Hello Treasure Trove Readers! In this issue, we put truths into our stories and shared powerful morals through our writing. Our last issue was such a hit and sold out immediately! We want to thank you for supporting our small magazine and getting kids' voices out into the world. We hope you enjoy this issue of The Treasure Trove: Seasons of Stories!
Stella Smith, Charlotte Lumpkin, Johnathan Deneau, Josie Todaro, Leah Deal, Paloma Davol, Sage Kelley, Jack Fisher, Jane Meyer, Molly Chapman, Fern Margrie, Libby Vidaic, Avery Bergquist, Avery Sherr, Amelia Holm, Addi Horn, Violet Rini, Mel Bliss, Eliana Larson, Allie King, Kate Clasby, Eva Minshaw, Isabelle Valliere, Emerson Hebler, Macy Beckwith, Norah Durbin, Lucy Meyer, Carmen Hander, Madeline Yoho, and Cashin Fejer
Liv Takach, Jack Fisher, Lucy Worcester, Cashin Fejer, Johnathan Deneau, Savannah Barthen, Leah Deal, Carmen Hander, Norah Durbin, Darby Merkel, Avery Sherr, Stella Smith, Isabelle Valliere, Mel Bliss, and Andres Patrick Cisneros
Bang!
I burst out of bed.
“Mom, what was that?”
I ran downstairs to see what it was; but to my surprise mom and dad were already down there.
“What's going on?” I asked while walking down the stairs.
I was staring at the TV by now, along with mom and dad. Mom's eyes we´re wide and looked puffy because she had been crying. Dad's eyes were glued to the TV. He had his fist in his mouth to stop him from doing whatever he was going to do.
“Houses all around Harper Lake are in the red zone! EVERYONE EVACUATE NOW!” That is all the TV could get out before the cable cut out.
“Pack all of your things! We need to leave!” Mom yelled in horror.
My breath got heavier as I ran upstairs to pack everything. Running up the stairs made me cry. Was this the last time I would ever be in her house again? I got to my room and all I could do was keep crying.
“Natalie, are you almost done? We need to leave now!” Dad said as if he wasn't scared..
“Don’t leave” I say in my head to my home.
As my family was driving all I could think about was if that was the last time in my house. I could see the flames as we were driving. They were heading straight to my house.
“If our house burns down, I want the biggest room in the next one!” Dan, my younger brother shouted as if he didn’t care. Nobody said anything to Dan, the car was silent for a while till we got to the hotel.
The hotel looked like one right out of a movie. The long front desk with sad front desk workers. The elevator exploded out with a mob of people, some checking out, some just checking in. The coffee bar was closed and dark because it was after hours. I could tell my mom was disappointed. The smell of the leftovers from dinner coming from the tap house. I was feeling overwhelmed with all the people, and smells. Scan here for more.
We were going down to the basement and then we heard the smoke alarm go off.
“I will try to stop the alarm, you guys wear a mask. Ok?” He yelled. I could tell he was getting more and more worried.
Then we got a call from my mom's cousin. She told us to get out of there.
“Guys, do you remember our last family meeting? Remember that question? ‘If you only had five minutes, what would you get from the house?’ Well it’s time to do that. Ok, guys?” My dad tries to remain calm as he grabs the important papers from the safe
We ran around the house. I ran up to my room I looked for my favorite stuffed animal. It was an orca named Bellyful, my iPad, and my English mastiff named Benett. Then we left. We crammed into Dad’s small car, all four of us, and a 220lb dog. It felt like we might never get out of the smoke. Eventually we got to my mom’s work which has a living quarters. We met up with my mom and then we watched the news. They called it the Marshall Fire.
Sagamore’s gone.
“Sagamore’s gone, all of it.” I heard the news broadcaster say. I fell to the ground. “No!” I screamed. No no no no no I thought.
I looked up and I walked to my family. Their faces were blank with tears in their eyes. They are hunched on the couch. “It can only get better from here,” I said as I fell in their lap, and we hugged. “We have each other so we are fine.”
My mom turned off the TV pulled me closer and said, “Yes sweetie, you are right,” she said it with her heart golden and hopeful, and her voice as delicate as a bird.
We hugged each other; my Dad said, “Yes, you both get it, you both get it.” He was like a house so sturdy in the ground. He was anchored to this family.
When we could, we went to our old house to see the damage. The trees died, the house was gone, the sky was black.
The trees died, the house was gone, the sky was black. The ash was everywhere. We looked at our house and we saw a handle of the cast iron skillet. It was supposed to be unburnable. It was gone like everything else. We had our masks on but we still smelt the ash in the air. It was all gone, and we saw the sadness of all of the other people's faces. We felt the same.
We left my mom’s work three days after we lost our home and we moved into a hotel to celebrate my birthday. It was nice, fun, but we all had a little to cope with.That night I wept. I have Jacob, Dylan, my Dad, my Mom, and Bennett, my dog. At least I have them.
My school didn’t burn down, so we moved back, close to the old house. After we left the hotel we moved to a small apartment at Bell Flat Irons for seven months. It was a little cramped, but now we are renting a house in Louisville, Colorado.
“Hey Dylan thanks for coming and visiting us again” Dad said hugging his son.
“Ya Dylan, do you want to watch some TV?” I asked.
“Ok,” He respond
“You know boys, maybe it was not so bad after all,” Mom said, filled with joy.
“What was not so bad?” Jacob asked.
“The fire,” Mom answered.
I announced, “Yeah I still go by my words back then, ‘It can only get better from here. If we have each other’ “ I know it will.
When I got out of bed, my little sister, Maria, was not on the bottom bunk anymore. She had probably moved to my mom and dad's bed. She was so afraid of the dark, and she always fled for safety. Of course, I was too excited to care because today was my birthday party. And so, I walked out of my room, bounded down the oak hardwood stairs to the birch hardwood floor of the kitchen, and grabbed myself some milk.
My older sister, Evelynn, came down the stairs about an hour later. I had always looked up to her; she was brave, beautiful, and kind. Her enchanting brown eyes, lush brownblack hair, and smile that burned through the room like a fire burns its way through a haystack.
“Good job, Jonathan! You got a victory royale!” My sister said happily
DING DONG!
“Hey, Jonathan! Are you happy that you can't jaywalk anymore because you’re 12?”
“Yayy!” I sarcastically retorted. All my friends laughed in unison.
“So, what are we doing for your party? Are we gonna go to a trampoline park?”
“Nope! Mom said I could have an all-nighter, we could play video games all night!” I replied, jolly as ever. It was right after Christmas and everybody was in a jovial mood.
Nothing could go wrong.
An hour after my friends showed up we came back inside. “Man! I’m pretty tired after our wiffle ball game, guys!” Danny exclaimed.
“Yeah! That grand slam you hit was awesome!” I replied.
Mom, dad, and Evelynn all burst into me and Maria’s gloomy bedroom.“Jonathan! Maria! You need to wake up! We have to pack up in case we have to evacuate!”
“Wh-What?” I looked at my clock, “It's 1:00 A.M. why would we have to leave?”
“Overnight, fires started in the mountains, and everybody in Louisville is forced to prepare for evacuation!”
Me and Maria got our PJ’s off and put our clothes on as fast as possible, sprinted to brush our teeth, and gathered all our belongings. We stuffed all we could into our separate suitcases, but I was struggling because I had a small suitcase the size of a Pitbull. Then the siren blared, sounding the evacuation. A fire had started in Superior, about 5 miles away from our house. We stuffed everything we could into our bags and left. I went to the bathroom as I knew it would be a long drive, and when I came back, they were gone. They left without me.
They left me behind like they would a plastic bag in the wind. I sprint into the garage, to see the door open and the fire blazing only a mile away, and no car, or family, in sight. Whoosh! I feel the wind flying past me as I sprint to my neighbors house, only to see it destroyed. Once the smoke got thicker, I made a decision as my body started sweating,
coughing up all the reserves of air I have left and inhaling the smoke. I realized I no longer have my parents to help me; I need to be independent. I run, all I ever do is run.
An hour later, surrounded by the deadly pink skies that signaled danger, I had lost all the adrenaline I had. I'm exhausted, tired, and weak. I snapped back to reality and I realized I was surrounded by fire. I take a break, and I’ll die. I thought.
The sight of red walls dancing around me was like being surrounded by a burning mountain. I surveyed the land for a few seconds and realized that I’m in Superior now, instead of Louisville with brick houses with metal roofing looming over me. The pointy but also somehow rounded town hall going down in flames, just like my confidence. I was scared. The wall of fire 1000 feet tall made me realize that I'm only one tiny piece of a gigantic puzzle. I feel like my lungs are slowly turning to ashes. I can taste my fear, and the only smell I remember at this point is smoke. I don’t know what time it is. I turn to run, but realize I'm on a one way road. I struggle to breathe; I’m wheezing at this point. I start to lose consciousness, then black…
“Jonathan!” My mom yells, “Are you okay? Come on, wake up, wake up! I know you can do it!” She weeps, then cries, then bawls.
Black… Gray… White… Then my mom. I cough and talk like there's a frog in my throat, “Mom… You left me. Why?” I start crying.
"Sweetie! We never left! We were in the basement. And when we came up, you were gone!” She weeped.
“Ma’am, we need to get your son to the hospital, he inhaled a lot of smoke,” announced the firefighter with his deep and rough voice. I was tired and needed a break, and I’m pretty sure I fell asleep before my head hit the concrete.
I woke up in a hospital bed. Once I fully woke up, I realized my whole family was sitting beside me on my bed. One of them, my mom, was still crying, smudged makeup, while my dad squeezed her hand, saying it would be okay. I also realized three other people.
After a few seconds, I recognised them as Preston, Danny, and Miles. They were stooping in the corner, hoping their friend would make it.
"Don’t worry guys, I’m awake. As long as you're around, nothing could ever go wrong. Nothing could ever go wrong…”
“Goodnight, Sweetheart!” Mom softly tells me as I drift off to sleep back in my own bed in our house on the once forested hill.
Our house was rebuilt, and we were back in our cozy two-story house.
Right as I was about to hit the hay, my sister walked in. “I need you, and I’m never gonna let you go again.” I croaked.
One day, I was in my house when I heard a BOOM! I started to run to the door, but before I got there, I heard Knock, Knock, Knock. I opened the door and it was my neighbor. He was freaking out.
“You’ve got to go now,” he said.
“Okay!” I said. “Just calm down. It will be okay, I promise.”
“You gotta go NOW because there is a fire.”
“What?” I said.
I told my mom, dad, and my brother, Martin, “We’ve got to go now.” I got my dog. I was shaking. I ran out of my house and went in the car. My mom, brother, and dad got in the car.
We called my aunt and asked, “Can we come to your house?” She said yes. I said, “Okay, we are on our way now.”
“Okay, I will see you all soon,” she replied.
“Okay, bye,” I said. When we finally got there, we sat down. I said, “Can you put on the news please so we can watch it?” It was so sad to see all the houses burning. I was so sad and I was shaking so badly. We just turned the news off and my cousins and I played a game so I could get my mind off of the fire. Then we went to bed.
The next day, my aunt made oatmeal for us. We said goodbye, then went to our house. I was so happy to get back to my house and I was so grateful that my house did not burn down. I was so happy to still have my house, but sadly, my friend's house burnt down. But thank you, God, that mine did not burn down. I was so grateful to still have my family and my house.
Thank you, God.
Right after school, I have soccer practice. I find Alex and the rest of my carpool and drive to soccer. It was so cold, but it had started to warm up as the days went on in the month. The soccer ball rolls around on the wet grass and whoosh! Straight into the goal it went, like the most powerful person had just kicked it. It had been a lengthy day, and I needed some rest. It was a good birthday, I think to myself while laying in bed.
The sun is bright, and I’m wearing shorts, which is unusual because it is December, and it’s supposed to be snowing! But I can’t think about that. I have a soccer game to go to. Right as I pull up to the fields, a gust of wind picks up my bag and blows it across the street. The wind is so strong it’s like there’s a tornado!
“What the-” I think.
“Charlie?” I can make out a faint voice.
“Alex!” I yell, “Where did this wind come from?”
“I don’t know, but I think our soccer game is canceled,” she exclaims.
Just at that moment, our coach pulled up.
“Get out of here!” he shrieks. “It’s too windy to play!”
I need to find my mom to drive me home.
Once I get in my mom's minivan, I’m sad I can’t play. My mom wants to show me how high the winds were on her phone. I take the phone and the notification forenames that they are 115 mph! That seems very unusual.
Ding! a notification goes off.
I hand my mom her phone so she can see it. I look up at my mom, who looks as sick as a patient in a hospital.
“Mom?” I question with a slight head shake. “Everything okay?”
Just then, we pull up into the driveway. Mom rushes over to Alex’s house and starts banging on their door.
“MOM!” I scream. “What are you doing?!” I’m so confused.
Before she can respond Alex's mom flings open the door.
“Did you hear?” my mom asks.
“Yes, we’re packing,” Alex’s mom says, looking sick. Her skin looks green.
“Charlie, come here!” Mom yells across the yard. I run over as fast as my legs could take me.
“Charlie! Pack your bags!” My mom tells me. “We have to evacuate.”
Evacuate. That is a word I didn’t like.
That’s a life-changing word sometimes. I don’t even question her. I run into the house and stuff all of my belongings into three large duffel bags. Last was my phone. I pick it up to see five hundred messages! I open them up.That’s when I find out. There’s a fire. And it was coming straight for our town, faster than a race car.
I run outside to see Alex with three duffel bags, just like me, tears dripping down her face. A tear drips down my own face. Then they keep coming. I run up to her and hug her the hardest I ever have. I’m crying like a river,
“It’ll be okay,” she said with a slight smile on her face. I smiled wearily back.
After we settled down, both Alex and I’s families drove in the same car to Alex’s mountain house. It would normally take us about 2 hours to get there, but since the whole town was leaving it took us 6! We kept each other company, and our little sisters were hanging out in the back. We got to the place, and it was genuinely cozy and had a lot of wood. I cherished going here. Once we unpacked, we didn’t know what was going on, so we decided to turn on the news. But the channel wasn’t just on our local news, it was on the channel the whole US can see. I knew that meant it had to be big. We sat and watched, and watched until we saw our neighborhood. My stomach dropped. I clenched my fists. All I saw was a big bold red flame, and I ran to my room. I grabbed a pillow and smashed my f ride back home. I just stared out the window with butterflies in my stomach, knowing I wouldn’t see my house ever again.
Two hours later, I saw the first house crumble to the ground. Now I knew what I was to expect.
There it was. When I saw the turn that would take us into our neighborhood, my whole body felt shaky. I could smell the ashes. I could feel sweat dripping down my face. I was terrified. Then, I saw my dad spinning the wheel right into what was once, “home.”
When we pulled up I couldn’t recognize my house at first, because nothing seemed to be there. Or anywhere. But I saw it. Right there. All that was left standing was our brick doorway. It kind of looked like a monument to me. Ashes were blowing through the dusty sky, landing one by one on the crumbled ground.
Just then, Alex put her arm around me, and whispered, “We are in this together.”
And at that moment I saw hope that everything was going to be okay.
I didn’t know this yet, I figured out our entire soccer complex burned down! But I had to deal. At least all of the people I knew and cared about were okay.
I was living with my grandparents until we could find a place to rent, but we were going to rebuild. It was weird not seeing Alex every day, but I got way more family time.
“WHY DOES MY LIFE HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT ALL THE TIME?” I said with a loud and angry voice as I ran away from the dinner table.
As I went to my room my feet were stomping on the wood of the stairs like thunder.
When I got to my room I threw myself onto my bed.
My room was my safe space, the sun reflecting off my window, gray clouds slowly moving in covering the bright yellow sun, the walls of my room gray like the clouds, my room was my happy place, it was also my sad place.
All I wanted to do was be alone and not have anyone bother me all of the time. I just decided to go to bed. As I was trying to fall asleep a worrisome feeling crossed my mind. I felt like something was going to ruin the game. I was off my game, everyone was yelling at me. The next morning when I woke up the sun that was shining through my blinds was practically blinding me.
“Knock knock.”
“Come in,” I said. It was my mom and I wasn’t ready to talk to her again.
“Hi,” I said in a shy voice.
“Hi Lily, I know that we got in an argument last night but don't let that stop you from doing your best at the game. We have to leave in 30 minutes, make sure you are ready then.”
“Okay, love you,” I told my mom as she walked out the door.
I hopped into the car as my mom pulled out of the driveway.
“Ready to win?” my dad asked me.
“YES!” I am excited and I really hope we win.
“I know we have talked about this a lot but if you lose you will get over it eventually.”
I ran out of the car when we got to the fields, I still had a feeling that something nerve wracking was going to happen. As I got out of the car the wind almost blew me over. I sprinted over to my team.
“Hi everyone,” I said in a cheery voice.
“Ok everyone, try your hardest and don't give up.” We did our cheer and then we were off. The referee blew the whistle and everyone ran to the ball.
“SWOOSH!” The ball went in the goal. Not the other team's goal, but our goal. All of a sudden wanted to go even harder on the team, we were going to win.
“Lily?” asked Carrie.
“What?” I said, focused on the game, caring about nothing else.
“Do you smell that? It kinda smells like smoke,” Carrie said as she was sniffing the air.
All of a sudden the aspens started dancing in the howling wind.
“That's weird.”
Then the howling winds got stronger and the chairs started to blow off into the cool air, orange and red leaves from trees lifted up. The wind was INTENSE. Everyone had fear in their eyes. Seeing the flames made my stomach drop like a rock in the ocean. My coach looked at her phone, when she looked up from her phone everyone could see the worry in her eyes.
“U-um what's wrong?” I was so worried I could barely breathe.
“Everyone hustle up, my coach said, “We have to evacuate!”
“W-what's happening?” Carrie and I said simultaneously.
“There is a fire, we have to go RIGHT now.” At this moment everyone was panicking and dashing back to their house to get their important belongings.
“MOM!” I screamed. “WHERE ARE YOU?”
“DON'T WORRY, I’M RIGHT HERE!” I ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug I was capable of.
“Where is Dad?”
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! My mom pounded on the door.
I jumped out of bed, threw on a clean white shirt and some jeans and bolted to open the door. “15 seconds!” She said.
“I'll be ready tomorrow,” I whispered apologetically. She nodded and sent me to the kitchen. I poured myself some Cheerios knowing I messed up big. On the other side of the room, my dad noticed the tension.
“Hey Benny!” he said cheerfully.
“Oh, uh, hey Dad,” I said right back almost before he even finished speaking.
“Did you hear the White Sox won?” He asked, trying to make small talk; he knew that I knew they won. Just like he knew the Earth was round. I mean everybody on the south side knew we were all Sox fans. A collection of people that all loved the White Sox and hated the Cubs. I sat down at the table already wishing this day was over. I wolfed down my Cheerios so quickly I almost choked. On my way out the door I heard my brother Manny crying . "I’m coming,“ I heard my mom say.
As I stepped out of my house, a wall of cold hit me, freezing my insides. I flipped on my Walkman I had got for my birthday, and my muscles relaxed immediately and I set off for school.
14 minutes and 10 seconds later I arrived. If you haven’t realized our family likes time. My dad works at a clock factory and his love for time kind of rubbed off on us.
As I stepped into the classroom people were already in class getting notebooks out. I ran to my seat and got ready for class. We were writing an essay about the impact of technology on society.
Throughout the day, I went between being tired and being bored. When my final class came around, I felt like a drained bathtub. My patience was gone and I couldn't care less about what Mrs. Sidson was lecturing us about today. At 3:45, when class was over, I bolted out the door and onto the bus. As I sat down I felt something rub against my back, I reached behind my back and grabbed what felt like a piece or construction paper. I pulled it out from the seat. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It read “Admit one, Your Chicago White Sox vs the Chicago Cubs 9-21-1985.” For minutes, I stared at the ticket, fearing if I Iooked away it would vanish. Then I heard, “Aee kid, you okay?”
“Um uh yeah I’m good,” I replied startled If you say so kid,” he shot back before finding a seat. After thinking for a few minutes I realized something. There was no shot I could convince my parents to go alone but I couldn’t miss this opportunity to see the Sox. I’d have to sneak out.
It was 4:45, an hour till game time. I would be sneaking out to go to a “friends” house, AKA the White Sox game. It was a 20 minute walk to the stadium for a 2 and half hour game meaning I would be home roughly at 8:40, if everything went to plan at least. “Mom, gotta go,” I said on my way out, I shut the door before an answer came. I was off.
When I saw the stadium a chill went down my spine. I filtered through the crowd of black and white jerseys to the ticket check.
“Next!” the checker yelled.
I was in.
Finally, the smell of a tropical paradise greets my nose. The fresh scents of vanilla, almond, and hints of coconut linger in the air. It’s a relief from the metalstenching engineer workshop; it’s a shame the candle is almost burnt out.
As I slam my backpack onto the floor, reality hits me. I make my way to the grocery list, messily taped onto the fridge. I write down “tropical candle” under the endless list of long overdue produce and other food items we need to buy. My roommate, Aubrey, gets through our food quickly.
I hear typing sounds coming from the dining room. I peek my head in and am greeted by a snow-white smile. Aubrey must have gotten home early from her culinary course to work on her cookbook.
“Hey, Liv! How was Aerospace Class?” Aubrey asks.
“It was fine, I guess.” Silence fills the room, before it gets awkward, I playfully ask, “What'cha whip up this time?”
“Go look, it’s in the oven,” she replies happily.I remove the tray and place it on top of the oven. Then my eyes meet something monarch orange.
Putting the pieces together, I stand there in awe. How dare she do something so dastardly! So shocking and controversial! I glare at the glazed orange sticks taunting me. I dangle one of the orange sticks between my thumb and pointer finger. “What is this?” I ask Aubrey.
“Some sugar-glazed carrots,” Aubrey replies offensively and casually. I am put in a trance from the amount of disrespect she has just performed.
“Oh yeah, just some carrots sliced in rec-tangles! Who cuts carrots into fries? You are wasting its potential!” I lecture. She slouches in her chair and stares at me confused. Like she didn't just commit a crime!
“Stop being weird, they taste the same!” Aubrey answers annoyed.
“Not in that shape, I won't even pick those things up!”
“Yeah, whatever!” She sharply blurts out. Aubrey leaves abruptly.
* * *
I realize it is not only time to apologize but to admit I was wrong.One must make sacrifices for relationships. I take the deepest breath of my life and make my way to Aubrey’s room. Her door is wide open and she’s on her bed drawing what looks like an extravagant cake topped with decorations from head to toe. Now, truly, it is time to make the biggest sacrifice of my life.
“Hey,” I whisper almost too quietly to hear.
“Hey,” Aubrey says, not making eye contact.
“Are you busy?”
“Matters what you’re planning.”
“Nothing too big,” I lied.
“Okay.”
“Follow me,” I reply. Aubrey gets up and follows me to the kitchen.
Now it is time to do the unthinkable.
I’m Elena and I live in Bridgeport, Nebraska, where houses are scattered like the black dots on a ladybug. Birds soar lively in the bright, dreamy swirls of the unknown above us; disappearing into the whispering haze of soft, feathery clouds. The ways of nature creak and chirp, rhyming a peaceful melody that glides through my ear like the way snow falls, soft and slick. Kids run through the knee-high wildflowers. Pollen floats through the air as if pixie dust. My brown hair blows in the wind like a shooting star blazing through the starry sky. As I sway back and forth on my creaky, wooden swing, my lungs sing with each new deep breath. In and out. The sun pokes out from its long nap, saying hello with rays of light glistening into my sparkling blue eyes.
After dinner, I head up to my tree. My feet naturally guide me through the rough, bumpy bark. Once I reach my perching branch that I always nestle on, I start to imagine that the clouds are coming down upon me, the sky is shrinking and my thoughts are somewhere else. The stress of daily life floats up to the clouds and all I think about is his dreams. Just that instant, a beautiful blue jay burst from the bushy branches and into the free-soaring sky. I stumble to get a closer glance, but all of a sudden I completely lose my balance, and quickly my legs hang from the branch.
“M-mom help, me quickly,” my hands start sweating, sticky like I just dipped them into syrup. “Mom! Trixi! Just somebody!”
It’s too late, and nobody can hear me from up so high. My hands slide down the bark. “Help!” I look down at the ground. Anxiety rises. Slip.
My hands drop off the rigid bark. I fall through the air. “Thud” I hit the hard ground. My body paralyzes, stuck. My eyes swirl beneath my eyelids and my head gets heavy. I don't wake up.
“Elena! You okay?” I dash over as fast as I can. My eyes expand when I see Elena laying on the ground with no movement. Her eyes are shut closed, and her legs are clenched, hard as a rock. I try to scoop her up and bring her to mom, but she’s too heavy.
“M-mo-m, hu-r-ry!” I stutter, too scared to make out full sentences. I weep over her, wishing she would just wake up.
“What honey?” Mom hobbles over the rocks and gravel to get over to us.
“Mom, come quick!” I get frustrated.
I try to jostle her awake while mom walks over, but Elena just won’t move.
“What do you mean?” That's when it catches her eye. Her jaw drops to her feet, eyes widened. “My baby oh my gosh!” Dart. Mom comes to my side quicker than I ever imagined. She shakes Elena vigorously. Elena’s head wobbles, seeming separate from the rest of her body. Mom’s tears drip down onto Elena's cheek, drenching her soft, velvety skin.
We carry her inside and lay her on the couch. We sit there for a while and wait to just hear her warm voice float through her still body, but nothing peeks out. Mom calls 27-7, the town emergency number, but there is no response. Mom then calls Dad, who is busy at work. Right away he hangs up and is at the front door within five minutes. We all crowd around her, swishing water on her face, blasting music, anything to wake her up, but nothing happens. She still breathes, and her eyes flutter around tucked away under her eyelids. What could be wrong? She’s still alive, right? I think to myself.
What’s½plus¼?Itappedmypencilonthetable,boredas someonewhohadtowatchgrassgrow.Igaveupontheproblem andskippedtothenextone.⅓+⅛?Isighed.
Ring!Ring!Ring!
Finally!Somethingelsetodobesidesstupidhomework.Ithrew downmypencil,satup,andyelled,“I’llgetit!”Isprintedtothe telephone.“Hello?”
“Hey,Lucy,it'sMaryAnne,”myfriendsaidoverthephone.
“Hey,MaryAnne!What’sup?”
“Iwasjustwonderingifyoucouldcometothemoviestonightat 8:00.Liz,Sadie,andMiaaregoingtobethere.”
Iglancedatmymother,whoshookherheadandpointedtomy doodled-onhomework.Iglaredatherandspokeintothetelephone.
“Sorry,MaryAnne,”Isighedandlookeddownatthefloor.“My momsaidIcan’t.Gottoomuchhomework.”
“Aww,toobad.Well,seeyoutomorrowatschool.”Thenshehung up.
“Mooooom!”Igroaned.Islammedthetelephonedownand crossedmyarms.“Why?Whycan’tIgooutwithmyfriends?They’re allgoingtobethereandI’llmissoutonsomuchfun!”
“Lucy,honey,youhaveanentirepageofhomeworkthatyou’ve barelytouched,asidefromtheflowersandheartsyoudoodledall overthemargin.”Shecrossedherarms,too,andwejuststaredinto eachother’seyesuntilMomeventuallysaid,“Plus,Ineedhelpfolding thelaundry,andyouneedtotakeashower.Schoolisalmostover. You’llhaveplentyoftimetogooutwithyourfriendsoverthe summer.”
IstompedbackovertothetablewhereIwasdoingmy homework.Mad,Iploppeddowninthechair.Ibegantofeelupset andthinkthatIcouldn’thaveanyfunbecauseofmystupid homework.Stupid,stupid,homework.Atearrolleddownmycheek.
Ithoughtabouthowallmyfriendswouldbelaughingand throwingpopcornandbuyinglifetimesuppliesofcandywithoutme.
wantto wantto read read more? more?
Amelia could barely breathe. Gasping for air, she felt someone touch her shoulder. She heard a soft voice.
“Hey, are you ok?” Amelia turned around. She saw a girl on crutches.
“ELLA!” Amelia exclaimed, “What are you doing here?!”
“I just wanted to see you for the holidays,” Ella replied, with a warm smile. Amelia threw her arms around Ella.
“I missed you so much,” said Amelia.
“I missed you too,” replied Ella.
Amelia and Ella got to the apartment after college, and they decided to make tea.
“Hey, Amelia, do you have any thyme tea?” asked Ella.
“Yeah, I do… but I thought you hated thyme tea.”
“Oh, right… do you have any mint tea?” Ella asked.
“Yep.” Amelia handed the tea bag to Ella, but she noticed something. Ella was doing everything with her right hand, but she is left-handed. Amelia got suspicious of Ella, but she didn’t say anything.
“Do you want any honey?” Amelia asked. Ella nodded, and smiled softly. She watched the honey slowly drizzle into her cup. Ella grabbed some milk and was about to pour it in the tea, when Amelia Shrieked, “NO, ELLA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
“I’m just pouring in some milk. It makes it taste better.” Ella replied.
“But I thought you were lactose intolerant!”
“Oh, right,” Ella chuckled. Ella was acting really weird, and Amelia didn’t know what was going on.
Later that night, Amelia heard Ella on the phone with someone, and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Okay, send her there tomorrow, she needs to get to work as fast as possible… yep, mhm. Yeah I think Amelia is on to me. Apparently, Ella is lactose intolerant, and I was going to drink milk, until Amelia that I was lactose intolerant.”
What is she talking about? The words went on and on in Amelia’s
Afterschool,IalwaysgotoBeachSunParkandclearmymind.Thesunisshining,kidsarelaughingandhaving fun.Iwalkovertotheswings,mylegspumpingupanddownkickingthegravel,feelingthewindasIdodown.When Igoup,Icanseethetreesandtheskystretchingoverme.IfeelsofreelikeIcandoanythingbutmythoughtsare sooncutoffasIseesomethinginblack.HaveIseenthispersonbefore?Itcomestome,thewomaninthecloak fromearliertoday.ThewomanlooksatmeandIcanfinallyseehergreeneyesthatblendinwiththetreebehind her.Shehasawartonherpointynose.Issheawitch?Panicstartstoriseinmeasshewalksoverwithherhair blowinginthewind.Iwanttorun,butIalsofeelsomecuriosityfillingmybody,soIstayinstead.
“Helloyounglady,Icangiveyousomethingthatwillmakeallyourwishescometrue.Iknowyouwantitsodon’t beshy”thestrangeladysaysinawitchyvoicethatsoundslikeshehasafroginherthroat.
