I Told You Not to Buy A Robot & Other Stories

I Told You Not to Buy A Robot

& Other Stories Science Fiction & Magical Realism from 826NYC Students at Academy for Young Writers

I Told You Not to Buy A Robot

& Other Stories Science Fiction & Magical Realism from 826NYC Students at Academy for Young Writers

iii

826NYC BOOKS 372 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11215 I Told You Not to Buy A Robot & Other Stories: Science Fiction & Magical Realism from 826NYC students at Academy for Young Writers © 2021 by 826NYC and the authors. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First 826NYC edition June 2021 Manufactured in the United States of Brooklyn 978-1-948644-74-7 The writing in this book was produced in the 2020-2021 school year at 826NYC’s Young Writers Publish project at Academy for Young Writers. The classes were run by Vanessa Friedman with the support of Jaclyn Reyes and Lucia Brockway, as well as 826NYC writing mentors Abbey Chase, Mary Durocher, Nick Eliopulos, Erin Rose Elliot, Susan Evans, David Ewalt, Zack Fine, Amber Hunter, Aimee Lam, Ashley Paul, Holly Settoon, Kristin VanDiest, and Richard Zhang.

Designed by Harriet Provine Edited and proofread by Chelsea Bonollo, Sydney Bradley, Krys Giang, Dena Levitz, Nicholas Martinez, Tiana Moe, Marianna Nash, and Emily Stout Printed by Bookmobile This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, The Jane Friedman Anspach Family Foundation, The Hawkins Foundation, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, The Kettering Foundation, The Minerva Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, and The Resnick Family Foundation. The program is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. 826NYC is grateful to the many individuals who support our work. To see our full list of supporters or make a donation, please visit https://826nyc.org/donate-us/.

826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

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I Told You Not to Buy A Robot & Other Stories Science Fiction & Magical Realism from 826NYC Students at Academy for Young Writers

This book is intended for mature audiences, with some topics, themes, and language that may not be suitable for young readers.

vi

Table Of Contents

Foreword

xi

9TH GRADE

An Endless Dark Cave

by Oluwatobi Akangbe The Black World

by Aaliyah Angevine The Saviours

by Shatavia Clovie My World and My Character

by Lavaughn Coleman My Name is Amaria

by Asia Dantzler How Reality is Like

by Arrianna Murray Why?

by Gianna Henry The Sun is Gone

by Janiya Hodge-Cruz The Dark Meadows Dynasty

by Dakota Lisman Breaking Free

by Maureen Marcel My Character And World

by Manasseh Morales Breanna’s Nightmare

by Cevana Paul Telling My Friends about Mars and Other People

by Javier Richards Saving the World from One Crazy Robot

by Jonathan Rivera

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3 6 8 10 11 13 15 29 32 36 39 41 43 45

Another Day, Another Reality

by Rebeca Warner My Life

by Asalah Almardahi The Lost Astronaut

by Zion Black The Story of an Assassin

by Lateeq David Dangerous Mind

by Amyrah Graham Strange Place

by Leighton Jappa My Story

by Ronnayjah Jones On the Frontier

by Xavier Madera The Unexpected Birthday Twist

by Ebony Minor For To Nothing

by David Ortiz The Opposite

by Isaih J Richmond The Aliens Are Coming

by Amani Jones Home Invasion

by Rahjace Allen Her Call

by Arianna Dixon RaGe

by Cristian Florentino Dream

by Saray Hernandez The Origin of Tuffy and the Planet Vertex 56

by Jamel Heron Mafia Life (Running)

by Maya Jodah Road Blocks

by Jazinya Joseph viii

47 52 55 57 58 62 64 65 68 71 73 76 78 80 85 89 91 95 114

Disconnected

by Joya Khalil Hunted

by Isiah Maisonet Life in La La Land

by Katelynn Mendoza Yīn Hé Yáng: Tatakai

by Xavier Mitchell-Francis The Sciplor

by Kimora Negron Victoria’s Coma

by Blake X Poole Reborn To Revenge

by MD Afnan Rahman The Strange World I Live In

by Selena Scarborough Among Us

by Tevar Stephens Blue & Gray

by Madison Amos The For Real and The For Fake

by Isabella Burgos Enchanted . . .

by Kieara Ara Davis Gates

by Kenneth Gavilan The Eye

by Kayla Hernandez Animal Crackers

by Raima Join The Making Of a Villian

by Rifat Khan Nostalgia

by Nathalie Merette I Told You Not to Buy a Robot

by Aleyana Noel My Missing Piece

by Cleopatra Salam ix

116 121 129 134 139 148 152 154 159 161 166 171 173 176 179 183 186 189 206

The Guy with a Big Dream

by Javaughna Williams

213

10TH GRADE

Balance Unlimited

by Meher Abdin Positive Thinking

by Muhammad Alkhirafi The Ride

by Omarri Appleton Untitled

by Andre Ford Wish of Life

by Stalyn Germosen-Torres El Deseo de la Vida

by Stalyn Germosen-Torres The Magic Pencil

by Princess Lewis The Devil’s Warning

by Adrian Mejia Telekinesis

by Brandon Mendoza The Sneakers

by Ariel Molina Gonzalez The Girl Who Read Minds

by Emani Moore The Return of the Giants

by Kayla Seya Untitled

by Kayla Wayne Annie

by Akielia Williams Tall Tanyah

by Vyvyaan Akujobi Out of This World

by Miasha Banks This Is How It Started . . . One Look

by Kiszel Derouche x

219 223 225 226 227 229 231 233 237 238 243 245 247 249 251 255 257

Being Apathetic Isn’t the Answer?

by Antoinette Gamble El Enano

by Keila Pinto The Same Old Thing

by Delilah Rodrigo Because He’s Good to Me

by Jasmine Campbell Into the Mirror

by Kadeem Campbell Phang Stuck In Another World

by Brianna Curbelo Forsaken Scar

by Emmanuel Harper Strange and Unusual Events

by Canora Hepburn Remains

by Janae Jones ft Keyanna E. The Day That Changed Everything

by Jordan Mayers Magical Return to Football

by Demani Mercer Nighttime Hysteria

by Nicholas Barnwell Untitled

by Md Abrar Chowdhury The Teenmunks and the Mysterious Voices

by Kamille Forde Hero’s Heart

by Vernon Hodge A Football Miracle

by Brooke-Lynn Monger The Small Angry Being

by Perla Morillo The Red Eyes

by Mickel Prince Illusions Can Become Reality

by Justin Vargas xi

266 269 273 278 283 285 288 292 295 301 305 306 309 321 323 331 333 335 342

Dear Humans

by Keyarra Williams

346

Acknowledgements

349

About 826NYC

351

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Foreword

Welcome to a book of stories that will force you to question reality, stories that will make you chuckle with glee, stories that will make you gasp with genuine fear, and stories that will challenge the way you see our world. Welcome to I Told You Not to Buy A Robot & Other Stories: Science Fiction & Magical Realism from 826NYC Students at Academy for Young Writers!

This book is born from a unit about science fiction writing taught to the 9th graders and a unit about magical realism writing taught to the 10th graders at Academy for Young Writers in February and March 2021. The classes were taught entirely digitally as we all continue to adjust to the new normal that the pandemic brought to New York City and to the world, and the students featured in this book worked incredibly hard to show up for their writing and their learning in spite of extremely challenging circumstances.

With short stories by N.K. Jemisin and Carmen Maria Machado as our core guides, we learned about building new worlds, creating believable (though sometimes unreliable!) narrators, using magic as a way to comment on social and political inequalities, and how to write a story that grabs a reader’s attention and refuses to let go.

I think you’ll agree with me that all the stories in this collection fit that description.

To the student writers featured in this book: CONGRATULATIONS! Your hard work and risk taking on the page paid off, and I hope you feel very proud of your work.

To the readers lucky enough to pick this book up: You’re about to go on a very special journey. Enjoy!

–Vanessa Friedman, May 2021 xiii

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9TH GRADE

2

An Endless Dark Cave

by Oluwatobi Akangbe

It was one night when her father came into her and her sister’s room and told them a bedtime story as he did every night.

“When I was a young boy there was this tale your grandpa told me one night about a girl the same age as you around the time, that he went into the cave . . . ” and he proceeded with the rest of the story.

She was so happy because she loved it when her father would tell rumors and stories. That’s why her father told them the most.

Matilda Dixion lived in a place where there was this rumor about the Titan that lured the children to eat them and if they ate them, they’ll become a Titan. After their father finished the story he left the room.

When he left, one of her siblings dared her to go into the cave the next morning, so she took the dare and went into the cave because she wasn’t scared of anything, or at least she thought. The minute she took a step in with the flashlight, it shut off. She was prepared for this moment, so she took extra batteries out from her bag to see, but those didn’t work either. Matilda was always prepared no matter what situation or scenario; she thought of what could happen. That was something that her father taught her. She looked up to him so much. She questioned whether she should turn back or keep moving.

She was so curious yet so naive. Took another step into the cave and kept moving. It was so cold she was shivering under her coat and jacket. Every step she took sounded like a creaking sound but she was walking on mud.

“Strange,” she wondered.

For every step she took, her courage lowered and so did her curiosity. She was so close to the cave that she could hear the Titan voices. *errrrrr* She looked back at the entrance and it was gone, her heart dropped. She wanted to run, but it was too late. All she could think about was if her dad had noticed she was gone. She thought, “What if they forgot about me? What if they thought I turned into a Titan already?” Her flashlight finally turned on.

“So now you wanna turn on,” she said while rolling her eyes. As 3

she points it to the cave she sees two entryways she can go. “Which one do I choose?”

She points out her finger pointing at the caves.

As my finger lays Upon these decisions Let the universe guide me through.

I’ll take the left one.

A smile appeared on her face. When she said the rhyme it reminded her of her and her sisters. Anytime they didn’t know what to decide, they would say the rhyme and go with whatever decision the rhyme landed on. They thought of it as a sign of fate.

As she was walking in the cave she saw these strange signs on the wall as if it was some kind of language. With the language, there were also pictures there.

“What do they mean?” she wondered.

There were pictures of not just one Titan, but a bunch. They were building a whole life for themselves, building buildings and objects, but in the next picture, it showed the Titans collecting children to put in their city so the Titans can eat them. And they duplicate and turn into a Titan so the population would never end. And if the adults got in their way, they would get killed and sent into their cave.

Matilda backed away slowly, her heart in uneasiness, shaking. She felt someone who took the oxygen right out of her mouth “So—so—where are the bodies?”

“I haven’t seen them yet, I have been in here for who knows how long”.

“Inhale, exhale, until you get rid of all the stress. Then the problem won’t seem like a big mess. You pick up each piece, one by one, of the problem until it is long gone,” her father used to tell her when she used to get stressed out.

Her heart rate dropped slower and slower. She exhaled a breath of relief and kept on walking. In a weird way, she felt happy when she remembered what her father used to say. It made her feel as if her father was right next to her.

“I miss you, Dad, I hope you know I’m gone and looking for me.”

A tear fell down her cheek. This gave her a little courage, to know as long as she knew her family was out there looking for her she would be able to get out of this cave to hug her family once more.

As she kept walking she heard loud echoes snoring from the cave.

4

“I guess I’m getting close.”

“What was that?”

She moved her shoe to see what she could step on.

“A bone?”

“Where did this come from?”

She pointed the flashlight at the ground of the rest of the cave and she saw bodies and bones; when she pointed at the walls it was a bunch of blood, scattered. She was so shocked that she fainted.

When she got back into consciousness she tried to move her hands, but she couldn’t. She woke up and saw the Titan. Her mouth wide-open, as big as the size of the cave. She couldn’t believe that.

“How could this be true?”

The Titan’s teeth were as big as a shark’s teeth. She looked in its eyes. It’s like she saw the devil. As the Titan proceeded to open its mouth and eat her, Matilda never got to see her family or say her last words.

A day later her family found out what happened and built a grave with no body underneath. Leaving the family wondering: what went wrong?

5

The Black World

by Aaliyah Angevine

Hey, my name is Icy. Let me introduce myself. First I’ll tell you a few things about myself. I have a big fear of heights, such as roller coasters, but I got over that at one point, including airplanes, but after I took one it was not so bad. Another thing I think everyone should be afraid of is the ocean. The ocean is so big and it’s very very deep.

I never knew how deep it was. I can’t imagine how many things there are in that ocean. There have to be mermaids because it’s so big. Lucky me, the world I live in is nothing like that. My favorite thing to do, and hobby, is I love to shop. Like shopping makes me very happy to look at new things and support Black owners. Besides that, I don’t really do a lot. My favorite colors are honestly all the colors because each and every single color you can pair it up with something. Like for example, outfits. Or with your room, you could pair it up with a different color or anything and make all colors look good.

The world I live in doesn’t really have colors. It’s literally a dark, cold world that I live in. It only comes in season, but I live honestly.

I wish the world could be a colorful bright world with happiness and joy and not full of hateful people. The ocean is super dark blue, the sky is gloomy and gray mixed with black, colors of people are mean, you can’t define a few nice people in this world, is very hard to find, is very weird to me. Like I said, color only comes in season which is the summertime, everything is just colorful and it makes me joyful inside.

As I mentioned before, my name is Icy. I live with my dad, my mother, and my sister. My sister and I are very close. We keep a lot of deep secrets that a lot of people do not know about. This house is full of problems. My sister and I are very tight, basically best friends.

My dad is an undercover agent and my mom is a doctor, so I’m very lucky to have a rich family that doesn’t have to worry about anything most of the time. Our dad argues a lot with our mom and in our head we say “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers WHATEVER.” Literally me and my sister always say “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Or we say, “out of my face,” meaning shut up don’t talk to us.

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A few days later my sister and I come outside to go on a sister date and “ZOOM” a car crashes! Our father was in it. Turns out my sister and I were right about everything we knew. Everything. We both knew what our father and our mother were doing. They always said they were protecting us, but on the inside, we knew he was lying. Why would my father be driving away from a shoot out? What could he possibly be doing over there? For what? Of course we had to go check on him when mom came outside. He was perfectly fine, so we went back inside and started to look for more evidence. Turns out a few hours later my father died from a heart attack. My system, including my mother, was very depressed. What a cool, in black world we live in.

We all said, “REST IN PEACE, DAD.”

7

The Saviours

by Shatavia Clovie

Once upon a time, there was a 17-year-old boy named Drew. Drew went back and forth from planet Earth to planet Green. On planet Green, everything was green like the floors and the robots. It was run by robots. Drew had the ability to transform into a robot at any given moment, but he only transformed when he went to planet Green.

Drew used a spaceship to travel back and forth.

One day Drew was on his way back to planet Earth because planet Green was erupting and all of a sudden the spaceship just stopped working. The planet is getting ready to go up into flames, and if Drew cannot get the spaceship to work, he’s going to die unless he finds a way to build another one in time. And that’s exactly what he attempted to do.

So he decided to call a friend that’s made for this job. He got Cam on the phone and told him the problem. Cam was willing to help, however, he doesn’t do jobs like this alone, he has a partner named Trey. Drew hates Trey with a passion. First off, Trey is always bragging about how he is better than somebody because of how much money his family has and flexing expensive clothes. If he does something for you, he is going to hold it over your head until you do something for him in return. Trey is just a straight-up jerk.

So now he has two options: he can put his feelings to the side and get help, or figure something out on his own. Drew just said screw it and let them help. They had to hurry because it was just a matter of time. If they don´t get there on time they will be finding bodies in a million different pieces. By the time Cam and Trey arrived on planet Green, the ground was already starting to separate. So Cam told Trey and Drew that they had to put their problems aside because time was running out. In response, Drew and Trey agreed and focused on finding a way to get Drew back down to planet Earth.

After an hour passed by, Cam and Trey were able to put together a spaceship that was actually better than the one that broke down and they were all able to get out of there just in time. As Drew was taking off you could see the planet going up into flames, pieces of it 8

were just flying everywhere. Once they all reached planet Earth, Drew thanked both of them. Drew then decided to make peace with Trey.

He told Trey, “Like I really appreciate you for helping me especially after all the problems we had. It was really a life or death situation and you still pulled through.” In response, Trey told him how he realized that money should not divide anyone; that as long as he and Drew breathed the same air and both bleed when cut, they were equal.

Trey told Drew that his father was raising him to treat people with less money differently. He wanted to change and be better than how his father raised him. Drew didn’t ask too many questions; he was just surprised, very shocked, and more than happy. They ended up shaking hands and looking for a bright new future. Drew, Cam, and Trey decided to start a new creation that will give people the ability to fly. They all thought, what other way to start off a new beginning other than doing something we all enjoy.

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My World and My Character

by Lavaughn Coleman

My World I wanna introduce you to my world (it’s not the same as Earth, keep that in mind). So yeah, it’s flat, it has only teens aged 13-17, and more importantly, no rules and homework. We can do whatever we want 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!! We can play games, eat a lot of our favorite lunches, and drink cold water. Anything at all. Anyway, yeah, I hope you and everyone else enjoy my world.

My Character My name is Lavaughn, and I made a character. His name is Major Man. His race is white. He is 15. He has a tight curl, a red cape, and a white superhero costume. On Monday, it would be the first time Major Man would save the day. There was a monster that was attacking NYC, but Major Man would appear to save the day with his laser eyes and super strength to defeat the monster. Everyone called Major Man the Superhero of NYC. He would then save the world forever from baddies. That was until a new superhero arrived and stole his spotlight. His name was Starfishman. He has a blue cape, blue shorts, and a red mask or bandana. Major Man would then challenge him to a superhero battle to decide the better Superhero of NYC. Starfishman ended up losing. I was kinda rooting for him. But I love Major Man more. And that is Major Man, the Superhero of NYC.

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My Name is Amaria

by Asia Dantzler

Amaria steps onto the spacecraft. Leaving New York was tough but it was time to go. She was now headed to Atlanta-205, seven lightyears into Galaxy-4. The journey was a day long and it would be filled with nothing but reflections. As Amaria stepped out of the plane it was nothing like New York. No hotdog stands, no loud kids, no loud trucks. It was just peace. It was beautiful, you could see the sky mixed with purple, a little bit of blue with stars going back and forth in the sky, you could hear mother nature as she moved the trees with juicy fruits. The smell of sweet candy mixed in with a little bit of natural earth smells, it was a wonderland, just with weird animals such as a zebra mixed with a cow. It’s just amazing here, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life in this most unique place in the world.

It was a lot for Amaria to take in but this isn’t her first time trying something new for her, she always told herself that no matter what I will be bold, I will be strong, I will keep my head, and I will not show fear. She had experienced things in life that were never to be spoken about, such as being homeless at one time in life and that taught her to not only be humble, but to be strong, because she was at her lowest point in life. Amaria noticed that hard work and making real life choices is a really big thing in life to pay attention to and that’s what makes her Amaria, because no matter what, she always tries her best even though she goes through a lot of stress and anxiety. She is a loner and on a different planet. Now she has to make choices for herself and goals to be a professional chef that cooks around the whole world and to even feed the people in need. Sometimes being a loner makes her feel like she is underground with no help and stuck in her own thoughts, and it can make her feel like she is in a tornado with her thoughts, stuck trying to breathe in air with positive thoughts. But her negative thoughts with having no parents, no one to call for help, just makes her feel alone and desperate. She never had any siblings, her parents both left her when she was young, so she had to learn how to survive on her own. She only has one friend in New York, but she moved from New York to make a new life in Atlanta-205. She knows 11

making new changes would be a little scary, but it was either that or go back to your past in New York, which was struggling to have a meal or a roof over her head and not having it like other people, but still trying to be grateful for what she did have. One day she got up and tried to make a famous dish that she thought could make herself go worldwide to make her goals and dreams come true, which was to be a chef. So she got in her kitchen and set her oven on 400 degrees. She chopped onions and she cooked the raw beef in a black pan with oil and peppers. She began to boil the noodles. She felt so excited, but at the same time nervous about if it would taste good or even look presentable. But all that mattered to her is that she tried to achieve her number one goal in life. After she was done cooking she put it all together and it looked so yummy with the beef oils coming out of tomato sauce with the cheesy-ness as they grabbed a fork to take a slice. It smelled like victory with a little bit of passion. She took a bite. It was like her taste buds were having a dance party and they were enjoying every minute of that meal. All she could think of is how great she could be. Everyday before she went to sleep she would think about the cool air of New York flowing through her long hair. She closed her eyes and reminded her that life is going to get better as long as you keep your head high and your shoulders up high.

One thing I love about Amaria is she reminds me of myself, she just wants to be happy, and accomplish the goals in her life without her having to let her inner negative thoughts take over her and make her feel like she is going down the wrong path, when really she is doing good she just need to keep her head high as she said.

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How Reality is Like

by Arrianna Murray

My story is about a girl and how she was born with a superpower called super strength and how everyone was shocked because when her mom went to go feed her, she pushed the food in her mom’s face.

When her mom would go out she would step on cracks and break her back really bad and they thought they were having bad luck, but it was just their daughter’s superpower. As she got older it started to calm down.

Her world is so perfect and she lives in a rich house and neighborhood. Her parents are strict and controlling so she feels like her parents don’t care about her when they do they just want the best for Maccalie. She likes to go and party, but her parents won’t let her.

She ran out and slammed the door because she thought her parents were controlling and annoying. Her parents were worried about her and she was out doing her own thing while her parents were at home crying and worried. She didn’t care and after 24 hours her parents waited for Maccalie to come home, but she didn’t show up.

They started putting up missing posters of her and then she saw herself on the poster all over the city. Then she decided to wear a disguise so people couldn’t see who she really was. She didn’t know where she was, so she asked this homeless guy for some help and then he stole her backpack and she ran after him. When she found out she had super strength and got her backpack back, Maccalie punched the homeless guy, then he ran off. When she went back home and told her parents what she did, they were so proud of her and happy to see her at the same time and she lived happy again and her parents let her go out with her friends at night, but as long as she called her parents and let them know she was ok. And she does, but she doesn’t need to let them know she is ok, because she has super strength and was living her best life ever.

Then by the time she turned 21, she went off to college and had her own dorm room and she was happy, but she was kind of sad that she left her parents because who was going to protect her parents from bad people? So she snuck off campus and went back home to 13

check on her parents, but her parents weren’t there. She started to cry and break things, and then she went out to look for her parents.

She looked all over her city and couldn’t find them, but there was one place she didn’t check and that was a safe house. And then she found them and gave them a big hug and said how much she loved them and will never leave them again and she would come by everyday to check on her parents. They were fine.

14

Why?

by Gianna Henry

I laughed vigorously, as the wind blew through my hair. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be here and if my dad had caught me I’d be in a tremendous amount of trouble. I liked, no, loved, coming on the roof. It was a breath of fresh air. Going on the roof of our 15th floor apartment building. My dad doesn’t think it’s safe, but I know how to handle myself. Not a lot of people come up here so I’ve managed to keep it a safe haven. I’ve even decorated it a bit. It’s late fall and looking at the trees and the different colors of the leaves brings me peace for some weird reason. I can’t quite explain.

“Gideon!!” My father screamed, scaring me out of my daydream.

“What are you doing on the roof ?! I said not to dare step foot on this roof again!! Why do you have such a hard time when it comes to listening? You know—” I completely blocked him out, I’ve heard this lecture before, one too many times. I started making my way downstairs. I heard my father’s booming voice and him trailing behind me. I knew why my dad didn’t want me on the roof, not that he thought I was going to, but maybe out of fear or paranoia. My dad is a single parent, I try to push him to get out there because I know how sad he’s been since mom passed, and she passed a long time ago.

To make a long story short she had killed herself. I’m not sad and it doesn’t keep me up at night. I mean, sometimes it crosses my mind as to why she would do it and why she didn’t feel as if she belonged here.

I was just a baby when she did it and coincidentally she jumped off a building. I think that’s what makes my dad so paranoid, the whole being on a roof thing. I never had a special connection with my mom so it doesn’t make me as sad, sometimes I feel bad for not being sad about it. We finally reached the door to our apartment. It was good for two people, I helped my father decorate it by taking inspo from Pinterest. I was a fan of bohemian decor and warm tones and colors, so I incorporated it in the apartment. My neighbors were really chill too. My father gave a worn out sigh. I felt bad. I know he’s nervous but I’ve explained time and time again that I would never leave him. I like being on the roof, the wind going through my hair, I feel free up 15

there as if all my problems have disappeared. I feel infinite. I looked over at my father, his once jet black hair going gray. His eyes that used to be so bright looked grim and gray. He looked tired and sad. I truly felt for him. My mom passed away more than a decade ago, but I think it hit harder for him. He sometimes would think of her and just get sad knowing that there’s nobody else out there like my mom.

He knew her for her, I didn’t know her at all. He’s talked about her only once to me, saying how she was absolutely stunning, her smile was breathtaking and her laughter, everything she did, was amazing in his eyes. Sometimes he blames himself for her death, how he wasn’t seeing the signs. I don’t think it was his fault at all but as soon as I say something he shuts the conversation down. I walked over to my room, my second favorite place. My dad made me decorate it to my liking, just stepping inside I feel warm and cozy. I practically run over to my reading corner. I don’t understand how people don’t like reading. I always feel as if I’m somewhere else; somewhere better when I read.

“Gideon,” My dad said standing awkwardly by the doorway. It’s as if he wanted to come inside but was unsure of himself.

“Yes.” I looked up from my book waiting for him to say something.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you . . . earlier. I-I was just . . . I really do care about you.” He looked genuine and an awkward smile was on his face. I wanted to be mad at him and ask him why I couldn’t be on the roof. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t going to do what mom did, but when I looked at his face. His tired face. I couldn’t bear to tell him off.

“It’s okay!” I tried to sound fine so he didn’t feel as bad. My dad hated yelling at me, but nowadays it’s all he’s been doing. I’ve seen photos of my mom before with her dark brown, almond shaped eyes and her smile with perfect pearly whites to finish it off. Even though I didn’t know her, she definitely was a beauty. My dad says I look like her more and more everyday. I take it as a compliment; it’s sometimes off putting because it’s like every time my dad looks at me he sees her. I don’t know if that gives him comfort or heartache. I opened my laptop scrolling through Pinterest. I love doing that in my pastime, just endless scrolling through my Pinterest feed seeing a life that I so badly wanted to live. Pretty girls, with pretty faces, nice bodies, and perfect lives. At least that’s what it looked liked. I try not to compare my life to others but sometimes it’s so hard. I truly can’t help it. Sometimes I like to daydream about a perfect life, my version of a perfect life, where my dad doesn’t always look sad and so full of defeat and where 16

I have all the books known to man-kind. They’re called dreams for a reason though, I can just hope with all my heart that that does happen.

“Gideon, dinner is ready,” my dad called. We were having take out per usual. My dad can’t cook to save his life, he’s even burnt a grilled cheese sandwich . . . A grilled cheese sandwich, and no offense but I don’t think he’s ever been introduced to seasoning, just don’t tell him I said that though. I think things were still a little awkward from when he yelled at me earlier. Dinner was pretty silent. It usually is but this silence was unbearable. Normally we’d talked about true crime and if we couldn’t think of anything the default would be a talk about school. I hate talking about school. I love school or at least try to but the kids make it a living hell. I have one friend, Genevieve. I call her Ginny for short. I think having at least one friend is better than having no friends at all. We’ve been friends since birth. Her mom was my mom’s best friend since they were young and they went to the same college. So Ginny and I are practically inseparable. I was interrupted by my thoughts when the phone rang. My dad has a rule, no phones at the dinner table so we ignored it. That’s when it rang again. My dad went to go answer it.

“Hello . . .” he answered hesitantly. I assume that it was just some silly kids messing around and prank calling, but my dad looked as if he’d seen a ghost. I looked curiously trying to see what could make him react like this. After a good five minutes he’d finally hung up. My curiosity had gotten the best of me and I immediately asked him who had called at such an hour. He said with a stunned expression, “Your grandparents.”

I was taken aback, my dad’s parents had died years ago.

“Grandparents?” I mumbled.

“Yes, your mom’s parents.” I got a shiver up my spine. My dad has never, and I mean never, talked about my mom’s parents. I never even thought about my mom’s parents or the fact that she had relatives other than me. I was stunned. I had so many questions.

“W-why did they call?” I stammered, barely able to speak coherently.

“They asked about you. They said they wanted to get to know you.”

I wanted to go off. How dare they want to get to know me. This is their first time calling since forever. I never even knew about them.

They obviously knew about me and decided it was best to not reach 17

out, so why do they want to talk now? I knew my mom had parents but my dad didn’t mention them a lot. Actually thinking about it, he’s only mentioned them once and it was really brief. When I was younger my dad talked about my mom making sure that I knew who she was since she passed when I was so young. I asked if she had any family members and if I had a grandpa and grandma. He was hesitant to answer me at first, but then he said how her parents didn’t approve of their relationship. I had wondered why, there’s nothing wrong with my dad. He never answered. Thinking about it now, I think they were just racist. My dad is Black and my mom is white. That’s the only conclusion I could come to. My dad is a good man and he has so much love for my mom even though she’s not here.

“So what now?” I asked. I wanted to know my dad’s next moves.

I wish I knew what he was thinking right now.

“They called saying they wanted you to spend half a year with them. They live in a nice neighborhood with a good school,” he said with a sigh.

“So what does that have to do with me? Tell them you’re glad for the offer but no thanks. They can’t just waltz in my life like this,” I exclaimed. I had started crying without even knowing it. They had practically disowned my mom for being with who she wanted to be with, and now they want to act as if nothing has happened.

“I told them you would.” He looked completely defeated. I looked at him trying to see why, why he would say something like that. This has got to be the most confusing thing ever, I just don’t get it.

“Why?” was the only thing I could muster, I never even felt like arguing with him.

“They haven’t seen you Gideon, and they deserve that much at least. You need a change of environment. A couple of months away won’t hurt.” I felt as if I got stabbed in the back.

“Do you hate me Dad, do you want to get rid of me? Am I a burden? I will clean my room more. I will stop going on the roof.

I’m sorry.” I pleaded and begged, trying to say anything so he could change his mind.

“Gideon you’re fine. You’re not a burden. I love you. Change can be good, just see if you like it. It’s only half a year.” I never even bothered to answer because I knew his decision was final. One thing about my dad was that it was pretty difficult to change his mind. I walked to my room. My head was hot and almost pounding. I felt 18

faint, something about seeing my grandparents made me nervous.

Questions ran wild throughout my mind. Why now? Why did my dad think this was a good idea?

“Gideon! Gideon wake up, you’re going to be late!” My dad yelled my name down the hall. I groaned, still tired from the events of last night.

It felt like a weird dream that I couldn’t quite wake up from. I looked towards my nightstand at the clock. It read 7:15 and I had to be in school by 8. I didn’t feel like going to school. I still felt sick.

“Gideon!” my father yelled.

“I’m up. I’m up.” I exclaimed.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, and I felt sluggish. I took a deep breath, and stepped away from my bed taking a long stretch as a yawn followed. Taking a quick shower and throwing on a hoodie and sweatpants, I grabbed my bag, took a fruit bar and ran out the door before my father could say anything. I was still upset from yesterday and couldn’t believe he would do something like that without my judgment first. The walk to school was nice and gave me a chance to clear my head, just me and my thoughts. A lot was going through my mind. I never wanted to meet my grandparents but was curious as to how they would be. My dad told me they had a lot of money. He doesn’t talk about them much, and when I asked it was always very brief conversations. I checked my watch, 8:05, now I’m going to have to go to the office for a late pass. Ugh, I hate this. I ran the rest of the way to school, making my way to the office. I got my tardy slip and made my way to class. Everyone was already in their seats, I felt extremely out of place. I felt as if everyone was looking at me.

“Miss Davis . . . late again,” my teacher sighed. I’ve been late a lot these past couple of days or weeks. I can’t keep up, staying up and reading makes me tend to sleep in and I do that a lot.

All eyes stared at me. I felt extremely insecure. I looked like a bum with my sweats on and my hair in a messy bun.

“Yes, sorry,” I mumbled, nervously handing her my tardy slip.

I speedwalked to my seat, lowering my head to not be seen. I hated school. Ginny and I don’t have the same schedule so I only see her during lunch time and we have casual conversations in the hallway, but that’s about it. I always felt as if I was being stared at. I never liked attention, I don’t think I’m worthy of attention, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking that I’m constantly being judged.

19

“Gideon! Answer the question please.”

My head immediately jolted up. “Huh? What was the question?” I exclaimed. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for my answer.

“Not paying attention per usual. I’m not surprised. Stay after class,” my teacher huffed, giving me a look of disapproval. The bell had chimed, the day felt as if it was never going to end. The days were always so drawn out. “Gideon, you’re staying back.” I had almost forgotten.

“Yes Miss Williams. I’m sorry for not paying attention. I will be more attentive,” I said. I say this all the time, it’s even getting annoying even to me. I have decent grades. It’s just school, it’s tiring at times and I don’t really get the point. It’s a love-hate relationship with me and school.

“You seem to say that a lot, Gideon, but I see no change in you at all. You’re a smart girl, but you need to start putting your studies first.

Paying attention is crucial, and this class is important. If you fail this class you fail the grade. Don’t let this happen again or I will call your father,” she sighed.

“Okay,” I said nonchalantly. I didn’t care if she called my dad, I just wanted summer break to start. Going to class after class, lunch had finally started. I was looking forward to seeing Ginny. We talk about practically anything and everything. She’s a good friend to talk to, my only friend at that. I walked through the crowded hallways as I reached the cafeteria. I scanned the cafeteria trying to figure out where she was, she wasn’t in her usual seat. That’s when I heard my name called over the loudspeaker, “Gideon Davis please report to the main office! Gideon Davis please report to the main office!” I walked over to the office. Maybe my dad is picking me up earlier, that’s a relief.

I stepped inside the room busily looking for my dad. “Gideon!” a woman exclaimed, with her arms open approaching me. I stepped back confused. She looked to be in her mid 30’s and she had a man standing awkwardly next to her.

“Hi, umm, I don’t think I know you.” I laughed nervously.

“Oh, I’m your grandmother, but you can call me Magnolia,” she beamed. I stood there starstruck. My grandmother looked younger than I expected, and I never expected her to be here.

“Hi, Magnolia,” I said flatly. I wasn’t too excited to see her, just surprised. I didn’t want to give her that satisfaction of seeing me excited to see her, thinking she could just come here and it would be 20

sunshine and rainbows, she was mistaken.

“I know you’re quite surprised to see us here, we just couldn’t wait to see you,” she said awkwardly. She must’ve taken the hint that I wasn’t excited to see her. The man next to her was still standing there and he had yet to introduce himself. “Umm this is my husband, Micah. Sorry we’re just really nervous to see you.” There was an awkward silence.

I studied Micah, he also appeared to look quite young. He had black hair with strands of gray. His face was shaven, and his jawline sharp.

He had a warm yet stern look on his face. “I know you’re wondering why we just decided to pop up and call, but we never knew how to get in contact with you,” she said nervously.

“You didn’t know how to pick up a phone?” I responded sarcastically.

“Umm no we did, but uh it was really complicated. Umm I-I- we wanted to get in contact with you, but after your mom’s passing . . . we were in mourning and thought it best to stay away,” she stammered.

I didn’t know what to say and just felt exhausted. I’m 15 and they decided it best to stay away for that long. She was just making up a bunch of excuses and trying to cover up her own guilt. “We wanted to pick you up early so you could start packing, originally we were going to wait at the end—” I cut her off abruptly.

“I’m sorry but what do you mean pack my things,” I said, I was close to tears. I hated that they thought it was this easy. “Fifteen years and you weren’t even interested to pay me a visit once and here you are popping up out of nowhere. Thinking you can change my life with the snap of a finger.”

“Oh I thought your father had informed you we came here to pick you up so you can spend half the year with us,” she said it casually, as if this thing was normal. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t want to be rude to them, but I didn’t want to be open. They had every opportunity and they missed it. I picked up my bag with a look of frustration on my face. She started walking off. They probably thought they were so high and mighty better than the rest, they walked with purpose, walking with a look that said you’re going to know my name and I’m going to intimidate you. They had their car parked in the school parking lot. It was a black Mercedes-Benz. I didn’t know they had this much money. We drove over to my apartment complex and hiked up the stairs to the 5th floor. There was an elevator but I always preferred to take the steps and I wanted to be spiteful. I took 21

out my keys and opened the door. My dad was in the kitchen and when he saw Magnolia and Micah standing behind me he jolted up.

He quickly wished them a good day and looked like he was nervous out of his mind. They looked around the apartment silently judging, trying to take it all in. There was an awkward silence for quite a while.

“You can pack lightly, we can buy you some new clothes,” Magnolia said, breaking the silence. I went to my room. I was going to miss it as I was going to miss my dad. I was still mad at him though.

I looked through my closet to find a suitcase. I packed my sweats and loads of books. I still couldn’t believe this was happening. It felt like a never ending nightmare. I finally finished and went back to the kitchen where they were all standing. I looked over at my dad trying to detect his emotion. He looked serious and if I didn’t know my dad well I would think he didn’t care, but then I looked closely and his eyes were teary. I knew this was as hard on me as it was on him. He walked over to me and held me in a warm embrace. We were like that for a while until he kissed my forehead and finally let go. I wish we could stay like this forever. I hated leaving him all alone.

“Gideon, I’m going to miss you more than anything. I love you.

Listen and stay safe, okay?” he said. I heard his voice crack a bit. I wanted to cry but wanted to stay strong at the same time.

“Later Dad, love you too,” I replied.

“Alright off we go.” Magnolia ushered me out the door. We got back in the car, Micah was driving and Magnolia was riding passenger.

I was in the back, with my headphones on listening to music.

“It’s going to be a long drive, but we will be making stops if you want.” She turned around and looked at me with a wide smile on her face, squeezing my hand. I looked down. I felt disgusted. I don’t know why she’s trying to play nice. I’m trying not to hate them, but there’s so many mixed emotions and built up anger. I had fallen asleep and when I woke back up we were in this suburban town. I had figured we were close. I looked around at the organic food shops, the posh furniture stores, and the dazzling boutiques. This was different from what I was used to. No tall buildings and loads of traffic. We drove five more minutes. A huge gate was there, the gates had opened up and a gigantic house was behind it. I knew they were well off, but they practically lived in a mansion.

“We’re here, we tried to make sure everything was to your liking.

We have a library, your dad did tell us you’re fond of reading. Your 22

room is not decorated yet, but you can just order whatever you like,” she said, speaking fast and excited. I could hardly catch what she was saying, I was staring at awe in the house. I didn’t want to make it too obvious though.

“Okay.” I responded, sounding unimpressed. I stepped out of the car as the sun shined brightly in my face, I rubbed my eyes trying to adjust to the brightness of the sky. A man in a black tuxedo started removing my luggage from the trunk of the car. I started walking inside, and it was even bigger than I had imagined. There was a giant banister, I didn’t even know where to start.

“You can either take the stairs or the elevator to get around. Your room is on the second floor. Walk three doors down and it should be on the right. The library is on the third floor, so is the sitting room.

You have a bathroom in your room as well,” Magnolia said following a smile. Micah had never said a word since I saw the two of them standing in the office, just the same stern face.

“Thank you.” I said plainly.

“Would you like a tour of the house, to avoid getting lost?”

Magnolia asked.

“No thank you,” I responded. I walked up the stairs to my new room. It was massive. There was a gigantic bed with a canopy, a sofa, as well as a TV, a vanity area, and a massive bookshelf. The room looked like the size of our apartment, there was even a kitchenette.

I walked around the room a bit trying to take it all in. I decided to explore around the house a bit. I walked up to the third floor looking around curiously. I looked at some of the stuff hung up on the wall, most of it was just fancy artwork. That’s when I saw a picture of my mom. It was a graduation photo, she looked as if she was graduating college. She looked really pretty. She looked a lot like Magnolia. There was somebody standing next to her. They looked alike in a way. The same brunette hair with blond-ish highlights, the same almond shaped brown eyes, and the same perfect smile. The only slight difference was that the girl looked a lot younger than my mom, maybe by a couple of years. I was never told that my mom had any sisters. I wanted to be absolutely blown away, but I never knew a lot of stuff and this was far from some of the things that were going to surprise me today. I walked deeper into the hallway and the more I walked the darker it got. It seemed as if no one had been to this side of the house in years.

I began to cough from the amount of dust. It smelled terrible back 23

here. There was a little hatch in the ceiling, which I assumed was the attic. I pulled it down as silent as possible making sure to not make a sound. This part of the house seemed to be out of sight out of mind, and I didn’t want them to know I was back here.

“Gideon! What are you doing back here?! Close that hatch right now!” Magnolia screamed. I jumped as shivers ran down my spine.

“I-I’m so sorry Magnolia! I didn’t—” I stammered my heart beating out of my chest. This was the first time she had screamed at me, even raised her voice at all. I felt embarrassed.

“No I should be sorry, I never meant to scream at you. I forgot to tell you that this part of the hallway was off limits. Please follow me to the kitchen, I will tell the housekeeper to fix you up something to eat.

You ought to be starving,” she replied, calmer now but still nervous.

I wondered why she reacted this way as if she had something to hide.

We took the elevator downstairs to the kitchen.

“Gwen please fix up a light snack for Gideon please,” she said.

“I will be back. I have some business to take care of, please don’t go back to that side of the hallway again.” She left in haste before I could muster a reply. Gwen sent down a bowl of fruit and a sandwich. I thanked her and she left. I sat there in silence thinking about what was at the end of that hallway. It nagged at me. I ate half of the sandwich and threw away the rest. I didn’t have the stomach to finish anything.

I wouldn’t be able to investigate it now, but I have a plan when it’s night time.

I spent the rest of the day unpacking my things, scrolling through Pinterest, and waltzing around the house avoiding the end of the hallway. Finally it was nighttime, Magnolia had informed me that her and Micah would be out attending a dinner party and would be back around 12. I was in my room and peeked my head out. The housekeeper and butler must’ve been home or were in the servants quarters by now. I searched the utilities closet earlier and kept a flashlight under the bed. I dug around and found it again. The curiosity of what was in the attic had nagged at me for hours. I tiptoed up to the third floor, I was wearing all black to make sure nobody would see me. I walked near the end of the hallway and carefully but quietly opened the hatch. I walked up the steps, my hand holding on to the railing with the flashlight in my mouth. I stared around a bit making my eyes adjust. There were some boxes with labels like “Delilah’s books” and “Delilah’s clothes.” They were my mom’s stuff. I sat down on 24

the floor shuffling through the boxes. Another box read “Delilah and Madeline’s albums,” I looked through that box. It was pictures of my mom and a baby. I guess that was her sister, but my dad never mentioned my mom having siblings. I walked further into the attic.

There was a big portrait of my mother and another girl I assumed to be Madeline. I looked at it. I touched it. “What!?” I whisper-screamed, scared to wake anyone up and get caught. My finger went through the photo. My head felt dizzy. I must be seeing things. I touched the photo again and the same thing happened. I put my whole arm through the photo. This must be some weird supernatural dream; these things only happen in the movies. Okay let’s test this theory out. I walked through the photo.

“Hello?” I called out. I was in some weird paranormal thing. I must be hallucinating.

“Hi!” a voice called out. I looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from. I stood there shocked, I physically couldn’t move. “Are you lost hon?” the person said, sounding close by but so distant at the same time. My mind couldn’t process what was happening. I still stood there at a loss for words. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you, do you need any help?” the person said again with a concerned look on their face. I looked around trying to figure out where I was. I was in the town. I looked and saw the same organic shops, boutiques, and posh stores.

“Mom?” I replied. She looked at me confused.

“I’m sorry you must be confused, I’m not your mom but I can offer you some help, if you want to take it,” Delilah chuckled. She looked even prettier in person than she did in the pictures. I was confused. I’m seeing my mom that’s supposed to be dead standing right in front of me alive and well . . . but she says she’s not my mom.

“Umm yes actually- I-I’m lost.” I replied, staring at her in awe. I couldn’t believe it.

“Delilah where are you?” another voice called out. I looked over and it was Madeline.

“I’m helping this kid out, she’s lost,” Delilah called out. Madeline looked over at me and gave a small smile.

“I actually don’t have any parents. I just came over here. It’s a rough situation right now,” I said with my head down. I technically didn’t lie, my mom was standing right in front of my face and she didn’t know it.

25

“Oh that’s fine, you can come to my house. I’m pretty sure we will figure it out,” Delilah replied. We walked over to her house and it was pretty silent. I still felt weird. I’m walking home with my mom. She looked to be around 17, Madeline looked to be around my age. She was really pretty, her and my mom could have passed off as twins, I can’t believe I have an aunt. We reached their house and it still looked the same from when I saw it. We walked in. “My mom and dad aren’t home yet, but when they get here I will explain everything. Let’s go to my room,” she waved her hand and ushered me upstairs. Her room was the same one I was staying in. It was extremely neat except for a couple of books scattered on the floor. I looked around. “Make yourself comfortable.” I sat down on one of the couches. I was a little nervous as my mind still couldn’t process everything. I was trying to think of it in a logical way, the only thing that could explain this was time travel, but that was nearly impossible.

“Are you hungry?” Madeline asked. I looked up and saw her standing there a little hesitant to ask the question.

“Umm no thank you. T-thank you though,” I stuttered. She walked away heading over to where Delilah was silently reading a book. They talked amongst themselves. Delilah cleared her throat.

“Want to go to the gardens so we can hang out until my parents come back?” It was pretty awkward sitting in silence and I wanted to hang out with my mom even though she didn’t know who I was.

“Sure!” I said enthusiastically. We walked down the stairs, walking past the plenty of doors until we reached the screen doors. Madeline pushed it open and we went outside. The garden was beautiful with flowers of every color. Some I didn’t know of, magnolias to roses to dandelions, it went on and on. It looked to be about the afternoon as the sun was close to the setting.

“I never got your name,” Delilah said, trying to make small talk.

I thought about it wondering if I should say my real name, I didn’t want to affect the future, time traveling was dangerous if this is what’s happening. I looked at a lily in the garden.

“Oh, it’s Lily,” I quickly said. Delilah walked over to the swings, Madeline following closely behind.

“That’s a nice name, do you know where your parents are, or at least how you got here?” Madeline asked inquisitively. I had the same questions. I didn’t know exactly how I got here, I walked through the painting and poof I’m in the past. Of course I couldn’t say that though.

26

“I don’t know where they are, they passed away when I was young.

I took a train and a bus,” I responded. I hope this was convincing, they lived in the suburbs. I’m not even sure if buses passed here.

“Oh,” Delilah said. It seemed as if she almost knew I was lying but didn’t want to say anything. She sat down on the swings patting the seat next to her as a sign that I should sit down too. I took the hint and sat down awkwardly. “Well just know you can stay here as long as you want, we will try to get you back on your feet,” she nodded looking towards Madeline. Madeline gave a quick nod and a small smile. I eventually got comfortable and started talking to Madeline and Delilah as if I knew them for years. We had soon relaxed and all the tension had subsided. We laughed our heads off over silly jokes, talking about our interests, our likes and dislikes, how hard school was, and how annoying parents could be. Delilah looked so full of life. Her smile, the way her eyes crinkled up and shone when she giggled. How can a person so full of life kill themselves just like that?

“It’s getting pretty late,” Madeline said with a sigh. I didn’t want this day to end, I wanted to stay here but I knew I had to go back. I couldn’t just leave my dad like that, but I loved my mom despite just meeting her. I could see why my dad had fallen in love. We loved a lot of the same things; reading books, looking through magazines or in my case Pinterest, we both disliked school, we had so much in common. I even had some of her mannerisms. If I’m in the past I could fix the future, I could save my mom. I could change the event and this time she won’t die, she will be here. I loved my dad, but I loved this, we could all be happy together. I knew I could do this.

Delilah got off the swingset. “Let’s get back inside, I don’t think my parents are home yet so you can stay in my room,” she said excitedly.

“It’s going to be like a sleepover, can I stay in your room too Delilah? I want to hang out with Lily more!” Madeline pleaded doing puppy dog eyes.

“You can stay in my room, bring your blanket and let’s sneak snacks from the kitchen.” I got really excited, I’ve had a couple of sleepovers at Ginny’s house, but this one felt special having a sleepover with my mom and aunt, that never even knew they were my mom and aunt. We all gathered in Delilah’s room with snacks and blankets. We told scary stories, laughing wildly. The thought still nagged at me how was I supposed to stop the events from happening. Delilah looked to 27

be about 17 which is too far away from when she does it. I can’t stay here for the next 5-6 years. I had to go back to my reality.

I rubbed my eyes looking around, I looked at the boxes marked “Deliah’s stuff.” I was surrounded by boxes and pictures. I was in the attic. I rubbed my eyes once more to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I swore I had been in my mother’s room laughing with my aunt telling stories, how was I in the attic? It must have been a dream, it couldn’t have been. I walked over to the picture trying to put my hand through it but nothing had happened. I cried, not wanting anyone to hear me, my knees were to my chest as I was rolled up in a ball rocking back and forth, just having a silent cry. I wanted to stop it. I wanted to change things, but I can’t. I can’t. I can’t change it. Why did she leave me? Why did she leave dad behind? Tears streaming down my face as memories of my mom’s face came to memory pictures of her holding me as a baby. I didn’t know her but I missed her. I was going through a stage of grief that I had thought I had skipped, the thought of my mom being gone and me not being able to make proper memories with her finally hit me.

28

The Sun is Gone

by Janiya Hodge-Cruz

Fenix was exceptionally happy today. She was promoted to project manager and had another trip coming up, this time to Honduras.

As she was nearing her small apartment building, she noticed that her surroundings were darker than usual, that’s weird, she thought, but continued about her day. “Maybe it was daylight savings or something?” she mumbled to herself. Fenix swiftly pulled out her keys and waved to her elderly neighbor before stumbling into her living room. Fenix flipped her shoes off by the door, yawned and cracked her back, heading to her couch to watch the evening news. She was mid-yawn when she heard the words. “The sun has disappeared, please be prepared, run while yo—” the television shut off, actually it wasn’t just the T.V. but the lights, the oven warming her dinner, and the running water from her bath. Fenix’ first reaction was to check her fuse box until she heard the screams from her neighbors.

Fenix was delirious; she wanted to race outside and see what was going on but her feet were frozen to the ground, Why didn’t her body listen to her? Why couldn’t she help? Her breathing got shallow, this was a joke right? There was no way the sun, which she was annoyed by because it irritated her eyes every morning, was gone. Fenix breathed in, gathering all her courage as she peeked her head outside of the door. The pitch black darkness almost seemed to engulf Fenix, the scene almost seemed serene, there was nothing to look at which convinced Fenix that this was in fact a dream. I mean, it had to be, things like this only happened in movies. She convinced herself that if she just turned back and went to sleep this would all be over, and that’s what she did.

