr. Kade gave his life for me. Our house was an old wooden home. It was so old and most of the wiring and appliances were out of date and need of repair. There was a shortage in one of the wires and we had an electrical fire. My room was upstairs and the fire began downstairs. My parents couldn’t get to me because the stairwell was engulfed with flames. Your dad came and rescued me. He tried to carry me to a window, but we were completely surrounded by flames. He wrapped me in a wet blanket and carried me through the flames.  We finally got to a window. He got us out of the house safely, but as you know, he gave up his oxygen mask to me. The sacrifice left  him exposed to smoke inhalation. I am alive today because of his bravery. I thank God everyday for what your dad did for me.”

I realized that God had sent her to me. It was almost as if I was with my dad again. She is aa reminder that while he had to leave physically, he was forever watching over me and protecting me.

Donald Warren                    “The False Arrest”                       1/12/17

It was strange sitting in that cell, the only music to listen to was the chimes of water pipes dripping on stone, slowly mining away each brick in the wall into nothing but rubble.The only thing to greet you is gray walls, correctional officers yelling at six in the morning,and the foul language of other prisoners.This was not where I expected to spend my life and I am sure I can say the same for the people in the cells next to me.The worst thing is the fact that I was never meant to be here.I guess that's what happens when an unlucky soul such as myself is framed for murder.On top of that the man I was accused of killing  was the mayor of the city in which I lived.

    The murder occured during a torrental downpour in the blending mass of smoke and brick in New York City.I was making my daily walk home when I heard sounds of yelling in an alleyway.I ran to the sound of confrontation when I saw two men.One whoms face was sheilded by a red devil mask with a black pistol in hand and the other being the mayor.It was immediatly clear to me that I had two choices either attempt to intervien or I could ignore the situation and face being arrested for fleeing a murder scene.Like the brainless fool I was I decided to run...at the man with the gun.I didn’t know what would happen.Maybe I would get shot dead or maybe I would get rewarded for saving the mayor.Then the roaring of gun fire erupted throughout the narrow alley.The mayor was lying stiff with currents of blood washing away due to the rain.The shooter then stared at me through the haunting black eyes of the mask then catapulted the sidearm towards me and like the dunce I was I caught it.

   Then just when the circumstances could not get any more miserable two officers bolted towards the scene and only saw me with gun in hand and the mayor as dead as my hopes of talking myself out of this situation.Now having two police officers aiming guns at me startled me like a child being caught stealing, so I began to futily sprint away from the men who would still eventually arrest me.As I was running through the alley with puddles splashing under my feet and sewer grates secreting steam. I suddenly peeked over my shoulder just to see one of the officers inches behind me.Then seconds later I saw the gravel of the sidewalk rush towards my face and as if someone threw a blanket over my eyes everything went black.

    When I finally awoke I was sitting in a cell only occupied by myself.One of the officers finally noticed.Then looked at me with bewildered eyes as to why someone would murder a man knowing that they would most likely be arrested in the process. Unfortunately, I too wanted to know the same.After hours of waiting in my cell, a lawyer told me that I should just confess so I can be able to actually leave prison.When I told the lawyer what actually happened.Of course, the lawyer wouldn’t believe me so there was no choice,but to arrive to court next month and tell the truth only to be stomped out with lies.

  It was almost like a movie sitting in the court staring at the judgemental eyes of everyone in the room.The teared up eyes of the mayor’s wife whom were staring upon what was thought to be the murderer of her beloved husband,but in turn the man who attempted to save him.The journalist all staring me like starving wolves at a lonesome doe, all jotting down notes thinking they were staring at story of the year.Lucky for them they were right.Then there was the judge,piercing me with cold eyes looking prepared to sentence me to prison.Lastly, the district attorney who already knew that he was gonna win the case as soon as I walked into the court shackled like a dog on a leash.