“H-hello,”Isay,barelygettingthewordsout.“Whatdoyouwant?”Iask.
“Justtohelpyou,mydear,”shesaysagain,hervoicefillingtheair.
“Howcanyouhelpme?Mylifewillneverbethesame.”Isayshylywithmyheaddown.
“Becarefulwhatyouwishfor,”shesaysasshethrowsabookatme,andthenjustdisappearsinabigpoof!I lookdownatthebook.It'sabigbook.Ican’ttellwhatwouldbeinitbytheAfricanVioletsonthecoverwithabright yellowmiddle.AsIstare,thevioletcolorexpandsalloveritandIlookupandseeallthekidsaregone.“Whattimeis it?”Iwonder.Igetofftheswingandstarttorunhome.WitheachstepItakethebookseemstopullmebacktothe swings.
MyfrontdoorcreaksasIopenit,hopingIcanjustgettomyroo-
“Nowwherehaveyoubeen!”Mymom'svoiceismadbutmostlyworried.
“I’msorryIwashavingsuchagreattimeatthepark,”Ilied.
“Justdon’tletithappenagain,nowgoupstairsandgetwashedupfordinner,”shesaidashervoicestartedto returntonormal.Iranupthestairswiththebookinmybackpack.WhenIgottomyroomIaskthebook,“Helloum, book,pleasetellmewhattodo,”butIdidn'thearananswer.“Ugh,Ijustwishthatyouwouldwork!”andPOOF,abig violetgirlappeared.She'snotanormalperson.There'spurplesmokewhereherlegsaresupposedtobeandher hairisinahighponytailwithaflowertoholdittogether.Shesmellsofathousandflowersandherfaceisfullof confusionlikeIwasnotsupposedtobehere.
“Oh,Iguessyou’renew,”shesaysasIfeelmyheartracing.
"Areyougoodthere?”shesaystomeasstartstobreathecalmly.Iask“SocanIwishforsomething?”
“Uhhuh,”itnods.“Okthisishowitworks,yougetthreewishes,notakebacks,andnobringingpeoplebackfrom thedead.”
“Whatdoyouwanttowishforandthinkbig,”IthinkthenInodmyheadandsayconfidently,
want to read more scan here!
I just sat on my bed thinking about who knows what, because I'm that kind of person who can just sit and think. My mom always says that's why I'm such a good writer.
“One day you’ll be famous. I can see it now; 16 year old Fiona Johnson, the most awesomest writer ever,” she says.
I always respond with, “some day.” Mom always replies with, “It's that brain of yours. It's always thinking.”
“Yeah, and she needs to learn to control it and pay attention more in school. Otherwise no New York.” My dad always buts in, and we love him that way, but this time it was serious. Tomorrow I would hop on a plane and fly to New York to see the twin towers… and maybe stop to see other things like the Statue of Liberty. My friends and I are all going, but we couldn't get on the same flight. It'll be my first time flying alone, and I am so excited!
“Sweetheart, your dad is right. If your grades don't start going up, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to take away privileges like New York.”
“It’s ok, Mom. I'll get every last one of my assignments in by the time I leave.”
“That's my girl.”
Dad always says stuff like that. Just then my phone rang, completely ruining the nice moment. Iit was my friend Emma. She always calls at the worst times for the worst reasons! Once she called me at 12:00 am just because she woke up and got bored, but she’s my best friend, so what are you gonna do?
"Hey bestie."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing, I'm just so excited for our trip to New York."
"Me too. It's going to be awesome."
"Yeah, too bad we have to write about it."
"I know, but it was the only way my parents were ever going to let me go."
"Can't you just tell them you did it and then not do it?"
"Trust me, I've thought of every way to get out of this. Besides, they're going to ask me to read my writing to them. If I have nothing to present, I'll be grounded for life!"
“Well, since your parents are doing it, my parents are making me write about it too!
“Sorry.”
“You’re cool.”
“Thanks.”
“Well, I should go.”
“Yeah, me too. See you in New York.”
“Well sweetie, if you're gonna go to New York you'd better pack your bags.”
“Right, I’ll go do that, thanks Mom.”
That night I had a hard time sleeping. I was just so excited for New York! I’d never been anywhere out of town without my parents before, so this would be a trip to remember.
As I waved goodbye to my parents, I thought once more about the excitement of New York and being able to share that excitement with all my friends.
“Bye sweetie.”
“Miss you already!” That was a lie. The truth is, I was too excited for New York to miss anything about my daily life – not even my parents. Little did I know, I would soon have a change of heart…
As I walked through the busy airport and looked around, it smelled like my grandma's house. It was sort of dark there because there were hardly any windows, leaving the lighting up to long lights that hang down from the ceiling and I don't even know how many bugs were in there,but I didn't care. I felt on top of the world! I was there all alone and I was proud to be here without my parents. While I was walking, I saw my friends. Getting through security went so much faster for them than for me.
“So, what do you think New York will be like?” my friend Lola said, holding up her hand to all of us like she was holding a microphone.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been!”my friend Kate said. She's kind of dumb, but always has a smile on her face. You can’t possibly be sad or mad or anything but happy when you’re around her.
But something is different this time. I didn't feel on top of the world like I had before, and instead I felt alone – and I was. The plane was full of strangers and weirdos. That’s when I started to worry…
The hot sun beats down on my curly, wiry black fur. My tongue droops out of the side of my mouth, constantly painting. 11 hours ago Cody and I had found a pond, we got a drink of water, and when we turned around, everyone disappeared.
When we were looking for mom a car came, but this time the car stopped right next to us. They had big nets. Their trunk was full of crates.
“Run!!” Cody yelled. We turned around and sprinted the other way; running for our lives. As I'm running something hits me, it shocks me, but only for a second. I freeze, then the world starts to spin until my eyelids drop. Everything turns black.
The van dropped must have us off somewhere packed with other dogs, cats, and bunnies. This place is in the middle of a town. The town is old but at the same time new. This town has a lot of life; there are plants everywhere. Now, I'm in a cold metal crate with a bed, food and water bowls, and a rope with a knot in it. I lay in my bed thinking about what would have happened if I wasn't here; what would have happened if the van didn't find us, but anyway I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't want to be here. Dogs from other crates whine and bark. It's annoying at first, but then it just kinda becomes a part of life.
Every day Kristy comes in. She always has a calm voice even if we pee all over our crate she's calm. Kristy always smells like other dogs. Sometimes she smells like the chiwawa next door or sometimes she smells like some dog I've never met before, but she always smells like dogs. “Hey guys, Good morning”
Kristy usually takes Cody and me out together. In the mornings I get to see Cody and we meet each other outside. As soon as our eyes lock we pause for a minute, then I sprint around the yard passing all the other dogs. My fur flies back and my tongue flies out of my mouth. Slobber shooting out of my mouth hitting everything behind me. We run around the yard till the heat from the sun becomes too much. We shuffle over to the shade and drink some water before our legs just completely give out, and we cuddle under the shade.
Cody starts off the conversation by saying, “So, how have you been?”
“Good. You?
“Ok. Recently the mutt next door has been chatting it up.” This is how our conversations start all of the time.
We talk until Kristy says,“Daisy, come here.”
When we arrived here they started calling us names like Daisy and Cooper. It makes sense. They have no idea what our names are, and I'm getting used to it. Anyway, when she calls us back in we get separated again and go lay in our cold, lonely metal crate.
People always pass by my little kennel; they always glance over at me but never notice that I'm there. One day a family came through, and like always they walked right by my kennel and went over to the kennel across from me.
take the steps two at a time, desperate to get out of the house before my mother catches me. I manage to get past the kitchen and to the living room,when I notice my twin sister–staring at me from across the top of the book. “Carolina! Don’t tell!” I hiss, clenching my fists.
She looks at me with that smug smile of hers and says: “On one condition. You let me come with you.” My mind races for an excuse, anything, but I come up empty-handed.
“Fine, come on.” We go out through the garage and into the morning.
“Where to?” She asks, teeth chattering.
“I don’t know, wherever. And you should’ve worn a jacket.”
“I know, Evergreen. Come. I have a secret place.” Carolina takes off down the street, her orange pigtails flying out behind her. I follow reluctantly, my hands shoved in my jean pockets.
We soon approach a forest, with bright bursts of color atop dull bark. Carolina never looks back, just keeps running. She comes to an abrupt stop, and turns around on her heels. “Here.”
“But it’s just a part of the same old forest.”
“Nuh uh. It’s special. Sit.” We sit, cross-legged, the fall leaves dry and fragile. “Now look up at the sky and the trees. It’s magical.” I lie down, and look up. She’s right. It is magical. The patternous clouds squirm through gaps in the leaves. Red, orange, yellow flurries occasionally drop, sometimes on our faces, causing us to laugh. We lay there, arms and legs outstretched, until my phone rings from my sweatshirt pocket. I pull it out. Mother’s calling me. I answer, reluctantly.
“Yes, Mother?” I squeak. Carolina gives me that ‘You’re so pathetic’ type of look. I shoot her an evil eye and turn my attention back to the phone.
“Evergreen Roseifer Harpen. You have volleyball practice and you have to do the dishes. Come home now.”
“How’d you-”
“I’m a mother, Evergreen. Now.”
Carolina and I walk back, hand in hand, joking about crushes and stuff like that.
Click here to read more of: Forward Bound
Gone By: Ryder Duda
Ring, Ring, Ring!
“There has been a bomb detected in the area,” the intercom repeats.
“I hate these drills, they go on for so long and they waste so much time,” Chase cries.
“Ya, that's Chase. Everyone calls him a nerd, but he’s kinda my friend,” Marcus says. “Everyone thinks of him as the small, weak, and annoying kid, but when you meet him, he’s nice and always there to help.”
“Come on class, let's go to the storage closet,” Mr. Burkmen yells.
The door shuts with a thump. The intercom blares out, “There has been a nuclear bomb detected in the area.”
“Everyone stay quiet, this drill won’t last too long,” said Mr. Burkmen. The silence does not last very long, because everyone is talking about the crisis that may begin if BRICS (a treaty among Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) keep jabbing at each other.
Right as he finishes the announcement, Principal Johnson says, “Every single student should be expected to get back to their 1st period class with all their belongings while we-” Booming starts in the distance, and the sound bounces around my ears. All I hear is a ring, and suddenly, it's darkness. It’s like nothing that I have ever felt. My heart drops; I can’t tell what’s happening. No power.
Even more, screams start, and almost everyone is crying or scared.
“What is going on!?” I shout. Alerts from everyone's phones start beeping one by one, and before you know it, the whole cafeteria is beeping. The cafeteria went from drinking and eating to crying and screaming and finally, to beeping.
“What is it?” Chase asks me.
“Umm,” I gasp. “The Russians have bombed the USA power supply!” I scream. Another round of bombing has started except it sounds like it keeps getting closer. What is going on? I think to myself. *
“Everyone should be going straight home, do you understand?” Askes Mr. Burkmen. “Yes,” everyone says simultaneously.
After walking for 10 minutes, we got to my neighborhood. I take a breath of the cold, smoky air. “This can’t be real,” I gasp. Tears fell down my face like a waterfall. The whole neighborhood is gone. “Nooo, WHY?” I fall onto the ground, grasping Chase. My body feels like 1,000 pounds. I feel Chase's arm rub my back. I want to race to my family and hug them, but I can’t. I feel the ground quake. I try to get up, but I fall.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Let's go to my house,” Chase commands. * * *
A house is just material and the only thing that matters is that your friends and family are safe.
"So, What’d you get this time?” Sammy asked through the phone. “Something like ‘How to Murder Someone’?”
“Yeah, and I’m gonna use it on you,” Percy huffed. He pulled the phone down from his ear as he shuffled through his bag. Book after book fell, but he kept searching for the one he got that day. He reached far into the bottom and pulled out a book with a maroon colored front page. The letters and designs were fading off quickly.
“Hold on, it’s called…” Percy paused for a moment, squinting at the book cover. Sure, he had bought the book just that afternoon, but he never really looked at the names. He just read the back and moved. Maybe it spoiled the whole book by reading the back, but it felt better to actually know what you’re getting yourself into.
“It’s called 'Beyond My Reach’,” Percy said.
“That sounds terrible.”
“Oh, be quiet.”
A chuckle came from the other end of the line. Percy smiled through the phone. He enjoyed making people laugh like that. Especially if they’re someone like Sammy.
Sammy sighed loudly, “Hey, uh, I’ve gotta get going. It was great to talk to you again. Oh, and also, tell your mom I said hi. I know things haven't been the greatest with how she is right now, but…”
Sammy could’ve kept talking for years if Percy didn’t interrupt soon. Wasn’t this meant to be a goodbye?
“Yeah, I’ve gotta get going too,” Percy said before Sammy could start talking again, “See you around?”
“Yeah… See you.”
Percy hung up the phone and sank down to a sitting position. He laid his head on the wall to get some support, even if it wasn’t the most comfortable position. He liked talking with Sammy–more than anything, actually. It made him feel less alone. Because even if his mom was in the house, she wasn’t really the best company. She’s growing older, so of course she wouldn’t be as active as younger parents. But Percy always felt like it was weird how she never spoke to anyone, no matter what. But he’s not sure if that’s so different from other moms, he’s only ever had one.
Nowadays, she just sits in her chair doing nothing. Maybe looking out the window, but what could she be looking at that could be interesting here? The ocean? Because if Percy were to spend everyday staring at that, he’d get bored pretty quickly.
Percy closed his eyes. He almost wishes he hadn’t cut Sammy off, he didn’t like being alone.
He couldn’t think much longer. Loud pounds of hands arose from his door. He jumped a little, eyes shooting open. That caught him off guard.
Percy stood up carefully and walked over to the door. He twisted his wrist slowly around the door knob and gently pulled it open.
“What–”
Percy couldn’t even finish his sentence before a big lump of joy jumped on top of him. He should have known.
“I know,” Catori said smartly. “But just think about that girl, stuck at that awful school… Dakota, I’m going to find her.”
The water that Dakota was drinking exploded out of his mouth and sprayed everywhere.
“No!” He sputtered. “Absolutely not! There is no way you’re going.”
“Dakota, she's my sister. I'm going to find her,” Catori protested.
“Catori, it's too dangerous!” He shouted back.
“I know,” Catori confessed. There was a long pause of silence. Finally, Dakota spoke up, this time in a softer voice.
“I’m coming with you.” Dakota looked at Catori. Their eyes locked for a mere second, silently telling each other everything before they were torn apart. Catori nodded and began.
“Those men who took her could be from anywhere. The good news is, I find it highly unlikely they would come from far away to just take a girl, you know?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “There are a few towns around here, but my Pa says we can’t mess with them because they’re too powerful. The bad news is, I think they're the ones who took her.”
There was a long pause before Dakota spoke.
“When are we leaving?”
Catori thought for a moment before declaring, “We have to get prepared, we only have one week.”
“Okay,” Dakota nodded solemnly. * * *
The sun was dipping below the horizon and pink-tinted clouds scattered the pale blue sky. Dakota and Catori spent the week planning their trip. Catori made a map of where they would travel and the trails to get there.
“How do you know all this?” Dakota asked, staring in awe at the nearly finished map.
“Easy,” Catori said. “My pa has been all over the land. He knows it really well, so I can keep a pretty accurate map.” Dakota on the other hand was rounding up all the supplies they would need plus a decent amount of food.
“Finally,” he said, dropping to his knees. “That took forever.” Dakota groaned, stuffing the last of his possessions into an animal skin bag.
“Tell me about it.” Catori had dark crescents under her eyes from staying up till 2:00 in the morning, working non-stop.
“We’re leaving tomorrow, you ready?” Catori asked.
“Yup,” Dakota answered.
IjumpedupwhenIheardMissRoot.Irantotheclosettohide.Isteppedbackonto thedampcoldmopandbumpedintotheclosetshelves–MissRootwascoming,and myheartwaspounding.MissRootsoundedasmadasabullassheopenedthe closetdoorthen…
“Thereyouare,youfilthyrat!”,MissRootyelledinrage.Shegrabbedmywristand slappedmyarm.
Ding,Dong!MissRootrushedtothedoorandlookedthroughthepeephole;she startedcursing.“Well,todayisyourluckydayrat!”MissRootalwayscallsmearat.I amjusta12-year-oldorphangirl;notarat!Shepulledonmyshoulder.
“Ahh!”Iscreamed.
“Shutupandbequiet.”MissRootwhispered.Itriedtotugaway,butshepushed metothefrontdoorandthenopenedit.“Oh,whyhelloMs.Ava,howareyou today?”MissRootaskedtheladybehindthedoorinasweetvoice.
“Iamdoingquitewellthanksforasking.I’lljustbetakingAspenforabit.”Ms.Ava replied.
“Okthen,butareyousureyouwouldn’tlikeaquickcupofteafirst?”MissRoot triedtopersuade.
“Nothankyou,I'lljusttakeAspenandbeonmyway.”,Ms.Avasighedfrustratedly.
“Oh,okaythendear,havefun!”MissRootsaidtomesweetlyasherwrinklyold fingersleftmyshoulder.Icouldnotbelievethiswoman–andshemakesMs.Avasick too!
“Oktimetogo,Aspen,”Ms.Avaletoutabigbreath.“Gogetyourbag.”
Ms.AvaismySocialWorkerandMissRootismyfosterparent–fornow–yetof courseMissRootwasonlyinitforthemoney.I’vebeengoingfromfosterfamilyto fosterfamilybecausenoonewantstoadopta12-year-oldgirlwithSPD(Sensory ProcessingDisorder).Irushedtogetmybag.Iwasjustgratefultogetawayfrom MissRoot.WhenIcomplainaboutmyfosterparentstoMs.Avashealwayssays “whenlifegivesyoulemons,makelemonade.”
WehurrieddownthestairsoftheapartmentbuildingandwalkedtoMs.Ava’scar asthesunstartedtorise,theshinysilverdoorflashedabrightlightinmyeye.
“Ahh,”Isaidquietly.Thelightwasblinding.Ihoppedintothefrontseat.Wedrove downthenewlydoneroadandlistenedtothepeacefulLouisianabreezesasthe morningbirdssang.Ms.Avaturneduptheradio.Iwatchedthesunriseglowingup Ms.Ava’sfacewithbrightpink,orange,andyellowasifherfacewasacanvas.
“Sohowhaveyoubeendoing?”Ms.Avaasked.Itiltedmyheadontotheseatand playedwithmyhair.Thegoldencolorshimmeredinthelight.“Ok,ignoreme.”Ms. Avaletout,sighing.Shetookmywrist,Icringedandshedroppedit.“Sorry,”she said,“canyoupullupyoursleeveforme?”shecontinued.Ipulledupmy sweatshirt;Ms.Avalookedatitbutdidnottouchit.“Doesithurt?”Ms.Avaasked, “Howdidithappen?”
“It’sfine,”Ianswered.“SoareweheadingbacktoCPS?”
“Actuallymybosswantstotalktoyouaboutsomething.”
“Aboutwhat?”Iasked,confused.
“You’llsee.”
By Avery Bergquist
Brooklyn screamed as the beast’s claws came for her head. She threw herself out of the way, just missing the daggers.
Her foot slipped, and suddenly, she was hanging off the side of the platform. Brooklyn kicked her legs, struggling to get back up.
The bear appeared around the side, roaring, and it slashed its claw toward her leg. She managed to pull it out of the way of destruction. The claw still caught her leg, leaving a claw mark just below her knee.
She clenched her teeth as she tried to pull herself up.
The bear roared, bringing its claw down toward her. She screamed, bracing for impact.
It never came.
A bridge of metal extended toward the platform. Brooklyn tried to stand with her injured leg. It clicked into place on the platform.
Brooklyn took the bear's momentary distraction and ran for her life.
The beast roared in anger as she escaped. It brought its claw down on the bridge and sent the entire thing crumbling to the ground.
Brooklyn screamed as she fell.
She suddenly noticed that as she broke through the mist, the bear was standing on a curtain of metal with little holes wide enough to fit a person. Brooklyn could hear the sounds of water below her. She righted herself into a dive and held her breath as she plummeted toward the underground lake.
By: Stella Smith
Beep! Beep! Beep!
My eyes open. I slowly leave my warm and comfy bed and walk toward my desk, where the alarm clock is still ringing like an agitated bird. That noise–the one that makes me reach my hand and press the snooze button. It's the weekend… I tell myself. I didn’t set it to be on last night, I wanted to sleep in. Why is my alarm clock going off? I looked at my bed, longing to curl up and go back to sleep, but I squirmed out of my PJs and put on clothes; I knew that I would have difficulty drifting back to my dreams. Huffing as I walk past my alarm and give it dirty looks; I hear a whisper; something calling me. A deep wispy voice.
“Come, follow me, come and look inside, find all the secrets that I was bound to hide,” “What the…”
“Come, find me, see what is deep in me, for I know all your secrets; I know all your dreams,” “Nope. Nope nope nope. Not doing that,” I stumbled down the stairs, freaking out. “Okay let's just find Mom and get breakfast,” I think. She's probably just in her room. “Mom?” No answer… I hate being alone; it's my worst fear.
I proceed to tiptoe to the round table in the kitchen, as awareness bubbles inside me; ensuring I don’t hear any more whispers. I look at the fridge where my name is spelled out in letter magnets: DAHLIA HART. I try to get the milk for my cereal, but I can hardly move. I was glued to the spot. A book appeared on the table that wasn’t there before…
I creep over, the whispers become gradually louder. It felt like the book was calling me. Curiosity tells me to open it, to look inside. My hands shaking from fear. My stomach suddenly turns and does backflips.
This book is like my stress; it knows my weaknesses. I grab the book and open the leather cover being braver than I knew I was…
Instantly, the pages flip madly and glowed a golden yellow. I lurch forward like I’m being sucked down a drain; all gravity is lost. I close my eyes, praying that I find my mom, or anybody for that matter, because the eerie silence and my breathing scare me as I fall, down, down until it all stops.
I breathe at the mossy floor, hovering inches above it. “Ouch!” I drop to the ground. I stand up and rake off leaves from my long black curly hair. “Where am I?”
“Thanks, dad. Now can I go to dinner?”
“Of course. Sorry to stop you.”
I practically ran to dinner.
“ MOM!” Diana yelled, “MOM, I NEED YOUR OPINION!”
My mom ran down the stairs, worried about Miss Malibu barbie.
“Are you okay Diana!?” she said with a worried face.
“Which dress looks better on me? The pink or the blue?”
I sat there watching Diana show my mom the awful colored dresses with a bucket of glitter on both of them.
“The pink one sweetheart. It’s your signature color after all,” she said with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. “Kammie, why aren’t you like Diana? All you ever do is sit up in your room.”
“Well mom, maybe I care about my grades and don’t slack off like Diana does. I also don’t bribe my teachers to get me good grades,” I said angrily.
By: Evelyn CavanaghMy twin. Blue eyes, blond hair. All I have is brown hair and green eyes and a pair of glasses. She’s always Little Miss Perfect. She acts so kind and nice but is really the devil in disguise. God, how I wish she would just disappear for once!
“Kammie, dinner’s ready!”
I placed my journal down and hurried to the stairs. Suddenly, Diana stopped me.
“I’m having a party Friday night while mom and dad are gone so you better not tell them ok?”
“Sure, Whatever.” I rushed past her, starving to death, when I got stopped again.
“You did very well on your last test Kammie,” my dad said with a big smile on his face.
Dad was the only one who really cared about me. My mom always wanted my sister to be a famous actress or singer, but those opportunities were long gone.
“Hypothetically, what do you think we would do in an alien war?” asked Mike. His eyes went across the group and then looked at Lucy, who was wearing an old, beat-up Texas Stars jersey. Her twin brother, Jordan, looked exactly the same but two seconds younger. On the other side of the room there was Mike, with his thick soft hair sitting on top of his pale skin, and then Sophia, who had black hair and nice tan skin. Mike turned, wide-eyed in the embarrassment of asking the question. The quiet garage air flowed against them. Mike knew this feeling like it was a bad memory.
“Last to the International Space HQ gives us copies of X-men #1009!” Mike hopped onto his bike and sped off down the road. The wheels turned created the sound of a cricket chirping, but with no variety to it. Sophia, Lucy, and Jordan raced down the concrete hill after Mike. Mike stopped with victory in his eyes. The rest of the trio stopped panting in exhaustion. The creak of the metal rockets was the only sound in the valley; the station had blue computer screens blared through the gray-tinted windows. The kids stopped and pulled out a metal tube and started to drink a thick green liquid that never ended. Suddenly, alarms raised, and the kids spat out the liquid and choked from the surprise alarm.
A man in a monotone voice said “ THE MOON IS CRASHING, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.” This repeated for quite a while. The daily alarm then stopped with a loud bleep.
“Hey, you kids! When I get my hands on you I’m going to make you eat the local diner!” yelled a Grumpy old man from behind the fence. The kids stared in pure shock. Mike turned a dark maroon in pure embarrassment. The rest of the group started laughing and peddled back up. This was stopped when the ear bleeding alarms came back on.
Huh, strange. That went off just a few seconds ago,” said Lucy. sister. Mike pinched the top of his nose then looked down making his face shrouded in shadow. Sophia started to laugh hard causing her to fall and clench her stomac “HEY! What are you looking at?”
“You look like your great-great Uncle Kennedy” Mike stared in c “You’ve got to stop being embarrassed, it only drags you down.” said Lucy. Mike agreed but didn’t know if he had the courage to do that. Then suddenly, the Military came around yelling about getting to the Space HQ. The kids grabbed their bikes and peddled back down the hill. The gates were open and the kids sped through them. A couple of men in blue suits handed them the diaper grey spacesuits and led them to the ships. A group of ships started to launch. Vehicles came sliding in guns blazing. The military started to get trampled and soon the vehicles were gone. Mike heard the words lift off, he didn't know what to think this was serious for the The rocket went up with a powerful blast. The kids stared at each other there was no one to help or save them from possibly inevitable death. Mike leaned over to look out a window tears swelling in his eyes. A LUk3!M.M model went down, a female voice said Mars prepared, then black just pitch black. The red dust on Mars settled, Mike leaned up, and Jordan touched Mike’s soft black hair, and said, “Mike? Mike? I’M BLIND!”
“Rub your eyes,” replied Mike. Jordan looked in embarrassment and then stared into the sky. There lay a big blue circle with black spots over it.
“Now I-I’m no sci-scientist but that looks like a wormhole,” Jordan said. The blue oval didn’t have a feeling but it was there. Mike looked and then pointed out a black shadow, soon there were two then three soon it looked like an army. Mike pulled out an old ray gun and blasted it. The ray hit the spaceship and shot it down, into a dusty crater. ***
Years later, the event was then called Galactic Warp, held by government officials who owned keys to blast for help signals. This would become a regular occurrence for a century. It would happen again, but no one knows where or when it will happen.
Skating was my passion, my destiny. I went to practice every night since I was four. I was able to become nothing, like the brisk air around me. My feet flew over the ice. The overcast sky greeted me every day and the ice beneath me seemed to welcome me every time I appeared in the snow. My name means ‘snowstorm’, made to fit my wild and reckless heart and invisible wings that were made to fly. It was a cloudy spring day. Lush green carpets unfurled up the sides of the mountains. We were stuck in heavy traffic after a long hike. I was conked out and drooling in my car seat when the car slipped. The sky above was gray; the snow grinding beneath our tires was black. All was peaceful and quiet. The traffic was slow, except for the bright red Honda the color of my blood, barreling down the hill like a soccer ball. It miraculously missed all of the cars. All except for one. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was my dad’s yell and the crash of the impact.
In just one week, I lost a leg. I was in and out of sleep for weeks on end. I woke up to my parents speaking in hushed voices. They thought I would never be able to walk again, let alone skate. I spent almost a year laying in bed, hopeless and bleak. When I looked into my future, all I saw was hopeless, endless black. Then one day, a new light appeared. My parents told me that a lab in Minnesota was designing a new leg for me. They told me I would be able to walk again. I still remember the first day I tried my new leg on.
“Þarna, Pyry. Farðu létt með sjálfan þig. Ó elskan, það er allt í lagi.” “One more step, Pyry, one more step. You can do it.” My mother’s voice soothed me as I took the first shaky step into my new future. I felt the strong, sturdy grasp of my father’s hands, and right then, I knew that there was hope. I went into months and months of training. Through every jolt of pain that ran down my spine, something in me knew that I would be able to walk again, to glide over the ice, to continue with my dreams, and reach for the stars.
And now here I am.
I step onto the ice. The cold air rushes against my skin, sending chills up my back, but I’m used to it. I raise one arm above my flowing black hair, lifting my chin to the cloudy gray sky. I pause for a moment, filling my lungs with the cold, clean air before I leap into action.
My parents are dead.
They were killed because the government figured out that they were rebels. Now, I just live with my brother.
I get up from my bed and start pacing around my apartment, waiting for my brother to come home from work. He’s late again. Yesterday he claimed that he got lost, but when you’ve lived in the same unchanging place for 10 years, you don’t tend to get lost easily.
Finally, after about 12 minutes, he gets home. He looks overworked and tired.
“How was your day?” He asks me when he spots me.
“Same old, same old,” I responded.
I notice a disk-like shape in his left pocket.
“What's in your pocket,” I ask.
“
Perceptive as always,” he responds.
“Well, I have to be when you don’t tell me anything.”
“It’s nothing,” He responds.
“You never answered my question.”
“It's late, you should go to bed.” He says, dodging my question, again.
“
Fine,” I respond, but I know this isn’t over. ***
As I wake up to the sun radiating through the window, I look around our apartment noticing that my brother is gone.
I am just about to walk out the door when I see a letter on the floor. I reach down to pick it up and it feels light. Inside there is an official government seal and printed text that says:
Dear Evan Riley Banane, Your brother David Cedar Banane has been taken into custody. He has been convicted of conspiracy against the government and is acquainted with rebels. An investigation will be conducted on your apartment at 2300 in four days.
Ineedtogethimout.That'smyfirstthought.Thenmybrainbeginstoquestionit.Buthow?I’mjusta13-year-oldboywithno equipment.MybraingoesbacktoyesterdaywhenIlastsawhim.Mymindkeepsreturningtotherounddiskinhispocket.Ineedtofind it. ***
I inspected his room for hours until finally, I found the disk that was in his pocket. It's a steel disk with worn gold paint on it. It has a set of holes on the backside. Probably a speaker and a microphone. On the front side, there is a button so I do what any logical person would do. I press the button.
