¡Despierta, Terlingua!

¡DESPIERTA TERLINGUA!

BBHS’sFirstLiterary Magazine

Planet B-2478 Failure:

Unpermitted Recording

By JoselynSartain

Thewarningsirensblareoverthechaosthatreignswithinthe outpost. EachbreathItakefeelslikeI’minhalingshardsofbroken glass, butIhavetoreachoneoftheairlocks. Myfootcatcheson somethingandmykneehitsthefloorasIlosemybalance. Ofcourse there’sacorpseinthishallway. “Shit!” Thecurseslipsoutonimpulse beforeitoccurstomethatImayhavejustrungthedinnerbell I shovemyselfupoffthefloor, onlyslidingforasecondontheblood pooledaroundoneofmyfallencolleagues MyeyesdartaroundasI launchintoasprint, there’snopointinmakingitthisfartowindup dyingbecauseofmyaffinityforcussing. Ireallyshouldhavesaidno totherecruiterthatshowedupatmyhousethatday. Howironicthat theydecidedtobringmilitarypersonnelonthismission, onlytogive usnoweaponry. HopeflaresinmychestasIpassbyafamiliar numberpaintedonthewall. OnlytwomoreturnsuntilIreachthe nearestairlock. Themusclesinmylegs, andmylungsforthatmatter, arescreamingforabreak. Runningformylifereallyisn’tsomethingI enjoyanymore. ThefactthatIcanevenbesarcasticrightnowshould beaverygoodsign, butgiventhecircumstances, Idon’treallycare. I didnotsurvivenearlyeightyearsofmilitaryservicejusttodiehere onthisgodforsakenplanet. Adrenalinehasalmostcompletely overpoweredthethrobbinginmyleftknee, reducingittoadistant ache, thesensationisalmostcomforting. Atleastitletsmeknowthat I’mstillalive. Fornow. Adistantscreamechoesfromfartherdownthe corridor, butIkeepgoing. Ican’tstopnow. Thefinalbendisinsight asIhurtlearoundacorner, andthatsmallbubbleofhopegetsjusta littlebigger. Thesoundofclawsclickingonartificialtilesmakesmy bloodruncold, andIskidtoastop, thesuddenchangeofpace makingmykneebarkinpain. Adistortedshadowloomsaroundthe bendinfrontofme. Myheartmanagestopoundfaster, andIfreeze asIfeelabsoluteterrorreplacethehopethatI’ddaredtoharbor. There’snowaythatIcanjustoutrunthisthing, butIsureashelldon’t wanttodieonaplanetthathasn’tevenbeengivenarealname.

Honestly, theycouldhavecalleditsomethingelseotherthanPlanetB4278, butIhavemorepressingmatterstodealwithatthemoment. Such asthealiencreaturecurrentlylookingforitsnextmeal; me. Ifrantically glancearoundforanythingtouse, aweapon, evenaturnthatImay havemissed. Nothing. Well, atleastI’malmostentirelycertainthatI’m screwed. AstrangesnoutlinedwiththemostdisturbingteethIhave everseen, realorfake, pokesaroundthecorner. FromthisdistanceI canseeitsnostrilsflaring, nodoubtscentingme. Ifeelmyselfstarting toshakeharderasitstalksfullyintoview, blockingmypath. Itbecomes apparentthatithassixforwardfacingeyes, threeoneachsideofits head, allofthemareentirelyblack Belowthosesoullesspitchblack, is thathorrifyingmouthfilledwithrazorsharpteeth, whichIcanstillsee bitsandpiecesofwhatusedtobemycoworkersin. Itsframeis otherworldly, withlonglimbsandbackwardsfacingjoints, andeach footendswithclawsthathaveproventobecapableofshredding throughmetal. Itsbodylooksalmostreminiscentofacanine, witha longtailtrailingbehindit, butIdon’thavetimetoexamineitasIsee thosesoullesseyesfocusonme Seeingthisthingstaremedownsends ashivercurlingdownmyspine, andthenittakesasmallstepforwards. Mytimetolookforanotherwayouthaspassed, andthisthingknowsit. Mykneegivesasharpthrobofpain, butIkeepmyeyestrainedonthe creature. Ittiltsitsheadatme, sniffinginmygeneraldirection, almost likeit'stryingtodecideifitwantstokillme. Wellatleastwebothseem torealizethatI’moutofoptions. ButamI?There’sagapbetweenitand thewalllookswideenoughformetoslippastifI’mfastenough. Isuck inashakybreathandtrytopreparemyselfasmuchasIcanforthe profoundlystupid no, insane, thingI’mabouttodo Thecreaturetakes anotherstep. Iseeitsmusclesbeginningtotenseasitlowersitselfinto acrouch, preparingtotakethatfinalleapbeforerippingintome. My musclesstillburnfromalltherunningI’vedone, andmykneestill aches, buttheadrenalinebeingpumpedthroughmyveinsdullsthe pain. Ionlyhavesecondsbeforethecreaturepounces. Suddenly, the worldseemstobemovinginslowmotion. Icanseethecreature lungingatme, itsjawsopening, readytobitemeinhalf Forasplit secondIwonderifthisisreallyhowI’mgoingtodie. ThenI’mmoving, I managetododgethecreature, boltingdownthehallwayasIhearits jawssnapshutonthinair.