    The most nerve-racking part wasn’t when I walked into the courtroom,or the looks I received from everyone in there,or even when they sentenced me to life in prison.The horrific part was walking into the court knowing that from the start I was gonna be guilty.It seemed to me as though everyone was ready to sentence me instead of finding the man who I told the court actually commited the crime.The trial only lasted a couple of hours when the jury claimed I was guilty, then with a flick of a wrist and the bang of the gaval I was sentenced to prison for life.

   Fortunately, there were two things the court had wrong that day the fact I was guilty and the fact that I was going to be in prison for the rest of my life.Living in prison for five years with nothing but reading and contemplating gives a man alot of wild ideas and when you read enough on stone working and plumbing gives that man some clue on how to make these ideas a reality.When you are to be believed as the murderer of the mayor it seems easy to get the tools you need to go home.

    Now, I had three main components of leaving this correctional facility, a chisel to break away the stone in my cell, a leaky pipe that mined at the same wall for decades on end, and a late night storm to shelter the thunderous commotion of my excavation to the inside of prison walls.With each lion like roar of thunder I dug deeper into the cell wall and in only minutes I could step into the maintenance tunnel where I could walk through and right out of the prison.As I walked through the maintenance tunnel with my hand gliding against the cold cement and breeze of mildew flying up my nostrilsI knew that I was free.

   When I stepped outside I looked backed at the at the everlasting expanse of barbed wire and brick that I once lived in for so many years.Then I looked forward to the lights of a city I will never see for the rest of my life, but not because I was a fugitive but because I never wanted to see the city that sent me to prison.Then the image of that day burned in my mind like a movie.When suddenly all I could see was the devil staring at me with cold dead eyes.I have never been a vengeful man, but know I had to go back to that city and find the scum that forced me to live in that hole for so many years.

  Going back to the city proved more difficult than I expected, especially when the whole of the NYPD was combing every nook and cranny looking for the man that killed the mayor and I was too.The hardest part of finding the man I took the crime for wasn’t the fact I was scuttling from alley to alley trying arduously.Trying to avoid every man and woman in blue,but going back and forth to every mask store to find if someone bought a devil mask from five years ago.Then in a strange turn of events I found the store that would give me the revenge I craved for all those years.

   The name of the mask shop was Brooks Costumes it was full a colorful array of masks each looked to be handmade of sorts and none of them being a devil.Then an elderly man with slicked back grey hair greeted me with a bright smile and proposed that I was here for something other than a mask.Of course in bewilderment I asked him,”How did you know that?”.

  He stated,”You have the look in your eyes of a man tired of hiding”.

  I told him,”Could possibly be the most truth I heard in years”.

  “Well know what do you want from me other than enlightenment?”,he inquired.

  “Do you have any record of a someone buying a devil mask maybe five years ago?”I requested.

  The man smiled then proceeded under the register and gave me a receipt from five years ago marked with one order of a devil mask and even an address that was near the alley where it all started.Knowing this I began to end what the man in the devil mask had started.

 I knocked at the apartment door not knowing who would be on the other side.The door only cracked slightly to reveal the face of a man in complete terror.He tried to slam the door on me but I stopped it with my foot and walked into his apartment.The man tried to rush me,but with a single swing he went down like a ton of bricks.I tied the murderer to his sofa.Then I scavenged all throughout his home to see if I could find any evidence of him murdering the mayor.When after minutes of searching later I found a box labeled “Mayor”.No one could have ever felt as much overwhelming joy as I did that day.

 In the box were pictures of dozens of maps all with highlighted roads showing routes the mayor took to go home.The box even included a letter incase he had ever gotten caught.I left the box on a coffee table in front of the man that ruined my life and left.I called 911 claiming that,”The fugitive was in the apartment and that he was gonna kill me!”.

   I watched from another building as SWAT invaded the apartment only to find the real murderer tied to the sofa with a box filled to the brim with evidence to back it up.Then I laughed seeing the devil handcuffed and taken into the back of a police car.I knew as soon as those policemen left that apartment building that I would never have to worry about returning to prison again.I left New York filled with pride knowing that today I had given out justice and finally got my revenge after all those years.  