“
Hello, who is this?” says an icy female voice through the speaker.
“
Evan Riley Banane..”” I replied.
“Are you David's brother?”
“
Yes. Who are you?”
“
That information is a secret, if you want to know you have to convince us that you are trustworthy,” she said as quickly.
I remember the day crystal clear. It was June 13, 2030, on Earth. I was the first aboard the Starship, and the launch window was good. I was on Starship along with 100 other people and my job was to maintain the spacecraft. The Mars colony was mainly made up of robots preparing for our arrival and a few human scientists doing research. It was a seven-month journey. I remember when we arrived that the sights on Mars were beautiful. The red sky was so mesmerizing.
I grew up on a farm and spent many nights looking into space and the stars. I had dreams of someday going up there. I watched documentaries, read magazines, and watched youtube videos about Starship. Now, I was going. Once we made it to Mars, it was smooth sailing. 2040
The Mars colony now stands strong at 1,000,000 people. Greenhouses and terraformation are working well. The colony thrives with a fleet of 25 Starships that bring over 2,000 people a year. One day, I was on board Starship #003 and noticed a person acting weird: storing food in a pod, taking plants, taking water bottles, stealing sugar, and hoarding clothing. All things that are not done in the colony.
Why does he need sugar? I thought. Then, out of nowhere, BOOM! A loud noise came from the starboard side of the ship. The alarms went blaring, and the doors locked for safety.
I heard someone scream, “We’re all going to die!”
“Could I get two loaves?” The man asks in a deep voice, as the chef hands the bread to the man. Jane's stomach growls.
“And what could I get you, little girl?” Booms the man. Jane silently points to a loaf of bread.
“That will be five cents.”
Jane snatches the bread and dashes for the door. She hops down the steps and onto the road. Luckily, there is hardly anybody out. She finds a dark hallway to sit down and eat her bread. She’s never tasted anything like it. At the orphanage, they have this crumby mess shaped into a loaf.
A ray of sunlight hits Jane directly in the face, waking her up. Jane stretches out her tight back. Sleeping on the hard stone floor wasn't any different from her old bed, but she is thankful she was not in the orphanage. Jane walks down the road, watching all of the shopkeepers open their stores. A few ways down from where Jane got the bread, she sees a barrel of apples just sitting there. Of course, Jane needs her breakfast, so she goes over and picks out five big red apples and shoves them into her shirt.
A big man grabs her by the arm and drags her down the stone road; Jane kicks the guy in the crotch and runs away. Finally, when Jane's legs can't carry her anymore, she finds a shady place to sit under a tree. As she sees all the other families playing and having picnics, Jane feels a lump in her stomach. She just wants to be loved by a family.
“Hey, officer! That's the girl that stole my bread last night!”
Jane looks behind her and sees two men charging at her, and she takes off. As Jane leaps through the park, her legs still tired from before, she sees the train that she rode here. Jane picks up speed as the train horn blows. Everyone is looking at her. Chug, chug. The train slowly descends out of the station. Jane jumps into the caboose, gets flung back into a cart, and blacks out.
Wooosh, the train door slides open. A man sees Jane and goes over to inspect. He does not talk, he simply picks her up, trying not to wake her, and brings her to his house. Jane opens her eyes. She has no idea where she is, and is wearing a beautiful white nightgown. She is on a soft couch with big pillows.
“Hey, Rob, she’s awake,” said a girl in a very calm voice. She was the most beautiful girl Jane had ever seen. She has blue eyes and blond hair that was as straight as a string and as soft as silk.
A man with brown hair and blue eyes comes over to Jane and sits at the end of the couch.
“Hi, Jane, I’m Rob. I saw you asleep on the train, you looked injured and like you needed some help. It was really late and I assumed you didn’t have a safe place to go.”
Jane looks up at Rob and sees a soft, kind face. He reminds her of the nice families that play in the park.
“My wife and I live here with our three children, all of them adopted. I recognized you from the Bleak St. Home for Children. If it’s alright with you, maybe you want to stay with us awhile?”
Jane was too tired to think straight, but Rob seemed nice. She could see the three children peering at her from around the corner. They seemed happy and bright, and most of all, safe. Longing to feel that way too, Jane just nodded.
“Great,” said Rob. “We’ll let you rest.”
The Sun was shining down above the house, the bees were buzzing, and the birds chirped, as Jane and her new siblings sat in the yard sipping ice-cold lemonade. The flowers' wonderful scents float in the air as if nothing bad will ever happen.
Jane didn’t know it yet, but she was finally home.
I walked inside, and there were five other people. However, instead of dancing and having fun, they were all tied up to chairs in the middle of the room.
Right as I saw them, I turned around to run away, but Greg stopped me, picked me up, and tied me to another chair.
I looked around at the other kids and they were the popular kids.
The next thing I know is Greg pouting something on my head, and me passing out. I was terrified when I woke up but thankfully Grag was not in the room, and I didn't remember what happened before I passed out. All I know is that I had to get out of here.
At this time, I heard a blood curdling scream! I looked over to where I heard the scream, and everyone else was awake. They all started walking around the room. The terrifying dinosaur walked past me, and I saw that he dropped a small knife. Thankfully, no one else heard it because it was too loud with everyone screaming.
Then I saw the dinosaur coming back again and going toward the knife, but as he walked by he slipped on the knife. To my surprise he picked it up and quietly gave it to me.
As the masked people were walking around the room, Greg was standing at the front of the room saying that if we said anything, there would be a punishment. The masked people made sure that no one could move or talk.
I took the knife and quietly cut my zip tie when no one was looking. I whispered to him, “Why are you helping me?” He said, “I used to be friends with Greg, but then when I transferred to this school, he started getting jealous of the popular kids, but I was never on board with it, but he made me do it.” We slowly opened the door, and to my surprise, everyone was gone, so I tell the dinosaur man that we should escape while we have a chance.
“Hey ladies, Are you ready?” Coach Adam says. Layla and I nod our heads fast. Coach Adam hands us purple jerseys, “Go warm up by defending the goal,” he says. We both run on the field and warm up with our team.
“Go!” Kate says, starting on the line with the soccer ball. She passes to Abby. “Here!” Abby says as she finally retrieves the ball. She dribbles down the side of the field and shoots at Megan, our goalie. Megan catches the ball mid-air and boots it back up the field.
I look over my shoulder and see the other team staring right ahead into my soul with their shoulders shrugged above their head, I turn away and see the sun melting into the mountains, the trees shining in the sun. I take a few deep breaths. I didn't feel like I was at the beginning of the game. Nauseous, excited to play. Now I’m sad and feel the chills rush up my body like I’ve never been here before.
I receive the ball and run into the goalie box and try to swing, but I miss. I see the tall girl about to push me. I feel her sweaty hands hit my back. I see the goalpost right in front of me. My head bangs on the goalpost. The rest of my body feels numb as I look up slowly and see her towering over me with guilt but she looks like she wanted to hurt me from the start. I try to stand up but my body doesn't allow it. I can't breathe. I'm trying to catch my breath, but all I see is my teammate and coach standing around me. I feel my coach's hand touch my shoulder. I can't hear anything. I look at him.
“Evelyn, can you hear us?” he mouths. I look at them. I see their fragile mouths moving but I hear nothing.
I see the ref on the phone with someone. I try to breathe but my lungs are on fire.
I rest my head on the fresh grass. All of a sudden I can’t speak. I can’t breathe, and I don't feel anything. I see ambulances stop on the road. I see people gathering around me. I also see a man. My dad. He’s running in his work uniform. I’m so glad I saw him. He notices it's me as a single tear rolls down my cheek. I don’t know my emotions at this point. He gives me a mask and tries to let air get into my body, but it's not working. I see the sun shining and feel like I'm floating with it.
“Goodbye,” I say, hoping they can hear me. I take my last glance at my teammates and father. I see tears rolling down their cheeks. I look over and see Alex and my Mom sprinting over. I feel nothing.
I'm only in my brain, and my thoughts at this point. Now, I’m back. But no one is here. I see nobody. I only see the golden sun setting. “Am I in heaven?” I ask myself. “No…this is my afterlife,” I realize with tears in my eyes.
Silence. No barking. Nothing. It was a perfect day until I left the gate open. Tears fell down my face.
“She's gone,” I say to my mom when she gets home from work. “Lulu ran away.”
Sorry, let's rewind. I’m Stella. My mom got me a German Shepherd puppy named Lulu on my sixth birthday. I can’t eat, drink, or sleep without Lulu.
Looking up at her green eyes, I instantly fell in love with her.
“Lulu, her name is Lulu,” I remember her saying.
I LOVE my toys, and I LOVE Stella. She’s the kindest person in the world. One day, I was out in the yard playing with my red rubber squeaky ball and noticed the gate was open! I ran towards the gate. The smells were tempting, but I stopped. Stella said I’m not allowed to go out the gate without her. Red rubber ball! Play, play, play, but something was pulling at me. New smells! I needed to explore beyond the gate.
After lunch, I called Lulu for a treat, and she didn't come.
I called her again, but no Lulu. Looking around the yard, I didn't see her. I didn't notice that the gate was open. I looked around the house and told my mom that Lulu was missing.
“I'm coming home right now, Honey. I'll see you in about 15 minutes,” Mom declared.
There were trees everywhere and so many people I thought I was going to FAINT! It was pretty scary. I thought about returning to the world I knew so well. My curiosity got the best of me. Smelling something so delicious, I followed my nose to a hot dog stand!! "Grroooowllll,” said my stomach rumbling like a monster. I was so hungry because I didn't get my treat after Stella had her lunch!
"I'm so hungry I could eat my paw!” I yelled.
It probably sounded like, “Bark, bark bark!“
Then, I smelled a cat!
“Hi,” I said excitedly. I made a new friend! The cat had other thoughts. He started walking away, but I followed.
“What do you want?” he snarled.
“I’m Lulu, and I want to be your friend. I’m an explorer but lost my way in the big city, and I’m scared.” I barked.
“I'm Moxie,” he responded in a kinder voice, “you can stay with me, and we can be friends.”
My rumbling, empty tummy woke me up in the cold morning.
Moxie said, “I will teach you to catch some food so we can eat breakfast.”
We headed down to the river to catch some fish. After a while, Moxie whispered, “Look at that big school of fish in that pond up there. Do as I tell you. Step exactly where I step. On my word, we will pounce on the fish and grab as many in your mouth as you can. Three, two, one, NOW!!”
The fish were slimy and slippery, but I was able to catch one. Moxie caught three. We shared our fish and lay in the sun with full bellies to warm up and dry off.
Then, I smelled a cat!
“Hi,” I said excitedly. I made a new friend! The cat had other thoughts. He started walking away, but I followed.
“What do you want?” he snarled.
“I’m Lulu, and I want to be your friend. I’m an explorer but lost my way in the big city, and I’m scared.” I barked.
“I'm Moxie,” he responded in a kinder voice, “you can stay with me, and we can be friends.”
My rumbling, empty tummy woke me up in the cold morning.
Moxie said, “I will teach you to catch some food so we can eat breakfast.”
We headed down to the river to catch some fish. After a while, Moxie whispered, “Look at that big school of fish in that pond up there. Do as I tell you. Step exactly where I step. On my word, we will pounce on the fish and grab as many in your mouth as you can. Three, two, one, NOW!!”
The fish were slimy and slippery, but I was able to catch one. Moxie caught three. We shared our fish and lay in the sun with full bellies to warm up and dry off.
My heart felt like it would explode when the teacher called me to his desk and told me my mom was waiting at the office. Leaving my backpack, I raced from the classroom, worried and afraid that they had found Lulu dead.
“Someone found Lulu from your Facebook post,” my mom said, grinning. “She’s alive but badly injured. The person who found her took her to the vet, and we will meet her there now.”
“What is this!?” roared Prince Harold, “Father, what did you do!?” The whole ballroom just stood there. Ice was freezing over the castle. Frozen. Time had just…stopped. The king offered a menacing grin. “Why did you do this?” demanded the prince. “None of your beeswax,” responded the king with evil in his eyes. The king tapped his scepter again, and everything was normal. Or was it?
During the king and Prince Harold’s little conversation, one woman remained unfrozen: Cinderella. It may sound like a familiar name, but don’t be quite so sure. This Cinderella was more of a rebel type. Pro skateboarder. Why was she at a ball, you ask? Well, her Aunt Marge made her go. She thought Cinderella should be more ladylike and maybe a ball would help her. See, there is a good reason why she isn’t frozen. It goes with the original story of the Fairy Godmother. Cinderella was in her sparkling blue dress and already under a spell; she was immune from the king’s freeze.
The ballroom was buzzing, but weirdly. The guests were sweeping, cleaning, or doing any other household duties. Cinderella played along with the scene. Then, hoping not to be noticed, slipped out into one of the corridors.
“Who’s there?” replied Prince Harold, with saucers next to his snout. “Come into the hallway,” answered Cinderella with annoyance. Prince Harold hesitantly got up, grabbed a pillow--just in case, and made his way to the door. There he saw the most beautiful princess, wearing Converse and chewing…gum?
“Umm…wow, hi,” Prince Harold the beet goofily waved his hand. “Sup,” replied Cinderella, trying to be chill, but snickering internally at the prince's wacky impression.“ “Sup?” questioned the prince. He had never heard of this language in his life!
“Yeah…‘sup’…short for…what’s up?” answered Cinderella awkwardly.
“Oh,” replied Prince Harold, who felt dumb as ever. Get it together, Harold. “So, why did you call me to this meeting, Cinderella? I mean, everyone knows your name,” he asked
“You think this is a meeting!?” Cinderella laughed, “it’s called a talk…Harold,” answered Cinderella.
When I get home I run upstairs to my room and pull out my trumpet and practice what we worked on in class. It shouldn't take me that long because it is a pretty easy song to practice. I practice, practice, practice. Ugh, this one part I just can’t get right! I call Jade to ask her if she knows the notes for this part, but surprise, surprise, she doesn’t know them. My heart feels like it just dropped to the bottom of my soul. The next morning, I have to get up extra early so I can get to jazz band on time. I wake up, get dressed and go downstairs to get breakfast. Then I get my backpack, shoes and trumpet and rush out the door to catch the bus.
When I get to school, I walk in quickly, set up my stuff, and practice my trumpet scales. All of the sudden, Mrs. Harmony claps her hands and it is time to begin. “Alright class, the concert is next Monday so we need to practice hard. Pull out ‘Dreams.’ We will be starting in measure 12!”
Uggggg, no! That is the hardest measure for me. Whatever, I will just try my best to play the right notes, I thought. We practice that one for a while and then it is time to go home, so I pack up all my stuff and get ready to leave.
“Alright class, let’s begin in the same measure as last time! Remember, the concert is this evening.” We practice and practice and practice. Twenty minutes later it is time to pack up to go home. I pack up all my things and go outside to get on the bus.
When I get home from jazz band practice I get a snack and go upstairs to practice my music, so I am ready for the concert this evening. Hmm, that’s weird! One of the valves isn’t popping back up after I press it down! It's stuck! Oh no! I might not be able to play at the concert, but I have worked so hard for this! I rush down the stairs. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
“DAD! Something is wrong with my trumpet!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
“I will be there in a minute to see what's wrong!” he yells back. I can hear his feet as he walks up the stairs from the basement.
“Let me see what’s wrong with your trumpet,” he says.
“Ok,” I say back. I walk up the stairs and go get my trumpet for him. Once I get back downstairs, I pull it out of the case and show him what happened
“Look, this valve just won’t pop back up.”
“Hmmmm,” he replies, “that is weird.” I can see he is trying to pull on it so it will pop back up but it isn’t working. “I think we should take it to the music shop, maybe they have a tool they can use to make it pop back up.”
We pull my trumpet out of the car and walk in. The walls are plastered with white and it smells of ink on paper and valve oil. It's dark and warm, and while we are waiting I ring the little bell at the front. While I wait, I go and look at the trumpets that are not loners in the back.
Finally, the guy pops his head out of the back and says, “Can I help you?”
My dad replied, “Yes, my daughter's trumpet seems to be broken and we are wondering if you can fix it.”
He takes a good look at it and then finally responds with, “I am sorry there is nothing we can do to fix this trumpet and I do not think that we have any more loners in the back.”
I blurted out, “Can you check in the back anyways?” The guy went to check in the back and he came back out carrying something gold and shiny in his hand. Could it be?
I can’t believe it! It's a brand new trumpet! I am so happy I can play at the concert now; I can't wait!
IwalkedthestreetsofStuttgart,lookingforasingleloafofbread.Thewarhadjuststarted,andfoodwas runningatanall-timelow.Ifyoudidhappentocomebyaloafofbread,itwouldprobablycostfivetimesasmuch asusual.Nazipatrolcarsdrovebackandfortharoundthecity.Still,itwassuchanewthingtoseethatmyown countryisoccupyingitself…again.
Mamawalkedintomyroom.
“I'msorrythatyouhavetogothroughthis,Ithoughtafterthegreatwarthatthiswouldneverhappenagain.”It wassuppertimeandmydadwasnottherethatwasveryweirdconsideringthathewasrarelylate,40minuteslater: “I'mhome!”heyelled.Mymomstoodtherewithanot-so-happylookonherface.
“Sorry,”heapologized.
“Youcan'tbethislate,especiallyconsideringthewar!”Sheyelled. Thatwasn'tthelasttimesheyelledatmyfatherforbeinglate.Ithappenedatleasttwiceaweek,andmymom andIwerestartingtonoticehisfranticbehaviorwhenhewalkedintothehouse.
Thesuspensionsturnedintomeandmymomandconfrontinghim,webothwalkeduptohimwhenhewas late.
“Thisisthefourthtimethisweekyou’vebeenlate!”mymomshouted,likeateachertoatardystudent. “No—noit'sjustworkhasbeenhard,”
Thatwasthelasttimemydadcamehomelate,butwhenhecamehomehewouldbejitteryasifhehaddrunk 20cupsofcoffee.
Laterthatnightweheardaknockonthedoor.Ipeekoutthewindowandquietlycurseundermybreath, “Nazis.”
Thereweretwosoldiersandonepatrolcar.Iwalkeddownstairstoseemymomandthetallonetalkingina not-so-friendlyway,
“Wearegoingtodoaroutinesearch,Mrs.Schmidt.Ifyoudon'tmind?”OfficerMullerasked,butitwasmore demanding.
“Iratheryoudidn’t,”Mymothersaid.
“Itwasn'taquestion,”OfficerMullerrepliedinasternvoice.OfficerMullerandtheshorterofficerproceededto gothrougheverycabinetinthekitchen.Theythrewpots,pans,chairs,andeverythingtheycouldfind.Mymom, dad,andIstoodinhorrorastheNazistookthingsfromthelivingroomandcutopenpillows.Theystomped upstairsintomyroom,andallIcoulddowaslookastheytakeclothesoutofmywardrobeandcutopenmy mattress.
“Pleasestop,please!”Mymotherpleaded.Theystoppedthedestructionandwalkeddownstairs.OfficerMuller lookedatmymom,lockingeyeswithher.
“Okay,”hesaidinawaythatwasnotagreeingandnotdisagreeing,butitwaslikehewasgoingtocomeback anddosomethinghorribletous.
Noneofussleptthatnight,inmyroomtheyhadbrokenawindow.Theslightdraftofthebone-chilledbreeze keptmeupallnight.
Then,aloudbangonthedoor.Ithoughtmylifewasoveragain.IsignedtoMom.ShouldIopenthedoor?She nods.Iopenedthedoor,butnoonewasthere.
“Boo!”OfficerMullerwasperchedinthecorner.Hestormedintothehouseandsnatchedmyfatherbyhislegs.
“Please,I'minnocent!”myfatheryelled.
“PleaseI'minnocent!”OfficerMullermockedhim.“Ohplease,ifyouwereinnocent,Iwouldn'tbehere.” ***
Fifteenyearslater,Iwaswithmyfamily.WewerevisitingStuttgart.WevisitedouroldhousethatIlivedin whenIwasakid.
Wealsovisitedmyfather'stombstone.
Itwasinasmallcemetery.Thegrasshadjustturnedabeigecolor,thecoloroftheskywasgray,andaslight breezebrushedagainstmycheek.Thetombstonewascrackedanddecayed.
Ihadneverreallyseenthebackofthetombstonebecausewemovedshortlyafterhisdeath.Itquoted: Life is unpredictable, enjoy it while it lasts.
I woke up to three knocks on the door. My dad opened the door. I tried my best to overhear the conversation.
“You haven't paid your bills in a month, I'm sorry, but you're being kicked out.” My dad's face fills with tears.
“But what about my daughter..?”
“Not my problem..” said the old guy. My dad shuts the door.
“Dad? What's going on?” I said in a wimpy voice.
“Don't worry about it. It's gonna be okay,” he says, wrapping me in his arms.
The next day, I woke up in a small bed.
Dad..? Where are we?”
“We will stay here for a while.”
I can't remember anything. I see my dad next to me stressed out
“Dad, what's wrong?” I ask.
“It's gonna be okay!” he replies.
“Okay,” I said.
The next week, my dad got some money from family and friends. We went out and got entertainment and food. There usually were always toys in the shed but mostly books. While we were at the store I found the best thing ever…
LITTLE DINOSAUR TOYS!
“Dad! Look!!! I want one!” I said.
“Okay, okay!”
We got all of our stuff and went home. We didn't have a car so we had to walk. I was on my dad's shoulders carrying my little dino toys.
“You're such a strong dad!” I said. My dad didn't reply. All I remember is the sweet smile on his face. We got home and my dad made dinner, we had ramen noodles. And after that, I went to the other room and found some building blocks.
“Dad! Can you build me a house?”
“Sure,” he said. He started to build a house while I was standing there in excitement. When my house was finished I went inside. When I turned around….
“BOO!” my dad scared me half to death.
“Dad! You scared me!” Both of our faces burst into laughter.
A couple of months later, it was getting closer to the day of getting a house.
“I'm so excited!!” I said.
“Do you want to go get ice cream?” my dad said. “YES!”
There was an ice cream shop across from where we were staying. “I want that strawberry ice cream!”
As we were walking back from the ice cream shop, my dad got a call. “Hello?”
“Hello! You're Chris Mitchell right?” “Yes.”
“Your house is ready!”
“REALLY!? OH MY GOSH, THANK YOU!”
We got to our new house, and when I walked, in I saw a HUGE caterpillar!
“LOOK! Did you put that there?” I said.
“Yep,” my dad said.
I went up to him and squeezed him.
“Thanks, Dad! I love you!”
“You got this,” Luis says staring me down.
“Just do what you got to do,” says Liam with his fist smacking against his glove.
I take my final deep breath; I take that step and there it is. I throw nine times all strikes. We are up to bat.
“Nice throws,” Luis says taking off his gear.
“Ya, only nine throws. All strikes,” Hans says.
“Well, it was nothing,” I say, trying to act cool.
“Angel, you're first. Then Jack. Then Hans,” Coach says looking a little more relaxed.
I get in my batting gear, and when I go to watch the pitcher and catcher do warm-ups I look at the other team. Their dirty baseball pants, some sweating a little. Then I hear a, "Dirty Mexican!” from the crowd I feel shameful and sick, but why? Just because people call me names, I know I can do this. I go up to bat. The pitcher releases the ball.
“Strike!” I hear. The catcher throws it back to the pitcher he does wind up then releases, and before anyone can see it I hit it to deep center field. I run my legs feel like wheels and moving so fast I don't even realize that I made it to second base. I find my way back to my body after I made it. so there I am I'm completely off the bag then before I know it I dash to third right as the pitcher releases the ball POP! The catcher gets the ball and he jumps up and throws it to the third baseman. I start to slide feeling the soft dirt scrap through my pants. Then the third baseman gets it I touch the base he touches the base I wait for the call by the field umpire
“He is safe,” the ump yells as a flood of relief washes through me. I get up and stretch my legs, wiping the dirt off my pants and Wiping my sweat. Jack is up to bat he takes a big gulp his legs shaking then as the pitcher winds up and puts his arm back then forward and lets go of the ball.
“Just outside,” the ump yelled, stiff and robust. The catcher throws it back except it is an overthrow and I dash home. The shortstop gets the ball. I run even faster. The shortstop throws it. I'm almost there; I slide catcher gets it I feel the base and the tag the ump yells “SAFE!” I score a run and it goes just like that back and forth till the top of the ninth I go up to pitch I throw the first pitch the hitter hits it to first base that's out one and It happens again so there are two outs I throw the first pitch.
“Strike one,” the ump says.
I wind up to throw, and just like that--it's a ball.
I throw two more the crowd says stuff like, “Dirty Mexicans.”
“Red necks,”. Messing me up makes me throw wonky balls. I get in my pitching position Push my leg back take a step forward put my arm back and release the ball and, “Strike two,” the ump says full count. Everything is going so slow.
“We don't want Mexicans here,” some of the crowd says.
“Mexican bastards,” the other half of the crowd yell.
Then what seemed to be out of nowhere a tiny part of the crowd screams, “VIVA MEXICO!” which means long live Mexico. I get a smile knowing that someone wants us to win so with ease and with hope I throw the strike that sends us to the bottom of the ninth. Hans goes up to bat fearful, but brave. The pitcher throws the ball. Hans hits it to third base so just like that, Hans is out. Jack walks up to bat acting like he belongs in the Majors, so after two pitches he hits it to right field. It looks promising and right field can't catch it, so Jack stays on first then Liam says to me says, “You ok, Angel?” with a concerned look in his eyes.
“Oh, sorry I think I zoned out,” but by the time I say that his already in the batting box.
“Strike one,” the umpire says the pitcher does his thing and chases it.
“Strike two,” The ump says. Liam looks like he's about to pop his eyes out.
As the pitcher does his wind up he gives Liam a dirty look so the pitcher throws it Laim swings for it and “Strike three you're out,” The ump says, punching his fist in the air. Now,I 'm up to bat, and I feel scared. We were down by one. The pitcher throws, and it's a strike. Then he throws a ball. Then a strike! It goes just like that until: “Heeeeeeeee'sss safe!” My teammates run up from the dugout all hugging me and jumping and it comes to me: this is a dream field.
I look up, it’s another perfect sky. This would be the 1,589th day in a row. “Will there ever be a bad day?” I ask myself.
“Bobby, time to go to school.”
“Ugh, okay, Mom, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Bob?” As I pick up my bag, it feels like 200 pounds, but it’s only ten.
Ding- dong! The doorbell rings.
“Honey! Nate’s here to pick you up.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Hey, Bob!”
“Hey, Nate!”
“Are you ready for the test today?” Nate asks.
“What test?”
“The reading test.”
“Oh, yeah, that one,” I say nervously. My stomach hurts and my eyes bug out.
“Hey, Nate, you can start on the way to school. I don't feel so good.”
“Okay. Feel better, I guess?”
“Mom, I'm not feeling so good.”
“You have to go to school today because I have work. You know how I feel about you staying home by yourself.”
“Ugh, fine,” I sigh. I sit on my warm, black bike seat and wave goodbye to my parents. I look ahead, and I see Nate, but he looks different.
I ride up to him, and we look at each other like we have never met before. It's not Nate, but I've seen him before. He has long black hair and completely white eyes.
As I park my bike at school, I walk in and all of the teachers are gone. It's all substitutes.
“That's weird,” I say to myself.
Anyway, I go to my first class: Ms. Wafers’ reading class.
“Hi!” I say to my substitute teacher.
“Hello!” he replies. “I’m Mr. D, what’s your name?”
“I’m Bobby, but you can call me Bob.”
We get into our independent reading.
“Mr. D, can I go to the bathroom?”
He nods his head.
As I walk out the door, I see the door next to me open. It’s the guy from the bike ride.
“Hi,” he says in a deep voice.
“Hi,” I say back, and we both walk to the bathroom. Neither of us talks for a little while, and then I say, “What’s your name?”
“Nate,” he says.
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”
“Naa…aate.” It was like he lagged out, but I ignore it and go back to class.
“Okay, have a good recess, class,” Mr. D excuses us.
As I walk out the door, I hear: “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!” It’s like a giant just stepped right next to me. But then, I just see it was the garbage truck. And then, I hear it again, but this time it’s not the garbage truck.
I see an angry, flying robot soaring toward me, and I sprint inside. I’ve never seen the school hallways so crowded. Everyone is running straight into me like they are running away from something; something big. I start to run with the crowd.
“Help! Help! Help!” Everyone is screaming.
I take a sharp turn into my ELA classroom and then jump into the trash can. I hear a robot come into the classroom, but then it quickly leaves. I get out of the trash can and jump out the window. “CRASH!”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My eyes fly open at the sound of my chirpy alarm. It’s the first day of middle school, I think. The first day of middle school in a brand new city in a brand new state. My heart pounds as if it’s ripping out of my chest.
“Lynn! Get down here! I’m making smoothies!” my mom calls. I throw on a tie-dye sweatshirt and a pair of flared jeans.
You must be thinking: Wow, she’s a hippie. And to be honest, I am–I used to live in small-town Bulpitt, Illinois before my dad died and we moved here to Manhattan, so I don’t exactly “fit in.”
I hurry down the stairs and to the kitchen where I can see the bustling streets of the city through the foggy windows that coat our colorful walls.
Tall, modern buildings soar for the sky, making me feel small. Even in the morning, honking cars sit in traffic, filling the streets. Pedestrians in warm clothes stride past our house. Just looking at the landscape makes my stomach turn and my heart race at odd speeds. *
On the walk to school, I feel like something’s wrong. I feel like someone’s watching me. I try to shake it off, but when gray clouds form above me, my senses sharpen and suspicions build. Even school is weird. Silence finds itself where it shouldn’t be. Students are jittery.
Gwen and I chat once we get to homeroom until Mr. Amos quiets us down.
“Alright kiddos, today is an all-work day. You can read, do homework, play a game, or…” The school intercom interrupts Mr. Amos’s words.
“Excuse me for the interruption, but we are now going into lockdown. This is not a drill. An unauthorized person has been spotted in the building. Please assume your lockdown positions.”
Mr. Amos stares at the intercom. Then he looks at us. We can see tears starting to well up in his eyes.
“Everybody, try to stay calm and…,” he finishes his words by gesturing to the back corner. Some kids get up immediately and some wait. Sharp breaths ring in my ears and I push my way through a silent body of students. Whispers float into one ear and out the other.
Panic. Silent. Chaos. Anticipation.
I make my way over to Gwen and grab her pale hand.
As we sit in the corner, everybody clings to each other, trying to muffle sobs. Mr. Amos turns off the lights, locks the doors, and comes to stand by us. Anticipation and worry start to claw at my stomach, shredding my insides. Everyone shares the same distressed look on their faces. We all share the same pain. We wait.