Theemergencylightscastredlightovereverything. Theremustbea breachsomewhere, whichmeansthatmytimeisrunningout, alien creatureorno. Bynow, thecreaturehasrecoveredandisnow poundingafterme, butIcanseethemiraculouslyopendoorstothe airlockandtheescapepodsbehindthem. Iwillmylegstokeep carryingmetowardsfreedom, butthegutturalsnarlingIhearover thecrashingbehindmeindicatesthatit'sgainingonme. Ican’ttell howfarbehindmeitis, buttheairlockdoorsareonlytenfeetaway. Eightfeet. Fivefeet. Thehairsonthebackofmynecksuddenlyraise andIknowwithgroundbreakingcertaintythatthecreaturehasjust lungedinalastditchefforttograbme. Mylegsfindnewfound strengthandIhurlmyselfthroughthedoorway, myhandfindingthe controlpaneloninstinct. Withthepressofabutton, thedoorsslam shut. MyreliefiscutshortasIhearawildshriekofpain. Looking down, Iseethatthecreature’sforelimbisjammedbetweenthe doors. Ifeelmyheartsinkastheclawsofitsotherlimbshove themselvesintothegap. Apprehensionquicklyturnsintogut wrenchinghorrorasIwatchthisthingslowlystarttoforceopen hydraulicpowereddoors. Howstrongisthiscreature?Seeingitsface begintotakeforminthegapbetweenthedoorsactsastheperfect wakeupcall. Ispinaroundtofacetheescapepodslinedupalongthe backwall. Allareintact, thankfully. Makingmywayovertoone, I enterthecodeonthekeypadtograntmeaccess. BYsomemiracle, it worksandthedoorpopsopen.Thesoundofmetalshriekingasit's bentoutofshape, andthesoundofhighpressurejointsstraining reachesmyears. Icastaglanceovermyshoulder, onlytofindthat thecreaturecannearlyfititsheadintothegapnow. Thosedoors aren’tgoingtoholdformuchlonger. Iclimbintotheescapepodand shutthedoor. TheairlockdoorsfailjustasIslammyhandontothe buttonthatbeginsthepod’saccenttothesurface. ThelastthingI seeinsideoftheoutpostbeforethepodisengulfedindarknessis thecreature’sface, contortedintoawild, unfathomablerage.

By JosalynSartain

“Predator” by Caitlyn Staib

A Crazy Spaceship Situation

By MichelleOrozco

"ALIEN!!!!!!!". AlexandJuanheardLuisscream, "Alien?" Alexreplied, " Alien?" saidJuan. AlexandJuansawLuisrunoutofthebushesso AlexandJuanranafterhim. Finally, theyarrivedatMaliana's houseandthethreescaredboysscreamedatMalianatoopenthe door. Malianawenttoopenthedoor. Theboysquicklyrushed insidethedoor, "Woah, boyswhat'sgoingon?" Liacamedown stairstoseewhat'sgoingon. "Heyy'all, what'sgoingon?" Luis, Alex andJuanwentcrazyexplainingeverysinglethingthathappened tothegirls. Thegirlsjustwentblank, theytoldthegirlstolook outsidetoseethatitwasactuallytrueaboutthespaceshipsand alsothespaceshipstakingpeopleandalsothatalienswerereal!!! Thegirlswentcrazy, theystartedscreamingandjustwentcrazy. Aftertheboyscalmeddownthegirlstheysuddenlyheardaknock onthedoor. Malianawenttogoopenthedoorandseewhowas knocking. JustasMalianaopenedthedoor, therewasaspaceship outsideandanalienwaitingforthem!!!!! Malianascreamed "ALIEN!!!!!!!!"Thealienreachedoutforherandgrabbedherandput herinthespaceship. Everyonejustwentcrazy. Theystarted screamingandrunningaroundthehouse, butthenthealiencame insidethehousewithamachineandeveryonestoppedscreaming andrunning. Theyalllookedatthealienterrified. Thealienturned onthemachineandhepointedittowardLia. Themachine suddenlygrabbedLia, thenhepointedittoAlex, thenLuisand Juan. Oncetheyweregrabbed, thenBoop! theydisappeared. The groupoffriendswokeupinaweirdlookingroom. Theroomkinda lookedlikeamentalhospitalroomoraroomwherescientists makeexperiments. Liawentandlookedthroughthewindowdoor toseewheretheywere. "Heyguys" shesaid, "Ithinkweareina laboratory" . Theyheardfootstepssotheyallfakedsleep, they heardsomeonetalkinginaweirdlanguage. Theyallthoughtto themselves "Alien. " Thealienwenttogocheckuponthem.

