2020-2021 1st Per. PURPLE YGA Stories

 

Molly’s Dilemma

by Ella Johnson

 

            Students fly off the sidewalk as Molly comes in without even preparing to slow down from her swift speed on her skateboard. She zooms and weaves through the crowd in the courtyard of Oak Ridge High fluidly, until one unlucky new kid who no one had told the rules, did not follow suit and kept on the sidewalk. Molly saw him too late, and they went tumbling, with her landing flat on the ground. 

            “Hey!” Molly said, righting herself quickly and getting in the boy’s face. 

            “Stay out of the way next time um,” Molly said then hesitated when she realized she had never seen this boy before in their small school, and did not have a clue as to what his name was. He understood her hesitation and offered up the information.

            “Sorry about that,” he said smiling while backing up to a more comfortable distance, “They call me Pierce Ledger, I’m new here.”

            “Well Pierce,” Molly said with a sneer, “I’m Molly Bowie, and next time I’m coming through, be smart like everyone else and get out of my way, okay? Thanks,” she said and then quickly gathered speed on her skateboard towards the main building.

            Molly walked into Mr. Cortez’s first period and took her seat at the back of the class beside her best friend, Skylar Beckett. 

            “Wassup Molls?” Skylar said, handing Molly her coffee. Skylar had recently gotten her license, but it would be months before Molly got hers. So she was stuck riding her skateboard for another school year. 

            “Did you hear about the new kid? Pierce Ledger?” Molly asked.

            “That him?” Skylar said, nodding towards the ones making his way towards the desk on the other side of Molly’s. 

            “Yeah,” Molly said, rolling her eyes at the fact he just had to pick the seat next to hers out of all the others available in the classroom.

            “Your dad asked me to take you home from your tutor session today. I’ll be there at four, tell me how the new tutor is. Try and treat the new one nicely this time.” Skylar said unable to contain her laughter, “Let’s see if you can break your record of half a semester keeping a tutor.” Molly was laughing hysterically and was about to defend herself when the bell rang, and the first period began. 

***

            The last bell rang at three, and Molly grabbed her books and headed towards the library. She had been telling herself all day to be nice to whoever was in the room, no matter what. She knew her dad was tired of finding new tutors. She just was not the nicest in the first place, but not knowing how to do biology and needing someone’s help aggravated her to no end. She hated being dependent on anything or anyone other than herself. Molly took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the first private study room. She looked up to see Pierce staring back at her from his chair at the table. Her mind immediately flew to this morning, when she had been snappy at him this morning, not knowing he was her new biology tutor.

            “You’re my new tutor?” Molly said, putting her books down on the table. 

            “I guess so,” Pierce said with a smile. He started to pull out his textbooks and lay them in front of him on the table.

            “Ready to get started?” he said when he had all his stuff laid out on the table. 

“Sure I guess,” Molly said, smiling. 

Pierce and Molly tutored together every day and enjoyed each other's company. Then one day, after a tutoring session Molly realized she thought about him the whole way home, and then while she was at home, and even when she crawled into bed that night to rest up for the next school day. 

“Oh no,” Molly said aloud when she made the realization. Molly realized she liked this boy and wanted to be more than just friends. But this went against everything she stood for, and what would everyone think at school to see her with a boy? The looks on people’s faces would be priceless. How could a girl like Molly be with a boy? That would go against all her principles about being independent and not needing anyone but herself, but maybe he’s worth it.

 

Be a Light 

by Marley Jarrell

 

            Today marks three months without my mom. I hate that I’ve already started to forget things about her. I won’t forget how she would always say, “Margaret, greet every person with kindness. You may be the only source of light they see that day.” It has not been the easiest since she’s been gone. She raised two kids as a single parent. I can’t thank her enough for everything she did for me, but I wish she would have done some things differently. My older brother has been trying his best to provide for us for the last few months. 

My brother had a hard time in school. Mom didn’t want me to go through the same thing, so she thought it would be best to homeschool me. My brother enrolled me in my local high school at the end of summer. School started about a month ago, and it is not what I expected at all. Being home with my mom all of these years has caused me problems. When I was younger, I would speak to everybody I saw. But now, I can barely hold eye contact with someone for more than a few seconds. At the slightest interaction with a person I’m not familiar with, my face turns red, my hands start to sweat, and my heart begins to pound faster and faster. 

My brother dropped me off at school as soon as the doors opened. I walked through the halls with my head down. I bumped into a few people on my way to my first class, but I finally made it. I noticed some of my classmates turned their heads as I walked into class, but I’ve gotten used to it. My first class was almost over, and I couldn't wait to leave. I’m not a big fan of my next period, but I looked forward to seeing Bernard. 

The counselor was busy with a fighting issue, so Bernard showed me around on the first day of school. He held out his hand and said, “I’m Bernard. My wife thinks I should try to speak to everyone I come across because I might be the only human source of light they see that day, or something like that.” With a hardy handshake and an ear-to-ear smile, he said, “Most students won’t even look at me, but I see right off you're not like most.”

 I replied, “I know the feeling.” I  couldn’t help but grin back at this gentle old soul and surprised myself that I mustered that many words to another person. I know some people think it’s weird that Benard talks to me every day, but we have more in common than people would think, despite the gaps in generations. However, it could be because he’s the janitor that people find it strange, but I’m not sure.

 I hadn’t seen him since last Thursday, and today was Tuesday. I have hardly spoken to anyone else during this time. I wondered if he was sick or on vacation. I walked out of class and immediately started looking for him. He was in his usual spot, but something was different. He didn’t even look at me. I walked over to him, and my face immediately turned red.    

I knew something was wrong. I’ve had that same sorrowful look, not all that long ago. I figured it would be best to wait until after school to talk to Bernard. I finally found him walking out of the janitor’s closet. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, taking slow, long steps. I stopped him just before he walked out of school. “Mr. Williams,” I hesitantly said as he was walking away. Everyone called him Benard behind his back including me, but I always called him Mr. Williams while talking to him.

“Hello Margaret, can I help you with something?” He said with a soft tone. 

            I panicked, but I knew it was too late to walk away. I stuttered a bit, but I finally said, “I just wanted to know if you would like to grab a bite to eat.” I thought it would be easier for him to talk to me this way. 

            “Sure, let’s go,” Bernard said with a faint smile. 