The doorknob rattles.
My heart stops.
The rattling stops.
The doorknob rattles again.
There’s a soft clinking sound.
The doorknob twists.
I let out a small relieved breath when I hear faint sirens outside, but they’re too late; the door slowly creeps open.
The next day was October 22nd, Saturday.
By 7:35 a.m. I was in the gym. Leg day. Squats, dead lifts, sumo squats, and box jumps. As I was stepping up to the barbell to do some dead lifts I heard Coach's voice.
“ Ah, Charlie! you're already in the gym just like me when I was younger.” I combed my blonde hair out of my face and said, ”Did you play when you were my age?”
“Yeah I did, I played linebacker and would come in with my arm out and absolutely close-line everyone!”
“Sounds like something you would do.”
“You never told me that you were as good of a receiver as you are.”
"You never asked.”
“Fair.”
“Well it was nice talking to you, I'm going to get back to my dead lifts.”
“Wait before you go, you're starting this week.”
“I am?”
It was game time. The first quarter went by fast, two catches twenty yards were all I had in the first half we were down six to twelve. Halftime, the first game we had been losing all season the scoreboard read Boomers six Tigers twelve. Coach was livid pounding on lockers throwing his papers and then he stopped.
“I've coached for twenty five dang years. I've been in this situation before. We aren't going home today, we're going to the playoffs, we aren't going home. Brian how many are they blitzing?”
“Six.”
“Charlie, what coverage are they playing?”
“Press with safety help over the top,” I said.
“Coach we have the outside release fade,” I said “Ok," Coach said, no emotion, no feeling, just ok. “On me! Boomers on three ! Boomers on me!”
“One, two, three! Boomers!”
It was game time, I was ready to play. We got the ball to start. I was deep behind the kick return. The ball was kicked. I heard footsteps as I caught the ball. I spun one person missed then I started running another person ran at me and I stiff armed them to the ground. I heard the crowd go crazy, one more person ran towards me ducking down and lowering their shoulder to hit me but I jumped over him and ran even faster. The sweat from my hair was running down my face. Forty, thirty, twenty ,ten, I dove into the end zone one hundred and four yards for a touchdown!
"How are we going to get across all of this ice?” Reef asked.
“We’ll need to make a chain of us to pull each other across the ice. Let’s hurry! The other gaps will start closing soon!”
Reef's mom said. “Actually, let’s swim to the next gap! From there we can get a sense of which direction we should be heading!” They all dove back through the gap and started to swim. However, just before Shelly could slide down into the water, the ice froze over, leaving no gap for her to slide through.
“Help!” Shelly screamed. Dread covered her like a storm cloud blocking out the sun.
“Shelly, slide across the ice! We’ll meet you at the next gap!” Reef called as she began to swim forward.
At the next hole, the dolphins all got out onto the ice. Shelly was making her way towards them, looking more scared then she had ever been before. “I don’t like the ice!” she cried.
“Come on! We want to go that way. We’ll all swim to the next hole,” Reef’s dad called.
“Oh no! The next hole just froze and the one here is already frozen! We got distracted for too long!” Star gasped. “We’ll just need to get across the top of the ice then,” Reef said. “Let’s go.”
“I don’t want to go any further on the ice!” Shelly winned.
Their dad said, “Shelly, come on. We need to keep going.”
“Look! I see open water ahead! Let’s go that way,” Star exclaimed. Sure enough, ahead there was a big open stretch of water. Past that, there was full land. Not that the dolphins could know this yet, but they had almost reached the Caribbean Sea. There was only one problem. When they had started looking for Star, they had put down all of their bags and boxes which were now at the bottom of the ocean, probably a mile or two away. “Common, let’s keep going,” their mom said excitedly. “We’re almost there!”
They began to slide across the ice towards the big stretch of open clear water. “Mom, I’m too tired! I can’t keep going,” Shelly cried. “Shelly, we’re almost there!” Reef replied. “Just a few more minutes!”
“Shelly, I’ll give you a ride the rest of the way if you want,” their dad suggested. “Okay,” Shelly said, coming over and hopping onto her dad’s back. “Let’s get going.”
“Shelly, you’re the one slowing us down right now,” Star responded.
“Just a minute or so more of sliding, then we’ll be back into the ocean!” Shelly exclaimed, choosing to ignore what Star was saying. Just then, they were plunged into darkness. “The sun must have set!”
Crack! The stick snapped. I came back to reality in an instant. I was walking to the last water polo game of the Chile Classic. If we win this game then we win the whole tournament.
“You good?” my friend Charlie asked, with a doubtful look on his face.
“Yeah, I'm fine,'' I said. Once we were inside the building, my heart started beating like a drum. I could hear the whistles of the refs. For some odd reason, the sound comforted me, and my heart started to slow.
I put down my bag and opened it; my towels and suits exploded out at me. After I had put down my stuff and got into my Speedo, I felt ready. I walked over to Charlie and asked,
“Are you ready to be the best goalie of the year?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he said with a weird look on his face.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yep, I just don't want to get in the pool, it's cold.” he said.
“Of course you would say that you just need to put some meat on those bones.”
“Okay, whatever!” he said as he walked off to the team. Once we had finished the normal, boring, pep talk, We hopped into the pool, and swam a two hundred yard freestyle. The team that we were playing was already in the water. To be honest, I was really scared.
We got into the game pool and got some warm-up shots in. When we had two minutes until the game started. Our coach called us over to the side of the pool.
“Guys this is the last game of our tournament. We need to beat this team to get first. Okay?”
“Okay!” we shouted back.
“Then let's have some fun.” We all put our hands in and chanted.
“ONE, TWO, THREE, NEPTUNES!!!”
I got out of the pool, sat on the bench, and waited for the game to start. The ref walked to the middle of the pool, looked to both sides, and blew the whistle. We shot off of the wall like a rocket and began swimming to the center of the pool. The ref dropped the ball in the middle of the two teams. Our team got the ball and started to attack the goal. A perfect pass went to our star player and he scored.
The game was tied in the last quarter. Eight to eight with 30 seconds left.
“Time out!” our couch bellowed at the ref. Everybody Met at the side of the pool.
“We need to be pressing hard,” He said.
“Okay guys go out there and win. Jason, you go in for Jack.”
“Alright,” I said, as I hopped into the pool. I jumped in the pool, and the chill took my breath away. As I swam by Charlie in the goal he said, “Now who's the one that needs meat on those bones?”
“Whatever,” I said, as I kept swimming. When I got to the side of the pool I could hear the beat of my heart like a wild drummer.
PSST, the whistle blew. I shot off the wall as my teammates did the same. It was close betweenour best swimmer and their best swimmer, and my teammate got the ball and passed it to me. I swam down the pool and glanced at the clock. I noticed there were only ten seconds left until the game clock sounded. FIVE, FOUR, THREE, time slowed down, and everybody was staring at me, with expectancy in their eyes. I knew what I had to do, and I also believed that I could do it. I snapped back, there were two seconds left on the clock. I shot the ball, it flew into the goal, and past the goalie, past everything we had been working towards. Splash, the ball landed in the back of the goal. The crowd went berserk like a wild animal killing its prey.
Our coach called us over to the side and said, “Good job guys, we crushed that. We struggled through that, and with determination, we prevailed. So let that be a lesson for all of you, never give up, and when things get hard push through.”
The next day at water polo practice everybody approached me and asked, ¨How did you do that?¨
And for everyone, I say the same thing, ¨I made that shot because I believed I could.¨
“Are you really going in?” Ella asked concerned.
“I mean, If it means that we will get to see what's in there, It will have to do.” Kaylah terrifyingly explained.
“I might go in with you if you want me to.” Ella conferred. Kaylah and Ella are 6th graders and are 12 years old. The day started off with Kaylah and Ella getting into the school,heading to their lockers. Kaylah’s locker is right by a mysterious yellow door that no one has ever dared to go in. It has been in the school for 35 years. Kaylah always stares at that door wondering if someone will go in there. The school day goes by and after school, Kaylah and Ella go to their lockers and see the Janitor.
“You guys aren't thinking of going in that door are you?” the janitor asked.
“We might if one or both of us get the courage to,”Kaylah said, stunned.
“Ok, just make sure to come back and tell me if you are ok. I am here till 6:30 P.M.” The Janitor told them, with her head tilting and making strong eye contact
“Ok, we will.” Going through the bright yellow door, it felt like a scary wonderland. As they opened the door, they heard this loud creek. Creeeeeek! When the Janitor leaves, Kaylah start’s heading into the door and finds a limo.
“A limo????” Kaylah and Ella both said surprised. Kaylah gets into the limo and it takes her to a house, a mansion no less. Inside this mansion, it's like a hotel. The mansion has seven rooms, and six bathrooms.
“Hello, there young lady. I am Carlos, your new butler. Welcome to your new mansion.” Carlos Introduced himself.
“ What is this about?” Kaylah asked.
“Well, you are the first person after 35 years to come through that door. Now you get this mansion, AND you get to choose whom it goes to next.” Carlos explained.
“ Oh ok! That's cool.” Kaylah said.
“Let me go back to the school to tell my janitor what happened,” Kaylah said.
“Ok, Ma’am.” Carlos allowed. Once they get back to the school Kaylah tells the janitor what happened and that she and Ella were safe.
The next day at lunch, Kaylah told everyone about the door, standing loud and proud. Her parents got to move in. Now, Kaylah still goes to the same school, but most people think that she goes to a private school because she has a mansion. There are also lots of rumors, like that she was lost in the door. Other people say that she moved to a completely different state and or country. But all of these roomers are from people that see Kaylah around or see her on the news.
About seven years later, Kaylah gets ready to go to college and finds out that Harvard put Kaylah at the top of the list. Kaylah was super excited that she got into her dream school. Kaylah also found out that Ella got in as well. So Kaylah and Ella are now in their dream schools. THE TREASURE TROVE: "SEASONS Of Stories"
The time was 8:35 A.M. I was running late. School started at 8:45.
“NOAH!” I yelled. My brother's name is Noah and I'm Bella. “Come on, I have to take us to school.” We got into my car and we started to drive off. We were jamming out to music until… I got pulled over, “OH NO! WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!”
My heart starts to pound like it never has before.
“Having an asthma attack,” my brother rasped.
The police came to my car. My heart started to pound even faster.
“You were going over the speed limit.”
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I’m late for school! And if I'm late I will get in a lot of trouble.” “I will not take responsibility for you being late for school.” The police said. I gasped as he walked back to his car.
I told Noah, “It’s going to be okay, everything is going to be fine.”
The cop walked back to the car. Meanwhile, the police radio went off. I heard what it said and he heard it too. It said something like, “There is a school shooting at Grippers Middle School, I repeat, there is a school shooting at Grippers Middle School. My brother and I gasped as my brother's face started to sweat like a wet dog. I told him everything was going to be okay.
The police ran to his police car without even speaking a word to me. I felt sick when I heard it. The cop pressed the pedal so hard. He put his sirens on and it was like a flashback of when my parents died in a car accident. The sirens were loud and made my ears tingle.
“Breaking news, there is a school shooting at Grippers Middle School. It is not safe here, lock all your doors and keep your kids safe. Thank you.”
“It was a miracle we weren’t at school,” I said with a half smile on my face, but my feet were still numb like an ICE PACK was on my feet and my head. I went upstairs, my legs shaking up and down as I wobbled back and forth.
“It was a miracle.” My face had a smile with tears falling from my eyes. My heart was beating like a drum. My heart was like butterflies flying in the sky swarming around the drum. I said one last time it was a miracle. This was a day that I will never forget, I said.
Beep beep! My alarm was screaming at me to get up. I sighed and stood up.
“Jules come down for breakfast!” my mom yelled up from the stairs.
“Coming!” I yelled back down at her. “Oh yay, my favorite! Thank you, Mom,”I say when I get down stairs. “You're welcome,” my mom says back with a slight smile on her face. After an hour Macy’s mom picked me up and we got to dance.
“All together,” Mrs. Angivine smiled. When everyone warmed up we were all doing our combos at the same time so she could walk around and watch, “5-6-7-8!”
Then clapping fills the class after we all finish.
“Amazing, now we will do it one at a time and you can get advice from others. Macy then Jules and so on down the line,” Mrs. Angivine spoke pointing at us.
“Amazing job Macy,” I say when she sits back down only for me to stand up right away.
“The final leap,” I thought to myself I jumped and then… Crack!
I landed. I fell to the ground. Mrs. Angivine and Macy came running over to me and then it went black… Nothing but black.
Then light. I hear the sirens, but then black.
Finally, I sit up and scan the area.
The hospital was a gloomy place, the yelling and screaming in the halls, the old cold rusted beds cracked whenever you moved. The sky was dark and gloomy; a slight crack of sunlight could make it in. the stack of magazines sagged over; they have been over-used so much. It smelled like my grandma's house, it smelt like it was filled with cats. The plant dropped over not being fed forever. Starved…everything was starved.
Then I hear my mom yell, “She's up!” and a nurse comes running in and tells me to lay down.
“W-w-w-what happened?” I wondered.
“ You took a fall and you broke your leg,” the nurse frowned. “NO NO NO No No No no!” I sighed, losing hope.
“I'm sorry,” My mom muttered.
“What about the competition?!?!” I sighed.
“I'm sorry but your leg won't heal that fast,” the nurse says.
“But why…”
** FIve months later**
“Good morning Jules!” My mother smiled walking in to the hospital, "Good morning, Mom!” I smiled back at her.
“Are you ready for your last day of rehab?” The nurse came in after my mom.
"I am SO ready to get out of here!” I smiled.
When I walk in the door to my house I see my Golden Retriever, Sage comes running around the corner, licking me.
The next week I get to go to school and finally go to dance.
“Summer!”Icall,standingbythefrontdoor. “Hurryup!”Icallagain.
Imutterinfrustration,pullingmylongblondhairintoa ponytail.Ilookaroundandseeallourbagsscatteredaround thelivingroom.Ifeelthegentlebreezedriftinginfromthe doortowhereI’mstanding.IseethebigdarkcouchthatItold mymomnottogetbecauseitlookedlikeabiglumpofcoal.
Iwonderwhatistakingmysistersolong,butIdon’thave muchtimetothinkaboutitbecauserightthenhervoicecomes downthestairs.
“I’mcoming!”shesays,muchtoocalmly.
“Well,comefaster!”Iyell.
Shecomesdownthestairs,andIseeatleastthreebagsinher hands,butforallIknowtherecouldbemore.Shetripsover thelaststair,andallherbagsgoflyinglikebirdsacrossthe room.Somehowshelandsonherfeet,butthebagsaren’tso lucky.
“Summer,pleasehurry,”Ibeg.
“I’mcoming,”shesays,annoyed.
Iwalkoutthedoor,andhopintothecar.Mydadispacking andIleanovertheseattoseehim.
“AreyoureadyHarper?”heasks.
Yep!”
“Where’syoursister?”
“Inside.Ithinksheisgettingherbags,”Isay.
“Ohboy,howmanydidshebring?”Heasks.
“Ithinkthree,”Isay.
Summercomesoutandshoutsfordadtohelpherwithher bags.Mydadtellsherthatsheshouldbringherbagstothe backofthecar.Summergrumblesabouthowhecouldhelpher
foronce.Butjustthenmymomcomesout.
“Harper,Summer,areyouguysready?”
“Yep!”Isay.
“Fine,”saysSummer,grouchily.
SummerandIscrambleforthesideofthecarwebothlike sittingon.Islideintoitfirst,butshecomesinsofastthat Igetpushedintothecardoor.
“Igotherefirst!”Ishout.
“ButI’molder!”sheyells.
“Girls!”Mymomshoutsoverus. Webothstopinthemiddleofshovingeachotherandlook up.
“Harpercanhaveitonthewaytotheairportbecauseshe gottotheseatfirst,”mymomsays.
“Yes!”Iexclaim,atthesametimethatSummersays,“No!”
“Butmom,”Summerwhines.
“It’ssettled,”mymomsaysinhersternvoice.
Summerslidesovertotheothersideofthecarandglares atme.IamsoexcitedthatI’mpracticallybouncingupand downinmyseat.
“Mom,whenarewegoingtobethere?”Iask. “Harper,wejustleft,”mymomsays,soundingannoyed.
“Wow!” Mom exclaims as she sees the big A+ on my 5th science test, ”This is great, Kaylee. I’ll have to tell your dad when he gets home.” I give a proud grin; straightening my posture on the kitchen counter.
It's always been my dream to be a physicist. Most people think I’ll never be able to do that. But they don’t know what I’m capable of.
I’ve never told anyone this but, I’m pretty smart. Maybe like one of those human calculators or something, but smarter. I can divide in seconds. I figure out answers to science questions easily. Every word, number, sentence, equation, and pattern always floated easily into my head. Every. Single. Character. “I’m home!” I hear dad say in his booming voice. “Oh, Chuck! Look what Kaylee got on her test!”
He reads over the paper. ”You always make me proud kiddo.” He ruffles my hair.
“I’m going to make spaghetti,” Mom says. “Will you set the table sweetheart? There should be washed napkins upstairs.”
“Of course Mom,” I say.
I hop up the stairs to the closet. I dig through some piles of towels until I finally find the napkins.
Then, a loud beeping sound disrupts my happiness. I freeze; smoke. I look at the smoke detector. It’s flashing. I want to yell as I hear mom scream, “Kaylee! Get out of here!” I run to the top of the stairs. I can listen to their coughing and dad trying to calm mom. I run down the stairs to the kitchen. The wood floor is black with burnt ash. “Kaylee! GO!” I hear more coughing.
The fire hisses as it spreads over the carpet. I jump onto the stairs and race to my bedroom. I’m trapped. Why, why, why, why! I fall to the carpet, coughing. I can’t inhale well.
As suddenly as the rug caught on fire, my door is burning to the ground. I just cough at the
cream-colored carpet. “In the house! Find survivors!”
The firemen are here. Then, my quilt catches on fire too. I start to not breathe. I look around; coming back to reality, trying to find some way to get out. I feel a little relieved as I see my window. I yank and pull at the screen, gasping for air as I go. Finally, I manage to rip the screen. I push and pull myself out of it; jumping off the roof and into a bush in the backyard. I can’t move. “Help!” I scream. “Over here!” I hear one of them shout. “I see her!” Another one yells. I can’t hear anything. My eyesight is dizzy… . . .
I clutch my clothing. I’m in a hospital room. The walls have posters all over them. One for bones and another for how to stay safe. It smelled like some fresh doctor's office-only ten times stronger. On every light blue wall, there would be some kind of drawing: a butterfly with green wings, a happy face that was dark blue, and a flower that had a mix of green and yellow. The hospital bed rails were as skinny as twigs and the bed seemed to be only one foot off the ground. “Hello?” No answer. I lay back down. My eyes feel dry. I don't want to be here right now. “She’s alive!” I hear. “She is?” another person whispers. “What happened,” I ask. “The fire?” she replies. “Don’t you remember?” her blue eyes squint with worry. “Yes, I remember,” I spat back. Then all tension pulses through my body, “My parents! Are my parents okay?” I look up with hope. She shakes her head. My shallow breathing quickly stops to no breath at all. I want the hospital bed to swallow me whole.
Read more!
Class, today we will be going on a hike,” said Mr. John. The whole class screamed in excitement.
This is crazy, I said to myself.
“Get in a single file line!” said Mr. John.
Everyone wanted to go hiking so everyone did. After a minute of waiting in line, we started to walk. I was bouncing up and down with excitement. We finally got outside, and they checked to see if everyone was there.
“Jayden?” said Mr. John.
“Here,” I said.
“Go into the bus, so we are organized.”
So I went on the bus then saw my friend, “Theo can I sit there?”
“Sure, what up? Jayden.”
Just then, the speaker crackled overhead. “Welcome to the ride. I hope you enjoy it.”
The bus started to move. The one-hour ride just started ticking down. Fifteen minutes passed, and I was INSANELY bored, so I looked outside the window and saw a calf. “THEO! THEO! Look, a calf.”
“Omg, look, another one,” Theo said.
“Ahh, they went away,” I said.
Forty-five minutes later, we got off the bus.
“FINALLY, we got here,” I mumbled.
I looked outside and saw the old wooden cabins, the frosty trees, the frozen grass, my breath, the clocks ticking every second, and finally, my other friend Jake.
“JAKE!” I screamed.
“WHAT!” Jake said.
“Nothing!” I screamed.
Then I went to Mr. John, and while walking, I tripped.
“Oh, No!”
BANG!!! I fell on the floor.
“Are you ok?” Theo said.
“Yes, I'm fine.”
Theo pulled me up, and we walked to our teacher.
“Today, we will be going on our hike. Just remember to watch out for snakes and bears to be safe. Okay?” the teacher said.
“Ok!”
“Let's start the hike now.”
Fifteen minutes into the hike, we saw a rattlesnake, and I FREAKED out, so I scrambled into the woods, thinking nothing about it when I got lost. Since I didn’t know what to do, I walked around and stumbled into a grizzly bear.
“Oh well, how could this get worse?” I said to myself.
Well, it did because the grizzly bear started to attack me! The claws felt like metal piercing through my skin. Then the grizzly bear hit me fearlessly, and it would not stop. Blood was gushing out of my head. I didn't know what to do, so I called for help.
“THEO, HELP!”
Theo and the rest of the group rushed to me, seeing blood all over me. They threw rocks and other items at the grizzly bear, but it still held on to me. Finally, a group leader came over with a gun, shot the grizzly bear, and killed it. The pressure. It stopped. I was relieved that it had stopped.
“Jayden, are you ok? Jayden?” everyone said.
“I think so,” I said.
An ambulance was here in the blink of an eye, so I got carried in. It felt weird to be in an ambulance because they were going RELLY fast whenever I saw one, but it did not feel too fast. But we were going fast because we got to the hospital in like 5 minutes. Then I heard the doors behind me open. I couldn't see who had opened them because I was lying down, but eventually, they carried me on a thing inside.
When I got inside, I saw everyone waiting in the waiting area for about one second because the people pushing me were sprinting. I can't remember past that, but at least I still have my friends, me, and my family.
Basil trotted up the rocky slope. Jess was slowly dragging himself along behind him.
by Charlotte Lumpkin“Wait,” for every few steps that Jess took, Basil walked 20 feet, and had to stop and wait for Jess to catch up. The upside of this time was it gave Basil an opportunity to examine the other dogs as they passed Basil and Jess up the mountain. Some miniscule dachshunds were ultra running with their owner and were already scrambling back down. Basil knew for a fact that he and the dachshunds had started hiking at the same time. Jess, on the other hand, was getting slower by the second and was beginning to look slightly sick. It puzzled Basil, Jess was a very fit person, why was he going so slow? Jess was walking all funny. His eyes were not focused and was about to fall off the side of a rocky cliff. Basil barked at him to let him know. Jess plopped himself down on a rock and gulped down some water. Basil went over and looked over the side of the cliff at the 100 foot drop and the piles of rocks hidden in the shadow of the mountain at the bottom. He looked upward at how much they had left to go and the bright sun blinded him. He barked in pain and stumbled. A couple of rocks fell down the cliff under his feet.
“Come on,” Jess said openly, as if to himself. They started trudging once again, the wind pushing them both to the side. Jess was still going slow but seemed to have regained some of his energy from his short break. He opened a cheese stick, gave half of it to Basil and shoved the other half in his own mouth. They continued up the mountain, and with each step they seemed to go up a foot in height. The wind was picking up and Basil was starting to feel tired. His feet were beginning to feel heavy and sore. But he had to keep going! For Jess! For glory!
Basil and Jess turned a corner and there, standing right in front of them, was a mountain goat. It was big and fluffy and smelled like a kitten's litter box if it hadn't been cleaned for two weeks. It was quite obvious that this animal was neither civilized, nor well groomed. This disgusting creature had no right to be on the path to Jess and Basil conquering this mountain. The goat must be stopped! Basil was just about ready to charge at it, when Jess grabbed his collar and held him back. He clipped a leash onto Basil's collar and got out his camera. He started snapping pictures of it, oohing and aahing. Now Basil was angry. This stupid creature was blocking their path to glory and Jess was taking pitures of it! Outrageous! Basil started pulling at the leash and whining. He even made puppy eyes at Jess. But Jess just kept on snapping pictures of it. Why didn't he save the camera roll for when they reached the top? That is, if they did reach the top, Jess was taking way to long snapping pictures of this animal. Basil let out a short, harsh bark. Suddenly the goat looked up and turned his creepy head toward Basil.
Jess looked away from his camera and said, “Basil, no sudden movements.”
Basil glared at the goat, Jess looked pleadingly at Basil, and the goat just stared at them.
“You can’t tell which of us it’s looking at,” thought Basil, “why would any creature's eyes be placed on either side of its head? That just makes it look creepy and weird.”
And then just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. It had run off down the other side of the mountain, out of sight. Basil barked at it again, just to let it know not to come back. Jess looked accusingly at Basil and said,“You scared it off.” Basil now felt guilty and looked at his feet. They were red and raw. As they kept walking up the mountain, Jess continuously was looking at his map. He kept telling Basil, “2 more miles,” “1 More mile,” “half a mile,” and each time he talked he sounded more and more out of breath. Basil was out of breath two. Their progress was so slow, they walked about one foot every 5 seconds. A cloud was coming in overhead and it was almost one o’clock, they hadn't even reached the top yet. A couple in front of them turned around and started going back down.
Finally, after what felt like almost an hour, Jess groaned, “An eighth of a mile left, Basil. We can do this.”
Basil let out a tired bark in response. After another ten minutes, it began to rain.
Jess sighed, “Basil, I don’t think we should keep going.”
But Basil was determined. He tugged on the leash with all the might he could muster.
“Basil, stop,” Jess said harshly. But Basil kept pulling.
Finally Jess gave in and he let Basil drag him, slowly up the wet rocks. Basil could see the top. They were so close! Lightning struck in the distance. The rock got more slippery, people came running down the mountain beside them. Basil kept pulling.
Jess groaned,“Basil, we have to go back.”
Basil let out a triumphant bark, they were so close! There was only what looked like a 16th of a mile left. They could do this! The lightning came closer. A couple hundred yards left. They were almost there! Lightning struck in front of them, the thunder crashed over head, BAM! It sounded like an airplane was coming down on them.
“Basil, NO!”
Basil kept pulling, Jess was too weak to pull back. They were so close! Then, at long last, they made it. It wasn't like a big end-of-movie finish, but Basil let out the loudest bark he could muster. Jess gave him a big smile. They had made it. Basil felt the pride swell in him. He had done it. He had got both of them up a mountain! He looked down at the speck that was a human down below. It was like being in an airplane. It was stunning, thought Basil. The horizon formed a thin gray line, but Basil felt like he could see forever. The other peaks in the mountain range touched the sky, just like Basil, the clouds swirling around them, little puffs of white. Then Jess snapped a picture, and they began to speed walk back down, just as fast as they had started. It is amazing, thought Basil, what you can do when you put your mind to it.
Once upon a time there was a girl named Princess Ellery who was 16 years old. She lived in a village, but her old, evil mom, Queen Bada, lived in a castle right next door, which made Princess Ellery feel scared.
Ellery had a castle with pink carpets and rainbow flowers in the halls. In her room there was a bunk bed.
One rainy-with-thunder day, Queen Bada came in the castle and changes the carpet to evil pictures of herself and turns the flowers to black. She even puts evil, blow-up bats around the castle and in Princess Ellery’s bed.
“Why did you do this mom?” Princess Ellery said.
The Queen Bada said, “Well, I don’t know. I just wanted to play a game.”
Then the Princess’s royal dragon named Raipa roared at the Queen Bada, “I’m going to burn you with my smoke and fire!”
Then the Queen Bada was burned. Queen Bada was really, really, really, really angry.
But the Princess was happy, because she knew the dragon’s magical smoke would turn her mom back to good.
Right away, the Queen Bada’s evil blow-up bats helped put Queen Bada’s burned body back together really fast.
Then she, right away, Queen Bada put Princess Ellery’s pink carpets back and watered the flowers until they were rainbow again. Queen Bada even removed all of the bats.
At last, when it was sleep time, instead of Queen Bada going to sleep, she made a big birthday card for Princess Ellery’s birthday tomorrow. Queen Bada learned to always be kind, and never do bad tricks.
There once was an 11 year old husky named Elsie, and there was a cat named Piper who was Elsie's friend.
Elsie lives in her owner's house that is turquoise and her backyard has a pool and ten trees.
On a windy, summer weekend Elsie and her friend Piper were running around squeaking her chicken toy outside in her backyard. When she was done playing, she left her squeaky chicken toy outside and it blew away into a bush!!
“Piper! I can’t find my squeaky toy!” Elsie yelped in sadness.
“Oh no! Don’t worry, we’ll find your squeaky toy” Piper said to Elsie.
“Okay let's go look!” Elsie shouted!
Elsie and Piper looked around in the trees and dug in the dirt, then they looked in the bush that Elsie's squeaky chicken toy was in! There it was, stuck in the branches of the green, scratch bush. Elsie had her chicken toy back!
After Elsie finds her toy they play with it in the long backyard and they laugh and giggle with each other!
“Thanks for helping me find my squeaky toy Piper! You are such a great friend!”
“You're welcome! I always like being kind to friends!” Then they went inside and Elsie and Piper sat on the couch and nibbled their carrots. Elsie and Piper learn to be kind and respectful to friends!
Once upon a time, there was a lonely witch that lived in a haunted house. She was making potions to make the whole town fall asleep. Her name was Leila, the lonely witch. She was very lonely because she lived in a haunted house so no one came to visit her. She had ten elves that were the only people that talked to her.
“I wish I had some real friends,” Leila said to herself.
Meanwhile, Batgirl and Batman were busy saving the world. They were rescuing people from their houses. Then their bat watches told them there was more trouble near the haunted house. They flew to the haunted house together, and then they broke through the doors of the haunted house. Then they stole the positions that the witch was making.
“Hey!” the witch shouted, “ I need those potions to make this town fall asleep!”
Batgirl said, “We can’t let you make this town go to sleep!”
Then the witch said, “ I want to make the town fall asleep because no one ever talks to me and it makes me sad,” Then the witch started to cry.
Batgirl hugged the witch and said, “I’ll be your friend, but don’t make potions ever again,”
“Okay!” the witch said excitedly, “No more potions.”