WhenhelefttheytookMalianawithhim. Thealienentereda labroomwheretheydolotsofexperiments, butwithpeople. Malianawokeuptoseepeopleinwatertubsandpeoplewith threeeyes, peoplecutopen, andpeoplejustbeingmessed up. Malianavomitedallovertheplacebecauseofwhatshe hadseen. ThealienssetMalianaonthetabletodo experimentsonherwithvaccinationsandchemicals. After doingtheexperimentsonMaliana, theyputherinatubto keepher "alive" somehow. Whenthealienwentbacktoget theotherstheyhadalreadyescaped. Thealienwasmadand wentcrazy. Hestartedlookingforthemallovertheplace, buttheyweregone...

By MichelleOrozco

“Creature”

By Amy Alaniz

The Suns Distance ByWillowKeenan

It’sthesolareclipse! Wherethemoongoesin frontofthesun. Thesunwantsitsdistance!? Andhe’spressingthespacebuttonfor space?! Andthesunwantsprivacy?!?Man thissunisspoiled... Wait! Themoonis leaving! Bye-byemoon! Andthat’sthesolar eclipse! Theend.

Out of Space

ByKorbynRivera

Themorepeopleweget, themorespacethey takeuponEarth. Ifeelcrowdedinthisbigspace. It’slikebeingpushedaroundbyapeoplewave, backandforth. Howsoonbeforeweallfalloff theplanetbecausethereisnomorespace?

ByAnnaSmith

Big Empty Space

Imagineabigemptyroom , oraneternalhole, neverending. Dark, empty, cold, maybeevenscary, maybepeaceful. whateveryouwantreally. Maybeitcanbeterrifying, maybeit canbecheerful, orsad, happy, creepy, calmingdoesn'treally matteraslongasyoufeelsomethingmaybeyoudon'twanna feelanythinglikenumbness, youcouldevenimagineabig neverendingdarknesswithlittlebutnotsolittlelightsthat aren'tevenenoughtolightupthedarkness. Imaging millions, billionsoflights, starsanditstillbeingdark, isthat scaryorpeaceful?Maybeyoufinditbeautifulbutitall dependsonthestateofmindyou'rein, ifyou'redepressed thenyou'llmostlikelyfinditsadorscarycauseyou'rejust stuckwithyourownthoughts, butifyou'reinapeaceful mindspaceitmightfeelcomforting, ifyou'reenergeticyou'll mostlikelygetboredbeingthereallbyyourself, whatifyou weretherewithyourbestfriend?Whatdoyouthinkyou woulddo?Wouldyougetannoyedwitheachother?Breakup? Ormaybeevenfallinlovewithallthetimespenttogether, doesn’treallymattercauseyou’reinspace.

Space

Space. Spacehasmanymeaningstome. Ipersonallyreallyenjoy everytypeofspace. Therearetwomainideasthatpopintomy headwhenIheartheword “space” . Fromthosetwoideas, the firstonewouldobviouslybe, outerspacewiththestarsand planets, thesecondonewouldbemetalspace… Outerspaceis veryinteresting, ithasmanybeautifulobjectsandmany unansweredquestionswhichiswhatinterestsmeaboutitthe most. Themostimportantthingtomeabouttheword “space” to meismentalspace. Mentalspaceisveryimportanttome becausefrommyperspective, theolderyougetIfeellikeit’sso muchharderforyoutohaveagoodmentality. Onceyouareover theageof 13 thatiswhenitgetssohardforyoutoignorethe thingsthataresaid. Youalwayshear “justdon’tpayattention, moveon '' . Welly'allit’snotthateasy. Whenyouarehavinga roughtimementally, somepeoplewillshowitandyouwillbe abletotell. Otherskeepithiddenandputasmileinfrontofit becausetheydon’twantanyoneknowingoraskingaboutit becausesometimesyoufeellikeifsomeoneasksyouaboutit, youwilljustbreakdown. That’swherespacecomesin, whenyou thinkyouarehavingabadmentalitytrytodosomethingalong thelinesofrunning, walking, orevenjustlayinginbedand listeningtomusic. Sometimesitisevengoodtohavesomeoneto talkto, youjusthavetomakesurethatthepersonyouare talkingtoaboutwhatisonyourmindwillnottakeadvantageof youandbetherewhenyouneedit. Justdon’tforgetthatwhen youthinkyouarehavingatoughtime, youarenottheonlyone. Thereareothersgoingthroughthesameexactthingsomaybeit isgoodtotalktosomeonelikethat.