After ten minutes of twisting and turning, she gave up, the bellows from outside cursing at the sun and blaming the government had become unbearable for the woman. The headache Fenix had almost made her sick, forgetting the incident from yesterday, Fenix raced out the door to tell everyone outside to quiet down. “Hey, come on guys, I have work in the morning and it’s too early,” she croaked out, finally taking the crust out from her eyes she noticed she was once 29

again welcomed by darkness. No this couldn’t be, I’m sure I just woke up, I just— Her lips quivered. Her stance once again went from confident to hunched over as she tried searching for her front door, the screams that once seemed far away could be heard just two feet away from her.

“They turned off the power, that damn president and his minions, they did this, it’s all their fault,” a meek voice screeched.

“They’re trying to kill us, someone help, save us.”

Was that her neighbor? What were they doing out here, it’s too dangerous.

“Mrs. Park, are you okay? Where are you? let me help,” Fenix called desperately, wanting human interaction again.

“I’m right here, Fenix please help me, the government is trying to kill us,” the old woman called back.

“Mrs. Park p-please, where are you?” It was too dark to see anything. To Fenix it seemed like a never ending nightmare, was she really too useless to at least help one person? Her throat started closing up and her body started getting hot as she choked on her spit.

Her legs felt like jello as the measly limbs collapsed from beneath her.

Fenix was scared, no, terrified. She felt around what she recognized as her front lawn and crawled to her front door, afraid. Afraid of the things she couldn’t see, afraid that if she didn’t hurry someone would grab her and take her back out there again. She didn’t want to go back, at least for now. Those four walls which she found suffocating just a week ago, now comforted her. Fenix rolled in a ball, putting her knees in front of her face, she finally felt good enough to fall asleep.

Days and nights merged together for Fenix at this point, she didn’t know how life was going outside of her bedroom, and she ran out of food three days ago. Every time she took a breath it felt too painful, her body couldn’t produce anymore tears and her speech and thoughts were always slurred. What was she to do? Run outside again and risk getting lost just to help someone else who was probably dead by now? Or wait even longer hoping that someone or something would come save her?

Her best bet was to stay in the corner of the room, the corner that kept her safe from weeks prior, and dream about life before all of this to keep her sane. She missed the kids outside playing tag, she missed her nagging boss and she missed outside. Her eyes darted to where she thought her window was, picturing the large cherry blossom tree that always looked beautiful around this time of year. Her head slowly went back down into her knees as she quietly hummed a song which seemed familiar but she was much too out of her mind to remember.

30

My sun, my sun when will you come back, please save me. Fenix wished she could have said it out loud but her thoughts and the screams rang in her ear for what seemed like forever, making her forget her own speech. If I’m gone will my sweet sun come back? My sweet sun who I want to see so much, are you shy? Okay, I’ll leave just for you. Fenix took her last bit of strength to open her bedroom window, took a small sigh and jumped. It looked like Fenix was finally at peace, as her eyes lit up for the last time, she could finally see her sun. She was saved. The impact of the floor was enough to feel no pain, her body was sprawled out on her lawn as blood rushed out of her. The darkness welcomed Fenix, as her body as well as the many other ones blended into the shadows.

31

The Dark Meadows Dynasty

by Dakota Lisman

She opens her eyes and realizes she is stranded. May this unfamiliar land be home to unicorns and little elves? Or perhaps knights who’ve slain fire-breathing dragons? Be that as it may, the worst is yet to come. She stood up, perplexed on how she arrived. “Who am I?” she questioned.

Her name is Alexandria Evandore. An odd character. Her eyes, hazel brown. Her hair, a mix of chestnut and auburn. She’s an independent individual—too independent.

Now, as she sits there, lost and confused, her memory starts to return. “My name is Alexandria Evandore,” she recited to herself “I’m sixteen years old and I live in Wisconsin. But where am I now, and why am I here?” She decides to scan the area, hoping to find a familiar landmark of some sort. Though it was an open field, showered with lanterns enticing you to follow the path that they have paved. She scouts the area some more and notices a rather strange figure watching her from afar.

The stranger hadn’t realized they’d been noticed yet, as they were distracted by trying to figure out how an unfamiliar woman just wound up passed out in a field. It was only a matter of minutes until they realized; the person they were watching, was watching them as well.

They fled. Alexandria followed, hoping that eventually, she’d catch up to them. And in no time, she did.

“Who are you,” she asked. “And why were you watching me?”

The anger in her voice could not be ignored.

“Hi,” he stuttered. “I’m Kory, nice to meet you.”

He was a short fellow, an awkward one too. His skin was dark. He had snow-white hair and pretty gray eyes.

“I saw you passed out over there and I was too scared to go over and check on you,” he continued. “What’s your name?”

“Uhm, I’m Alexandria. Nice to meet you too.”

In a matter of minutes, they were acquainted.

“So, How’d you end up here?” Kory asked “I don’t know,” she replied. “I just woke up here, I guess. Where 32

am I anyway?”

“You’re in the Dark Meadows.”

She was confused. She had never heard of a ‘Dark Meadows’ ever in her life.

“Where on Earth is that?”

“Earth? This isn’t earth. This is Doaria” Alexandria paused. How did she end up on another planet?

In another universe? There are so many questions that need to be answered, and she relied on Kory to answer those questions.

“I’m from Earth. I don’t remember how I got here or why I did.

Help me remember, Kory.”

“Uh, okay,” Kory replied. “Was your memory erased or something?”

“I don’t know, but my mind feels fuzzy.”

Kory goes into his bag and pulls out a bright purple liquid.

“What is that?” Alexandria gasped.

“A memory potion, Drink it.”

The taste was strong; blueberries with a hint of lavender. Her head starts to spin. She starts to recollect her memories.

“I remember!” she shouts. “I’m looking for Romeo Dean III.” “The Emperor?”

“Yes, He’s taken an heirloom from my family.

I’m here to take it back.”

“I can take you there! I know exactly where to go!”

And at that point, their adventure awaited.

UCHOPIA — THE DYING VALE Alexandria and Kory’s adventure came to an abrupt pause. They hadn’t anticipated how far they were from the castle and needed a brief moment to take a break.

Uchopia was a wonderful place, not wonderful looking, yet wonderful nonetheless. Although the valley looked as perishing as can be, it was a very well-kept civilization. Everything was alive and well.

As Alexandria and Kory sit by a tree, they hear a strange noise coming from a shrub.

“What was that?” Kory whispered. It was a screeching sound, it hadn’t sounded like it could belong to an animal; or any life form of that matter.

“I’ll check,” muttered Alexandria.

33

She grabbed a nearby stick and crept up to the bush. She carefully poked at the shrub.

The mysterious creature was— “A lizard?” they say in unison.

It was a Yellow-Dotted Crescent Lizard, one of the rarest life forms Uchopia has, for its “dying” habitat makes it almost inhabitable for its kind. Kory was amazed. He had never seen one up close. “We have to check it out!” Kory shouts.

He slowly reaches out to the vibrant colored reptile, but something odd happens.

The lizard starts twitching; more rapidly by the second. It begins to get bigger, and bigger until a full-grown dragon stands in its place.

Kory gasps. “The Lunar Alignment . . . ” The Doarian Lunar Alignment happens every 30 years. It takes ordinary creatures and forms them into bigger—but not quite better—entities.

The dragon roars. It set fire to a couple of trees. The fire grew quickly.

“How do we fight a dragon!” Alexandria screams.

“I don’t know!”

Then it hit her.

“Its main defense is fire, so why don’t we use the opposite?

Water,” she thought. She searches for a nearby hose, and fortunately, there was one. Alexandria turns it on and aims it at the dragon. It screeches, similar to the sound it made in the shrubs.

“That means it’s dying.”

It falls to the ground and shrivels up to a small lizard again. They fixed the lizard problem but did not have time to fix its damage.

And with that, Uchopia had come to an end.

UCHOPIA — THE DEAD VALE “You think quickly, Alexandria,” Kory says. “You’re really smart.”

“I have to be smart,” she smiles, “Or my name isn’t Alexandria Evandore!”

Kory’s smile slowly faded.

“You’re an Evandore?” he said.

“Yes, I am..”

“I’m a Grantspire.”

Alexandria was confused, but then she remembered that a few 34

years back, her mother had explained that Tribe Evandore had been royalty hundreds of years ago, and had a feud with a nearby tribe, Tribe Grantspire.

It seems one side of the feud progressed, and the other still held a grudge.

“I can’t believe I ever helped an Evandore,” Kory mumbles. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a potion with its container shaped like a perfume bottle. It smelled like the memory potion, but off ?

The opposite. It was a reversal potion to the previous one. Before Alexandria could even speak, he spritzed her with the liquid. She falls to the ground and falls asleep.

They weren’t far from where they first met up, so Kory carried her back to the Dark Meadows, and went on his way.

She opens her eyes and realizes she is stranded. May this unfamiliar land be home to unicorns and little elves? Or perhaps knights who’ve slain fire-breathing dragons? Be that as it may, the worst is yet to come.

35

Breaking Free

by Maureen Marcel

Chapter 1 I did it. I, Bailey Macayla Espinoza, have finally graduated secondary school in this alternate world, World Sub, and I can finally go to the main world. Authorities will definitely notice me gone, but it is worth it. I have been stuck here for twelve years, and it is finally time to get out of here and find my father, and go after my dream job: becoming an actor in the main world, World Alpha.

How did I end up in this alternate world? Simple, my father, Terron Espinoza, is a world renowned scientist, and 12 years ago, he opened up a portal to an empty, alternate world. And he did it at the right time.

Twelve years ago, there was a population overload, and the population increased by thousands almost everyday. With that portal, random people were chosen to come to the alternate world; my mom and I were two of them. Ever since then, we’ve had schools opened up, regular jobs and malls, food stores, clothing stores, and more things that look like World Alpha.

So here I am, going back to find my dad and become that actor.

I do have some things I am going to deeply miss. I will miss my best friend, Caroline Meyers, who has been friends with me ever since we’ve been here. I will miss the sound of the childrens’ voices just echoing in the mountains when they go to play. I will miss my mom, even though she doesn’t care much of what I do. Mostly because she’s an alcoholic, which is totally against the rules, but she does it anyway.

I’ve got to get her to the main world too, so she can be free and see her husband who she pretty much is still in love with.

I will miss the cool air in this alternate world. It is never too hot or never too cold. I’ll miss living with another family in a mini mansion, a six bedroom, five bathroom house with red walls and a glass roof. Because of Caroline’s geeky and nerdy parents, it’s a smart home, full of devices and easier to use items. I live with Caroline, we’ve decided to merge our families together and create one big one. It’s been great. But I need to follow my dreams and become that actor I’ve always wanted to be.

36

Chapter 2 The plan was simple. Caroline, my best friend and well-known troublemaker, would distract the authorities guarding the portal while I would sneak in. I promised her to find her older brother, Matthew Meyers, and when I do, I will come back to bring her to the main world. I don’t have a clear plan on how I am going to come back and bring her in successfully, but it’s worth a try. I will not give up on my dreams on finding my father.

“Hey, wake up. Earth to the bravest bitch I know,” Caroline’s voice echoes in my mind. I quickly sit up, out of breath and sweating.

“Today’s the day isn’t it?” I stare at her fair white skin, gold blonde hair, and curvy body.

“Yeah. You had another nightmare? What was it about this time?” she says, sitting on my soft rug by my bed.

“The same thing. The day we got taken here. My mom was fighting with the authorities, how they pointed a gun at her head and mine too. They were forceful, and we didn’t even get to say goodbye.

I watched them throw my mom into their vehicle, and I felt metal on my head, and if I moved I would be done for.” I rub my face.

“Hey. Relax. You’re gonna see him. You’re also gonna find Matt and you’re coming back for me, remember?” She looks up at me.

“Of course. I’m gonna get ready in the meantime. What time is it?” I grab my phone off the nightstand. 7:43 A.M. “Okay, I’m going to help with your bags. My mom and dad aren’t here, which is the best part. But we have to go before 8,” Caroline says.

“If we go before 8, wouldn’t they catch us easier because we’re gone before they even check our houses?” I give her a confused look.

It’s a rule; no one is allowed to leave the house at 8 A.M. and 11 P.M. That’s when the authorities do a count of everyone in the world.

If a person is not at their home by those times, they get teleported to the real world for execution. It’s harsh. In World Alpha, the rules were pretty much relaxed. In World Sub it feels like pure hell. There are like fifty rules to keep up with and I can’t even remember them all. Which is why I want to get out of this dump.

“Oh right! Then they’re coming home right now. Oh. Ok, I’ll see you downstairs.” She jumps up in excitement and skips out. So much for a troublemaker. She’s happy. I should be too, but I’m more worried that this will blow over than be successful.After a refreshing shower, 37

and thirty minutes on doing my curly hair routine, I’m finally ready.

My chesnut brown skin is shiny. Me likey.

“Caroline! Let’s go!” I yell, carrying my stuff. I double-checked everything and kissed my mom goodbye, and we made holograms of us so that we won’t get caught. We used the Meyers’ hologram device they created last year. They’ve designed it as a reflection for the physical features, it won’t be long until they realize we’re gone, so we’ve got to get going.

Chapter 3 I watched as Caroline distracted the guards as she pulled out one of the weapons her parents made.

38

My Character And World

by Manasseh Morales

My name is The Amazing Kid and I get really mad when something bad happens with my wonderful day. I get really distracted over something that is really amazing.

The world that I will live in is a special place. When I looked at it, the sign had colors on it. It had blue and orange colors on the sign.

This place may feel fun because there was even a game where you roll a big heavy ball and it skates on a slippery floor then hits white things at the end. Then when I went inside there was an eating place and lots of machines. The Amazing said, I hope this will be the best trip ever.

I sat down and said I would like a pizza please. Sorry sir, but we’re all out. Oh, how about a burger or taco. Nope. I felt like I was going to rage really bad. But I calmed down and said, Is there anything that you guys have!? Well we have a hotdog and fries. Fine, I will take that even though I don’t like hotdogs. I have to eat something. Oh and don’t forget my drink. Got it. So I waited for one hour and said what’s taking my food so loooong! Then my food came, but when I ate it, it was cold. I said, my food is cold. I screamed so loud the people were looking at me. Oh. Uh. Sorry. So I sat back down and then I ate the cold hotdog and drank my cup of fruit punch. After the food, The Amazing went to play games on different machines. But every time I go to a machine people are already on it, but then there was one game machine I saw and it was perfect for The Amazing, me. This game is when lots of circles come out and then you have to roll them and let them go into different holes. Come on, I can do this because I’m The Amazing. I want this to be my best day and I’m going to make it happen. So I kept playing until I had a lot of tickets and I’m going to use all of them to get these three things: a Nerf gun, a camera, and the Nintendo Switch. Yes! I’m winning so many tickets! Yesssssss! I shout out loud, Okay I have a lot of tickets, I’m ready to cash them in. After that I’m ready. Hello, sir. I was wondering if you had a Nerf gun.

Nope. Oh how about a camera. Nope. A Nintendo Switch. Nope.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I rage so hard and said, “WHY can’t my day Get BETTER because it’s my birthday.” Then I started to cry and walk 39

away. Then the arcade was empty. Where is everyone? Then I saw a note on the table. It said, Dear The Amazing, come to the dining area and see what we got for you. Oh, okay. Hello. Surprise! Gasp! Happy birthday The Amazing Kid! Wait, what. That’s right we planned this all along. You did, The Amazing Kid said. That’s right! So my friends told him how they do it. It was a long story but my friends said we got presents. When The Amazing Kid opened the three gifts it was the things I wanted: the Nerf gun, camera and Nintendo Switch. After that, my friends sang Happy Birthday To You. Happy birthday to you.

And then I blew out the candle and said, this is my best birthday ever.

40

Breanna’s Nightmare

by Cevana Paul

Finally, it was the weekend, the day she looked forward to the most.

Around 5 o’clock she got a text from her friend asking if she wanted to head out for dinner later. She agrees and leaves the building a bit earlier than usual. She walks out the door and flips the sign “NOT IN,” heads to the elevator, and pushes the button to head down to the lobby. While walking to her car, she beeps her personal assistant and robot, Maya, to push back her evening meetings to Monday. “We’re going out tonight meet me at the house.” Maya is Breanna’s robot and she’s been connected to her since birth. Bre’s parents planted a Bluetooth chip in her arm while she was a child. The chip is connected to all of her devices. Not everyone in this world has a robot, only the ones who were lucky.

She drives home, greets her dog, and hops into the shower.

Around 30 minutes later, she’s getting ready to head out of the house until she steps on her dog’s electric collar. It shocks her, and she slips.

She lies on the floor. She groans. The pain grew in her head, her eyelids felt heavy, unable to get up. Not so long after, Maya rolls into Breanna’s house to see her laying on the floor. “BRE,” she screams in her voder voice, rolling over to her, zapping her repeatedly. She feels the zaps but Breanna lies on the floor unable to move. As she opens her eyes, she sees a white bright light on her face. She looks around the room to realize she’s strapped to the bed and there’s a tray with needles and knives right by her. She’s screaming for help and no one comes to save her until a nurse runs into the room and hits her in the head with a bigger metal tray. While she’s in her office working at her desk, her window is suddenly covered with darkness and she turns to see what’s going on. She sees an eight-foot creature towering over her building. The ugly creature punctures a hole through her window attempting to grab at her. She dodges the creature’s laser beam eyes and runs out of her office. As she’s running down the hallway, the ugly creature is following her through the windows. She heads to the storage room, throwing anything and everything in the room at the creature: pens, printer paper, boxes of ink, anything she can find. It 41

angers the creature so it grabs at Breanna again. Luckily, she finds a metal bar inside and beats the creature and it suddenly disappears. She walked out of the crumbling building and while she was walking away from the building, behind her it exploded, then it went black.

She jolts up from her dream, her work alarm blaring in her ear.

Looking down at her phone, it was 10:31 a.m. She was late for work.

Her phone was filled with missed calls and texts from her assistant and co-workers. Jumping out of bed and heading to the bathroom, running back and forth to her closet looking for a new outfit for work and making up an excuse as to why she was late. She couldn’t tell her assistant that she was late because she had a dream about a weird creature crashing into her building. It’s so childish and cliche. She rushes out the door, struggling to put her jacket on.

42

Telling My Friends about Mars and Other People

by Javier Richards

When John was on Mars, there were not a lot of life forms. There was only an ocean and three trees, and some vegetables. It was like out of Space One. They were falling off the tree and it made a loud noise, like a boom exploding. Then a giant worm came up and started to eat all of the vegetables, because now it was creating a new aroma that drew it closer. It was like when you are boiling candy together to make it the sweetest so you can eat it with other people.

John decided to explore further around Mars to see if there was anything he didn’t know that was on Mars, I see two families sitting in their house. They were drinking some kind of tea. It was green and they had tentacles flying out of it. He couldn’t believe that there were people on Mars.

When he tried to talk to them they were speaking a type of language that he didn’t know. Problem: They didn’t trust me because I just came to their town. They told me to get out. When I said I needed something to drink they forced me to get out. Then I tried to talk to them but they shot bullets at me.

It was like laser beams and they shot John in his foot. It hurt.

I ran till I lost them and I tried to find someone that was kind to help me to patch the wound but the second house I went to they did the same thing as the others when I was walking with the wound. I fainted and when I woke up I felt someone pulling me onto the hard ground. My back was scraped and I fell back to sleep and the next day I was healed up and I told the person that when I had some money I would pay her back. She was a kind old lady. I went back to Earth to ask people to help me on Mars. But no one seems to care about it, they just wanted the money. When I asked them to help me, they didn’t, so I had to ask people on the street to help me and I told them they can earn money if they help me.

They were crying with joy and they told me that they were looking for a job to help her kids go to school and to have something to eat. They were still crying and they asked, when do we start? After that we went back to Mars and we saw more trees. I said to them there were not a lot of trees. This looks like a miracle.

We cut down the trees, and we made houses, but they grow back differently like flaming fruit burning and you can eat it.

It feels like your stomach is burning and you really want to eat more and more but you can’t get more. And then we made juice to drink when we are digging, to 43

make us energetic. When we were digging, steam came out that burned my hand and blood was spraying everywhere. And a big animal you can call a monster came and drank the blood off the ground. And then it chased me. I ran till I reached the fly ship, and I flew to another location so I could find a healing ray to make my hand better. When I got there, the place was full of talking mushrooms and when you bite on it, it has a sweet taste to it.

But when I finally woke up I found out I was only hallucinating that a monster was still eating me and some of the people. But I just remembered that I ate flaming fruit that was burning my insides and I maybe fantasized about that monster eating me.

Twenty of them ran and 10 stayed to help me. The people were crying, but as more blood spilled, the monster did not know what to do so he called his friends to help. At that time, I thought I was going to die. But I looked up into the sky and I felt a heavy breeze hit my face. Then I said, a spaceship shoots the gun at the aliens that eat some of the people.

But when they came it was kinda too late because there were only five survivors: John and four other people.

Then we went farther around Mars. We didn’t care what happened to us, we only cared about the living things there we can observe.

44

Saving the World from One Crazy Robot

by Jonathan Rivera

The year is 2045 and the world as we know it is about to change. In today’s world everything is done on the internet and nothing is done with a piece of paper and a pencil anymore. Since coronavirus became a thing back in 2020, people haven’t been the same. Businesses shut down and people suffered. Since 2020 and early 2021, coronavirus slowed down and wasn’t as deadly anymore but it was still around.

People still wear masks and are socially distanced, but there is a new problem that is about to hit humanity and I don’t know if there’s a way to stop it.

NASA had detected a strange object in the earth’s atmosphere, but couldn’t detect it. No one except for the government knows about this strange object but I can tell you that it’s coming straight for us.

It could be aliens or something else living in space, but it is definitely not coming to help us. A couple of weeks passed by since the object showed up, but it’s getting closer and closer and now the public has been informed of this weird and strange object. Now the government has learned new information about this object and it’s not good.

This object in the earth’s atmosphere is carrying a toxic gas that can kill the human race. We have to stop this ship containing this gas or many lives are going to be lost. A few days have passed and out of nowhere the spaceship has been seen around the world and we don’t know where this ship is going to land and start releasing the toxic gas.

In the early morning on January 10th, an attack happened in Paris, France. Toxic gas was released but luckily only 10 people were in the area. The gas only goes 100 feet in the air and after that the gas can’t get to anyone. New video footage was released to the press in Paris and it shows the gas released by people with gas masks on. The question was: how were these people in space for so long and were undetected up until a few weeks ago? And how did they make this toxic ga? You may ask how they will get stopped. Well you haven’t seen me.

My name is KJ and I stop mass attacks before they even happen.

Since the attack on Paris they haven’t made a move, but what I do know is that they are in London right now and want to attack Moscow, 45

Russia next. It’s been a week since I found out where they have been.

I’m in London and I might be closing in on their location. I have found their location, they are in an abandoned building near Wembley Stadium. I planned to get them by scoping out the area and I realized that I have to sneak around during night.

So at 12:00 a.m. I go into the building and I see only one person.

I realize that one person was behind the attack the whole time, so I sneak up and I am about to take him out, and then he wakes up and looks at me. We stare at each other and start to fight. He swings and misses and I get three punches at him and hit all of them and he falls down. I find some rope, tie him up, and turn on the light. I look him in the face and . . . he says, “Hello KJ. I look familiar don’t I?” I’m shocked. It’s my brother AJ that I thought died when he went to space with NASA. I ask him why he is doing this and he says, “Because people stopped looking for me and gave up, so I want to get revenge by taking people’s lives.”

Out of nowhere he gets loose and tries to attack me with a knife, but misses. I grab his arm and take the knife away from and stab him in the leg but he doesn’t bleed and I see that he has a metal leg. I realize that this isn’t really my brother and that it’s a robot that used some new technology and he overpowers me out of nowhere and it looks like this might be over for me. I’m suffocating and can’t move, can’t feel my legs. Will this be the end? Will I stop this robot from killing people? My vision is blurry and then boom, something happens to the robot. It starts to shake and I get free. I get on top of the robot and cut its head off and then I call the police and tell them. The next day the world reports that the person that was behind the attacks was a robot. The good news is that I stopped one of the biggest attacks.

This is just one hurdle in the world that we got over, now we wait for the next call.

46

Another Day, Another Reality

by Rebeca Warner

Oh no! It’s already 8 o’clock and I was supposed to open the shop today. My clothes are so wrinkly and messy. Surely this is only a one time thing. Got to hurry before Mileka, the owner of the shop, calls and complains. “You need to get your act together,” she says. “Stop walloping around like a walrus,” she says. It’s not as easy if you only have a social and personal life centered around an old shop, My Little Convenience. Why not chat with friends or family you say? Why don’t you ask someone with a flexible schedule such as yours? Catching a break is as rare as me asking someone for help. Oh no, she’s reached here before me. First day of fall and everything goes to crap. I felt a cold yet crisp breeze past my shoulder, I shivered as her gaze became more intense. I hurried to open the door with such anticipation to already leave from this life-sucking job. It could be worse I guess. At least I’m not a nine to seven businessman coming home to a cheating wife. Here continues one of my many miserable day to day lives.

The sounds of the clock get louder as the day progresses, tick tock tick tock. This is what my life looks like most of the time. Well, my best friend, Clover, kept me company but he is off in a new world with the “perfect” everything. Cool breezes, smoky hot BBQs, block parties with no arguing or fighting, it’s everything you could wish for. Except for the fact that now he doesn’t have someone as amusing and lovely to keep him company. But, he’ll realize that it was a misrepresentation of thinking the “perfect” world could be something so pleasurable.

My ear is ringing and feels as if it’s about to bleed a stream. Huh? Oh, it’s a customer, has he been there the whole time? A pack of cigarettes? Oh, ok. I get you’re gonna kick the bucket but no need to rush the process. Maybe he’ll come to realize to cherish his loved ones and the times he has left here. I wondered, what about the people I cherish. One went away far from reach, another . . . another nothing.

Another, nobody but myself and this poor, old, dusty shop. Wow. Well let me hurry up and finish working then I’ll have time to overthink what poor decisions led me here led me here. Another day, another mentally drained me. Almost there gotta hurry, but the rain is pouring.

47

Why do I always end up in these situations that lead me to the worst experiences. I ran like a bull, straight to the main goal with no interest in distractions. Thank god I didn’t slip in that big puddle. My energy is depleting as I continue to tackle these obstacles on my way home.

Finally, we’ve reached my only safe space in the world. This shower is gonna take loads of worries away so much and slowly my fatigue will also wash away. Warm. Not too long ago I had a dream with me and Clover. Weird, right. Even though it didn’t feel long ago since he left, my mind still wanders about the thought of him. My dream took place in our favorite place as a child, the ice cream parlor. But this was not just a flashback to the past but more of a return to old memories. We were both older, like now, and said hi as if we just reunited from his trip. It felt so real yet so out of place knowing that it wasn’t real while slowly returning into reality.

Clementine? She is you. You are her. Same old Clementine like before. Slowly you noticed that this was the feeling of waking from a deep slumber. Alone with the only thing that brings you comfort nowadays, the last video taken with you and Clover before he took off.

Enough about this sappy memory and more about you. You studied the streets that are filled with many stubborn townspeople lately.

Viewed by many, you’re just a simple citizen working as a shopkeeper.

The shop, My Little Convenience, was once known for their great delicate pastries. Now, it’s just known as your local quick stop. Time arrives for the shop to close and that’s when it hits you. What’s he doing when you are not together. Your brain is crowded with these emotions every single day, as you long for his presence. You guys made the promise of experiencing every hardship together but yet he’s not on the same planet as you. Is he finding someone else to live the perfect life without you? But you remember you were built to be resilient and resourceful. Ever since you were born the odds were against you, even your own parents had resentment towards you. But, being the only child with a best friend that stayed with you helped. Yes, an only child; some may say it makes the child lonely but in your case, it helped make it easier to expect the worse and cherish the good. A memory of your mother yelling at you for coming home a little late resurfaces to your brain. The mistreatment from your parents was all you needed to know that there was no love in what they said. You find yourself already home but still dazed by how much you experienced in such little time. It’s quiet without Clover, your best friend, and his 48

daily mischief. Oh! What little thing just friskily brushed against your leg. It’s Lilac, Clover’s even more mischievous cat, signaling that he’s hungry. She only thinks of you as a source of food and a stranger when she feels like it. How can something so insensitive, mean so much to someone. But, anything he likes you like, so you accept all his distasteful enjoyments in life; this includes the evil furball eating its food right now. The only thing you look for is the owner of the furball to contact you or even if it’s for a few seconds. Forget him right now.

You want to talk to my mother to allow her to see what you were able to do with the little “love” she gave you. Without noticing you dialed her number; straight to her voicemail. Remember she didn’t even want you home so why bother calling. It does you no good and from the beginning, you knew that leaving the house on that skin frying, sweat inducing summer day that there was no going back. You knew but still chose to leave. It was the best choice because now you’re not worrying about the ugly hag on your back. She couldn’t even call once so why care. These thoughts flood your mind just as always; take that refreshing nap to reassure that you don’t need to depend on anyone but yourself. Yes. This is what you needed, what you always needed.

Now it’s time to make this dream last before it’s time for another dreadful day.

It feels so unreal in this dreamland of mine but so close to home.

I meet Clover in front of me, but this time more excited. It’s as if he’s been waiting for this very moment. I reached out to him and it felt as real as an actual person. Warm, yes. The same? No. We talked about things, like it was us meeting after being separated since his travel to the new planet. This a little too much for it not to be real. How could this be? I thought. I touched him once more and realized that this feeling was the same when I first met him. I was excited for some reason but still skeptical. Could this really be my imagination, even so why am I able to remember so much when waking up and feel so warm near him? Let me forget about such things and continue with what’s left of this dream.

The room always felt lighter when he entered. He broke the silence that no one ever could. But, that’s what someone that didn’t really know him would say. From an outside perspective you could assume wonderful things about Clover, like how upbeat yet mature he is. You may even think what a handsome respectable person he is, and how well he carries himself. But, everyone hides their true self 49

and true desires. Ever since we met he treated me as equal, it seemed impossible considering his family was more caring and welcoming.

All he wanted was freedom from that oh, so loving family bull. Along with his ugly laugh, came his ugly personality. Even now he sometimes yells at me for the littlest things. He purposely tries to annoy me with everything he could; turning the lights off, when he knows I’m deeply afraid of what hides in the shadows, is his specialty. You also could never catch his room dirty considering he’s such a neat freak; his three other siblings probably played into this. It’s kinda surprising when you think about it, he has more friends than I’ve ever had and yet he never shows his true personality to anyone else. It’s not as if I’m anyone special, but you could think that I would have something for him by the way he follows right behind me. Huh. Why must this doof of a man follow behind someone like me? I could stop and wonder or go and open this light weighted letter from him.

I received this letter from Clover. Surprised he isn’t off enjoying his utopia-like life and taking advantage of what he has. His letter read: Dear Clemintine, You can never understand how much you would have hated me for letting you come to this “perfect” world or known as the most “dullest” planet in our solar system.

Every day feels as if it’s repeating; I wake up, eat, shower, and sleep. The days feel longer as time passes by tick tock tick tock. Every single tick is another part of me missing you, while another tock is my love longing for your warmth. Everyone on my block, with such blinding yellow houses as bright as the burning hot sun, has a nice family that’s well off. Every day feels as if it’s repeating; I wake up, eat, shower, and sleep. It’s dreadful knowing that the same “perfect” agenda is the most dreadful thing you will spend doing here. It’s always sunny and bright just like your smile; harsh weather was many of the specialties that this planet could never offer. Which also takes away the fun from being able to run from the horrible yet refreshing rain. Every day feels as if it’s repeating; I wake up, eat, shower, and sleep. The faint smells of dandelions once filled me with joy, but now it’s the same old thing around here. Neighbors always greet each other as they each secretly detest one another as humans. I can clearly see behind there condescending smiles and eyes that take and judge you as a person built in this “perfect” society.

Every day feels as if it’s repeating; I wake up, eat, shower, and sleep. Surely it’s normal to be drowned with the weight of regret when remembering the one thing 50

that brung you joy is now on a different planet. But, now the feeling is overlapping these boring days and instead stabbing my brain with past memories of me and you. One day it will come to an end of always reminiscing on old memories and instead of us creating new ones.. Every day feels as if it’s repeating; I wake up, eat, shower, and sleep. But, recently I’ve been having these real-life dreams. Too real to be fake but too fake to be real. It was us standing by our favorite ice cream parlor when we were younger. But, it’s as if it was recent, like we visited after I came back from this planet. It’s as if you were right in front of me. Maybe, just maybe, it was real. I’m probably not in the right state of mind right now but I hope we can see each other soon.

Cordially, Clover <3 How could this be? Not one dream either. Maybe it was a coincidence or even just cause we are reminiscing on old memories at the same time. But, it’s a little too specific for it to be just a dream. It continued for the rest of the month from week to week. Not too long after, I received another letter. Titled, “It’s now a repeating occurrence,” which may be a little too weird for my liking. A certain part struck my attention as to where he said, “The more these dreams occur the more I long for you. It’s like you but warmer. I can memorize everything that happened in these dreams too. It’s scary knowing that we are so far but I feel closer to you having these dreams every once in a while.

Does this mean something? Remember that dream you had, the one where we were at the local park near the apartment. I’ve had that same dream, and I can’t stop thinking that this isn’t just a dream, but more of something that connects us; maybe even a portal that’s able to share our memories.”

At this point anything is possible considering our dreams are the same. So, why not take advantage of the only thing that bonds us together other than miles of space? Why not live this dream-like portal like it’s real; it’s the only escape from reality, so why not? Why not, because I know this reality can only make me suffer for my desires and drain me from my actual reality.

51

My Life

by Asalah Almardahi

My life is kinda complicated. There I go to the grave yard. I go there almost everyday at 6 a.m. I just walk around and put some flowers for my mom because I miss her. I get home late sometimes because I’m afraid that my dad will throw his anger at me for no specific reason.

I’m just a girl who’s just depressed sometimes, maybe most of the time. I’m pretty sure teenagers go through that, but it’s fine. Adults always say, “life gets better once you try something new than just stay in your room all alone like a bear in its cave.” I’m pretty sure that all adults just say that just for us teens. People. When I mean people, I mean adults that are really annoying and like to compare themselves with other people. For example, I said, “Dad why are you always mad?” He always says, “Because I’m always mad there’s no need for a reason. I’m like a guy who doesn’t care about anything.” That explains why he’s so moody. There I go on my way home. Just trying to get there before 7 a.m. so I can finish my assignments. As I arrived home I see that stupid robot again. The robots here are so annoying. I thought 2020 was a bad year, but it’s just 2021. To me the robots there are just basically servants but they talk a lot and sometimes they can be so messed up. I really don’t get why these robots are, you know, “helpful.” All they do is ruin things. Many people like these robots just because they work for them like servants. I don’t like them because they never leave me alone. Like if I’m on the roof trying to drink my Capri Sun in peace I’ll see a robot right behind me saying, “So how’s life for you,” which is pretty annoying if you ask me.

I’m already home now and all I see is my dad just drinking and making out with his girlfriend. That’s pretty annoying and weird to watch what your own dad does. Dads can be good but bad to kids at the same time, you know, but I just go with it. I yell, “I’m home.”

My dad ignores me because he can’t hear me through that making out with his girlfriend. As I just walked up the stairs I bumped into a robot. I picked the robot up and threw him in the trash because I hurt my feet. I swear robots are so annoying this year. I’m just hoping that the future will get better and there won’t be robots. Whoever made 52

robots during this present, pray for yourself because I will come for you. I go to my room and see a note on my bed that says, “Meet me tomorrow at the graveyard around 4 a.m..” It had no name on it so i just went with it. So there I change into my clothes and go down stairs to get myself a cup of ramen noodles. As I get my noodles, I do some of my homework and after that I shower and sleep. I hardly get sleep these days but i’m trying to get more time to sleep. My dad walks in my room saying, “I will be back later just gonna go out.” I honestly didn’t care, but I just ignored him.

It’s the next day and it’s already 3:21 a.m. I’m going to shower and leave to go to the grave yard. Later on, I’m already at the graveyard and I see a guy I know from my math class. His name is Petar. Let me just say we’re not friends, we barely talk. Well I hardly socialize with people, but anyways, the point is that this guy was here to tell me what happened about my mom. I was confused when my mom died because my dad said that the robots killed her. I thought it was an accident but I didn’t witness anything. I said to Petar, “Hello uh are you the guy that left a note on my bed?”

He said, “Yeah I put that on your bed so you can meet up with me so I can tell you what happened to you mom.” I was confused for a second because I don’t know how he knows about my mom.

Petar is the guy who basically knows everything if you ask me.

Like he’s a genius. So he goes on and tells me, “Why do you hate robots?”

I said, “I hate robots because I think they killed my mom.”

“Well you’re clearly wrong about what you just said. I disagree with you,” he said.

“Wait, I’m super confused. What makes you think you can just put a pathetic note on my bed. How did you even get in my house?”

I said in an angry tone.

“It’s really not that hard to just open your window and put a tiny note on your bed, neighbor,” he said, smirking.

“Well go on and tell me more about my mom.”

“Well your mom was just at the supermarket and all the sudden she got kidnapped by someone. The robots were with her. They were trying to help her but then the kidnapper stabbed her with a knife.

The kidnapper threw the knife at the robots and ran away,” he said.

When I heard him saying this to me I felt like crying but I didn’t want to cry because he was in front of me. Petar felt really bad for me but I 53

didn’t want him to keep saying sorry but really he did nothing. “Look I’m sorry I should’ve told you sooner and I’m sorry you lost someone you really loved in your life.” He said facing his head down.

“It’s fine really because everyone loses someone in their life . . . right?” I said with a cracked voice. Petar came to me and hugged me.

I was surprised at first because I knew him since 1st grade. It’s just that we never talk. Petar said he once lost someone in his life; it was his girlfriend. Her name was Alana. He really loved her but one day he broke up with her and she was traumatized. This rumor spread around the school like crazy but I honestly didn’t care until now because I thought it was a fake rumor going around the school. Sometimes people never learn to mind their own business. But I would suggest to them they should mind their business.

Petar told me that he wanted to hang out with me because he wanted to tell me more of what happened back in 2007, when my mom was killed. ”Well Petar I will see you tomorrow. Thanks for telling me what happened,” I said with a low voice. ”You’re welcome. I just thought you deserved the truth because that was your mom you lost and that you need to know what happened . . . and again I’m sorry. Meet me here tomorrow. Same time. Okay?”

Petar said.

“Yeah of course, I’ll see you tomorrow and uh remember my window is always open kid,” I said smiling.

“You do realize I’m older than you right?” he said. ”I know, it’s just that you’re still a kid to me. I know I’m still a kid too. But anyways later Petar,” I said waving bye.

“Later. Damn she’s one difficult chick,” he said laughing.

The next day I woke up and I found Petar climbing my window.

“Hey Pet—” I said.

“I have to tell you something important,” he said, rushing before I could even shower to meet him at the graveyard. He seemed serious about what he wanted to say. You won’t believe what Petar said . . .

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

54

The Lost Astronaut

by Zion Black

He was angry and all his pros gave up, but Cam gave charisma. He remembered all his skilled training to make fuel. To make fuel you need minerals. Good thing Cam packed them. Cam slowly got out, made the fuel, and put it in. Josh was rushing him so when he was coming back he shut the door and it locked so he couldn’t go back in and the space shuttle driver didn’t know Cam was in it so he drove off.

So Cam was stuck in the middle of space, low on oxygen. But no one knew he had an extra walkie talkie so he wrung in his boss Mr. Jordan and told him what happened. He said he will call up another space shuttle with full fuel and he will have a serious conversation with Josh.

Josh is back at his job and he thinks Cam is dead. He said, “Mr. Jordan I think Cam might be dead, he has low oxygen in the middle of space.”

Mr. Jordan said, “I already got a plan. I need to have a talk with you.”

Josh said, “Where is Cam? It’s been an hour. I’m officially announcing he’s dead.”

So Cam was going to his dream job interview, he was all dressed up. When he got there he got a serious call. The call was saying his sister and his mom got into a serious car accident on 3rd street and you need to come down to the hospital immediately. Cam was shook.

He quickly calls his brother to break the news, then he calls his boss saying he can’t make it, then he calls his brother and his brother says, “Go to your interview, mom and sissy would be proud.”

So Cam calls up his boss and says, “I’ll be there.”

Cam arrives at the interview building sad, but he keeps thriving.

The interviewer says, “Welcome. I’m sorry about what happened. I’m gonna introduce myself, my name is Mr. Jordan. I will be interviewing you today. First question: why do you think you will be a good fit for this job? What are your pros and cons?”

“Well I don’t have much cons, but pros I have a lot of. Lemme start off first: my pros are I cheer my peers and congratulate them on their success which is a big part of teamwork and helping with others.”

Mr. Jordan said, ”Yes, it will continue.”

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“Also I treat my co-workers with respect. That is the number one thing.”

Mr. Jordan said, “YES, you’re right” with a smile on his face.

“That’s what you need. You’re accepted, but I need you to do one big important task. I need you to come to space. Don’t worry rookie, you’ll have three pros with you, you will do good.”

The next day Cam is nervous, but he starts talking to the people he goes to work with making sure everything is straight because Cam is very cautious. The next day he gets to work worried and nervous, but he strives through. He gets on the ship and he notices there is not much fuel left, so he tells Josh, one of the pros. He says, “We will be okay.” So Josh was joking about the fuel coming out when they get blasted into space and guess what happened — they got stuck. Cam was mad at Josh but still showed praise because that’s one of his pros.

They called his brother. When Mr. Jordan called he said, “I’m sorry to announce your brother is dead in space. He was low on oxygen when he was in space and he was trapped in space, so we think he suffocated. Come down to the space station and I’ll tell you the rest.”

His brother appeared at the space station. He said they are having the funeral tomorrow and to be there at 8:00 sharp. Mr. Jordan starts doing his condolences. He starts off, “Cam was a young influencer. He was nice and he stood tall. He knew what to do and how to handle it.

Mr. Jordan finished, then his brother started. He finished, then finally Josh went and then he finished. Then he passed the mic to Cam. They said, “Cam do you have anything to say—” in shock, they said over, “CAM, we thought you were dead.”

“The space shuttle just arrived when I was on empty, then I refueled. I got back to earth and got a sandwich and I came back to say thank you to Mr. Jordan.”

Later that day Josh got demoted down to a farther spot. Cam got promoted to the pros and took Josh’s spot after Mr. Jordan pulled him back to his office and said, “Thank you for your creativity and your hard-working efficiency. Nothing would have gone your way, thank you, Cam.” Then Cam walked out the space station with his brother and he remembered his mom and his sister, and his brother said, “They’re good at home waiting for you, so go surprise them.” They walked in the house and started to pray. They prayed that God is good and they don’t want anything to split them up.

56

The Story of an Assassin

by Lateeq David Inspired by HUNTERxHUNTER by Yoshihiro Togashi

It was a snowy and cold night. In 2011, there was a kid named Killua raised by his parents. He and his parents are the deadliest and most infamous group of assassins. Killua has no friends; he was raised that way, only to kill and not to have friends. For Killua to get a friend, he’s going to leave home. The reason why Killua couldn’t have friends was because his father and brother raised him like that, for him not to have friends and was only to do his job: to kill. Because if he became friends with someone, he would want to kill them.

This takes place in the past, in the winter. Killua and his family live on Kukuroo Mountain. He wanted a friend to play with so he wanted to go to a hunter exam but his mom didn’t want him to leave, so he stabbed his mom and his brother, then he left and went to the hunter exam. The hunter exam is an exam to become a professional hunter. After a couple of hours he met three people named Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. For them to be professional hunters they have to go through five stages, and there are 500 people in the exam, so it wasn’t gonna be easy because you will have to kill.

In the four stages Killua goes through he is with Gon most of the time and wants to see him pass the exam. He wants to be friends with Gon. The last stage Gon is fighting someone, Gon wins but he was in a service room to heal. Next was Killua and some strange dude. The guy removes his needles off his face and it’s Killua’s brother. Killua is scared of Illumi because he knows he is strong so he forfeits. The next match starts with the martial artist fighting someone else named Hisoka. Hisoka is an interesting guy. He has failed the exam 34 times because of killing 20 examinees. He was disqualified for almost killing an examiner during his first attempt.

So the fight starts and Hisoka starts to attack. He was so fast that the martial artist couldn’t counter his attacks. Hisoka beat him badly and the martial artist forfeits the match. After the fight, Killua kills the martial artist and is disqualified from the exam. Then he goes home.

57

Dangerous Mind

by Amyrah Graham

The nighttime is so beautiful. Some people are inside getting ready to end the day, some are probably outside now getting the day started.

The sky is full of stars and there are busy cars running through the streets, making them look alive. It would be just a normal night, at least for you. In my world, it may look like yours to the naked eye, but there is evil that lurks as soon as the sun sets at 6:00. It makes me afraid to go anywhere, to trust anyone. It makes me cautious, makes me scared of anything. It feeds off my fear.

The sun has just set and I have to get prepared for my nightmares to come to life. I don’t know which fear it will choose for me today considering I have a lot, all I know is that I have to prepare for anything.

“Okay River, you can do this. They’re just nightmares that can most likely kill you. Just try to get over whatever fear your mind throws at you today. Okay, you got this!” I say to myself in an attempt to make me feel less scared. It doesn’t work. I set my alarm for 6:00am. I don’t want to get stuck in another nightmare. As soon as my head hits the pillow, it starts.

I’m in a warehouse. The walls and floor are rusty grey and there is no furniture. The first thing I notice is that there are no doors here, no windows, or crawl spaces either. It feels like I’m in a cell. It feels as if I’m on lockdown, like nobody is allowed in or out. It’s so quiet here, the silence is so loud my ears ring. The walls are closing in on me and it’s making it harder for me to breathe, somebody or something is stealing all my oxygen.

My eyes are starting to water, I feel lightheaded, I feel like I’m going to faint. It won’t allow me to faint though because that is an easy escape from here. It knows that if I faint, I won’t hear this painful silence anymore. All I see are these grey walls that are slowly, but painfully, suffocating me to death. There is not one living, breathing soul around to help me. They told me I was going to be fine, but I feel like I’m dying. They told me these nightmares were temporary, that they would help me get through them but nobody’s here. They lied. Suddenly my throat becomes tighter, it feels like there are hands 58

wrapped around my throat but I don’t see anyone. I reach out to stop whatever is choking me but it just becomes harder to breathe. Just as I’m certain I’m about to die, my alarm blared through my ears. “BEEP BEEP BEEP.” As soon as I get off my bed I run towards my mirror, and then I see it. There are big hand marks wrapped all around my neck.

When I look at them it’s like I could feel it all over again. Rough, dry hands is what it felt like. I wish I could call someone, anyone, to help me with these nightmares, but I can’t because everyone is gone. With that I look back towards the mirror and take in a shaky breath.

“Silence was my fear today,” I say in a whisper, still staring at my neck.

I know you’re probably wondering how these nightmares came to be. When I was 16 my family and I were going through a rough patch with money, so my parents signed me up for a science experiment because you would get over $40,000 for participating. The experiment was to try and get people’s dreams to come to life so when they wake up the next day, they will get whatever they dreamed about. But during the test run, something went horribly wrong. Someone messed up the programming and now only my nightmares would come to life, and since I was the only one who they tested on, it only happened to me.

They said that they would find a way to reverse it, that they would help me get rid of them. But it’s been four years now and I’m still dealing with my evil mind and its nightmares. My parents left me because they couldn’t deal with me screaming in the middle of the night and complaining how scared I am to fall asleep. My friends left me because they said I am a “freak.” I have accepted that nobody wants to be around me because of this, but it still hurts to know that I have no one to talk about my nightmares with.

I went back towards my room and grabbed my journal from under my bed. I write every single nightmare I had in here so I won’t forget them. I sit on my bed and flip through the pages until I land on a nightmare. “The eyes,” it says. I remember this one. I was 16 going on 17 when I had this. It was my sixth time having a nightmare. I was scared to go to sleep for a week because of this nightmare. *Flashback* The nightmare has me outside in a place I don’t recognize and it’s 59

nighttime. This is weird because it never takes me outside. It would usually have me inside my house, inside an abandoned building, anywhere, but it would always be indoors. When I look around I notice the streets are deserted, there are no people around, there are no cars parked or driving around, it’s just me. Or at least I thought. I could feel it, I don’t know how, but I could feel somebody watching me, calculating my every move, like I’m their prey and they are ready to strike. I turn once again just to make sure that I’m alone and then I see him, standing there at the end of the block staring at me. Or should I say it, because that thing does not look human. This thing is very tall, looks about seven foot, and it’s very skinny. The skin looks very pale, grey even. It looks rough, monstrous, horrifying. But the thing that scares me the most about this thing is its eyes. They are bloodshot red, they are filled with so much hate and disgust as it stares at me. It’s like it could see right through me, like it knows every single sin I have ever done in my entire life. It looks like it wants to tear me limb from limb. Whatever this thing is, it wants to crush me.

And I know that’s exactly what it wants to do when it starts stalking me with a smirk and its evil eyes. I turn around and pump my legs to run as fast as I can. I ran at least three blocks before I started slowing down. I’m breathing heavily, my lungs and legs are burning as I try to catch my breath as quickly as possible before that thing comes back.

“BANG!” I turned around to see what that noise was. It sounded like somebody just took a metal bat and hit something. My eyes frantically search the area to see where that noise came from. I feel a shiver going down my spine as I feel as though I’m being watched again. I turn around, painfully slow, and then I see it, towering over me just staring.

I feel like I can’t move, like I’m paralyzed. I’m even holding my breath because even it would be loud to breathe in this silent moment.

Now that it’s closer to me I could see that its eyes are even more red than what I thought. It’s so dark and evil, so sinful. These eyes sent an uneasy feeling in me and I didn’t like it one bit. The weird thing is that it doesn’t touch me, it just stares at me with the creepiest smile I have ever seen, but that’s enough for me to feel petrified. It feels like all the air is gone, that time has stopped and it’s just me and this monster. It won’t let me look away. It’s like its eyes are physically forcing my eyes to stay connected to it. It’s just staring and grinning.

It feels as though hours have gone by and the monster is still standing there. Just staring and grinning.

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Then my alarm goes off and I wake up but I could still feel its eyes staring at me. *End of flashback* As I shut the book and put it back under the bed, I remember the eyes. I remember when I woke up that day and I felt those eyes on me and right now, in this moment, when I put the book back, I could feel those eyes staring at me.

I wonder if I could ever, just once, have control over my nightmares.

I wonder if I could ever find a way to end these nightmares.

61

Strange Place

by Leighton Jappa

The sun is beaming and beautiful. This place is strange, but often nice. I still am lost on how to do lots of stuff here, but I will learn over time. This place is really strange, more than normal, but we’ll get to that in a second. I saw this guy on the streets. He looked really frightened, but I gave him a couple of dollars and kept it pushing. Maybe he’s just a little shook because of the storm that came through. He probably just wasn’t ready for it.

Now that I think about it, I have no more friends. I left them all when I moved here, but there’s always phone calls, right? Hopefully I don’t end up a social outcast because I can’t find any people to talk to or stay cooped up in my house. Speaking of being cooped up in the house, I’m gonna go out and go for a walk to see if I can study the area.