            I grabbed my things out of my locker, and Bernard and I left school. We walked half a block until we found the restaurant we wanted to dine in. Shortly after we sat down, Bernard told the waitress what we both wanted to eat. He smiled at me as she walked away. I could tell Bernard craved to say something, but he said nothing. I took it upon myself to start the conversation. I sighed and said, “Is everything alright Bernard, I could tell something was wrong earlier at school.”

            Bernard's smile faded as soon as I said something. “My wife passed away last night,” he said with tears filling his eyes. 

            I shook my head and said, “I’m sorry, I lost my mom three months ago. It still hurts, but it will get better with time, keep being a light, that’s what she would want.” He said nothing, just flashed that million-dollar smile he had.

            Little did I know how close I would become with Bernard. We spent every day together. He was my best friend. A month after I had lunch with Bernard, I received a call. I dropped to my knees with tears streaming down my face.

            It’s been a little while since Bernard’s funeral, since our chats, greetings, and sharing of current events. I’m not sure if things got better or worse for either of us. A lawyer came to the school and talked about all kinds of stuff I knew nothing about. I thought I was in trouble when the assistant principal called me to her office and introduced this guy with gel in his hair, a big briefcase, and paperwork for my newly appointed guardian to sign. Everyone sure was being friendly to me, and it felt a little weird. I inherited everything from Bernard, whatever that means. He was only a janitor, but his wife was a lawyer. Most people would be happy to have inherited such a fortune like this, so I keep hearing. Although, I’m not sure what to do with this fortune. The only thing I can think to do is what Mom and Benard told me, be a light. 

A Royale

by Timothy Lawson

 

            It was the time of the year where all real gamers relax. However, there was no relaxing right now. The earth was pouring down its magnificent darkness and intense watery urine in my area like a bird not minding where it takes a massive whiteout. I arose from my slumber, Dracula style. I always reminded myself to reach my 100th victory royale on an Xbox Series X at midnight or three in the morning, so I did, once again.

            Ever since I bought the console, it accepted me as its rightful owner long ago, but time was going slower than usual as I had to pry open her eyes. This act of defiance took a toll on me since I squealed like a hairy pig getting stabbed by a branch on a dark night. Good thing your parents have night-shift jobs, I reminded myself. The voices of 100 beautiful women startled me; she had awoken. Grasping the controller, I moved my thumbstick at super speeds to reach my destination to the best game in all of history, Fortnite.

            Turning on this gorgeous piece of art and joining a game, I recognize 1xStupidSmartx1 and his infamous stream sniper, X%6_$Gnag$_9%X. They were both elite Fortnite gamers. Shaking like a blender with ice inside of it, a rush of mixed emotions flooded me, which all forced me to reach my 100th victory royale by beating both 1xStupidFartx1 and X%6_$Gnag$_9%X.

            Once the game started, however, everything froze. I wondered to myself, Is this what the Arctic Tundra feels like? Creating a shock, not even the Sun could withstand, a large majority of players got toasted. Everyone remaining trembled in fear, as we all knew who caused this. A notorious hacker named PopshixP revealed himself on that server.

            I couldn’t understand what PopshixP and IxStupidSmartxI said, but I know they said something like, “Bruh that was mad easy lol.” PopshixP said.

            “Yeah bro its mad easy pressing one button,” IxStupidSmartxI replied, reporting the exploiter.

            “Omg StupidSmart I’m such a big fan of you omg please-” PopshixP couldn’t finish his dumb sentence; man got exterminated.

            Even though he’ll come back again, which is why he’s notorious, I was relieved for some odd reason, forgetting that he wiped out 95 people in one go.

            After that uneventful event, I overheard IxStupidSmartxI say something about him having enough of this delicious game, which led him to jump off a random tower.

            Faster than darkness, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I could not quite understand what was going on. My hands were slightly clenched to the controller. Maybe it was my dream victory being crushed to molecules or something else, but I didn't really care too much about my dumb fantasy dream victory royale about me beating two great Fortnite players. 

            Deciding to stay, I saw something dumb. The two remaining people were huddled up like campers listening to some awful story. This could be my only chance of getting my 100th victory royale, I thought. I decided to do the most logical thing a gamer would and take the easy win, killing the person who stood still.

            The other guy, however, ran like he was filled with nitro and steroids. I could tell he was desperate for the win because of his mashing levels and jumpy character movements. No matter how hard he tried, he kept falling off his unbalanced princess tower, getting to a point where he had to use "chug-jugs" to heal himself. I put a slight frown on my face as I shot his building down, leading to his demise. The genetically clumsy person turned around at super speeds just to explode into sharp molecules, leading to my frown turning 180 degrees.

I had a peal of short laughter until I realized I achieved my 100th win. Though I got hard carried by PopshixP, it still felt good, but it would have felt better if I got my win by beating IxStupidSmartxI and X%6_$Gnag$_9%X. My mouth turned 180 degrees after I turned my head to see the red glowing clock. It shot at 11:59 pm in my face. That’s just unfortunate, I thought, Welp, time to go on Tiktok and flex, I guess. 

 

Our Biggest Fear

by Abby Wiegert

 

            Screaming and crying, my best friend kept getting farther and farther away from me. I knew I had to stop running and find the nearest police station. Everyone around me just stood there. Before I went to find the police station, I fell to my knees, unable to fathom what just happened. I couldn’t believe my best friend, Christina, was experiencing my biggest fear.

 At this point, my face was wet and I was hyperventilating, however I still decided to charge in. 

As I ran into the police station, I yelled,”Please help! My best friend has just been kidnapped!” A police officer quickly walked to me and attempted to calm me down. He took me to a separate room, so I wouldn’t concern the other people in the building too much. We both sat down and I explained everything to him after I could breathe again.

 I first said,”My friend, Christina Martinez, was abducted. She was wearing a light blue shirt, black skinny jeans, and black converse. She is caucasian, her hair is straight and blonde, and is about 5’7 feet tall.” The police officer wrote everything I said down on a notepad and proceeded to ask me a few more questions regarding the abductor. I told him that the man was very tall, wearing all black, and seemed to be caucasian. I continued saying he was wearing a ski mask, so I couldn’t get a look at his face.

A female police officer entered the room; the male officer shared the notes with her and they discussed something out in the hallway. The woman came back into the room and asked me the location of the kidnapping. 

I explained,”She was originally taken ahold of on 10th Street, but the man walked her to the parking garage right across the street.” My face turned bright red and tears started filling my eyes. What happened was so unbelievable and overwhelming that I couldn’t keep myself together. 