  

                                                              The Day

                                                          Arrie Williams

“There she goes,” they whispered, one by one they could see her. She traveled with an ever changing pace.  First running, then deciding that this was not mature, she reluctantly walked, walked, and walked some more through the field. If Ella was right, this would be her last field and would not need to go any further. But only if she was right.

She grew excited once more and began to run, but then quickly slowed as she began to fear and worry and, worst of all, doubt. She felt a pain-no, it was more of a tiredness that she felt- as she recognized the feeling of doubt creeping in like a fox in a henhouse. But she slowly pushed it into the back of her mind and walked on.

As she walked on, Ella slowly began to notice the field she was in. It was a field of grass, just like any other, but before her journey began she had never seen a field. In fact, she had never seen grass-well at least not real grass. It was just a week ago that she had seen the small ant she found in a garden, but that was once in all of her life until now. Now, she could see the birds that flew over her head, the insects at her feet, and the fish that swam down the small river to her left. To her disappointment, she hadn’t seen any bigger animals than a mouse. But she didn’t think much of it. She was too busy taking in the scenery. The sun was just starting to set and was casting the most beautiful shades of pink, orange ,and yellow onto the clouds and the sky. In her mind she desperately searched for the words to describe what she saw.  The only words that came close were magnificent and majestic, but they didn’t seem to fit. She quickly decided that out of the few sunsets that she had actually seen in person, this was the most beautiful.

As she continued, her mind travelled back to her past. Back when she was contained in her room, the only room she had ever known, and shielded from the outside world.  The white room that she had spent her years in, still haunted her dreams and kept her awake most nights.

“Not tonight,” Ella said triumphantly (she hoped). She had grown accustomed to talking to herself. It now had come easily from the years in her solitary room. That was the only time she was allowed to talk, only to herself. She remembered very clearly the kinds of punishments that would be used when someone tried to communicate with the others that were there. One glance and they would be tased with no hesitation from the hands who also fed them. Besides this, she had had no human contact, except for the girl who told her about the town outside of the wall.

The girl was new, and moved into the room right next to hers. On her second day there, the girl slid a piece of paper under Ella’s door. Staring at the paper on the floor, Ella froze.  If anyone had seen the paper they would both be severely punished or maybe even be killed.  While realizing this, Ella quickly snapped out of her unexpected trance and grabbed the piece the paper.  She clenched the paper in her hand and hid it in her shoe, waiting for someone to burst through the door and demand for the paper.

But no one came, and after a few minutes, she realized that no one was coming.  She  was impressed. After Ella had spent all her years never getting away with anything, this new girl had successfully reached out to someone and without consequences. She had been the first to do this in many years.

Ella’s thoughts were interrupted by a silent knock coming from the wall.  It was the same wall that separated Ella from the new girl. This reminded her of the paper.  She took it out of her shoe and slowly unfolded the paper.  

On the top of the paper they were the words “Morse code” in bold. Under it were letters in ABC order and above each letter there were a series of dots and dashes. Every letter with its own pattern. The knocking continued, causing Ella to become quite agitated. But she then realized that the knocks seemed quite similar to the morse code patterns. The dots were quick knocks, while the dashes seemed to last longer. With one letter at a time they communicated, and that was how Ella knew about the town. The new girl had told her everything she knew about the town,and they planned their escape.  But only Ella made it out.

Ella had thought about the girl everyday and felt grateful but also sad and sorry.  Ella had made it out and she didn’t.

She stopped dead in her tracks.  The town, if she remembered right, was just over the hill in front of her.  It was just getting dark out, and she thought she would be able to see the town’s lights from over the hill. But she didn’t. She tried to convince herself that it didn’t mean anything, but she didn’t do a very good job of it. She couldn’t seem to get herself to move. She seemed to be to scared to, but she didn’t know if it was the possibility of there being no town that scared her the most or if it was the possibility that there was one. They both scared her more than anything because either one of them would leave her not knowing what to do next.  It was the uncertainty that scared her, not the lack of a town. When she had her room, she always knew what would happen next. This was the first and last time Ella actually missed her confinement.