I wonder what people do for fun around here. I have all these questions, but no answers whatsoever. Maybe I’ll be able to meet somebody that can show me around or I can find a town map or something. I return home, eat and clean then get on my computer to do some research on this new place I moved to. Weirdly, I can’t find anything on this place besides the same old raggedy town map that I can’t use because it’s sooo old.

Now I’m gonna tell you about me. My name is Jace Blackwell and I’m gonna tell you some things about me so you can get to know me better. I like the colors black and red. My hobbies are video games and culinary arts. I like to cook, mainly because it also allows me to have alone time with myself and focus on something I really enjoy doing.

Things I don’t enjoy are shopping. It always ends in weird encounters or something like that. But isn’t it funny that I like to cook, but don’t like going to the store to get the supplies? You could even call it lazy in a way. Some character traits I possess are calm, caring, mature, loving, lovable and generous. I like to help people whenever I can. I don’t enjoy watching people suffer because that’s just so wrong. Another thing about me is I’m very jumpy which means I get scared very easily.

It could be a random loud noise and I’ll probably start running, so I’m usually very cautious about my surroundings.

That’s what’s different now after coming here. I’ve let my guard down. I have not been cautious just because this place is really beautiful 62

looking. Week one—I’m about a week into being in “Smallville.” I just recently learned the name of this place and I’m just finding out in a couple of days there will be our first sort of snow storm. And since that’s gonna happen, I’ll have to be ready to stay inside.

So today I’ll start my day by going shopping and getting the things that I’ll need to get me through the day. Today was the day the snowstorm hit. I proceeded to stay inside, but it’s a little more complicated after that. It gets late. The snowstorm starts to hit and we’re an hour in. The snow is nice in a way, but then I started hearing a loud banging noise and it sounds like metal hitting metal. This is when I started getting concerned. I go outside to check on what’s going on and I feel a hard thump smack me in the back of my head. So me being the scaredy-cat I am, I ran inside and checked what had happened.

Turns out there was nothing wrong with me. So I go outside once again and look up and see things falling from the sky. I look down and see a whole bunch of quarters. Turns out IT WAS LITERALLY RAINING QUARTERS! Remember when I said this place is strange?

This is EXACTLY what I meant, but it only goes downhill and more strange from here. Oh and also it smells like dirty and rusty, watered down metal now with all the quarters around in the snow.

Couple of months later, I’ve learned everything there is to know about Smallville. Or so I thought. After that weather months ago, I adapted to the new and strange things that happened in this city, but off that topic I need to get more groceries. I’m running out because I don’t go outside as much. I head to the grocery store to get all the groceries I need and on my way home a sudden storm hits. A loud thud arises and I get scared, almost dropping all the groceries I had just acquired, but then I realized it’s getting pretty late. It looks darker than usual. Darker than the average night. It looked like it was straight out of a horror movie. The sky was pitch black and that’s not even the worst part. The moon was blood red, it looked like you could even call it a blood moon. I stared deeply into the “blood moon” as I like to call it and as I looked into the moon, I witnessed my biggest fears come to life—or so I thought. Allow me to explain.

The events of Smallville and what happened there was two years ago and everything I just told you was my story on how it was when I used to live there. And there the journey came to an end, but in the present looking back at the past, I’LL NEVER want to experience something like that ever again.

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My Story

by Ronnayjah Jones

“Hey! My name is Sky and today I’m here to tell you about my story.”

Ever since I was five years old I always had a dream of becoming a famous singer and dancer. When I attended school I always knew I had a talent for singing and dancing. I wasn’t always as good as I am now. I had to do lots and lots of practicing. Like they always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

I love to experiment with my voice. Sometimes I like to try to sing notes that I’ve never tried before, but with enough practice, I knew I could do it. But sometimes it’s kind of hard wanting to be able to follow my dreams when I can’t even sing around others, let alone my own family. Imagine growing up with people telling you, “You aren’t good enough to make it to the big stage.” I tried my absolute best to prove to everyone that I can make it to the big stage. I practiced, practiced, and practiced. I wasn’t taking care of myself. In a blink of an eye, I woke up with the brightest light in my eye. It could make you go blind, everything was white. I thought I was in heaven until I heard a familiar voice. The familiar voice made me so happy as I finally opened my eyes. The familiar voice appeared to be my mother. The amount of joy I had was unexplainable, just seeing her there by my side made me so happy.

“ARE YOU OKAY?” my mother said nervously. I’ve been so focused on following my dreams I haven’t paid enough attention to the people around me. My mother always supported my dream, but what she didn’t want me to do was get hurt or sick while doing it. So I continued to focus on my health and following my dream. From the support of my mom, I never gave up and I gained the courage to perform for the first time in front of my school. It was very nerve racking, but I still managed to do it. I WILL continue to follow my dreams of becoming a singer because I know I can do it!

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On the Frontier

by Xavier Madera Inspired by Elite Dangerous, published by Frontier Developments

The year is 3307, deep in the galaxy of the Milky Way. This story is about a commander leading four of his crewmates and their adventure on a ship called the Anaconda, which was a ship adapted for all purposes like mining, exploration, combat, and trading. The Commander, an ex-bounty hunter; Romeo, a fighter; Dirk, a Fuel Rat; and lastly Yuri from the Empire. They are currently at the Coriolis Space Station, accepting jobs and building up credits to become the best crew in the galaxy, but they would need to make sure they climb the ranks and don’t get on the bad side of the Federation, Empire, or the Alliance which were the major factions.

After bringing in jobs and wanted men, Arissa Lavigny-Duval, the emperor of Achenar has noticed their work and has asked them to come to the Capitol for an important job. As they are supercruising, which is a way for humans to be able to reach and explore other planets light years away, Dirk had gotten a distress signal from a ship 30 light years away which was way too far for the Anaconda to reach in one space jump. Dirk tried to persuade the Commander into going to the distress signal. As he tried, the Anaconda hit a massive wave of energy which was too much for it to handle and the ship became unresponsive! As this happened the ship was forced out of the supercruise and landed in a battle between two battle cruisers, one from the Empire and another from the Federation, that was born from Earth and is the oldest faction including a dozen fighter ships.

The sounds of explosions and laser weapons were extremely loud.

Romeo and Yuri focused on getting the ship back up, but were disrupted by a nearby missile going off near the ship knocking Yuri down, hitting her head unconscious. Dirk had taken Yuri to the medbay where he gave her an injection of newly developed medicine which could make the human cells speed up and heal any injury, while Romeo was still focused on getting the ship to work again. Lasers started to hit the ship which was great as the ship had gotten started, shields started to work and the Commander started up the supercruise going to a nearby space station that was near the distress signal that 65

Dirk mentioned. The ship was severely damaged and needed repairs, which is why the Commander had chosen to go to the space station and to head to the distress signal to help the ship that needed saving.

While the Anaconda was getting repaired the crew decided to rent a cargo ship which was the only one available and headed to the distress signal. The ship looked old and had no weapons which would be dangerous if they encountered an enemy. Nearing the distress signal they noticed a fighter class ship floating around without power, as they got closer they saw two people, a man and a woman, struggling to get the ship started. Dirk had asked what they needed which was fuel. The Commander had checked the ship for spare fuel and found three canisters of fuel, giving it to the fighter ship. They were grateful and gave the crew ten thousand credits each, which was enough for the payment of the Anaconda ship repair.

They rushed to get back to the space station so they could reach the Capitol quickly and see the emperor for the job. When they got into the brand new looking Anaconda they got it started quickly and headed to the Capitol ignoring ships that would give greetings and jobs that would be a huge amount of credits so they wouldn’t have to switch destinations. Nearing their destination the Capitol was an exact look alike of Earth, although everyone knows that Earth is still around. These other planets allowed people to live on them like the humans on Earth did. As they landed near the emperor’s palace two guards were there to escort them to the emperor. The Palace was big and had an army of guards around.

The Commander saw the emperor talking to a group of men who looked ready to go out for a job. As they got near they could hear the emperor talk about a heavy combat crusader ship that was wanted for one million credits. Walking up they greeted the emperor and she got quick to business and told them where they needed to go for their job.

She wanted them to take out a wanted man who was causing havoc around the galaxy and killing innocent people. His last location was near Triton which was the moon of Neptune. They got suited up and designed their ship with more weapons to get the job done quickly.

They didn’t want to waste any more time and supercruised to Triton.

As they were heading to Triton their ship started to rattle a lot and they were forced out of the supercruise. Yuri checked to see what happened, and a loud sound which sounded like a Capital ship. As the unknown ship got into view it looked nothing like what they have seen 66

before. Romeo had said he heard stories from others when he used to serve the Imperial Navy. They scan for any dangerous weapons on a ship and they take them out. It was a bad idea to design the ship with weapons as the unknown ship scanned the Anaconda. The Commander started to ready up the weapons to battle this unknown ship, which set it off starting the battle.

Twenty minutes later, the Anaconda’s integrity was almost depleted and the shields were about to get destroyed. The unknown ship looks like it took the lasers and missiles from the Anaconda without taking any damage. Yuri had suggested that they get out of here as the Commander focused on getting the destination to reach Triton. As the ship was getting to reach where Triton was, the unknown ship launched a dozen missiles at the Anaconda destroying the shields and wiping the crew out. The end.

67

The Unexpected Birthday Twist

by Ebony Minor

Nyota and Nariyah weren’t your average, normal pair of twins. They were what you might call “different.” As you may know, most twins love spending time with each other. Some love matching, others love doing everything together. With Nyota and Nariyah . . . not so much.

They were both very independent girls. Although they weren’t as close as twins should be, they always absolutely enjoyed sharing their birthday with one another. That’s the only thing they liked doing as twins. They loved it so much because they were so good at coming up with birthday plans together. It was sort of like their tradition.

They were especially excited for this one coming up which was their sweet 16. They had been planning this birthday for months now and knew they had to do something big. Their parents loved this time of year because they knew Nyota and Nariyah never liked doing anything together, so seeing them come together like this made them happy.

The day had finally come. The twins had stayed up until midnight, so they would be the first to wish each other happy birthday. That’s also something they did every year.

“Happy birthday twinnnnn,” Nyota said.

“Right back at ya,” Nariyah replied.

“My girls are growing up so fast, where did the time go?” asked their mom.

“Lynette, maybe it’s time,” replied their dad.

“No. Not today, let them have their party. We can tell them tomorrow. They have been looking forward to this for months and I won’t ruin it for them.”

“Yeah but don’t you think we’ve lied to them long enough?

They’re turning 16 for goodness sake.”

“I’m fully aware. However, we can wait another day. And you better not say anything either, James.”

“Alright, if that’s how you want to do it.”

It was officially three o’ clock which meant it was party time.

Both twins had their party dresses on and their makeup was done all nice. Nyota had on a yellow off-the-shoulder short poofy dress, and 68

Nariyah had on the same dress but white and a little longer. Although it was both of their birthdays, they still didn’t want to look exactly the same.

As they both drove in their limo to the venue, their father looked more and more guilty by the minute. He didn’t know why he felt this way because he’d kept this secret for so long with no problem. He just thought they were at the age where they should know the truth.

As they arrived, the music was bumping, all their friends and family were there, it was an amazing set up and they couldn’t complain.

They danced, they ate, they even did a little bit of karaoke. Coming to the end of the party, it was time for speeches and boy did they get nervous. They both knew their friends would humiliate them with their embarrassing stories and what not, and they did. But all in all they learned to laugh at themselves. When it came time for their parents to give speeches, they got so emotional. Their mom gave a beautiful speech about how nicely they were growing up, and their dad just embarrassed them even more with funny stories about what they did when they were younger. Afterwards, it all came down to the father daughter dance. As their dad started to dance with his two beautiful girls, he teared up. I know what you’re thinking, what dad doesn’t? Although, he was not crying for the reason you think. He felt so guilty that he had been lying all this time. He knew that it wasn’t the place or time, but he just couldn’t help himself.

“Stop the music, stop the music,” he said. Lynette’s hands started to shake because she knew exactly where this was going by the look on their dad’s face.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Nariyah said.

“Girls, I hope you can forgive me.”

“About what?” said Nyota.

“Listen Nyota, you were born at 11:58 on April 3rd. Nariyah, you were born at 12:01 on April 4th.”

“Wait, so you’re saying . . . we weren’t born on the same day?”

Nyota said calmly.

“Yes, baby girl,” said their mom. Nyota was taking this surprisingly well, but Nariyah . . . not so much.

“WHY WOULD YOU LIE! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. YOU KNOW THAT’S THE ONE THING WE LOVE DOING TOGETHER. WHY NOT TELL US SOONER,” said Nariyah.

“That’s exactly why we didn’t want to tell you. We promised each 69

other we’d tell you guys on your 18th birthday,” said Lynette.

“18???? YOU WERE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL WE WERE 18?”

The whole room got silent. Some people looked shocked and others looked like they felt bad because they already knew.

“I know you’re mad,” said their dad.

“YES. VERY MUCH SO. YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I HAVE NEVER CELEBRATED MY BIRTHDAY ON MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY?” yelled Nariyah.

“Calm down Nariyah, you’re making a scene,” said Nyota.

“No, no, no, I’m not going to calm down. It’s easy for you to say because all this time you’ve been celebrating your birthday on your actual birthday.”

People started to quietly exit as things started to get awkward and tense. Lynette instantly started to regret not telling them sooner as their father had said. The drive back home was also silent and tense.

As they got home, there was still no conversation happening. Each twin went into their room and slammed the door behind them. After a week had gone by, the twins just couldn’t take it anymore and they had to get away for a while. They just couldn’t believe their parents had lied to them like that. So, they decided to travel to another planet.

They didn’t know which one they would go to, but they just wanted it to be far, far away. They didn’t know how long they would be gone or when they would be back. All they knew was, it would be somewhere without their parents.

70

For To Nothing

by David Ortiz

The biggest boxer in the world went by the name of Manny Ortiz. He was confident in everything from the way he walked, talked, took care of his wife and kids. But other than a life of being a dad, husband, and boxer, he also had an undercover life and would turn his back on many friends or family. If it had the word money or drugs, Manny would do anything for it. Manny was addicted to heroin; he threatened his life every chance he could. Manny thought he had the whole world under his fingernails. Being the undisputed champion, having a beautiful wife and kids, an amazing house, and regretting life. Manny was a myth.

Manny was getting involved in the cartel and was becoming known world-wide. He hadn’t been home in months and forfeited his belt from boxing which was concerning because boxing was his life. His wife was getting 50k in cash sent to her every month. Manny lived in an airplane which he would use as a dropoff for his clients.

Manny himself wasn’t the smartest person in the business. He would steal money and drugs, but he only did heroin. He would pop a shot right into his arm every time he got some, even when driving the plane. Being one of the richest, dirtiest people in the world Manny took a little too much heroin and crashed his plane, but he ended up surviving. The cartel found his plane with all the stolen money and drugs and put a bounty on his head for more than he had ever made working with them. Manny was found running by an old abandoned house a couple miles back from the crash. While Manny was setting up base camp in the house, all the cartel surrounded the area. Manny saw the first ever needle that started it all because he was lost, and while boxing was his life he didn’t want to do it anymore. He was tired of life, being a husband, a champion. Manny’s life wasn’t his and his escape was heroin.

Manny’s escape from reality was about to end his life with one last dose of a shot that could overdose any person. He punched the needle as hard as he could into his vein. Barely managing to walk, he stood up; prideful and brave. He walked outside with his hands to his sides and he uttered his last words.

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“Kill me already.”

Within seconds, Manny had breathed his last breath, reliving his life the same as it ended.

Manny’s lifeless body laid on the floor with nobody even thinking about him, but one side did. “MCP” or “Mechanical Cartel Producers.” They would experiment on people, dead people, and give them body modifications. Well they hoped they did, but none of their experiments ever worked. With Manny’s body it was found that his blood was a source of fuel for mechanical parts because all the heroin in his system was boosting the mechanical parts. Manny woke up, not in heaven, but instead in the heaven found within his mind. His body felt like he was in a future beyond time.

He got up with the eyes of vengeance and went to the same place he died, the house. He walked in and grabbed his heroin, pumped the needle deep into his vein right in the middle of his arm. Manny went to his section of the cartel, the same section who wanted him dead. That was the section he was going to get his revenge on. He kicked the door down and went to their camp in silence, the way he walked was like a lion hunting for his prey. Manny got there and he demolished, slaughtered the whole camp from person to person. He didn’t stop, he enjoyed every second. He left the camp bloody and disfigured everybody that hunted him down.

As of right now Manny is finally at peace with the world and himself. Manny sat down with the needle in his hands and started to think. Could he ever go back to his old life in the right way? The answer was no because he was too far into this life. The way he chose, Manny couldn’t ever go back, but only forward. With the needle in his hand, he stabbed his arm with a new shot of heroin. This was the new life Manny had in his mind.

72

The Opposite

by Isaih J Richmond

I’m Kevin and I’m not sure if anyone is reading this, but I’m stuck in an opposite world right now. It was 9:26 p.m. when I was preparing food for me and my girlfriend. I prepared the drinks and the snacks, all that was left was the popcorn. I took the popcorn out of the cabinet and started to read the instructions, “Put in microwave for three minutes.” As I opened the microwave and placed the popcorn bag in the middle, I proceeded to press each number one by one: 3, 0, 0, start. I blacked out and woke up with a terrible headache and was confused. As I struggled to get on my feet, I heard three loud beeps: BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. As I made it on my feet I smelled the scent of popcorn, remembering that I had prepared it for me and my girlfriend. I took a deep breath, still confused about what had happened, and made my way to my room. I opened the door to see my girlfriend nowhere in sight. I looked everywhere and still couldn’t find her. I was gonna give up until I remembered I could call her. I started to ring her, but there was no pickup. At that point I guessed she had just gone home. I put the snacks in the fridge and looked at the time, it was 6 :6. I couldn’t read the time, so I brushed it off, just thinking I hit my head too hard, and went to bed.

2

The next day . . .

I woke up and did my morning routine. As I headed downstairs I was greeted by my grandparents, not my parents.

“Where’s mom and dad?” I asked.

“Are you feeling okay?” my grandmother replied.

“Yes, where is mom?”

“Sweetie, your parents died in a car crash two months ago, we’ve been taking care of you ever since.”

I sat down, sitting there in disbelief. Then I got up once again. “I just saw them yesterday.”

“Sweetie, did you hit your head?”

“Yes, but I know what I am talking about!” I stormed out of 73

my house and headed to school, overthinking everything on the way there.

“My girlfriend wasn’t at my house anymore, the time looked different, and now my parents are dead, this is crazy. I got to find Kelly,” I said to myself. As I made it in the school building I instantly saw Kelly talking to one of her friends.

“What happened last night? You just left,” I said. “Last night at my house I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“What are you talking about? Get away from me you weirdo!” As she stormed away, her friend walked up to me.

“Are you okay? She was with me all night, and I thought you guys didn’t like each other.”

“What! That’s my girlfriend, and she was with me last night.” ‘’Yeah I think you need a doctor or something because something is wrong with you.”

I stood there, confused, still with this awful headache. I went to all my classes and after school I saw Kelly again. I caught up with her.

“Kelly, I know you don’t want to hear from me right now, but can you just listen?”

She stood there with her arms crossed like she was ready to listen.

“I don’t know what’s going on today, but I know we are together.

I even know every little thing about you.”

“Every little thing?”

“Yes,” I said instantly.

She looked at me as if she was ready for something. “Favorite color?”

“What?

“Favorite color!”

“Blue.”

“Favorite sport?”

“Basketball.”

“Favorite pet?”

“Dog.” “What’s my dog’s name?”

“Bailey” “Why?” “Because you named it after your celebrity crush.” She looked as if she was surprised.

“You see, I am your boyfriend.”

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“I don’t know why, but I believe you,” she said. Kelly began to give in and wanted to figure out what was happening Later that day . . .

“So, you said that you were preparing food for us and you blacked out.”

“Yeah.”

There was a long pause as if she was thinking. “Okay, tell me everything you did before blacking out.”

“Okay, I was heading down stairs, then I hit my foot and when I got in the kitchen I open-” “Not every little thing!”

“Oh sorry, I prepared the drinks and the snacks. All that was left was the popcorn. I opened the microwave and placed the popcorn bag in the middle. Then I pressed three, zero, zero, start and I blacked out.”

Another long pause.

“Wait. Do you know what the time was when you made the popcorn?”

“Yeah, 9:26” “And you said when you looked again the time was upside down and hard to read?”

“Yes.” “What time is it?”

I looked at the time and I saw 52:9.

“Quick, get a popcorn bag and do what you did!”

I took the popcorn out of the cabinet and opened the microwave.

I placed it in the middle and proceeded to press each number one by one: 3, 0, 0, start. I blacked out and woke up with the headache no longer there. I looked at the time: 9:29. Then I heard three loud beeps: BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. I took out the popcorn bag and snacks, I opened my door . . . and smiled.

75

The Aliens Are Coming

by Amani Jones

It was a wonderful week to camp in the great outdoors, even though the bugs were outside. Jenna and Ava decided to build a tent together. Their mom went to the grocery store to get some chocolate, marshmallows, and crackers. After building the tent, Ava decided to get some blankets from the house. When she came back, she discovered something in the garage. She called Jenna over and what they saw scared them.

They saw an alien carrying a big black bag. Both of them screamed, ran into the house, and locked the door. A few minutes later their mom came back with the stuff. Both of them rushed towards their mother and told her what they saw. Their mother didn’t believe them, she walked to the garage and didn’t see anything. The alien was gone and the black bag was gone too. She asked the girls when she went back to the house if they were playing with her and the girls said no.

A few minutes later they decided to forget what happened and began to make s’mores. It was getting dark so they decided to look at the sky to see the stars. Jenna had to use the bathroom, so she walked to the house when someone was calling her from the garage.

She walked to the garage and saw a tall figure. She called her mom but her mom couldn’t hear her. She ran to the house to get a flashlight to see what was in the garage. She turned on the flashlight and put it on the figure. What she saw gave her goosebumps all over her arms and legs. It was an alien that had dark big eyes, big yellow teeth, and a skinny body. The alien saw her and waved to her to tell her to come over to him. She walked over to the alien and he started talking like a human. He told her that the world was going to be full of aliens and they will take over the world. He also told her that she needs to tell her family before it’s too late. She asked him why the other aliens wanted to take over the world. He said the other aliens want humans to be prisoners so that they can have the whole world to themselves. Jenna was shocked and nervous that there were other aliens.

“What are we supposed to do?” she asked.

“Well, I will try to help you guys out,” the alien said.

Moments later, her mom saw her daughter talking to the alien.

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She freaked out and started to scream, but her daughter rushed to her and said he’s a good alien. Her mother stared at the alien and asked him what he was doing here. So he explained what was happening, and her mother started to freak out even more. The alien calmed her down and told her that he was going to help her and the other people.

Moments later a huge crowd started running to their houses and cars.

Jenna asked what was going on and the alien said that they were there.

Jenna’s mom grabbed Jenna and started looking for Ava, but Ava was gone. Ava was in the house crying and freaking out.

Everyone went inside and looked out the window. They saw hundreds, or thousands, of aliens walking into people’s houses and taking them. Jenna asked the alien what he’s going to do. The alien looked at her and told her to stay in the house and don’t come out.

He went outside and talked to the other aliens. The other aliens were mad at him because he was on the humans side and not theirs. So the aliens decided to kill him. Jenna saw him dead and started crying. The aliens spotted Jenna and rushed inside the house. They took Jenna, her mother, and her sister. They took all of the people around the world. They put them all in jail and nobody could stop them. Years went by and they still were in jail. Nobody knew how to fight them.

To be continued . . .

77

Home Invasion

by Rahjace Allen

Gigi was on her way home from work. She had this strange feeling that something in the sky was following her and all she saw was a giant green UFO. Gigi was terrified at what she saw, so she called her dad.

Gigi’s father answered the phone and told her to stay calm.

“There is no such thing as aliens.”

A few blocks away from her house, Gigi calmed herself down and was relieved. She got home and turned on her TV. Just going through channels she saw on the news that there had been several missing person cases and UFO sightings in her neighborhood. Gigi got up and locked all the doors and windows. Gigi was terrified, but eventually she fell asleep. Time went by and suddenly she heard glass shattering. She grabbed her phone and looked out the window and saw the same green UFO from before, and she saw three green weird looking creatures she had never seen before coming into her house.

Gigi got under her bed and called her father once again, he said he would be there in five minutes. Gigi was panicked, terrified, and scared when she saw slimy green tentacles moving towards her bedroom. The aliens moved the bed out the way with their minds and took Gigi to their UFO. Milo, Gigi’s father, looked on as the UFO took off and as the aliens took his daughter. Milo began to cry due to his only child being taken away from him. But then he wiped the tears away from his eyes and said, “I have to get my daughter back.”

Milo drove back home to go to his garage and pick up his spaceship. Milo arrived at his garage, but he noticed this green slimy substance next to his ray gun and his ship. Then an alien popped out of nowhere! Milo blasted his gun three times, leaving nothing but slime on the ground.

“I don’t have time for this,” said Milo. He got in his ship and started it up. Flying towards the UFO, Milo was on a mission to find his daughter and he would do anything to get Gigi back. Milo saw the UFO and at full speed he crashed through the UFO. Milo crashed through. He was inside the UFO, his head hurting, and he 78

was confused. But then he remembered why he was there. Milo got up and searched for Gigi, but he didn’t find her. Instead, he found all the missing people from the neighborhood locked away in cells. Milo asked where his daughter was. The people told Milo that the aliens took her in the back. Milo freed the missing people.

So in return, the people helped him get his daughter back. Milo and the others ran down and found Gigi strapped to a table. Milo ran in and gave Gigi a hug and a kiss, but this happy moment was ruined by a whole group of aliens charging them. Milo told everyone to run as he held the aliens off with his ray gun. Everyone got to the escape pods. Then everyone was safe and back home where they belonged.

Gigi and Milo had a laugh. “I guess aliens do exist,” Milo said.

79

Her Call

by Arianna Dixon

When I was born, I was bathed in the water from Emeren’s golden river. The people saw a girl born from two halves, a girl born from the bottom of Emeren’s society, as well as the top. Zemira, the song that would make everything whole. They saw change, finally those at the bottom would stop suffering because of the ongoing greed of those at the top. They were wrong. My mother saw a daughter to shape a person she would make into her own. She was wrong. My father saw change for his people, change for the life he had endured and people he grew up with. He would tell me about the people who had no food to eat, and the families who would starve because of all the resources being poured into empty wars. He’d told me about the animals, so rarely seen, and the constant crime.

With those memories, it’s hard to imagine how he ended up loving my mother, but still he did. My mother tries her best to get me away from her. I think I remind her too much of him. Maybe it’s the way my eyes shine brown like his. A constant reminder that he’ll never really be gone, that she’ll never be able to fully forget. So she pours herself into running our faulted country. So I wait.

I yank myself from my flow of thoughts in time to pay attention to Emeren’s daily announcements. More talk of revolts being dealt with and war casualties. I watch the announcements every day, feelings of guilt threatening to consume me. I can’t help but feel useless, like I’m failing all of the people who wanted more from me, who wanted me to fight for them. Like my father did. But it’s hard to be something for someone when no one ever asked me who I wanted to be, what I saw, what did I see? I close my eyes and take a deep breath. What good is a flower that cannot blossom? I look out through the windows of the HST, Emeren’s newest train model. We’ve been traveling across Emeren, going to Shantei, Zehra’s birthplace. I look over to where Zehra is sitting, her head resting against my shoulder. Zehra, my best friend. When I was little my father had taken me to Shantei. That’s where we met and ever since we’ve been inseparable. Traveling across Emeren and helping poor states grow crops and develop. Helping calm 80

down riots and build communities. I let myself drift asleep to memories of our childhood. I wake up to chaos. My head is pounding and sirens are going off in the distance. The glass screens that are seen across Emeren are illuminated with my mother’s face in panicked flashes as if in a struggle. She’s shouting but the screams in the HST drown out her words. Once I finally take in the scene around me I realize that Zehra has been grabbing me the whole time. Urging me to get up and focus.

I get up and she grabs my arm and pulls me off the train.

“What happened?” I shout over the loud noise.

She doesn’t respond and instead keeps pulling me. I try to focus, but I just give myself a headache. The sound of shouts and cries just make my headache worse. The swarm of people rushing into the streets makes the air warm and sticky and it’s getting harder to breathe without the feeling that I’m suffocating. The pounding in my head is too loud to welcome my fear of what will happen if I don’t relax. I look at Zehra and the emerging realization and panic that comes to her face when we meet eyes tells me enough. She pulls me to a stop and grabs my shoulders.

“Emeren’s technology has been breached,” she shouts.

“What! This can’t be happening.”

My eyes are wide in panic and my thoughts are stumbling like an ongoing wave filled with panic. We continue running and this time my mind can’t help but welcome my fear. My fear of how our technology-ridden country is getting breached. Fear of who could possibly be overriding our system. With the flow of people pushing and shoving past, I stumble and trip. My knee comes rushing to the floor, but before it can crash into the pavement, a group of vines tear out of the floor and catch it. Zehra, who is standing over me trying to lift me up, locks eyes with me. She looks around to see if anyone has noticed and the next wave of worry washes over her face. I look around and note that what just happened didn’t draw any attention from the pool of people running around. When I follow her eyes I can see the origin of her worry. A drone, one of the many that are placed all around Emeren, is facing directly at us. And with the news of Emeren’s breached technology I know that whoever is watching us isn’t from Emeren’s security.

A rush of clarity comes to me like a pound into my chest. All the times my mother didn’t allow me outside Illi, Emeren’s capital, and also the place with the best security in the country. I thought 81

she was just trying to be controlling, unlike my dad who would sneak me out. They never saw eye to eye when it came to me. But now I see why, I see why there were always officials from other countries over. What they were there for. I look at Zehra and the alarm on her face confirms my thoughts. Whoever has broken into Emeren is here looking for something, for me. And a drone just caught vines coming out of the floor to brace a girl from her fall. A girl who shouldn’t even have been there. Who should have listened.

Zehra grabs me even tighter and we run, falling into the crowd.

But I know that it’s too late. We can’t possibly outrun it, and surely more are on their way to us right now. I pull us to a stop and grab Zehra’s hands.

“You know we can’t outrun them,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

“No, no, no. We have to keep going, we can keep going,” she says while trying to tug me along.

She diverts her eyes from me, like she always does when she doesn’t want to acknowledge something. By this time dozens of drones have made their way around us and most of the people left. I begin to hear footsteps pounding, hundreds, maybe thousands.

“Hey,” I say, calling for Zehra’s attention. “Its okay, we’ll be okay” “No, I shouldn’t have let you come. I never should have let you come, I knew the risks-” she says, her voice trembling.

Her eyes are beginning to swell with tears and I can’t help but let mine swell too. Zehra never cries. She was always the strong one.

I close my eyes and hold onto Zehra even tighter. I let myself become aware. Aware of the still air as if even the planet is holding its breath, waiting. I become aware of the trees and even flowers that are miles away. And I call to it. When I open my eyes I know it’s answered.

The rush of assurance that comes to me leaves me, letting a breath escape. And the planet calls to me, urging me to sink deeper. But Zehra squeezes my hand, grounding me, and I lose that temptation.

When I look around I see thousands of soldiers on their way to us. Wearing the colors of their country. Orivin, one of the country’s Emeren had peace with. I also notice that the screens that once lit up with my mother’s face now light up with the colors of Orivin, blue and grey. And the drones that were once circling around us have left.

At this point I can see the soldiers clearly. And in the middle, leading everyone to us, is Caiden, the head of Orivin.

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“We don’t want a fight,” he shouts.

But what he doesn’t know is that he didn’t need to. That the wind is carrying his words to me. Not only his, but his soldiers’ too. Soldiers carrying guns and wearing all the newest technology designed for war.

There’s so many of them saying one thing.

“She isn’t natural.”

The anger that comes with hearing this makes the wind move faster. It makes the trees sway. Hearing what I’ve been hearing since I was a little girl. A girl born who could do things that others couldn’t, who could feel what others couldn’t. Some thought I was a miracle, others thought I was an abomination. The soldiers begin to shift on their feet as the wind gets harsher. I can tell they’re getting tense. I don’t waste time. I urge the ground, the trees, the wind, to follow me.

It does. I take the roots from the ground, growing them out until it creates a blockade. I let the wind grow harsh and unbearable on the other side. By this time the drones are back. Even more than there were before. I grow branches from the tree and grab them, pulling them down into the ground. I look over to Zehra and she’s in tears.

I take her hand, unsure of when to let it go, and I send her the rush of assurance that comes to me. Her eyes go wide and she relaxes. I take this time to close my eyes and search for my mother, I look for her through the ground, reach for her. But before I get to her I hear screams.

“Zemira, get up!” she says as I bring myself back.

“What is it?” I say, not noticing anything other than the shouts and angst from the soldiers behind the nature-made blockade. I look behind us and see another group of soldiers. But it’s clear from the black and gold colors these soldiers are wearing, they aren’t from Orivin. They’re from Emeren.

My hesitation and confusion end up costing me. When I push myself out of my confusion, it’s too late. When I look around the air buzzes with energy and I know it’s over. I’ve lost. With the clear feeling of assurance lost to me, I let myself get lost in my feelings of confusion and worry. Why am I being attacked by my own country? Is my mother involved? Where is she? But before I can continue, a loud screeching sound becomes loud in my ears. Antagonizing. I fall to my knees. I look around, holding my hands up to my ears, my hair pressed against my cheeks. The hood that I used to cover my face is long gone.

I see that the forcefield is down and Zehra is shouting to me trying to 83

help, unfazed along with the soldiers walking toward us. My eyes start to get heavy and I can’t seem to reach the environment like I once had. But I can feel its presence anyways, not just there, but watching.

I open my eyes. My head is pounding like it did in the HST and I’m unsure of when I even closed my eyes. When I try to move I realize I’m underground. I’m confused and my head is pounding, so I call to the land. This time it answers. It shows me everything as if trying to shove the memories towards me. Once the forcefield left, my body naturally called to the land as a defence mechanism, even when I was unconscious. I see myself getting covered with vines, sinking into the ground. The surge of rush and panic amongst the soldiers and the brave face Zehra puts on in my wake. Zehra, who I left. I tremble. They shoot her, not knowing who she is or what to do with her. I scream, the ground shakes but I continue. I call to the land, grasping for the comfort and assurance it gives. When it answers, my heart calms.

I continue looking, not at what happened, but at what’s happening now. I close my eyes and see that most of the land is deserted. Most either fled or died. I search for my mother. When I find her, that rush of assurance falters. All I can do is be angry. She’s with Caiden in Illi, talking about finding me. I had hoped that she changed, hoped that she finally cared. I was wrong. I sob. I sob for Zehra, who I couldn’t save, for my people, who wanted more from me, for my dad, who fought for me. And I sob until I fall into a sea of gold. This time when the land calls for me to fall deeper into its energy, I do.

When I was born I was bathed in Emeren’s golden river. My name is Zemira, a song. My father was a fighter and my mother was a deceiver. But I’m not. I’m nothing and everything, all at once. I’m the flower that bloomed, but also the quiet in the air. I onced wondered if I was the villain or the hero. If I would have a happy or sad ending.

But now I know.

I create and I bloom bright green flowers all over Shantei, Zehra’s favorite. I destroy the empty buildings and states, and create mountains and valleys. I call to those I know would treat Emeren well. I forgive and offer my assurance to those who would need it. I watch and I wait.

The land constantly urges me to lose myself completely in it. But still I stay. Because I’m not sure if I’m ready. Because I’m still not sure if I want to leave at all.

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RaGe

by Cristian Florentino

It is the year 2077, a dim dark circular object was found in the sky approaching the earth. NASA had cautioned the people close by to empty the zone before it hits. Nobody knew where the meteor came from as NASA had researched the universe previously before the dark object was seen. It has been inferred that this dull, dark opening was in fact a meteor bound to hit the earth.

The meteor shuts in, and as it closes in the people watch as their home is consumed into dust and the ground kindles before them, it had looked like a fountain of lava emitted before them. The people had anticipated the landing of the meteor would be harsh, however, the meteor was flying at a gradual speed, going across the sky like butter, it had everybody confused. As the meteor landed, the individuals saw an opening to it. Interested in what the thing was, people looked more closely. As the meteor hit the ground people finally noticed a leg leave the opening.

A shadowy figure leaves the opening, thinking about what had simply happened to him. Even he is befuddled on where he is.

“Who . . . are you?” a person from the crowd states nervously.

The crowd backs away further as they have no idea what this entity might be, nor what it intends to do to them.

“It’s alright, I don’t mean any harm!” the figure says. He mumbles under his breath, asking himself questions on how he may have ended up on Earth. Skeptical about the people around him, he turns around and flies away nowhere to be seen.

He arrives in a place struck with poverty. It reeks of trash, the smell like decaying carcasses abandoned in the sun. He is encircled by walls, the alleyway transmitting a dreadful aura that hits him with dread. He has no clue about where he has arrived, until the light hits him from the end of the alleyway.

He strolls towards the light, his hand covering his face as the sunbeams burn into his eye. He leaves to see a shocking sight, buildings burning, garbage all over the place, and the sickening sight of a group of men beating somebody to a bloody pulp. He has never 85

witnessed individuals experience anguish before, especially right before his eyes.

Not knowing what to do, he approaches them, his eyes loaded with rage as he strolls towards the pack of men. The group of men is armed with metal bats, every one of them having a bizarre electronic look to them. He snatches one of the men and pushes them away from the rear of the man on the floor. The remainder of the men look at him astounded and stunned by his threatening look.

“Gamma” is a large entity with a Shadow Aura emitting around him. His height averages 6 ‘5, his horns make him look like a moose ready to charge at anyone within his field of view. He has astounding strength, having the ability to throw 500 pounds worth of weight around like nothing, treating the people he grabs like feathers. He is a pretty nice guy for his aggressive look, he tends to help anyone in need and loves to do work for the citizens on his planet.

“What in the hell . . . ” one of the men mumbles, his face emitting a nervous smile as sweat drips down from his face. One of the men lets out a blood-curdling yell, his bat shines red, hitting Gamma over the head. There is a moment of silence, but the bat breaks as Gamma touches his head making sure he is alright. Gamma proceeds to unleash a cloud of his aura onto the man, making his bat and himself disappear into the wind.

“WE HAVE TO GO NOW! REPORT THAT THE LEADER HAS DISAPPEARED!” The group of men flee in a hurry, all turning the corner and getting into a van that screeches off into the distance.

Gamma looks down to the ground where the man is out cold, he mumbles as he is awakened by the yelling and screeching of the men.

The man wakes up, his eyes widen as he sees this shadow above him with his hand out.

“PLEASE, LET ME LIVE! I DID NOTHING WRONG TO YOU GUYS!” he yells.

“It’s alright, those men already left. You might need some medical care, man.” Whilst Gamma is talking, the man gets up and limps away from the scene, going down through the trash-piled alleyway dripping blood along the way, the smell of metal and iron emitting like a factory following him along the way.

Gamma strolls along the sidewalk thinking about what he had transformed into. He had never felt so much rage, particularly for 86

humans. His body heated up like a radiator, his eyes filled up with rage. He knew he had to leave, he did not intend to cause harm to anyone no matter what the cause was. He charges up, ready to fly away into the distance.

He winds up at the scene where his ship had landed, the floor is burnt and the police have considered it a crime scene. He approaches the crime scene and climbs over the tape. He has no clue that he is intruding on a crime scene as he had never seen the yellow tape before, assuming it was trash from the slums.

“Sir? What are you doing?” the office says nervously, looking up at the tall shadow.

“This is my spaceship . . . ?”

“Sorry sir, but you are going to have to leave,” the officer’s voice cracks.

“Leave . . . ?” His eyes fill with rage one again, his eyes are on fire, his arms clench, he is ready to take his ship back from the officers. He lunges at the officers and knocks them down in a row, he approaches his ship where two officers are inside searching the place, he grabs them both and headbutts both of their heads together before throwing them at the crowd.

He enters his ship and one of the officers calling backup decides to start the ship, but it’s damaged. He attempts to look for his emergency kit but one of the officers who was inside the ship has taken it. He runs out and flies towards the crowd where the officers were thrown, searching their pockets. As he searches their pockets a Special Police Task Force approaches the scene with a Bearcat (armored vehicle), from which they begin to fire at him. The bullets hit him, but go through him and hit the building behind him. He lunges at the Task Force and flings them all one by one, the witnesses had stated that he looked like a bull lunging at his targets. As he’s getting shot at by more operatives, he finds the emergency repair kit and runs into the ship. He opens the kit and finds a hotwire to bump start his ship.

He uses the hotwire to enter the electrical hole and start the ship.

As he starts the ship the leftover operatives begin shooting at the ship, but instead of going through it the bullets burn into ashes. The ship appears to be red, the magma ball immediately making everyone hot, causing some people to pass out. He zooms away into the sky, the thing he swore not to do is what he did again. He hated himself 87

for what he did to those civilians and those innocent cops, he could not take his personality anymore! He knew he needed to find help so he could finally go back to helping people instead of fighting and hurting innocent people.

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Dream

by Saray Hernandez

Run, run, run, RUN! Run as fast as you can, Sarina! I’m running, I’m running, I’m crying, I’m crying. Why am I crying?!

I tripped, I fell to the ground, and just for a moment I look up to the sky, I see white fluffy marshmallow clouds, dancing. And I smile.

I look behind me, I see a grown-ass man running towards me, I start to get up but then I trip and fall into this big hole and all I see is black and I shut my eyes. I open my eyes, I look around frightened, all I could see is black and then I look up to the hole I fell into. I see the grown-ass man walking slowly, looking around, and then he sits on the side of the hole.

Then he stops, quickly looking inside the hole I fell into and I move back, closing my mouth with my hands. He’s looking into the darkness, trying to see a movement (me). I walk slowly back, trying to walk away, but while I walk away slowly my right foot touches a branch on the ground and it breaks. I gasp and he moves his head as fast as a roller coaster, he’s staring at me up and down. I stared at him frightened as I was walking back slowly and he moved a bit and I started running, running inside this dark, dark cave.

I’m running, I’m running Mom, I promised I would get revenge, I’ll get revenge for you and the whole village.

A tear falls down my face and I wipe it off. I stop, confused, and I look behind me. I don’t hear any footsteps or any movements. It’s quiet, too quiet. I look around me scared, drips of slimy water all around my body, wet stains on my clothes, and heavy breathing. I look around and suddenly someone grabs my hand and pulls me to this corner of the dark cave. I look at this person while they are pulling me to this corner, it’s a guy, like my age. He grabs my shoulders and pulls me back to a wall.

He looks at me up and down, he says, “Are you alright, Miss?”

I looked at him confused. What did he just call me! I know, respect, but Miss? At least call me a funny name, damn. I say, “I’m alright and by the way the name is Sarina.”

“Oh, James, my name is James,” he says and I nod and before I 89

could say something he started. “By the way what are you do—” Before he could finish asking his question, I looked around and said, “I’m running.”

“You’re running?” he says.

“Yes I’m running, well technically I’m running from someone.

That’s why I’m breathing heavily and sweating everywhere. And thank god you came along. I would’ve probably died out there,” I say.

“Uh, well, we don’t have that much time. Let’s go!”

He grabs my hand and he pulls me and we start running, running until we see a light. And I started thinking, I’m going to run for my whole life aren’t I, Mom? The grown-ass man and everyone is not going to stop. They are not going to stop until I die, until I close my eyes forever.

A tear falls down my face and I wipe it off quickly before James sees. But why do I care, why do I care about his opinion?!

We finally stopped and I could see the sky and the fluffy marshmallows, dancing. And I look at James and he looks at me, he says, “We need to jump.”

I look at him scared and confused.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you die,” he says.

I breathe in and out slowly and I say, “Okay, count!”

He started counting, “5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2—” and before he could finish counting all I could hear was a gunshot and I looked behind me, the grown-ass man aiming the gun to my back and all you see is blood spreading to my shirt, my blood is spreading to my shirt!

Holy crap, there’s a bullet in my body and it hurts.

I started falling to my knees and my whole body moved. I’m falling, I’m falling, I’m flying. I look at how the clouds are getting higher and I’m getting lower. I looked behind me and I could see grass and flowers and I smiled. I wake up frightened, I look around my room and face my mirror. I see scratches, cuts, scrapes on my legs and arms.

I screamed, I looked at my back and there was nothing. No hole from the bullet, no scar from the bullet, nothing! I started looking around my room, there’s an IV stand and monitor next to my bed, but before I could finish looking around my room there’s a knock on my door, the knob starts turning in the opposite direction and the door opens.

There’s a man, with a white suit, glasses, hair down, and holding a binder.

He looks at me happily and surprised and says, “Welcome back, Saray.”

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The Origin of Tuffy and the Planet Vertex 56

by Jamel Heron

My name is Tuffy and as of now I am 24 years old. I unfortunately live by myself on a deserted planet named Vertex 56. There used to be a population of over 200,000,000,000 billion people on this planet, but one day everything went downhill.

I was around 12 years of age when the “outbreak” occurred. I was walking home from school like always and for some reason the ground was shaking heavily, it was like an earthquake, but different.

The ground was shaking for sure, but instead of the ground only shaking it opened up and some green steam started to leak out, stinking up the air. I was thinking to myself, What is this, why does this have to happen on a day like today, why is this happening? I couldn’t shake these thoughts out of my head, instead I was just standing there lost for words. I had absolutely no feeling in my body, I tried to walk but I was so scared to the point it was as if my legs were buried into the ground. I tried to yell out for help but no sound was able to leave my body. Just then I heard a familiar voice.

“TUFFY GET MOVING!” It was the sound of my uncle. He grabbed me and started running to an area with no high buildings or landscape.

“What were you doing, weren’t you supposed to be home by now?” he said.

“I’m sorry, I had afterschool today so I left the school late today.”

Just as he was about to talk, the ground started to shake again.

The shaking was more aggressive this time. The ground was shaking so hard that it was basically impossible to stand. Just then the ground started to break apart and open up and a whole bunch of green fluid started erupting out of the ground. The green fluid started to get closer to me and my uncle. The closer it got, the more we struggled to move. Eventually the green fluid was directly under us. At first it didn’t feel like anything, then all of a sudden there was an unbearable burn equal to being burned alive. I screamed in pain, not being able to move and being stuck there in this boiling pit. My uncle then grabbed me and put me over his shoulder.

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“Wait, what are you doing? You’re just hurting yourself more.”

“I know what I’m doing Tuffy. And plus it’s going to take a lot more than this to actually stop me.”

The ground finally stopped shaking, but of course the fluid was still there. Me and my uncle ended up a couple hours away from home with no way to get back. We threw out our pieces of clothing that got burnt by the liquid and when we did I realized that my uncle had a burn mark on his leg. I was going to ask him about it, but I felt as if it were my fault. We kept on walking for a couple of days to see if there was any place that we could go and rest and get some decent sleep without being on edge from the toxic substance.

Eventually, we arrived at this little town to the west of where we lived, apparently my uncle lived in this town a while back. We went into town to see if we could afford somewhere to rest our heads for a little while and get something to eat. Unfortunately, both of our wallets got destroyed from the acidic liquid. We kept looking around the town and came to realize that the place was abandoned.

“What happened to all the people here? It’s like we are in a ghost town,” I said.

“No idea but at least we will be able to get some shut eye for a little bit.”

Or so we thought. We slept for about two hours and were woken up to a very loud screech. Me and my uncle jumped up, dumbfounded and suspicious of the sound we just heard. We walked out of the room and spotted what seemed to be a giant bird with the teeth of a tiger. By the time we saw it the eyes of the beast locked onto us. In that one second I thought it was over. I could feel myself shaking and drifting into unconsciousness, my uncle looked at me and the face he gave was an obvious signal not to move. My uncle and I just stood there staring at the beast, finally it started to lose interest and fly away . . . or so we thought.

The moment we started moving toward cover we could hear the bird yelling and once again it let out that horrible screech. We went from creeping to dashing to cover. The bird came dashing down at us, trying to stop us in our tracks. We finally made it inside of one of the houses, but we should have known what was about to happen. We were in there for two minutes at most, my uncle tried looking out the cracks of the wall to see if the bird left but the moment he did the ceiling came crashing down onto us. I think I was unconscious and 92

when I came out the bird seemed to be gone which was a good thing.

I got up and started searching for my uncle. I couldn’t remember how long I was out there but finally I found him lying under a pile of wood from the ceiling.

I rushed over to him, but when I got closer I was stopped in my tracks. What I saw was my uncle, but what really frightened me was that my uncle was lying in a large pile of blood. I rushed toward him, hoping I was just being delusional and that none of this is real. But when I got closer I realized that it was impossible to avoid the truth.

I was right over my uncle and I could clearly see he was the cause of the blood bath, I didn’t know how long he was like that, so I lifted the rubble off him with tears in my eyes praying that he’s still alive.

Unfortunately when I got all the rubble off of him and checked to see if he was alright, I came to realize that he was gone.

After hours of me crying, I buried my uncle near the abandoned town and tried to search for shelter for the night. I kept wandering around for a while, not sure if I was safe anywhere or where I could get something to eat. I finally came around to a place that looked safe, but on closer inspection everyone there was killed by these unknown monsters similar to the bird I saw earlier. I held my breath and moved slowly to try to get away, but as I was doing so the ground started shaking again. Once again, the ground opened up right under me and I fell in thinking, Is this it, is this how I die, is this the end of the world?

As I plummeted into that toxic fluid, I remember vividly, I didn’t feel anything, hear anything, or see anything. All I was able to do was float in that one spot and think, why is this happening, why did this have to happen? I don’t know what came over me but in the next second I was on ground-level, electricity all over me and all the beasts around me that killed those people were also dead. I stared at my hands in shock wondering if I did this. I couldn’t have, right? I tried calming myself down, took a couple of deep breaths and stood up to start walking but the moment I did so I could hear more monsters coming. I started to run and by my surprise I was leaving the monsters in my dust, literally.

Then, I thought I really did do that but how did I stop running and decide to fight the monsters with what seemed to be powers I was gifted with? One of the beasts looked like an elephant with lion paws and was charging straight at me. I jumped to the left to get out of the way and my jumping height was not normal. It looked like I was about ten feet in the air. Since I was so high up, I landed on the back 93

of the beast. I punched it not expecting much cause I knew I wasn’t that strong, but to my surprise my punch slammed the beast a good three feet into the floor and made a tiny crater. I was shocked by my own strength and it became clear to me what I had to do. My goal isn’t only to survive now because the roles have changed, my new goal is to exterminate these beasts and try to find out what happened to the city I lived in. No, to figure out what happened to this world.

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Mafia Life (Running)

by Maya Jodah

Running through the woods like there was nothing left for me to do.

Getting chased by the person you loved for years. You have trusted, believed, and also loved. I try hard to convince him that I’ll change, but he never listens to me.