The female officer told me to go home and get some sleep. She said that the police were already on the case of my missing friend. That night I was restless. I was tossing and turning, thinking of all the things that could be happening or already happened to Christina. Soon enough, I fell asleep.

Christina was screaming my name. All I heard were her cries for help, her cries of pain. I had almost made it to her, but it was too late. She was gone. Her kidnapper killed her right in front of me. As soon as her body hit the floor, he ran for me. I was too slow, he caught me. But as soon as he did, I sat up drenched in sweat. I was too shocked to cry, or do anything. I sat there in my bed, trying to comprehend the nightmare I had just had.

I decided to try and stop thinking about the terrible dream. I attempted to continue my day as I normally would, starting with a shower. As usual I turned the water to hot, and took about twice as long as I generally would, taking around a 45 minute shower. I quickly got dressed so I could head down to the station to see if the officers had any leads on Christina’s whereabouts.

Right as I walked through the doors, I saw the woman who asked me a few final questions the day before. When I reached her, it was like she could read my mind. 

She said,”I'm sorry, Alexandria, but we haven’t found anything on your missing friend.” I freezed and quickly started thinking of all the worst-case scenarios, but soon stopped myself seeing as it had been less than 24 hours.

I responded by saying,”Okay. Thank you ma’am. I know you are all trying your best.” She seemed grateful, for I was being patient with her. When I returned home, I took out my phone and immediately called Liam. Liam, my old friend from high school, has recently become a detective. 

That night, Liam knocked on my apartment door. When I let him in, I fell into his arms crying. He moved me to the couch where we both sat. Liam let me cry for hours. I ended up crying myself to sleep. That morning, I explained Christina’s situation. Of course, being the great friend Liam was, agreed to helping me find her. 

“I think we should start looking for clues where the crime happened,” Liam said. I nodded, and we went on our way to the parking garage, where I saw the man take Christina. Liam inspected the area, and found a black glove. I realized the man who took Christina was wearing black gloves. When I told Liam this, he immediately placed the glove into an empty bag. We found nothing else, so we headed to a lab where one of Liam’s friends traced DNA off of the glove. 

Not expecting to find out so soon, we learned the name of Christina’s abductor. His name was Henry Smith. Neither of us recalled a Henry Smith, so we did some research. This man most definitely did not have the cleanest record. He was wanted for burglary, assault, and now a kidnapping. Liam found his address while researching Henry.

Although I wanted to go ahead and go to Henry’s house, Liam argued that it would be better to go tomorrow, since we had already found out a lot of information that day. After fighting for a few minutes, I gave in.

I raised my voice saying,”Okay fine, but we need to meet right here at 9:00a.m tomorrow morning.” Liam agreed, and we both parted ways. As soon as I returned home, I flopped onto my bed and fell right asleep. The next morning quickly came, and I hurried down to the lab where Liam and I found out so much information. Liam drove us to Henry’s house where we stood at the front door and knocked for ten minutes. There was no answer. Hesitantly, I reached to grab the doorknob. Hoping it would be locked, I opened the door. 

Liam stepped inside first, then I walked in after. As we looked around, I continuously coughed from the dust. It seemed like no one had been in or cleaned his house in years. While we walked deeper into the house, I heard a muffled noise, kind of like someone was screaming. My heart was pounding. I knew it had to be Christina. Without a second thought, I darted through the door into the dark basement.

I came to my senses about halfway down the stairs. I cautiously creeped down, ignoring Liam’s warnings. When I reached the floor, I flipped the lightswitch on, revealing Christina. She was malnourished, and looked like she had been beaten. I quickly untied her and helped her up the stairs. Christina was crying, but I told her to keep quiet. I heard a car pull into the driveway. I pushed Christina into Liam’s arms and told them to leave through the back door.

As soon as they were out and I was closing the basement door, he walked in. Henry saw me and charged at me. He knew what I had just done. I fled for the back door only to feel his hands grip my shoulders. I turned around and swung at him, but he was prepared for that. He hit me first. I knew he had just fractured my wrist. I had to put my fears and pain aside and fight him. This time he was not expecting me to try and hit him, but I did. He stumbled back in pain, which gave me enough time to run out of his house. 

Liam had Christina in the car and was waiting for me to come out. I scrambled in the car knowing I had just saved my best friend.

Her Ghost

by Sarah Kuhrt

 

            There was a loud ringing in Kai’s ears, and no matter how hard he tried he could not hear the car horns blaring. He could smell smoke, but could not see any, not that he could really see anything with how blurry his vision was. He looked around but all he could see was different car parts where they should not have been. When he looked in the driver seat, he saw Nichole.  If he had not known who was driving the car; he would not have known that it was her. He screamed her name as loud as he could; he hoped that even though he could not hear himself, Nichole could. When he could finally hear all, he heard was an ambulance. His vision went black and he lost consciousness. When he woke up in a hospital bed, the first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his chest and how sore his arm was. When he looked around, he began to realize why he was there and started yelling for Nichole again.

 Kai remembered how the night began and how it ended and continued to scream for Nichole.  Everyone in the hospital could hear his gut-wrenching scream.  Nichole had not planned on going to the football game, but Kai had convinced her to come with since it was the finals, and they might not get that far next year. That was the most fun they had at a football game, and they would never do it again. On the way back home, a drunk driver hit Nichole’s car leaving Kai with a concussion, broken leg, and a sprained shoulder. Nichole was not as lucky and lost her life.

Kai was never the same. Nichole had always described him as outgoing and the kindest person you would ever meet. He was always doing something for others. He and his mom had a small baked goods business, and he was always selling their goodies. After the crash he did not talk. He did not help. He always seemed distant. Everyone noticed and tried to talk to him but never got an answer. Eventually everyone gave up and stopped trying to help Kai. Kai could never see himself happy again. No one realized how bad he was affected until the day he was on the school roof, front of all his peers, screaming her name for what he thought was the last time. As he started to let himself fall, he felt an arm grab him. As he felt the warmth of a little hand, Nichole's little sister's hand, he broke down. 

After the roof top incident, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he sat for hours thinking of Nichole and how much he missed her. He knew that the people here would help but he did not realize how much until he met a scrawny little boy with shaggy brown hair, named Axel. It was Axel’s smile, that Kai noticed first, a bright smile that showed there was still happiness in the word.