Then finally, Leila had a friend, Batgirl, and she had a lot of fun with her. Batgirl and Leila would hang out with each other, and Leila wasn’t lonely ever again. Leila learned to be nice, and she also learned what it was like to have a good friend.
There once was a football player. Her name was Ivy Black. She was a QB and played for CU.
It was time for the NFL draft. She waited for days then she finally got drafted in the fourth round. Onto the Buffalo Bills.
“Yay!” The family and friends yelled. Growing up her favorite team was the Bills. “You're gonna be the first female Quarterback!” Said her mom.
She was the backup QB, but then she worked really hard at practice so she could be the starter. "You're really good so you're going to be our starter for the team,” The head coach said.
On her first game, she got tackled many times but kept on getting back up until she got tackled so hard that she got a concussion.
Two weeks later she was healed. When she was healed she helped the team win 14 games which got them into the Super Bowl.
At the Super Bowl, she held the record for 9 touchdown passes. The score was 63-56. After the game, she won MVP.
“How do you feel about having the most touchdown passes in a Super Bowl?” The reporter asked.
“It feels great and I'm really happy,” Ivy replied.
“How does it feel being the only girl in the NFL?” The reporter asked.
"It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl. Everyone is accepting and treats me the same.” Said, Ivy.
“How does it feel to win the super bowl?” The reporter asked
“It feels great. It's always been a dream of mine.”
“The bombing!” Mama screams. “Everybody, get into the storm shelter! Pepper! Get over here! It’s the bombing! We need to get shelter!”
I rush out of my room and into Mama’s arms as we go out into the yard. We all start to climb down the ladder and into the storm shelter. When we get down, we all hug as loud bangs thunder above us.
“We’re safe for now,” Mama says.
“I hope our house is, too,” I say as a loud boom thunders above us and shakes the shelter.
“They’re very close, Jacob. I can feel it” Mama says.
Just then, a deafening bang and crash roars above us. Mama screams, and so do I, along with Papa.
“I think that was us!” she cries.
Secretly, I think so too, but I don’t want Mama to worry anymore, so I try in my bravest voice that I could give to say to Mama, “It could have just been really close.” But as I say it, I know that my voice is still trembling.
As the all-clear signal blares, we stay another minuteintheshelter,justin case. After a few more minutes, we start to make ourwayup,onlytofindthe biggestshockofourlives.
“It was us! I just knew it,” Mama cries as she starts to cling onto Papa in case she faints.
I feel like I could faint at that time too, because, as I said,itwasthebiggestshock of my life to find my house and some of my memories destroyed.
BRUUUUUUUUU…the ship’s loud horn sounded so that passengershurryupandboard the ship. As we heard it, we were buying things for our journey across the Atlantic Ocean,suchasbread,cheese, blankets, and some other supplies.
“What are those big white sheetsontheship?”IaskPapa.
“Those are called sails, Pepper,”Papaanswers. “Whatdotheydo?”Iask.
“They catch the wind and make the ship move,” Papa explains.“Youneedthatwhen you are going on such a long journey. Does that make sense?”Ishrug.“Iguess,”Itell him.
BRUUUUUUUUUU…theship sounds its loud horn again, longerthistime.
As we start to get on board, my stomach starts to get queasy. But, why? I lovewater.Swimminginit, diving in it and playing. I have never felt any water sickness before, so what wasthis?
“Papa?”Iask.“Whyismy stomach hurting? Am I seasickalready?”
“I don’t think so,” Papa replies. “You’re probably justnervous.”
“My stomach feels the sameway,”Mamasays.
“I thought you were excited to see Ciotka Bellatrix and Wujek Ralph?”Iasksuspiciously.
“I am,” Mama answers quickly.“Ijustdon’tthinkI likeboatsrightnow.”
OK,Ithink.Idon’tthinkI likethemrightnow,either.
Read the rest of pepper's journey by scanning this qr code:
By: Josie Todaro
I try to look for landmarks in case I get lost. There was a map shop that looked quite inviting, so I pulled out my tattered leather notebook from my yellow bag, grabbed a gray pen, and quickly jot down: Inviting Spots:
253 Via Celio Vibenna drive ~ about 5 min away from the Colosseum – maps
527 Piazza del Colosseo ~ about 15 min away from the Colosseum – food
“Mom I’m hungry,” Ryan whines.
“You can’t eat in the bus,” Mom reminds Ryan for the third time When we arrived but we were not at the Colosseum Oliver asks, “Dad,is this the Colosseum or did the bus go to the wrong spot?”
“We are first going to get some lunch,” Dad said with a hint of enthusiasm just for Ryan.
“YAY LUNCH!” Ryan exclaimed. Lunch consisted of pasta and bread. We went to the Gelateria da Costanza. It had a big flag that reads,“Gelateria.”
The gray streets, covered in years of grime and litter. The Colosseum, standing proudly as if to say: "Ehi, guardami, sono ANCORA in piedi e un po' fatiscente, ma ciò NON significa che non sia debole,” or in english, “Hey look at me I’m STILL standing and a bit dilapidated but that does NOT mean I am not weak.”
Once we got to the Colosseum we were super excited to run a little so the four of us ran. We had races of all kinds, running, walking, and jumping.
When I decided to stop, I wrote some more in my notebookThings I notice: “Guys it’s time to go,” calls Mom.
Ryan is STILL super energetic. Hanna is now doing sudokus. Olver is still racing Ryan.
“Okay,” Hannah hollers back. I put my notebook and pen into my bag and get up from the wooden bench I was sitting on.
As we come back together as a group mom counts us off to make sure that all six of us were there, which there were.
“Let’s get on the bus,” dad calls.
Right before we got on the bus Hannah remembers that she forgot her water bottle. It is her favorite.
“I’ll get it,” I sprint back to the bench where Hanna had been doing sudokus. I grab her water bottle and hold it tight. I sprint back and try to get on the bus but right before the bus doors close in my face. I bang on the doors but he won’t let me in, and drives off with a puff of smoke leaving me coughing. “No,” I manage to sputter “come back,”
Read more here
I trudge through the birch forest. The thought of losing Dilbert, my old horse, slows me down. Well, maybe it is not just the thought. Now that I think about it, maybe it's because of the fresh layer of snow. The sun shines on the small treehouse I discovered last fall. The rope swing swings as if someone is on it. The ladder leading up the tree is moving even though there is no one .
“WHY!?” I yelled. “WHY’D YOU LEAVE ME!?” Tears fell down my face; not light tears, but a river of tears. “Why did you leave me?” I repeat, my tears slowing down. “Where am I?” I panicked. “I saw her!”
I was in my bed. Sadie was standing over me, her face was twisted in confusion. The bed was warm and soft. But it would not warm the inside of me. I could smell scrambled eggs and pancakes. I sat up and knocked the breakfast over. Floop! The pancakes and scrambled eggs fell to the floor. The room was already messy and clothes littered the cold hard stone floor. I reached over and grabbed the water from the side table. It tasted old and stale. The sound of mom walking through the door made me jump.
“Sasha!” Mom exclaimed. “Dad is coming home this week!” She touched my head. “You feel alright?” Mom asked. I nodded. But in reality, nothing was because I had possibly seen my dead grandma.
“Score!” Sadie said, punching the air. “Dad’s coming home!”
The next night, I fell asleep in my bed. But I woke up sitting on the stairs talking to the ghost of grandma. The same thing happened that night. She opened her arms, waiting, and without hesitation, I jumped into her expecting to feel something. And again I felt nothing. Nothing felt right. Then I was back in my bed.
For some reason, this kept happening. I would wake up in cold sweat and tears would be running down my face. I would not get a lot of sleep because I would wake up at around two in the morning. I would never know where I was. When I got to school things were worse. I would pass out in the halls, and one time I was sent to the emergency room. Everyone thought I was crazy.
My next dream was the same but something was wrong. I wasn’t in the old farmhouse anymore. I was at grandma's house replaying the memory of her death.
“Grandma!” I say. “Grandma look at my drawing!” Nothing, no response, just the sound of someone collapsing.
“MOM!” Dad came in and picked her up.
I woke up. And it was only ten at night. I close my eyes and dreams float back to me again.
I woke up at the bottom of the stairs. My feet were firmly planted on the orange-green carpet. The ghost of grandma was speaking to me. Her arms opened again; just like in every other dream. This time I didn’t hug her, I didn’t move.
I woke up. Not sweating. Tears were not running down my face. And after that day I had no more nightmares, for I now understood that life comes and goes, but love stays in one special spot. Your heart.
Screech! My heart stopped. I’m standing there, just standing there. How did I know?
Four days earlier…
Hi, my name is Mary. It is April 10, 1912, and my family and I are going on the Titanic. Yes, I know, the Titanic. My family and I are going to America, to one, be with family, and two, well, I’m not very sure, but my parents say it is for the better. I’ll miss my friends and my tiny town called Rye. You may not have heard of Rye. The population is only 4,100 people. In Miami, Florida, the population is 461,080 people, which is 456,980 more than Rye. As you can see, I’m a really big geek about math, geography, history, and the ship of wonder, the Titanic. Now that me and my family are in our cabin on the Titanic, I’m off.
“Wow,” I say.
It’s beautiful. The hall walls are white. The paint is a little worn off, but still, so charming. The doors line side by side. It feels like I am the leader of troops in the military. Everything is white. Except I’m wandering off into my own world.
I went outside for a moment. Everything seems fine, then crash! The ship shakes and screeches. My heart stops. I’m standing there, just standing there. How did I know? I felt like I just took my final breath. I was frozen. Rubi came out running to me and screamed for help. My parents came running out. I felt my dad sling me on his back and carry me inside. They laid me on my bed and put all the blankets on me like I was cold even though I was not. I saw my life flash before my eyes. I said, “First class, Rubi, do you know Thomas Andrews?”
“Yes, why?”
“Mother, Father pack the bags and get life jackets on now! Meet me and Rubi on deck A. Now go!”
“What are we doing?” Rubi said in confusion.
“Where is Mr. Andrews's room?”
“Um, um, room 556. Why? What are you going to do?”
“You’ll see.” We run and run and run until we get to room 556. I knock on Mr. Andrew’s door. He opens it and I immediately say,
“How much time?”
“My dear,” he says “I am not sure I know what you mean”
“How much time until we all die?”
“Maybe just under 3 and a half hours,” he says in this quiet yet firm voice.
“There are approximately 20 lifeboats and can only fill up to 65-ish people each. There are 2,240 people aboard this ship, which means if we fill up all the lifeboats, only 940 people will die,” I say.
The water was to our shoulders and rising quickly. I went back to Rubi and my family and said my last goodbyes to them and then took Rubi in my arms and said for the last time I will ever say it to her.
“I love you, Rubi. I will always love you.”
“I will always love you too Mary.” We took our last breaths and then went under. We clasped each other so tightly that it felt like we could barely breathe. I felt everyone swimming around us but we did not move at all. Then my lungs gave out and then I started to see a light. Then, black.
Passengers: 1,317 people not including the crew Crew members: 900 people People in total: 2,240 How many people died: more than 1,500 How many people survived: 706 Designer for the ship: Thomas Andrews
Ding…dong! An eerie gap filled between my dad's feet, thumping down the stairs. The silence gathers, forming a frightening aura circling the door. Thudding persists as my dad walks down the stairs to open the door. This was nothing out of the ordinary, but this time, something felt different. The aura now pulses and thumps, getting faster and stronger and deeper until the knob is gripped tightly by the gentle hands of my dad and pulled open. Dad’s glasses hit the floor, an explosion of tiny shards.
“Guh,” my dad chokes on air as creases in his face formed pathways for the tears.
“Dad, are you okay?” I ask while turning to look at my deaf brother, who has already run to see the commotion. But the same “Guh” comes from him too.
My dad accepts defeat to emotions and goes for a tight embrace on his once-deceased brother.
The next morning was heaven. The bird's song flowed like the Pacific and the sun's light was like a furry hug. Light floods the dark sleep; panic rushes in at the sight of the monstrous alarm clock with 8:30 written on it.
“Crap,” I say in a low voice, still trying to break free of the shackles of slumber.
“Mom, I'm gonna be late!” I scream as the world turns to a blur with the speed of my movements. It isn’t school that worries me here. It’s the fear of my perfect dream. That it wasn’t real…That my uncle is gone forever.
“It’s okay, Louie, you’re not gonna be late for school. You have at least a month and a half before you have to worry about that.”
“What?” I say, genuinely confused.
“I think that such a momentous occasion deserves time spent with your uncle.” * * *
Now, here’s where things get really weird. My uncle, next to the stove, making pancakes. Not sleeping in or waking up, but making the pancakes? But who knows what three months of being thought dead could do to you? Maybe he was just still recovering from his time “dead.”
Another four weeks went by faster than the first. No one had asked him what had happened. No one wanted to remember the past, just the present, but I couldn't contain the feeling anymore. This man, this thing…It wasn’t my uncle. Tears flew down my face at sonic speed as the force of a pro-MLB player was forced into my veins.
Crack! A fizzle follows the explosion, and a metal bat is placed on the ground by the hands of a 12-year-old boy named Louie.
“Louie, are you okay?!” Mom shrieks. Then the fizzling wires and smashed-up metal appear on the floor. “Mom. Something isn't right.”
Which was obvious, considering Uncle Dev is now a smoking pile of frizzling metal on the floor. “Get in the car, Louie. We need to leave.”
The rain is nothing compared to the salty stream pouring down my dad's fractured soul. When they told us that the undead member living with us was actually a robotic camera sent over from a different country, we didn't care. But somewhere in that darkness was a warm flickering light. The kind that brought you to tears and made you want to punch the closest person to you; but also the kind that empowered you and forced you to keep on going. The kind that helped face your fears and accept the truth. The kind that carried the power of a soul in it…
This story was inspired by Lucien Martinez’s uncle, David Martinez.
Hi, my name is Millie. I am 14 years old. I live in New York City. This is a story about a person in my life, who left forever, and how I got through it.
My family and I were eating dinner when my mum's phone went off. It was my Aunt Ruth. She was calling about my cousin, who wasn’t doing too well. He was in the hospital.
She said he hadn’t shown up for work for almost three days, so she went and checked on him to see why he wasn’t answering his calls. She stepped in only to find blood all over the walls and Jeffrey lying on the floor. She quickly called 911. The machines in the hospital were keeping him alive.
My mum and my aunt were on that call for a long time. Sadness overcame my mum's face as she slowly heard the news.
We were all nervous. What were they talking about? She finally got off the call and told us what had happened. We were shocked.
2 to 3 weeks passed, and we didn’t get another call for a while. We still feared that he wasn't okay. I was always scared about what my parents would talk about every night after I went to bed.
One night we got a call from my grandma. We were really worried. ‘Was Jeffrey okay? Has something happened to him?’ All these questions raced through my head as I ate dinner. I could see my mum trying to keep in tears, as she talked to my grandma on the phone. She goodbye to my grandma turned to us and spoke these exact words:
“He passed away.”
We all started to cry. He was gone forever.
I didn't sleep that night.
That next day I went to school, and I barely did anything. I didn't answer any of the questions when the whole class raised their hand, and I didn’t say anything when the teacher asked me to answer the question. At lunch, I didn't talk much. My friends asked if I was okay, and I just told them I was exhausted. I didn't want any of my friends to know yet. I mean I still couldn't even put my mind around the fact that he had passed away. I finally talked to Mr. Dorr, my counselor, about it.
His room was playful, yet serious. It had a welcoming vibe to it. The light slowly shines in his room. It wasn't too bright but it wasn't too dark. It was like he placed the sun in a spot and told it to stay there. Pictures of the people in his life that were special to him sit all around the room. As soon as I walked in, I could feel the warmth and love radiating from everywhere.
“So what is going on Millie?” Mr. Dorr asked as we both sat down at his desk.
“My-um-my-ugh,” I tried to explain but I couldn't. I started crying. The words were gone. Jeffery was gone.
I went back to class, still crying. The tears rolled down my cheek like a calm river. Sad, because it had no fish in it.
My eyes started to open and more of my bedroom came into view. I saw the old blue walls and the lace curtains that dad got me framing my windows. The room was light and airy, but empty, the sad silence just existing there without him to wake me up. After a while, I finally got up. I got out of bed and the cold wood floors woke me up instantly.
“Why is the floor so cold?” I asked myself as I left my room smelling breakfast waffles…all they did now was remind me of…him. I walked into the kitchen and saw that the waffles were Eggos and not real waffles, but it was all the same. I got some syrup but made sure not to pour a lot because we were almost out. I sat down at the dining table where fresh pink roses were put in a glass vase in the middle of the table. The vase had a bit of a crack in it from being old.
“Sorry, I couldn't make real waffles, Sweety, I know you loved when--”
“He made them…I know. It's ok, Mom. They're good.”
“I'm glad honey. Sorry.”
“It's ok, Mom. Really.”
I finished eating, set my plate in the sink, got ready, and then I was off to school… A grimy old school. Ring Bridge High School was founded in the 1700s and it's 2022 now, so I go to a three-hundred-year-old school that could fall apart at any moment. Wow. Just wow. Honestly, the school’s drinking fountains at least had good plumbing but that's the only thing that they spent money on. The school bell rang and it was a stampede to class. I was pushed at most 14 times and kids stuck their tongues out and called me a nerd. I finally get to the homeroom and the teacher takes attendance and then tells the class to settle down and…“Amy, can I see you in the hall, please?” the class just goes “ohhhhh” and I know whatever the teacher is gonna tell me is not going to be good. I dread the walk into the hall and the other kids' eyes are laser locked on me, and stepping out of the door feels even more painful.
“I have to go.”
“No, I can’t let you!”
I was in the kitchen with my mother, who was arguing with me. Why did she not get me?
“No, You know what happened to your-your far-fa-farther.” My mother burst into tears.
“I-I-I just d-don't w-want you t-t-to DIE!”
I couldn't bear it now. “Don’t worry mother. I know what to do. I've made up my mind. I’m going.”
My mother was packing a sandwich and water for when I was going to go.
“Stay safe, and don’t go near any soldiers.”
“Okay, Mother,” I said.
I was walking around my square. My heart was beating. I was scared and I knew nothing was good for me. I actually realized and appreciated how hard it was to avoid the Nazis. They kept popping out at random spots. Maybe that's how they invaded France? I had to sneak around, and whenever a German soldier came out I would have to hide behind a dustbin. I had some suspicions about Germans seeing me, but they probably thought that it was a trick of the light.
“Hɛi!” screamed a Germa close to me.
What the! I started so badly that a German near me looked around at me. I slapped my hand on my face and hid away.
“Wer ist da!” (“Who’s there!”) said the German. I said nothing. I didn't even know how to speak German.
Ratatatatatatata! The noise hit me like small birds, startling me like rocks on my back. What was that? Was that what I thought that was?
“Feuer!”(Firer!)
“No you John, get over there!”
I dared a peek. I was amazed when I saw fighting all around me. Comandos and British soldiers were everywhere. Then I saw a way out, but it was through a ton of fighting. I ran like lightning smoke swirling around me like ghosts.
BOMB! A grenade flew by right next to me. Then I was running winding around the fighters. Ratatataatatatata! They were firing at me!
“Stäp!” (“Stop!”) I heard someone screaming at me. I didn’t know what to do but run. Sprint. Sprint to the small exit in the corner. Then suddenly I was hit in the head and knocked over. I struggled up and ran; I was finally there and in the corner. But I had to get to the street where I could hide and escape. There I was sitting there. My heart was racing, and my brain was thinking about how it happened. How I avoided death itself. This little side street I was in was only protection and nothing more. I started to think about my options and how to get out.
The first time I saw my town again, it looked like death. The ground was spattered with blood and rubble. My house was slanted, next to our neighbor's which was destroyed. My mother died from a German bomb. But one knows. People were running around clearing the streets, but nothing matters because no one knows. Glass scattered the streets. The drain was blocked, so the rain was flooding the streets. Still, no one knows. No one.
Lotor, the raider captain, looks through his spyglass at the small village a few miles away. “Northwest, ten clicks!” he yells to his crew. “We feast tonight!”
A cheer, sounding like a thousand birds all shrieking together, comes from the crew on the lower deck, unheard by the villagers going about their day-to-day lives. Many miles away, one of those villagers is just waking up.
I slowly get out of bed, exhausted from yesterday's hard work. This month is harvest season, so the work is double what it usually is. Most folks outside of the town of Hushenburg believe that farming is a profession for low-life poor people; I think it’s the dream. I love having all my hard work paid off with a meal on the table and a sense of accomplishment. I go to sleep every night feeling successful about my day.
The next morning, I start my daily routine of getting up, eating breakfast, and going to work. As I exit my lovely abode, I hear a sound like a piece of chalk on a writing slate. As I look down at the town, I notice nothing out of the normal, until I shift my gaze to the sea. There, moving at an alarming speed towards the town is a ship. This ship is nothing like the fishing boats we use to gather food. It is a huge, hulking piece of wood with a poorly made figurehead on the front. The vessel’s side has hundreds of cannons sprouting from holes that seem like they are carved with knives. From the ship, another sound erupts, this one same as the last. And then it happens.
A flash of light shoots out from the ship and a ball of solid steel flies, almost in slow motion, toward the town. Screams erupt from the villagers and my friends After what seems like an eternity…BAM!
The village tavern, gone. My head is spinning so fast from the sound that I don’t even notice the other shots being fired. Projectiles of death fly left and right. Screams can be heard from across the Empire.
“Calm down,” a voice behind me says.
I turn around with so much speed that the figure jumps back.
“Who are you?” I ask in a harsh tone.
The character steps into the light. I can see that he’s my next-door neighbor, Robert. I immediately let my guard down.
“What happened? Where is everybody? Where are we?” The questions pour out like a waterfall after the spring melt.
“All your questions will be answered soon.” He then lifts me up and offers me a swig of water from his flask. I drink the whole thing and receive a half-dirty, half-glad look from Robert. In this cave are hundreds of people, and not just any people. Every one of them I recognize as citizens of the village. They’re all clumped together, their faces tired and frightened. The cave surrounds all of them with bleak colors and sharp rock formations.
“This is everyone,” Robert says. “Well, most of them.”
“What happened?”
“Raiders. They’ve set up camp in the village now.” He answers.
“Well, what do we do?”
“I don’t know.” The last statement leaves me jarred. When life was normal, there was always a system and a solution for everything.
“Well I know,” I say. “We fight.”
BANG! A scream. BANG! A crash. BANG! My heart is pounding against my ribs like a prisoner trying to escape his cell. I knew the backstreets like the back of my hand but this. This is new. The soldiers are hot on my tail. My ears are screaming. The world disappearing at my feet. The muffled yells from my best friend and escape driver Blake were barely audible.
“Kameron, Dive!” he yelled.
I have about a 24.1 percent chance of making it. but I've had worse. I jump, bound over the small outcroppings from the bricks, use my momentum to swing around a gutter, and shove my feet forward pointing at the glass window.
SHMOOP.
“What did you nab this time?”
“A max power E17 shotgun and the microchip.”
“Nice. Also, there's a card for you in the back.”
A small mint green envelope sat on the rough snakeskin seats. I opened it taking the alaric's with the Sikratins main symbol on it. Finally, I could finish the last step of the heist with this money.
Two p.m.
The black markets were on fire, people buzzing around buying things from the carts and tents nearby. This underground market was where you could buy anything from food to entire countries. The ground under my feet squelched under the weight of my boots. Droplets of water splash in my shoes. I needed a gamma radiation ultra pulse conductor to cause a blackout for eight hours. The heist took ten. I walked down to the market hands in my pocket. I start walking towards a stall with the product I needed. I was entranced by the strength of the machine that I walked right into someone. He was tall and broadshouldered with a scar across his eye and a snake tattoo up his arm and around his neck.
“Watch it, kid!” he grumbled.
I walk up to the stand careful of my surroundings. I drop the bag of money on the table.
“I want the G.R.U.P.C.,” I yelled over the crowd.
“I.D.,” mumbled the seller.
I hold out a small projection from my phone.
“Kameron Cibo Arzt Age 12 parents Amy Mia Arzt and Matthew Henry Mallum Deceased,” it continues.
“What ya gonna do with it?” he asked.
“Steal hundreds of thousands of Alaric's and blow up the biggest air base the Sikratins have. Why?”
The man sputtered, “By yourself?”
“No, I have one friend.”
“Just take it and give me the money.”
“Deal.”
let me talk for as long as I stood there. He took me by the arm and started to walk me out. I didn't know how that was gonna happen cause all of the doors were locked, once he realized that, and knew we were stuck. I sat down in the captain's chair trying to find out how to unlock all the doors. There was one red button that said. PRESS IN CASS OF EMERGENCY! I felt this was an emergency, so I pressed it.
“Yeah that sure is” the man said.
“Can we go to it?” I asked.
“No, we have to get back.”
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
“What's that!?” I screamed louder than the beeps.
“GET IN YOUR CHAIR NOW!!!”
The man shouted. I sat down when all the sudden I felt all the butterflies In my stomach fly upwards. We started to fly towards the earth faster than the speed of light. The engine is on fire now.
“BOOM!”
I felt all my ribs fly out.
“CRACK!”
I woke up in a hospital with casts all over my body. Except for my leg, my leg was gone!
“Oh no, no, this can’t be happening! Why? Why? Can someone help? Someone? Anyone!!” I started to scream. When I noticed it didn't hurt. A doctor with a robe on, as bright as the sea, came into my room.
“Oh, you're awake. Would you like me to grab you anything?” he asked “Umm, what happened to my… leg?” I asked. He told me what happened and brought me a wheelchair. We went down the stairs for lunch, where I met with the CEO, Project X. He was happy that I had killed the person that was trying to steal it. I thought It must have been the man that was with me on the ship.
TREASURE TROVE: "SEASONS Of Stories"
Imagine a world where all of your worries don’t exist. Everyone belongs. Everyone’s needs are taken care of. The man woke up, he was sweating. The drips of sweat were flowing down his nose and down his smooth face. He couldn’t remember anything and didn’t know why. Still, though, there was something off. Then, he heard his ex-girlfriend’s voice echo his name in his head over and over like a merry-go-round.
“Bryan!” The voice in his head over and over again gave him a headache. Bryan bounced out of bed. Looking around he realized that this looked an awful lot like a hospital room. Then he realized that it was one because there was a needle hooked up to his arm. Bryan forcefully pulled the needle out of his arm. He was bleeding, but not a concerning amount, he didn’t think it was a big deal. Bryan looked outside his window.There were construction workers slowly deconstructing the building he was in.
He quickly sprinted out of his room and dashed down the hallway of the dark, abandoned hospital.
Bryan slid down multiple flights of stairs before reaching the bottom. Then, he realized. He could be easily arrested if he was found walking out of there. Bryan glanced at a window behind the front desk.He just needed to make it out that back window to reach the alleyway, without being seen. Bryan waited until the security guards from outside weren’t looking. Then, he bolted out from the bottom of the stairs and dived out the open back window. Bryan landed in a dumpster full of halfeaten food and old bed sheets. He started digging through all of the food and stuffing it in his pocket. All of a sudden, a voice appeared from behind him.
“Hey! You aren’t actually going to eat that trash food are you?”
Bryan thought about it, he was willing to do anything for staying alive. Even if that did mean digging through a
dumpster behind an abandoned hospital. But then again, there were better options for getting food. The person held out his hand.
“I’m Jeremy. I’m part of a rebellion to end the Dreamland illusion.”
“Dreamland? Rebellion?” Bryan replied. Jeremy looked at Bryan like he was crazy for a second. But then a normal look washed on Jeremy’s face.
“You must have just woken up. Come with me and I’ll explain everything.” Bryan gave a distrustful look to Jeremy.
“And how should I trust you?” Bryan asked. “You don’t have to, but I highly recommend you do.” Brian’s eyes looked into Jermey’s eyes, they showed full trust.
“Alright, I’ll come with you. But if you don’t explain everything to me, I’m running as far as I can from here.” Jeremy nodded and Jeremy led Bryan out of the alleyway towards an apartment complex across the street.
TO BE CONTINUED... TO BE CONTINUED... TO BE CONTINUED...
Every article in the newspaper is about the second world war. War this, war that. Nothing else matters other than the Second World War.
On the top of the page, in a bold ebony black, the headline announced, "U.S. DECLARES WAR ON JAPAN3,000 Dead and Wounded in Attack on Hawaii.”
His eyes focus a bit lower like they’re searching for something, anything. But still find nothing better than war. “JAPAN, U.S. AT WAR - 104 Die in Hawaii Raid: U.S. Transports Sunk.”
"Could you go check the mail for me?”
He looked up and saw his mother's back, pouring a glass of wine. She’s been drinking a lot of sake ever since father died on the battlefield. She always talks about how honorable it was, but Kiyoshi can tell she has missed him. Last summer they visited him at the Yasukuni Shrine, but it still hasn’t been the same.
That morning was nothing like the stereotypical morning. There was no bright, warm sunshine to wake up to. There was no chirping of the birds to listen to. It was a dark morning, bright enough to barely see. Only the yellow lights illuminated the room. Silence filled the ghost town, and only the whistles of the wind and a blanket of fog filled the streets.
Kiyoshi stood up and walked over to the door, slipped his feet into flip-flops, and paced down the stonepaved pathway. The weekly newspaper was carelessly thrown into the yard, so he picked it up on his way.
Inside the mailbox, a letter caught his eye. Kiyoshi picked it up, only to see his name and the name, Hirohito. The world around him stops moving. He was drafted into war by Emperor Hirohito himself. Most would be excited right now, excited to serve their emperor.
He flipped the letter over to the back. There was an address where he would meet to be trained. Beneath that, it ordered Kiyoshi to arrive at the military base once he received the letter.
There are three options: decline, volunteer, or volunteer willingly. But there’s really only one option. If you decline, you would be shunned and disowned by your parents. Sometimes even put into slavery. If you choose to volunteer then your trust would be questioned. So Kiyoshi marked “volunteer willingly'' and trudged back inside to his room, to pack his bags.
“Uh, Mom, I got a letter from-from the emperor,” he says, waiting for a response.
“From the emperor?! Emperor Hirohito? What did it say?” she questioned.
“I-the military,” Kiyoshi reluctantly replied.
“My son gets to serve the emperor! I'm so proud of you son, serving the nation just like your father did.”
“Yeah,” Kiyoshi replied, forcing a smile across his face.
“Here, take this. Consider this a treat for the ride there,” his mom said, handing him a paper bag.
“Thanks, Mom, I hope to see you whenever I get to come home," Kiyoshi responded, feeling a need to make it formal. His mom pulled him into a bear hug. He had his head resting on her shoulder as she gently put her hand on his back. Giving him a harsh reminder about how momentary life truly is.