This realization sickened her to the core. How dare she miss it?  It gave her the courage to climb the hill.  And she saw nothing there but tall grass.

The site sickened her even more.  She had memorized the girl’s directions perfectly, but there was no town any where to be seen.  Now what was she supposed to do?  After all that had happened there was no town.  She remembered how specific and tedious the girl was about the direction, and even when she described the town it felt so personal, as if she had been there herself.  It didn’t seem right to Ella that the town wasn’t there.  It didn’t seem to fit.  As she continued to think, she circumambulated the area where the town should have been and tripped on something, almost falling.  It was now dark and was hard to see, but she could just barely make out a trapdoor. Ella then remembered the girl saying that the air in the town smelled somewhat earthy, and she also never mentioned the sun.  Ella realized this could only mean one thing: the town was underground.  But Ella became frightened, once again, of the uncertainty.  She then thought of the girl still stuck in her room and decided she would go down.  She would soon meet the people who were expecting her the whole time and communicate with them.  That was her plan, her certainty. Her day.

“The Hopper”

By Reece Willingham

The phone on the lawyer desk went crazy, a loud ring started buzzing from it. The ringing easily drowned out the sound of the rain pouring outside. The Lawyer, annoyed by the call, picked up the phone and put it on his ear. He replied with a simple hello.

  “Sir,” said his female receptionist, “someone is here to meet with you. He said he scheduled an appointment.”

Confused, the lawyer looked through his planner to find that indeed there was an appointment scheduled at this time of day.

“Bring him in.”

He hung up. How could he have forgotten an appointment, it usually never happens like that? Maybe it was because the kid who scheduled it didn’t really give any kind of explanation or reason to why he wanted to meet. Is it something important or is it just a big waste of his time? But no matter what type of meeting he was going to have he had to keep his image and impress people of all ages. He lint rolled his dark grey suit, and brushed off any crumbs or hair. He brushed his short but thick hair. Most of the time he kept his office lights off and let the outside light in, lighting the whole room up. Suddenly the door opened and this teenage boy came in. He was wearing a gray jacket, with a black t-shirt under it and some jeans. He had short blonde hair.

“Hello,” said the boy as he put out his hand to shake the lawyer’s hand, “My name is James Membrane.”

“Hello, my name is Mr. Brandon Rogers, but you call me Mr. Rogers.” the lawyer said to him, shaking the teenager’s hand. Mr. Rogers went to go sit back down into his chair behind his desk, while James sat in one of the few chairs that were placed in front of the desk.

“Now James I am very interested,” Mr. Rogers said leaning back in his chair, “you scheduled this meeting and gave me no information on it.”

“Because if I did sir you wouldn’t have allowed me to make this meeting.”

There was a brief pause, no sound was made. The one and only thing heard from that room was the rain beating like bullets on the glass. It was especially hard since they were higher up in the building. Mr. Rogers was in deep shock. What could James possible want to talk about with him that he wouldn’t like?

“Well you are here now and I wouldn’t want to make one of my customers upset.”

“Alright,” James said. He took a deep breath, grabbed a sheet of paper out of his pocket, and unfolded it. It had a list of facts on it, so when he talked he would have his facts straight. “30 years prior to this time this man named Garrett Rogers was a local legend because of all of his explorations, treasures, and parts of history he discovered over the years. Then on his 10 year anniversary of exploration on March 20, 1985 he went to find a special piece for his new machine to expand his exploration. A dimension opener, he said that it rips two holes between our dimension and the other and quickly pulls them together. That was the last time anyone has seen him.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Mr. Rogers questioned with a hint of anger, “I’m a lawyer, not an investigator.”

James, eager to find out answers, unfolded one of his papers that he had took out for evidence. He had a genetics line and a family tree from a website. He read over the information quick so he can get to his point.