Kai learned people where there for many different reasons, but he paid attention in detail to Axel, because of his smile. He learned Axel had had a severe eating disorder and was here to get help for that.  He was surprised that even though everyone was struggling with different issues, they were also learning how to find their own sense of happiness again. 

When it was time for him to leave the hospital, he looked around and realized everyone had found a new happiness, even though they were all in such a sad situation before they got here.  He had learned his smile had once been uplifting to others, then was lost, but was once again found, with the help of others.  

He remembered when he was first admitted to the hospital, the counselors tried to get him to talk to people and the first person was Axel. Even when Axel was talking, he would smile. He had a sweet voice that sounded like an eight-year-old at their birthday party. 

“Hey Mopey,” Axel said, directed at Kai, who ignored the attempt to communicate.

Axel ran over to get his attention “Hey I’m Axel”

“H-H-hi” Kai never remembered stuttering before.

“Well, what is your name?” 

“I-I-I-I’m Kai” Kai was getting tired of how much he stuttered.

            The conversation went on slowly and about halfway through Kai realized that the stutter had disappeared. There was a major difference between how they talked. Kai was quiet and shy while Axel was a bubbly ray of sunshine. Kai would stumble through the beginning of the conversations, but by the end he was more confident and did not stutter as often.  Every conversation they had went this way. It took a while but eventually Kai had regained his old bubbly personality. 

            Kai and Axel became good friends, and they talked with each other almost every day, even after they left the hospital.  Kai went back to school and everyone was surprised that he seemed like he was the same he was before. Kai still never forgot the last time he saw Nichole but now he also thought of Axel. He finally felt happy again, like he was before the accident.  He never forgot Nichole, he just could be happy, even after the loss of a friend. 

 The Cabin

by Maddy Land

     Fear overwhelms my system, as does a thick feeling of dread and pain. Miniscule cuts cover my arms and legs, and pure adrenaline rushes through my veins. I have no idea who I am, where I am, or what happened to me. This bed I’ve just woken up in seems so familiar, yet I know I don’t belong here. It feels so wrong, but at the same time, so right.

     I pick up a piece of chipped wood from the ground, a potential weapon if the situation calls. Walking around this small house, I notice my breath is foggy. It must be cold. But why can’t I feel it? Am I in shock? 

     Thanks to my health class (shout out to you Mrs. Smith), I know that a sudden lack of sensation is a direct side effect of shock, and shock is caused by an insane amount of blood loss. Examining my body, I notice a gaping wound in my side that almost looks like bullethole. Blood seeps this plain beige outfit someone put me in-ew, beige is so not my color.- and I see that they left me without any shoes, and even worse than that, I’m wearing shorts.

     On the floor of this house’s tiny kitchen lies a single knife, which is caked with blood. A shiver pulses through my spine. Where am I? What do they want from me? I don’t know how old I am, but I can’t be any more than sixteen at most. I’m of no use to them, and I’m especially useless since I don’t know who I am. 

     While lost in thought, something catches my eye. I see a single movement out of my peripheral vision.

     “Hello? Who’s there?” I pick up the small knife just in case. I feel as if I’m being watched. It seems like there’s an infinite amount of surveillance cameras surrounding this tiny cabin in the middle of the woods. 

     Suddenly it smells like dirt and alcohol. A strong whiff of beer seems to trigger an extreme amount of nausea throughout my body. 

    The front door swings open, revealing a snowy landscape, and a trail of large footprints, leading up to an even larger man, who seems to take up the entire door frame.

     I fear for my life as he lifts up his arms, and I have the sense he wants to hurt me. I grip my knife even tighter and make sure my paranoia isn’t evident on my face.

     “Run. They’ll get you too. Run.” And he leaves. His ominous warning doesn’t sit right with me. Who are they? What do I have to offer?

    It is at this moment I know it’s over. They want me. They’re going to get me. I have no idea who I am. There is no recollection of this remote cabin in my brain. And that scares me. 

     They did this to me. I’m exactly where they want me to be. I only know the bare minimum, which is exactly what they need. 

     I don’t know who I’m dealing with, or what number of crimes they’re willing to commit to keep me quiet and get whatever it is they’re striving to have.

     I only know three things.

     I will not be compliant.

     I will not stay silent.

     And above all, though in complete disregard to the man’s orders, I absolutely will not run.

Her Worst Nightmare

by Katie Thompson

 

As Kara Lincoln walked into class, she noticed there was a new teacher. He seemed kind of young, so when she walked over to Laura’s seat, they have been best friends since forever, so they basically told each other everything. 

Kara says to Laura, “He's kinda cute, isn't he?”

            “Ew he is like thirty, you sure do have some weird taste,” says Laura

            “Ugh I do not,” Kara squeaks out as she starts to laugh. 

            As Mr. Lionel Maxwell tries to quiet down his new class. He sees Kara and Laura laughing, not listening to a thing he was saying. 

            “Ladies, What are we laughing about? If I may ask,” Lionel asks. 

            “Nothing,” the girls say in unison.

            “Next time we decide to have a comedy sesh make it so that everyone can hear it please,” Mr. Maxwell says.

            “Sorry, Mr. Maxwell,” the embarrassed girls say.

            As Mr. Maxwell walks back to the front of the classroom, Kara and Laura notice how Mr. Maxwell is looking at them weirdly. Almost like he was staring into their souls, there was something off about Mr. Maxwell. He looked so deeply at them, and he did with a little smirk. He creeped Kara out to the point that she had to ask to use the restroom just so she could shake his face out of her head. It was like he was a villain, and she was the only one that could see what he was turning into just by looking into his eyes.

            Kara did not really know what was off about Mr. Maxwell, but all she knew was that something was very off about him. After class, Kara pulled Laura aside and told her about how she felt about Mr. Maxwell. 

            “You must be losing it,” Laura says giggling. “First you find him attractive then you think he is watching you.”

            “I’m not joking Laura there is something really off about him, every time I looked up in class he was looking at me,” says Kara. “Now I think he is following me around”

            “Okay, I will drive you home from school and stay with you for a while. What you are talking about is totally creeping me out,” Laura whispers. 

            By the end of the day Kara only grew more frightened, she could not even walk the halls without looking over her shoulder. When the bell rang all she could feel was relief, it was like she was in a horror movie, and they had finally found the mystery killer. Kara found Laura waiting outside of the bathroom, and they began walking to Laura’s car. 