But little did I know when I started to lose a lot of air I passed out. I felt this gentle touch on my arm and it dragged me through the woods. I could hear people talking while I laid down on the cold ground. I woke up in someone’s bed. When I got up, I heard someone walking. I grabbed the gun that was on the desk next to me and pointed it at the girl. It was this girl with brown hair. She stared at me with this clueless face.

“You that girl that got chased in the woods, huh?” she said I didn’t answer. I just stood there straight and tall and pointed the gun at her face.

“Boss won’t like it if you kill me,” she said smiling.

“Take me to the boss now!” I replied, trying to calm down.

“It’s not that easy. As you can see, I work with the boss. And he will be proud if I kill you. Even though you were his ex. That is kind of weird, but I will still kill you,” she said, grabbing her phone off the desk.

“Kill me? I wanna see you try,” I said, holding the gun in my hand, pointing it at her head.

“My name is Hannah,” Hannah said, holding out her hands.

“I don’t care what your name is.” I said, just continuing to point the gun at her face. Then this other guy walked in and looked at me.

“You’re Ava?” he said.

“Who’s asking?” I replied.

“Boss wanted to know if you were up, and why are you pointing a gun at Hannah?” he said, moving Hannah to the other side of the room.

“Because I don’t know who she is. And also you too,” I said.

“Well, just go to the boss and he’ll explain everything.” he said, hugging Hannah.

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Yup, it was my ex. The person who dragged me on the cold cover ground while I cried and screamed for help.

“So did you miss me Ava?” Landon said, sitting on his desk.

“Not really, but I will kill you if I have to,” I said, standing close to the door.

“Wow, what a threat,” Landon said. “Welcome to the Mafia’s life.”

“Wait-what do you mean?” I replied.

“You have to be here. I’m pretty sure everyone here wants you.

But you can’t leave until you are dead,” Landon said.

“Well then, shoot me between my head. I would rather be dead than be with you.” I said while trying to escape.

“Why are you so rash?” Landon said, upset.

“Because you treated me badly.” I said, holding my phone tight in my pocket.

I wanted to protect you, Ava. He began to walk closer. As I walked backwards. I loved you with all my heart. He pulled a knife out of his pocket. I dragged you like a pet on that ground. And all I felt was pain and suffering. He put the knife against my neck.

“You wanna die angel? Let me know now before you begin this life with me and my Mafia gang,” Landon said, holding the knife against my throat.

I blank my eyes.

“I want to stay,” I said, trying to catch my breath. He backed out.

“Welcome, Ava,” He said. “Guards take her to her room. And lock the door for two days to make sure she doesn’t leave. And also she has to gain the respect of this gang.”

I didn’t say a word because he was right. They didn’t even question me or even talk. But what they did was push me into the room and lock it. I peeked through the door and I saw two guards. Two days passed. And they let me out. I changed. I really did.

“Hello Ava, glad to see you again,” Landon said.

Now it’s time to introduce you to my gang.

First is Raf, his gun master.

Second is Eli, his knife master.

Third is Hope, she is the fist fighter master I think.

Last but not least, Zavina is the one you talk to if you need help with anything.

“So, you got it Ava?” Landon said, tired.

“Yes, master,” I said, looking annoyed.

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“Master?” Landon said, shocked.

“Yes. I figure that I get to call you something different,” I said, closing my eyes tight. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh I don’t, it’s okay. I’m glad someone finally said something other than ‘Boss,’” Landon said, sitting down on the couch.

Landon continued: “You will talk to Zavina and tell her your problems and how you feel about this whole set up. Second, you will train with Hope since she’s a fighter. Then Eli, a knife master. Last, the gun master is my favorite, Raf. But don’t worry you’ll get there any time soon. But just don’t rush, the days make the days count.

(Past) “Hi Ava, nice to meet you,” Zavina said, opening her book.

“I believe Master already told me about you, Zavina,” I said smiling.

“Oh cool, I’m here to help you with your problems,” Zavina said.

“I don’t have any problems,” I said, looking annoyed.

“I just want to help you, and it’s not my order to,” Zavina said.

As you know my name is Ava. I was born in New York. Born and raised here. My parents moved here when they found out they were going to have me. My dad is African American and also my mom.

They met in Niagara. They named me after someone special. My mom left my dad when I was fourteen. I didn’t know why. My dad became a drinker which was new to me. I have had a best friend named Adam since middle school. I just began high school. Adam and I separated, and I didn’t see him anymore nor did he see me anymore either. I totally forgot about him. And I believe he did too. Because we were so into passing High School. That’s when I met Landon. He sat next to me during lunch. He always talked to me, but one day when I was sitting down reading a group of boys pushed my book out of my hands. I tried to stand up for myself but they pushed me down the stairs. Then, I couldn’t even see. I saw Landon beating up these boys so fast, badly, and also it was bloody. He ran down the stairs and picked me up.

He brought me to his house. He laid me down on the bed and made me soup. He told me that his father called my parents and told them I was staying to do a group project. I didn’t even believe his 97

father would do that. Next morning that’s when he asked, “Ava do you want to go out?”

“Yes. Sure,” I said, smiling.

We dated until high school was over. I told him I wanted to go to college. He was kind of upset. But he agreed to it because “I want you to be happy and choose the right things in life,” Landon said.

“I’ll pick you up always after college,” Landon said, sitting on the bed.

I met this other boy named Brandon. We spent so much time together that I forgot that Landon was picking me up. I was three hours late. I ran out of the school.

“Where have you been?!” Landon shouted.

“I was with my friend,” I said, trying to walk out of the conversation.

“Who is your friend?” Landon said.

Brandon walked out of the college.

“She was with me,” Brandon said. I know Brandon was scared because of the look on his face. Landon punched the hell out of Brandon, making him fall against the ground.

“I’ll be fine, Ava,” Brandon said, laying on the ground looking weak.

Landon dragged me into the car and pushed me in. And that was the last time I saw Brandon. He drove all the way to the woods.

I jumped out and started to run. And that’s the part everyone knows, when I got chased. And that’s the story of us. When I took a look at Zavina, she was speechless.

“Wow I can’t even explain the relationship y’all had,” Zavina said, closing her book. “Your life is pretty normal except for Landon, but I can’t ever tell.” Zavina continues, “Now I see the problem you have.”

Zavina walked towards the window.

“What is it?” I said sitting on the couch.

“You have a problem about having other friends. Like Brandon.

He was upset because you were late and you were with Brandon, your friend, which means that Landon was just being an overprotective boyfriend and jealous,” Zavina said, walking out the door. “Now it’s time for you to go to Hope for fighting lessons, I wish you luck.”

(Fighter)

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“Hi! My name is Hope, you probably know me already. I’m just here to give you tips. You’re gonna use my bad boy friend here, Ty, and his girl Hannah.”

“No!” I said, looking up and down at Hannah.

“Oh, I see you already met them,” Hope said, clapping her hands.

“Yes I did. And I won’t hesitate to punch the hell out of that girl,” I said.

“Good. You need that energy when you’re fighting. So here are some tips you will need to fight,” Hope said.

Commit to the fight. You’re there to attack, kill, destroy, win.

Focus on what you have to do.

Exhale sharply with every punch.

Breathe when you defend.

Walk, don’t run.

Drive your elbow (rather than the fist) into each punch.

Never cover your eyes or let your opponent go out of your vision.

Lean on your opponent.

“Does Anger help in fights?” I said.

“The short answer is that anger will likely help an untrained fighter and hurt a trained fighter. In a typical brawl, the winner is usually the most aggressive, most determined combatant. Anger will boost these attributes, as well as increase the willingness to endure pain,” Hope replied. “Now that we got that clear Ava, time to fight Hannah,” Hope said. “Use the tips that I told you and that anger can help you.”

I punched her in the stomach, drop kicked her, and pinned her to the ground.

“Well done, I’m proud of you,” Hope said, clapping her hands.

“Ava?” Ty said, tapping my shoulder.

“Yes, Ty?” I said, drinking my water.

“Boss needs you,” Ty said, walking towards Hannah.

“Great job today,” said Hope and Hannah.

I was walking to Master’s office and I heard Raf and Hope talking about leaving Mafia life. But it wasn’t my business, so I continued walking to his office.

“May I help you?” I said.

“Yes, well you see, you’ve been doing very good on these simple tasks that I’m giving you to join the gang,” Landon said, making coffee.

“Which I’m proud of, but I just need to know who’s the father?”

Landon said.

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“You don’t know my dad. Well then I didn’t know you for two years,” I said.

“So, is his name Frank Royal?” Landon said, looking upset.

I felt this pain in my stomach.

“Why are you looking for him?” I said, panicking.

“To tell him you’re with me, so he doesn’t worry as much as your mother,” Landon said, sitting down, typing on his computer. “Okay, thank you for your service Ava,” he said.

I went for a walk outside. I had this picture from my dad and mom when they were married. They looked so happy. But I don’t remember them loving me the same. I’m the only kid I believe, so my parents always keep secrets and important stuff from me. I saw Eli. “Hey, Eli,” I said.

“Hi, Ava,” Eli said, cleaning his knives.

“Wanna learn how to use a knife?” Eli said.

“Nah I already do, I kill people back at my hometown,” I said smiling.

“Really? I’m impressed,” Eli said, looking down at the knives.

“But I do know how to stab,” I said, going for the knives.

“Wait no- “ Eli said, trying to stop me.

I stab him in his leg. “Omg I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to help him.

“It’s okay,” Eli said, trying to stop the blood.

When I was helping him, I guess Landon saw. And I heard them talking.

“She was just helping me with my leg,” Eli said in pain.

“I told you, she’s mine,” Landon said, going for the gun in the desk.

I never heard that come out of Master’s mouth.

“Well let’s see how this feels when the gun bullets go through your head,” Landon says, putting bullets in the gun. When I heard Master pull the trigger I jumped right in front of Eli, saving him. He caught me and said “Ava.” I heard pain in his voice while he put his ears by my heart, and heard my heart beat slowly. Then Landon ran to me.

“Oh my lord, is she okay?” Landon cried.

“No, you shot her,” Eli said, looking down at me.

“I was aiming for you. Ugh, I’m so stupid,” Landon said and got back up.

“Wait, she saved you. Which means she cares for you.” Landon 100

said, picking back up the gun. Then I heard a gunshot, and he shot Hannah in the stomach. But Eli didn’t move an inch. He just sat here looking at me and crying, pain, and anger in him. Ty ran inside the room.

“Why the heck did you shoot her?” Ty said, running towards Hannah.

“She was in my way,” Landon said.

Three years later. I became the baddest girl of them all. I became stronger than the other three girls and Eli, my best friend now, is all good. Hannah is alive, thank god. Can’t believe I just said that. And everything is perfect.

Landon’s Side of the Story You probably know me already, but I’m Landon Lockwood. And today I’m gonna share my life with my parents, and mafia life. So before I met beautiful Ava, it was me and my lonely heart. When I was ten my dad began teaching me how to fight and use guns. My mom was the bad part. So I wanted to go to school and have a normal life.

She always tries to kill my father. I try to tell him that, but he thinks I am lying about it.

When I was eleven, my mom got pregnant with a girl. She left my dad because she wanted the baby to have a normal life. He promised my mom that I would have a normal life when she had me. I didn’t really want this life, I didn’t want to be dangerous. But I couldn’t leave until I’m dead. I tried to convince Peter to kill me. He was my friend.

When I was thirteen my mom usually dropped Anita off. She’s my sister, by the way. When my dad is not home. I loved her, I really did. I will always protect her, only when she’s with me. My mom took her away from us. She will deal with the pain and suffer after. My dad came home early one day, and Anita was here still. When he saw her sitting on my lap, he thought it was my kid. But he checked twice.

“Get this girl out of my house, now,” Father said. She started to cry and I didn’t like the way my dad spoke. I tried to run away with Anita, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me in.

“There’s no way out,” Father said. He took Anita out of my hands. “She’s your weakness. Easy,” Father said, walking towards the kitchen. He took the biggest knife out of the drawer.

“STOP!” I screamed for him to stop, but he refused.

He stabbed her in the stomach. I collapsed onto the floor. And 101

felt a part of my happinesses gone. I cried for days. When my mom found out, she also cried. She also put my dad in jail. I went on days drinking and being with girls I didn’t even know. I was messed up.

I started to go to school when I was fifteen. That’s when I met my beautiful Ava. She was filled with the happiness that had left me a long time ago. I know you know the part about what happened. So I won’t say it again. When I found out she was with some other boy, of course I was upset. I drove all the way to the woods, but she’s stupid enough to jump out. I could hear her screaming and crying, just like my little sister. I got a little bit more speed and I caught up, but then Ava fell on the ground, and I dragged her all the way to the gang. And that’s how we ended up here.

I don’t know what Zavina was talking about, but in everyone’s life something bad always happens. So I’m not the worst storyline.

(Goodbye Friends) It has been months, Eli and everyone moved out to somewhere else.

I was kind of upset because I didn’t want anyone to separate. I went into the Master’s office.

“Can I leave?” I said “Oh good afternoon Ava, and no, I can’t let you,” Landon said, typing on his computer. “Why not?” I said, upset.

“Because your family has set something on you, for you to be killed,” Landon said, looking straight into my eyes. “Yes, I know Ava so let me try to keep you safe,” he said.

“You always try to keep me safe and something always ends up bad,” I said, slamming his desk.

“Whatever Ava, move along now I have things to do,” Landon said, continuing to type on his computer.

I hate myself for joining this damn Mafia gang. Since I had all of their numbers I called them and asked if they wanted to hangout. But before I even made it to Eli’s number, Landon grabbed my phone.

“You really want to get yourself killed huh?” Landon said, going through my phone.

“What do you mean? I just want to have fun,” I said, reaching out for my phone.

“I know that, but if you try anything stupid out in public it’s easier for your mother and father to find you, and I’m pretty sure you 102

don’t want to face them after seeing their kid joining the Mafia Gang because of her ex boyfriend, correct Ava?” Landon said, giving the phone back.

“I guess so,” I said After he left I went to shower I made lunch, sat in the backyard and listened to Chase Atlantic. My sister Megan was dating one of them. She doesn’t really like me that much; she barely talks about me.

I thought my family loved me. But I guess finding out your daughter is part of mafia gang life, you basically want to kill yourself.

(Landon and Ava mix feelings) Landon: When I told her I had to go somewhere I didn’t really have to. I had to leave that place because I know the more I stayed in that place with her I knew that I would have lost my mind. I’m so in love with her, I can’t even try to breathe around her. My friends that I used to talk to left me with her, and told me to go make a move on her, but I can’t because I’m scared she won’t love me back. Every time I try to talk to her I feel a part of me losing it. My heart begins to sink to the bottom of my chest.

Ava: The first day I met this guy he really had something in me that no one else could. Everyday from school he will tell me something that makes him happy about myself. He will always hug me when he’s sad. Always talks to me when he feels like no one loves him. He tells me everyday that he loves me. I am telling him he doesn’t love me because you can’t say I love you to someone you don’t even love or you don’t even know what love means, and what it can do to you when you fall really in love, it can damage you because that word will haunt you forever. Even if he dies in my arms I will know I was the last person to see his beautiful eyes. I’ll be the last person he will say goodbye to.

Back to reality: When he got home he had everyone with him. I ran to them and hugged them.

“Hello Ava,” everyone said at the same time.

“God, didn’t know you missed us that bad,” Zavina said.

“Also, I asked Landon if you could come with us to Paris for this mission and he said yes!!” Eli said.

“Oh, I’m glad he did,” I said.

“Yup, so you know what that means!!” Raf said 103

“We going out,” Eli said.

“Hope, wear something nice please cause you’ve been looking dusty,” Raf said, playful hitting Hope.

“Real funny,’’ said Hope.

I went outside for some fresh air. I sat down in front of the building. Zavina started to walk towards me.

“Um Ava, can I talk to you real quick?” said Zavina.

“Sure, what’s up Zavina?” I said.

“I just wanted to ask you if everything is good, you know since I’m the person you need to talk to if there is a problem,” Zavina said.

“Oh no, everything is good,” I said walking back into the building.

I went upstairs and packed my bags. Even though the gang wanted to go and party, since we’re all going to Paris, for some reason I wasn’t happy or excited. I just feel like it’s just the thing, nothing new.

(Paris) When I got up that morning I saw everyone in the living room laughing, and watching the TV. “Ava, you look a mess go shower,” Raf said, laughing.

“STOP BEING RUDE!” Hope shouted.

“Just kidding,” Raf said, holding his mouth shut.

“Good morning,” everyone said.

When I went upstairs Eli was holding something.

“Here, wear this to Paris, everyone will love it,” Eli said, smiling and blushing.

After five minutes, Landon came.

“Good morning Ava, good to see you,” Landon said. “You should wear this to Paris today, it’s gonna be hot and you probably don’t want to sweat,” Landon continues. He just walked away. Omg they give me clothes like I don’t have. I put on Eli’s outfit because it was a shirt and pants. But it was basic and black.

“Wow you look great Ava.” Zavina said “Thanks,” I said, smiling.

We gotta go guys, get in the truck! When we got in the truck everyone started to sing while Landon played a song everyone loved.

Hope told me this is the song we listen to when we’re on our way to a mission. When we got in the plane, Landon sat next to me.

“I see you didn’t wear the clothes I got you,” Landon said, taking 104

off his jacket. “Hopefully you have it,” he said.

“Yes of course, I will wear it the next day here,” I said, holding my phone tightly.

“Just be mindful, we are staying here only for a week,” he shouted.

“And also sorry to say, but my brother Jacob will be helping us with this,” Landon said, covering his face.

“What the hell?!” Hope said, yelling.

“No boss, he already took someone away from us already,” Raf said, looking upset.

“I know Raf, but we need all the people we can get. If you really want to win this and keep it undercover. A lot of people in Paris are not safe. And I know we are the bad guys. But in this time in life we have to help others, and keep them safe,” Landon said.

When Jacob got on board everyone’s face changed. And you know me of course, I was just sitting there, looking confused.

“Act mad, Ava,” Eli said. Then I acted like I was doing something on my phone.

“Oh nice to see the old gang again, and also a new member,” Jacob said, looking at me.

“You better not touch her or I’ll-” Eli said, standing up.

“What Eli? What will you do to kill me? Haha, really funny,” Jacob said, laughing.

“I don’t want her anyways. The last girl couldn’t even stand a chance,” Jacob said, holding the necklace around his neck.

“Don’t talk about her, Jacob,” Zavina said.

“OMG HI ZAVINA, I MISS YOU!” Jacob said, looking at her.

“I’m just gonna go sleep because y’all being rude,” Jacob said, yawning.

“Can I talk to you real quick, Master?” I said.

“Um yeah sure, Ava . . . ?” Landon said.

“So who’s this girl everyone doesn’t want Jacob to talk about?” I said.

“A girl that was very important to all of us, especially Jacob and I, but it’s just confusing. I’m gonna go back,” Landon said.

Two hours later, we got there. Everyone was so happy. Jacob left the group and went the other way, but I was stupid enough and went and followed him.

“Hey Jacob!” I said, smiling.

“Wow, nice knowing someone cares about you,” Jacob said, feeling hopeless.

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“I have a question: Who’s this girl they don’t want you to talk about?” I said.

“That’s for us to know and for you to get out of my way,” Jacob said, walking up faster.

“Why is she so important?!” I said, upset.

“GOD AVA, IT’S LOVE. LOVE IS WHICH MAKES YOU GO CRAZY, EVEN IF YOU FALL IN LOVE, YOU CAN’T STOP YOU WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU GET THAT PERSON!!”

Jacob shouted.

When the gang heard Jacob yelling, he left me speechless. Landon came to hug me.

“Are you okay?” Landon said, out of breath from running.

“I followed him. Nothing happened. Let’s go,” I said, running back to the gang.

When I walked away I heard Landon telling Jacob something that I didn’t hear. But Jacob’s mood changed.

(Important Girl) Jacob walked up to me. “You want to know the girl everyone loves and why she’s important?” Jacob said.

“Yes please!” I said, smiling.

“I wouldn’t say this girl was part of the gang when you just met Landon. But this was during when y’all dated,” Jacob said, looking upset.

Jacob’s Point of View I’m gonna start the story now. Her name was Rose. Landon was walking back to his house from work. He saw this girl sitting in the alley way. He thought she was poor or something.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Landon said.

She looked at him with these red eyes, she sure looked like she was crying for days. He called me.

“Yo, meet me at Death Valley,” Landon said, looking at the girl.

When I came I told him, “Yo bro this part of the Valley is dangerous,” I said, feeling scared.

“I know but this girl was just sitting here,” Landon said, smiling looking like he’s in love.

“It doesn’t matter, let’s go,” I said.

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“Wait, she looks like she needs help,” Landon said, focused on the girl.

When I went down to see her face, she was so god damn beautiful.

I just wanted to hold her.

“Hello,” she said with a low voice “Are you okay?” I said, looking straight into her eyes.

“No, my boyfriend just broke up with me. I just caught him cheating,” she said, crying.

The first day we met this girl, me and Landon fell in love with her. We brought her to the gang. Everyone was being fishy, but the second day she was down stairs making breakfast in her underwear and bra. She was like out of the world, and from another planet. Hope of course ran up to her, and covered her with the blanket, and she went upstairs, and put on clothes. She was wearing Landon’s oversized t-shirt with Zavina’s pants. Eli and Raf tried to figure out her identity, but it was hard. She was so beautiful, you can’t even stop looking at her. Her eyes were purple. Black hair, and 5’1.

“We have to keep eyes on her,’’ Landon said, smiling.

Landon told the gang that she is an important person. She’s gotta be somewhere from another planet, and I know I’m sounding crazy, but probably. She came inside the office.

“My name is Rose, I’m from Superstarplanet,” Rose said, looking shy.

And we didn’t know what the hell that was, but Landon told her she will use guns, knives, and be doing fighting lessons. She passed all the tests in like 20 minutes at least. One day I took her out to eat, and she was getting scared every time she saw a person. She held me tight until we got to the place.

“I have to use the bathroom, I’ll be back,” Rose said, running to the bathroom.

It had been hours. When I went to check, she was dead. Laying on the bathroom floor, blood everywhere in the bathroom. With a note on the mirror saying, “She’s not from here, I took her back to where she should be.”

I collapsed onto the floor and cried. I was holding her body in my hands. HER DEAD BODY!! Landon tracked my phone, and saw me sitting in the bathroom with her. He thinks I killed her. Up to this day.

When I got back to the gang at home there was blood on my hands and shirt. And of course I looked like a killer, but it was different. NO 107

ONE BELIEVES ME. Landon said, “We just found out what she is. She’s a girl with this super power, and that power was love. She made you fall in love with her.” My heart began to sink.

“GET OUT OF HERE JACOB,” said Raf. “Why? I didn’t kill her,” Jacob said, holding her necklace.

“Nice lies,” said Eli. “I really didn’t.” Jacob said, putting the necklace in his pocket.

“She was important to us Jacob, you just took someone from us that was important,” Landon said.

Landon stabbed me in my leg, and that hurts. I ran out of the building and I started a new life. I try not to fall in love again. Because I’m scared that one of these girls might use powers to make me fall in love with them.

“So that’s the story, so Ava, hopefully you liked it,” Jacob said, looking down at the ground. I hugged him so tight, I believe him. I know he didn’t kill her.

(Truth) After hearing the story of Rose, it was an interesting story. Went back to the gang, and I was holding Jacob’s hands. Everyone looked at me with this clueless face. Landon seemed upset.

“He didn’t kill Rose,” I said, holding his hands.

“What did you just say Ava?” said Hope.

“HE DIDN’T KILL ROSE WHY DON’T YOU GUYS GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD?” I said, screaming my whole lungs out.

“Did y’all even check the cameras?”

“Was there cameras in the bathroom Jacob?” I said looking sus.

“Yes, I think,” said Jacob.

“Go back to the place you were at, and show them you didn’t do it,” I said, smiling.

Landon and I stayed back to watch, to see if anything would happen. It was quiet. I was on my phone looking at things.

“So is there anything going on between you and Jacob?” said Landon, looking upset.

“No Landon, we are just good friends,” I replied.

“I hope,” Landon whispered.

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When they got there they asked the person who was working if they could see the cameras in the bathroom. It was sus at first, but he let us. When Eli and Raf were going through it, their eyes widened.

“It’s true, he didn’t kill her,” Raf said, with his heart failing him.

“I can’t believe this,” Eli said, his eyes tearing up.

Everyone looked guilty. Of course my heart sank again because they all thought I was a bad person. I was only trying to protect her and love her. Hope called boss.

“Boss, he didn’t kill her,” Hope said.

Landon dropped his phone and ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I was scared because it was out of the blue. I ran after him and he locked me out.

“LANDON WHAT’S GOING ON?!” I shouted.

He didn’t answer, but I heard him crying. I started to feel bad, I was leaning my back on the door sitting down and he did the same.

“It was true, he didn’t kill her right?” I said with my head in my arms. As soon as I said that, he opened the door.

“Who killed her then?” said Landon, thinking hard.

I started to get scared because they just looked at the cameras and saw nothing?

“Wait, call them back,” I said, hoping that they saw the killer.

“Zavina. Zavina?” said Landon, putting her on speaker.

“Zavina, what is going on?” Both of our hearts raced. We started to hear yelling, screaming, and all types of things.

“They found us. They’re . . . trying . . . to kill . . . us . . . boss.”

Zavina said, sounding like she’s dying. The phone went out. OH MY GOD. “We have to save them, let’s go,” I said, looking hopeless.

Landon ran out the door. “STAY HERE, DON’T LEAVE,” he shouted. “It’s not safe.”

(Trace of Powers) Landon left me inside the office, telling me to stay. I didn’t want to stay, I wanted to go and help them. What if someone dies? What if someone is hurt? Wait . . . I need to calm down.

“Ava?” said the housekeeper.

“Omg, Billy,” I smiled. “I need your help.”

“What is it?” he put his hands on his chest.

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After I told him what was about to go down he disagreed at first, but then agreed. I went running to the place they were at. Then I saw this big giant guy holding Hope in one hand then Landon in the other hand. Zavina pulled me in behind the desk.

“Ava, what are you doing here?” said Zavina.

“I know you guys need help,” I said, feeling unwanted.

“Do you see that big guy?” Zavina said, scared.

“What type of guy is that?” I said, holding my hands together tight.

While me and Zavina were talking, the giant guy grabbed me by the hand and pulled me up, holding me tight. Making me unconscious, but Eli took the hammer that was in the back of the room and hit him.

Zavina, Landon, Hope, and Eli were all here, but not Raf. Everyone was panicking, so Landon tried calling him and his phone went straight to voicemail.

“Ava I need you to guard the front door,” Landon said.

I nodded my head and went to the front door. I heard him getting assignments to the rest of the group to find Raf. Eli patted me on the back and went to the other side of the room. One hour later everyone forgot about the giant. When I turned around, my heart was pounding.

I tried to scream for Eli to come, but the giant took me and held me so tight. I closed my eyes and when I screamed the giant dropped me onto the ground, and his head was gone. Eli came running.

“What the hell,” he said out of breath. “How did you do that Ava?” said Eli. “I don’t know . . . ” I said.

“You have a loud scream for sure,” he smiled.

The gang started running back asking if someone was okay and how the hell the giant head was gone. I told them everything, but the problem with them is they never believe or trust no one or nothing at all. Only if they were here to see it. When we got back to the office Landon grabbed my hands.

“How did you do that back there?” he said with this scared voice.

“Like I said, I don’t know, leave alone,” I replied heavily.

I went to one of the bedrooms and laid there in the bed thinking how I did that. Everyone just wants to know, but I can’t tell them if I don’t know. There were a couple of books on the desks. I tried to move them, the books started flying up to the roof. When I heard someone walking, the books dropped on the floor and made me jump.

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Hope walked inside.

“What was that noise?” Hope said.

“I was cleaning up,” I said, picking up the books.

Hope continued walking down to her bedroom. Everyone said goodnight and went to sleep while I was in the room making things fly. To me it makes me feel powerful and it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable because, is it rare to have powers? It was 5 o’clock in the morning.

“Ava, what are you doing?” said Raf. He was looking at the flying bed while I was sitting on it.

“Omg Raf,” I said with a big smile.

“How the hell are you making your bed fly?” He just froze.

I didn’t answer his question, I just hugged him. He hugged me back and held my hands, and looked at me, and gave me a book and it said “everyone has a dark secret.” He left my room. I went to sleep and I woke up the next morning.

“Morning everyone,” I said smiling.

“We all need to talk about what you did yesterday,” said Landon, sipping his coffee.

We were talking about how I made the giant head explode. I explained everything I did in the room last night. I’m happy they didn’t think I was weird or anything. Hope and Zavina came and hugged me tight.

“Maybe after all, Rose wasn’t the only special one,” said Jacob, his eyes looking straight into mine.

“Welcome back Brother,” said Landon.

(Last Hope) Suddenly, when Jacob came back everyone was just muted. But Landon talked to him and told him everything that had happened.

“Okay guys, that’s it,” Landon said.

“What do you mean Boss?” Raf said in confusion.

“We have to separate, which means that it’s time for us to move on, and forget about mafia life,” Landon said.

“Boss, you can’t end this,” Zavina said, crying.

Landon walked out the front door leading us to the car. He waved everyone goodbye without saying a word.

“Why would Boss do this?” Eli said, looking outside the window.

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No one answers, just sitting there quiet. I was thinking because as soon as Jacob came back he just said it was over. Unless, they agreed after they saved Paris everything will be fine, and it will be okay to end mafia life. To be honest, at first I wanted to leave. But I wanted to stay with my friends. They were like family. Keeps me happy. No one said a word again, waved us goodbye, and moved on with their life.

It has been two years. Yes, for two years no one called, mailed, or even texted. It’s like everyone forgot about me. I changed my look. My hair was jet black, bought new clothes. I worked at a bar, so I can get money, and at least get an apartment to stay at for a while. I called my best friend, Ashley.

“Hey Ash,” I said.

“Hi . . . it’s been a while,” Ashley replied.

“Yes, I know I don’t have enough money, and I don’t know where to stay,” I said.

“Come over, we can work something out,” Ashley said, and hung up the phone.

However, when I was walking to her house I saw someone I knew.

It was Raf! I ran all the way to him and hugged him.

“Ava?” Raf said.

“Yes, omg I’m glad I found you,” I said, breathing heavily.

“Ava I need to tell you something. After you left, or should I say after we all left, Landon had gotten into a car crash,” Raf said with fear.

Despite the way I was feeling, it made me feel like it was my fault for leaving him there with his brother.

“Jacob was still there, and he saw Landon get into a car crash. I’m sorry to say Ava, but he died. There was nothing we could have done to save him.”

I screamed so loud, making all the trees move and heavy wind blow. Raf tried to calm me down, but it didn’t seem to work. He called everyone and told them to meet us here.

“You need to calm down, Ava,” Raf said.

“You expect me to calm down after Landon died? It’s unfair that we left him like that,” I said, crying.

“You’re right, but like I said there was nothing we could have done to save him,” Raf yelled. Couple of hours passed and everyone was here. We talked about what happened with Landon and how it 112

happened suddenly. Even though it has been two years, it felt like yesterday. We all hugged and said goodbye for the last time. While I continued walking to Ashley’s house. I turned around and called out to Raf. “Always and forever,” I said, and smiled.

Raf turned around and I wish I was there to stop the car. The car crashed right into him, making him bleed out. Hope, Zavina and Eli stood there in fear while I ran all the way to him trying to help him. I took his hands and closed my eyes trying to heal him. When I opened them up, his wound was gone. He smiled.

“I’m glad someone like you saved me,” Raf said.

“I’m glad someone like you is alive to give me hope,” I said, smiling.

After that day no one could explain anything that had happened to us. It’s like we had bad luck or something. I guess life didn’t want us to be happy.

I am Ava Jane Royal and this is my story.

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Road Blocks

by Jazinya Joseph

My name is Kaylinn and I’m 22 years old, I live in Miami and I’m a model for Pretty & Petite Productions. But just like everyone else, I started from nothing. I’ll tell y’all about that first.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I never had chances to make many friends because I was always in and out of schools. My father was very abusive physically and verbally but he didn’t hit me as much as he hit my mom. When I turned 13 my mother got tired of it, of him, maybe of me too, and she left us. Like I said, I never had many friends so I didn’t tell anyone about this, I trusted my guidance counselor Ms.Tara but I knew ACS would be involved if I told her, so this was something I went through on my own. Until I got tired.

One day my father came home drunk as usual, I had stayed in the house it was a Saturday but it was raining outside. I was used to my father coming home drunk but this time he was doing way too much, he was knocking stuff off the table, screaming at the top of his lungs, then he started crying. I went and locked myself into my room because I knew he would hit me if he even saw me. I didn’t hear him for a good fifteen minutes. I thought he had fallen asleep until I heard him call my name. I didn’t respond, he started walking towards my door but it was still locked. When he realized the door was locked he started banging on the door and yelling my name, but I couldn’t do it anymore.

I already knew what would’ve happened once he came through that door. I looked at my window and knew that was my only option. I left.

Now after two years I was 15 and living in a foster home in Brooklyn. I finally felt safe and comfortable which is something I’d barely felt before. Fast forward to me being 17, Ms.Tara had gotten in touch with my foster home, I haven’t spoken to her since I left because I never had a phone. She said she’d been looking for me all over. It felt so good to hear her voice and know someone still cared about me. She said once I turned 18 that I’d have to leave the home I could stay with her until I got on my feet, and so I did. It took her no time to find me some work, after just two weeks I had three jobs of short shifts so I was able to manage my time, I was so grateful. I knew 114

I couldn’t stay with her forever though, so I started saving up to move to Miami, and three months later I was ready.

I had to move around, in and out of motels for about three weeks when I first got to Miami then I bumped right into the perfect house!

I knew I had to keep up with finances and everything, so I had to find a job. I’d always wanted to model and what better place to start up your career than Miami? So I looked up some modeling agencies and one caught my attention. Pretty & Petite Productions. I filled out the application online so I would get to them faster than being mailed.

They emailed me back about five days later, it was a Thursday, they said I could come in that Saturday for auditions. I was so excited and just proud, I’d made all this happen in a matter of weeks coming from where I came from. The only way is up from here!

Come Saturday I was so ready to get to the modeling studio, I didn’t really know the area so I took a cab, Miami was so beautiful.

We drove past so many flowers and trees that bloomed so perfectly, it smelled amazing. There were butterflies with one wing that swung back and forth and there were plants that grew at rapid speed. You could literally see them blooming. You could tell the bakery we drove by was so fresh and clean. When we pulled up to the studio it looked like a penthouse compared to buildings I’d seen in the city. I went upstairs and we got straight to it, I’d worn a white tank top with a plaid skirt and all white uptowns. When it was time for me to model in front of the fan I was getting cold so one of the managers, Chad, gave me the perfect top coverup to go right with my outfit. After the shoot everyone said how amazing I did and they hoped to see more of me. I hoped to see more of Chad.

Fast forward, after two weeks they got back to me and they wanted me to be one of their models and three months later my name was everywhere! I’d gotten connected with other models and been in touch with some really important people. Aside from work me and Chad were getting very close. I call Ms.Tara almost every other day, she’s the only person I still speak to from New York, she said she’ll come visit soon, I can’t wait. I want her to enjoy herself and I wanna treat her for all the times she helped me and just let me cry to her even if I didn’t tell her what was wrong.

I don’t speak about my past but I always reminisce, I just smile at the fact that I made it here. Through the abuse, doubt, shame, guilt, I’m here. I can’t wait to see what else life has in store for me.

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Disconnected

by Joya Khalil

The sky was hazy. Smoke was everywhere. It was just your typical day in the town Dranin. The scent of death was lingering in the air. Screams and laughter were happening at a house, we will soon meet. Hannibal was running around the house laughing as his sister tried to chase him. All you can hear were hurried footsteps and huge commotions.

“Come back here, you thief!” she kept repeating.

As he ran to the window, Hannibal stepped onto the ledge and jumped out. Small fits of incoherent sounds were all that came from her mouth. The light breeze from outside gave her a light shiver.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she jumped out of the window and landed on the balls of her feet to find her dear twin brother. Seeing him nearby because of his abnormally large sword, she dashed to him.

Apologizing to people she bumped into, today the streets were more crowded than usual. A huge crowd of people was being formed and she figured it was going to be another fight for something. As her natural instinct she immediately walked past the group of people until someone grabbed her arm. Her hands were already ready to flip the person, but she realized it was her twin.

“You scared me! What were you doing?” she said as they continued walking.

“We’re going to the tavern to get food,” a boyish grin laid on his face.

Walking to the tavern both twins smelled some fresh food. With a smile lit on their faces, they rushed to get in. This abnormal humanlike creature was at the tavern’s dark brown, wooden door. Their aura was different. Pale hands, but one was pitch black, fingers looking like talons. The hair color was not something typical you would see around here in Dranin. As if they read each other’s minds, they had a feeling that this thing was bad news. But then this creature grabbed the twins.

Grabbing their swords, ready to fight this thing, a portal was already opened. Attacking this creature didn’t do any damage to them, none of them looked where they were going so they all fell into the portal, continuing the fight in this new world. Realizing that they were falling 116

out of the sky, they screamed, hoping they wouldn’t fall and die. The weird creature held them, looking at the twin girl saying, “Say bye bye to your dear brother, little girl.”

Casting a spell onto the poor boy, he was in a black box transported somewhere, screaming for his sister. The creature drops the girl and disappears. Dropped onto the floor with misery thinking how will she find her brother? A small thing was flying around her.

“Oh! Who are you?” the small fairy creature said.

“I’m Fenix, and you are?”

The fairy just stared at her as if she was something unusual for this world. Flying around Fenix, observing her like a lab rat.

“I’m Ashter, you don’t look like the folks around here. Where are you from?”

Fenix didn’t know if she should say the truth or a lie.

“Oh, I’m just a traveler, my brother and I got separated and we came from another place,” Fenix said, hoping this fairy would buy this excuse.

“Hmm, well, you seem new. Let me accompany you on your adventure and help you find your brother!”

Looking around the place while following behind Ashter, the place seemed really different. Everything seemed more lively. The sun was glowing, the grass bright green and dancing with the wind. Even the smell of this new outside world seemed different. It was fresh and brand new, like a new beginning.

“I’m taking you to a town called Monty so we can get you situated.”

“Hmm. Monty seems like a fancy place!” Fenix said excitedly, sprinting to the gates of the town. Stopping at the stone gates, sudden flashbacks rushed into Fenix’s head. Gray clouds surrounded the sky.

The rain poured hard, leaving huge puddles. The smell of petrichor everywhere. The house that once had color and life was now dead and lifeless. Kicking two kids out the house, they were drenched in rain with bruises.

“AND STAY OUT, NEVER COME BACK YOU MAGGOTS,” the drunken woman said.

Wincing in pain from the bruises they got, Hannibal and Fenix just walked in the rain. That woman that just kicked them out was their mother. Always drunk and using her kids for money. Beating them and never really showing any affection. Why were they kicked out you may ask? Well, it’s because she was tired of them and she thought they 117

were useless to her. Dranin was never a place of love, it was a place of survival. It was a place to see if you’re a weakling or not.

Fenix was shaking her head from that vivid memory. Her heartbeat was fast. Looking around her surroundings, she saw that the large wooden gates were opened.

Looking up at Ashter, Fenix gave a small smile and entered into the busy town called Monty. A lot of people were out, but the people looked scared and emotionless.

“Did we come at a bad time?” Fenix whispered to Ashter.

Walking up to a person she assumed was a knight, she asked what was going on.

“I’m sorry, please follow safety precautions as a huge dragon is coming,” the knight said, running away.

“Maybe there’s a way we can help!” Fenix said.

As they were talking a huge blue dragon flew in the sky. A huge gasp of wind flew as the dragon roared. Thinking of a way to stop this huge creature, Fenix climbed onto a tall, flat, stone pillar to get a higher view. Ashter was catching on to what Fenix was about to do. Giving her an ability to fly with a glider, she flew into the sky, soaring. The wind was helping as she was moving closer to the dragon.

Wrapping her hand at the base of her sword she launched herself at the dragon and striked to get a hit in. As the dragon screamed and flew away, shards of ice fell to the ground. She took a huge jump to get back to the ground. People were astonished to see that a young girl had saved everyone.

The knights of the Monty all came running to Fenix. She was getting the recognition she deserved. The small female was overwhelmed with the praise that was being told to her. One of the knights who was very pretty, grabbed her hands and gave her a gift.

“Here take this gift, you deserve it! Thank you for saving Monty and everyone!”

Shock was left all over her face. She didn’t know money and food were given for doing things like this. The aroma punched her in the face. The smell was delectable and breathtaking. A book also came with it. Wiping the dust from it, the book explained the history of this world.

The bright sunlight peeked through the window, making the room a whole lot brighter. The smell of Monty’s famous dishes were intoxicating. It’s been three days since I was in this world, Fenix thought, 118

still confused as to why she was in this world. She had to find a way out. The twin girl pondered over how she would find her brother. A huge sigh left her mouth. She knew her brother couldn’t see this letter, but she felt exhausted and drowsy from all the quests and errands she did to survive here. Maybe writing will take her mind off of her worries. As she sat down on the brown wooden chair, hand holding the delicate pen, she started to write how she was feeling: Dear Hannibal, Everything here is so bizarre, I just found out I’m in a place called Monty.

The town is quite exquisite and the sky looks so beautiful at night. You can see all the stars and galaxies. When I saw the view for the first time it was quite breathtaking. When I first arrived at Monty, everyone was kind and was helping each other out. Unlike our world where they would do anything to survive.

Everyday you can smell a serenade of sweets or a fresh aroma of buttered toast.

It’s been three days since I’ve been in Monty, I miss you and going on adventures together. Endless nights with no sleep did take a toll on me. So far I haven’t found any way to get back home. There was this huge storm that was roaming around in the sky. There was no more sunshine and happiness. The place of Monty became dreadful and gloomy because a huge dragon came and tried to attack the place.

But guess what?! I saved the day by attacking the dragon and slaying it down. The knights that work at Monty even gave me a reward. They gave me money and a book on the history of Monty. It was huge and really old. Oh, you should have seen me slaying that dragon. The dark grey clouds disappeared. The musty aroma was replaced by a sweeter smell. The tension in the air soon dissolved and everyone was back to normal. I always wondered why our people would fight and hate each other while these people treat anyone with care. I really like Monty. The place is not a living nightmare or chaotic. But maybe this book will help to try to find a way to meet you again. Writing this letter is bringing pain that your existence is not here and that you’re gone. But we will be going on adventures sooner or later.

I will even bring you some delicious food and teach you all of the things I learned in Monty. Maybe we can teach all the people back at home so the place is not a living nightmare. This letter should be going to you soon so we can meet each other again, Hannibal . . .

Your sister, Fenix

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Sealing the letter into an envelope, she securely put it in a drawer.

Ashter came flying around with food stuffed in their mouth. Ashter was regaining energy by eating food. After all, fighting creatures nonstop was quite tiring. After these past three days both Fenix and Ashter have grown closer. A dynamic you wouldn’t see regularly. It felt too real of how much it was fun to go on adventures, and get rewards.

Ashter is a food herself, but as she was about to share her food with Fenix she saw her sleeping on the table. Arms crossed, head rested, and soft breathing was all you heard. With a faint smile on Ashter’s face, she said her final words to Fenix.

“It was an honor fighting with you, I guess this is goodbye for now. Later Fenix.”

Her eyes now fluttering open, she felt like she heard a faint whisper. Seeing where she was, Fenix realized she wasn’t in Monty.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Hearing an older woman’s soft voice.

“It felt too real, w-where’s Hannibal? An-nd Ashter?”

Shock and concern laced the woman’s face. “I’m sorry Ms. Fenix, who are these people?”

Jumping out of bed, Fenix was confused and wondered where everyone was. Drifting into her own thoughts she didn’t realize the older woman was talking. Asking where her brother is.

“Ms. Fenix, I don’t know what you’re talking about, you don’t have a brother.”

Shock all over face, Fenix didn’t believe it. It had to be true that she was in Monty. Was it all a dream? A false reality? A parallel universe?

Taking her pills, she sat there and pondered. The older woman gazed at Fenix from the door frame as she was smiling and reading her book, she realized that Fenix’s trauma and memories made her create a false reality to get away from this world.

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Hunted

by Isiah Maisonet

The sun was beaming down onto earth. It was a hot day in the city of Dereon. The birds were chirping, the air smelled fresh and Brian, a.k.a. Whiplash, was sitting on a bench in the park enjoying the nice sun and getting cozy.

The sound of motorcycles approaching catches my attention, two tall large men start approaching me, one of them is wearing a leather jacket and a junky shirt and baggy pants that are ripped while the other man seems more fancy, wearing a nice dark suit and leather shoes.

“Are you Whiplash?” The fancy one asks.

I raise my head to him and gaze at him for a moment. “Yeah, what’s it to you?”

He sat next to me on the bench and pulled out a datapad to show me a picture of a man in a suit with greased hair that goes back.

“We heard that you were the best bounty hunter in this sector . . .

So how much credits is it gonna be?” he asked.

I smile sinisterly. “How about 200,000 credits?” I reply selfishly.

His eyes widened. “What are you running a scam? You trying to rob me!” he says, looking frustrated.

I shrug in response. “Hey, business is business.”

He sighs and rubs his temples. “You’ll get the money when the job is done alright . . . I’ll send you the info once you’re ready.”

“Alright then,” I get up from the bench and stretch and take off to my apartment.

After dropping the coordinates in the datapad, Whiplash arrives at planet NZ2 within the hour. He starts his hunt. He is responsible for tracking down and killing his target only known as Lockdown. He looks around, checking every bit of the city of Planet NZ2 until he sees him roaming the streets going somewhere and hiding, but not very well. As a result, Whiplash follows him. Lockdown eventually walks into a building but to get in there is a code, Whiplash notices that the building is across the street from a hotel, perfect for an 121

assassination. Whiplash rented a room on the fifth floor and after making his rifle the spartan laser he goes to the window aiming down his sights, looking for Lockdown. He eventually sees him but sees something . . . Lockdown has a family. Whiplash thinks either to shoot or leave, he tries to pull the trigger but he is unable to. He doesn’t want to ruin this man’s family, so he decides to pack it up and leave but while he is leaving a sudden pain strikes him in the head. Whiplash falls to the ground, grabbing his head in pain.

“W-what is this pain,” he says in frustration.

Whiplash starts hearing a familiar voice but can’t remember who it is or what it is. He starts to remember something.

“So what do you think?” Whiplash says excitingly.

He is in someone’s living room. It’s very crowded with objects and trash everywhere and it stinks of weeks old garbage. He is sitting on the couch next to a man he can’t really see him that much, it’s really fuzzy.

“I don’t know man it seems kinda like a sucide mission . . . you sure we can go through with this bounty?’’ The man sounds very worried.

“Aw come on, this is a lot of credits, just think of what we can buy!”

Whiplash sounds very confident.

The man sighs and smiles a bit. “Fine, I guess we can do it.”

Whiplash gets up from the floor confused from what he just remembered but still seems so familiar. As he gets up from the floor he spots the two men from earlier approaching him. Whiplash sweats a little and thinks to himself how this is going to go south real quick.

“So, did you do the job?” The baggy one says, with the leather jacket and dirty shirt with ripped jeans.

“Well . . . I-I couldn’t do it,” Whiplash nervously says.

Both of the men look at each other and laugh.

“Heh this is a joke right?” the fancy one says.

Whiplash shakes his head no and both of the men fall silent.

“Well, if that’s the case . . . ” The fancy one punches Whiplash in the stomach, the pain rockets through his body and now he feels like he has to vomit. Then he is grabbed and thrown to the wall.

“Any last words?” the baggy one says while pulling out a gun.

“Yeah . . . I’ll see you on the other side,” Whiplash smiles.

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Whiplash activates his augmentations and a pair of blades that look like mantis hands come out of his arm and he quickly stabs the man with the gun in the stomach and slicing it open his organs fall out. The man screams in pain walking his gun around in the air hitting his partner in the face. Whiplash then takes his chance and tackles the fancy one to the ground and starts punching him in the face multiple times, but the man is able to push Whiplash off him and takes out a holopad calling someone. Whiplash charges at the man but he dodges and starts yelling at the holopad.

“KILL WHIPLASH!” the man says.

Whiplash rushes the man once more, stabbing him multiple times until he falls to the ground slowly bleeding to death.

“W-we are going to come and find you, just remember that,” the man says softly before taking his last breath.

Whiplash starts hearing a beeping noise from one of the dead bodies and picks up a device from one of them and inspects it. There is a timer on the device that has twenty seconds on it, Whiplash suddenly realizes what it is and throws it to the ground, and presses a pad on his wrist that calls his ship to him. Whiplash begins to run to the hallway window as fast as he can and he hears a robotic voice counting down behind him.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,” it says.

Whiplash jumps out the window, glass falling around him as he falls to the ground. There is an explosion on the hotel floor he was just in, the shockwave sends him out further but his ship catches him landing right into the cockpit of the ship.

“W-wow now that was a close one,” he nervously chuckles.

Whiplash takes control of the ship and heads out to orbit when his head starts to hurt again. He starts to remember something again.

Whiplash is now in a gunfight with the man he saw earlier. It looks like they are in a warehouse with boxes as cover, the lights are very dim and he can’t see much except for the man and constant bullets being shot at them. It seems that this mysterious man is his partner. He is wearing a leather jacket with some dark pants and his hair is a mohawk.

“I knew this would happen,” the mysterious man says.

“Yeah you were right for this one Alex,” Whiplash says, agreeing.

So that’s what his name is. Alex and Whiplash shoot back at people shooting at them.

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“So, how are we gonna get out of here?” Alex says.

“I don’t kn—” Whiplash is cut off by a grenade being thrown at them. It lands right between them and both take cover and then BOOM! Whiplash opens his eyes slowly, his whole body in pain and his head feels like someone is just kicking it over and over. Whiplash slowly regains his vision to see his partner Alex missing a leg and bleeding out.

“W-Whiplash help me p-please man,” Alex says weakly.

Whiplash begins to sweat and looks around and sees an exit but also notices that the people who they were fighting are closing in on them. He then turns to his partner and his friend. Then he looks back at the exit, he doesn’t know what to do, he’s scared.

“C-come on hurry up.” Alex says. Whiplash turns to Alex.

“I-I’m sorry,” Whiplash says while tearing up. Whiplash quickly runs to the exit, leaving Alex behind. He can hear him screaming his name.

Whiplash awakens with tears streaming down his face, now he remembers what he did and regrets it. He checks until how long he can get to his home planet and he is close. There is a beeping sound and Whiplash checks his radar, it shows five ships behind him, he quickly panics and moves the ship off course but then the ships behind start firing at him. Whiplash tries his best to avoid getting hit, but gets hit a little. His ship isn’t a battleship, Whiplash keeps dodging until a laser cannon hits him causing major damage to his ship and forcing him to go to the nearby planet to crash land. He enters the planet’s atmosphere, pulling up so he doesn’t die in the process, and then he crashes into the ground.