He turned back around and took his first step onto the city bus, leaving his mother and home behind. The nearly empty suitcase was heavier than ever as if it were begging him to stay.
To Kiyoshi’s surprise, when he looked back at his mother, he saw her, frozen in place, looking at the floor a few meters ahead of her.
Kiyoshi was
“Passengers may now board the train.”
Kiyoshi did as told and stepped on, leaving off into the horizon. The sun has completely risen over the horizon by now, and the day ahead is announcing its presence.
I slowly wake up and hit my alarm. I trudge out of bed and go downstairs to the kitchen.
“Good morning, Emmy!” Mom says when she sees me.
“Sup,” I mutter, half awake.
“Waffles or pancakes?” Mom asks.
“Waffles,” I answer.
“Coming right up!” she grins, whips them up, and gives them to me.
I go to grab my bag, I put my computer in the bag, then I run upstairs and get changed and get my socks on. I put on my shoes and I’m out the door.
As I’m approaching the school, I see my friend Abby Johnson! She waves to me, I run up to her
“Hi!” I exclaim. Abby didn’t even get to say anything before the bell rang.
“Let’s go,” Abby stated. We started to walk, squished into everyone else.
I felt the cold gray lockers against my skin. The walls chalking off that ugly yellow color, the students standing in the middle of the hallway, pushing kids away if they try to come through, the teachers yelling at them to move.
Mia popped up next to me.
“Where have you been?” I questioned Mia. She is usually way earlier.
“Long story,” she objected.
We finally got past the big crowd and to our first class: Reading.
Two hours go by and I go to find Abby and Mia to go to math.
“Finally almost lunch!” Mia says with a light voice.
We get in the classroom right as the bell goes off so we sit down quickly.
“Hello’ class, how has everyone's day been?” the teacher Mrs. Holly inquired with a big smile on her face.
“Good,” everyone in the class responded with just a few saying back:
“How has yours been?”
“Great!! Thank you for asking!” Mrs. Holly answered back still with that great big smile.
“Please take out your noteboo-”
Sirens? Alarm?
“Hello Frederick Middle School, we are going to be held. Keep doing your classes as you normally do, just stay inside and if you are outside please come in! Thank you.” The intercom interrupts Mrs. Holly.
“Okay, like I was saying please take out your notebooks, and turn to page 93!” Mrs. Holly re-stated, I take out my notebook and get my pencil, the walky-talky starts to go off so Mrs. Holly picks it up. When she turns it on it says:
“THIS IS NOT A DRILL. GET INTO LOCKDOWN. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
Mrs. Holly's face turns white and she shuts her eyes, hoping it’s a dream. When she realizes it’s not she turns around. She has a single tear slowly dripping down her face.
“G-guys, please get i-into lockdown l-like we have p-practiced.” She stuttered.
We all ran to the corner huddling up hoping this was a drill…
I took some pretzels and water with me.
At least 3 hours had gone by, and we were still hoping that it was a drill, but we knew it wasn’t.
Just then, this girl named Grace Willams hopped up.
“GRACE, SIT DOWN!” Mrs. Holly yelled but whispered at Grace.
“This is stupid and even if there was someone here earlier they aren’t gonna wait for THREE HOURS we are fine!” Grace snapped at Mrs. Holly
“GRACE SIT DOWN! AND I AM NOT GONNA ASK AGAIN!” Mrs. Holly bellowed covering her mouth after she realized she yelled
“NO!” Grace screamed at Mrs. Holly. Grace stormed to the door. When she reached the door, we all were quiet with tight shoulders. She opened the door, took a big breath, and walked
out. For a moment everything was fine, our shoulders dropped until *BANG!* It was a gunshot. Everyone got up and started to run with fear in their eyes
*BANG, BANG, BANG!*
One after another I shut my eyes and plugged my ears really hard trying not to hear or see anything. The gunshots stop so I open my eyes and unplug my ears. It wasn't even 7 minutes but most of the kids were gone.
When we heard the sirens we were ready to go *CRASH* They busted open the front door into the school. We scramble out the door.
When we got outside I looked up at the sky and it was dark like murky water that no one dared to go swimming in. Tears running down my face as we got out, my mom was outside waiting for me on her knees crying for me.
“It’s ok!” she said crying. I couldn’t get any words out of my mouth.
I look to see if Henry is eavesdropping: he's not. Instead Henry is clenching his stuffed hedge-hog.
I look away from him, relieved. "This place doesn't teach us how to write or read, and this place is a dirty sick death pit. You saw what happened to Papa. He died from dehydration. That could happen to you, me, him," I say pointing to Henry.
My mother gives out a deep sigh, "I know you are right, MarryJane. But it is dangerous out there," she says.
"I know. But I have a plan," I give the piece of paper to Mama and walk away.
I can see Mama look over it. Her eyes flip through the pictures. I look away and sit on my bed. I take one more glance up at Mama. Our eyes lock. She nods.
I dart to give Mama a big hug. But she lays down and drifts off into a deep sleep like she is going to sleep forever.
A few minutes later the dinner bell rings, 'DING DONG, DING DONG.'
Henry taps me on the shoulder, "Marry-Jane, come on dinner is ready!" little Henry says cheerfully while galloping out the door.
I shake Mama to get her out of her nap, "Come on, dinner is being served. We have to go now or else they will run out," I say gently.
As I dart out the door, I see little Henry playing with his friends. It will be hard to tell him that he will have to run away from all of his friends and life. But once he is old enough, he will finally understand why we had to leave. The dinner line is already long. The first people in line take their rice pudding and mashed potatoes. I searched the area for Mama with my eyes. I can see her far away staring at me. I look away acting like I didn't see her. I try to steal another glance, but she has disappeared.
I lurk closer and closer to the front of the line. The sound of the dense mashed potatoes being scooped onto plates fills my ears. The lady scooping my mashed potatoes and rice pudding looked old, very, very, old. I attempt to hold back my tears. What if the plan doesn't work? I would be an old slave looking at the bruises on my back. I take my bowl and run back to our kutcha.
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ChapterOne:FatherDearest
Boom!James wakes up in a cold sweat and I rush out of bed to the window to see what happened. Smoke–flames peering over buildings like spying eyes.
Oh, sorry–did I start in a weird place? Okay, here, let’s go back to when Mother was tightening my corset up.
“Until you look how you’re supposed to. Skinny and proper,” Mother explains. “Margaret, what do you expect from men?”
“Not this…” I mumble, but it comes out more as a yell because my mother was still pulling ribbons, shrinking my chest. “Why must we wear high heels, corsets, and skirts? Do Father and James need to look skinny? No. Because why? They’re boys.” My mother, Mary, finishes tightening my corset and ties the bow; finalizing my spaghetti noodle shape. Then she moves on to grabbing my pink embroidered dress.
“I’m nearly done, love,” Mother says, tightening the dress as well. Mother and I perk our heads up at a fumbling sound like deer to a bear.
“Mum! I can’t button my shirt!” my younger brother, James, calls from the doorway. He shows the two sides of his unbuttoned shirt to Mother.
“James! You’re disgusting! I needn’t see your chest!” I exclaimed, shutting my eyes to the mirror reflecting on James' chest.
“JAMES!” Mother shouts. “GO COMPLAIN TO YOUR FATHER! I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF GETTING YOUR SISTER READY FOR YOUR GRANDPARENTS! GO ON, JAMES!” she hollers, turning around from tightening my dress. The flower in her hair is having a party.
“But, Mum!”
Mother sighs. “Now is not the time.”
Father walks into the room.
“Mary. I’m the man of the house, how dare you yell! WHEN I MARRIED YOU, I CHOSE WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A SOLID WIFE. I. AM. YOUR. WARD.” Father grabbed his belt he was holding and whipped Mother’s back with it.
“GAHHHH!!!” She cries and falls to the ground, apologizing to Father. I looked at my father with blank eyes; tearing up.
“Father–”
He glares at me, then to his belt.
“Do you feel like saying something to me, daughter?” Father said, with quite the evil tone. I grabbed my handkerchief from the desk and wiped my nose.
“No.”
Father scoffed. “I didn’t think so. You look fat, Margaret. Tighten yourself up, more.” He fixed his top hat and walked out of the room, grabbing James by the arm.
“Mother,” I say, as I help her up. “Are you okay?”
She wipes her nose and steadies herself. She nods. “Just fine, darling.”
“Must I tighten the corset more? As Father wished?”
Mother nodded, crying. “But– yet. Even though we will get whipped; I refuse to tighten your corset.” My eyes widened, I didn’t know what to say, to think, to do.
“What? I– pardon me, Mother, but you’re refusing Father’s orders?”
Mother hushes me. Then, motions me to follow her to the cabinet I was never to open. She reaches in and pulls out a journal; a rickety one. Pages not perfectly in the book. Flailing like the ribbons of my corset.
She reaches in and pulls out a journal; a rickety one. Pages not perfectly in the book. Flailing like the ribbons of my corset.
“Mother? What is that?”
Mother opens the journal to what looks like a page as old as the grass outside. (Which is dust now.) “It’s our family’s journal. Every woman in the family has written down their biggest accomplishments in life.”
All I could see was black and white. It was silent, so silent, not even a cricket’s quiet chirp could be heard. It seemed like everything around me was dead. The sun wasn’t shining and the wind wasn’t blowing. Flies swarmed the rotting pumpkins like a tornado. Me and the flies were the only living things around. Not even a plant stood beside me now. I tried to stand but I felt too weak. I heard a voice whisper, “Sandra, Sandra,” I got so scared I thought I was dead but then…I woke up.
I woke up and it seemed like nothing happened.
“You good honey?” my mom said, looking concerned.
“Yeah, you were really zoned out.” Dad said while chuckling.
“I’m okay, I just have a headache again.”
After a while we got off the hayride and started looking for a pumpkin. I tried to forget about what had just happened, it was probably just a dream. I also tried to ignore the fact that it's hard to dream when you're wide awake.
I walked for what felt like a hundred miles before I found the most beautiful pumpkin I’ve ever seen. It was white with the smallest hints of blue and beige. It was big and round, I already had millions of ideas to carve it! My whole family was in awe of its beauty when I put it in the wagon. We put all our pumpkins in our minivan and then found the corn maze.
We walked about five minutes into the corn maze before Kira started to complain that her feet hurt.
“Kira, you know this is Daddy’s favorite part of fall, don't you dare ruin it!” my mom said while her face turned red. We looked at the map and it said “Lucky’s Maze of–” Then a huge gust of wind knocked us all to the ground interrupting us! Kira starts to cry when all of a sudden a big blue ball launches from the corn. I screamed so loud you would think the whole town could hear me! The blue figure unravels into a big…scarecrow. He was so big that he couldn’t see us without bending over. We all froze. Even Kira was silent. I don’t want to look but I do anyway. His face is a Jack-O-Lantern with big threatening eyes. But his mouth…was smiling. The scarecrow looked me dead in the eye and said “Boo!” I didn’t scream, I didn't cry, I just ran. I ran faster and faster until something grabbed me. I felt my body fall to the ground in agony as big talons dug into my shoulders. I see a blue crow with red eyes on my shoulder. I look past the crow and see my sister at least seven feet above me floating in mid air. She looks calm as she says,“Come play with me Sandy!”
Deep breath, I think to myself, signing it in my lap where no one can see. Mrs. Davis raises her eyebrows at my raised hand.
All the answers, the correct answers that I have bottled up inside of me just want to come out. I lift my head up and glare at the bright green clock. Move faster! I think to myself, not breaking the current staring contest. After some time, I let the clock win and settle my arms on my desk and my head on my arms. I let a tear slide down my cheek. Defeat.
* * *
After school, Cecelia insists on jogging home.
Why? It’s about a billion degrees! I say. "You’ll see.”
Once we finally arrive at Cecelia’s, I throw myself face-down onto the grass. The dewy green spikes feel so wonderful on my face that I don’t feel like getting up and pulling my shirt away from my sweaty back, but I know I have to, or else Cecelia will do it for me. After I hesitantly force myself to my feet, I trudge as slowly as a snail toward the door. When we get in, I’m shocked.
A big sign covers Cecelia’s TV. It says this: OLIVIA MARIE JACOBS, YOU ARE GOING TO GET SURGERY!!! I feel so confused, shocked, and overwhelmed with happiness that I burst into tears. Mom, Dad, and Cecelia’s parents rush down the stairs toward me.
“Aren’t you so excited?!” My mom asks.
Yes. Yes. Yes! Thankyousomuch!!! I sign so speedily I’m kind of shocked she understands.
“You’re welcome. The surgery is tomorrow, which I know is so soon, but we’ve been keeping this secret for a long time. You should thank Cecelia’s parents. They raised most of the money.”
I look up at Cecelia’s parents with wide eyes.
Thaaannnkkk yooouuu, I sign slowly. * * * One Month Later
“I can’t wait for Mrs. Davis’s face when she hears me talk,” I say with a grin. Cecelia grins too but doesn’t say anything. “She’s just always treated me like I don’t know anything. I’m going to raise my hand and answer a question and everyone will be silent because they know but Mrs. Davis doesn’t know and she’ll look so shocked and…”
“Liv! You’re like a volcano!” Cecelia exclaims. I giggle a little and shut up.
The day seems to tick along so slowly. I just want to get to last period and show Mrs. Davis that I am a capable, kind, and educable human being, but since the world decided that the best things must come the slowest, I take a deep breath and wait.
When last period finally rolls around, I suppress the urge to hop up and down excitedly. I stay as silent as possible so Mrs. Davis doesn’t think I’ve changed. Cecelia grins at me and I smirk back. Finally, the oh-sostereotypical teacher walks in and quiets us down.
“Let’s get started. Does anyone know the answer to number 10 on the homework?” I shoot up my hand. Mrs. Davis looks around, pleading for another hand to raise into the air before hesitantly calling on me. “Yes, Olivia?”
I take a deep breath. “I believe the answer is 245.”
“Guys, the wave is gaining on us!” Carlos panics.
“Don't worry, I’ve got this,” I tried to comfort him.
The wave spits water on the boat’s surface, making it hard to stay on. It shows no sign of stopping. I pick up the pace, spitting just as much water from our engine back at the roaring catastrophe.
“We’re too slow, we need to lose extra weight!” Avid sounds like he’s in an action movie.
“Okay, then what are you waiting for? Throw off the extra stuff!” I yell desperately.
As my friends are throwing our valuables off the drenched deck of our speedboat, the wave treads on. I seem to be fighting the smaller waves for a spot of freedom when everything goes white.
Then I’m back to normal, choking on water. Our boat is spinning in circles. But why would our boat be spinning? My mind is racing. Then it hits me.
A whirlpool.
“Guys?” I ask, hoping for an answer.
I look around and realize they are in the white space like I was; Avid’s head is banging on the side of the railing, Carlos’s limp body is tied to the coach, and Kirk’s leg is tied around a pole. It soon becomes clear that it’s my duty to get my friends to safety. The boat whirls closer to the horrid hole in the middle, and the rain coming out of the wave makes the whole thing a lot more intense. Hhhggggh! Hhggghhhhhh! I rip the steering wheel from left to right to stay afloat.
My heart beats even faster than we’re sinking, and then we get closer, closer…
“Come on!” I tell myself, but I know it’s too late. We have entered the whirlpool.
“Mmmghhhhhmmgh!” A muffled scream escapes my mouth as water holds the inside of my throat together.
Salt burns my eyes, leaving me a blind captain. Water pushes me around like we're in a boxing arena, and although it intrudes my stomach, I persistently hold on to the steering wheel.
The time we spent in the whirlpool felt like hours, but it was merely a minute. I realize this after we have been spit out on the gouging ocean. Wait, that means we made it!
“Carlos? Kirk? Avid?!” I scream, gasping for more air.
“Anyone, please, HELP!” I frantically shout as anxiety creeps through my bones.
“Chill out, why are you yelling?” I hear Avid ask. I seem to be in a dazed and clueless state.
“Avid, thank God you’re here, we’re stranded! Our boat sank!” I say so quickly I doubt he understands.
“What? Really?” He asks. I think he’s coming out of his fantasy world.
“Yes, we are stranded on this… wait… yes!” I yell in relief.
“What? I thought that you were mad,” Avid asks, clearly confused.
“I am but we’re on an island, which means there has to be food and water to keep the wildlife alive. This also means we’re not stranded in the middle of the ocean, we have space!” I say as the adrenaline kicks in.
“Oh, I guess that’s good,” Avid says in a groggy voice, signaling that he has still not fully woken up.
“Okay. I can’t find Carlos and Kirk,” I say grimly as Avid hangs his head in despair.
Soon enough, the sun sets. I know my life will never be the same. Without my lifelong friends, what's the point of living? I spend my last moment looking at the horizon. I manage to get one last smile, though, on the inside, I’m frozen on every corner. I sit there with my one remaining friend looking out at our beautiful world. The ocean swirls a million colors of blue to create an astonishing array of beauty. The wind drifts loose leaves scattering them over the tiny island. I appreciate the surrounding that I will be in as I fall into a horrible world of depression.
Whether we will be rescued or not I know my life will be miserable. Though in all of this catastrophe I consider myself lucky to be able to appreciate our surroundings; before humanity ruins one more of nature's wonders. Also a life like mine.
I wake up, get out of bed and rush downstairs to hear the lottery ticket announcement. I turn on the tv and switch it to the lottery channel. I sit down, grab my ticket from the counter and wait. One minute later I hear the announcer say, “Now for the big Jackpot, the numbers are 4,8,15,16,23,42.”
I look down at my ticket and see those exact numbers printed, as I hear I won 433 million dollars. My heart was racing as the excitement filled my body, as I look at my ticket again I go black. When I wake up again I scramble to my computer and book a flight to Hawaii.
One week later, as I get to the airport I know I am late. I run as fast as I can, sprinting through the rough crowds; my legs now burning. I get to my gate, out of breath and I ask, “Am I allowed on?”
I show the lady my ticket and she responds, “Today is your lucky day” as she scans the ticket. I rush through the tunnel and to where my seat is; I put my suitcase in the overhead cabin and sit down.
The person next to me greets me with a warm, “Hi.”
I say, “Hi” back and we instantly start talking. Soon the plane takes off and I ask, “What's your name?”
The man responds with a short blank “Jack.” There was silence for a couple of seconds between us then he asked, “What's yours?”
I say quickly, “My name is Herly.'' After that, we start talking like normal people again with actual sentences and no awkward silences. Then halfway through the flight the seatbelt sign shoots red. I sit quietly for a couple of seconds then all of a sudden… BANG!
Scan to read more!
TREASURE TROVE: "SEASONS Of Stories"
Ryan Lucky
Ibarkedintothespeakersecuritysystemtoopenthedoortoourhouse.Ihadtotellmyfamilywhatwasgoingonoutside.Ishouted,“WOOFWOOF
Knowingtheycouldn’tunderstandme,Iranovertothemlikeakidwithtoomuchsugar.George,myhumanowner,shouted,“HappyNewYear!2500!”as loudashecould.
Thenoiseoflasersblastingmighthavesoundedlikefireworks,buttheyweren't.Georgelookeddownfromtheskyandsawittoo.Hefrozetotryandseeif hewashallucinating.
Inapanic,Georgeslidinsidetotellhismother,Kimberly,aboutwhatwashappening.“Mom,therearethingsoutsideattackingus!”Georgeshouted. Theybothracedovertothebasementandliftedthetrapdoortogetinside.ButIdidn’twantto.Ididn’twanttogetin.Iwantedtoprotectourtown. Althoughmypawswereheavy,mymouthtired,andmytailweak.IknewwhatIwantedtodo.Themysteriousthingsoutsidewouldhavenochanceagainstmy bullet-proofdogvestandhelmet.IhavetheseitemsbecauseIworkforacompanycalledDogProtectionIncorporated.Imadeatunneldowntoasecret bunkerthreeyearsagoincaseofanemergency.IwasgoingtohideinituntilIhadaplan.
Thehardpartwastogetintothebunker.Toactivatethewall,Ihadtoeatallmyfood,drinkallmywater,andpressabuttonbehindthecouch.Iwalked overtomyfoodandstartedeating.IforgotthatGeorgehadfilledmyfoodtraythismorning.Sothistimeitwouldbeextradifficult.ButIstartedand immediatelyregrettedit.Thefoodwassoggyandtastedlikedriedleavessoakedinmud.Idon’tlikethisbrand.Thetrayshavesensorstotrackhowmuch waterorfoodisinthem.Ihadtocleanthetrayasmuchaspossible.AtleastIcouldwashitdownwithwater.Igulpeddownthelastbiteanddashedoverto thecouch.Thebuttonwasasimpletactileswitchforadollar.Itwasn’tmadefordogs.IttookafewattemptsbutIfinallypressedthebutton.I’mstill surprisedthatthehumanshaven’tfoundityet.
Theinsideofthefireplacesliduptorevealthehiddenladderdown.Thewoodsmelledofanuntouchedforestandasmokeydinner.Thecharcoalwaslike fineglittercoveringthefireplace,witharockyfeelbeneathmypaws.Aflowofheatflewpastme.Apoofofleftoversmokefilledtheroom.
Iputoutthefirethatwehadthismorningandwentintoclimbdowntheladder.Thewallswereblue;theplacewasdusty.ButeverythingwashowIleftit. Thehigh-powerlasersandinvisibleshieldswereallhowtheywereafewyearsago.ThesamenametagthatsaidGregonthem.That’smyname,butmyfamily justcallsme,“theretriever,”mostofthetime.
IcouldhearGeorgeandKimberlyinthebasementfromhere.IknewIhadtogetaplan.
KimberlyaskedGeorge,“Whatdidtheylooklike?”
“Idon’tknow,mayberobots?”Georgereplied.
“Ihopeitwillallbeokay,George,”Kimberlysaidinaworriedtone.
“Metoo,”saidGeorgequietly.
Afterabitoftime,Iputablanksheetofpaperonthetableinthemiddleoftheroom.Iwasgoingtomakeaplananddoitordietrying.Istartedscribbling afewideasIhad.Theclockwasputtingpressureonme.Ihadtorememberthatworkingunderpressureiscounterproductive.Afewideascrossedmymind buttherewasonethatIthoughtwasgoingtowork.
Iwasgoingtohidebehindaninvisibleshieldandtakealaserwithme.Iwouldalsobringaneutronstarbombincaseofanemergency.Itisanexplosive thatcancoveratwo-meterdiametershockwaveincluded,butithasthepowerofasupernova.Allthedustparticlesthatitwouldlaunchwouldbeattheir terminalvelocity.Itcouldpiercerightthroughme.Tosurviveit,youneedacarbon-platedtitaniumguardtoblockthem.SoIbroughtthattoo. Goingbackuptheladder,Isawaholeinthewall.Thumpsgetloudereverysecond.Ihearaloudcrunch.Acrackintheceilingisforming.Itsoundslikea magnitude7earthquake.Themarksgetwider,spreadingoutlikeaspiderweb.IknewIhadtogetoutfast.Thebestoptionwasthroughtheholeinthewall.I dartedtowardsit.Allfourofmylegsatfullspeed,shieldsbumpingonthegroundasIrun.
WhenIgotoutside,Isawameter-tallreflectivesteelcubewitharocketlauncherontop.Thegreyandblueminiaturedeafeningrocketsfiredattheroof.I lookedaround;Isawnoinfraredcamera.Icouldusemylaserandinvisibleshieldtotryandsawofftherocketlauncher.Istartedcutting.Icouldhearthe noiseofsparksflyingandmoltenmetalbeingdisintegrated,itsoundedlikeataseratfullstrength.Istoodbacktoletthelauncherfall.Theimpactwasasloud asameteorfalling.Iturnedaroundandheadedtowardsthestreet.Ihadtofigureoutwhatwashappening Ispeddownthestreetandfoundadogtreatstore.Icouldtakealittlebreak,right?Ilookedthroughthewindowandsawmyfavoritetreats.PawPuffs.Yum.I putdownmyshieldsandarmorandwalkedinsidethestore.Thesmelloffoodandgrainfilledtheroom.Ilookedupatthecounterandtherewasanother dog.Isaid,“Woof!”
Ilookedattheirshirtandsawtheirnametag.TheirnamewasChris.IlearnedabitofDog-Dialect-EnglishfromthetimeIwaslivingwithGeorge.Isaidto Chris,“MayIhavesomePawPuffs?”
Isteppedoutsidewithsomeyummiesandsawsomemorerobotsinthestreet.Thistimewithlasers…thiscouldbemoredangerous.Ididn’tknowwhatto do.Iwouldstandnochance.Ifrozeinplace. ButIheardbarkinginthedistance.ItkeptgettinglouderuntilIsawawholecrowdofdogs.AllofthemalsohadbadgesthatsaidtheyworkedforDog ProtectionIncorporated.Iputonmygearanddashedtowardthemtohelpfighttherobots.IthappenedsofastIcouldn’tthink.Myheartwaspounding. Mouthdry.Legsheavy.Ikeptgoing.Ihadreachedtherobotsnow,Ilinedupmylaserandfired.Therobotwasslicedcleaninhalfanddroppedtotheground. Therewasalotmorebutatleastthatonewasn’tone.Ipersevered.Theheatfromthelaserwasgettingtome.WitheachsliceIdid,Iwasgettingtoohot.I neededtotakeabreak.Isatdownonthecurb.Allthestoresnexttothestreetweredamagedabit.Ilookedupfeelingdefeated.Buttherewerenorobots, Theyalljustdisappeared.Mynewfriendsmusthavetakencareofthat.
Ilimpedbackhome.Ihadn’tgonefar.Thestreetwasdamaged.Cracks,holes,andbrokenchunks.Iwentslow,unabletogoanyfaster.IknewIhadwon, butIstillfeltliketherewasanotherthingtodo.
Ibarkedintothesecuritysystemtogetinthehouse.Icrawledtothelivingroomandlayonmybed.Irememberedonemorething.Ihadtotellmyfamily thatweweresafe.Icrawledtothefrontroomandopenedthetrapdoor.IpeekedaroundthewallandsawKimberlyandGeorgeinthecorner.Ispunincircles andjumpedintheairtothebestofmyabilities.Georgefollowedmeupstairs.Herantothewindowingreatexcitement.Notarobotinsight.Georgeshouted, “Mom,therobotsaregone!”
Kimberlyranupthestairstoseeforherself.Georgewasright.Notarobotinsight.
Laterthatday,Iwaslayingonmybed,rollingaround.Istartedtothinkaboutwhathadhappened.Iwonderedifmyfamilywouldbelievethenewsabout dogsfightingawarinthemiddleofastreet.Istilldon’tknowwheretherobotscamefrom.I’llfindoutsomeday.I’mgladIhelpedinsteadofsittingontheside andwaiting.
“Chetan, go get some more firewood. You can always find the best pieces, and the fire is burning low. Also, watch out for the Great Destroyer,” he said, somewhat jokingly.
“Okay, Father,” I said as I walked down to the cliffs.
It was a short walk, about half a mile. You could see for hundreds of miles there. The cliffs fall hundreds of feet, and the caves and hollows are constantly filling and emptying with water, The black rock taking full force of the waves crashing and turning in the wind. There was always wind there. No one knew why. Only one person had ever fallen off, but we never talked about that. The cliffs were a place of chaos, and relaxation. All at once.
The great destroyer was a prophecy. An innocentlooking man or woman would destroy everything. Almost no one believed it, but some did. I started along the cliff, finding firewood as I went. I sometimes stopped to stare at the deathly black ocean, Always crashing against the cliff.
I stop to catch my breath. “Dear Chief, may I enter?”
“Come in young one,” he says in a gruff voice.
I go into the teepee and find all sorts of furs, teeth, and skulls. I have never been in the chieftain's tent before. “Powerful storm clouds in the distance!” was all that came out. Then I said, “The ones from the legends!”
“Warn them.”
I raced out of the tent yelling, “Storm is coming! Storm is coming!”
The whole tribe emerges from the teepees in confusion. The chieftain calls, “Runners! Transport the food!”
I was one of the runners. We all know what he meant, so we sprint around the back of the chieftain's tent. We grab the transporters we made by stretching animal hide onto sticks, and we start to pile some beans, rice, and other foods on it. “Full!” I shout. Then we were off.
We ran through the forest and down to the cliffs. “There it is!” I scream, the sea almost drowning my voice. As we enter the cave the hard stone drowns out the sea, and we can talk normally again. We go further into the cave until there is almost no light left.
We practically drop the food and run. The moment we exit the cave, we feel the wind. Strong enough to destroy buildings. As we get up the cliff we are almost blown to bits. “We can do this!” I shouted. Everyone else is too immersed in their job to answer. We get to the camp and the tribe is already heading down to the shelter. We grab some more food and rush to meet them. Only the last stragglers remain. I get inside when I see someone weeping. Then I realized it is Awena’s mother. Awena and I have been friends since before I can remember. “Please, you have to help! Awena is out in the storm!” the chieftain rounds up the tribe and says, “I cannot force anyone out into this storm. Awena’s only hope will have to be a volunteer.” The sinking feeling in my gut doesn't let me say no.
“I volunteer.”
The whole tribe falls silent. “No, Chetan, stay here.”
“Dad, I'm old enough to be on my own! I turn 16 in a month!”
“Please be safe then,” he answers. “You never know what's out there.”
I sprint out without replying. Awena means sunrise in our native language, and I’m set out to find her. The winds are more than gale force, and I have to be constantly holding onto something to stay up. I can barely see my hand when everything goes silent. The eye of the storm. Just then a figure rises from the fog, rain, and hale.
“Soyiitapi,” I whisper, “The spirit of all water.” She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and a gold helmet.
And as quickly as it ended, the torrential rain and hail started up again. When I was on our watcher hill, I found her. I knew she was too far gone to save, but still, I’ll try.
“Rise and shine sleepy head, you better get ready for the big 10 mile hike,” Claire said joyfully to me. Me being someone who still hasn’t opened my eyes for the first time yet.
“It will be fun,” Claire bantered, “We will have a blast!” I tried backing out of the hike but Claire made me go. At 1:04 we were off. “Isn’t this just the best?” Claire’s optimistic tone and glowing eyes felt like the opposite of my own fatigue.
“Keep your eyes out for some wildlife that might be around here somewhere. There are so many amazing creatures here. Jaguars, black caiman, poison dart frogs, cobras, and so much more,” Claire exclaimed.
“So are you naming animals that can kill us or are you just trying to make me turn back?” I snapped back at Claire who was continuing to name blood thirsty animals. “Hay!” Claire replied.