            “We should be okay now, when we get to my house we can watch movies and eat everything out of my fridge,” says Laura hopefully.

            “Sounds amazing. Now come on I want to get away from this place,” says Kara running to the car laughing.

            When the girls start driving down the road they begin to feel a sense of relief, but Kara still feels like something is watching her. The feeling just would not leave Kara, so she began to look around them as the car drove by the new McDonald's that just opened. After Kara made a full sweep around the car she saw nothing, so she looked back in front of them. Only to see that as they were going through the intersection, so was another car running right through the red light. 

When the cars collided, Kara did not know what to do, but it was like all she could do was scream. 

            After everything went black, Kara is oblivious to all of the things happening right beside her. If she was awake she would see that the person in the car that hit them is now walking over to their care that is now smashed like a tin can. She would also see that the person that hit them is indeed Mr. Lionel Maxwell, the man that Kara has had a bad feeling about since the moment that she walked into his classroom. Laura awakens before Kara and sees what is happening, she can see that Mr. Maxwell is heading straight for Kara too. In efforts to try and stop him Laura pulls herself up and limps over to Kara just before Mr. Maxwell gets to the car, but since she is so weak it was almost like a slight breeze could make her crumply over and fall. Since she is so weak, Laura is unable to stop him from picking Kara up and slinging her over his shoulder, she is unable to stop her best friend from being kidnapped. 

            Driving away, Mr. Maxwell looks in the backseat to the sleeping girl he just placed in his car. They would never get it. They think I am going to hurt her, when it is actually the opposite. I am in love with this girl. She is so beautiful, I would never do anything to hurt her. The thing is that this is not the first time that Lionel Maxwell has taken someone hostage. He has done it many times, but this time is different. This time he believes that they are in love and that they will live happily together, but he does not know that Kara now has a hatred that runs deep for him, and she still does not know that he is the one that caused the accident. She still thinks that it was simply an accident. She does not know yet that the man that has given her a weird feeling since the beginning is actually a serial killer that has been on the loose for the past 5 years. That he was the Collision Car Kidnapper. 

 

 

Shoot

by Joshua Hendrix

 

            When Elijah entered the school he was greeted by one of the administrators. She walked up with a big smile while reaching her arm out to shake hands.

            “Hi there, are you Elijah?”, said the woman.

            “Yes mam”, Elijah answered.

            “Well, I'm Mrs.Jones, and welcome to The Leon Academy. I'm one of the counselors here. We are happy to have you join us here. We offer many career paths and athletic and academic programs.’’

After Mrs. Jones finished her introduction then she gave Elijah his schedule. She gave him a tour of the school and showed him his classes, the cafeteria, the gym, and all the administrators' offices, etc.

When they finished his tour the 4-period bell ringed, so Mrs.Jones took down to his fourth-period class, Algebra. As they were about to enter the door Mrs. Jones asked if he had any more questions.

“Actually yes, I was wondering when lacrosse tryouts were”, said Elijah nervously.

“Well they will have them in a month from now most likely. They usually have them at the beginning of February”.

“Ok thank you”, replied Elijah as he walked through the door.

After Elijah entered the classroom a man was standing up in the front. He introduced himself as Coach Torres or Mr.Torres whichever you prefer. Then he gave Elijah a little intro to the class and how things work. After the intro, they resumed class back to normal.

As a month goes by the lacrosse team tryouts have started. At his old school, he was one of the best on his team. So he wasn't nervous about not performing his best, he was worried about making friends. Even though he's been at the school for over a month he still only has some friends that he will talk to in a couple of classes. When he showed up to practice he noticed that his math teacher was there. Then he put two and two together and realized that's why he said I could call him coach because he is the coach of the lacrosse team.

Knowing that Mr.Torres was the coach made Elijah feel a little better. He had a pretty decent relationship with him. He always made good grades. He would stay after school sometimes to help Mr.Torres tutor some of the other students. 

When practice started Elijah met this other kid named Joey. He was nice since he knew Elijah was new. He told him it's not that hard to make the team, it's just getting playtime, especially for freshmen. After tryouts were over Coach Torres made an announcement.

“So as we know there are not a lot of people here, so instead of cutting only 2 people everyone is going to be on the team.”

            Everyone was pretty okay with the coach's decision. Everyone thought that with more people on the team the more skill we can put out into the games. The only person it didn't sit right with was this boy named Callan. Joey said Callan is the one who is usually always the reason why we win a game or even get points on the board. Since he is so good he usually always leaves smart remarks to people and always tries to be the coach of the team.

            “If he acts like that why is he on the team?”, Elijah said questionably.

“Cause his dad grew up with Coach Torres, so if he gets off the team his dad wouldn't be so happy about it.”, answered Joey.

“Of course his dad has to be friends with the coach.”, Elijah mumbled. 

After a couple of weeks went by, it was finally the first game. The team was supposed to have a scrimmage the week before but no one wanted to play them because apparently, it was too easy. Coach decided to put all the seniors and juniors first and have all the freshmen and sophomores substitute them out. After the first four minutes into the game the other team scored. Since Callan was the one who lost the ball. Since Elijah was Callan sub, it was Elijah who had to go in. At first, it started way slower than expected. Since his adrenalin was so high it made him ready to run. So once his team had the ball he was running back and forth trying to get open. Once one of his teammates got stuck he decided to pass the ball to Elijah. When Elijah went to turn around towards the goal he realized there was only one defender who was nowhere near him. “SHOOT!”, Hollard everyone on the bench.    

Elijah swung back his arms then launched the ball under the goalie. Once he saw the officials call it a goal everyone jumped up and cheered. That was the first time in 6 years they have scored first against this team, and it was by a freshman. 

Towards the end of the game, Elijah was able to get one more goal along with Callan scoring the last one. They won their first game 3-1. Everyone was so excited even on the bus ride home. All Joey and Elijah could talk about are if Elijah would start the next game.      

Once they got to the school, Callan stopped to talk with Elijah.

“Hey could work today, you made a performance.”, said Callan.

“Thank you, so did you though even with all those people guarding you.”, Elijah commented.

“Well I know I was rude before and not thinking much of the team, but for now let's try to fix that so we can make it to region.”

Elijah replied nodding his head then walked away. He was excited for the season now. Now maybe with the teamwork of his teammates, they were going to be able to win their region and even go on to state. Now Elijah had more friends besides Joey and is now one of the star players on the lacrosse team.