Whiplash regains consciousness and feels horrible as if a cat just hit him. He has a huge wound on his leg which is bleeding a lot and he thinks some of his ribs are broken but nonetheless he needs to get up and leave. Whiplash limps to get a medkit, traps, and his trusty spartan laser rifle. He then crawls out of one of the holes from his damaged ship buried into the ground. Whiplash doesn’t know what planet he is on, but everything is sand and nothing. It’s very hot. Whiplash notices an abandoned building and limps to it. When inside he bandages up his wound and then begins to put some traps down, knowing that his attackers will be here to finish the job. After waiting for almost an hour his attackers finally arrive leaving their ships about thirty of them come out. They seem to be a different species. They look like hogs, but with green and purple skin. They all seem to be wearing 124

biker gang outfits, Whiplash is by a window, aiming down his sights.

“CHECK THE SHIP FOR HIS BODY,” one of them yells.

They start checking Whiplash’s ship until one of them spots his footprints leading into the bundling where he is. Whiplash wants to shoot but he waits for them to come inside because he’s got a surprise for them. Whiplash starts counting in his head. 3 ,2, 1!

There is an explosion down stairs and Whiplash begins firing on them one by one. He smiles confidently as he hears another explosion downstairs. Whiplash reloads his gun but doesn’t hear the third explosion go off, so he turns around and the last thing he sees is a fist.

Whiplash awakens in a somewhat dark room, it’s very dim and he is tied to a chair with rope. He looks around confused and in pain his ribs still hurt from that crash. His head feels horrible.

“Well well well, look who decided to wake up from his little nap,” someone says from the dark corner of the room.

“Show yourself, coward!” Whiplash growls.

“Awww don’t be like that . . . especially from an old friend!” the person says excitedly.

“Old friend?” Whiplash says, confused.

A shirtless man with tattoos all over his body steps out of the darkness. He has one robotic arm making up for the missing one.

Whiplash inspects him until he sees his face. His jaw drops.

“A-Alex?” Whiplash says, surprised.

“In the flesh,” Alex begins to laugh.

“But how are you alive? I-I thought you were dead,” Whiplash sounds confused.

“Let’s just say I made a deal and took over,” Alex said as he moved up closer to Whiplash.

“Now just stay here. I’ve got big plans for you and don’t even try to use your augmentations, I turned them off,” Alex laughs and walks out the room. He locks the door.

You can hear him telling the guards to watch you.

Whiplash tries to move around but can’t, he thinks to himself and remembers that one of his fingers isn’t real and is holding a small knife so he pulls out the knife and begins to cut the rope with the small knife. After ten minutes the rope finally gives way and drops to the floor, he then yells to the guards.

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“GUARDS, GUARDS!” Whiplash quickly hides in one of the dark corners. one of the guards checks through the peephole and notices that and quickly opens the door and both of the guards rush in looking for him. Whiplash grabs the one guard and pulls him into the corner then slits his throat, killing him. The sound of the body dropping alerts the other guard and he turns around and Whiplash throws the knife to his face hitting him right in the eye killing him instantly. He takes the knife out from the eye of the dead guard and runs out into the hallway to see a door; he quickly opens it and stumbles into a cage and the door behind him locks. It’s dark until lights flash brightly around him and he sees a bunch of people in seats in rows cheering loudly. Whiplash looks around confused until he sees Alex laughing and cheering along with them until he walks into the cage. Alex is holding a mic in his hand and puts it near his mouth.

“Now, Whiplash, let’s make ourselves a deal,” he says into the mic.

“We are gonna have a cage fight . . . If you win I’ll let you go BUT if I win I get to kill you!” Alex smiles.

“So what’s it gonna be?” Alex asks.

Whiplash clenches his jaw. “IT’S A DEAL!” he yells.

The crowd of people start cheering in excitement. Alex turns off the mic and gets into a battle stance and Whiplash gets into a fighter stance. Whiplash charges at Alex, but he jumps out the way and knees Whiplash in the stomach. Since Whiplash’s ribs are broken he feels the pain skyrocket through his body and he starts coughing up blood.

Whiplash grabs his chest in pain and charges at Alex once more but gets punched in the face which sends him stumbling backwards. He grabs his face and opens his eyes just to see Alex unload punches on him and then gets uppercutted and is sent flying backwards. Those don’t feel like normal punches, each of those punches hold rage with them. Whiplash vomits up blood feeling weak. Alex walks up to him grinning madly, the crowd cheering out his name.

“Just give it up,” Alex says confidently.

Whiplash smiles. “I should say the same for you,” Whiplash says, laughing a little.

“Wha—” Alex is cut off.

Whiplash kicks Alex right in the junk. Alex grabs it, tearing up.

Whiplash quickly gets up and starts walling punches onto Alex’s face, blood flying everywhere. He then kicks him right in the chest, sending 126

Alex backwards. Alex seems angry and charges right to Whiplash but Whiplash ducks under him, uppercutting, and then sends punches to his stomach. Alex falls to the ground and quickly gets back up, the crowd around him booing Whiplash.

“WHIPLASH!” Alex yells charging at Whiplash.

“ALEX!” Whiplash yells charging at Alex.

Both of them charge at each other getting ready for the final punch. Alex punches Whiplash but he is able to dodge. Whiplash puts all the power he can into this last punch and hits Alex right in the face sending him flying back to the ground. Whiplash pants in exhaustion and walks up to Alex.

“Time for your part of the deal,” Whiplash says. Alex’s nose is bleeding.

“Deals changed!” Alex says aggressively, pulling out a button and pressing it down.

There are explosions heard outside and the building begins to shake and crumbles. Parts of the ceiling begin to fall down and an alarm goes off. The crowd begins to scream and run to the exit, a piece of the ceilings falls onto the cage leaving an opening. Whiplash is about to book it until he realizes that Alex is behind him.

“No, I won’t let it happen again,” Whiplash says.

Whiplash runs up to Alex and knocks him out and then picks him up and runs for the exit. Whiplash is able to make it out of the building, spotting a ship and quickly running inside and taking off to his home planet.

6 Months Later Whiplash is at a prison to visit someone, he walks to one of the hologram booths and sits down. Alex pops up, he is in orange prison clothes.

“So Alex how is prison holding you up?” Whiplash asks.

“I-it’s pretty alright I made a couple of friends,” Alex says, scratching the back of his head. Whiplash chuckles.

“How much longer until you get out?” Whiplash asks.

“Well, the judge said I’m doing six years sooooooooo yeah,” Alex sighs.

“I’ll be waiting for you until then and when you come out we can go to a bar together.”

Alex laughs. “Well that does sound good,” Alex says excitingly.

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“And by the way, thanks for saving me back then,” Alex says.

Whiplash smiles. “Don’t mention it . . . Well, I gotta go bud. I’ll see you next time.”

“See ya,” Alex says back.

The holopad turns off and Whiplash gets up and walks out of the prison, feeling happy.

128

Life in La La Land

by Katelynn Mendoza

Sun is out. Skies are clear. The fresh summer breeze blowing on my skin. I woke up and opened all of my curtains. I let the sun absorb into my apartment. My friend Sasha was coming over. We haven’t hung out in a while. I decided to turn on the TV while I started brunch.

Sasha got to my house pretty fast. I was really excited to see her.

“Oh my god, hey. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” she said ecstatic as I opened the door.

“I am so excited you decided to come over. I’ve missed you!”

Seeing her made me realize how much I missed her.

“How have you been Amanda?”

“You know, the usual. Just enjoying the great, bright and positive life everyday.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah, how have you been?”

“Oh you know. Work, come home, sleep and repeat.” It felt good to catch up with a friend.

“There has been another report of a missing person. There have been no witnesses. What our investigators seemed to notice is that at every scene, there has been some sort of footprint,” the reporter said frantically.

We both glanced at the TV with wide eyes. This is the third person that went missing. When the first person went missing, nobody thought anything of it. They thought the person would just come back. But no, the people don’t come back. It’s the middle of the summer, we expected those people to just come back. Usually I’m always smiling and happy, but lately ever since these people have gone missing, I’m not my usual bubbly self.

“When did the missings start?”

“About a couple weeks ago.”

“Why don’t we go shopping? To get our mind off things and relieve some stress?”

“Yeah sure!”

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When we got back I decided to turn on the news to see if there had been any new reports. It turns out, there was more than a missing person this time, there was security camera footage of what looked like something huge and scary. It kind of looked like a robot. It looked like it had tried to rummage through something then ran away.

Now I was really nervous. The world had been seeming to become hectic and, well, real.

“Can you believe this is happening?”

I would have never thought that something like this would happen. After seeing all of the news reports I started to get shaky. I heard a knock on my door. I was hesitant to go open it, but I had to.

I peeked through the curtain on my door. It was the police. There has been an increase in police ever since the missings started.

“Hi ma’am, I’m here related to the missings. Maybe you’ve seen them on the news?”

“Um, yes I have.” I said while playing with my fingernails. Me and Sasha nervously looked at each other.

“Ok ma’am. I’m going to need to take a look around and make sure everything is okay in here. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

As he started to check around my house, I decided to turn on the news to see if they had been going to other peoples doors as well.

They had. They wanted to make sure that no one was hiding anything.

“This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. We have just been told that everyone must evacuate the town. We all must group together a while away from town until it is safe to return. There have been sightings of what people are saying is a robot.”

What was happening? What was happening was so bad that we all had to flee. This is bad. This is really bad. The police officer made sure he helped me evacuate safely. This was really happening, and I was scared.

I’m seeing everyone run from home and running in groups, and it’s all coming to me. The missing people, the sightings of robots. The world isn’t bright and awesome. It’s full of secrets, it’s dark and it’s scary. Me and Sasha were running and had to stop and breathe for a minute because we couldn’t believe what was going on. As I looked around, I noticed something was different. It had gotten darker. And it wasn’t late so it shouldn’t have been getting dark so early. As I turned around, I saw it. It was huge. It was just standing there watching. It 130

was the robot. The first thought that came to my mind was, are there more? It was huge. Imagine what we would have to do to take care of one. Let alone more? The robot was as tall as a roller coaster. With eyes as green as grass. The eyes were my main focus. They were so bright. Everyone else started to notice.

“Oh my god, it’s huge!” I heard everyone reacting.

Suddenly, it said something. “Hello. My name is Augustine.” Its voice was raspy, deep, and scary.

“You’re probably wondering where I came from, or how I got here, or why I’m here. Well I can say that I was made by a lab and they’re experimenting on us and having us do bad things.”

Us? There was more than one. It was only a matter of time before more showed up. It said they had them doing bad things. Did they have something to do with the missings? I ran and hid behind a huge rock. Without doing anymore talking, he started grabbing people and flinging them away. Some people had even been killed with just a squeeze. I was so scared. I started to cry. I couldn’t say bye to my family. I had no idea where Sasha had gone. All the screams flooded my ears. I just decided to keep running. But I just wasn’t fast enough.

It had caught me. I knew I was going to die. I decided to not fight, and just let it happen. I closed my eyes, but he didn’t kill me. Why hesitate if he had me right there?

“I need your help. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be one of them. I don’t want to have to kill all these people.”

The robot was showing . . . remorse. I don’t know if I believed it.

Maybe it was just a trick to try to get me to trust him.

“How-how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked while I was shaking.

He placed me down on the floor. “Please just trust me, I need help to take them out.”

How was I supposed to take down robots the size of bears?

“How am I supposed to help you? I’m weaponless, defenseless, and small.”

“It’s okay. I will protect you through everything. I’ll stay with you.

Just please, help me.”

I could tell that he actually felt bad and didn’t want to do what he was doing. “Okay. I’ll help you.”

He had me follow him. He wanted me to specifically help him take down the other robots so they stopped killing people. I was tiny 131

enough to fit on his arm. We got close enough to the first one, but we had to make sure they didn’t think anything of it.

“Press the button on my arm, PRESS IT!!” I pressed the button with aggression. The button had made him fall, and hard.

“Press it again, press it again.” I pressed it two more times to be safe. “Good job, we only have a couple more.”

I was tired. I wanted to close my eyes, but I knew for the sake of all the people I had to keep pushing myself. Two more, dead. We only had one more. But the problem was it was the strongest one.

“Okay, we got this. I’m going to ask you a big favor right now.

And it might risk your life.” Me being the sweet person I am, I knew I had to do it.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Okay. What I’m going to do is get close enough to him so that you can jump on him. Once I help you to make sure you jumped safely I need you to find your way to the back of his neck. Once you do that I need you to use all the power you have and flick off the switch behind his neck. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah . . . yeah, I’ll try.” I was scared. I knew what risk this came with. But me doing this would have saved the rest of the people. He started to approach the other robot. I had to make sure I made it onto the other robot.

“You ready? JUMP!” I jumped while my legs dangled in the air, but I made it. This was really the time I needed to get my head in the game. While Augustine distracted it, I tried to make my way to his neck. It was hard, considering the fact that it was moving. I crawled my way to his neck without trying to get hurt. It was too late, there was blood running down my face and my leg. I was all dirty and oily. The oil made my hair a dirty blonde. I had managed to find the switch, but I knew I was really going to have to use all my power to switch it off. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to flip it but I had to try.

“You got this!” I heard Augutine scream. I knew I could do it.

“You got this Amanda, you got this,” I started to mumble under my breath.

“DO IT NOW!!”

“AHHHHHHH UGHHHHH!!”

I did it. I had flipped the switch. I was falling. But before I touched the ground, he caught me. Augustine caught me.

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“I can’t put into words how thankful I am that you saved me,” I said as I started to get choked up.

“I can’t put into words how thankful I am that you helped me.”

We looked around and watched all the people gather. They were crying and clapping. “Thank you so much you saved our lives.”

“Can I ask for a favor, Augustine?”

“Of course, anything.”

“Where are those missing people?”

I needed to know. There were missing people whose families were worried. He said he would take me to where they had put them. When we got there, it was small, dirty.

“Why did you take them and put them in such a dirty place?”

He had no answer. He knew what he did was wrong, but I knew it wasn’t his fault. He was controlled by it. We had managed to safely take them out and get them back to their families. I was hoping that after all of this everything would be back to normal. But I know after all of this, it will never be back to normal. I now know that the world isn’t always bright and perfect. It’s evil and scaWhere am I? I went unconscious but I don’t remember how.

“Oh my god. SASHA?!”

What was she doing? Why did she have me tied up?

“Sasha what are you doing?”

“Shut up. Stop asking questions. It’ll be done faster if you don’t.”

“What do you mean done faster? What are you talking about?

SASHA?!”

She refused to answer me.

“Is this why you made contact with me? To kidnap me?”

“I need to do what I need to do for them.”

“Sasha . . . who is them?”

“The world isn’t so bright and positive now, is it?” Sasha said as she looked me dead in the eyes.

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Yīn Hé Yáng: Tatakai

by Xavier Mitchell-Francis

The System. A nigh-omnipotent being that came to Earth during an event now known as “The Neolithic Awakening.” During this event, the system bestowed abilities on the planet’s inhabitants that you and me would call game-like; levels, to measure and grow power, stats to focus that power, skills with which to use that power, an inventory used to store items that usually couldn’t be carried, even an online shop in which magical items could be bought and sold.

Over time, civilization would build itself, now based around the system. But two families quickly rose in power; political, and martial. One family focused on gaining power, and keeping an iron grip on it. The other focused on spreading its teachings and money to help others who may have been less fortunate than themselves.

With these two conflicting ideals it’s obvious that they would end in conflicts, which they have. So many in fact that they have garnered the nicknames Yin and Yang. One being unable to exist without the other, yet still in constant conflict with each other. But it seems that this conflict will be solved much sooner than anyone expects.

Watch with me as “The Yin Yang War” comes to an end.

————————————————————————— —————————————— —————————— —————— ——— — A dark skinned man in a black shirt, gray military pants and boots runs through a hiking trail leading up hundreds upon hundreds of meters like his family depended on it. “Because it does.”

He is almost at his destination, a plateau halfway up the tallest mountain in the world, Mt.Kinkō. Formed through unknown means, Mt.Kinkō is the tallest mountain on the planet; standing at a not so humble height of 14.69 kilometers, beating second place by a whole six-thousand meters.

Reaching his destination, he finds a lighter toned man standing in the middle of the plateau, holding a golden crown adorned with jewels over his head about to put it on before he stops; he turns around and sees tall, dark, and angry glaring him into the ground.

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——————————————————————————— “It doesn’t have to be like this Nobu!”

Two men stand on a plateau thousands of meters in the sky. One man is dressed in a black, short sleeve shirt, gray military pants and boots. The other is dressed in a yellow t-shirt over a pair of black camo pants, tucked into navy blue combat boots.

“What are you talking about Jiska? You have taken what is rightfully mine; the fate of my family rests on that crown!”

“Rightfully yours? The only person that owns this crown is who’s inventory it’s currently sitting in,” the man in yellow retorts.

“I’m giving you one chance. Give it to me alive, or I loot it from your corpse,” the man in black says, holding out his hand.

“You know I can’t do that Nobu. I need this crown just as much as you do,” Jiska states calmly.

Nobu cracks his neck, “So be it.”

Nobu then dashes at Jiska, hands coated in flames, and throws a haymaker at Jiska’s face, hoping to end the fight quickly, but is sorely disappointed. He hits nothing but air, a trail of dust the only evidence that something existed in that space in the first place. Air split as Jiska sent an airborne roundhouse at the back of Nobu’s skull. Nobu, unable to dodge such a fast attack, made a solid plane of air to soften the impact.

He was still sent flying by the blow and landed a few meters away, rolling into a crouched position.

“I don’t want to fight you Nobu, I just want-” Jiska started, but was cut off by a blade of air sent at his face. With just milliseconds to react, Jiska tapped into his mana pool.

Mana is a force that everyone in this world has, and can access. It is a force that doesn’t affect the world outside of its host without instruction. Tell it to light something on fire, it will. Tell it to cover something in rock, it will. The problem is getting it to listen. It is as unruly as whatever you are trying to effect. Water, earth, fire and air are the hardest to control, but that doesn’t make them better.

In fact many magicians despise these elements because of their unwillingness to be controlled.

Another, less wide spread use of mana, is physical enhancement. This greatly increases the physical ability of the user, but at the cost of durability. This trade off leaves most magicians and martial artists not wanting to take the risk and end up dead. This technique is known as “The Glass Cannon.”

Jiska saturates his muscles with mana and quickly ducks 135

underneath the blade of air sent at him, to shut him up. “Hey, not cool. I was about to say that I want peace, but you had to make me reveal mana to the readers,” Jiska pouted.

“The hell are you talking about?” Nobu asked through gritted teeth as he sent wave after wave of air blades, basically forcing Jiska to play the hardest song of DDR on the hardest difficulty. If you know, you know.

Quickly getting tired of playing, Jiska rushes down Nobu, while still dodging a nonstop stream of blades made out of compressed air.

Getting in melee range, Jiska grabs Nobu’s shirt and pulls him up to eye level.

“I honestly don’t want to fight you. I just want peace between our families, to become one family again!” he yells, full of emotion.

Getting out of the grapple, Nobu grabs Jiska’s arms, twists them to his back, and pins him on the ground. “What are you talking about?

Our families have always been at odds; saying you want peace is the same as saying you want the system gone! It’s the way we live, and the way we are going to keep living!” He remembers who he is talking to and lets out a humorless chuckle.

“Well, I am going to keep living. Hate to say I can’t say the same about you.” Nobu lets go of Jiska for a moment, before stomping his head into the ground. Over and over, and over. He grabs the back of Jiska’s head, and lifts him up to his face barely recognizable, and is nothing more than a bloody pulp at this point.

He drops Jiska onto the ground limply before going through his inventory and finding the crown. “Finally, the Omuni. A crown that grants the wearer nigh limitless power. Making them a god.”

Before he can put it on, he hears a deep, vicious growl directly in front of him. Jiska starts to get up, his face and head somehow completely healed. A blue flame-like aura of a wolf forms around him, and starts making changes to his body. His teeth grow and sharpen, his muscles get bigger and tougher, and he grows about twenty centimeters.

His hands become more animalistic, losing a finger; his nails turn black as they grow and sharpen into claws. As this is happening, Nobu starts backing away from the very monster-like Jiska in front of him.

In a deep gravelly voice he says, “I thought I could talk to you, and you would see reason. But it seems I have to take a more physical approach.” He gets down into a low crouch, before lunging at Nobu.

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Jumping out of the way, Nobu yells in surprise, “How can you do that? Only a Yang can control their Jingshen! Who are you? Why would you betray your family?” He roars.

“Betray our family? I’m trying to save it! The Yang’s arrogance and lust for power started this war in the first place! Do you know the origin of our family, Nobu?” Jiska ends in an almost condescending way.

Nobu stays silent, as if contemplating something. The rage on his face has yet to go away. If anything he got even more angry, basically being told that he doesn’t know the proud history of his own family.

“DO YOU?” Jiska roars, his form once more shifting. He grew another twenty centimeters, and put on at least fifty pounds of pure muscle.

“YES! Yes I do! The Yang family originated from Africa, where only the strongest survive. They did what they needed to, to make sure that they survived and others didn’t. That’s why Africa is a wasteland now; we made sure that-” “Wrong,” Jiska interrupted.

“WHAT?” Nobu roared, getting angrier. He leaped at Jiska, in the middle of said leap he started transforming. Instantly growing fifty centimeters in height, he sprouted bull like horns, his head forming into that of a bull’s, his feet turning into hooves and his ankle moving up to where his knee should be to compensate for the change in anatomy. His knee jutted out to form a near ninety-degree angle, his ankle doing the same, just in the opposite direction, and a relatively short tail with a small tuft of fur on the end sprouted from his tailbone. Putting on over a hundred pounds of muscle, and growing reddish brown fur all over his body except for the lighter skin on his hands, which also grew thicker and tougher. Needless to say, he made up for (and then some) his nickname. The Minotaur.

He grabs Jiska’s neck and slams him into the ground, making a crater bigger in diameter than the height of his animalistic form.

This sudden force and aggression causes Jiska to complete his transformation. His head turns into that of a wolf, a mane of white fur grows around his neck, forcing Nobu’s big meaty hand off. This fur spreads to the rest of his body, but instead of white, it’s a bluish grey. His feet and legs get the same treatment as Nobu’s but instead of hooves, they’re massive paws, and instead of a bull’s tail, it’s a wolf ’s tail. All the while growing another ten centimeter and putting on 25 137

pounds in muscle.

He kicks Nobu off of him, and does a kick up to get back onto his feet. He seems to disappear as he dashes to where Nobu landed, and pins him down, using the Glass Cannon technique. “Listen to me!

That story you just spouted? Nothing more than a bunch of bologna.

Our family didn’t do that. Only two people did. Brothers, specifically.

The original Yin and Yang.” Jiska said, hoping that Nobu would calm down for more information.

“What? How? My family’s story has been passed down generation after generation. How could you, an outsider, have more information about my own family than me?” Nobu asked, anger seemingly dissipating into nothingness.

“LLet me tell you a story, one that the readers won’t get to read because of time constraints, one older than either of our families,” Jiska said, getting off of Nobu, telling him a tale that would help him realize the true origin of their families, and together, they would end the unending war. Not as friends, but as brothers.

——————————————————————————— But it won’t matter in the end. For I am coming. And nothing you do can stop your doom. So build your settlements, stop your wars, “grind” to get stronger. It is all for naught. There is no such thing as power, when you are against a god.

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The Sciplor

by Kimora Negron

Darkness Gives . . . Sciplor Takes.

Into the unknown, darkness swallows and this is where the Sciplor makes its home. In water and on land there are two kinds. On land it seeks its home, but in water it feeds on anything that tries to come on land or its territory. Human or animal it will feed on you until you’re no longer to be seen. But all will be seen is ash, darkness. Nothing but air. You will be banished into nothing but darkness where no one can find or see you. There is nowhere to run or hide, just stay away from its territory, come nowhere near not even five feet. If one senses that you are near it will demolish you from inside out and you will be nothing but ash. It will mainly feed on your fears. No matter what, do not show any sense of fear or your death.

Chapter 1 – Into the Unknown?

On January 5, 2013 twelve-year old Amelia Baxter was on her way home, back from school. She was reading this old book she had gotten from the library called The Sciplor. Amelia couldn’t wait to get home.

She had such great news to tell her family.

“Mom! Dad!” Amelia screamed as she walked through the door.

“I DID I DID IT I REALLY DID IT!” “Did what dear?” her mom confusingly asked.

“I won the science fair finally, all these years and I finally did it!”

Amelia exclaimed.

“Congratulations,” her dad responded.

Amelia Baxter was known for the most outstanding kid in her science class. Amelia loved science. It was her favorite thing and one of her best hobbies that she was good at. Until one day, Amelia and her friend Malarie went camping. They wanted to go camping to explore the wonderful habitat of nature. Malarie wasn’t really into science like Amelia was. Malarie loved art. It was her passion. But she didn’t want to let her friend down. She knew how much Amelia was into science and always wanted to be there for her until the day she succeeds.

“We should set up our tents here,” Amelia exclaimed.

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“But why near this creepy lake?” said Malarie as she looked at Amelia with fright in her eyes.

“Look there is nothing to be scared about, it’s just a lake,” said Amelia. “Besides we might really need this lake. You know it can really come in handy.”

The girls settled down into their tents as the sun went down and the moon came up. But suddenly Malarie heard a weird frustrating noise. The noise sounded angered. Malarie made her way to Amelia’s tent.

“Amelia, I’m afraid,” she said, shaking in fear.

“Scared of what?” she said as she awakened and yawned with a sleepy voice.

“I heard something, it was scary. It was like a growl, an angry growl,” Malarie said.

“Oh please Malarie, you know there is no such thing as monsters,’’ said Amelia.

“But can I just stay, please?” Malarie said.

“Fine.”

Suddenly their tent had fallen. Both girls were frightened. They quickly crawled their way out of the tent and could not believe what they had seen. The girls both screamed of terror. This ferocious creature was no animal. It was a beast. The girls had no idea what it was. They ran terror screaming for help, but no one heard them.

Amelia knew it was the end. There was nothing left to do. But she knew she never gave up no matter what. “Wait!” Amelia said anxiously, “The book!”

“LOOK AMELIA IT IS NOT TIME FOR SCIENCE, WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE HERE!” said Malarie.

“The book I was reading looked like the same creature from the book,” said Amelia.

“It’s the….” The monster growled with rage. “THE SCIPLOR!!”

Chapter 2 - The Story of the Lost Girls

It has been three years since the two friends known as Amelia Baxter and Malarie Vegas went missing. With no track or clue of where they could be. One day on a breezy spooky morning, Emma Baxter, known as the younger sister of Amelia Baxter, got ready for school.

Emma has been desperately sensing the disappearance of her beloved sister. She knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent her 140

sadness. Emma walked downstairs and passed the kitchen until her father stopped her.

“Honey? Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?” her dad questioned her.

“No, I’m fine, not that hungry anyways,” Emma responded.

Emma grabbed her backpack and headed off to the school bus. She walked onto the bus, as usual all the seats were taken. She always sat in the back, alone, but there was someone in her seat. It was a girl. All alone. Sadly sitting with a weary expression. Emma sat next to her.

“Hello, my name is Emma. Are you ok?”

“Hey,” said the girl she sat next to.

“Are you okay?” said Emma, but the girl sat silent.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to speak, I’m kind of in a bad mood,’’ said Emma. The whole ride the two girls sat quiet. But Emma knew there was something strange about this girl. It felt like they had a connection. The bus arrived at school and all the students escorted themselves to where they needed to be. Hours later Emma had physics class before lunch. The girl from the bus was in her physics class too.

Emma went up to her.

“Hi, it’s me again,” Emma said. “Emma, from this morning?”

“Oh yeah, hey,” the girl said.

“I never caught your name,” said Emma.

“I’m Malina,’’ said the girl.

“Hmm sounds familiar.”

“Okay, class starts now,” said the teacher. The two girls sat next to each other.

After class it was lunch. “So why were you so sad this morning?” said Emma.

“My sister,” said Malina.

“What happened to her?” said Emma.

“Three years ago, she went camping with her friend and went missing. She never came back home. The police and my family searched for days for them but there was nothing left of them but their backpacks and tents. Everything was destroyed. I was sad for months, nothing will ever be the same,” Malina sadly explained.

“Wait, did you say missing three years ago?” said Emma.

“Yeah why?” said Malina.

“My sister went missing years ago with her friend. They went camping,” said Emma.

“What’s the name of her friend?” said Malina.

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“Her name was Malarie,” said Emma.

“As in Malarie Vegas?” said Malina.

“Yes, that’s her name, how did you know?” said Emma.

“That’s my sister,” said Malina.

“My sister’s name is Amelia Baxter,” said Emma.

“That’s the name of my sister’s friend!” said Malina.

“Wait, could it really be?” said Emma.

“Our sisters were friends, and they both went missing,” said Malina.

“We have to figure out what happened to them,” said Emma. “I have an idea, come to my house after school. I have a plan.”

Chapter 3 - The Mysterious Book Emma Baxter and Malina Vegas are on a mission trying to crack the case on their missing sisters. After school the girls headed over to Emma’s house to try to look for any clues. “Okay this is Amelia’s room,” said Emma.

“No one has been in here ever since the day she went camping.

Everything was left the same,’’ Emma said.

“What’s this stuff in this box?” said Malina.

“Oh, that stuff, that’s Amelia’s backpack and other camping things from the day she went missing,” said Emma.

“No, this. It’s a book,” said Malina. “It’s called The Sciplor.’’

“I wonder what it’s about,’’ said Emma. The girls read the book.

Emma found this book amazing, but she could not understand why her sister had it.

“Look this book may be cool and all to you, but it’s creeping me out,” said Malina.

“Wait, look right here this book is from the library,” said Emma.

“I have an idea, let’s take the book to the library and see what day this book was checked out.”

“This could be a clue. We can find out something about our sisters,’’ said Malina. Both girls left the house and made their way to the library. They asked one of the workers to scan the book for more information.

“Excuse me, Miss,” said Emma. “Can you scan this book for me?

I need to know when the last time it was checked out.”

“Absolutely,” said the worker. The worker scanned the book.

“This book was last checked out on January 5, 2013,’’ said the lady.

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“Okay thank you, come on Malina,’’ said Emma.

“Wait! The date,” said Malina.

“That’s the day they went missing,” said Emma. “This could be a clue to finding them.” The girls went back to Emma’s house. The girls read the book to learn more about the unknown creature. They stood in Amelia’s old room for hours until suddenly the doorbell rang. “Hm, who could that be?” said Emma. Emma went downstairs to check the door. Malina stood in the room and read more.

“Fears?’’ she said. “This monster feeds on fears?” Malina read more. {The Sciplor known as an unknown creature that kills and feeds on humans and animals that come near his territory mainly feeds on your fears, so don’t show any sense of fear or your death.} Emma opened the door; it was a man with an all-black leather coat. “Excuse me, can I help you? My mother is not here at the time.”

“Oh no, I’m here for you young lady,” said the man.

“I don’t know you, sir,” said Emma.

“It’s information about your sister,” the man said.

“How do you know my sister?”

“There’s a lot to explain, can we talk?” Emma goes to her front porch.

“Look kid, I can help you find her, I can tell you a few things,’’ said the man. “I don’t have much time, but it’s the Sciplor, it’s out there and it’s coming for you next. You have entered its territory and angered it and it won’t stop till it has you. Just like your dear sister,” said the man.

“Wait, what do you mean come after me?” said Emma. She looked away for a second and he was gone in the fog.

“EMMA, EMMA,’’ screamed Malina. “It’s coming,” said Malina with apprehension. “Look. Remember our sisters went camping?” said Malina.

“Yeah,” said Emma.

“Okay so I did a little research and the place where the Sciplor lives is the same destination of where our sisters went missing. In the same woods,” said Malina. “This Sciplor creature has something to do with this mystery,” she said. “It could have attacked them or eaten them or even worse . . . KILLED THEM!!”

“What are we going to do?” said Emma. “We go back to the same place where they went missing.’’

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“But Emma, that’s too dangerous,” said Malina. “And the police said the woods were banned to go back after what happened.”

“Saturday night we go to the woods and try to figure out more about this creature. I’m going to find out what happened to my sister no matter how long it takes,’’ said Emma with self-confidence.

Chapter 4 - The Hunt It was a cold Saturday afternoon and the girls were getting ready.

Emma knew what was about to go down, but she was not sure if she was ready. Still no clue or track of where the two lost girls were, but the girls put their lives in danger just to discover more about this intense creature. Emma had more confidence yesterday but now she is not sure what to feel. Devastation, sadness, fear, anger. She had so many mixed feelings and did not know what to feel. Emma gathered her things. She prepared her backpack with flashlights and other things they needed. The girls both told their parents they would stay the night at each other’s houses so their parents would not worry.

“Emma, are you sure about this?“ said Malina.

“Affirmative,” said Emma. “This may be the only chance we get to find out something before school starts again.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

The girls left Emma’s house and made their way to the banded woods. As the girls approached the woods, they heard a noise. It was like a sudden moan, or a cry for help. “What was that?” said Malina.

“I don’t know, but we have to keep going, we already made it, there’s no turning back now,” said Emma.

Emma took out flashlights and gave one to Malina. The girls looked around for any clues, until suddenly they came upon a lake.

It was not just an ordinary lake. It looked suspicious. That is when Emma remembered something and pulled out the Sciplor book.

“Look,” said Emma as she read a page from the book. “The Sciplor is known to live on land and feeds on anything that comes in its space of water known as its territory.”

“Wait Emma, why is this page ripped out halfway?” said Malina.

“I don’t know, maybe it could mean something,” said Emma.

“Let’s just look around this lake over here.”

“Emma, look, I found something over here. It’s a hole near the side of the lake over here. It has a trail that leads this way,” said Malina.

“Okay first let’s check out the trail,” Emma said.

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The girls followed the trail until it stopped and led them to a wall. “Wait this . . . I know what this is,” Emma said as she looked down at the ground and picked up an orange piece from a ripped shirt. Emma found a ripped piece from Amelia’s favorite shirt that she always wears.

“Maybe she was here not so long ago,” said Malina.

“That’s impossible,” said Emma. “Our sisters went missing three years ago. They could be anywhere by now. These woods have been banned forever. Police patrol it for twenty-four hours.”

“Then how do you know if that’s from her shirt or not?” said Malina.

“Just forget about it, let’s check out and see what’s in that hole,” said Emma grimly. The girls made their way back to the path and carefully climbed down the hole. Luckily, there was a ladder. “What is this place?” said Malina with a ghastly expression. It was an underground cave covered in slime and other gross things.

“We should split up,” said Emma.

“No it’s too dangerous, this is a banned place we are in. You never know what could happen, remember no matter what we will always stay together,” said Malina.

“Yeah I guess you are right,” said Emma. The girls walked to the end of the underground cave until they came to a turn. The girls were anxious to see what they would see as they turned. They possibly thought they would find their sisters, but they thought wrong. They could not believe their eyes. Bones scattered all over the place, from ash to flesh. All parts from human bodies. Skull, joints, legs, and arms.

It was terrifying. Could it be? Are Amelia Baxter and Malerie Vegas dead? Or did they survive this unknown monster and are nowhere to be found.

Chapter 5 - Wait, you want what?!

The girls were still unnerved in the underground cave. They did not know what to do or what to say. Emma busted out in tears. “What if she’s really gone?” she said regrettably. “She was like my best friend, my only friend and now she’s gone and there’s nothing we can do,” Emma said as she cried with grief. Malina had no words. She did not know whether to cry or be upset. She was speechless. She did not want to give up now, she knew her sister cannot be gone. She always felt her in her heart.

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“Emma, what should we do?” said Malina.

“What did we come here to do?” said Emma. “We need to keep searching.”

“But they can be anywhere by now! Miles and miles away,” said Malina. Suddenly there was a slightly loud noise. CRACK. Both of the girls jumped. They quickly scattered in a corner of the mysterious cave.

“Quick, let’s get out of here,” Malina suggested. The girls rushed out of the cave frightened. As soon as they got out of the cave they spotted the Sciplor. It was heading back to the lake. The girls made their way through the woods trying to find a safe place to stay. When suddenly they heard something. GROWL. “AHHHH!” they both screamed. They thought they were seeing things. It was another monster. The girls ran like the wind. They kept running and running deeper into the woods. It got darker and darker and darker and darker. They finally got away from it.

“Great, now we’re in the middle of nowhere,” said Emma. The girls sat down on a tree stump to catch a breath. “Woahhh,” the girls screeched in a high pitched note. They had fallen into a secret hole.

“What’s up with all these hidden places?” said Malina. They both stood up to their feet and they gazed at their surroundings. The secret place was filled with some type of green slime all over the walls and floors. It smelled gross and it was super foggy and hard to see.

“Yuck, what is this stuff ?” said Malina.

“I don’t know but let’s get out of here,” said Emma. The girls tried to find a way out but it was no use. It was like they were walking in a bunch of circles. They came upon a part of the hallway that was clean. There was not one spot of slime anywhere. The fog started to disappear. They were now able to see a little better. “Ugh, I’m so exhausted,” said Malina as she leaned against the wall. THUMP. “Ouch” she said as she fell through the door that was actually a giant doorway. “How many times am I going to fall today?” she said. Both the girls start to laugh. They walked through the doorway and couldn’t believe their eyes. The room had sleeping bags and all kinds of fruits.

Everything was homemade. But there was no one there.

“Hey this jacket,” said Malia. “It’s Malarie’s!” she said with excitement. They searched and searched but found nothing but a bunch of their sisters’ stuff.

“This means they could be near,” said Emma.

Malina frowned with disappointment. “I knew this was a bad idea . . . ” said Malina.

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“Hey don’t give up now, we’re getting super close, the power of two is always better than the power of one,” said Emma. “My sister always told me that. As long as we’re together I’m sure we will find them. We came a long way and there’s no turning back now. We have to be brave because I believe we can do this. And no matter what happens, I’ll stand by your side the whole way through.”

They both looked at each other and smiled. They grabbed each other’s hands and continued to find a way out of the secret place. “I want to take down this Sciplor thing even if it takes us eternity. I’m not giving up just yet,” said Emma.

“Wait, you want what?” said Malina as they walked into the darkness.

To be continued . . .

147

Victoria’s Coma

by Blake X Poole

Victoria is now 15 years old. She is multi-racial because her mother was white and her dad is half Black, half Chinese. When Victoria was 6 years old, her dad got drunk and was driving, and they got into a car crash. Her mother got seriously injured in the car crash and became paralyzed. Her father got into serious trouble and he was sentenced to jail for fifteen years. Her mother wasn’t able to take care of her because she was confined to a wheelchair so she went to live with her aunt who was physically and verbally abusive towards her.

Victoria’s aunt would say disgusting things to her like, “You are a stupid, ugly, disgusting rat and that’s why no one likes you.” Victoria’s feelings would get hurt and she goes to bed every night sobbing.

Victoria’s aunt would kick Victoria down the stairs, she would treat Victoria like she is a dog by putting a leash on her and forcing her to eat food off the ground, and Victoria’s aunt will scratch her face up.

When Victoria goes to school, her teachers would wonder why she always has bruises on her face and Victoria would always lie to them and say that she keeps falling on the floor and hurting herself.

One day, Victoria missed her curfew and her aunt went searching for her throughout the neighbourhood. Victoria was with her friends at the park playing around and they were going to get something to eat.

As Victoria walked with her friends to the store, before she even set foot in the store, her aunt grabbed her by her hair and threw Victoria into the trunk. Her friends were too scared to say anything, so they ran away. When they got back home Victoria got her phone taken away from her and then her aunt grabbed her by her shirt and took Victoria inside of the basement. Her aunt proceeded to shove her down the stairs and Victoria fell to the ground of the basement. Then her aunt locked the door to the basement so that Victoria couldn’t get out.

Victoria layed down on the floor cold, bruised, hungry, and thirsty.

Victoria sobbed and said, “Why does she treat me like this? Why does she hate me?”

Victoria laid down on the ground for two hours and fell asleep.

When she woke back up, she decided she had enough of being abused 148

by her aunt. She walked upstairs to the door but it was locked. She tried to break the door open, but the door wouldn’t budge. She walked back downstairs and searched the basement for items but there was nothing but dust, spiders, and rats crawling on the brick wall. Victoria got tired of searching through the basement so she decided to rest and go to sleep for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Victoria woke up and felt really weak because she hadn’t eaten anything in 24 hours. She started to smell like rotten eggs and moldy cheese because she hadn’t showered in 24 hours. She went to look around the basement one more time and in the back corner of the basement, she noticed a trapdoor. She walked towards the trapdoor and opened it. What she saw in the trapdoor was a crowbar, so she took the crowbar out and she ran upstairs to break the door open. She attempted to open the door but it still wouldn’t budge. She kept trying and trying to open the door and she ended up breaking the door and the door fell down with a big thud. Her aunt was not at the house so she went upstairs to find her phone and when she did she called the police and she told them everything her aunt had done to her.

As soon as Victoria’s aunt returned to the house, the scene was flooded with police officers and her aunt started to freak out. The police placed her aunt under arrest. Her aunt got charged with child neglect and assault and got sent to jail. Victoria was sent to a foster home because her mother was still unable to take care of her. Victoria missed her mom and dad and she suffered from separation anxiety and depression.

After she graduated from elementary school and went to middle school, Victoria started making poor choices. She started to skip school, making the wrong friends, and not going home when she was supposed to. Her grades started to drop drastically and she got held back in sixth grade. Victoria started acting up in her classes and was always getting into fights and stealing from her teachers. She was considered a danger to her classmates and got expelled from three different schools. Victoria’s foster mother and father tried disciplining Victoria but they couldn’t because she was an out of control teen.

Victoria would always go out with her friends to parties and she would drink a lot of alcoholic drinks. Then one day, Victoria and her friends, Imani and Ashley, went driving and they were drunk. They weren’t paying attention to where they were going or what they were doing.

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Then it happened . . . a big truck was driving by and the girls weren’t paying attention. The truck driver noticed the girls were going too fast and he warned the girls to slow the car down. The girls continued to play around and then before they even noticed it, their car crashed into the truck and BOOM!! Their car crashed into a ditch and it got destroyed. The girls got injured badly. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars were on the scene. The girls were unconscious and they were taken to separate hospitals.

When they got to the hospital, Victoria fell into a deep coma and she was unaware of what was going on. Her mother was sitting on her bedside and she started to sob. Her mother was sobbing uncontrollably because she was unable to be in Victoria’s life because she was still recovering from paralysis. While Victoria was in her coma she was in a white empty space, she didn’t know where she was or what to do. Victoria started running everywhere and began to freak out because the space was endless. She noticed a lady standing in the empty area, so she walked over to the lady to ask for help. The lady had a cloak on and she had her back turned against Victoria.

Victoria asked, “Who are you?”

The lady turned around and said, “I’m you.”

Victoria seemed confused and said, “What do you mean, you’re me?”

The lady pulled down her hoodie and said, “I’m you from the future.”

Victoria was in shock and she asked her future self what was going on.

Victoria’s future self said, “You were drinking and driving with Imani and Ashley and the three of you guys crashed into a truck.”

Victoria started to freak out again and asked the lady, “Where am I, and where is Imani and Ashley?”

Future Victoria said, “You are in the hospital in a deep coma.

Ashley is recovering, but Imani didn’t make it.”

Victoria started to break down into tears. Future Victoria told Victoria to pull herself together and follow her.

“Where are we going?” Victoria asked as tears ran down her cheeks. Future Victoria walked towards an elevator and pressed the button. Victoria started to get aggravated and she said, “What the heck is going on and what is happening to me!?”

Future Victoria walked Victoria into the elevator and made her 150

look out the window. Future Victoria showed Victoria her mom sobbing right next to her hospital bed. Victoria started to sob again because she hated that her mom had to see her connected to all those machines. Victoria begged her future self to put her back in her body but future Victoria wasn’t done with Victoria. Future Victoria pressed another button and the elevator started shaking uncontrollably and Victoria fell unconscious again. Victoria woke up again and asked her future self what was going on.

Future Victoria said, “We traveled 20 years into the future!”

Victoria was confused because she didn’t think time traveling was possible. Victoria and her future self walked out of the elevator and looked around. Victoria saw her older self sitting in a dark alley with a big box. She saw herself cold, hungry, and depressed.

Victoria asked, “What is happening to me and why do I look like that?” Future Victoria explained to Victoria that she made a lot of poor decisions growing up and these were the consequences that she faced. Her future self was homeless and people would always rob her for her money and steal from her. Victoria realized why she is in a coma and why she traveled into the future. If Victoria continued to make the choices that she was, then it’s not going to be good for her.

Victoria once again begged her future self to send her back to the past so she could turn her life around. Victoria blacked out once again, just to wake up in a bedroom with her mother by her side.

Her mom said, ‘Victoria, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t present in your life.” Her mother hugged her tightly and it was a heartwarming moment between them. Victoria and her mother had a very serious talk about the choices she had made and how Victoria needs to stop making poor choices or she will find herself in serious trouble. Victoria decided it was time to go back to school and she began to stay on top of her work and she stopped hanging out with people who would be a bad influence on her. Victoria wanted to major in business. So, she applied to colleges that focused on business. She started to become very responsible and placed in the top ten in the college honor roll. She graduated from college with a business degree and she became very successful in life.

She even opened up her own business where she can help people that really need it. She eventually got married and had three kids. She lived a happy life and was very proud of herself.

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Reborn To Revenge

by MD Afnan Rahman

Why, why did he kill me? He was my best friend. I trusted him so much, if I get another life I will be sure to take revenge.

I opened my eyes. What happened? I didn’t die! I’ve got another life! This time I will take revenge for sure. But where am I? It looks like I am in a hospital. Why does my body hurt so much? It looks like I survived after falling off that cliff. In my last life my family told me to stay away from my best friend Jack, but I didn’t listen to them. I let him do whatever he wanted. He did so many evil things using my name. He always says he helps people by using my name but no one says any good things about me, my security told me about the evil things he did. I got mad and fired him, but now I know. He destroyed all my companies, he hurt my family, he took everything from me. But he couldn’t do all this by himself! So he and my girlfriend teamed up to do all these things, I will pay ten times more than what he did to me. But the main thing now is to heal my body.

After falling off the cliff, I saw my tibia pop out through my pants and I couldn’t move my arms. My body was bleeding so much that it made me lose consciousness. Now my leg and arm are broken, there are wounds everywhere on my body. I shall rest first. Two weeks later my body finally healed. I should meet my parents first and apologize to them, they have been through so much for me.

(His parents house) “Mom, dad, where are you guys?”

“Ben, why are you here?”

“Mom, I am so sorry you have been through so much pain because of me.”

“Silly son, we just wanted you to be happy.”

“Yeah mom, we’re gonna be happy from now on.”

After the accident Jack took over half of my shareholders. In order to get them back I have to strike where it hurts, he is doing a big project if all the shareholders take back their shares I wonder how he is gonna feel.

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(Two days later, Jack security talking) “Sir, sir something bad happened, I think we are done for.”

“What bad happened, just fix the problem. I just want to hear good news. After the project I can take over Ben’s company and I will be the most powerful CEO in the city.”

(Jack’s security talking) “Sir, I think that is just gonna be a dream. The bad news is that all the shareholders took back their shares.”

“Whattttt . . . Stop joking around, no one can do that except Ben.” Buzzzz Buzzzz (someone calling Jack) “Who is calling now.”

“Sir, it’s from young master Ben.” “Whatttt . . .” (accepting the call) “Hello?”

“My best friend, did you like my surprise? More coming, look outside, the police are outside waiting for you. I gave them all the information about all the illegal things. You have worked hard my friend, take a rest in jail for the rest of your life and don’t worry I got someone to massage you (hit him) every day until you fall asleep (until he loses consciousness). Don’t worry, someone is there who will stay by your side (Ben’s girlfriend who helped Jack to kill Ben). Bye my good friend, we will never see each other again.”

Click (cut the call).

Finally I have taken my revenge. I should be happy, why am I so sad?

Buzz Buzz (call from the company) “Hello, sir, come back we need you.”

Ben is shocked and thinking, ooohhh how can I forget there are people who need me. How can I forget I have family (the company) that I have to take care of.

“Yes I am coming back, I will not go easy on you guys.” (company people) “Yes sir.”

Note: Not everyone is bad. Trust people who are here for you, not for your money.

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The Strange World I Live In

by Selena Scarborough

It was the next morning. I woke up out of my bed and I noticed something was slightly different. I rubbed my eyes to get a clearer view out my window blinds and I saw that the sky was dark blue with purple clouds. I was so shocked, it was as if my soul left my body. I closed the blinds and went to go check on my grandmother and my sister. I went upstairs to my sister’s room and she was gone.

All of her stuff in her room disappeared, so there was an empty room. I left her room and went to my grandmother’s bedroom. When I looked inside her room, she was gone as well and some of her stuff was still here. Now I started to have a panic attack. My heart started pounding, my head was breaking a sweat, and my stomach was hurting.

It felt like I was trapped in a small box that I couldn’t get out of. I just sat on the floor and started to cry and put my head down. So many things were going through my head it was crazy.

“Are my sister and grandmother dead? Why is the sky blue and purple? Am I dreaming about something?”

I decided to wipe my eyes and get off the floor. My vision was still a little blurry from all the tears, but I took a deep breath and walked out the door to see what was happening outside. As soon as I stepped foot out the door, the sky was flashing so bright in my eyes, it was like a diamond was shining. In my head I was starting to realize that I transitioned into a new world and my surroundings weren’t the same anymore.

My memory was starting to come back to me. I remembered that last night, two gray and blue robots came up to me while I was walking home from the movie theater. They pushed me into a time travel machine and stuck an electric needle inside of me that made me go really psycho. My memory was still kind of vivid, but I remembered a few things.

As soon as my memory was coming back to me, I started to walk down the street. There were cars such as Teslas, Lamborghinis, and SRT’s parked outside. But something was very different about this world, and the outside of it. Instead of birds singing their peaceful 154

songs, or the clouds just floating with peace and quiet, there was animated music playing every footstep I made. It felt as if I was in a video game which was surreal to me. I was about to turn the corner of the street until I saw something from the corner of my eye. It was something gigantic with red arms. I was starting to get afraid. My eyes were ringing like a bell, my head was sweating, and my legs were shaking. I told myself to calm down and go check it out, so I did that.

When I turned that corner, there was a bunch of war going on.

On one side of the street there were these two red robotic spiders battling with these black and green aliens with their light green UFO’s to the left of them. On the other side of the street there were these superheroes with capes going at it with their villains up in the sky like I saw in the Marvel vs. DC comic books. People were running everywhere, cars were being thrown, and lasers were flashing past my eyes. While I was so distracted by what was happening, I heard something stepping up to me from behind. I slightly looked behind me and one of the robotic spiders was looking at me. I was so shocked, I just ran for my life. I didn’t look any direction, I just ran straight not knowing where I was going. The spider started to say in a robotic voice, “Hey, come back, I want to talk to you.”