“Castle in the Sky”

By Isis Lujan

Alien Problem Solver

ByMileiryHernandez

OnedayMaiaandherfamilywereatapoolparty. Oneof Maia’ssisterssawinthecornerofhereye, upinthesky, ablue lightshining. Shetoldthewholefamilytolookupbecauseshe thoughtitwasscary. Wheneverybodyturnedtheireyesaway fromthelight, theylookedatMaiabutshewasgone. Everybodystartedlookingforher, butshewasnotthere. Maia hadotherplansandwasgettingreadytogetlaunchedupinto space. Shehadsecretlyboughtarocketwithmoneyshehad beensavingup. Itturnsoutthattheblueshininglightwas actuallyasign. Thesignisawaytocommunicatewithpeople onthemoon. TherealthingaboutMaiawasthatwhenshe wasakid, shegotsenttoEarthbecausetherewasawarwith aliensonthemoon. WhenshegottoEarth, shewasputonthe frontstepofahouseandleftthere. Backtothestory. Maiawasgettingreadytogetlaunchedinto thesky. Whileherfamilywaslookingforhertheyfeltthe Earthshakingandsawabigrocketflyingintothesky. Maia hadtogotothemoonbecausebeforeherpeoplehadsent hertotheEarth, theytaughthersomesignsandwhatthey meant. Theblueshininglightmeansthatoneofheralien familymembersismissing. Shewasabletolearnthatfast becausealienkidslearnfastandmemorizethingseasily. WhenMaiagottothemoonshewenttothealiencity. When shegotthereshewasnotrecognizedbecauseshewasraised onEarthanddidnotlooklikeotheraliens. Herfatherthen recognizedherbecauseshewashisdaughter. Thefather criedwithherbecausetheyhadnotseeneachotherinalong time. ThefatherthentoldMaiathathermotherhadbeen missingfortwodays.

Maiathenstartedlookingforher, runningaroundthecityand screaminghername. Sheheardhermother’svoice, andfollowedit. Sheranintoacornmaze. Shestartedrunningbecauseshehearda weirdvoiceandgotscared, andfellintoablackhole. Shenoticedshe wasinacave, andsawashininglightfromthedistance. Maiathen gotupandstartedwalkingtowardsit. Whileshewaswalking towardsitshestartedtohearvoices, andhermomlookedather confused. ThemomhuggedMaiaandstartedcryingbecauseshe hadnotseenherinalongtime. Maiaaskedhermomwhyshewas missingfortwodaysfromthecity. Themothersaidthatshetold Maiasdadthatshewasgoingonabusinesstrip. Maiathentoldher momtogotothecityandtelleveryonewhathappened. Whenthey gottothecitythemomaskedMaia’sdadifhedidnotremember whatshetoldhim. Thedadthenrememberedandstartedlaughing. Theproblemsolved, MaiathenlefttogobacktoEarthandliveda normallife. ByMileiryHernandez

“Spaceman”

By Joselyn Gomez

Saving The Sun

By Jonathan Lujan

Josewasinhishomeonleave.Josewasshort,withblack,shorthair.He wasverystrong.Onedayhewaslisteningtothenewsontheradioand theannouncermentionedthatthegovernmentwasrecruitingpeople toexplorethesun.Onlyshortpeoplewereallowed.Josegotexcited aboutagreatchancetobecomefamous.Joseneededmoneytobuy thingsandahouse.Thetrainingwashardandhealmostdidn’tpass. Onlytenpeoplepassedthetraining,whichwastoresisttheG-force.This

wassotheywouldnotfaintwhentherocketlaunched. Whenthelastten peoplepassedthetraining,threecouldgotothefinallevel.Thepeople whopassedwereJose,Manuel, andHarry. Theygotreadyforthetrip andwithinonehourlatertherocketswerelaunched. Tendayslater, whentheyarrivedatthesun,theynoticedthesunwasturningblack. Theysentamessagetothegovernmentinformingthemofthelow temperatureandcolor.Whiletheywereinthesun,Manuelsawabig snakewiththreeheads.Manuel,Harry,andJoseusedandAxetokillit.

Whentheykilledit, theysaw therewasabigholewitha bigswitchinthemiddleof thesun. Whentheyturnedon thebigswitchthesunstarted torunagain. Thesunstarted togethotandtheyrushedto therocket. Theyturnediton andspenttendaystraveling backtotheEarth. Whenthey arrived, thegovernmentpaid themandJosegottobecome famousalongwithhis friends, ManuelandHarry.