The Box

by Joshua Morris

There on the porch was Jimmy. Sitting on the porch and waiting for the mailman to come with Grandad’s box from Dad. His grandad had passed away five months ago, so he wanted to have something to remember his grandad. Dad was at Grandad's house trying to get all of Grandad's personal belongings. He was so excited to know what the box had in it. Jimmy sat there smiling and watching the cars pass by. His mom came outside and asked what he was doing. 

 

Jimmy was sitting outside and responded, “I am waiting for Grandad's box from Dad. I wish the box would come sooner.” Jimmy sat on the porch waiting and waiting and waiting. Eventually, it got too dark, and then his mom took him inside. He went, reluctantly, inside the house with a drooping manner and a frown on his face. When he went to bed, all he could think about was where Grandad's box was.

 

The next day, he went to 2nd grade and went straight to his seat in a depressed manner. His friends would ask him why he was so quiet. He told them that he was disappointed because grandad's box did not come in the mail. Dad did not usually do this. Dad usually told Mom to be expecting a box, and then a few days later, Jimmy would get a package in the mail. He wondered where it could be if it is not already at their house.

 

Jimmy thought that his package had gone to someone else’s house, and they threw it away. After he thought about that, he went to his bed and had tears running down his face. His mom came upstairs, and already knew what was the matter and gave him a hug that was warm and safe. Jimmy's frown turned into a smile. Mom was always there if Jimmy was ever upset. Mom comforts Jimmy saying, "Shhh, It's okay, It's okay. I'm here."

 

Jimmy sat in the living room and stared at the television, and he was watching a show when the mailman came by. Jimmy sprinted to the mailbox. He looked in the mailbox, and all that was in it was a thin coat of dust and a spider's web. He went into the living room, picked up the phone, called Dad, and asked why the package had not been in the mail yet. Dad said that he was confused why the box was not there. Jimmy was at the point where he was thinking that Grandad’s box was never going to come to his house.

 

He had waited for weeks until finally, the package arrived. He noticed the mailman drive to his house, and Jimmy slowly walked to the mailbox, as if he wanted not to be disappointed if there was nothing in the mailbox, and opened the mailbox. To his surprise and enjoyment, the box was there from his Grandad. Jimmy came to notice what was on the box, and there were many stamps on the box. There were stamps from many countries, and now Jimmy knew why it took so long to receive it. The box had gone to many other places before him. Jimmy was so excited. He told his mom and dad what had happened and called Grandad, and he was thrilled at the thought that the box had finally arrived at its correct destination.

Red Handed

by Ethan Parks   

 

A man is fleeing across an endless desert dehydrated and hungry. A name stitched into his duster reads Phillip. He has been walking for days, running from a mistake. He had gone off the path hoping to escape and was now hopelessly lost in this neverending sea of sand. 

“Got to keep going,” Phillip said through chapped and cracking lips. His eyes seemed to get a glimpse of a break in the landscape. Must be my imagination, he thought even though his pace increases. Phillip’s situation was dire; on the run and dehydrated he couldn’t evade capture forever. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass. It spun and spun never stopping and hadn’t since Phillip could remember. 

An agonizingly long time later he reached the structure which he’d seen earlier. It wasn’t much of anything. A small shack with sandblasted boards and a roof falling in on itself. It just might be my salvation, Phillip thought as he walked towards the shack. There was no door so he just walked right through the entryway and into the ramshackle building. As he looked around there was very little inside, save for plenty of sand. Over time it had coated everything and piled up in the corners. 

Phillip started to move the sand around to maybe find something of interest. On the shelves, there were empty mason jars, and on the only piece of furniture, a table, there was nothing. Apparently, all this mucking around had revealed nothing and had been a complete waste of time. Before he was about to walk out a metal glint caught his eye. A hatch that had somehow escaped his search lay on the floor. 

His curiosity won him over and he brushed the sand from its rusting metallic surface. He reached to open it, and the paint flaked off as he turned the hatches’ handwheel. He used all of his meager strength to pry it open. Finally, just as he was about to give up the hatch let out a “Hiss” and levered up from the floor. 

            As he peered down into the dark abyss of the hatchway, it seemed to look back into him daring him to enter. What other choice did he have? It was either die in this forsaken wasteland or enter a place where light couldn’t penetrate. Coming from outside the shack he could faintly hear engines roaring. They found me. without preamble, he decided to descend the ladder underground, or what for him might be a tomb. 

            Slamming the hatch behind him he hustled down the ladder into the darkness. His boots hit the floor with a metallic ping. Phillip reached up to the flashlight mounted on his duster and flicked it on. The dark room lit up in a faint yellow glow. A long concrete corridor spanned in front of him. Other hallways branched off at regular intervals. Shadows played at the corners of his vision where his flashlight didn’t illuminate. His footsteps reverberated down the hallway as he walked. 

            Phillip’s breath came out in a cloud and for the first time he could remember he wasn’t hot. It had been so long since he had not been in the blistering heat, he had forgotten what it felt like to be cool. He passed many odd rooms as he searched the abandoned bunker. He decided to enter one at random. Phillip swung the door of a room marked with a large lightning bolt and “Monitoring” written under it. Inside rows of blackened glass, covered in dust, lined the walls. Chairs sat in front of the glass and he decided to take a break. He rested his arms on the table beside him.

Then suddenly he heard many footsteps pounding from farther down the hallway. Phillip rushed to the door and peeked his head out. Men in bulky suits sprinted down the hall. 

“Hey,” the men shouted.

Crap, I forgot to turn off my light. Phillip frantically reached to turn off his flashlight, and the room was plunged into darkness. They found me, my sins have caught up with me.

Whirring could be heard emanating from the hallway as the men came for him. 

“You won’t take me alive,” Phillip yelled. 

The men shouted back, “we don’t have to.”

Phillip overcame his paralyzing fear and reached for his revolver, but it wasn’t there. It had been taken from him during his trial. Left with no other option he moved to the doorway to create an ambush. 

            “Breach,” one of the soldiers said. 

            Blood pumping in Phillip’s ears he raised his fist as slammed them down on the first soldier’s head. His fists recoiled off the man’s metal helmet.   

            “Open fire,” roared the soldier. 

            Phillip’s cry of pain was cut short by the thunder of gunfire. 