“No, I don’t trust you,” I said as I continued to run. I realized that I was at the end of the block and there wasn’t any other way I could go to escape. So I just stopped and looked at the robotic spider.

I said with a shaken voice, “Please don’t hurt me, I’m begging you.”

“I promise I won’t, I just want to talk to you to calm down.”

“Okay, I have a question,” I said with a calm voice.

“Yes? Ask me anything.”

“Where is your food, I’m starving,” I said while I was starting to laugh.

“Follow me, I will show you.”

So we walked back to the place where we were before. While we were walking together, I was just admiring how cool this place really is. The sky had yellow stars coming out because it was starting to get dark.

The spider said, “Okay here we are, The Food Palace.”

“Wow, this is insane.”

“I know it’s a lot, so I’m going to be right here.”

“Okay! Be back in a minute,” I said with an excited tone.

So I walked to the parking lot where all the food was. There was 155

a strong smell going through my nose. It was coming from a Mexican restaurant. They had so many varieties of food it was crazy. They had Mexican food, fast food, and soul food. On the other side, they had astronaut ice cream for the aliens which I wanted to try as well. I decided that I wanted McDonalds, so I went there in the meantime.

I got inside and it was so shocking. The janitor was cleaning, robots were taking orders, and people were eating at the tables as well. First, I looked at the menu. There were eight items from different countries on the board: two from China and Japan; three from France and Spain; two from Brazil and Chile; and one from India. I found what I wanted to eat, so I called the robot over.

The robot said, “Hello, what would you like from McDonalds?”

“Hello, I would like to have the sweet mustard burger from France, and the bacon cheddar fries from there as well.”

“Okay, coming right up!” the robot said as he strolled away.

I went to go sit at the table next to the closest window. I started to think about the conservation I was going to have with the spider.

I decided that I was going to talk to it about my old world and my experience. I am going to talk to it about my feelings and how I feel about myself.

“Here you go, have a good day!” the robot said with a smile.

“Thank you, you too.”

My stomach was starting to growl like a tiger so I went ahead and ate my burger with fries. As soon as I was done, my stomach was so full it felt like it was about to explode. But I managed to get up and go back outside to have a conversation with the red robotic spider. My stomach started to get bubbly because I was so nervous. I was lost and I didn’t know where it was until I heard this. “Hey, I’m right here.”

I slowly walked up to it. I said, “Okay, I’m ready to talk now!”

“How was your lunch?”

“It was very much delicious and definitely filled my stomach.”

“Good for you. So what do you want to start off with?”

I said, “I’m going to start off with introducing myself.”

“Okay, go right ahead.”

“So my name is Kehlani. I used to live in New York or in other words, the United States. I’m very outgoing, loving, and caring when it comes to doing things, and people that I really care about. I want to get into fashion and basketball because those are my top dreams I want to achieve. I have two siblings and one nephew. That’s pretty 156

much it.”

“Well my name is Doraemon and I’m pretty much a therapist spider that helps people with their problems and helps comfort them to make sure they are loved.”

“Wow, that’s nice,” I said with a grin on my face.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how was your world like?”

“My world was not looking good at all for me.”

“What made it bad?”

“Well to start, there was a thing where black people were getting killed for the wrong reasons, Black Lives Matter. There was also a virus going around where people were stuck in their houses and couldn’t do any activities that involved being outside.”

“That sounds so terrible. I know how you must’ve felt.”

“I really felt depressed. I got taken away from my mother, I couldn’t play no basketball, I felt lonely with nobody to talk to, and I felt like a failure in life in general.”

“Thank you for expressing your feelings to me, Kehlani. We all will make you feel like you are loved and that you are welcome to do anything you want. If you think you’re a failure, you are not a failure.”

“You’re welcome. I really needed somebody to talk to and you helped me a lot.”

“Glad to hear that. Now one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“So me, the aliens, and the superheroes have something to surprise you with.”

“Okay do I close my eyes?”

“Sure.”

I was thinking to myself, what could it possibly be?

“Okay open your eyes in 1, 2, 3!”

“Surprise Kehlani!” said the aliens, the robotic spiders, and the superheroes.

When I looked, I was so shocked by what I saw. There was a basketball court where I could play basketball. There were different clothes from H&M and Nike, and there were people with cake and fruits in their hands welcoming me into this world.

“To start off Kehlani, we wanted you to come inside our world to experience something different and so you have people to talk to.”

“Me and the other superheroes will always be there for you when you need assistance or if you are in any troubling situation,” said one 157

of the superheroes.

“I want to say something as well,” said one of the aliens. “Well I also wanted to say that Kehlani, you don’t have to be scared of us.”

“We are like your friends and we will always help you and never make you feel any kind of way,” said one of the black and green aliens.

“Thank you everyone! I like every one of you so far,” I said, starting to shed a little tear.

End: Honestly being in this strange, lost world wasn’t bad at all.

Even though my sister and my grandmother weren’t with me and my friends, I liked this world better. It’s like the monsters, the aliens, and the red robotic spiders actually understand me like regular human beings. The superheroes are always there to help when I’m in danger and the food here is awesome. In this world you have more freedom to be yourself without any distractions or problems. Hopefully, one day people in my past world could see a different perspective just like I did when I woke up that morning.

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Among Us

by Tevar Stephens

“EEUAHHHHhh,’’ Tracy yawned while looking into space, once he came to his senses. He got up and brushed his teeth, and took his shower. He took his blue pill every morning like everyone else does in his community. He doesn’t know why, but he does it because he doesn’t wanna get in trouble with his parents. Before going to school everyone has to get poked in their finger and insert blood into a machine to find out whether you took the pill or not. My best friend tested negative for the pill last year and since then I never saw him again. I sometimes have these things my mom calls “dreams’’ about her. She says it’s because she was becoming a negative thing to this society and I should forget about her, but it’s never that easy after all the time we spent together.

I made it to class and today was test day, everyone in school has to lay down in this machine with electrical head bands on our head. I never really know what happens during this test. It all just seems like a blur to me, like I fell asleep or something. The principal calls me to his office later on that day, which rarely happens to anyone. I sat down in the chair on the other side of the table.

“Good afternoon Tracy, how have you been doing?” he says.

“I’ve been great! Just a little nervous, I don’t know if I did something wrong or not.”

The principal responded, “No, you did nothing wrong. Unless you have something to tell me,” he says with a sketchy smirk then continues. “You’re here because we believe you’re worthy enough to work with the SG (Secret Government).”

I always heard about a secret government from stories my friends used to tell me, I never really believed but now I was shocked to hear about it from my principal who continues to say, “Don’t you ever want to live in the mountains with the wealthy people with big houses?”

I shook my head.

“Exactly why you should join and sign these papers.” He slides a huge thick packet across the table. I started to get nervous because it felt like I had no choice.

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“No need to read it, I can just tell you things to look out for and what not to do. DO NOT tell anyone at all, not even your parents, and you might not have to go to school ever again.”

It was a moment of awkward silence until I just signed it because I felt like I was being pressured, my heart raced and my face looked like my soul left my body. I couldn’t move, a thick cloth went over my head aggressively, my hands were forced on the table, and my legs were being held down. I started to lose control over my body and was falling into a deep sleep. I was scared, never felt these emotions before and didn’t even know how to explain it. Poof ! Everything was blank. I was in a dark place but it wasn’t reality. There were two big doors with light towards them so I walked, then I saw my best friend. She looked like she was being programmed by a computer, to the left of me I saw my great great grandpa who died five years ago!

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Blue & Gray

by Madison Amos

It was a cloudy dull morning and I woke up sluggishly, head blurry from the sudden awakening. I sit up slowly, staring blankly at the cream walls for a couple of minutes before I finally get up and head to the bathroom. After I clean myself up and get dressed for work, I look outside the window noticing the light drizzle falling from my neighboring cloud. I sigh for what feels like the hundredth time today, already feeling the fatigue setting in. Living in the clouds so high above others and seeing places, creatures, and animals from high up is fascinating and a big excitement. At least at first.

I remember how skeptical I was at first when my manager told me that I was moving to the clouds. It sounded cool, sure, and everyone with any type of social media platform was already living there, but I couldn’t and still don’t get it. I’ve never been into following the trends but as an upcoming singer/songwriter they say “It’s better to stay in the trend than out of it.” And moving from Dae, my hometown, was a really big change for me. Dae was on the other side of the world where the times are dated, slow-paced, and old-fashioned. Compared to Dae, Soul, the city I live in now, is more advanced and fast-paced.

I eventually learned how to adapt to my new home, but it was a real struggle. However, nothing could prepare me for what life was like living in the clouds.

Ever since I moved to the clouds, I feel tired, unmotivated, and alone even though I’m not. I can’t even write a song, which is probably the worst thing since that is my job and basically the whole reason I’m living here in the first place. I feel like I’m in a ticking time box where it closes in on me every time I seem to think. Everything distracts me but never fully captures my attention. My mind feels like it’s going a mile a minute but I never seem to gather any coherent thoughts and as the days go by, I feel like I’m losing my mind. I try to find ways to cope with all this by writing to my grandparents who still live in Dae more frequently but my grandpa was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, obviously causing delays in me receiving letters. When I got the letter I remember being at the studio and being so ecstatic to finally receive 161

a letter from my beloved grandparents that I opened it right away.

As I was reading the letter, my heart was picking up it’s pace.

I was feeling more frightened and worried for my grandparents as I continued to read and without even realizing it, salty tears started streaming down my face and onto the loose leaf paper. All the stress and frustration I felt before reading the letter doubled along with new emotions, causing me to curl up tightly and cry harder.

On the less advanced side of the world, where Dae is located, technology is illegal, so I can’t even contact them to see how they are doing. So that was another thing I had to deal with.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

There was a loud knock on my front door causing me to lazily drag my feet to the brown wooden door.

“Who is it?”

“Your best friend.” I heard a familiar voice reply, causing me to open the door and when I saw her face I could already tell she’s upset.

“Why are you still not dressed?” Chaemin said, tapping her foot impatiently.

“I am dressed, I’m just putting on my shoes,” I said, slipping on my pair of shoes.

“Good good because being an hour late, now would finally be a good time to put on your shoes,” she said sarcastically.

“Okay okay. I get it, I’m late, let’s just go already,” I said, grabbing my bag and heading out the door. Chaemin followed close behind. It was nice to be outside, there was a nice breeze and it kinda calmed me, but you see, when living on clouds you always have to be hyper-aware because all of a sudden I was falling through white fluffy clouds and into mid air along with Chaemin, and surprisingly I wasn’t as scared as all the other times, but my heart still skips a few beats and lungs still clench like a tightening fist. It made me feel free in a way. The breeze was so strong and cool causing goosebumps to fill my body and my mind to be in another place but just when I was getting used to the feeling, a big purple and black wing scoops me up. When I opened my eyes, I frantically searched for my friend, only to find her a few inches away from me and looking dazed out.

“Where the heck are we?”

“In the wings of a dragon.”

“Uh what do you mean in the wings of a dragon? Oh my god!

We’re gonna die, I can practically feel it-” 162

“Calm down, we’re fine,” I said, cutting her off. “Have you never been caught by a dragon?”

“No, I have not-” she said before she got cut off again by the wing opening up, revealing the gray sky. As we step out from the scaly place, we turn our heads to see a black and purple scaled dragon with the coldest emerald green eyes. This dragon isn’t alive per se but if you didn’t know better you could be mistaken.

“Thank you for catching us,” I say towards the dragon, who just looks at me and hums before flying back below the clouds to catch the next falling victims.

“They can speak too?!”

“You sound surprised, but you’ve been living here for over two weeks now.”

“Yeah, but unlike you I don’t have the habit of falling out of clouds every other day.”

“It’s not everyday, just some days and when I do it’s usually because I get too caught up in myself but that never happens to you since you’re such a tight-” I said, but get cut off quickly by another dragon, this time dark blue and gray with brown eyes and a similar build to the last one. However, unlike the first dragon, this one had a slight mechanical gleam in their eyes. It looks so fascinating seeing these creatures and I honestly am really grateful for them, since I probably would’ve already died if they weren’t made. And then suddenly I got an idea.

“You know, you’re gonna be my new inspiration,” I said with a grin on my face as I stared at the dragon, who looked back at me with a confused look.

“What do you mean, the dragons’ gonna be your inspiration? It’s a dragon for god sakes,” Chaemin says, looking at me like I was crazy.

“Well, as you know, I’ve been in a real slump lately so maybe this dragon can be my new inspiration,” I reply, studying the dragon and it’s enlarged features. “Hey, actually you know what, I’m gonna stay with this guy . . . or girl . . . for the day and maybe I’ll finally write something good.”

“Fine but I’m not coming with you and when the manager yells at you for skipping rehearsal, don’t come complaining to me,” she said, rolling her eyes and walking away from me to catch the next flying taxi.

“Hmm, I guess it’s just you and me then.” I hummed, reaching 163

my hand to touch the rough scales cautiously. I circled the dragon noticing the letters “JK” imprinted on one of his scales.

“Is your name JK?” I asked to which I just got a quick nod in reply.

“Okay then JK, I know this may seem weird but I’m just here to watch you because today you will be my inspiration.” I said dramatically, opening my arms wide in a big gesture, that just got ignored by the blue and gray dragon as it walked past me and flew below the cloud for a second before arriving in front of me with a weeping toddler in its left wing.

Not much later a teary-eyed middle aged woman comes running towards the child and pulls the little boy in her arms, giving the dragon a small thank you before leaving again.

“That was really nice,” I say, looking at the dragon with wide eyes.

“Well, it’s what I’m programmed to do,” The dragon’s deep voice rumbles causing my eyes to go wider.

“Wow, you spoke.”

“Yeah, so?” he asked, face showing his confusion.

“Nothing, I just didn’t expect you to speak back to me.”

“Don’t get used to it,” he says before flying off again, but this time he just flies freely in the air, passing through the vacant clouds.

He does a few tricks and spins as his wings go up and down in a focused motion, capturing me in his skills. I stand there just watching his movements before I finally take out my phone and start typing quickly.

After that day I came almost everyday to see JK and was even able to finish half of my song. However, one day when I came to watch from my designated spot, I saw JK flying to catch a young man, but so was another dragon. Everyone watching became tense, knowing what could happen. When they collided into each other, the other dragon was smashed on his impacted side, while JK spinned before smoke started to puff out slowly causing the sky to turn gray and smell gastly.

“What happened to the guy that was falling?” someone shouts, causing everyone to look at the place where the young man was and I felt my stomach twist slowly realizing that the man was no longer there. My eyes frantically search for the guy but it’s pointless in the end.

Then, a big boom is heard and when I turn my head I see both dragons burning up in flames, causing everyone to panic and run endlessly.

But as I said before, you always have to be composed when living 164

on clouds because then everyone who was panicking started falling through the clouds one by one and because I somewhat mastered not falling through clouds, I didn’t fall. There was screaming everywhere and pleas of help while some people got saved by dragons and some others just fell into their despair. There was really agony everywhere.

Barely anything could be seen because of the red flames and the big puffs of smoke. The smell was intense, making me dizzy and the noise made my head fuzzy. And finally when the air sorta cleared up JK was nowhere in sight and I already knew that he was dust carried away by the wind. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I scoffed at myself at how crazy it was that I was crying over a dragon.

“Taelry, where are you?” I hear a voice shout but I don’t say anything back and instead just look up through my blurry eyes.

“Oh, there you are,” The voice says again. I finally register it as Chaemin.

“Yeah,” I mumble and I can see her just staring at me before pulling me into a warm hug. I appreciated the hug and her being there for me, but it still couldn’t lift the heaviness in my chest. My head was buried in her shoulder, but I could still see the images of the chaos and it really made me think about living in the clouds. Why has living in the clouds become so popular when living here can be so stressful and agonizing? Because me living here has never made me constantly happy and I can say that living here has made this year one of the worst in my life.

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The For Real and The For Fake

by Isabella Burgos

“It’s suspicious, the color of this flower, don’t you agree?” Pyre’s voice engulfed the starstruck teen as she wearily agreed. She felt so exhausted. A large part of her was confused, her eyes darted around the empty darkness that was once her dorm room.

“It’s my favorite smell. In fact, I think you might like it. Here, come here my child.” The fire goddess sounded almost hostile, like a snake nearing its prey.

Rosemary felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand at the thought, was that what was going on? Was this real? Surely not.

When she’d sat in silence for too long, the goddess hissed. “Come here,” the words seeped out of Pyre’s mouth menacingly slow.

Rose cleared her throat, it took a second for her to be able to lift a foot off of the black floor. Slowly, she took a few nervous steps towards Pyre. Rose glanced from the lady’s eyes to the orange flower, she sighed gently before slightly leaning down. It hurt her eyes to look at the glowing petals for too long, so she wasn’t surprised when her eyes shielded themselves gently. A deep inhale of the thorned flower had Rosemary stumbling back in agony, almost tripping over her own two feet. Then, she felt it. The nasty feeling hit her like a bag of bricks; and, in less than a second, a blood curdling scream forced its way out from the very pit of her stomach.

Rosemary’s cherry blossom pink hair bounced happily as she walked through the courtyard of her school. Her school. She had never thought she’d get the chance to say those words, not in a million years. The Academy of Elements is the toughest of all the Elem schools, the other four aren’t nearly as popular despite having heaps more students. The Academy was the hardest. The hardest to live at, the hardest to work at, and it’s especially hard to make friends. The reason being that it’s a school for “exceptionally gifted children.” It’s a general school, meaning powerful children from every Element live together in a single castle-like structure.

When Rose was younger, she was constantly told she was gifted.

She took the compliment like a grain of salt. Of course she was gifted, 166

so was everyone else in the town she grew up in. It wasn’t until she was eleven that she realized it.

It wasn’t often that the young, secondary schooled, Rosemary had the word “freak” thrown at her and when she heard it, the boy felt her wrath. Quite . . . literally. You see, the sweet Rosemary has the power to control lightning better than she can control her emotions, and although her powers can be extremely dangerous, they’re also considered an “exceptional gift.”

When the time came for the headmaster of The Academy of Elements to choose the new-coming students, Rosemary Paloul was the first name on the list; not that she was aware of this fact.

The dining hall was as full as possible, the 276 students were spread out across the room as they ate dinner in peace. Rose sat in a group of four. Layla, Ronald, Jessi, and herself.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, you know?” Jessi thought out loud, stealing a glance at Rosemary from across the wooden table.

Rose nodded with a sheepish smile, she chewed her food before responding. “It’s magical! Extremely eerie, but magical nonetheless.”

Layla furrowed her eyebrows slightly, “You think eerie? I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I’ve been obsessed with the thought of this place since I was five, but I gain happiness whenever I step foot inside.” She didn’t make any eye contact as she spoke, focusing on stabbing pasta with her fork.

Confliction washed over Rose. Was she to explain why she felt this way about the beautiful building she’s grown to fall in love with, or should she stay quiet and hope that her intrusive thoughts blow away?

“Rosemary!” Ronald sung the name out teasingly, causing the girl to snap back into reality. A questioning hum sounded through the friend’s ears, making them laugh quietly.

“You were staring,” Jessi muttered, cheeks tinted lightly.

“My bad! Sorry, so sorry. I was just lost in thought,” Rose stuttered out, she always became embarrassed easily and this was definitely one of those moments.

The sound of the school bell rang loudly, cutting off the sentence Layla was about to start, Rosemary sighed thankfully. She took one last bite of her food before standing up and pouring herself a glass of water. She bid the group of teenagers a goodnight, then let herself get lost in the crowd of students that were headed towards the fire-hall.

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Hair fell in front of her face messily as she jolted awake with a squeal. Her breaths were heavy and deep, her lungs felt sore and used.

Her eyebrows crinkled in pain, wincing as the feeling slowly subsided.

This dream. This horrible, horrible dream. She’s had it seven times in two weeks, but this time was extremely different.

The Goddess was much different than she’d heard in the stories she was told as a kid. Rose remembered the elder Fire Elems telling her stories about a beautifully kind higher being, but the dreams she’d had recently told a completely different story.

Pyre was definitely not as kind-hearted as everyone made her seem. It’s not even nice being in her presence. She has this subtle darkness about her that, dare Rosemary even think, got darker and darker as these dreams progressed.

It wasn’t abnormal for the Gods and Goddesses to visit their Elems, especially the children and teenagers in school. They’d usually pop up in dreams to tell the kids to focus on school, or to let go a little bit and not put too much pressure on themselves, or to warn them about something. Whenever the Gods and Goddesses made an appearance in a dream, it was for a good reason and always with good intentions. They never popped up in dreams to put anyone in pain, that was unheard of, and that terrified Rosemary to some extent.

“Rosemary Paloul?”

Two words spoken, and the girl’s heart dropped straight to her stomach. She glanced around the room, noticing quickly that all eyes were on her. She swore under her breath, realizing quickly she couldn’t just pretend she wasn’t there. The only head of colored locks in the school belonged to her, and they were noticeably brighter amongst all of the blondes and brunettes that sat around her.

Rose cleared her throat anxiously, tucking a strand of pink behind her ear as she stood up out of her seat. She treaded up the few stairs of the lecture hall, towards the entrance where Headmaster Kingsley stood waiting.

“Sir?” she nervously questioned.

The headmaster sighed slightly, “If you could please follow me.”

Rosemary nodded quickly, following close behind Kingsley as soon as he started to walk.

The urgency laced in his strides made curiosity run straight through the girl’s head, what’s going on? I wonder if he somehow knows about my dreams—that’s actually extremely unlikely, let me not make myself anxious.

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After a few minutes, they both stood at the arched door to Headmaster Kingsley’s office. Rose took quiet and heavy breaths. That has to be the fastest I’ve ever traveled across the castle. Kingsley cleared his throat and opened the large wooden door, letting Rosemary through first before walking in after her.

“This way . . . ” he spoke in a hushed voice, leading the girl towards the bookshelf behind his desk. It was as if the headmaster was scared someone would hear him, even in a room where it was just them two.

With the quick pull of a book, a part of a shelf collapsed into the floorboards to create a door. Rose’s eyes widened at the sight before her. A room in which mirrors covered every inch. The ceiling, every wall, even the floors. It was impossible to tell how big the room actually was due to all of the mirrors reflecting off of each other.

Towards what Rose assumed to be the middle of the room, stood four enormous statues.

Each statue was a replica of the four Elemental higher ups: the Gods of air and water, and the Goddesses of earth and fire. Rosemary almost didn’t recognize the Goddess of Fire, and her blood ran completely cold at the sight of the statue.

“Th-that’s Goddess Pyre?” Rose winced slightly as she stuttered pathetically.

“Yes, and from my understanding, you’ve been seeing her in your dreams.” It was a rhetorical question, Rosemary knew that; but she also knew that this statue of Goddess Pyre was absolutely not who she’d been seeing in her dreams.

So she’d told the truth. “No,” she glanced away from the statue for the first time. She set eyes on Headmaster Kingsley, who looked as if he’d just seen a ghost. “Their features are so, so similar . . . but looking up at the statues now, I’ll admit that I didn’t know it was her until I looked at the symbol that’s carved into the base. I say this with absolute certainty, the woman in my dream is not Goddess Pyre. Not at all.”

It was silent for a few moments, anxiety building up in Rosemary’s body. She felt a heavy pit in her stomach.

“This is the part where you tell me who has been coming into my dreams, uninvited, to harm me.” Rose took the deepest breath she could manage, tears welled up in her eyes. “This is the part where you tell me I’ll be okay.”

This time, it was the headmaster to take a deep breath, “I need 169

you to wake up.”

The girl’s eyes snapped towards Kingsley, “What did you s-” He cut Rosemary off, “The Moon Goddess has returned,” the man took hold of her arm. Forcing her to make direct eye contact, “Luna.”

Rosemary jolts awake with a loud shriek. She looks around the room, a sense of deja vu washes over her. There are no walls and no ceiling, just pitch black floor that continues past her field of vision.

The same room she’d seen in her dreams. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the agonizing pain that she was sure to come. When it didn’t, she slowly opened her eyes again.

Dark, empty, numb and cold. On the bright side, it doesn’t feel like my intestines are being set on fire, right?

The voice she dreaded hearing every night sounded in her ear, “Wrong.” She flinched aggressively, no freaking chance.

“Every freaking chance. Have fun!” An evil laugh echoed against the non-existent walls, and then she felt nothing but pain.

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Enchanted . . .

by Kieara Ara Davis

It all started when I woke up and looked outside to see that the sky was such a lavender purple. The wind was flowing by with a scent of cherry blossom trees, and the sun was shining to its fullest. I decided to get ready for the big plans I had for today. I went outside for a short look around and saw a forest hidden in the back of my little cottage.

I was very concerned about it, so I changed my plans and decided to explore the forest.

As it got later, I finally decided to go explore the forest, but all of a sudden the sky turned into a very dark purple and the forest got all smokey, and I heard tree branches were breaking. I was very concerned about the noises, but I was still eager to continue on my journey.

While walking through the smokey forest something brushed past me pretty fast, I looked back to see if I could find out what it was, but I had no clue. A few seconds later it flew by again and now I was really determined to find out what it was so I followed it. It took me pretty far into the forest and then it randomly disappeared in front of two different paths which I had to choose from, at this moment I was thinking of turning back around but I just couldn’t. I needed to find out where it went.

There were two paths, left and right, they both looked pretty spooky so I couldn’t tell if one path was more safe than the other. It took me a while to choose but then I picked left just out of my heart, I believed that was the correct path. While walking down that path I started feeling a little nauseous and everything looked dizzy to me.

Then I passed out.

I woke up feeling very dizzy and confused, I took a look around and realized I was sitting on a tiny couch. I was greeted with some tea from a tiny fairy who looked at me like I was crazy. We both looked at each other in complete shock. She got a wet rag from her kitchen and wiped my face off and asked me if I was okay.

“Yes,” I replied in a sick voice.

“May I ask you something dear?” the fairy said.

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I shook my head up and down. “Sure,” I said.

She looked at me and said, “Do you know what happened before you passed out?”

I told her that something brushed past me and I followed it. She looked very concerned. She asked me if it had color on it and I told her I wasn’t sure. She told me that the forest is not safe at night or when the sky turns to a dark purple.

“That’s when the little ghost-like figures come around you and follow you. We call them shades. They only come around people if they are alone just like you were.”

We sat for a few hours and talked about the dangers of the forest and why no one should ever go in the forest alone at these times. I was really desperate to go back home but I knew that it was way too dangerous for me to go out. The fairy also told me that I should stay until morning just to be on the safe side.

I had woken up feeling very uncomfortable because of how small the couch was, and also happily greeted with a morning breakfast.

The fairy had given me some toast, wild berries, tea, and some maple syrup from the trees right outside. The breakfast was very fresh which made me very energized for the day. I told the fairy goodbye and thank you for all of the things you did for me. If it wasn’t for her I would probably be dead. For the next few hours I was walking back towards my house and then I saw the little ghost-like figure again but it was morning. I was confused because they only come out at night or when the sky is dark purple. I started running through the forest, not following the path to go back home. I was running for so long and I was sweating and also getting extremely tired. I had stopped thinking that it was gone so I sat by a tree for a few minutes. I heard rustling in the leaves and looked behind me and saw the shade. I didn’t even have the energy to run so I just sat there thinking about how it was going to end. Until the shade transformed into a fairy. The fairy sat there and looked at me and then I remembered. It was the same fairy that HELPED ME, my heart dropped. How can she betray me? What did I do to her?

She looked me in the eyes and told me, “I tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen.”

I was confused. I didn’t know what she was talking about. Then she told me to leave multiple times before she would have to kill me!

That was the day I left and never came back.

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Gates

by Kenneth Gavilan

A flash of light that seeped through the window, a sunrise of scarlet red and bright yellow. A beautiful morning amongst the crowded brick jungle, the light slipping into the city’s roads, illuminating the vehicles that drove. It was loud, people were rushing to get to their destinations, yet it was a peaceful, normal day. But this was not Earth, at least not the Earth we know.

A rumble began to shake the air, the city sirens began to shriek, the sky had turned a velvet purple, there was panic on the streets, everyone rushing, shoving each other to get away. Then the sky began to crack, then from the deepest cracks it shattered. Peering into the cracks, dark crimson swirls and disordered space were seen, it looked as deep as the ocean and as vast as space.

With the rift in the sky and a hollow city, not a sound from the now empty streets but a pitter patter of someone walking, tip tap tip tap. It seems that the city was not empty, a sole person walked amongst the sidewalk, not a care in the world. Was he deaf ? Did he not hear the Sirens?

Is he blind? Did he not see the people running?

The rift began to shake the sky once more, but erupted in light and sound, what had seemed to be an endless void became a raining jungle, silhouettes of terrors began to peer out of the rift. Why wasn’t he running? Why wasn’t he afraid of such hideous beasts? They rained from the sky, filling the hollow city with their shrieks and pattering of feet.

Bloodlusted and crazed, they led a path of sheer destruction. Yet this man did not budge; he continued walking.

The sound of shrieks and running drew closer and closer to the man. Then suddenly, the sounds of shrieks and feet had stopped, hideous green creatures, as small as children and as smelly as a dumpster had laid in front of the man anticipating their pounce on him.

Loud screams, groans of agony, the tearing of flesh, the cracking of bones, then silence. The streets now littered with corpses of monsters, the rift overhead began to close and the sky faded from a velvet purple back to a sky blue. The city filled with people once more 173

as if nothing had happened.

In this world rifts bend space and time to connect this world to dimensions that are home to monsters, from rainy jungles to blazing deserts, to even stormy oceans, spelling death for the people of this world if the monsters inside come out.

Vrrr vrrr. “Hello? Oh sorry, forgot it was today. Where is it? Okay, see you there,” Sunhwa hung up.

“Who was that?” Janic asked.

“It was the call for the Gate raid.”

“Good luck, don’t come back with a missing limb or anything.”

“Alright, I promise to get some good cores,” Sunhwa grabs his bag and heads for the door.

He runs through the streets, wind blowing through his crimson hair. He arrives at the Gate opening and sees the people that he will be entering the Gate with. The Gate coordinator came in, he gave three loud claps: CLAP, CLAP, CLAP. “Alright, listen up, we have the green light to go through, it’s a D rank Gate so nothing too bad should happen. Remember we are not responsible for your pay, any monster you kill, you are allowed to take its core. Other than that, support each other so that I don’t have to report casualties to the Hunter Association,” The coordinator began to discuss something in secret with some Association members.

Everyone began to prepare their gear, blades were sharpened, shields were polished, armor was donned, and Sunhwa prepared his daggers. One of the Association members had an airhorn. He held it up in the air, the horn was fired and the Hunters entered the Gate. It was dark, humid, the sounds of small flying mammals.

“It’s a cave. Mages, light please.”

The mages had created sources of light at the tip of their staffs, the hunters stopped what they were doing and began to search the walls and measured the width of the caves.

“What are you all doing?”Sunhwa asked.

“Is this your first time in a cave-type Gate?” a mage asked.

“Yes.” “They are gathering information on what type of monsters we could encounter here.”

“How are they figuring that out?”

“It’s pretty simple, if they find any acid or silk on the walls then we are working with insects, if they find paint then we are working with 174

goblins or other low intelligence monsters, lastly if they find any claw marks we are working with beasts. Those are the only things that we can find in this cave.”

“Which ones should we be most worried about?”

“Goblins. They set up traps around their nest and they can coordinate attacks.”

This gave Sunhwa chills.

“Hey, I found something!”

A swordsman yelled, the mage drew her attention to the swordsman.

“What is it?”

The swordsman motioned for her to come closer and he whispered something in her ears, she grew pale.

“That shouldn’t be possible . . . Everyone, be on guard! We might not be alone!”

Everyone got into a tight formation, they started to look around frantically.

“What are we so afraid of ?”

The mage turned to him and whispered, “Hobgoblins.”

175

The Eye

by Kayla Hernandez

She sits in her room lonely in the dark in complete silence, who is she?

Long brown hair with split ends and that one lonely braid on the left side of her face while she bites her nails that haven’t been cleaned for ages. She stares at the ceiling while laying in her queen size bed with the blankets all messy and everywhere. Clothes thrown around and tiny crumbs of crackers scattered around her carpet floor. What is she thinking? Maybe she’s thinking about her purpose in life or why she isn’t able to communicate with others like a normal person. There’s no sign of Barbies or toy trains so I don’t think she has any siblings, I don’t see any pee or poop on the floor so there’s no sign of any pets. Why is she staring at the ceiling, can’t she just read a book off the large bookshelf she has? She seems creepy and out of this planet, maybe she doesn’t have any friends. Is that what you were thinking?

See, my name is Abigail Lee Warren and I’m 15 years old in a 7th grade class. Many people call me weird or they say my nickname is “Alien”. While you may believe that is my actual nickname, it really isn’t. My nickname is Abby and I’m a shy, four-foot-eleven dork, who gets rejected by the boys and just people in general. The principal in my school doesn’t even know I exist, let’s just say I am not very much of a troublemaker. Well, now that you’ve observed me for so long, what do you think of me? Can we be friends or am I just too weird?

Well either way I’m fine with any choice you pick, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been pushed away.

Actually I’ve decided to give us another chance of friendship so I’m going to take you with me to school for a day in the life of Abigail.

When I get to school I always walk in the first entrance on the left side of the building even though there’s more than 6 entrances. That’s my favorite entrance because no one walks all around the building to get in which makes it special. I won’t get stared at early in the morning and called weird, which is like a miracle because I’m literally always being talked about. Did I tell you that some of my classmates thought I killed someone and the rumor spread faster than COVID which is ridiculous.

176

Anyways back to what I was saying, every morning I tend to go straight into the restroom before walking into my first period class just to make sure I look okay and smell okay. I’m not much of a person who cares about others’ opinions of me but sometimes I just want to be normal, you know. This tall blonde chick with super long nails and the shortest skirt I’ve ever seen, always comes in the bathroom at the same time as me. To be honest she’s like my little tail that follows me everywhere but it isn’t in a cute way as you may be thinking. It’s to gather information about me and twist the story in order to make me look even more weird. I sometimes think like “Girl, don’t you have a life?” but I forget that she was born into being a mouth breather.

What is a “mouth breather,” you say? Well I came up with my own definition, a mouth breather is someone who’s obsessed with you and constantly does things to make your life a living hell. They would swim through an ocean just to reach you, which seems pretty desperate, don’t you think? I sometimes think, “Maybe she doesn’t have family who honestly care for her and that’s why she constantly seeks for attention.”

Okay okay, enough about her and back to my morning, so after I get out of the bathroom I walk into chemistry and sit all the way in the back in a little corner I have claimed mine. I just sit and watch while kids in my class act like fools who haven’t been taught manners.

This short and chubby boy whose hair is longer than a Monday always decides to sneak up on girls and lift their skirts up which I think is disrespectful but most girls let it slide. I think if I were in that situation I would go absolutely crazy and reach for any object around me to hit him with. That kind of behavior is unacceptable in my book.

I always write down the things I’ve seen people do, I have no idea why, but I always thought one day it might come in handy and today is the day. Walking to my second period class, I come across a small black book with encrypted words on the cover but I don’t pick it up just in case it was set up by Mouth Breather in order to call me a thief.

I continue walking to my second period class and as I sit there for 30 minutes, watching my teacher’s mouth ramble on and on, I can’t stop thinking about the book. I have no idea why but it’s like it cast a spell on me, making me want to go back for the book because my curiosity is destroying me. I raise my hand quickly and ask for the restroom pass but my teacher says to wait ‘til she finishes teaching the lesson and so as the smart ass I am I begin to calculate in my head how long it will 177

take her to finish the lesson. I quietly stand up and walk towards her saying, “I really have to go,” then I walk out quickly without hesitation.

I run to grab the book and disappear into the bathroom, I read every page until the bell rings for my next class. As I walk out of the restroom, Mouth Breather stares at me with such rage, she snatches the book out of my hand and throws it onto the floor, stomping then spitting on it. I am shocked, completely shocked at what I just witnessed. I never thought she would go this far as to disrespecting boundaries. At the moment I want to punch her soul out but I see the principal coming our way and I don’t want detention. Mouth Breather picks the book up and hands it over, politely saying, “here, I think this is yours.” In my head I think wow she’s super unpredictable or she just wants to look like the good guy. She winks and walks off like nothing happened so I go with the flow, walking off as well. My stomach begins to feel sick and I accidentally vomit all over the only nice kid in class. Oops I wonder will he ever forgive me for the embarrassment I caused him. The nurse calls my parents 20 minutes later. I get picked up and rushed home. I check my bag because I can’t remember if I picked it up from the table. Gasp, the book disappeared and that was the last time it was seen ever.

178

Animal Crackers

by Raima Join

“Muahaha,” the strange little teenager in a lab coat laughed before he started coughing.

“Darren! How many times do I have to tell you, get ready for school,” a slightly chubby, middle-aged woman screamed. “And why is there so much smoke?”

“Mom!” Darren whined. “How many times have I told you not to enter my lair?”

“Excuse me?” the middle-aged woman shrieked, putting her hand on her chest. “Who do you think you’re talking to? Do you pay the bills?”

“No ma’am,” Darren replied.

“That’s right. Now get going before I have to drag you,” his mom said sternly.

With that, his mom went back upstairs. Darren quickly traded his oversized lab coat for an oversized hoodie and shoved his books in his backpack. Not being aware of the chemicals in his bag spilling all over the animal crackers his mom had packed the previous night, Darren then bolted up the stairs, where he grabbed the doorknob.

“Hold it,” his mother’s voice said.

Darren froze and turned around. Lo and behold, his mother was standing there holding a camera, an unamused look on her face.

Darren groaned, knowing what his mother wanted.

“Mom, I’m too old to be taking first day of school photos,” Darren complained.

“Well too bad. Now give me a big smile,” his mom replied. “Also, I packed some animal crackers in your bag in case you get hungry.”

“Okay,” Darren answered.

After the small five minute photo session, which felt like an hour to Darren, he left his house and headed towards school. He was finally a senior in middle school, most people would look forward to it. But after Darren’s best friend moved to another state, there wasn’t much he was looking forward to. He had known Kate ever since they were in kindergarten, they were inseparable. Darren wasn’t really a people 179

person, so he didn’t have any other friends. His mom had suggested joining a club, but he quickly rejected the suggestion. If he could, he would do homeschool instead. He hated having to be put in a room with strangers.

When he got to the school grounds, he saw kids hugging each other, asking how their summer was before entering into conversations he could care less about. He was walking down the hallway when he bumped into something, or should I say someone.

“Oh hey, sorry I didn’t see you there,” a voice apologized.

“Whatever,” Darren muttered, looking up to face the person.

He was a tall, lanky, pale boy with black glasses. But what caught his attention was the boy’s hair, which looked like a faded-purplish color.

“Oh.” The boy noticed Darren’s stare. “I dyed it at the beginning of the summer. But I’m kinda too lazy to re-dye it.”

“Looks like you used grape juice to dye it,” Darren deadpanned.

“Too lazy to buy actual hair dye.”

“Haha.” The boy chuckled. “What class are you going to?”

“Room 209,” Darren stated in a monotone voice before walking away. Just his luck, the odd boy decided to follow him.

“That’s my class too,” the boy beamed. “My name’s Cole, what’s yours?”

“None of your business.” Darren glared at him before entering the classroom.

It seemed like an old fashioned-style classroom, blackboard and chalk at the front of the room, along with a dark wooden desk. On the surface of the desk was a pile of books and paper scattered in a mess. Along with a huge dusty globe, which looked as if someone had pulled it out of an attic. Darren assumed it belonged to the teacher.

As for the students’ desks, they were your typical student’s desks, put into single-file rows. A few other students had already got to the classroom and were talking to their new classmates. Seeing as though there seemed to be no assigned seats, Darren decided to sit at the very back of the classroom, away from everyone. But the solitude didn’t last when Cole decided to plop down on the seat right next to him.

“Does this kid not have anyone else to bother?” Darren thought to himself as he waited for the teacher.

By the time the bell rang, all his classmates for the year were inside, along with an old-looking man. The center of his head was bald, with grey hair around it. He had a small grey beard on his face, 180

and small rectangular glasses.

“Good morning, class. I am your eighth grade teacher. My name is Mr. Williams,” the man introduced himself. “This year will go smoothly as long as you pay attention and do your homework. Now let’s get to attendance, shall we?”

After a bunch of names were called out, they finally got to his name.

“Darren Andrews,” Mr. Williams said.

“Present,” Darren said, raising his hand.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Cole smiling like a kid seeing a puppy down the street.

“Looks like I know your name now,” Cole whispered, making Darren roll his eyes and start to doodle in his notebook.

The classes went by smoothly, Darren not really paying attention, since he already knew everything the teacher was saying. For him, it was like sitting in a kindergarten class. However, what did catch his attention was when he started to hear a small rattling sound. Darren looked around the classroom to see if anyone else noticed, but they didn’t. Darren then turned his attention towards his backpack, which looked like it was moving.

“What the heck is going on,” Darren thought to himself.

Whatever was going on with his bag, he decided to check it out during lunch. When the lunch bell rang, Darren was one of the first kids out of the classroom, his arms wrapped around his school bag.

When he got to the cafeteria, he bolted towards the very back of the room, where a small table with two seats were. Plopping down on one of the ridiculous (in Darren’s opinion) colorful chairs, he looked inside his bag. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, until he realized the sound was plastic rustling. He nervously picked up the small plastic bag his mom had filled with animal crackers. To his surprise, they were moving around, like they were possessed by a spirit or something.

“How did this happen?” Darren thought.

Darren tried to retrace his thoughts on how his day went. Then it all fell together, making a clear picture, like a puzzle. When he was in a rush this morning, he accidentally spilled chemicals inside his bag, which had the animal crackers his mother packed the previous night. The chemicals may have seeped through the bag and landed on said crackers.

“Geez, what are in these things,” Darren muttered to himself.

To his dismay, while he was trying to figure out what to do, the bag 181

fell over. When the crackers hit the ground, they started to move on their own, separating. Darren hastily got out of his seat and did his best to round up as many crackers as he could, placing them back in the plastic bag. When Darren counted the crackers he realized one was missing. He looked around the cafeteria. Teachers had always said that if students were caught with a cellphone or toy, they would get detention. He wondered what they would do if they found out he had living animal crackers. He stopped when he noticed cookie crumbs on the floor. Animal cracker crumbs, to be precise—someone must have stepped on it.

“Hey you!” an angry blond girl shrieked. “Was it your bright idea to put that in my shirt? Why I oughta—” The girl raised her hand as if she were about to hit Darren, making him flinch, bracing himself for impact. But then he saw Cole, holding the girl’s wrist with one hand, the other holding his lunch tray.

“You know, violence isn’t the answer,” Cole stated in an unamused voice.

The girl took her hand back and retreated back to her seat, while Darren scurried back to his seat, Cole trailing behind him.

“Hey man, what was that about?” Cole started to ask, but his eyes widened when he noticed the moving animal crackers.

“Woah, what are those?” Cole asked, intrigued.

Darren explained the situation a bit hesitantly, knowing it seemed a bit obscure.

“Now I just need to know how to remove the chemicals,” Darren stated.

“You know what goes great with cookies?” Cole asked with a goofy grin.

“What?” Darren asked, confused.

“Milk.” Cole beamed.

Cole took the plastic bag from Darren’s hand and poured the crackers into his open milk carton. He then held the milk carton closed, feeling movements from the carton. Almost as if the living crackers were protesting their unexpected milk bath. A few seconds later, the milk carton went limp. Cole opened it and showed the contents to Darren. Lo and behold, the animal crackers were floating in the milk, not showing the slightest movement.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Darren said, shocked. “I guess you’re not just an airhead.”

“Hey,” Cole protested.

182

The Making Of a Villian

by Rifat Khan Inspired by characters and scenarios from DC Comics

“If you are hearing this it’s too late, the Superheroes have won. I tried to get a full army of soldiers but we couldn’t make it. I had the power to convert everyone and anyone I saw just with a look, but I failed. I picked the wrong people to fight for me. I’M SO STUPID! WHY, WHY, WHY did I pick regular civilians to fight for me. I’M SORRRRRYYYY TO WHOEVER I LET DOWN. Goodbye, I will be back.” This is the last message the Joker has left before disappearing.

As you can see, he is very disappointed in himself for not accomplishing what he wanted to do after all these years.

It all started when he was in middle school. He was going through it mentally. His real name is Esteban Malloy and he was thirteen years old at this time. He has been through so much that he has mental issues. He is bipolar, depressed, and he has PTSD. From all the trauma his parents and The Streets have given him, it was crazy to see him standing on ten toes every day, with a smile on his face. He says, “You have to smile in front of everyone to seem OK and happy, but cry when you’re alone.” He also went to jail many times but got out due to uncertain reasons. He used to have talks with his parents about his life choices but it often sounded like lions fighting.

He screams at the top of his lungs, “Y’ALL DON’T CARE ABOUT ME ALL YA CARE ABOUT IS HOW I ACT FOR OTHER PEOPLE.” “WE DO CARE ABOUT YOU,YOU JUST DON’T LISTEN,” his mom says, screaming like a hyena. He keeps saying that his “friends” care about him. Little does he know, nobody does.

Joker loved being right and in other people’s eyes he was always right. Nobody knows how he does this but he always convinces people of doing something except his parents. Just like how Superman had a weakness of kryptonite, I think Joker’s weakness is his parents. He doesn’t believe that it’s a superpower though. He just believes he is a good talker and that people always believe him. He is an amazing liar as well. But, one thing is that he looks into someone’s eyes and they kind of get possessed in a way like they are part of him. But this was 183

all figured out when he was in eighth grade and would always tell the kids, “let’s put a smile on that face.”

After a while, he knew that there was something special about him. He robbed a bank and convinced everyone to not call the cops.

He was finally aware of what he could do. He grew his hair out and put it in braids. He changed his whole identity. He was known as Esteban Malloy but now is known as the Joker. He annoys people so much to the point where they want to kill him. But he is so mysterious that he talks so much but at the same time no one can get him. He has to be the smartest villain ever. He once told a person, “Go die and I’ma piss on ya mom’s grave, GANGSTA!!!!” As disrespectful as he is he still never got touched. Everybody says he will get caught up one day but nothing ever happened. He was always hidden somewhere.

Until the superheroes got involved.

When the superheroes got involved Joker was scared, he started panicking. He was panicking until his best friend Johnathan gave him the idea . . . “Yo bro why don’t you convert everyone you see to be on your side. And maybe you can give me the power so I can convert everyone.”

“Bro how do I even do that?” Joker said, and laughed hysterically.

They tried and tried but there was no progress. Joker sent Johnathan on a mission to get some weapons. But Johnathan got jumped and failed the mission. When Johnathan got back to their little hideout, Joker was furious. He said calmly, “why didn’t you get my weapons.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t because I gave them too low of a price.”

Johnathan said, with a shaky broken voice. His skin was almost peeled off. He was kicked and punched by seven people. His eyeballs almost came out while his tongue was ripped. He was bleeding from his mouth. But Joker was not going to accept that. He beat Johnathan more and fired him. Jonathan went to the hospital and the superheroes heard what happened.

These superheroes are the knockoff Justice League. But, they are still superheroes that save the world. When the superheroes got to the hospital they had to fight off all the workers because they were on the Joker’s side. They crept up slowly and they went through his memory.

Joker knew they would do this so he fled the city. They found the little warehouse that he was hiding in and they couldn’t find one clue except a note which said, “Johnathan will see me later tonight.” That is a saying Joker made up which means that he is nearby. He knew the 184

superheroes would go all over but people did not know how the Joker looked without the braids and the changed face structure.

Everyone knew that the Joker would do this but the superheroes found out what he looked like in middle school. Just like we all knew his parents ratted him out. They are really his kryptonite. The superheroes went to a place called Drankson and it’s the most beautiful place on Mars. Joker always said he would go there after converting everyone and that’s exactly what he did. But the thing is that he didn’t know people would find him.

The superheroes had to make a special spacecraft to go to where Joker was. But Joker took a vacation back to Earth because he heard the superheroes were trying to come get him. But the mission he tried to do this whole time failed. The city Drankson was full of bombs Joker had placed. On the plane he took back, he blew the city up, but the superheroes weren’t there yet. The superheroes were waiting for him to land. He got tricked by his intel.

It was the end for the Joker. He was basically caught but when he landed there was a whole army of superheroes. He was scared that his plan didn’t work. He looked out the window of the plane and started shaking. They were yelling, “Joker, your time has come. Now come out and accept your fate.” Nobody knows where the Joker is because he has never come out of the plane. The superheroes scanned the whole plane and he was nowhere to be seen. He has disappeared, but has left a message. “If you are hearing this it’s too late . . . ”

185

Nostalgia

by Nathalie Merette

“Waking up and realizing you’re nothing but a mere memory hurts.”

I can’t even move or see my family ever again. I can just see tears reach the floor as my mother tells my brother and sister I’m never coming back. It hurts, them putting the blazing lycoris on my pitch black casket with my carved initials on it: C.W. Cianna Willams. I can see that my sister was affected the most. She was my other half, after all. My twin sister. We were in the womb for 9 months together, born and raised for 15 years until that fateful day, the day I died. Anyways, when I see my sister, I see that her raven black hair seems duller, her eyes seem swollen, that’s what happens when she cries. I always made fun of her for that.

“Hey Mirai, why are you crying?”

“Louis broke my science project. I needed it for class tomorrow.”

“It’s OK, we could always repair it. Your eyes are quite swollen and they make you look terrible, you look like a raccoon.”

“You’re so rude, Cianna.”

I regret saying that deeply. Looking at my little brother Louis, he probably doesn’t know what’s going on. With his innocent big blue eyes and his chocolate brown hair, he looks so still. I always used to read to him, going through the pages, my fingertips going over the beautiful illustrations. He’s 4 right now. He was so energetic, so full of life, but here he is as quiet as an owl, hasn’t said a peep. I miss his big rosy cheeks smiling at me, his white pearly smile, his eye smile, his muddy clothes and Mother getting mad. I miss it all, but I can’t move on, I have to find out who did it, I have to find out who took it all from me, all I have is a letter, what a shame. Then my mother comes, she’s not in one of her typical pastel outfits, she’s in a dark long dress with frills on the bottom, she seems out of it, I miss her cooking, her making these heartfelt meals, it makes me sad. After the funeral and returning to the gates of Valysium, I got the same message and reasoning why I can’t enter the gates. “When you finally let go and find the truth, you may enter,” whatever that means. All I have is a family with a face ripped out, but who? I went back home and I sat in the center chair 186

that I used. It was empty, they were preparing for dinner, the dinner was a roasted brown seasoned turkey with some mashed potatoes. It looked heavenly. Shame I can’t eat, my body doesn’t function like that anymore. I don’t necessarily need to eat it, not required, if I do I’ll just vomit it out. I’m dead, after all. When I died, I noticed nothing really changed about my appearance other than my body doesn’t function.