As we continued our hike, the enormous luscious pines, and their pure thick green-spikes began to hide sunlight. So it began to get dark. It got darker and darker. Then suddenly a loud howl spun the trees, that was followed by a puncturing growl. Next a sharp squawk. All heads were swiveling around and around. All of a sudden, adjacent bushes started to muffle, and shake, it was as if it was taunting me, pleading for me to come closer. Then a paw, or a tail, or a hand or a foot, cloaked out from beneath the bush. It began to step into the ray of sunlight. It got closer and closer and closer. I blinked. It was one of those I’m-about-to-die blinks. Then suddenly I saw the creature. It was a scarce, small, beautiful, treacherous predator. And it was perched less than five feet away from me.
There were two of them actually. Two black panther cubs, jumping up and down lively and happy. They really made my experience better. Claire and I hiked with them, we ate with them. We all just bonded.
After about an hour more of hiking I could sense that the Panthers were getting fatigued, and so were Claire and I. So we decided to go back to the camp.
“Ok time to say our goodbyes,” Claire said to me with a fifty percent smile on her face.
“What? Why?” I responded with a glare in my eyes.
“Lennon we can’t keep them, you know that right. They belong somewhere and that somewhere is not with us. We have to let them go and live where they actually belong, in the wild.”
“No we have to take them back,” I pleaded to Claire, even though deep down I knew that she wouldn’t let me take them back to our campsite.
“Sorry Lennon, but it’s the right thing to do.”
“I guess you're right,” I said back to Claire. “You go up ahead I’ll catch up in a minute”
“Ok I’ll see ya in a sec,” said Claire with a look of sorrow on her face.
Later that day we got back to the camp, and without thinking, I opened up my backpack. That was when everything began to go south. Out popped two little panther cubs. To be specific, my little panther cubs. Claire glared with hard intent. Showing no grace, for her anger shielded all happiness that she possessed.
“You're so difficult,” Claire yelled.
“That’s me, your super-difficult, super-charming boyfriend” I said to a jaw dropped Claire. That night I slept in my tent for the last time alongside the two Panthers.
At around midnight I woke up. It was thundering thunder it was radiating lightning. Suddenly the right corner of the tent flew up awakening Claire. Through the skinniness of the tent I saw a stake fly into the blackness. Nobody was safe. I knew that I had to get that stake. I opened up the tent. Gusts of wind flew into my face. After many struggles I grudged out of the tent, and my bare foot touched down on the thick, Amazon turf. Out I went searching-blindly in the pitch-black for the missing stake. I must have gone farther than I thought because after about two minutes of searching I couldn’t see the tent. Just then, things got a lot worse.
“Lennon! Get over here right now!” Claire bellowed. Her voice sounded quiet through the loud noises of the Amazon rainforest. “Claire?” I hollered louder than I ever have before. “Where are you?” I swivel my head nervously around my surroundings. but still I couldn’t see her.
“I’m inside the tent. HURRY! You’re not going to believe this,” Claire replied. I sprinted back to the tent faster than I have ever ran before like I was shot out of a cannon. So many things were racing and filling up my mind. So much fear, so much confusion. I wish that I could just have my future self come and tell me that everything was going to be ok. Then I could finally see a spec of the tent through the darkness, then the spec turned into a glimpse, next into a blur, then at least a clear picture.
“CLAIRE!” I yelled while flying open the door of the tent. “What is happening?”
“Lennon look,” Claire uttered. “The cubs are gone.”
Then with rain leaking through the tent, with one last drop and a ginormous earth-shaking lightning strike. The candle went out and the night got black. Then through the blackness only two little yellow dots were seen. Eyes. Huge eyes. As I felt myself slowly backing up. A long-loud growl shook and pierced the entire Amazon rainforest.
Silent, nothing to disturb me, in my sleep calmed and no noise. I'm a free sleeper, or am I? Suddenly, hearing the words from a flash I pretend not to hear it but I heard it too many times.
“Angel, wake up! You’re going to be late!” my mom says.
I rushed out of bed like I was Indiana Jones, flying across the house. I go and brush my teeth, I get ready, I pick my clothes: a white long sleeve and a gray hoodie and fly down the stairs, grab my backpack, put on my Nike's, and get into the car. Go, go, go! But then my mom had to ruin it.
“Seat belts!”
“Really, mom?” I say.
“Really! Yes I don't want anyone getting hurt. We drove to school. We arrive and next thing I know, out of the blue, my mom starts getting mad.
“Angel! I can't believe that you're late!” my mom says.
“What you–!”
“Shh!” You're going to be more late!
I get inside the building and I look back to see my mom waiting for me to get inside. I ring that little doorbell laser scanner looking thing, it makes such a weird noise… beep, ding, ding! I enter and look back, my mom is driving off. Suddenly, I hear the office teacher from a distance “Hello!” And why are you late?”
The office was so bright and there was nowhere to sit down, just a table with after school activities and some huge metal doors, some drawings on the wall that looked kind of creepy at the same time!
“Hi there, it's been a rough morning.”
“OK! Well, I will let you in!”
“OK, thank you!”
“You're welcome!”
I feel that the teacher is yelling loudly because of a big piece of plastic that is in the inside of the office. I then go to P.E class and we always start with the daily warm up. It is always the ultimate tag, my favorite game we play. I'm always on a roll and I keep dodging and balling. I take a break, and my friend Daysi shows up out of the blue. She is always asking about a project we are doing in class where you make your own “Season” and it has to have a meaning to it. I told her I had one. She got happy because we were already three weeks into the project and I did not have one. “Really! What is it?” she said.
It's called “Arm Season” That's weird? Said Daysi.
“Hold on,” let me tell you about it “Fine”
“When I was in preschool I broke my arm and the next thing you know it happened in 2nd grade. Hope it doesn't happen this year” I said.
“Wow! That’s crazy!” she says. “I know”
Later, it was time for recess.
Recess was boring with nothing to do. Me and my friends go and climb a huge playground structure and sit there.
Until suddenly, WHOA BAM!!!!!
I’m trying to get up but my arm feels dead, it doesn't want to move. I go and tell the teachers that I think I broke my arm “OK, um let’s send you to the office right away!”
In my head, I'm like yes, my friend Wyatt is going to take me.
We go to the office and the teacher gets so scared. I think to myself “It is no problem!” I have broken my arm so many times! An hour later, my mother arrives and gets very scared! Once again, I say to myself, It is no problem!! I will heal sooner or later, right? …and hopefully, no more broken bones!
"You sure you want to sleep by yourself this time? We’ve always slept in the same tent.”
“I think I’m ready this year, dad,” I say as I close the zipper on my tent. It feels so grown up to be in my own tent. Sleep comes quickly, after a tiring day.
A baby blue light faintly beams in the distance, waking my slumber. It’s almost flashing or dying. My curiosity takes over and I decide to investigate. I slowly open the zipper of the tent, trying my best not to wake my parents. I put on my shoes and begin my way to the light.
As I get closer and closer, the light becomes less faint and I see the baby blue flashes slowly strobing. I finally reach where the light is coming from and spot a small, circularshaped stone door carved with markings and covered with moss. I try my best to somehow pry the door open until my feet are sealed together and I fall, making the whole world go black.
My eyes are barely open, yet I hear what sounds like a seven-year-old shriek:
“Ay! What are you doing, breaking into our home!?”
“Wha-what?”
“What do you mean, ‘what?’ You were trying to break into our home!”
“Whe-where am I?”
“You’re in Gnomington kid. Home of the gnomes.”
“WHAT! GNOMES! TALKING! HOW!”
“We built this place a long, long time ago, all thanks to you humans actually.”
“What do you mean ‘thanks to us?’”
“Well thanks to all your human stuff that we’ve been able to take, we’ve been able to build this town.”
“Wait a minute, how’d you get my cereal box? That was inside my house?”
“Ahh, the ‘box o’ luck’, here try some, it’s lucky!”
“Yeah, I know pipsquirt, I’ve eaten Lucky Charms before. Remember, they’re mine.”
“Sorry chap, can’t give it back now.”
“Why no“Finders keepers!” the gnome interrupted.
“Get down!” Tim says. “Ya right,” Ethan says and jumps out of the oak tree, landing directly on the back of a drone. The drone flipped, but Ethan clings onto the shaft where the propellers are mounted. “You are gonna get us killed!” Tim exclaims. He jumps down from the tree; a squirrel. As Ethan grapples for a position on the drone, the propeller hums in his ear like an insect. Tim runs over and stands under him.
“I don’t need help!” Ethan says despite the fact he is too high up in the air. He finally gets his flannel shirt around the propeller of the drone, stopping it. Then he plummets through the air, down and down; spiraling courtesy of the three remaining spinning propellers. Then PLUNK!
Ethan lands on the ground, but the ground was–cushioned? Huh? He was confused, and looks down at the ground and sees Tim, his rib cage is probably bruised.
“Hey, could you get off me?” he hears in a wheezing voice. He gets up, and Tim crawls out from under the now-destroyed drone. “You’re welcome,” Tim says.
“For what?” Ethan asks, confused.
“For breaking your fall,” he replies, clearly annoyed. Tim thinks that he broke his fall? “I didn’t need it.” Ethan was at the top of his class in parkour, and Tim was in it too. He was also head of my class in robotics. He obviously knew how to land a jump, and how these drones worked. Why did he even need Tim?
“Ethan?” Tim asks, jarring me from his thoughts. “Let's go, before more come for us.”
Obviously, Tim didn’t know how it worked. There was a microchip in each drone, that when a motor on the drone stops working sends out a signal to all other nearby drones;
telling them to check it out. So basically, they are about to have a lot of angry drones on their tails.
* * *
“Catch!” Tim yells at him as he tosses a gun up to him. Ethan examines the gun, yes, this is definitely the slower one. Ethan steadies the gun and peers through the sight. He gets it perfect almost instantly.
However, just as he is about to fire, Tim jumps on the net, rocking him just enough to move his aim too low and he watches his only paintball miss the target. Why would Tim make him miss?
“What the heck!?” Ethan yells at him, “Why would you rock the net!?” He continues to press. He is about to yell some more at him when a green ball flies up a few feet away from his face. Instinctively Ethan reaches out and grabs, a paintball. He loads and fires before even looking down.
When he does look down, he spots Tim, heads down, looking defeated. Ethan can’t see his face, just his sandy ragged hair and tattered shirt from when Ethan had fallen on him. His inside-out pockets were empty. That's when Ethan realized that Tim was sacrificing his body, shirt, money, and possibly his life to help Ethan save the city from the drones he angered.
“Hey, sorry I yelled at you earlier,” Ethan says with a new understanding of his motives, “I shouldn’t have assumed that you had tried to sabotage me.”
Tim looks up at him with new eyes, that saw hope, eyes that saw a partner. * * *
Zzzz! Zzz!
Today, the static TV box blares as I blow my dark red hair out of my light, glinting brown eyes. Half my bed is freezing like Lake Minnetonka on a cold winter night. The lake I wish I still fished on with my dad. After my gramps died last year, my dad has been acting weird. I slip out of bed and think of my old life. But my ADHD brain won't let me remember last year, because I immediately think of something else. All I can remember is my two best friends, my house, and fishing with my dad.
I put on red, bleached-out socks with a cozy sweater that reminds me of our little house. I start walking and see my dad; maybe it's the perfect time to get him to like me. “Where’s mom?” I ask. He manages a faint smile.
“Oh, she's, uh, I don’t know, maybe at work,” he says with his puffed-up and grumbly face. I can’t remember if he always looked like that. I slip, and everything around me seems like the fuzzy white noise on TV. Blurred and blotchy. I hit my head on a metal box. Everything goes blurry—my head throbs.
I scream, “YOU!” but that is all I can get out. Every part of me is on fire. My dad's laughter kills me inside, shutting me down. Why isn't Mom here? I wish the blurry shooting stars on the ceiling would go away. I wobble up.
I run and finally get to the shed, where my dad stores his tattered boat. The sun's rays rise in a fiery mess, blazing, shining, living. All the grass dressed up in droplets of dew. The harmony picks up the wind and teaches them to dance and sway. Finally, the red door creaks open, and my hands blister.
The boat is a lonely, tired red thing with one pink stripe that reads ZAS, but I can't read it because it looks like a bunch of scribbles. I shut the door and jump into the boat; all my stuffed animals greet me.
I find the attendance sheet and count them off, “Lucy, Blanky, Ducky, Sharky, Red.” I finish the attendance. Then I hear the screeching of tires on the dirt and yelling. My thoughts are cut short, and the door of the shed opens. It's my dad's gang. But I'm relieved that he’s not with him, I thought. I shut the door on the boat as quietly as possible.
“Hey Dan, let's get the boat,” one of them spoke. They were talking about my dad wanting to go fishing.
“Hey, maybe Zake wants to fish?” One of the evil gang members says. So the vicious gang slips the boat on the trailer.
“Should we get Zake?” another one of them said.
“Yeah, he will be fine if we go without him, you know what will happen,” one of the men says in the corner. The ride is unexpected; every bump rumbles the old tires of the trailer. Finally, the truck comes to a stop, and the men get out at my house.
My dad comes shortly; his face flips, and his smile turns.
Four Days of terrible events to Four Days of terrible events to Four Days of terrible events to only bring us together only bring us together only bring us together by jack larson by jack larson by jack larson
Bang! The fire flies by me like a dragon. It glows, then I see the stupid guards come for me, and I slide on the slick ground.
The element combines and lava comes out of their open mouths. I dodge and they miss, by a little bit I feel the heat and it makes my blood boil. And I come at I summon my shield the hit one of them the other flying arrows at me, but I block. I go to the side and hit him to and the jump off the side and fall fall fall... BEEP BEEP!
I fly up from my bed know today is the day that I get to go to my first game but my mom tells me to be safe but if I die in the game I come back.
A kid runs at me and I jump over him. He looks at me; he's mad. I say, “take a chill pill."
He jumps at me, and I dodge, and then I slash with my sword, and he falls and bang! He's gone. A second later, the light falls dim and then I go out they come back on but dime.
I go on but the go all the way into darkness; I run out of the place. I hear a bang! Bang! The generator is gone--like bang. I can see all light for mills go out like a candle; my phone buzzes, and then I run and hide, run and hide, run and hide. It's on all the screens, then it says run and hide from the puppet.
I run and hide from the puppet. I am I pale as snow I falls and crack I goes black. Ugg! The TV at the stadium is saying it too. I run home with an idea to track the puppet.
“What are you doing at home!?” I say to my mom.
"Give me your phone now!" she says.
"Whoa, ok." I take the phone and then run to my room where the real phone is. I take it call my friends. It did work! I started trying to track the signal, and I got it! Then bang the everything turns off.
I open the door and then crack I go down the stairs. I walk past her: creeeeeek! I stop; she moves and stops. She is still asleep. I get out side I think, What is the puppet?
The siren went off; the class was silent—we were in the middle of a lockdown. But then, the lights flickered and everybody screamed. This was no lockdown we had ever experienced before. As we rush to the back of the classroom, I look around. I sit in the corner next to my best friends, Merritt and Silas. After what felt like forever, the lights turned off completely, and the siren was quiet. Cracks of light beam through the blinds, as we sat unsure what was happening. Once we thought the lockdown was over, a phone rang. Silas’s. I could feel the vibration against my leg as footsteps crept up to the classroom in the distance.
The door slowly creaked open; then, within a second, the phone's vibration went away as a tall figure flashed in across the room. I heard the window shatter as whatever it was, fled the scene. In the background, I could hear a familiar scream from someone as I realized what happened.
Silas was taken. ***
As I fell asleep; I started to wonder out loud about Silas. Why was he so quiet? Is there something we missed? Is it possible something could be after him? Merritt agreed something sinister was going on, and his quiet personality, the lockdown, and now the fires were more than a coincidence.
The next day, we woke up to the smell of ash and smoke, but there was no fire in sight. We crossed the river, we ran past the trees, and then we saw the light of the sun. The silhouette of a home in the distance crept up on us. Is that my house? We continued running, running, and running as fast as we could.
As we got closer, I stuttered, “Wait, everything’s… still here.” Nothing was gone, and there was no sign of a fire. We ran up to my house and not a single brick was charred. And neither was a single window shattered. Nothing was gone.
Then we decided to check the school. As we approached the front, the shadow of a child from the floor above came up to the large, dirty window in the school and pounded as he tried to break the glass. Cracks came onto the window, “Help me! Save me! Get me out of here!” he shrieked. Without thinking I ran to grab a large stone from the garden to free him.
I turned around to throw it.
“Stop!” The person yells from inside the shattered window. The chips of the window suddenly stopped. Everything was frozen. We both looked at each other and then up at the sky.
“What the heck!” I screamed out as the sobbing child from inside the school fell out of the window. The kid landed face down on the concrete. Merritt ran over to help him while I grabbed a large stick. As we approached him, we heard a cough and a whisper: “Help me. Save me.
“It’s Silas!” I screamed. ***
“What have you done!?” I yelled while the faceless figure walked towards us and shrieked. But before she got to us Silas closed his eyes slowly. The faceless figure slowed down until her eyes turned black. Then her entire face, then her arms and torso, and finally, her legs and feet. The creature turned to stone and then slowly crumbled to the ground in a pile of dust.
Silas outstretched his hand into the ashes. He picked up a handful and said, “This, is what took me.”
Merritt and I both gulped until we simultaneously uttered, ”What about us?”.
“They don’t want you. I have something they want. Something I can’t describe. I have had this power since the summer I was seven. My great-grandma was buried deep in the forest and when I brought flowers to her grave, I felt a strange power wash over me. There were always stories that people thought she was a witch, but I always doubted it. This creature has been after me ever since. I thought I was safe for longer but I guess not. I couldn’t tell you because I had to keep you guys safe.”
“That’s a lot to take in,” Merritt gulped.
“Well, come on. Let’s go home.”
The year was 1957. It was a cold evening in New York City; the inconsistent wind hinted to a storm off the shore. Sirens blare in the distance, louder by the second. Police cars zoomed by, and abruptly stopped at the site of a shadow, in the night.
Four officers exited their vehicles. They each stood there, as still as the stars in the black sky. They, at one point, gathered their strength and entered the alley, in search of a criminal. The slow gusts of wind could now be heard cutting corners and hitting walls, as the storm came closer to the big city. The officers slowly walked, taking long strides, and bending their knees close to the ground.
An officer shouted, “NYPD! Do not move!”
As they inched closer to the end of the alleyway, they saw a faint silhouette. As they got closer, they could see a man. He waved a Cuban cigar in hand, interestingly un-lit. He donned a long, black coat. The man said, from the darkness, in a fast manner, “Don’t worry, Sonny, I ain’t movin’.” The officers realized that the man was not a threat.
“Sorry, sir, we thought yous was someone else.”
“That's okay,” the man said, with his old, Chicago accent.
After a moment of silence, an officer asked, “Sir, if I may ask, why are you out so late? It can be dangerous out here.”
He waited a second, then quickly said, “Good question. Sit down Sonny, le’ ‘me tell ya’ a story.” The officers were strangely interested.
The four men wearing blue hats and shiny badges sat down on scrap wood boxes left in the alley, and patiently awaited the words of the mystery man. He placed his cigar in his mouth and grabbed a silver box lighter from his pocket. He struck the flint and made a cone with his hand to protect the flame. He then closed the lighter and calmly put it back in his coat pocket.
“It was an evening similar to this one,” he said. “A storm over the bay, the taste of rain in the air.” A gust of wind blew as he spoke. “Me and my friend, Joe, we was runnin’ down this exact same street. Why was we runnin’? We were runnin’ from ol’ Al.”
“Who’s Al?” An officer asked.
“Al Capone?”
“Scarface?”
The man turned around and looked up at the walls of the dead-end alley, and said, “All of the above!” He paused for a moment, continuing to look into the darkness of the night’s shadows. “We joined young,” he continued. “Lookin’s for a job. Al, or Snorky’s what we called em’, was likes the hero. He was seen as a good fella. He killeds lots of innocent, young people. To protect his money, his territory. But Scarface was smart, Sonny, he could kills twenty peoples in the light of day, and covers them up like it di’nt happen.”
“How’d you finds that out, sir?” An officer asked.
“Cause’ I seen it, with eyes, and hear it, with my own ears. They calleds it, the St. Valentine's Day massacre.”
“Was you there?”
He crossed his legs, smoked his cigar, and continued, “They saids that I was too youngs to pull the trigger. I stayed outside, at the back door, casually walking up and down the street. Watching for when the job is done and if the cops come. Soon they came outside, and a car pulled up and took us all away. And me and Joes, we ran. We took a car, took it al’ the way here, to New York. The big city, with bigger lights. But we seen too much, heard the plans, and seen the blood.” There was concern in his voice, the tone of a man who's seen what he was never meant to.
by Athena Dickinson
I was coming home from soccer practice and there were ambulances out front. “Mom! Mom!”I called from the hall. “M-M-mom what’s happening?” I was starting to cry.
“Baby, it’s okay. Your dad just fainted, they've come to make sure he’s okay,” My mom said with tears in her eyes. A little later at the hospital we were sitting at his bedside.
“What’s wrong? What happened? What's going on?” I sputter not knowing how to put my feelings into words.
“He’s just had a minor heart attack,” said the doctor. He looked sorry for my mom and I. “We’re going to have to keep him here until we know for sure that he’s stable.”
“Okay,” my mom says with a watery smile. We traveled to the hospital almost every day to see my dad. It seemed like he was getting better each day.
“Hi Buttercup, how are you?” my dad said, his voice was scratchy but calm. “I’m fine,” I pause and take a deep breath. “When do you think you’re gonna come home?”
“I don't know, baby. Hopefully, soon.”
I was there when he died. It happened so fast, me and my mom were sitting there talking to him enjoying his company and he suddenly started to cough rapidly. I didn’t know what was going on but the doctor came in and told us to wait outside the room. I looked through the window and saw him struggling, coughing, then suddenly he lay still unable to move his heart stopped beating as tears rolled gently down my face. I, was out of time.
A few hours later, the doctor confirmed the death and he was buried in the cemetery a few blocks down from our house. That was the saddest I had felt in my whole life.
“15 minutes till landing,” the pilot announced.
“I am so excited for Halloween in America,” my little brother, Eli, exclaimed.
“It’s going to be so fun and spooky,” my older brother, Ben, said.
“Halloween is so overrated. It’s not even that fun,” I said.
Finally, landing. I am ready to get off this plane. My mom said we would stay in a hotel and I have only been in a hotel once. So I am excited.
We got to the hotel and I opened the door to the small lobby room. There were some old dusty sculptures, and old paintings hung on the walls. It was dark, and had very few windows.
My mom said “Anna, honey. Will you please carry the suitcases to our rooms?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Thanks so much. We will take the stairs.”
“Okay.”
I’m at the elevator and wheel all of the huge suitcases in the tiny elevator.
I’m ready to push the close button, when this old lady shows up and she says, “Hello. How are you?
“I am good, how ‘bout you?”
“Oh, I am doing well. Running this place can be hard though.”
“Wait, you own this hotel?”
“Yes, I do. Do you mind if I just squeeze in there?”
“Umm, I think so,” I said as I was pushing some cases out of the way. I didn’t know if she would fit in but she managed.
She then starts staring me down. I’m getting a little creeped out.
“Hey did you know that people used to call this place haunted?” “Really? I didn’t know it looks so nice,” I said kindly but I think I just saw a rat run across the floor.
I finally get to the level our room is and wheel the suitcases out, walk towards my family’s room, and use a key card to get inside.
When I open the door it looked small and only had one bed. I take my shoes off and jump onto the bed. It’s hard and I could feel the springs when I lay on it.
I hear a knock on the door. I check through the peephole and it’s my mom, dad, Ben, and Eli. I open the door and let them inside. It’s almost night time so everyone has had dinner and is in their pj's.
I am peacefully lying in bed after a long day of flying from Australia to America. And I’m about to fall asleep when I hear… CRACK! BOOM!
The door to my family’s hotel flies open and I see a slight shadow of a person.
At first, I was wondering if it was my dad or maybe a room service person but then I looked over at the clock and it was like 2:00 am and everyone is sleeping but not this person.
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I entered the front door hungry and saw a delicious plate of spaghetti waiting for me at the table, which put a big wide smile on my face.
I threw my heavy backpack onto the couch, ran to the table, sat down, and started devouring the food.
“Mhmm. Thanks, Mom,” I told her.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
I noticed her acting slightly differently.
“Mom, is everything okay?” I asked. “Yes.”
Okay,” I said, but I knew something was wrong because of her face, so I went to my big sister’s room and asked her.
“Hey, do you know what's wrong with mom?”
“No, why?” she told me.
“Oh, because she looks sad and stressed like she was thinking about something,” I say
“I’m going to go ask her,” my sister told me.
“Okay,” I said. Then, I went to my room and played some video games until it got dark outside, then I went to bed. The next morning, I got ready for school fast. I was late. When I got home from school I relaxed, then I went to my sister’s room and she tells me.
“Hey, I think we are moving.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think. I heard Mom and Dad talking, and Dad said that his job is not going so well. He said that we might move to Colorado so that he could work with our
uncle, and he said that they pay better than here,” my sister told me.
I started thinking that I was going to lose all of my friends and wasn't going to have anyone to talk to. Then, my mom and dad told me that we were moving. I got stressed and asked, “When?”
“We don't know yet because we don't have all the money we are going to spend on gas and food.”
“Are we going in the car?” I asked.
“Yes, but we think it might be on Monday.”
“Okay,” I said the day they told me it was a Monday. I went to my room, lay down on my bed and covered myself with my blanket, listening to sad music.
After lunch, we get recess time, my favorite part of the day. My friends and I start to race to the field but then the teacher said, “YOU GUYS BETTER SLOW DOWN OR YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RECESS”. After we slowed down and relaxed for a little, the teacher let us go. Little did I know I was about to fracture my hand and have the worst day of my life as a second grader.
Once the teacher let my friends and I go, I started running towards the field, I got so excited. As I kept running and running I saw that my enemy was right in front of me: PINE NEEDLES.
The clouds were coming in. The wind was blowing through, ooosh ooosh! The oaks were about to fall off. Next thing you know, I’m up in the air! I felt all my friends say, “OH NO.”
I landed on my arm after I slipped on the pine needles. The teacher says, “Call the front office!”
Crack! Ahhh! I screamed in pain as everybody was surrounding me. I felt panicked.
All the teachers said, “Can you get up, or do you need our help?”
I said, “I need help getting up, I can't move my arm. It hurts so much.” I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I thought I was gonna die. The teachers finally helped me up.
Now I’m in the nurse's office. My lips are so dried it felt like it was in a desert. The nurse says, “Let me just call your parents.” After the nurse called my dad, they said, “Your dad is going to pick you up."
My dad finally came for me. He was so worried he said, “Do you wanna get some food and then go to the hospital?”
“Okay, sure."
After I went to the hospital, the doctor put a cast on my arm and said, “You will have this cast for four weeks.”
“Okay,” I said. “After they put the cast on me, it didn’t feel right having a big cast on my arm. It was so itchy.”
When I got to school the next day, everybody wanted to sign my cast but I said, “Next day, everybody can sign it.”
In conclusion, be careful when you're walking. Thank God I had people to help me.
Muggy. It was a cloudy, misty, warm, time of day, typical for these southern wastelands. All around me, there was war; or at least between the cities. I was partially homeless, like most other former citizens. I dressed well for hamlet's standards but the big cities would say otherwise. My body was decked with a plain white shirt and hole-smeared pants, though they appeared brown because they were painted in mud. I lived in a broken-down, old, rusted, used-to-be vehicle. The most I had was enough to survive. There were a few neighbors by my lousy excuse for a home. At the time, I was out and about groping around for scraps of edible things. The best thing I ever obtained was a half-eaten apple. Two of the largest cities around were Gansingville and Enciticalz. My home, quite, unfortunately, was right in between them. More often than not, an army from one of the two districts would march into our tiny hamlet, rob us of our goods and continue to the line of battle. I returned from my scavenging.
“Hello, Chris,” my neighbor Rob, who was dressed the same as me, except for the fact that he actually had good shoes — well I did have some but they were a millimeter thick — greeted me, “you find anything good?”
I replied, “Not much, just a couple of berries, and a few leftover scraps of noodles.”
“Lemme guess, from a package in a garbage can and in animal scat?” he hypothesized.
“Darn right you are!” I told him. “You wanna join us at the ‘hearth’ to plan our to-be-upgraded-but-still-gonna-belousy defense?” He asked.
“Why not?” I answered.
But to my surprise, I woke up 3 hours later hearing, “Mayday mayday remain calm our left engine is burnt out.” “we’ll make an emergency landing on an island we see about 15 or so miles away and the airbags will drop momentarily.”
Everything is going through my mind: will we survive? I wish I missed the flight. what is happening? Are there survival kits and food? Before I can panic the airbags drop down, and I cover my face. Out the window, all I see is water and a glance at the island before everything went black. Totally black.
“My nightmare started like this. I was standing on a deserted street in some little beach town. A storm was blowing. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees…” BRINGGGGG! The school bell wails.
Mr. Pine stops talking. Everyone gets up in a rush to go back to their cozy homes. I get up out of my stiff seat and I trudge over to Mr. Pine. Mr. Pine is a tall man with a scruffy beard the color of russet. I try not to look him in the eyes because I am afraid of one of those dull speeches he makes about how people are destroying the world.
“Are you enjoying the book we are reading, Cole?” he asks in his strange voice that is sort of like a goat.
I reply, “I guess it's okay but I already read the book at the school library.”
“Okay Cole, then can you tell me who is the first monster Percy Jackson fights?” Mr. Pine asks.
I rack my brain for the answer. “I think it's the minotaur?” I say in a small voice.
“Correct! Nice job, Cole. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he responds. I head straight for the door, eager to get outside.
I see a mirror on the way out; I stop for a second to look at my reflection. I think to myself, Yup this is me. I’m a kid named Cole with hair the color of midnight that lives on the streets in Long Island. All I can do is struggle through long cold nights and scavenge for food.
I run outside my school that I only go to because the government is forced to pay for my education. This is because my parents died in a car crash years ago, at least that's what Mr. Pine tells me; I was too young to remember them.
I’m getting close to my campout. I round the corner of the street where I stay, then I freeze.
Something’s not right. I peek my head around the corner of my tent, and then I see it.
No, this can't be real. They’re only in myths.