“Because you’re his son,” James stated. Mr Rogers sat there stunned. He never knew his father, because his mom never talked about him. He thought that his dad had left his mom or worse was a criminal. That was mainly part of his reason to become a lawyer so he could find his father, “if anyone knows where he is, it’s you.”

“My father is Garrett Rogers, I can’t believe it. After all this time my father's been missing! We have to find him.” Mr. Rogers demanded.

“How, you are the only one who knows about him?” James questioned.

“I think I know someone who does.” Mr. Rogers said.

They left the room and went down to the first floor and went out of the building. It had just stopped raining when Mr. Rogers told James to follow him. James got in his car and quickly started it because Mr. Rogers took off. James had no idea what he was getting into, he just wanted to know what happened to him for a paper at school. But if he wanted a 100 and have a good average he will do whatever it takes. Finally, Mr. Rogers started to slow down. They must be nearby. Mr. Rogers turned onto a driveway to a small house in the country. It was white with a few spots that needed to be powerwashed. It had a brick foundation and was up on a small hill. They went inside the house, Mr. Rogers looking everywhere.

“What are you doing here?” someone in another room said. Then, an older lady in a wheelchair came out and had a surprised expression.

“Mom! It’s been awhile since I last saw you!” Mr. Rogers said hugging his mother in the wheelchair.

“Who is this young fellow?” Mr. Rogers’s Mom asked

“Hello, my name is James Membrane.” he said shaking her hand.

“My name is Anna Rogers, and you said your last name was Membrane? James nodded. “My Husband, Garrett, had a partner named Reece Membrane.”

“That’s my dad.” James said.

“Well, while we’re here, mom, we needed to ask you something.” Brandon said.  “What happened to dad?”

“Well, I guess you must know now that he was a great explorer, an amazing one. That’s how we met actually. I was kidnapped and he saved me. Anyhow, he went on one last mission to get one part for his dimension opener. I told him not to go alone so he took Reece Membrane. They found the piece and Garrett was so eager to test his machine out, he put the substance know as dark plasma into his Dimension Opener gun. He shot a portal, but what he didn’t know, because of the gravity change, was that the other side was a giant vacuum. The portal sucked him in. It closed leaving Reece Membrane and his gun. Reece didn’t know how to used it, so he took it back to the lab looking everywhere to find out what might have happened to Garrett. He spent days searching for solutions.”

“So did my dad just give up?” James asked

          “No, he spent months trying to bring him back, it wasn't long before a doctor ordered him to stop because he was endangering his health. After he got better he met a girl and moved on with his life. He told me a few weeks before his wedding that If he couldn't save him in 10 months then there was no hope.”

“Oh, so this is it.” James said disappointed, “my adventure ends here. I thought there was more. This is a cliffhanger, he could still be out there. What if he isn't dead, even if there is a small chance of him being there we have to take it.”

“James, it’s over.” Brandon said with sorrow. “He's gone in another dimension. If he was alive he would've made another Dimension Opener and hopped back into our dimension by now.”

“Maybe you're right! Maybe he's hopping from each dimension to get here,” James said excited.

Brandon asked for James to leave so him and his mother could catch up. James, disappointed, left and went home to write his paper. It wasn't as complete as he wanted it to be but there was no more information. He talked to his dad to give him some more information and sure enough he got a lot. So much that he had enough to finish his paper and still get a good grade. The next day had rolled by and it was time to send his paper in. His teacher, impressed with his work, gave him a good grade. He was entered into a writing contest, which he won with his paper of “Garrett Rogers: The Dimension Hopper.” Months passed and he got award after award.

He was happy that his research was so successful, but he doesn't go a single day when he doesn't think of what Garrett Rogers is doing now, or how his dad and Garrett met and their own separate adventures. But is this the end of the search for him? Of course not, this is not the end. Well it is the end for the research paper, but there is still more research to be done. He's the perfect candidate to be searching for Garrett. All he needs to do to start his quest is find a partner.