I’m physically frozen at fifteen, but I realized sometime I have two odd marks on my neck. They bothered me, but then I realized they could be a clue. When I came back, snapped out of my flashback, I realized everyone was gone. Mom? Mirai? Louis? Then I realized the food was done and the table was back to normal. The vase Louis broke on that day. That day, December 9th, 2019. 6:00 p.m.

“Hey Cianna, have you seen my science project? I really need it.”

“I don’t have it.”

“You’re lying. Give it.”

“I’m not lying, Mirai, stop—” *Smash* “LOUIS!” “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see it.” He started crying. So did Mirai.

I could see her eyes were starting to swell. Louis’s face started to turn red. His face was wrinkled, he was frowning, but then he was going to let out a scream, a scream that would end it all, December 9th, 2019.

7:30 p.m. I heard footsteps walking. Louis froze and me and Mirai stood there in fear. She and I knew who that was. It wasn’t our sweet, caring, energetic mother who made heartfelt meals every day for us or kissed us goodnight. It was the same man who had anger issues and was barely home, he who has my brother’s baby blue eyes and me and Mirai’s raven black hair. He was our father. As he came closer, I could smell the drinks he had. Today his pupils were dilated, his face looked tired, he looked and asked who did this? I could tell Louis was about to cry, but then my father grabbed a sharp piece of the vase. It was so sharp, it pierced his fingertip as he looked at Louis with sinister eyes and Mirai could tell what he was about. She screamed STOP! He lunged at him but I moved Louis out the way quickly. He stabbed me in the neck twice and I blacked out.

Why? I woke up in disbelief. I couldn’t accept it, but I had to.

I went to the gate again and asked, may I enter? The guardian of Valysium, who was a rose-cheeked blond girl with Greek attire, told me, “have you finally learned to accept your fate?”

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“Yes,” I said in a monotone voice. When I entered, I saw the blue sky. It was crystal clear. The waters looked clear and glimmery. It was gorgeous. The buildings were in an Athens structure. They were stunning, the carved pillars and the smell of fresh air, it was heavenly.

188

I Told You Not to Buy a Robot

by Aleyana Noel

The Russian spies came back after 4 years of trying their best to get R.R.I’s (Rodriguez Robot Industry) plans for their next robot. They failed miserably so many times. They were on the verge of giving up until they spotted Ella coming home after hanging out with her friends. They waited until she got into a quiet alley and did not hesitate to bag her head and throw her into the back of a sketchy white van.

Ella thought in her head, irritated and flustered, ahh here we go again.

They brought her into a warehouse where they questioned and beat her. Ella did not say anything to them, up until the spies began to threaten her friends and family, the people she cares the most about.

They knew she cracked when they mentioned the names of her family and friends so they made a deal.

“Okay, listen, little girl. We know how much you care for your loved ones. Well, if you ever want to see them outside of a casket, then you’re going to start playing by our rules!”

Ella then responded in a monotone voice. “Fine, I’ll play your game.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Alexi, the leader of the Russian spies, responded. “So now what you’re going to do is you will tell us the 17 digit code to the next robot.”

“For what?” Ella replied, getting smacked across the face for it.

“Listen, you’re not going to ask any more questions, you will obey our every command or the people you love oh so dearly will perish in a matter of seconds,” Alexi said, with a scary tone in his voice.

“The code is 13903456782346790,” said Ella.

“Aww see it wasn’t that hard to cooperate, was it?” Alexi said, grinning and laughing menacingly. They got the code and began reprogramming one of R.R.I’s robots to test and see if she gave the right code . . . She did.

“Hahahaha! WE DID IT! AFTER YEARS OF FAILING WE FINALLY DID IT!” Alexi exclaimed. “Let her go, she’s no longer necessary in the plan. We have all that we need.”

Ella was let go, but what she did not know was that giving them 189

the code was going to end the world and around 6.9 billion people would be dead within a week.

Let’s go back a little because I can see you’re lost.

Hey, I’m Michella (Ella for short), and this right here is my story.

I grew up in the richest family to ever exist since the O’Briens, who came up with flying cars/flying technology such as: flying cars, flying ships, flying buses, flying houses, et cetera. They made around 9 trillion dollars off of their revolutionary inventions. This was around 15 years ago, I wasn’t even born yet, can you believe what a generation I came into! My family, however, beat the O’Briens for the richest company, making 109 trillion dollars in sales for our robots. My family has been selling robots for 20 years. It was only when I was born that they began making big bucks off of these never-before-seen robots.

This was amazing! But the only thing I didn’t like was having to pay the price of being a rich girl. No one thought of me as a person, only the child of the richest family in the world. Which would be cool, but I just want to be Ella . . . My parents can never understand that I truly don’t want the money. I don’t want to have this “title,” I also want my parents to be home to show that they care about me and my siblings at least a little bit. But they’re never here; it’s always some interview or something with the robots.

Yeah, I’m not too happy about all of that, but at least I have my best friends, Antonia and Nyrobi, who I call Nia and Ro for short. I’d literally do anything for them. I don’t know what I’d do without these girls. Then there are my siblings, who I love with all my heart. Their names are Clara, Azaria, and Alexander. Clara is the oldest, she’s 17, has straight A’s, literally the kindest person ever and she takes care of me and my siblings when mom and dad are away on business trips.

Azaria is the youngest, she’s 10, pretty reckless, loves riding her bike, grades aren’t the best but school isn’t really her thing, she would love to become a pro BMX racer when she’s older. Alexander is the second oldest, he’s 16, extremely smart, a clean freak, loves to bake, lastly he would love to become a baker/chef when he’s older. Then there’s me, the second youngest, 14 years old, my grades are pretty good (nothing compared to Clara’s), I’m good at self defense (been in a few fights, but we’re not going to talk about that . . . ), I want to have my own business when I’m older (even though my parents say that I won’t make it due to my inconsistency maintaining straight A’s), lastly I’m 190

pretty kept to myself and not all that talkative. Well, you heard about my family, my friends, and my life—I think it’s about time we get back to my story on how the world collapsed . . .

Michella snuck back into the Abandoned Warehouse where she was kidnapped. She did this to find out what their plan was.

“Okay guys, we need to prepare for the last robot to be sold,” said Alexi, leader of the Russian spies.

“But boss, what’s this gonna do?” said Dimitri, Alexi’s assistant.

“Hahaha, you fool, how could you not know? WE’RE STARTING A REVOLUTION.” “No, we’re killing innocent people . . . ” said one of the spies.

“What did you just say?” said Alexi.

“You heard me. Once the last robot is sold and we hit that button, rebooting every single last one of these robots . . . they’re going to kill off almost half of the population.”

“So you’re feeling guilt . . . I always knew you were weak! Hey boys, give the guilty princess the special treatment he deserves,” said Alexi.

“Right on it, sir,” said all of the spies.

“Good, I’d rather die than be a part of your sick plan,” said the spy.

“So this is the plan! They are planning to reboot the robots and wipe out all of these innocent people,” Ella said, trembling with fear.

Horrified after hearing the plan, Michella rushed home to contact her friends about either throwing their robots away or not getting one.

On the phone with Antonia: “Ella, I think I’m getting a robot!”

“NO NIA DON’T GET A ROBOT PLEASE I’M BEGGING YOU!” said Michella, shaking and filled with fear.

“OMG Ella, are you okay?” Antonia said, scared and confused.

“Yes, I am perfectly fine, just do me a favor and . . . DON’T. BUY. A. ROBOT!” “Okay, fine, but I don’t see the big deal. Your family legit owns the biggest robot company in the world . . . why don’t you want me to buy one?”

“Look, I have a bad feeling about these robots. It doesn’t have to do with family or anything. I just think that they’re dangerous and I would never want to put you or anyone I love or care about in danger,” said Ella.

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“OKAY FINE I WON’T BUY A STUPID ROBOT YA HAPPY?” said Antonia.

“Yes, very,” responded Michella nonchalantly. The rest of the week Michella spent trying to plead with people to either throw their robots away or not buy one.

“Please sir, can you just throw your robot away?” Michella begged.

“Are you kidding me? Your family owns the richest company in the world and you just want people to throw away your merchandise?

I don’t understand.”

“I know sir, but there is a bug in the system that makes the robots get violent. I am just trying to ensure your safety.” Michella had to tell a white lie in order to possibly save someone’s life.

“NO WAY!” the old man exclaimed, slamming the door in Michella’s face.

You can’t be serious, Michella thought. Michella had given up trying at one point due to the fact that everyone either ignored her or didn’t believe a word she said. She had lost hope, until she figured out that the plan only goes into action once the last robot is bought.

“OMG THEIR PLAN ISN’T GOING TO WORK BECAUSE NIA ISN’T GOING TO BUY THE LAST ROBOT.” Nia was the only person on the planet who did not own a robot.

Michella got on the phone with Nia. “Heyyy girl what’s up?” Nia said, filled with joy.

“Hey,” responded Michella. “Sooo, why are you all happy? Haha,” said Michella.

“OMG, you will not believe what my dad just bought!!” squealed Antonia.

“NIA! PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T TELL ME IT’S A ROBOT,” screamed Michella.

“Girl, what’s your deal,” said Antonia, confused, with less enthusiasm.

“TELL ME, DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT GET A ROBOT?” Michella said in a furious tone.

“I didn’t . . . ” said Antonia.

“Oh thank—” Michella almost let out a sigh.

“But my dad did.”

“Your dad did what?”

“He, um . . . he bought a robot.”

“ANTONIA WHAT??!!?”

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“It’s all my fault, I told him not to get one but then I also complain about not having one almost every day . . . so I’m sorry,” Antonia said, fearing that Michella was very upset with her.

“No no no no no this can’t be happening . . . ” “Seriously, what’s going on? I’m your best friend, you can tell me anything.”

“THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!” Michella blurted out.

Antonia roared with laughter. “OMG, are you serious? Elle, stop goofing around and tell me the truth.”

“I’m afraid I just told you the truth,” Michella replied.

“WHAT NO NO YOU’RE JOKING THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE THE WORLD CAN’T END.” “Yes it can, and it will. I need you to get out of your house NOW.” “NO I’M NOT LISTENING TO YOU, YOU’RE DELUSIONAL!” Antonia yelled.

“BUT NIA YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME—” Beep beep.

She really just ended the call. Sigh. Michella began to pack as much food and supplies as she could. The clock was ticking and it was only a matter of time before the public became aware of the robot’s new destructive behavior. The news channels weren’t broadcasting the end . . . yet. She was almost done packing when loud explosions erupted out of nowhere. *Ploosh* *Boom* *Screams of terror* It’s happening. Michella scrambled to find her siblings, who were unaware of what was going on.

“What’s going on, Elle?” Azaria asked.

“We’re in danger and we need to get to safe grounds.”

“The explosions just went off . . . How the heck are you so prepared?”

“This is all my fault . . . we got to go . . . NOW!” “Wait, what do you mean—” “There is no time for questions,” Michella said, in a hurry to get all of her siblings out of the house. “Come on guys, hurry up, pack whatever is necessary!”

Azaria packed her teddy bear and a few of her awards from junior BMX racing. Clara packed some clothes and a few of her favorite 193

books. Alexander packed clothes, his books, and some food recipes.

Michella, already finished packing, yelled, “GUYS HURRY UP THE EXPLOSIONS ARE GETTING CLOSER!” Everyone ready to go went out through the secret compartment in their house which led down beneath the earth.

“Eww, it’s so gross and smelly down here!” said Clara.

“Clara, can you please shut up!” Michella said angrily.

“Elle, chill, it’s not like they can even hear us down here.”

“You don’t know that, so just keep quiet, just in case they can.”

“Elle . . . ” Alexander spoke up from behind the rest of his siblings.

“Yeah . . . ?”

“Back at the house you said, ‘this is all my fault.’ What did you mean by that?” Alexander said with a scared tone in his voice.

“Oh . . . well guys, you’ll have to sit down somewhere for this . . . ” said Michellla.

“Okay . . . ” said all of Michella’s siblings. Clara, Alexander, and Azaria huddled together on some large muddy rocks.

“Well, about a week ago when I was coming home from the mall, a few guys pulled me into a car and kidnapped me.”

“OMG, are you okay?” blurted out Clara.

“Yeah, yeah I’m good, but that’s not half the story . . . ” “Oh,” said all of her siblings in unison.

“So after they brought me to this undisclosed location, they decided to question me about the plans for Mom and Dad’s company.

I kept my mouth shut for a while . . . until they mentioned the names of my friends and family. I broke when they said they were going to hurt you guys and basically everyone I love. So I told them the code, thinking that I would be saving y’all, but instead, I put your lives, along with billions of other people, in danger. I came back to the warehouse they took me to because although they didn’t know it, I peeked out of my blindfold just in time to see the address of this warehouse.

But when I snuck in, to my horror, they were discussing what they were going to do with the code that I gave them. They were planning on embedding the code into every single one of R.R.I’s robots once everyone on this earth bought a robot. I don’t know exactly how they managed to do it, but they had some sort of button that they said they were going to press once the last robot is bought. I was shocked and horrified at what I had discovered, but then I realized that the only 194

person on this earth without a robot is Antonia, so I rushed home, trying to reach her and warn her about buying a robot. Obviously, she thought I was insane, but still decided not to buy a robot. I was relieved because there have been very few times in my life when Antonia broke a promise she swore to keep. Then, today, Nia told me that her father purchased the very last robot on this planet. I guess it was to surprise her due to their family’s low income that they were able to purchase this robot, so she was excited to tell me. I told her the reasoning behind why I didn’t want her buying a robot while I was in the middle of freaking out, yet she did not believe a single word I said. She called me delusional and hung up the phone. Not long after that, I started packing food supplies because I knew what was going to happen next.

Then the explosions went off and I called you guys because we had to get out of here almost immediately. I let y’all pack what was important to each and every one of you because the explosions weren’t that close and we had some time. If these explosions had been anywhere close to us, you would have had to kiss all your prized possessions goodbye.”

“Wow . . . ” said all of Michella’s siblings in awe.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS SOONER YOU, WHY NOW?” said Azaria, with tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry Zari . . . I’m sorry to all of you,” Michella apologized.

“You should be, because if Mom and Dad had known—” “What would they have done? Alex, please tell me!” Clara interrupted.

“Shut up, Clara, they would have helped—” “No, they wouldn’t have! They would just call us a bunch of crazy kids and go off on their business trips without a care in the world.”

After Clara said this, the entire group of siblings went silent. They were all silent for about 20 minutes until Michella spoke.

“OH MY GOSH I JUST FORGOT,” she blurted out.

“You forgot what..?” said Alex, with a confused look on his face.

“WE NEED TO GO GET NIA AND RO!” “Then go get them!” said Clara.

“Wait, none of you are coming with me?”

“It only makes sense, you are literally the most capable to handle anything you see out there, you don’t need us, we’ll only weigh you down.”

“Fine, I’ll go on my own, but you guys please don’t leave the 195

cave!” Michella asserted.

“Okay, we won’t. Be safe,” said Michella’s siblings synchronously.

Michella went to get Nia first as her house wasn’t too far away. She went up to the surface and saw pure chaos and destruction. Buildings, houses, shops, and stores either burned to the ground or were on fire. Michella started panting heavily, tears flooding her eyes almost as if she were drowning. Why did I have to give them the stupid code? They could’ve been bluffing . . . This is all my fault. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT. She pushed all of her negative thoughts away and focused on the main issue here, her friends could be in grave danger right about now. Okay, we got to save Nia and Ro, that’s what we’re here for. Michella waited until the robots were as far away as possible and then discreetly crept up out of the safe haven. Once she got out she looked around and saw no sign of robots, the area was quiet, probably the most quiet New York City had been in years. The last time New York had been this quiet must’ve been back in 2028 during COVID-27. Michella walked as quietly as possible, trying her best to not make any sound. It took her a while to reach Antonia’s house, even though it was only 3 blocks away. The minute she got there, it was completely trashed, and there were loud screams. Michella was terrified at what she would walk in on. She crept up to the door and knocked as usual, but the door opened on its own. Michella came inside to see Antonia up against a wall with a tall terrifying robot standing in front of her. He was holding several sharp tools in his right hand but then saw her. For a second there, he just stopped moving. Antonia seemed shocked, but Michella wasn’t.

She wasn’t surprised at all, for she had spent a large portion of her childhood studying how to tame her family’s robots if they ever got out of hand. All she did was look him straight in the eyes and did not look away, not even for a second. She kept eye contact with him until she got close enough to quickly flip the switch behind the robot’s neck. Antonia’s robot shut down immediately and Antonia’s life, along with her family’s lives, were saved. “OMG ELLE YOU’RE ALIVE!” Antonia exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m alive, see this is why I told you not to buy a robot,” Michella said, breathing heavily, with a slight chuckle.

“I should’ve believed you. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Elle,” Antonia said sadly.

“It’s okay, I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t have believed me either.

Anyways, we have to go get Ro.” 196

“Wait — just Nyrobi?” said Antonia, confused.

“Yeah, who else do we need to get?”

“We need to get Lee, dummy!” Antonia said, irritated.

“No . . . um, we don’t need to get Lee.” “Girl, what’s wrong with you?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” Back in Elementary School, Lee, Michella, Nyrobi, and Antonia were the best of friends. Up until Middle School, where Lee developed a little crush on Michella. Even though Lee was really sweet, he was also just a friend to her, and she didn’t want to ruin their amazing friendship. Soon after Michella rejected him, he left the group, ashamed and heartbroken. For years, Michella, Nyrobi, and Antonia had not been in contact with Lee. But Antonia was not trying to leave Lee behind.

“Look, I know it’s going to be a little awkward due what happened, but girl . . . that was in the 6th grade, it has been 3 years! We need to talk to him. I mean, come on, we were best friends.”

“Emphasis on the were, we’re not friends anymore! It’s all his fault why we stopped being friends in the first place!” Michella told Antonia angrily.

“We’re getting him whether you like it or not!” Antonia told Michella sternly.

Michella grunted, “Fine whatever, but I’m not talking to him.”

Michella and Antonia arrived at Lee’s house 2 hours later.

“What are you waiting for? Knock,” Michella said, annoyed.

Antonia knocked on the door. Knock, knock. Footsteps approached the door. The door slightly opened.

“Um, can I help . . . you . . . ” a voice said from behind the door.

“Hey Lee, it’s been a while,” Antonia said to Lee. “Hey Nia . . . and hey Ellie . . . ” said Lee, looking directly at Michella.

“Uh—hey,” Michella said, while looking away from Lee. “You don’t look too happy to see me.”

“Honestly I’m not,” Michella replied.

“I’m not surprised,” said Lee, looking down at the ground.

“Look can we just get along, THE WORLD IS ENDING!” said Antonia.

“Okay . . . ” said Michella.

“Guys . . . what’s going on?” Lee said, concerned.

“As you can see there are buildings burning down, robots turning 197

on their owners and PEOPLE LITERALLY DYING, what do you think we’re here for ya big dummy!” Antonia said, frustrated.

“Jeez, calm down . . . wait, are you guys here for protection?”

“PROTECTION?! BY YOU? Nah, we’re good.” Michella was extremely annoyed.

“Can you both just calm down, and tell me what’s going on?”

“Okay. We’re here to get you to safety,” said Michella.

“Why would I need to be protected by y’all, I’m doing perfectly fine on my own.” Lee had always been very stubborn and had the largest ego.

“Ugh, Lee, why must you have such a big ego,” said Antonia.

“I do not have a big ego!”

“Lee can you stop acting like a two year old and just come with us?” said Michella.

“Sure,” said Lee. “Why do you only give in when she says to stop?” said Antonia.

“I, um—” Lee struggled to get any words out. Antonia gasped.

“Do you still have a crush on her?” Antonia squealed.

“I don’t want to talk about this right now. Can we please just go.”

“You totally still have a crush on her.”

“Does it really matter if he still has a crush on me or not? It’s not going to change anything between us,” Michella said before walking away. Lee was standing right behind the door, his heart had been shattered yet again. Michella began to lead Antonia and Lee to Ro’s house. It took them about 45 minutes to get there, but when they got there, they were amazed to see that Ro had already re-programmed her robot to be gentle and friendly as all the robots once were.

“Ro . . . what did you do?” Michella said, filled with confusion.

“Oh, I just re-programmed my robot to get its act together,” said Nyrobi, glaring at her robot.

“Hey Ny . . . ” Lee said, creeping up from behind Antonia and Michella.

“What’s Lee doing here?” said Nyrobi.

“Oh, we needed to protect him.”

“Yeah, cause you care about me,” said Lee, in a smug tone.

“Look, it wasn’t even my idea to come get you, it was Nia’s, so thank her.”

“Ew no,” said Lee. “WHAT, HOW DARE YOU SAY EW WHEN YOU LOOK 198

LIKE A WHOLE TROLL.” “Well at least I don’t look like the stuff that grows on the bottom of your feet.”

Nyrobi and Michella almost formed tears from how hard they laughed.

“Bruh . . . I can’t breathe,” Michella said whilst laughing along with Nyrobi some more.

“That wasn’t even a good comeback. I don’t know why y’all laughing,” said an annoyed Antonia.

“It was good, you got to admit,” Lee said, with the biggest smile on his face.

“I’M NOT ADMITTING ANYTHING TO YOU,” Antonia screamed.

“Wait, hold on, can someone tell me again, why they fight like siblings?” Nyrobi asked.

“You really don’t remember? Every single year, they would get into the stupidest arguments and the dumbest fights. You and me would always have to break them up,” Michella informed Nyrobi.

“Ohhh yeah, now I remember, didn’t Nia almost kill Lee once?”

“Yup I did, because he was being an absolute idiot as per usual,” said Antonia.

“How was I being an idiot?” said Lee. “Well, you were trying to jump off the top of the staircase at school onto Elle because you were mad at her for stealing your juicebox. I HAD TO TRY AND KILL YOU BEFORE YOU KILLED HER,” Antonia stated.

“Ohhh right, I remember that . . . sorry, Ellie bear,” Lee said.

“What did I say about calling me Ellie bear,” Michella said, turning her head to Lee. “Oh, um . . . ‘NEVER CALL ME THAT NAME AGAIN YOU IDIOT, IT MAKES ME LOOK WEAK.’ Was that it?” Lee replied, mimicking Michella.

“Yes . . . and what did you do? YOU CALLED ME THAT AGAIN.” “I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY PLEASE DON’T KILL ME.” “Fine, I’ll spare you.”

“WAIT, GUYS,” said Nyrobi.

“What?” “Yeah?” “Huh?” “SHOULDN’T WE BE TRYING TO GET TO SAFETY? 199

THERE ARE MURDEROUS ROBOTS TRYING TO KILL US ALL, CAN WE FOCUS ON THAT PLEASE?” “Oh yeah right we got to move guys,” Michella said, leading the gang. They all began following Michella. Then robots came out of nowhere.

“No one move,” said Michella.

“Okay,” said Lee. The robots began to charge. “RUN!!!” said Michella to the rest of the gang. Michella began fighting off the robots while Lee was trying to help.

“Ellie come on, go with Toni, and Ro I got it,” Lee said, urging Michella to stop fighting.

“NO, YOU LEAVE, I CAN HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN.” “What’s up with you, why do you hate me so much?” Lee said, punching two robots in the face effortlessly.

“I don’t hate you.” Michella kicked a robot down.

“Then why do you act like you do? Why do we only reconnect now, when it’s a life or death situation?”

“BECAUSE YOU LEFT US, LEE, YOU DECIDED TO WALK OUT ON US,” Michella said, walking up to Lee in the middle of the fight.

“I DIDN’T WALK OUT ON YOU GUYS, IT’S JUST THAT SOME PEOPLE FEEL HURT AND HEARTBROKEN WHEN THEIR CRUSH OF 4 YEARS REJECTS THEM, YOU’RE SPECIAL TO ME, ELLIE, MORE THAN YOU KNOW—WAIT! ELLE, WATCH OUT!” “What?” Michella was pushed into the streets by a robot and got hit by a car. She laid on the floor, unconscious, with a puddle of blood near her head and bruises all over her face.

Oh my god this one’s on me, Lee thought as he crouched to the floor with his hands on his head. If she wasn’t dealing with my dumb self then she would have been more focused on fighting the robots.

I should’ve at least been able to protect her, I just stood there and told her to watch out, I froze instead of grabbing her, I should have stopped this from happening, this is all my fault.

“Lee, Lee, LEE,” a familiar voice kept repeating.

“ELLIE?” “No . . . Elle’s in the hospital right now. It’s Antonia.”

“Oh . . . okay,” Lee responded.

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“It’s not your fault, you big dummy, there’s nothing either one of you could have done in this situation, it was kind of inevitable,” said Antonia, trying to cheer Lee up.

“Yeah, ‘kind of inevitable’ doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that could have prevented this from happening. If I wasn’t around weighing her down, she would have been okay!” said Lee, furiously, as he walked away. Lee went home that day, not even slightly caring about the fact that the world was ending, all that was on his mind was Ellie. He fell onto his bed. You idiot, he said to himself right before he passed out and went to sleep.

1 week later: “The key, I NEED THE KEY!” “Ma’am, ma’am, calm down.”

“WHO ARE YOU GET AWAY FROM ME, I NEED THE KEY.” “What key, what are you talking about?”

“First tell me who you are . . . ” “I’m your doctor, Michella, you’ve been in a coma for a week.

Now can you tell me what key you’re talking about?” Michella looked up at the woman’s chest to see the top of a wire sticking out.

“Okay, so the key is supposed to—” Michella headbutted the woman before finishing the sentence. Did Alexi and his guys really think I was going to fall for that? Michella began to rip the medical equipment off of her body and saw that she wasn’t too high up and jumped out the window. She began to run as fast as she could in her hospital gown. She ran to Lee’s house, as it was the closest to the hospital. As soon as Michella got there, she began to knock rapidly at the door.

“OH MY GOD ELLIE ARE YOU OKAY?” Lee said, seeing as though Michella was drenched in sweat and had blood dripping down her arms.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, but I may have found a way to save the world,” said Michella, breathing heavily through her words.

“YOU WHAT?” said Lee happily.

“Yup.” “Wait, but why do you look like a bloody hot mess?”

Michella gave Lee a cold glare.

“No offense,” Lee assured.

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“Mhm . . . but to answer your question, I had to escape the hospital.”

“Why?” “Because there was a woman there who tried to fool me into thinking she was a doctor. I knew for a fact she wasn’t a real doctor after I woke up screaming about the key and she started asking me questions about it instead of asking how I felt after I had just woken up from a coma. I looked up at her chest to see this wire sticking out and I knew then and there that she had been sent by someone to get information from me. I gave her a strong headbutt and started to rip the medical stuff off me and went through the window. The first thing I did once I came out was run here. So, yeah . . . this is how I ended up here.”

“Wow . . . I have no words,’’ said Lee in disbelief that Michella had just gone through all of that.

“Yeah, but it’s okay, we have to focus on saving the world right now.”

“You got that right,” Lee said in a chill voice. “So what’s the plan?” he asked eagerly.

“So basically, back when I got kidnapped for the first time when I was about 9 years old, my parents took a lot of time to tell me about the robots just in case they ever successfully hacked into our robots.

They told me about this key that they created 20 years ago when they made the first R.R.I. robot. This key is supposed to be used to open an indestructible safe, which is back at our house. No one knows about the key or the safe. Except my siblings, my parents, myself. And now, you.”

“Okay, so what does the key do once we open the safe?” Lee asked Michella.

“Well, once we open the safe, a big red button will pop up, and once we push it, every robot in existence will deactivate and most likely blow up.”

“Woah, that’s awesome!” Lee replied in awe.

“Yeah, but we’re going to have to risk our lives to get it,” Michella said with a sad and serious tone in her voice.

“Oh . . . ” Lee said less enthusiastically.

“We’re going to have to go up to the mountain, that’s going to be about a 2 day drive with a car and a week on foot,” said Michella.

“I have a car,” said Lee. 202

“No. we’re not driving in the car with you.”

“Come on, why not,” said Lee, in a whiny, sad tone.

“Because you’re 14! You don’t have a license, and you’re also extremely reckless!” said Michella, with an aggravated tone in her voice.

“First of all it’s MY mom’s car and I’ve been learning how to drive in the Macy’s parking lot for 2 WHOLE WEEKS and I think I’m a pretty good driver.”

“Lee . . . TWO FLIPPING WEEKS? OMG, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.” “TWO WEEKS SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH DRIVING EXPERIENCE,” Lee yelled back.

“You know what? Fine, I’ll let you drive, but if I die I’m coming back AND HAUNTING YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.” “Ahh yes, I see you’ve come to your senses.”

“I hate you,” Michella mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Nothing, friend,” Michella said, clenching her fists.

“That’s what I thought.”

“OKAY, YOU MAY BE THE ONLY ONE WITH A CAR, BUT DON’T MAKE IT THE ONLY ONE WITH NO FINGERS.” “I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, PLEASE DON’T HURT ME.” Michella sighed and then called Ro and Nia to discuss the plan.

Michella was going to ask them to come along on the journey but instead she just told them the entrance to the safe haven and told them to go down there and stay safe. It was only going to be Lee and Michella on this mission.

“Just the two of us,” Lee sang in front of Michella.

“One. Ew, no. 2. Wasn’t that a song from like a million years ago?” said Michella, annoyed.

“One. You’re mean. 2. It wasn’t that long ago and it’s also a really good song.”

“Can you just drive, please, like a normal person.”

“But I’m not a normal person, I’m built different.”

“Please don’t ever say that again and just drive pleaseee.”

Two days later: “We’re finally here!” Michella shouted with joy.

“WOOOOO,” Lee yelled.

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“Shhh, keep it quiet!”

“Oh, my bad, sorry . . . Woooo,” said Lee, in a softer voice.

“You’re an idiot,” said Michella, rolling her eyes. Lee chuckled as they began to look for a secret entrance inside the mountain.

“There’s got to be a door somewhere around here,” Michella said while wiping moss away from some rocks.

“OVER HERE!” Lee yelled. “I FOUND THE DOOR.” “Good job!” said Michella. They walked inside and saw a glowing box all the way across a bridge.

“Sick, it’s right there.”

“Wait,” Michella said to Lee. She skipped a stone on the bridge, it shook and wiggled. “The bridge doesn’t seem too safe.”

“Not the time to be afraid, Ellie,” Lee said to Michella.

“Y—yeah, you’re right.”

“You know, if you’re really scared, you could hold onto me. I’ll make sure you’re safe, okay?”

“Oh—okay,” Michella said to Lee, unsure if he was going to keep that promise. They were walking as slow as possible across the bridge, Michella holding onto Lee as tight as possible. Then the bridge began to shake. THE BRIDGE WAS BREAKING OFF PIECE BY PIECE. They started to run as fast as they could and Michella managed to get across the bridge. While Lee was slightly behind her, the bridge cracked in the spot Lee was at! But luckily, Michella caught him by the arm before it was too late. His arm began to slip and Michella tried as hard as she could to get him up.

“Just let me go,” Lee said in a weak voice, with tears in his eyes.

“NO, I CAN’T LOSE YOU, NOT AGAIN,” Michella screamed.

“What do you mean? . . . You will never love me . . . so what’s the point in even living if the only person you ever loved will never feel the same way?” Lee let go of Michelle’s hand.

“NOOOOOOOOO.” Michella screamed as she watched Lee fall. With tears streaming down her face, she curled into a ball. But something happened once Lee hit the lava. In fact, it wasn’t lava. It wasn’t even real. It all disappeared.

“CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE TEST!” “What’s going on?” Michella asked, filled with confusion.

“Your parents signed you up for the most realistic virtual game to test your mobility, strength, and leadership skills,” a voice said in 204

the distance.

“ALEXI??” Michella yelled.

“No, it’s actually Steve, haha.”

“WHERE IS LEE? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” Michella yelled.

“Oh your little lover boy is right here.” Steve pulled Lee by the arm. “ELLIE!” Lee yelled ecstatically while running to hug her.

“I thought I was never gonna see you again,” Michella said as she wiped away tears.

“I thought I was gonna die,” said Lee. “Well, Ms. Rodriguez, you passed the test, your family’s company will do well in your hands.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘do well in my hands’?” Michella asked, confused.

“Oh, that is what you won for being such a resilient, powerful leader, leading your siblings and friends to safety,” said Steve, the game host.

“So were we being watched?” Michella asked.

“Yes, of course. We needed to see what you all were up to.”

“Oh. Okay. So . . . the world didn’t end?” Michella asked.

“No, of course not, haha!” Steve flipped a switch, and at that moment, the world went back to normal. No fires, no burning buildings, and most importantly, no robots turning on their owners.

“We’re home.”

205

My Missing Piece

by Cleopatra Salam

Warmth is what I feel every day I wake up in what I now call home.

The shades of purple in the sky come into my room. I look outside and I see myself in everyone else. We were all abandoned once, put in a portal by our parents. Well, for me, I only had one parent. She is the only thing that’s missing in my life. I worry if she is still alive some nights. I wonder if she ever thinks about me. Will she ever come and see me? On April 17th, 3021, I wrote my Mother a letter, describing my world in many ways, listing things about me, and emphasizing how much I miss her. Though, I don’t know if the letter was actually delivered to her location. Since the postal service here is judgmental to those who fight to remember their parents. Speaking of the postal service, I need to go check my own portal. Just in case someone on planet Earth sent something.

“I doubt it,” Brianna said blatantly.

“How did you—” “Remember, I’m the Girl Who Can Read Minds.”

If she wanted to be nicknamed something else, she shouldn’t have exposed herself. Moving along, I follow the glowing green path I made to my portal. Just in case you didn’t know, my name is Crystal, my power is witchcraft. I have a book with a prolonged amount of spells, but I don’t use it. I have them all memorized, and still come up with my own spells. People like to call me a mythic. Basically I’m something those on Earth would write about as a myth. My color is green, you’ll need that for later. Finally, I mean I could have summoned myself to my portal but I don’t need to be lazy. “Let’s see, let’s see.”

An envelope? It smells like Earth.

“How do you know what Earth smells like?” Brianna said, puzzled.

“Can you stop doing that! And you’re the mind reader, so you tell me,” I demanded.

“I mean, I was born here, and you’re not thinking about why that envelope smells like Earth.”

“Bye Brianna!” She can be so annoying sometimes. Now, should 206

I go back to my dorm to read this?

“Probably,” Brianna said while laughing.

You know what, I’m not going to give her that satisfaction. I continue to walk back to my dorm; the view of the water fountain from here is mesmerizing. “Metallic is beautiful,” my observer once said.

Now, sitting at my desk, I use a pen to open up the envelope. It’s a letter, but from who? Starting to scan the letter with my eyes, there is no name besides mine. “I need your help!” the letter reads. “They have trapped me!” Then how was this letter delivered with perfect packaging? Powers, I suppose. But I’m not sure. Can one of my spells help me find who wrote this letter? I’ll have to ask my observer.

“Dezerae!” I cry.

“Yes, Crystal?”

“I need your help.”

“I see.” She smirks, looking at my frizzy hair.

“Not with that!”

“I know, I know. I observe you after all. Do you not remember her handwriting?”

“Her?” I look back at the letter. Who from Earth goes by this handwriting? I strut out the door to the study hall. Dezerae follows. I can feel her presence; it’s always there, grazing my spine. We sit down at a table way back into the study hall. I slam the letter on the table.

It starts floating. But the green sparkles that came off of it drew my attention. Mom, it spelled.

“OMG, my Mom needs help!” I scream.

“Took you long enough…”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Because you hate having all the attention on you,” Dezerae laughed.

I look around, and I don’t like what I see. All eyes are on me. I poof, back into my dorm. Now a green mist is all they see. I need to find a way to sneak into Earth, since I can teleport to somewhere I have never been before. Well, I have, but I was never able to unleash my powers on Earth. Don’t tell me I have to ask Brianna for help. I know Dezerae can’t help me, that’s beyond the observer’s rules. And I bet she’s around here somewhere.

“Brianna!”

“How did you know I was here?”

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“Well—” “Don’t waste your time telling me. You know that I know, since you’re thinking about it. Tomorrow morning, meet me in the forest by the portal. And not your portal.”

Where is she? Probably in the hall. Uhhhhhh; Crystal, stay focused! I need to prepare for tomorrow.

A satchel is what I need. Who knows what new spells I can discover or make on Earth. I can’t just carry a huge spellbook by itself. It would look weird. I would know, I lived on Earth for exactly 7 years. That’s all I think I need. Maybe I should sleep till tomorrow.

“You’ll need it,” Dezerae says. She appears right in front of me. I feel a pinch on my forehead as I drift away in Zs. Beep! Beep! Beep!

I jolt up into consciousness. It is 8:20 a.m. It’s time. I need to meet up with Brianna to get into Earth. I think she wants me to meet her at the pink tree in the forest. It’s closer to the portal and pink is her favorite color. But I don’t think I’ll have to worry about being seen on my way there. Teleportation is key here. I can use the map of my world on my bear-pad for the location. I turn back to look at my alarm clock. It’s 8:30 a.m. already. I must get moving. I pull up the location of the pink tree on my bear-pad, and place my finger on it. It starts to glow green.

“Take me there.”

Woosh.

“It’s 8:32, what took you so long?” Brianna said, startled.

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

“I can tell.”

We take a look at the portal. “Look at all those colors marbling,” Brianna says while admiring the view we had.

“It’s only green and blue, symbolizing Earth. Duh…” Suddenly, guards wearing all white appear at their post in front of us. Brianna grabs me and we start bolting down the hill towards the portal. I feel the presence of a guard’s arm motion towards us. I turn around and see a cream orb blasting towards us. I put my arm up, creating my own orb in my head, then a green orb appears. It’s able to counter the guard’s orb and hold them off. Brianna and I both know once we go through the portal my powers here disappear until 208

I come back.

“C’mon, Crystal!” I hear echoing in my head. I turn around and see Brianna in front of the portal. I reach my hands out to her and green steel chains shoot from me to her. She tugs me, then I tug her into the portal.

“Oh no!” The portal turns black. I guess that is what happens when powers are used within the portal.

“What color is the portal supposed to be from this side?” Brianna asks.

“Shades of purple marbling, kinda like our sky.” We turn away from the portal, only to see people, buildings, and animals. Pretty normal to me. Brianna hands me the letter.

“Thanks.”

“I thought it would be better to hold onto it, knowing you.”

“Mhm.” So where is somewhere you can trap people? Brianna looks at me twisted.

“Did you not read the letter?”

“I did!” Brianna reassured. “I just thought that it would be more clear. You’re looking at the wrong part.”

Another thing that stood out to me in that letter was, “I need you to use your powers.” I mean, there are so many acronyms that can be used here. But with Brianna’s powers, she probably knows where it is. I look at her and smile. People Opening With Energy Research Support.

“So, any place here that has to do with electricity?”

There must be a map somewhere. I start walking down a grass path to what looks like a grown woman.

“Crystal, what are you doing?”

“I’m from Earth, don’t worry about it, just stay there.” I stop the woman in her tracks. She looks up from her phone, confused. She stands up straight and dusts off her jacket.

“Hello, my name is Crystal, do you happen to have a map on your phone?” I say with a smile.

“Yes.” “May I use your phone for a minute?”

“Sure!” the woman says with a smile. She hands me her phone, and I call Brianna down with a small gesture. She already has Google up, so I search maps. Google Maps pops up and I click it. It takes me straight to the app. Brianna looks amazed. I search for electricity.

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Electric Lady Studios pops up. It’s 58 minutes from here. I am about to use one of my spells when Brianna says: “Are you sure.”

“You should be,” I hear Dezerae say in my head. So I nod.

“Take me here in one minute.” I have the phone tilted towards Brianna and I so no one will see the green sparkles that appear. I hand the woman back her phone.

“Thank you!”

“No problem. You two run along,” she says kindly. I look at Brianna and we bolt back to the portal, waiting to be teleported. I don’t know if I’m ready for this. There’s only two of us, and we don’t know how many of them. I’m mainly the muscle and Brianna has most of the brain. I take a deep breath and look up. Brianna looks determined while I am worried. This is my mother on the line, after all; this is where I used to call home. I shouldn’t doubt myself.

Bloop.

Is that her? It’s been a while, so I’m not completely sure what my Mom exactly looks like. She’s handcuffed, sitting in a steel chair.

“Melt it,” Brianna whispers.

I lock my eye on the chair and reach my hand out. The chair glows green. What I believe is my Mom turns her head and sees Brianna and me. The steel chair dissolves; my mother looks shocked. When the chair fully dissolves, Brianna mouths to my mother to come to us. She starts crawling to us.

“My baby, and who is this?” my mother says, tearing up.

“This is my friend Brianna; so what is going on here?”

“The government came to my house one day and cooped me up.

They have stuck me here for about three days. They feed me, give me water, and put a blanket on me to sleep. I overheard them talking about how I might have powers.”

“Can you get us out of here?” Brianna asks me.

“If we can get into that dark room over there, then I can take us back near the portal.”

“They’re distracted… ” Brianna whispers.

We all start to crawl diagonally to the door. I sense that it’s locked.

My Mom puts her hand on the knob and starts twisting the knob.

Rust starts to drizzle on the cold hard floor. The knob breaks into my Mom’s hand. She places it on the floor slowly. We stand, and walk into 210

the room. There are three shiny diamonds on the wall. One pink, one blue, and one green. I immediately snatch the green while Brianna takes the pink one. My Mom stands there in doubt.

“Go ahead, take it,” Brianna says to my Mom. She grabs it and starts to float. Brianna smiles at me.

“OMG. I—” “No time for reactions, Crystal,” Brianna says while pinching me.

“There are people near the portal,” my Mom says, concerned.

“There are three,” Brianna says, since they can hear or see what I’m thinking. There are three of them and three of us. And it’s Earth, they don’t have powers. There’s no need for violence, but they need to be stopped. I put my hands on my head.

“Hold my shoulders down,” I tell them both. We need to all go together. “Take us back,” I say.

“Pretty basic spells… ” my mother says, sarcastically. I laugh, still while holding my head.

Splash.

We’re back near the portal, facing three tall guys with suits straight ahead. “They have guns!” Brianna yells, alarming all other citizens.

They pull them out. I reach my hand out, creating three orbs this time, and shoot them to obtain those three guns before they fire. I woosh the guns mid-air to the trash, breaking the orbs. They start charging at us. My Mom starts moving her hands in a circular motion. A cloud starts to form. It gets bigger and bigger, not even by the second! Only about three feet away from us, the three men are still charging towards us. My Mom gets in between Brianna and I and drops the cloud on top of us. Suddenly, those three men run straight through us.

“Now!” My Mom yells while bolting to the portal. Brianna and I follow. “Crystal, charge up the portal quick!”

I grab onto the portal while electric currents run through my veins faster and faster to fix what I’ve done. I can hear a propeller. I look up and there’s a helicopter right above us. My Mom notices and drops the blue diamond that she took. It shatters and creates this seethrough forcefield. These people are trying to shoot us, but now can’t.

“Hurry! It won’t last long!” Brianna says in a panic.

“I’m giving it all that I got, okay!”

The shades of purple that are supposed to be on this side of the portal start to appear. Brianna also puts her hands on the portal and 211

they start to appear faster. Then my Mom, and it’s finally done.

“When I count to three, the forcefield will break, and we need to jump straight through the portal together.”

“Got it!” Brianna and I say while looking into my mother’s eyes.

“1! . . . 2! . . .3!”

We all jump in, but three bullets also go straight through the portal with us. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but there was some wave that went through my body.

“It was from the three bullets being extracted from our world, sweetheart,” I hear in Dezerae’s voice. We all made it!

We turn around and see Dezerae up ahead.

“Hello old friend!”

“Old friend?” Dezerae appears in front of my Mom, and hugs her.

“Oh…” I say, shocked.

“Let’s go home, and I promise I’ll explain everything,” my Mom says. I nod my head in agreement, and Dezerae, Brianna, my Mom, and I all walk back.

While so I could only think . . . I knew I had to get my powers from someone, they don’t just appear from nowhere. How did my Mom keep it a secret for so long ? I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter. Our broken puzzles were put back together. We may not be completely safe, but at least we have each other. Earth, a place so many used to call home, is dangerous. No one can trust each other. They still see those with powers as a threat to their way of living. That will not stop us, though. Our ancestors have wished for this day, when our people will not be falsely killed. Killed out of anger, fear, and power. No longer can they deafen us. They made us immortal, something that those back in the 2000s frequently dreamed of.

“Are you done?” Brianna, Dezerae, and my Mom ask synchronously, while laughing.

“Yeah, I guess,” I say, smiling. I just had to be the only one who can’t read minds, huh.

212

The Guy with a Big Dream

by Javaughna Williams

I was just a normal guy. I’d always felt like I’d never live up to my true potential like my grandfather did.

Sergeant Christopher Adams, also known as my Pops. He was a legend. As me and my family were just sitting around, we got this message from the Galactic Force: Dear Christopher Adams ll, We need you. The spacecraft is in need of some helpers, and we feel that you are the right person for the job.

I thought to myself, this is my time, this is my moment to prove that I can live up to my grandfather’s name. My mother and my father thought it was a bit stupid and dangerous for me to be going up in space.

They were afraid because my grandfather went missing. But I’m partially an adult, so let’s goooooo.

As I got on the spacecraft, they directed me to this room, and as I looked around, I saw my name on stuff, so I was a bit confused. The captain came in and said: “This was your grandfather’s room.”

“Whoa, this room is amazing. My grandfather really outdone himself.”

As we went on talking, we got called to the front of the ship. It was just an orientation for the newbies like me. As a few days went by in space, all I really did was cook food for them. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love cooking, I learned to cook from my grandmother. After a few days went by, there was an alien attack. I saw people run out but not back in, so when I got to check, it looked like we were losing. The captain started calling out for more people, and I asked if I could go out and help. First, he just looked at me, because all I’d been doing was cooking and not training, but I begged him like a puppy to let me go because I wanted to save the world too.

And as we went out, they brought new weapons and we scared the aliens off for now at least. When we came back from space, there 213

were a bunch of people standing around where we had to land, so when we got to the ground, this lady ran up to me and said, “OMG, can we get an interview with you? Most people who go into space don’t come back.”

As I’m waiting to be interviewed, I’m getting a little sweaty because I’m nervous. This was my first time ever being interviewed on TV and it was live, so if I messed up, it would be there forever. As I walked onto the stage and took my seat, the cameraman said, “you’re gonna do fine, so don’t worry . . . Just breathe in and out.”

As I breathed in and out, I looked at the countdown with two minutes till going live. As seconds went by, I became very chill and ready to go. The guy behind the camera said: “Going Live in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1.”

As the reporter talked, I just sat there as quiet as a mouse, when she called me out.

“This our new guest! Tell them about yourself.”

“Hello, my name is Adams. Christopher Adams ll.” As we sat there, they were staring at me as if they wanted me to tell them more.

As I opened my mouth, the reporter said, “the guest will be asking you questions about what’s been going on . . . Why did your parents name you Christopher Adams?”

“My grandfather used to be in the military. As a soldier. In the galactic army. While my grandfather was protecting the world, the spacecraft got hit by a meteor, which caused a hole to form in the side of the ship and my grandfather pulled everyone to safety and patched the hole up before they all got lost into space. They gave him a badge, but no one has seen him since then. His name was Sergeant Christopher Eric Adams.”

As I looked around, people’s faces were surprised and impressed by what my grandfather did and us being in space. I don’t blame them for being impressed, because when I heard about it, I was impressed as well.

“OK, now for the second question. What do you see yourself doing in the future?”

“Well, in the future, I see myself being in the galactic military, going against our enemies. Not just to fill a part, but to stand up for our nations, just like my grandfather. Or just maybe a chef in space. I love cooking and there are people living on the spacecraft, so I want them to have the best food possible.”

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As I blabbered on about what I like to do, the people looked at me as if I’d opened their eyes to new ideas and hopes. As we moved on, she asked, “if you had one word to describe yourself, what would it be?”

It took me a while to respond, but I just thought back to my old answer and it flowed out of me like words in a book: “The word I would use is optimistic. I would use that word because, even though my grandfather lost his life in the Galactic War, I still want to fight for what’s right. After what I did in space, I realized that I was basically ready to protect the universe.”

As we ended, the people started clapping and thanking me for all my grandfather did for me. And since then, I’ve always liked to tell my stories about the adventures I went through in space and the things we could always accomplish if we try and never give up. When I got home, I decided to go through some more of my grandfather’s footage, but as I was looking for more footage of my grandfather, I saw one marked Top Secret. As I watched it, I analyzed it more, and something caught my eye. I jumped in shock as if I’d just seen a ghost.

MY GRANDFATHER WAS AN ALIEN.

215

216

10TH GRADE

218

Balance Unlimited

by Meher Abdin

Daisuke Kambe is considered the “super knowledgeable guy in the Police Department.” Nothing escapes his notice. He can gather all facts in order to apprehend the person who committed the crime or done anything wrong. Daisuke awoke one day and went to the ATM to withdraw money from his account. After withdrawing the cash, he reviewed the receipt, which said, “BALANCE INFINITE.” “That’s odd,” he thought to himself.

Daisuke takes out his debit card and behind the card, he finds a customer service number. He calls the number just to make sure that it’s a mechanical problem and there’s nothing wrong with his accounts.

“Hi, sir! How can I help you?” the customer service representative asks.

“Hi, so I took out $500 from the ATM a few minutes ago and when I look at the receipt, it shows that the balance is infinite.”

“Okay, sir. Give me a minute. Let me check.”

Daisuke is too nervous at the moment. He doesn’t know what the customer service rep is going to tell him.

“It seems like something is wrong with your account, sir!”

“What? Can you tell me what’s wrong with my account?”

“Your bank account does show BALANCE INFINITE, so I have to talk with my supervisor and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

After the customer service hangs up the phone, Daisuke gets worried because he knows that if the city or the government finds out he has to go through a lot, he, especially, will get interrogated by his own teammates, and he doesn’t want that. When he gets to his workplace, he forgets everything that happened to him, just focusing on his work and nothing else. His workplace is like someone left some monkeys because people are walking around like they never stop, and it smells like coffee everywhere because they drink coffee every hour, like we can see coffee on every table.

At that moment, it feels like everyone is stressed out, depressed, because everyone has to work on something nonstop. When Daisuke 219

finishes his work and is on his way home, he suddenly remembers that he has a problem with his account and the customer service representative was supposed to call him but they never called him back. But he is so tired after work, he decides that he’s gonna call them tomorrow.

The next morning, Daisuke wakes up and his face is shining like the sun and he is full of energy. Suddenly, somebody knocks on his door, and when he opens it, he sees a government official. Daisuke’s shiny face suddenly turns gloomy.

“Hello there, how can I help you?” Daisuke asks.

“Sir, we are here to take you into custody, and you’re coming with us right now,” the government official says, holding up his badge.

Daisuke is so shocked, he feels like he got hit by a bolt of lightning! With his shocked face, he asks the people, “Why am I under arrest? And what did I do?”

“We cannot answer your question, but we do have an arrest warrant with us, so the best thing to do is just come with us and don’t say anything, ’cause whatever you say now, it will be used against you.