Family

by John Lynch

 

                        It was a wet Tuesday afternoon. I was dribbling, I went past the defender, passed it to the middle guy and he shot. It just tipped the keepers hands but went in. Coach blew the whistle and called everyone to his truck. 

Coach said “Good job Jace.” then told them the same thing he says everyday like, good job, work on this, work on that, and then he told us about the next games and practices. We all left and went our separate ways. Mom was there the same time as she was every day. Instead of taking a right to go home she took a left.

“We need groceries.” She said. We went into Walmart. While she went to the dairy section to go get milk I kind of wandered. Well eventually I ended up at the lost persons pictures on the Walmart wall. I always looked to see if I saw anyone familiar, after all a big school like mine you could go missing in the hallways. I saw something strange. My name. Wait, that wasn't my picture. I almost looked five years old. Mom approached me and said “ Come on Jace let’s go.” I hurried to get away. On the ride home I listened to the radio, as always it was on 99.1, the best country station in Georgia. 

When I got home I went up to my room to finish my algebra, my pocket buzzed. I looked at my phone and it was a text from Bob. He wanted to play some Call Of Duty. I told him that maybe later I could play, but I still had to get out of my stinking soccer clothes and bathe. I finished my homework and took a shower. As soon as I had got out of the shower I told him I was ready. The next morning I was slow to get out of bed. Well when you're still awake at twelve and get up at 6 you don’t get much sleep. I got dressed and rushed for the bus as it was pulling away. The driver reluctantly stopped. I went and sat in the same seat with Bob. 

“ Man we were so close to that fourth win last night if only I had shot a little to the left.” 

“Yeah that’s great Bob.” He seemed suspicious of something but did not ask. When we got to school we went to Mr. Young’s class. I stared at him and shook my head like I knew what he was talking about, but in reality I was thinking about the picture and that day. I thought about that picture all day in fact. I don’t know if I even heard anything. At lunch I decided to tell Bob what happened. 

With sceptical looks he said “ Sureee.” I told him to go look for himself. Later that day when I got home from soccer practice I got an all caps message from him saying “OMG!! You need to say something to your mom.”

“No way, I can’t say ANYTHING to her. She might be like a kidnapper!”

“If she was a kidnapper why would she be so nice?” Bob texted. 

“I don’t know, but if I am going to talk to her I need something to keep me safe just in case.” 

“Well I just got a new airsoft gun.” 

“That should do it.” I texted. 

We met after school. While walking down the street to my house I saw my mom walking in the door. Just in time I thought. I walked in shortly after her. She asked us to help her unload the groceries. While walking to the car and back with handfuls of bags I slowly slid in the first question.

            “ Is it fine if Bob stays the weekend?” 

            “ Sure sweetie.”

Later that night when Bob went to sleep I went to mom's room and asked, “ Hey mom, why is my name on the Walmart missing persons list?”

            “ I don’t know sweetie.” 

            “ Well my name is on the list and I’ve been suspicious for quite a while.” 

            “ Why would you be suspicious of me?”

“Well you have never really explained what happened to dad besides that he got in a car crash.”

            “ That’s what happened!”

I pulled out the gun and aimed to the left of her foot. PEW. A loud “AH” rang through the air. 

            “ Tell me what happened!”

            “Fine, Fine…” Silence filled the room.

            “Well?”

            “ I’m your aunt.” 

            “ Ok what else?” a voice crack can be heard.

            “ Your dad killed your mom in a car crash because he was too drunk to drive!”

I raced to my aunt and gave her a big hug with tears coming down my cheeks. We both took shallow breaths. “ He’s alive.” I let go of her and stepped back. I looked at her in awe.

            “What?”

            “Your dad, he’s alive. He lives in the town next over.” I ran through the house, jumped in the car and spun out the driveway. WAIT. I didn’t know the address. I slowly pulled back into the driveway. Mom rushed out to the car and said, “You need the address?” 

            “Yes!”

             She got in and said,“248 West Peach street.” I left burnt tire marks on the road that time. 

She put in the address on google maps. We were only 20 minutes away at this speed. Not one word was said that entire drive. When we arrived at a very well kept house I pulled in and waited in the car. “What’s wrong?”, said aunt.

            “Nothing, I'm just nervous.” I slowly got out of the car and walked up to the door. My hand froze mid-air. The door swung open and there stood a man wearing a gray Army t-shirt, blue jeans, and muddy boots. His arms looked strong, his face was chiseled with a just cut beard look. He put out his arms for a hug. I ran into his arms and could smell the sweat from whatever his job was. “How did you know it was me?”

A deep, sweet, and kind voice said,“ Because you look just like your mom. Also your aunt texted me.” We both laughed out tears. “Come inside.” He waved his arm as he showed us all the different rooms. I wasn't really that interested. It was a small but sweet three bedroom two bathroom house. When I saw my dad’s room it had a king sized bed, many guitars on the wall, a drum set, and a big rack of different boots. One other room was empty. The last room had a queen sized bed. All were a shade of gray. The kitchen was dirty with some dishes stacked in the sink. The dining room had a decent sized table with four chairs around it, but a beautiful chandelier hung above. 

            “What happened? Aunt said that you were a drunk. Are you ?”

            “ No, not anymore I fixed my life. I went to rehab. I mourned her loss. When I got in that car accident your aunt took you. She thought it was for the best that you weren't raised by me.” Silence filled the room. “But I can now if you want me to?” I shook my head as another tear came down my face. 

            “Yes.”

 

The Duck Hunt

by Zane Lassiter

 

It’s 5:30 a.m. and Henry wakes up ready for a day of duck hunting. He gets everybody up that is in the cabin. Henry enjoys his coffee and eats a waffle with it. 

“Do we have all of the stuff packed?” asked Luke.

“Yes all we need to put in the truck is our guns and shells,” Jason replied. Henry moves slowly and walks outside to put his gun in his truck. He makes sure that he has his waders, decoys and anything else that he needs.

“Lets go we’ve got to meet the guide at 6:00,” Henry said. It was cloudy and foggy outside with a slight chance of rain. They meet Jackson and head to the duck hole.

“Ducks should be flying this morning. We will have a good morning,” Jackson told them.

“Yeah if Jason can shoot well,” Tom said.

“Haha you’re funny,” Jason replied sarcastically. Everybody puts their waders on and walks to the hole. It’s a flooded corn field with blinds on the edge of it. Henry walks out into the icy water to put the decoys out quickly before it is shooting light.

“We better hurry the ducks will be flying in about 5,” Jackson said. 