A massive beast that looks like a pitbull but is 10 times bigger with eyes the color of a ruby. A hellhound! My mind is racing then it hits me: All those myths in books about monsters being real… It’s all true.
My train of thought stops abruptly when I hear crashing around the corner. I whip around and I see… “Mr. Pine?!” I say in an alarmed voice. Mr. Pine is standing tall with a massive club made of tree bark. I’m too astonished to speak.
I walk through the door as if it were made of granite. I feel the energy in the hallway; it’s the first day of middle school. This place is a jungle – and I’m afraid I won’t fit in. I have eyes, so I quickly look around for Ash. I need a friendly face.
Ash is the smartest girl in my grade. She really behaves like the young adult she is. For example, she has excellent manners in the cafeteria. She doesn’t burp like everyone else. We’ve known each other since kindergarten. Our teacher sat us at the same desk and we became fast friends. Two peas in a pod from the very beginning.
I see her by her locker and go over to Ash, and we go to our first class. Did I mention this place is magic? Well it is.
My lineage takes me back to the almighty Zeus, though you wouldn’t know it to look at me. When I was born, there was a storm. Coincidence? – No! But that’s where the similarities end. Normally a half-blood has their powers by now. Not me…
I’m too young to travel to Mt. Olympus unsupervised. Everytime I try, an adult catches me and oversees the train ride. I’m just trying to visit my dad – Yep, that’s right… Zeus is my father. My dad’s usually too busy to catch up and I don’t get to see him. I’m just anxious to get my powers, and I think my dad could help me.
“I have a plan,” Ash says, “but you might not like it. We stay after school today and get on that secret elevator!”
“Meet me here when school ends.”
We hide behind a row of lockers until the halls are completely empty. We run into the elevator and repeatedly hit the down button! The doors slam shut automatically and we slowly descend down into the earth, like a rock falling on to the hard concrete…
When we exit the elevator, we’re met with an array of different gemstone flowers. Ruby roses, amethyst azaleas, and emerald everlasting daisies just to name a few. That's the palace garden. A ghost gardener is trimming thorns off the roses.
“Where are we?” asks Ash.
“We’re in my uncle's realm, the underworld!” I say as a cold shiver runs down my spine.
“This is creepy.”
We sneak after the ghost florist as he starts heading into the black castle. It feels like a million suns down here. The structure looms like night molded into a castle.
Soon we’re in front of Hades and Cerberus, the three headed hound that guards the gates of his master’s domain. Oh snap!
“Hi Uncle,” I say with a shaky voice.
“Hello Nephew,” Hades says in his deep dark voice. “How are you doing?”
“Good… You?” I reply.
“Great,” he sneers, “but my pet keeps whining when you get closer.”
“We need to leave. Could you please open the gates?” I plead with my Uncle.
“Not until you beat my little pet in Grab the Ghoul.”
“Game on!” I say in my most competitive voice.
Everyone starts running. The two teams are neck and neck. I quickly look around for the golden ghoul and find it three minutes into the competition. I return to the castle and throw the ghoul at Hades.
“There’s your ghoul Uncle. Now, open the gates!” I repeat.
“But you haven’t chosen your bouquet.” Hades replies.
“Fine: ruby roses, amethyst azaleas and emerald everlasting daisies please,” I say annoyed.
“Oh Theseus, could you get the flowers please?”
“Yes, my Lord.” Theseus obeys.
Two seconds later he’s back from the garden holding every flower we asked for!
Have my powers finally come in? We are in the elevator and Cerberus is running towards us. Head one is showing its white fangs. Heads two and three are imitating the first head.
“Hit up!” I command.
The doors slap his three heads and leave a red line all around his necks. Cerberus pulls his heads back, yowling in pain, and the doors slam shut. We’re safe.
“
Do you guys want to play hide and seek?” Addie asked.
“Yes!” Thema and Lexi agreed.
“But you’re seeking first,” Lexi said.
“Is the basement off limits?” Thema asked.
By: Libby Vidaic“No, it's ok this time,” Addie explained. Addie started to count and Thema and Lexi tiptoed off with very little light to see. Lexi stumbled downstairs thinking there would be something for her to hide in down there.
Thunder shook the house as she reached the last step of the stairs. She squinted to see in the dark. Lexi caught sight of a sleeping bag bundled up in a corner.
“Perfect,” she thought and ran over to it.
Lexi heard Addie yell: “Ready or not, here I come!” From up stairs right as she stuffed herself in the bag.
She balled up and heard footsteps overhead. Another clap of thunder made her gasp and she stuffed herself deeper into the bag. Lexi heard Thema and Addie’s voices traveling down the stairs and deeper she stuffed herself. Expecting to hit the back of the bag, she crawled when suddenly the bag became huge! White, a square, but still dark.
Lexi stood up with her mouth open, somehow in a world inside of a sleeping bag!
Far, far away there was a tiny hole with a little bit of light coming through. There were flashlights in a corner and Lexi sat back down, terrified.
She wanted to get Thema and Addie before going through the mysterious portal. She stuffed back through the little sleeping bag whole and climbed out. Addie and Thema were right where Lexi had left them.
No time passed? Lexi thought.
“Found you!” Addie exclaimed confused, “Why did you come out of your spot?” She asked.
“Guys,” Lexi breathed, ignoring Addie's question, “I found something in that sleeping bag.” SHe explained the whole thing.
When she finished, Thema explained, “Let’s go through!”
They agreed, and they pulled the sleeping bag into an opening. Lexi climbed in first with Thema close on her tail and Addie in the back.
“How are we all going to fit in here?” Addie questioned.
“You’ll see,” Lexi answered. Soon enough they got to the other end. Lexi climbed through and stood up helping Thema and then Addie.
“Whoa,” Addie and Thema whispered together. Their voices echoed through the empty chamber.
“Here,” Lexi said, thrusting the flashlight into their hands, “Ready?” Lexi asked.
“When you are,” Thema answered, turning on the flashlight. They started to walk down the Chamber softly. Lexi, Thema, and Addie finally made it to the end of the white chamber. The tiny bit of light turned out to be a tiny hole, just like the sleeping bag’s hole.
“Weird,” Lexi mumbled.
They crawled out onto a path with trees so thick they couldn't see through. The path was made with crumbly bricks and it was so thin they had to stand single file. They followed the twisty path. Rabbits and squirrels cross through every now and then and a light fog fell across their waists. They walked in silence until they turned a corner and their eyes caught sight of the huge archway in front of them. Lexi gasped.
“Do you think we should go through? It’s not too late to turn back,” Addie asked in a low voice.
“No, let’s go through,” Lexi stated bravely. The moon had now come to a spot in the black sky but light was shown through the archway. It was bright with colors of pink, red, yellow, and orange. Vines twisted through the brick on the archway. But half a wall had crumbled to the ground. Behind the archway was a swamp as if to say you have to go through the archway or turn back. The path had now opened up so they could all stand together.
On the brick words started to form. “Whoa, it says,” Thema started, “You have landed in a new world, on your way down hope you didn’t hurl. If you all agree, then take the key and back up you will be,” Thema finished.
When I wake up, I shift and stretch. As I sit up, I take a deep breath in and get ready to start my morning. I slowly walk over to the window on the other side of my bedroom, and open it just to get a breath of fresh air. The air is cold; it’s the first day of Winter. The view is nice from my window. You can see the frost clinging to the acres of dry grass. Soon I will be walking on top and it will make a nice Crunch sound. I take a deep breath and shut the window so my room doesn’t get too cold.
I took a good look around my room. It’s not much, but it makes me happy. My bed is on the right side, the window is on the left. I also have a tiny bookshelf right next to my bed. The books on my shelf are not supposed to be read. The Nazis have banned them from all of us. But my father saved them for me since I’m not allowed to go to school anymore, and he wants me to still be educated. If only Father were still here…
Ever since my father was taken a few months ago to a Polish camp and had to go fight recently when World War 2 began, times have been tough. With just Mother and I, it’s harder for both of us. She has to do the laundry, the housework, and cook meals. I work with the animals in the barn and go get food from the market an hour walk away every day.
I do not have many memories of Father, but of course I have some very special ones. I remember when he’d throw me in the air and catch me and I’d giggle until it hurt my stomach. I remember when he’d tell me funny stories at night. I remember when he and Mother would take me on walks when I was younger to the market. I also remember when we’d roll around in the hay bales inside the barn, laughing and playing.
These were all of the happy memories, but there were also some sad and scary moments as well. I remember when I could hear Mother and Father arguing with each other from my bedroom. I would try to block out the noise by hiding under my sheets, but I could still hear Mother yelling at Father not to leave, but his sympathetic voice changed her mind. This argument happened 3 times.
Another bad memory is the most recent one. I remember when the Nazis came. They came to our house and stole my father. I screamed and kicked like a little toddler having a tantrum. The last words Father said were,“See you soon.” It’s been 3 years since then, but no sign of Father. A tear slowly slid down and off my cheek when I thought back to this.
“Rose!” My mother called from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready.”
Her voice shook me out of my thoughts. “Coming, Mother!” I replied as I wiped my cheek and tossed on a dull colored gray long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black leggings that were both a little dusty from the barn.
Once I was ready, I scurried downstairs to find Mother sitting in the kitchen holding a small box with a purple ribbon hugged around it. “Good morning, Mother.” I said as I sat down next to her.
“Good morning, honey.” Mother responded in a cheery voice, placing the pretty box in front of me. “Happy birthday! My 12-year-old girl!”
Crack! Crash!
The broad black wall crumbles into the thick glowing lava as the Lava Queen sharply turns her head, growling. “What are you DOING in MY palace?” she barks harshly. The pitch-black figure in the doorway smirks. “I SAID.” the queen shrieks, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY PALACE?” At the cue of her voice, ten guards storm into the room, heading straight for the mysterious figure. The figure steps forward, the dark silhouette morphing into a towering black dragon. His bright red eyes trail across the guards.
“Back in my kingdom, we honored our guests.” The guards stood gaping at the large dragon standing in the doorway. With a flick of his wrist, the guard's shadows started twisting and writhing as they grew into astonishing proportions and jumped from the rough floors. The shadows threw the guards against the walls, knocking them unconscious, to return to their original forms. “Now, is this any way to welcome guests? Back in the Shadow Kingdom, we learned to be kind to unknown dragons. Or at least I did after the fall of our mighty emperor. Anyways, enough chatting.” He stalked towards the queen. “I have an offer. If you choose to accept, you will be more powerful than any dragon in the history of the tribes. Except, of course, me, the long-lost prince of the massacred Shadow Tribe. Now. Do you accept?”
“How should I accept without knowing what this ‘deal’ is? Do you think I truly am an idiot?” The queen hissed. Her shadow moved towards her. Her neck suddenly snapped back. He stalked closer. “Now, if you truly aren’t an idiot, you will accept. Unless you want your tribe to be desecrated, much like mine.” With a flick of his wrist, he vanished with a puff of smoke, leaving the Queen panting on the ground.
A flurry of teeth and talon bolts through the trees, weaving back and forth, carefully trained on a bright blue target.
“You’ll never catch me!” The blue dragon excitedly squeals. They collide, laughing hysterically. Bolt, the blue Lightning Tribe dragon, sits up, still snickering. His yellow horns scrape against the leaves above as he wonders, “Where did the others go?”
“We’re right here!” A large dust-colored dragon springs from the drooping branches above, landing on top of the other dragon, a small bright red dragon.
“Ugh, get off me, Boulder. You’re squishing me!” she grunts.
“Sorry, Fox.” The bulky dragon mumbles as he steps off Fox. Two other dragons snicker as they slink out from behind the oak trunks. One of them, a burly black Stone-Lava Tribe hybrid, steps forwards, the sun glinting off of the shining red between his dark scales. The other dragon, a skyblue Echo Tribe dragon, lifts her blind eyes toward the others.
“This time could I be the seeker?” she asks, turning her head to the side.
“Listen, Melody, are you sure you can do that?” The large black dragon states nervously. “Of course, Obsidian. Like I’ve said, like, a million times before, I can hear and sense soundwaves way better than anyone else. I can still see you, just not with my eyes,” she says with a laugh. Obsidian dips his head, a smile spreading across his face. “Alright.”
The cold air wafted through Ellis’s dark hair. Her father was out of town. Ellis knew she had to go to Old Man Seyward’s cottage. She didn’t like it there. Ellis walked to the forest from her small cottage. She knew the way.
After sauntering slowly on the overgrown path, she saw Seyward’s cottage. No bigger than hers. Ellis sighed, knowing that he had seen her already.
Seyward appeared at the door. “Ellis! What brings ya here?” She didn’t answer.
“Be polite, poppet.”
“You know why I’m here.”
"Ah, Poppet! Glad you’re not mute!” he exclaimed. “Come in, come in! Have some tea!”
Ellis walked in. She smelled timber and old men.
“Where is yer dad, lassie?” Seyward asked, covering his suspicion with glee.
“He’s at a meeting,” Ellis answered dully.
“What tea do you want, Poppet?”
“Barley.”
Seyward scrambled around his dusty kitchen, clattering jars of mysterious objects. By the time he got barley tea, Ellis didn’t want it anymore.
The next morning, Seyward was talking to someone outside while Ellis made herself porridge.
“Who were you talking to this morning?” Ellis asked curiously. “Ah, glad you asked. They were fairies,” Seyward said with a hint of awe.
“You--you know fairies aren’t real,” Ellis said, accidentally adding a slight question to her voice.
“O’course they are!” Seyward exclaimed rather loudly. “I have proof!”
Ellis wasn’t impressed when Seyward showed her a pile of dust, claiming it was magic that was given to him by the fairies.
That night Ellis took a walk. She knew Seyward didn’t care.
She went down a new path that she had never seen before. The day turned into night quickly, and Ellis was left on a path she didn’t know with a full moon and eerie wind. She saw a light that she thought was Seyward’s house. She ran over but didn’t hear Seyward’s voice.
Instead, it was deep and gravelly.
They were trolls. And they were huge.
Ellis gasped loudly and dove into a yew bush as the trolls turned around.
“And we’ll be back after this quick report from Quacker’s Crackers,” reports Laura Lee, the stubby, old grandma from New York.
“She really needs to retire!” I say as Madison still stands paralyzed to the creaky kitchen floor. “She’s freakin’ people out left and right!”
“McKenzie, do you really think people are going to space?” Madison asks in a weak voice.
“Well, yes. But to an unknown planet?! These people are never going to see Earth again.”
“I’m going to bed,” says Madison as she starts up the stairs.
“Me too. Good night Dad!”
“Good night, girls! See you in the morning!”
In the morning, my phone goes off powerfully like a siren blaring.
“Come on!” I scream frantically as I jump out of bed. “The bus leaves in 10 minutes!”
“Okay,” Madison responds with a sigh. “Why does the bus leave so early?”
“No clue,” I say truthfully. “But hurry up because whining won’t do a thing.”
“Fine. And stop bossing me around. I’m older than you,” Madison responds so matter-of-factly she sounded just like Laura Lee, the reporter on TV last night.
“So,” I start as we walk down the street towards the bus stop. “Have you thought anymore about Dido and the 2 people?”
“No, have you?”
“Yes, actually, I have.”
“What about it?”
“If we get picked, I’m going to sprint away to the woods until someone cares enough to find me.”
“Okay? And what about me?”
“Oh, well, you always say you’re older than me, so I thought you could fend for yourself,” I say as Madison grunts in disapproval.
“I don’t understand how NASA is allowing people to set off into space and not even have a choice,” Madison says.
“True! That’s how Mom died and she had a PhD in Space Science!”
After the bus ride, Madison and I walk towards the bulletin board. We notice a sign saying two names. To our horror, the sign says:
Madison and McKenzie Johnson
Chosen twins to go to Dido and find the most prized possession
Departure: Tomorrow @ 10:00 am and excused from school today
“OMG.” Is all I can say as we both stand paralyzed to the ground.
“At least we get to miss school today!” Madison says a little too excitedly. “Sure,” I say glumly, as I call Dad to come pick us up, thinking it will be the last time I ever see school again.
“McKenzie! Where are you going?” My friend Hannah questions excitedly.
“Home. To go pack.”
“What?”
“Yep, Madison and I got chosen to go to Dido to find the most prized possession,” I say with a grumble.
“Really? Awesome!”
“Not when your mom died up there.”
We returned home and told Dad our plan.
“Sounds like a great experience, have fun.”
Kenzie and I stood there, starstruck. He was supposed to be against the whole idea.
I sleep-walked to bed, cold with my stomach screaming. I didn’t want to see my dad.
“She awake?” A woman squealed in a squeaky voice.
“Should be, always first one up,” my dad let her know. Wait Dad?! He was the villain? He’s why I have to suffer?! “Get her on the ship.”
Then I heard a piercing scream. They captured Kenzie, too. Before I knew it, we were locked in a spaceship. Kenzie was thrown on top of me, too stunned to talk.
“It was Dad,” I say, expecting her to respond, but she didn’t. The world faded, I couldn’t feel, then I saw navy, I couldn’t hear, then violet, then the world turned off.
I woke to a roaring voice: “Hello, Madison and Kenzie. As you notice, you’re in space! Now, all you’ve to do to get home is find a little crystal. Simple really, have fun!”
How was that simple? Was Kenzie okay? Was I okay? When would we get to Dido? Does landing hurt? I finally shattered. I had enough of being forced to go to space. But suddenly I wondered; where was Kenzie?
Boom!
The ship landed, with no warning. I tripped, and finally heard my sister's voice for the first time in who knows how long.
“Maddie?” That was the first time she called me Maddie in six years.
“Kenz?” I yelled back. Another name from the past.
I ran. I kept a pace I could keep up for about five minutes. Suddenly I ran into her. I hugged her with all my might, but now we had a problem.
The planet Dido was colder than Earth, by a lot. The cold bit at my toes even through the spacesuit.
“I’m starting to think we don’t got this,” Kenzie whispered into my ear.
“When did you get that conclusion?” I asked sarcastically. “Look over there. A bunch of… animals are guarding… something. I bet that’s the valued item.”
“You’re right! Let's go.”
We punted aliens and fought against creatures until we were blinded by a magenta light. The light came from a small crystal.
“That’s pathetic,” my sister said.
“Yep, and my shoes are ruined.”
I picked up the sparkly rock and sprinted back to the spaceship. We finally made it, we could go home now. Then the realization hit: if we go home we have to live with Dad, the evil mastermind behind what he hoped would be our death.
“Maybe we should live in Dido,” I burst out.
“I mean… we could. The spaceship is big. Two bedrooms, enough apples to last years. Let's do it!”
We continued to live in Dido for four years, and now both my sister and I are adults. We flew back to Earth, not knowing what to expect.
I stepped into my home, getting chills as I walked through the door frame that I had grown too tall for. The house I lived in for 14 years now felt like nothing but a dark memory. It was a simple house, nothing fancy. The dining table sagged, somehow still holding up. The couch looked in distress from not being used as a trampoline anymore. I wanted to leave the miserable nightmare.
“I don’t want to see Dad, get your stuff and get out. I want to live with you, we have enough money from turning in the crystal,” Kenzie says. Her weary, beady eyes looked through my soul. I knew she was serious, and I was okay with that.
“Mom, can I borrow some money to buy everyone food today?” I ask. “It sure would be a bummer to let everyone down,” I say trying to convince her not thinking she would give any money to me.
“It's your big day, of course you can, '' she replies and gives me 58 dollars because that's my favorite number.
As I walk into the shop I ask, “Hi, can I have 9 blueberry muffins and a dozen cinnamon rolls?” “Of course!” says the person working at the shop.
The worker tried to deliver coffee to a customer, and poured the coffee on me instead. That was the moment that everything went downhill.
When I left the coffee shop I tried to carry all of my food. It felt as heavy as an elephant. Then someone jumped in front of me and picked me up. I saw a sketchy car as he walked closer. It was so weird. He threw me in his car. I was being kidnapped. “Help!” I screamed. The car was big with gray seats and it was a dark navy blue on the outside. It smelled like there was a rotten meatball hidden somewhere. I needed to get out of here. I screamed and yelled, kicked and shoved. It felt like my heart was beating at 1000 beats per minute, and to make things even worse I was still soaked with coffee.
When I found out that kicking and shoving didn't work, I went on my phone, searching for help. I posted an Instagram picture, texted, and even posted a TikTok video asking for help now it was time to wait. But I got bored and decided to listen to Olivia Rodrigo.
“Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy,” I sang trying to calm down. But all I could think of was the fact that I might never see my family again. I could smell the sorrow and feel my heart stopping. every second felt like the end of the world. I felt like a rock unable to move. Being forced down to the floor.
I called my sister Grace and this time she picked up.
“I think I've been kidnapped,” I whispered so no one would hear me. “I'm on Oak Lane trapped in a car.” And Grace told mom and dad what had happened and then they called the police. When the police arrived, I tried to escape from the car. “I can't.” I said quietly, “I just can't.”
The police made the kidnapper come out of the car and he went to prison. When I was let out of the car I felt free like a tiger just let out of its cage. I was saved and it was all because of grace. I leaned in and cried into her long brown hair. I didn't know what to say so I didn't, I just held on tight.
“I, I thought I'd lost you,” Grace stutters in that voice she has only when she cries, all wrinkled and weasey. Then there is just silence as we all take this in.
After a while, Mom starts walking towards our car and everyone follows as we drive away. The next morning I woke up again. Knowing that I'm safe and my family is safe, the kidnapper is now in jail. Their name was Scott. Scott Danials. But he just goes by the kidnapper. Or at least that's what dad says.
I'm happy now, as I sit in the living room with my family. Joy fills my body. I have been taking everything for granted. Who cares about my birthday when we have each other?
the day I get powers. * * *
“How are you feeling?” Says my mom, trying to match my level of excitement
“I-can-not-wait!” I say, breaking each word up for intensity. I grab some breakfast, and my mom and I hop into her car and head off to the place where it happens. Nobody can tell you the place where you get your powers until you actually get there, and if you do, the penalties are cruel. We keep driving and driving, and it feels like we're never going to get there. *
Out of nowhere, we drop. We sink into the ground. My stomach feels up into my lungs. At last, we hit the ground. My mom looks just as frightened as I am, but she still manages to keep her composure. There is a giant screen in front of us. It feels like we are standing in the middle of an unoccupied movie theater. The screen opens its eyes, blinks on, and it starts to automatically scroll through millions of superpowers, some even, I had never heard of before. A large grin starts to appear on my face. “It’s almost time!” I think to myself, “It’s happening right now!”
A strong cracking sound comes out of nowhere, and the screen goes blank.
“Mom… was this supposed to happen?” the grin on my face turns into worry.
“No, I've never heard of something like this ever happening before!”
“What ar-”
My mom could tell what I was thinking, so she threw her arm across my chest. A tear starts to dribble down my face.
“Why me?” I question the world. Thoughts start to shuffle through my head. What would it be like to be the only one over 16 that's powerless?
It seems like the news of me getting no superpowers has spread along the school fast, because a couple of people shoot me a look in the hallway that says, “That’s the kid, that’s the kid that got no superpowers.” I walk into class, and a few of my classmates hi-five me. “Why is everybody being so nice to the kid that doesn't have superpowers.” I wonder.
I hear the bell ring, indicating that it is time to head to the next class. I got some weird looks and some high fives on my way, and it feels like I’m the star of the show. I even walked past Roy, and when we made eye contact, he just looked away quickly. When I walk into my next class, I start to think it’s kinda nice to be the only one without superpowers, and that I can live with that. It’s not that bad to stand out after all.
by Rosie Stone
I usually scroll through the channels to find something good, but this time, what I saw kept me watching.
"Man dies in a car accident.”
But the headline wasn't what was making me feel sick to my stomach… It was the picture.
A regular-looking guy with dark hair and a familiar face. He looked around 24. Although I had only seen him once or twice, I knew his face on sight. It was Luna’s older brother. Oh no.
Luna’s brother had been all Luna had since she was 4 or 5. You see, Luna didn't have the best childhood; her dad left before she was born, and her mom passed away during labor. She was in foster care until her brother turned 18 and could be her legal guardian. She was passed from family to family, who didn't want her because of her powers. Her brother worked 3 jobs to take care of her. They were the closest siblings I had ever seen.
“Now, to the scene of the accident,” the reporter said.
The camera switched to view a car that had been flipped over and completely ripped up. I recognized Luna crawling up out of the rubble. She had a bloody nose and was beaten and bruised badly, but nothing life threatening. When she noticed that her brother wasn't standing among the reporters, she started frantically rummaging through the shreds of metal that was once a car. She lifted a large piece that she shouldn't be able to. She saw something, but from this angle, I couldn't see what. She dragged something out. It took me a while to recognize that it was a badly mangled body. She fell to her knees beside what must have once been her brother.
Current’s sky blue scales were dripping with water, and the occasional piece of seaweed strewn here and there. Leaves adorned Granite’s long, snake-like body and she looked like she had been whacked in the face with branches once too many times. Gale and Flame just looked like their wings were in extreme pain.
As soon as the sun rose over the forested hills, the four dragons rose and traveled back to survey the damage that the volcano inflicted upon their homes.
Granite turned to her friends and frowned.“I think we have to… live somewhere else for a while.” The black rock that had hardened around the trees was burning hot, and it covered everything. No birds chirping. No life to be seen.
“We should - AHHHHHHHHHH!” Current screamed as she stepped onto the volcanic rock, and she hopped back and forth across it. It was still as hot as lava. The water dragon jumped off, cursing, while Flame landed with a thud and then rolled around happily.
“Ahhhh, that feels AMAZING.” Current paused from blowing on her talons and gave him a stern look. “It’s so NOT amazing. Give me a nice cold river instead.”
Later that day, they settled in for the night. Granite hollowed out a cave for her to sleep in, Current dove into the river with an angry expression, and Gale settled on a fluffy cloud high above. Flame was the only one who made use of the lava rock that was crowding up their living space, and so he laid down comfortably. The smell of the burnt pines reminded him of Leoguay, along with the stars up above. He only got to enjoy this for a few seconds, though, because as soon as Flame laid his head down, the ground opened up beneath him like a giant mouth and swallowed him alive.
Flame was falling. The wind whipped against his scales, drawing the breath away. The speck of light that was freedom drifted farther and farther away, but Flame flapped his wings as hard as he could to try to get back. It was no use. He disappeared down into the darkness.
Nine hours later, Flame awoke to a sparsely lit room. The walls were dripping with grime and blood, like dragons had died here. That was certainly a picture Flame didn't need.
He tried to lift his wings, but they were covered in too much muck. When he tried to step forward, there was a sickening sound. CRUNCH. Flame fell forward, crying, with a loud thud and faced the ceiling.
There were pictographs of terrible things, wonderful things, terrifying things. A history book, spread out over the ceiling, was creating a question in Flame’s head that he desperately had to share with his friends. But first he had to find them.
A strong burst of fire shot out of Flame’s mouth, engulfing the room in a sickening heat that seemed to swallow the world like an angry water dragon – and then it was over. No more muck, but still a granite wall that was begging to be melted. But a burst of inferno would not come.
Flame didn't know how long he sat there, in the darkness. No idea how many spiders crawled on his spine or how many beetles were squished underneath his talons. No clue when he would get out.
by Paloma Davol
The warm smell of blueberry muffins circles the kitchen. Across the room an oven beeps, indicating that my pie crust has finished. In a flourish, I’m opening the oven and pull out the crust. Ma and Pa will be back from work soon and I need to finish dinner and of course this pie. The fluffy cream I made earlier sits ready to be spooned into the pie crust on the counter. I arrange my sliced peaches and persimmons in a spiral on the cream. I set the pie in the oven and set a timer for one minute. By the time I pull it out, the peaches and persimmons are lightly browned and beautifully soft in the middle. The cream is nice and firm with a light brown on the top. I smile to myself, satisfied. A timer beeps taking me back to reality.
Soon the table is covered in food. So much food. Posole soup, quesadillas, bean and cheese pupusas, guacamole, chips, and sushi. Sitting on the counter ready for when we finish dinner flan and pie, cream-filled donuts, and red bean buns. I brush my hands on my apron again smiling to myself. Through the window, I see Ma and Pa home from their work in the city. I strip off my apron and hang it on its hook in the kitchen. I swing the door wide open greeting Ma and Pa with a brilliant smile. I run to them wrapping my arms around their middle.
“Hello to you too Esme.” Ma laughs throwing her head back. I nod my head to both of them. I twist and turn my hands writing out my words. Both of my parents intently watch my hands as I sign my message. When I’ve finished the message spells out ‘happy birthday Ma!’ I lead them back to the house, but instead of going inside, we stand in the doorway facing the forest. A hummingbird flutters past my cheek racing into the house. The ground rumbles as Casa the black bear gallops toward the house. Ma, Pa, and I step aside to let the flood of our animal friends rush into the house, seating themselves at the table. After the last Pixi flitters and flutters her way into the house we join the animals at the table.
“Oh, Esme! This is wonderful. I was expecting a beautiful meal but not this magnificent! You’ve really outdone yourself this year!” Ma’s smile Is proud and grateful.
I wish I could say something wonderful but all I can do is smile just as proudly back at her. My family used to live in the big city but kids were always making fun of me. Although my name is Esme, the label that was put on me years ago was “mute”. There are times when so much I wish I could say something just like now. The best I can do is sign with my hands. I look at all I have gained from moving to the forest. I get my animals, Pa homeschools me so I never have homework which gives me the time to bake and cook, the forest is so free and magnificent. Little wonderful secrets hide behind every corner.
“Esme, can we start?” Ma’s voice pulls me back to reality.
I nod my head, urging everyone to dig in. Food was passed around the table as animals laughed and chuckled just like us humans. We are equals, humans and animals. I take the plate of bean and cheese pupusas from Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle the hedgehog. After taking three or so pupusas from the plate I re-cover it with the cloth and pass it to Peter the rabbit. When everyone’s plate was covered in food we started eating. Jokes were passed around the table, inside jokes were exchanged between friends, everyone is at peace. As everyone finished up I started to clear plates for I didn’t want anyone to see the desserts lined up on the counter. When all the plates were cleared I brought the desserts put. It required many trips for there were lots of desserts. The desserts were finished quickly leaving only ghosts of the cakes, puddings, and so many other things.
Together when everyone is finished we make our way out to the small clearing just beyond our house. Aspen trees line the perimeter, wildflowers sprout out from the ground in gorgeous spurts of color. Long grass sways in the gentle evening breeze. The moon and stars light up the sky. I believe that stars will one day lead us all in the direction we are meant to go. Sometimes there are those moments when nothing has to be said, everything is already known.