They get all settled in and wait for the ducks to come in. A couple of groups come in and they kill most of them. 

“Group of four coming in!” Jackson yelled.

“Boom boom boom,” they killed all four of them.

“Good shooting boys,”Henry told them.

As they are getting done shooting they know they have a lot of ducks. As they start counting they hear something driving in. They started getting worried and looked up. Sure enough it was the Game Warden. The Game Warden pulled up and said, “Y’all have a good shoot this morning?”

“Yessir we did,” Jackson responded.

“Well let me count those ducks please,” the warden said.

“Here you go,” Jason said as he handed over the ducks. The warden counts the ducks with a weird look on his face. They knew exactly what he was going to say to them after he got done counting them.

“It looks like y’all are over the limit boys,” he told them.

“There’s no way sir,” Jackson says while he is counting the ducks to make sure. He counts them and looks over at the warden with a disappointed face. 

“I am going to have to suspend y’alls license and no more hunting for the year.”

“Yessir, we understand,” Henry said.

“I have to take the ducks with me,”he says as he is grabbing them.

“Here you go sir.”

“Y’all be safe out here and take next year more seriously.”

“Well let's pack up, it looks like we are done for the weekend,” Henry says. They couldn’t believe that they shot enough for it to be over the limit. They get their stuff packed up and head back to the house.

“Well it was good while it lasted but we will pack up and leave tomorrow,” Henry told them. 

“It was a good hunt we just should’ve kept up with how many we shot,” Luke replied.

Flee the Flying Dutchman

by Abigale Strait

 

     Quele marched out of the Captain’s Quarters of her ship with a purpose. Today they would reach land if she had any say in it, her ship had been sailing for many months and she was sick and tired of eating hardtack infested with weevils. All night she had been kept awake with the sounds of seagulls cawing, certainly land was fast approaching. “You there!” Quele called to a woman atop the mast, searching the horizon with a telescope, “have you seen land yet?”

     The woman shook her head and Quele balled her fists, she wanted to reach land now, and even though she knew somewhere in her head that this wasn’t possible, it wasn’t going to stop her from thinking she could make it happen.

     Someone put a hand in Quele’s shoulder; she quickly put a hand on her pistols at her hip and turned around, but it was just her first mate and wife Noria. “Odd we aren’t there yet, I was sure your yelling would get us there quicker.”

     “I am simply making sure everyone is working as hard as they can, it is imperative that we reach our destination today rather than tomorrow.” Quele glanced at the water behind her briefly before turning back to Noria.

     “And why is that? Are we at a complete lack of food? Has the ship sprung a leak? Do tell what the emergency is.” Noria crossed her arms and raised a brow.

     Quele opened her mouth to retort when a large raindrop hit her in the eye and it began to pour. All around the ship’s crew groaned and shaded their eyes from the rain while tucking away maps or anything that would get ruined in the rain. Quele scowled, but she knew the rain would be good for something and started having people grab buckets and barrels to catch the water so they could drink it.

     “Captain! Captain!” Called the woman at the top of the mast.

     “What is it Yennifer? Can you see land through all this rain?” Yelling up, Quele was blinded by the driving rain. It had come on so suddenly--and so powerfully at the same time. The droplets were beginning to feel like smart pebbles hitting her skin, so she shifted her shoulders up to have the collar of her coat protect her neck.

     “Not land, Captain, there's a ship coming to the port side of us!”

     “A ship you say?” 

     “Yes, a ship!”

     Noria spoke up, “we should move away from them, no way to tell if they are friend or foe from this distance.”

     “You are right, have them turn away, and let me see your telescope.” Noria pulled a telescope out of her coat, it was about the length of Quele’s forearm and hand put together. She walked to the edge of the left side of the ship to get a closer look at the ship approaching them. The rain seemed to be heaviest around the ship, but if Quele looked just a bit harder, she could almost see someone at the wheel of the ship. She pulled back to yell something at Yennifer, but realized that the ship was coming closer to them. Quele looked through her telescope once more at the sailor at the wheel. The wind and the rain had no effect on him, he did not waver a bit. As the ship got closer to her own, Quele was able to see his old, tattered clothing--though very faintly. She was also able to see his face, of which there was none. The “sailor” at the wheel was but a skeleton. As Quele looked about the rest of the crew, she realized this held true for all of the crew as well.

     Quele remembered in small flashes a story a drunken captain was telling in a small pub back in Ireland, he told of a ghostly ship that had hunted his own, a ship that was manned by the dead. The ship was told to have collected the souls of the dead sailors to take to the afterlife, though it would also take the souls of the living if they caught them. The ship was named The Flying Dutchman, and it was after Quele’s crew this time.

     “Get this ship away from the one coming for us! That ship is no ordinary one, it is The Flying Dutchman, and she will be coming for us next.” The crew around Quele froze, most of her sailor’s pretended to be skeptics in stories such as The Dutchman, but if their captain said it was true, they would believe her to their dying breath. “Well move! They are getting closer as well as the storm.”

     Everyone on the ship flew into action, if something could be done, it was. Those without immediate jobs latched onto the sides of the ship as wind blew them backwards. One crewmate fell into the water and the waves consumed him. He didn’t bob up once. 

     The Flying Dutchman was gaining upon them quickly, the rain was propelling her sails as she cut through the waves like a barracuda. Quele’s ship was small and roughed about by waves that The Flying Dutchman breezed through. Soon enough it had begun to cast its shadow upon the crew--many of them had begun to resign their fate to the skeleton crew that was chasing them, they could see no way out.

     Noria buried her head in Quele’s back. For once Quele let up her brave facade to show the fear she had felt since she first saw the crew of the Dutchman. The rain was like driving needles wherever it hit. Quele looked around to see many of her crew panicking just as she was. Quele looked up to face the ship that would take her soul head on, staring her fate down the barrel--but it wasn’t there. The ship had disappeared and the sun was coming out. The rain had subsided, making it possible to see around themselves once again. 

     “Quele, Captain Quele! You won’t believe it, I can see land just ahead!”

     Quele was still shaken, her voice trembled as she called back, “then let us anchor and row up to it.” Quele and her crew prepared to embark constantly looking over their shoulders, they believed themselves lucky to have survived their encounter with The Flying Dutchman, as most could not lay claim to such a thing. The crew would never forget this day, and if they had any say in it, neither would anyone they met in taverns back in their home countries.