You also know the law since you’re in the police department.”

After Daisuke sees the arrest warrant, he doesn’t say anything.

He just takes his jacket and just leaves his house with them. After 30 minutes, the car stops in front of a highly secure building. It’s like a spider web and with one wrong step, you will be in danger. They go in and they put Daisuke in the room that has only a table and a chair. At that moment, Daisuke is so nervous that his body is shaking. It’s like he’s in a room that has a temperature below five. He is sitting there for 30 minutes and then suddenly, the door opens and two men stand in front of him with a black file. And they introduce themselves to Daisuke.

“Hi, my name is Oliver, and his name is William.”

“What is this? Why am I here? What did I do?” Daisuke asks.

“You’re here because we think you are related to some mafia gang because the bank account shows that you have infinite balance,” Oliver says to Daisuke.

Daisuke is shocked again. At the same time, he is surprised too!

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been working for the police department for five years and you think I’m in the mafia?”

“Then tell us how your bank account balances are infinite? We did a lot of research and we found that it doesn’t matter how much money 220

you spend, your balance will never come down.”

“Look, man, I don’t know what is going on. Yesterday, I just went to the ATM and took out $500, and then, when I saw the receipt, it showed an infinite balance. Then I called customer service to find out what’s happening.”

“So you’re telling us you don’t even know why it’s showing that infinite balance?” Oliver and William keep asking Daisuke questions to find out if he is really in a mafia gang. Then Oliver and William leave the room and tell the guys who don’t that they’re going to come back in an hour. Daisuke is so nervous that he starts sweating because he doesn’t know what they’re going to tell him. Are they going to put him in jail?

When Oliver and William come back, they tell Daisuke to buy a Lamborghini online, which is an expensive car that can cost up to $500,000.

“Are you crazy?” Daisuke says, “‘Cause my bank account doesn’t have that much and I don’t trust this infinite balance. If I buy a Lamborghini right now I will lose all my money!”

“Just do as we said or you’re going to be in trouble.”

Daisuke has no other option. He ends up buying an expensive car, and when he finishes the payment, he goes to his bank account website to find out how much money he has left. When he sees the website, he is so surprised and so shocked, because his account is still showing infinite balance. Daisuke is speechless at that moment, because he doesn’t know what to do and his balance is not going down and now he’s really worried about his life because the government didn’t let him get away. They kept him under surveillance or in prison. After another 30 minutes, Oliver and William come back and this time they’re like: “We have two offers for you: if you want to live, you have to pay the government one million dollars every month. Your second option is we keep you in this building until we figure out the problem. The choice is yours.”

Daisuke says, “give me some time and let me think about this and I’ll tell you my last and final decision.”

“Okay, we give you one hour today and will come back after one hour,” Oliver says.

Daisuke thinks, and he is happy and also worried at the same time, because even though the government is going to let him go, he’s going to stay under surveillance for 24 hours. Then he is like, 221

“if I choose to leave this place and have to pay one million dollars to the government every month to help relieve pressure, and since my balance is infinite, I will choose that.”

After one hour, Oliver and William come back and they ask for Daisuke.

“Which option are you going to choose?” William asks.

“I’m going to choose option one. I will pay one million dollars to the government every month and I do know even if I leave this building, I’m not going to be free because you’re going to be watching me.”

Oliver and William looked at Daisuke and smiled.

“Yes, we are going to keep watching you 24 hours a day to make sure that nobody is going to harm you.”

Daisuke leaves the building with a smile and he’s thinking about what he’s going to buy and if he’s going to quit his job or not. And this is how the story goes, but they never solve the mystery about why his balance never goes down and he never quits his job, he stays as a detective, and since he has the power of infinite balance, everybody calls him “The Millionaire Detective.”

222

Positive Thinking

by Muhammad Alkhirafi

It was a quiet and peaceful day until I heard buzzing noises, fast and strong. I had never ever heard something like that before in my life.

I heard it right next to my window while I was watching TV after the morning prayer. It was 7 a.m., and I did not know what was going to happen. Next thing I knew, my house suddenly and abruptly shook.

The windows of every single car on the block shattered, and my whole world flipped upside down. I ran. l didn’t know where to go. I left the room through the back door. I stopped running suddenly. The little room was empty. l kept running outside the house. l stopped.

Oh my God. It was a bomb. Bombs were dropped in the middle of the city. People everywhere were screaming for help and running to safety. People were scared, helpless, and hurt. People on the street were crying, bleeding out. And praying for safety. This was in 2015.

This was the calm before the storm.

The bomb was huge. It was brighter than the sun itself. It seemed like an aged mixture of yellow and orange. It looked like a fire, but more. The sparks flew everywhere and hurt many people when it first landed, just like fireworks, but more intense. There was no noise. But after that, it was quiet. A few seconds, it was all l heard. It was so loud, even the deaf could hear it. So scary. The smoke was what made things worse. It made people look like a disaster and nobody could breathe clean air. I knew in that exact moment that everything around me, my friends, my neighborhood, and my life, would never be the same ever again.

The Houthis. They caused it. The Houthis are a group of people who have been trying to take over the country for years. Before them, everyone lived peacefully and happily. But then they killed the president, Ali Abdullah Salih, and everything changed. No peace, no justice, and no freedom. If you don’t do as they say, they torture you in an inhumane way.

Oh! If everything returned to how it used to be. Pure joy and happiness, food to eat, homes to go to, peace, justice, and freedom. I wish to walk down the street in Yemen without fear. I hope one day 223

everything returns to how it used to be. I want to see my friends and family, and the places I used to go with the people I love. I miss what it used to be and l hope for it to return back to its former glory. If I were to give a speech to the world, I would say stop all wars, because there are other ways to go about this. If you want power, we can talk and come to an agreement. If you want money, we can get you a job.

If you want a family, we can find you a family, as long as there is no more pain and suffering . . .

224

The Ride

by Omarri Appleton

When I was younger, I went to a fun amusement park on May 5, 2018 with my two childhood friends, Yashar (looks about 5’1”, light skin) and Deonte (looks about 5’1”, dark skin), and when I had arrived with my friends, I saw so many things I never saw before. But out of all these amazing things we saw, one thing caught our eyes.

It was a ride named the Slingshot. When I saw it, I was filled with glee, but Yashar and Deonte were a little scared about going on this ride. So I told them, “I will be with you every step of the way.” I ran there with my little feet, I could hear the “click clack” of my shoes on my way there. When I arrived, there was a strange man that was like 20 feet tall, who told us the instructions before we got on this bizarre ride.

We jumped onto this ride. The tall man said, hold on tight. I immediately felt anxious, but surprisingly, very excited about the outcome. The man started counting down: 3, 2, 1, and we were shot into the sky. While this was happening, something unexpected happened: the ride turned into a dragon. Yashar and Deonte were freaking out, but oddly enough, I was calm, because I could feel everything from its scaly back to its slow breathing. The dragon started to spread his wings. I could feel the wind brush past my face at max velocity, my ears started to ring because of the winds. When the dragon slowed down, it felt like I was on top of the world. I felt as though I could grab it, I could see everyone as little ants. After some time passed after being king of the world, the dragon started to descend onto the floor, and I was astonished at how amazing that feeling was.

I dismounted off this amazing creature, feeling very sad that I must leave, and almost felt that the dragon felt the same way because I saw its eyes and it gave off the sensation that it didn’t want me to leave, so I decided that every week we would come back to this ride and this became a joyous occasion for us all.

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Untitled

by Andre Ford

The spindly brown insect bore itself through my best friend’s skin into the muscle of his bicep. There was no blood but the red eyes were glowing against the inside of his skin. I started to worry as I felt heat rise up, he told me to run but I was scared. As he started to catch fire, once more he told me to run, so I ran. I turned around and watched the house catch fire. As I turned back around I saw something walking out of the house and it was my best friend, who was turned into a demon. There were two horns on his forehead, he had a devilish smile, and he was on fire. I was scared and shocked to see what I saw, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I didn’t know what to do.

I wanted to help him, but I felt his presence disappear. I got sad and angry. I didn’t know what I was angry about, but I was mad, and out of that anger something happened.

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Wish of Life

by Stalyn Germosen-Torres

Present: 2021 Fly as high as I can to feel my freedom, which for so many years was denied us.

I lived for many years to see how the world and the surroundings changed.

1530: perpetual slavery. We had neither voice nor vote.

We were trash. So many lashes taught me to survive the pain.

Humiliations taught me not to be proud. Colors will not exist one day.

They will not be discriminated against, I always told myself.

I am only 15 years old and I lived around so many injustices, unpaid deaths, unjust sins.

I told myself one day everything would change, one day.

Why couldn’t we link up, you ask me? I don’t know, but someday it will change.

Just to have a break, a lash, someday it will change.

Just to have lighter skin, it will change someday, Just to raise my voice, it will change someday.

Ignorance was its power, it will change someday.

Violations without paying will one day change.

Because endure nine months if in the end it is you who has the power to change.

One day it will change, because not earning your own money.

One day it will change, not having a voice in this country.

One day it will change. Because I can’t have an education tool and you yes.

One day it will change.

Why not admire us for the pain of bringing them into the world?

Because they did not listen when we left a word.

Why not respect us?

But one day it will change.

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The fantasy of every woman is having your place at home as well as outside.

Having your head held high, not having his last name means that life is already yours.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

In the middle of 2021, seeing our past was hard.

But mentally strengthens me for the future.

Some people say that the walk is over.

But that’s where they are wrong, we have a long way to go And who knows if one day we will achieve equality for all.

I wish that the dead will count, that the lost lives will be remembered.

The day was marked on the calendar.

Year 3000, I am full of wishes for you, please do not make me regret being here.

There are all kinds of AI animals in this world. They help us not to make mistakes.

That would cost us a fortune. I see around me floating houses and flying cars.

Just to see that above me panicked me.

For the first time in my whole life, I see a clean train transporting me.

There are no rats surrounding me.

Technology is on another developed level.

Doctors and scientists found the cure for death, but to be honest it’s worth a fortune.

You can also have whatever you want with a single chip, easy and simple.

And the most interesting thing is that if you wish, You can live on the planet you want, on the moon if you want, we no longer run on air.

There’s no more ignorance, we all receive education, equality.

There is no importance to the color you have, Your skin is an art of the past.

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El Deseo de la Vida

by Stalyn Germosen-Torres This poem is the “Wish of Life”, written in Spanish by the author

Vuelo lo más alto que puedo para sentir mi libertad, que por tanto años nos fue negada.

Viví durante muchos años para ver como cambiaba el mundo y los alrededores.

1530 esclabitud perpetua, no teníamos ni voz ni voto. Éramos basura, tantos latigazos me enseñaron a sobrevivir el dolor.

Las humillaciones me enseñaron a no ser orgullosa, los colores algún día no existirán.

No serán discriminados, siempre me decía a mi misma.

Solo tengo 15 años y vivía alrededor de tantas injusticias, muertes no pagadas, pecados injustos.

Me decía a mi misma que algún día cambiará todo, algún día. ¿Por qué no nos podíamos ligar me preguntas a mi? No lo sé, pero algún día cambiará.

Solo por tener un descanso, un latigazo, algún día cambiará.

Solo por tener las piel más clara algún día cambiará.

Solo por alzar mi voz, algún día cambiará.

Ignorancia era su poder, algún día cambiará.

Violaciones sin pagar algún día cambiará.

Porque aguantar nueves meses si al final eres tú quien tiene el poder de cambiar, Algún día cambiará, porque no ganar tu propio dinero, Algún día cambiará, No tener una voz en este país algún día cambiará.

Porque no puedo tener una herramienta de educación y tú sí, Algún día cambiará, ¿Por qué no admirarnos por el dolor de traerlos al mundo?

Porque no escucharon cuando dejamos una palabra, ¿Por qué no respetarnos? Pero algún día cambiará, La fantasía de todo mujer es tener su lugar en casa como tanto afuera, Tener la frente en alto, no por tener su apellido significa que la vida ya es tuya.

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Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso, En pleno 2021, ver nuestro pasado fue duro, Pero mentalmete me fortalece para el futuro.

Algunas personas dicen que ya el caminar se acabó, Pero ahí es que se equivocan, nos falta un largo camino por recorrer, Y quién sabe si algún día logremos la igualdad de todos, Quisiera que lo muertos contarán, Que la vidas perdidas se recordarán, El día fue marcado en el calendario.

Año 3000, estoy llena de deseos para ti, por favor no me hagas arrepentirme de estar aquí.

Hay todo tipo de animales de IA en este mundo. Nos ayudan a no cometer errores.

Que nos costaría una fortuna. Veo a mi alrededor casas flotantes y coches voladores.

Sólo para ver que por encima de mí me entró un pánico.

Por primera vez veo un tren limpio en toda mi vida transportándome.

No hay ratas que me rodeen.

La tecnología está en otro nivel desarrollada.

Los médicos y científicos encontraron la cura de la muerte, pero para ser honesto vale la pena una fortuna.

También puedes tener lo que quieras con un solo chip, fácil y simple.

Y lo más interesante es que si lo deseas, Puedes vivir en el planeta que quieres, en la luna si quieres, ya no corremos de aire.

No hay más ignorancia, todos recibimos educación, igualdad.

No hay importancia para el color que tienes.

Tu piel es un arte del pasado.

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The Magic Pencil

by Princess Lewis

It was an ordinary day, or I thought it was. I was shaken to consciousness by the sound of my 6:45 alarm, I still have time. I pressed stop without even opening my eyes. I slowly drifted off for another 15 minutes before another alarm, this time set for 7, jolted me awake. If I lay back down I’m definitely going to be late. Hopping out of bed, I put in my airpods and go to find a playlist to listen to while I get ready. Eternal Atake is looking like a vibe today. I walk over to my dresser and grab my toothbrush and toothpaste and go into the bathroom. When I finish, I peek into my parents’ room to see my little sister curled up under the sheet watching the TV; she turns and looks at me, then goes back to watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Chugga chugga chugga choo choo, she sings along. “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . . ” I walk into my room and start to pick out what I should wear. It’s a little chilly today. I choose my warmest sweater and my black Adidas sweatpants. I lay the clothes on my bed and hop in the shower.

I walk into my first period class, which is math. I pick up the warmup paper by the front door and sit in my usual spot. I look out the window . . . It’s a little foggy. I check the weather app, which says it will be clearer skies by 1. Everyone looks drained, but that’s expected on a Monday.

“You guys can start the warm up, this is a review of what we started last week,” Mr. Wilson says as he puts a 5 minute timer on the Smartboard.

Mr. Wilson is new at the job, and he doesn’t talk much considering he’s a teacher. He mostly gives us worksheets and plays videos; it’s concerning. I push my hand into my bag to get my pencil case, shuffling my hand through I realize that I must’ve forgotten it on my desk at home when I was doing my homework. I look up: 4 minutes and 35 seconds left.

“Any of y’all got an extra pencil?” I ask.

My table mates look up like they’re about to respond, then look straight back down, almost like they heard me but didn’t see me in front of them. I turn around to see Mr. Wilson behind me. I already 231

know what he’s about to say, so I say, “I was asking for a pencil.” He walks over to his desk, opens his bright silver drawer, and picks up a pencil. He looks at me with an unreadable face, then walks over and puts it on my desk. It’s dark yellow and looks like it’s been heavily used, even though it has the expected store bought length. I read the warm up, think about the answer, then read it again . . . I should’ve studied over the weekend, at least it’s multiple choice. Eenie meenie miney moe, I go to circle C, but my hand moves down and circles D. That’s weird, but it must be my intuition.

RINGGGGGG. Mr. Wilson puts the correct answer on the board . . . It was C. Oh well, it was only the warmup. Mr. Wilson walks across the room and shuts off the lights, the glow from the Smartboard barely bright enough to see the worksheet that he puts on our desks. After the lesson, Mr. Wilson walks to the front of the classroom.

“All right, we’ll finish this up tomorrow, be on time and make sure to bring your necessities.”

He’s talking to the class, but it seems like he directed that last part at me. The rest of the school day is mediocre and goes by hastily, and before I know it, I’m already home getting ready for bed. It was an ordinary day, or I thought it was.

I was shaken to consciousness by the sound of my 6:45 alarm, I still have time. I pressed stop without even opening my eyes. I slowly drifted off for another 15 minutes before another alarm, this time set for 7, jolted me awake. If I lay back down I’m definitely gonna be late. Hopping out of bed, I put in my airpods and go to find a playlist to listen to while I get ready. Eternal Atake is looking like a vibe today . . . Wait.

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The Devil’s Warning

by Adrian Mejia

Dear Reader, Today is March 23rd 2021.

The day happened all too quick. I got 8 hours of sleep, finished classes, left the house to pick up my sister from school. I’m grounded currently for unacceptable grades, which is understandable of course.

I couldn’t go outside for the past two days because of that, and I wanted to play basketball and savor the once in a lifetime warmth the weather had to give, but I couldn’t overdo the actions I’ve taken. I was sad, basketball is something I do every day, since the cold I’ve done it every day. I took a 2 and a half hour nap (I never take naps), woke up, ate food, and came back into the room. I laid my head facing the window with a revealing curtain showing the sun’s glow. Resting my head, I imagined me going back to the past and telling myself to do good in school and do everything and don’t let it pile up.

I became very sad, knowing I can’t take away the actions I’ve done and I should take the consequences like a man, but then I prayed and asked for me to be let go, and be outside and to be given a chance.

Then, all the sun that was a bright orange turned white, and I felt goosebumps across my body, fully relaxed. I looked at the sun and in the corner of my eye I saw a beard, but I couldn’t move my eyes or body to react, I was looking at a white sun. The beard came in and whispered in my ear and said, “The closest day with a 7 you’ll live again.” Then, I was back. I had this urge to do all of my chores and do my work, and so here I am with this mode of extreme responsibility, doing everything I can do to have a better, clear-minded, stress-free life.

Saturday, March 27th came and there is a God and Jesus because my mother let me off my punishment, the motivation of there being a superior being in this world gives me hope. I went to the park . . .

Walking there, I saw a crazy man kicking garbage cans and screaming. He didn’t look homeless, but seemed crazy. He would ramble words I’ve never heard. He was around 5’8”, sort of skinny, 233

with a brown beard. Me knowing this isn’t new, I just walked past him, he acted like he was alone, too comfortable throwing trash and yelling.

Walking to the basketball court, I told my cousin to meet me there. I waited around 15 minutes shooting around. My cousin showed up but was with a dude that looked like the crazy guy I saw recently, but he was taller, he was my height now. I waved at my cousin from far away.

He didn’t notice me. The guy was holding the same ball I had in my hand. I assumed something was wrong, so I walked to the guy with a dead face, showing calm aggression.

“What’s going on here?”

My cousin said nothing, like I wasn’t even there. I looked at the guy and shoved him. Then everything went black, and I was back at my front door, leaving for the park again.

I walked out, confused about what just happened, then I thought to myself, “I’ll just walk another way to the park.” I arrived and again I texted my cousin to meet me at the basketball court. Instead of shooting around, I just sat on the bench and looked at the ground.

I thought about the guy, how creepy it was that he was basically me, but didn’t look like me at all, he just was my height. I forgot about it, heard my cousin yell my last name in a funny tone, smiled and threw him the ball. Something was off. He was my height now, and his hair was longer.

“Damn bro you got a growth spurt?” I asked.

“What are you talking about? I’ve always been like this.”

“Oh yeah,” I replied, weirded out.

Out of nowhere, he started dribbling the basketball way better than he usually does, almost looking like me when I’m dribbling, then shot the ball and swish. I was weirdly impressed, but I said nothing.

He shot it again but missed and the ball flew and hit my head. Soon everything went black once more, and I was back at my front door.

“What the f—” I said.

“Adrian, can you go to the store!” my mom yelled.

I got aggravated at this point, my legs were tired from the walks I’d just taken to the park twice. Then a guy’s voice said: “Yes . . . ” I was terrified, my heart skipped a beat and my stomach sunk in.

I looked back and saw the same crazy guy again, putting on a shirt in my living room. I only saw his back, it had scratches like someone whipped him, and his ankles had blood on them. He had chunks of missing skin on his back rib area. He turned around and walked to 234

my closet, and opened it. A loud wind roared through the house. It smelled like a church, so I said, “Yo, who are you?” Then my mother walked in and said, “Don’t forget the EBT card,” but she looked at the guy like it was normal, like he just didn’t open the door to heaven.

I looked at my mom’s eyes, but she didn’t make eye contact with me, like I was invisible. The guy seemed mad, and mumbled, “I always gotta go outside to the store.” I looked guilty at this point because my mother is so sweet and the guy seemed so mad for something as little as going to the store. I do the same thing to her. I felt mad about my actions.

“Your sins are forgiven,” the guy said, and looked at me . . .

I was sitting on my gaming chair now, playing Fortnite, and it was 2:52 a.m. “Bro, what’s going on?” I looked outside and it was dark, but the same man was standing in the middle of the street, staring at my window. I got tired of the weird stuff. I went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, put on my slippers and sweater, and left to meet the guy outside.

“Yo, bro, you starting to piss me off,” I yelled with frustration, walking towards him with full eye contact.

I came up to him and pushed him and then punched his nose and then stabbed him 5 times. The man started crying but very little, not in pain. I started getting dizzy and fell backwards headfirst.

I saw my mother and my sister watching me and I was dribbling a basketball, in the middle of a game of 2vs2. The crazy guy was behind my mom and sister and had a gun to their heads behind them.

I yelled, “Ma! Watch out!”

When I said that, I heard two pops and both of them fell and blood was all over the concrete floor. I yelled at the top of my lungs and felt electricity flow through my body. It hurt so bad, I screamed and ran at the guy and pop he shot me, everything went black.

I was in a cave now. It was dark and burning hot, not painful, but it was suffocating. I started running through the cave and heard my friends and family say they wished death upon me and a loud deep voice yelled, “You were not forgiven.” It was getting in my head, I wanted this to end. I saw a cliff with a deep drop, I was sad, more than sad, it was a sadness in my chest. I ran full speed and jumped, I remembered my whole life and all the great memories. All thoughts and thinking disappeared.

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I woke up again and I was back at my front door. I looked down at my hands and saw that I was not in my body any more, but I saw myself walking in the hallway, panting, like I just ran a marathon. I ran up to myself and saw my face. I was better looking than I thought. I touched my face and boom I was back to my body, I looked at the guy and he had a blank face, no eyes, no ears, nothing. I pushed him and I was back to his view and I touched my body’s arm and I went back.

Then everything went black . . .

I was at the basketball court again and my cousin yelled my last name, in the same funny tone, he looked normal, and I felt normal. I went to him.

“Am I normal?” I asked.

“Yeah?” he replied.

I felt the air push on my face and it felt good I was free again. The day went and I will never understand why I went through that, and will I ever see that crazy guy again. He will forever haunt me.

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Telekinesis

by Brandon Mendoza

The way I felt the first time I thought something magical happened to me was like a sudden urge to do whatever I wanted. Something in me just felt like everything was cool. Like the unstoppable urge to keep pointing at things, but I didn’t, because I was scared at the same time, if that makes sense. Like you have to think about what if you pointed at the ground then a bird just fell out of nowhere and just sat there, dead. You wouldn’t be scared for yourself, thinking like, what if I point at someone and they just collapsed right in front of me, dead. That’s an unexplainable thing, and the way the impact sounded when the bird dropped sounded crazy, and I was frightened because it happened out of nowhere, like I said. But I looked up at the sky and raised my hand, then pointed at myself, sweating. Then I thought I was gonna die. Thank the Lord I didn’t, but when you have the urge, it’s like you’re too curious to see what would happen to you if you did it to yourself. Then, right after I walked around pointing at things, I realized that if I was to hold my finger steady, pointing at the object, it’s like I can move it around. I found that out when I was walking to the back of an alleyway and saw a trash can. Since I was more curious, I pointed at the trash can and found out that while pointing at it, I was able to move it around, and realized it was like a mixture of Telekinesis, so afterwards, while I was playing around with the new ability, I discovered people noticed a loud noise around the area and called the police. Before they got there, I left and never went back there.

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The Sneakers

by Ariel Molina Gonzalez

Coach calls timeout. Four seconds left on the clock. My feet feel like they are drenched in blood right now, but that doesn’t stop me from begging Coach to give me the ball for this last play. “I can make the last shot Coach, please trust me with this. You know I’m not gonna let us lose.” Then my teammates start chiming in.

“Coach, I think it’s best to give him the ball. I know he can make the shot,” Markus says while looking at me with faith in his eyes. The crowd is chanting my name so loudly that I start to become deaf to everything else in the room. My feet are still killing me. My legs are sore. My wrist is in pain again. Everything and anything can go wrong right now, but I want to win. Actually, no. I need to win. Ten seconds left in the timeout and we need to make a decision. I look Coach dead in the eyes and say, “We will go to the state finals, trust me.”

“Okay. You guys know what to do.” He looks at the team. “Give it to him.”

After he says that, I know it’s my time. Everything I went through to get here, is finally going to be worth it. Timeout’s over now. Ref gives the ball to Markus to inbound it. Before I step on the court though, I look at my sneakers, and I think about where it all started, and how far they have taken me.

“JUSTIN,” I hear, as I look up.

“How many times do I have to call your name for you to answer me?” my mother says. As I pause the song I’m listening to and take my headphones off, I say, “Sorry Mami, I was listening to music, I couldn’t hear you. Qué pasó?”

“Te dije que lavara los platos antes de llegar a la casa, y no los hiciste!”

I forgot that she told me to wash the dishes before she came home. I knew I should have gotten off the game after that one game, but of course, me being me, one more game turned into 5 more games. “Sorry Ma, I’ll do them right now.” I then get up and wash the dishes like I said. When I finish, I go back to my room and look at the time. “It’s already 8?!?” I say. I didn’t think I was in the game 238

for that long. I planned on doing my homework around 6, but I was playing the game all that time. I lost track of time again, as usual. I turn off my Playstation and open my laptop to start my work. I just have one assignment to do, an English assignment telling me to write a paragraph about myself, introducing myself to our teacher. It wasn’t the beginning of the year, but my class got a new teacher because our old one had a baby, so she had to leave. I open up the document and start writing the basic information. “My name is Justin. I am 16 years old, and I live in The Bronx. I am Hispanic, and also speak Spanish too. I have many goals in life, but my main goal is to make it to the NBA.” I stop right there because I start thinking to myself, “If only I were good at ball . . . ” I’d always wanted to be a star in the NBA and be good at basketball. I love the sport. It’s fun to play and fun to watch. I was always just a casual player though. I would spend hours practicing at the park, but I couldn’t go often because, well, I live in the Bronx. It’s dangerous outside. People die every day out here, it ain’t safe. So that’s why I always make the most out of my gym time in school. I’ve tried out for the team many times, but I was always cut.

6 months ago is what stopped me from playing for a while though. I broke my wrist playing 5 vs. 5 at the park with my friends and some randoms. I still remember it clearly. Me and my friends were playing against some randoms, and they were playing very aggressive with us, so on one play, I was going up for a layup, and I got pushed in the air. I tried to break the fall with my hands, but that didn’t end well, and so I landed on my wrist. I still remember everyone screaming and arguing about that. There was about to be a fight between my friends and the randoms but eventually it got broken up and we left. So after all those memories coming back I just remembered that the last day of tryouts was next week so I should get some practice in until then.

Now focusing back on my assignment, I just left it like that and closed my laptop. I lay down on my bed and open up YouTube, and watch some videos until I fall asleep.

The next morning when I wake up is normal, just like any other day.

There is supposed to be a heavy rainstorm after school, so I bring my coat with me. I’m not too worried about getting home either because my mom said she could pick me up. The day seemed like it was going by fast, and as the school day was ending, the storm started to hit.

Last period hit and I couldn’t wait to get out of school. As soon as the 239

bell rang, I get out of my seat so fast, excited to get home and chill.

As soon as I leave the building it’s pouring, heavy rain and winds. I can’t see my mother’s car though. I call her and she answers, telling me she’s stuck at work, so I have to walk home. I am so pissed. I’m just glad I brought my coat. I run to the deli real quick to buy an umbrella with some money I have. I then leave and start walking to the bus stop, and wait for a good 10 minutes. Twenty minutes go by and I get to my stop, so I get off and start walking 5 minutes to get to my house. As I’m walking fast, a strong wind pulls my umbrella back and breaks it, so it flies out my hand, leaving me with nothing. As that happens though, a pair of sneakers fall off of the phone line above me, and they fall right in front of me. They’re a pair of old Jordans.

They look like they would fit me, so I take them with me. I don’t have many sneakers anyway, so I look at it as a free pair of sneakers. When I get home, I bring the sneakers to the bathroom and dry them with a towel. I then look at the size and it’s 8.5, while I’m a 9.

“Damn, if only it were my size,” is what I say. I try them on anyway though, and when I put them on, I get chills all of a sudden.

I get a weird feeling in my body after I put them on. They feel kinda tight, but wearable. I then take the sneakers off and put them on my table. I take a shower and a nap because I’m tired. I then wake up in the middle of the night but I just go right back to sleep. In the morning, when I wake up, I remember it’s Saturday, so I just chill for that day. Next day comes and the weather looks nicer so I call my friends and tell them to come to the park and play ball with me, so I can get some practice for the last day of tryouts. Everybody pops out and we meet at the park. I bring my new sneakers with me to play with them. As I get to the park and put the sneakers on, I get the same chills I got when I first put them on. I then think to myself, “Maybe these sneakers will make me better.” I’m obviously joking, but as the game starts and goes on, my skills are impressively better.

I’m making all my shots, all my layups, I’m even jumping higher. I got better at basketball out of nowhere, and I was even confused myself, other than my friends. After the game, on my way home, I realize that the sneakers had been giving me my ability. I actually felt like Jordan.

After that, the next day in school would be the last day of tryouts for the basketball team. I go there with the sneakers, and I dominate. I’ve never played so good in my life! Everybody is confused about how I got this good, but of course only I know how. Tryouts finish and the 240

next day I go to the gym to look at who made it because they post a paper on the wall with who did. I look and I see my name, and from that day on, I am part of the team, thanks to my sneakers of course.

Now I know I have to get some buzz around this school.

I wear those sneakers to every game I play for the team. As time goes by, my feet start to grow, so the sneakers start to feel tighter on my feet every day. My feet now start feeling pain after balling in them for a few minutes. The time comes, though, when there is one game left in the series that leads to the State finals. Whoever wins this game goes to the finals. First quarter comes and I’m balling out like usual, and my feet are killing me already. Our team is down 37-40 when the quarter is done. Second quarter comes and we have to get the score up. On one play where I’m going up for a layup, I get hard fouled. I fall hands-first to the ground, right on my right wrist that was broken last year. The crowd goes crazy.

“THAT’S A HARD FOUL WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!?” Coach screams from the sidelines. I don’t feel pain until I get up because as soon as I put my hand on the ground to get up, I feel a sting in my wrist. “Oh no,” I say. My wrist is in bad pain, but I don’t say anything because I don’t want to get taken out of the game. I need to win, so I just fight through the pain and act as if I were fine. As I’m up, I walk to the free throw line to shoot my frees. I shoot the first shot, and I miss. I am in disbelief. “No way,” I think to myself. Maybe it’s because of my wrist. The pain was really affecting my shot. I shoot the next free throw with my left hand and I make it. I’m glad that went in, but I’m still thinking about why my sneakers didn’t let me make the shot even with my injured wrist. Never mind that though, I have to focus on the rest of the game. 67-63 is the score at halftime. My feet are in excruciating pain right now, but I walk through it. When I go to the locker room and take my sneakers off, something drips out of them.

It’s blood. My feet were bleeding. It was probably from blisters I was getting. I ask Coach for new socks and he gives a pair of extras to me. I take the bloody ones off without anyone noticing and clean the blood on my feet with that same sock. I put the new socks on and then put my shoes on. I loosen the laces up a bit so that my feet won’t feel so tight, and it helps just a bit. For the rest of that game, I play the best basketball I can, and with my left hand. Now it’s the fourth quarter.

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Coach calls timeout. Four seconds left on the clock. My feet feel like they are drenched in blood right now, but that doesn’t stop me from begging Coach to give me the ball for this last play. “I can make the last shot Coach, please trust me with this. You know I’m not gonna let us lose.” Then my teammates start chiming in.

“Coach, I think it’s best to give him the ball. I know he can make the shot,” my teammate Markus says while looking at me with faith in his eyes. The crowd is chanting my name so loudly that I start to become deaf to everything else in the room. My feet are still killing me.

My legs are sore. My wrist is in pain again. Everything and anything can go wrong right now, but I want to win. Actually no. I need to win. Ten seconds left in the timeout and we need to make a decision.

I look Coach dead in the eyes and say, “We will go to the state finals, trust me.”

“Okay. You guys know what to do. Give it to him.” After he says that, I know it’s my time. Everything I went through to get here, is finally going to be worth it. Timeout’s over now. Ref gives the ball to Markus to inbound it. Before I step on the court, though, I look at my sneakers, and I think about where it all started, and how far they have taken me. “JUSTIN” I hear, as I look up. “Come on, you got this” my teammate says. I step on the court and the ref blows the whistle. It’s game time. I run around the court trying to get my defender off me, and as I try to create space I end up in front of half court. They pass me the ball.

3.

I step up and set my feet.

2.

As I go to jump, I don’t feel my legs or my feet. I just feel my feet pushing up by themselves. It’s the sneakers.

1.

My hands go up and I shoot the shot with my right hand, forgetting about my bad wrist. The ball leaves my hands now and is in the air. 0.

The shot clock buzzes. As everyone watches the ball, including me, I pray it goes in. The ball hits the rim, goes up, and then comes right back down, in the hoop.

“JUSTINNNN!” Everyone screams. We won. I won.

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The Girl Who Read Minds

by Emani Moore

One Friday before spring break, I woke up feeling a bit unusual. As I started to go about my day as usual, I was talking to one of my friends and I started to hear these muffled sounds that sounded like extra voices around me. It wasn’t fully clear to me what was going on, so I brushed it off. I kept hearing these unclear static voices in my head throughout the day and I pulled my friend to the side and asked her if she heard the same thing. She gave me a confused look because she didn’t know what I was talking about, so I left the conversation alone because I didn’t want her to think I was bugging or something. As I walked home from school alone, the sound was getting stronger and louder, but it was still unclear what was going on.

I sat in my bedroom looking up at the ceiling, wondering to myself what was going on. I realized being alone I didn’t hear the scrambled noises around me. I started to wonder if something was wrong with me or if I was just stuck in my head. I walked to the kitchen to see what my mom was doing and I started to hear the static noises again.

Then, I asked my mom if she heard the noises and she had a confused look just like my friend. I walked back to my room and the noises went away. I had to figure out what was going on because I was starting to get scared. In the middle of me trying to figure out what was going on, I fell asleep. I jumped up quickly because I was awakened by a voice in my head. It was my mom walking past my room but she wasn’t talking to anybody, so I sat up confused for a while by myself.

The next morning, I was feeling normal and we got in the car to go to breakfast. We sat down waiting for the waiter when the noises began again. I was scared because the noises started to get louder, but I didn’t want to ruin family time, so I kept it to myself. The noises were getting louder and stronger, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying, so I told my parents and brother and they looked at me confused. They asked me if I was okay but I didn’t really know what to say. My eyes started to water because I didn’t know what to say or how to explain what was going on because I didn’t know if they were going to believe me or not.

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A few days passed. I was at my friend’s house and we went for a walk in the park. We sat down and started to have a conversation when a group of kids walked past and they weren’t really talking to each other. The sounds started to come back. I was understanding what was going on because it was happening for a few months. I wasn’t really as confused as when it first started because I was getting better at understanding my superpower. As time went on, I got a letter in the mail and I didn’t want to read it around my parents and brother because it said we have a secret to tell you.

I didn’t read the letter because I was scared and confused.

Suddenly, somebody walked in my room and I could hear what they were thinking. Maybe they were thinking about something that was related to the letter and it made me more scared to read the letter.

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The Return of the Giants

by Kayla Seya

Mia wakes up to a boom. The ceiling above her head was destroyed. In a panic, she leaves her room to see the living room to also be destroyed, and that her upstairs neighbors’ stuff has crashed into her apartment.

Her neighbor Claire sits, exhausted, on the items that fell from her apartment. Mia notices and helps Claire up. They look up and stare at the gigantic human staring back at them. The humans are unresponsive as Mia and Claire find the strength to leave the room and warn the other neighbors about what’s going on. But it was clear that many of those humans had taken over the neighborhood. They were walking the neighborhood mindlessly, like they owned it. Although they were not harming anyone intentionally they were stepping on cars in the street and causing a ruckus everywhere. No one had no idea where they were going. But it was plain obvious where they came from.

It didn’t make any sense. The only thing that did was that they came from the sky. No one had predicted that this would happen, but it just did, and now the humans of the world were going to have to endure it for the time being. It was clear the giants were going one way. Because when one giant sees another giant walking, they are immediately compelled to walk with them. It is like the gigantic humans join together when they see other giants walking together.

So it was good for the people who were behind the walking giants, as they could come together to hide. The unknown force was walking in a group like a flock of birds. The regular humans down thought that they were free from those gigantic human terrors. But they were sadly mistaken. There was an irregular human who came up out of nowhere and screamed at the gigantic humans. Turned around and started running towards the people of the neighborhood. One of those giants picked up a civilian and put them inside its big slobbery mouth. It was clear that it was beyond for this human and it was going to be the end for a lot of them. The reason for doing it was unclear, and the person who caused this was nowhere to be found.

Civilians running around like crazy. No one knew where to go or where to hide. It was like being a cornered rat. Living a regular life, 245

expecting the day to be normal, and then, out of nowhere, you’re fleeing and fighting for your life. People scream in terror as the giant picks up another human. The residents scramble around to find a safe haven. But unfortunately, one of those people that gets picked up is Mia. Mia screams in fear as she is placed inside the giant’s mouth.

Her life flashes before her very own eyes. Her mother, sister, and her boyfriend of 4 years. All of that gone for an unknown cause. Her screams meet her family. They run into her room and comfort her.

It had only been a dream, she thinks. Sometimes dreams can feel a little too real, she thinks. She gets up out of her comfy bed stretches and yawns and gets ready for the day. She walks out of her room and enters her bathroom and prepares herself for a pretty regular day.

When she takes a shower and puts on her nice clean clothes she looks outside and observes the beauty of the day. But as she is observing, she notices little specks falling, and they are seemingly getting bigger.

It’s going to be a good day. Just not for the people who observed the small specks seemingly get bigger as they fell from the sky. What a lovely day, Mia thinks.

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Untitled

by Kayla Wayne

Drip drop.

I watched the drain spout water as the rain showered over our small town; it often rained here, leaving behind the drenched and forever gloominess. There’s just something about the rain that makes me sad; it just draws up all my emotions. The rain reflects my feelings and forces me to unlock all despair, all the pain that I lock up deep within.

I stared out my window at the sky, just wishing and hoping that the heavens would part and just swallow me up. I was never religious, though, because if there really was a God, why did he let that happen to me?

Two drops fell on my cheeks. Am I crying?

Something just told me to look up at the ceiling, I noticed a small crack in our popcorn ceiling, rain seeping out.

Cry? Right, I never could do that despite my misery. After a while, I just lost all ability to shed tears, or at least that’s what I thought.

Everyone always assumes I’m some heartless person and maybe I am, but I also do have feelings; the constant staring and watching do in fact bother me. It’s like they’re waiting for me to crack. I snickered to myself, they would never get the satisfaction of ever seeing me down.

High School: a devilish place that one would mistake for a jail.

At least that’s what it felt like. Imprisonment to the mind. “You’re learning,” the sham they brainwashed you into believing. Everyone is fooled but me. I know what really lies out there; almost everyone knows but the “children.”

5 years ago: The sun shone down on our little town Crystal Valley like it did any other Sunday as I rode my bike through the main road. I stopped often, saying hello to some people walking by, promising them favors of seeing them later and relaying messages to my parents. Back then, I never wanted to leave, I loved it there and the people there loved me too.

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Riding past our local supermarket, I noticed all the people spilling out of there. “Hmm, must be a sale,” I said to myself, shrugging my shoulders, as I continued to pedal faster. I didn’t want to be late, bye now. There weren’t a lot of people outside and I knew I had to hurry up if I wanted to make it in time to see my dad before he left his office.

I pushed open the doors to my dad’s office and from the vibe alone, I already knew something had happened. That, and the broken furniture and the blood. The smell reeking from the office alone made me want to throw up, yet I still walked in.

What I saw scared me for life . . .

To be Continued . . .

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Annie

by Akielia Williams

Once upon a time, there was a large, happy family living in a small village named Richmond Hill. There was a little girl named Annie.

Annie was the middle child for her parents. Annie’s parents had nine children, four older brothers and four younger sisters. Annie’s mom was a leprechaun while her dad was an ogre. Annie has a poodle dog named Paige that loves ice cream. Annie walks Paige every morning before she goes to school. One day, while she was walking Paige, Annie saw a green-yellow tree that grew apples. But today, instead, it grew money, candies, and dolls. Annie started to pick the money, candies, and the dolls off the tree. Annie ran back home as fast as she could.

When she got home she gave her mom the money and took the dolls and candies to the kids in the neighborhood. The dolls had fair skin with yellow and black hair. The candies were shaped like the actual shape of a heart, the heart with veins popping out. The heart candies were colors such as green, blue, red, and black. They were the size of a real heart. Annie’s mom tasted the heart candy. She said it was sweet at first, with a tangy blood taste. What the children didn’t know was that it would turn their teeth into fangs. Annie goes to a school and tells her friends and teachers what she saw, tasted, and what happened to her teeth. Annie is in the sixth grade in a school called Prep School.

Graduation Day was near, June 16th to be exact, and it was already May. Annie wants to go to St. Joseph Convent and had no idea that both her best friends want to go to the same school. As the next day comes, they meet at the magical bus stop. Their parents, who grew up in the same ogre community and on the same leprechaun rainbow, have been making them ride the magic school bus since fourth grade.

As they got to school, they headed to the music room to take pictures in their graduation gowns and then they had to take pictures in the back of the school with the whole class. The more and more they practice the graduation song, the closer graduation day comes. On the day of graduation everyone had their fangs sharpened, gills cleaned, mohawk intact, and bow tie perfect. The principal made speech after speech, one long blink and it was all over. After the whole graduation 249

ceremony, they attend Blue Moon, which has a pool where they eat and enjoy their last day with friends and teachers. After they eat, it is now time for them to go their separate ways. As Annie and her parents are walking home, they see the tree, but it’s nothing but branches.

Annie knew that the neighbors went and took it off but her mom didn’t believe her because her mom never saw the tree before. As they continued walking, there was a bigger tree with money, candies, and dolls right next to their home. Her parents thought that she was lying, but as she saw the tree, she believed, but it was two trees where the neighbors had one and the family had one. Annie took the money, candies, and dolls and shared, but she never kept it to herself. She always shared it and from her being so kind, more trees grew around her home, so she and her family lived happily ever after.

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Tall Tanyah

by Vyvyaan Akujobi

One very bright, sunny Monday, it was time for Tanyah to go back to school. She missed summer already and she really didn’t want to go to school. Today, she was officially going to middle school, the 6th grade. Tanyah got out of bed, got ready, ate her breakfast, and made her lunch for school.

Her parents came down the stairs, excitedly saying, “Who’s excited for their first day of 6th grade?!?!”

Tanyah replied: “Not me.”

Dad asked, “Aww honey, why not?”

Tanyah was very nervous and she said, “I’m really nervous about what people are going to think and say about me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Dad. “Just enjoy school and be kind and people will come around.”

Tanyah arrives at school. She gets out of the car and waves bye and blows a kiss at her parents. Even though her parents told her not to worry, the fear of not having friends and what people will think or say about her, kicks in. She suddenly faints.

A few people surround her, wondering if she’s OK. Everyone’s worried and confused about what happened. Tanyah finally wakes up and sees that it’s blurry. She rubs her eyes and wonders why everyone is around her.

One boy asks, “Hey are you OK?” Another asks, “What happened to you?” Tanyah replies, “Yea, I think I’m fine. And I think I fainted because it’s my first day of 6th grade.”

Person #1 says, “Oh oh, well, let me help you up . . . WOAHHHH OMG!” Everybody around is so shocked at how tall she is. People are scared of her, some even run off. Most people are mesmerized by how tall she is.

Tanyah cries, “Why is everyone leaving me? Are they scared of me? Oh no, no one likes me, I knew this was going to happen.”

Some kids started to introduce themselves because they felt bad 251

even though she was different from them.

Derrick says, “HI again, I’m Derrick. I’m your first friend, don’t worry, those other kids that ran off and everyone who is staring, they just haven’t got to know you. But guess what, I’ll be the first to get to know all about you.”

Terrance and Kyla both happily say, “We wanna be your friends too!”

Tanyah smiles. “Thank you guys. This makes me happy. My name is Tanyah and I want to become friends with y’all too.”

All four of them hurry and get inside their school before the bell rings. Ms. Karry was one the meanest teachers in school. If you were late to class, talked in class, asked to use the bathroom during class, your surprise consequence was detention with her for lunch. As soon as Tanyah and her friends arrive to class, Ms. Karry starts talking.

Ms. Karry says, “Who is this tall girl? Excuse me, I don’t think you are supposed to be in this class. In fact, you’re not supposed to be in this school!”

The whole class laughs hysterically. Some people joke around, calling Tanyah names.

Tanyah joins in to say, “Good morning Ms. Karry and fellow classmates, my name is Tanyah McGower. I’m definitely in this grade because I’m 11 years old. You guys say all the jokes you want to, I don’t necessarily care. Ms. Karry, aren’t you a teacher, shouldn’t you be respectful and welcoming?”

The classmates react: “Ooooooo.” Tanyah continues, “And this is for everybody who wants to be naïve and mean. I might be different from everyone else, but I have feelings like you, and everything that you can do, I can do it too. I do it better though. Thank you for listening.”

Everyone is quiet and Ms. Karry starts the class. Everyone comments on Tanyah and they think that she is so cool. 30 minutes later, class ends. Tanyah’s new friends are so proud of her for sticking up for herself. They get into their next class, which is science. Here comes the bully and his girlfriend. Apparently, they’re one of the 6 bullies at their school. Maze and Faith have been dating ever since they met 2 years ago. Maze is 14 and he is 5 feet tall and a lil chubby. Faith is 14 too and the same height as Maze, but she’s skinny. They bully anybody that gets in their way. They’ve gotten left back many times, it’s unbelievable. Tanyah and her friend were right in front of them.

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“Get out of our way Bigfoot!” Maze shouts.

“No, she’s as tall as a beanstalk hahahahahaha,” Faith says.

Tanyah turns around and this time she’s not crying.

“I know right?” she says, “But I know y’all not talking when y’all the size of a bean haha.” Tanyah walks to her seat.

Maze’s seat was right behind her, so he sat down. Tanyah rolled her eyes and wondered why he had to sit behind her. Class started.

The teacher and everyone were introducing themselves. 10 minutes later Maze and Faith teamed up to taunt Tanyah and try to make her sad so that she wouldn’t stand up to them. Tanyah raised her hand and asked to move her seat, but the teacher said no. Maze and his girl laid off on the bullying. Just then, Tanyah had dropped her pencil and the bullying started again.

“Wow, I ain’t never seen a giraffe try to grab something,” they both laugh.

“What did you say? Repeat yourself,” Tanyah says.

Kyla tells Tanyah to calm down.

Maze continues, “I said wow, I ain’t never seen a gira--” Tanyah punches Maze in his face before he can continue. He falls out of the chair.

“Oh my God, I knocked him out.”

They call the nurse to come get Maze and check him out to see if he’s OK. Mr. Tyler sends Tanyah to the dean’s office. Tanyah is built with so much anger. She starts to wonder how that anger just got built up and why didn’t she just ignore it. She was annoyed at everyone who hurt her that she didn’t want to talk to anyone or else another person might get knocked out too. She gets to the dean’s office and takes a seat. The dean, Ms. Williams, is stunned by how tall Tanyah is.

Ms. Williams, staggered, says, “Hello Tanyah, come sit here. It’s just the first day of school for you and you’re already messing up.

If you’re a nice girl, don’t mess your reputation up. Tell me what happened.”

Tanyah starts to tell her side of the story. But then 2 students walk in. They come to Ms. Williams’s desk. One of the students is Maze, who has no respect for her. The other student is one of the cutest boys in school. He didn’t get in trouble often. His name is Jaymir, he’s 12 and around the same height as Tanyah. Jaymir looks at her and says hi and also says hey to Maze. Tanyah feels butterflies.

But then Ms. Williams didn’t forget about Tanyah, so she continues 253

with her story. When she is done, Maze starts his side of the story.

As always, he tries to make her sound like a bad person, like he does to everyone that makes him mad. The dean talks to them and tells them that they were both in the wrong and she finally makes a choice to suspend Maze for 2 days out of school and give Tanyah another chance. Maze doesn’t care and just leaves. Tanyah thanks the dean and promises that she’ll use this second chance as a lesson and as a new start. When she gets up to leave, Jaymir looks at her, shocked that someone is finally just like him.

Jaymir brings forward, “Hey Tanyah, my name is Jaymir. I finally found someone who looks like me. Do you wanna be friends?”

Tanyah chuckled in response. “Hey, yea let’s be friends.”

Tanyah waits for Jaymir to finish with Ms. Williams so they can leave together. Jaymir and Tanyah start walking back to their classes together. They talk about themselves and get to know each other.

Maze sees them and starts to troll and start trouble with Tanyah.

Tanyah tells Maze to go away and leave her alone or else she’ll knock him out again. Maze continues to annoy her.

Tanyah smiles. “If I did it once I can do it again.” Maze gets afraid and runs off.

Jaymir declares, “OMG, you scared him away. I could never do that and I’m a giant compared to him.”

They both laugh.

Tanyah tells him, “You can stand up for yourself, it’s not that hard. Bullies are tiny bugs that keep coming back to make you mad and get trouble, but when you stand up for yourself and stand your ground, they’ll go away.”

They finally get to class and wave bye until later.

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Out of This World

by Miasha Banks

I’m not from here, but as I come crashing and crumbling down into this world, it consumes me like I’m engulfed in flames. The breath of fresh air I needed. It’s finally here away from all the chaos of home.

Finally a place where I can see that trees are actually green and vibrant and full of life; a place where I can actually stop to smell the roses.

Ok, I’m ranting, but that’s because you’ve lived here your whole life. This is very new to me, don’t judge. But this is not what you came here for. I get it, so let’s start. My name is Eliza. People from my planet call me Princess Venture because my father is King Venture. I didn’t ask to be born a royal, but I was. All the mics in the world, (yes, we call our money mics, I don’t judge your word “money”; plus you call us “aliens” so I think we’re even) I loved it.

Don’t get me wrong, it was great. But, at the end of the day, all I wanted was my freedom. And I was constantly under surveillance like some type of criminal, which is funny because now I am. The crime, you ask, is very simple—I am gay. I like girls and on Jupiter that crime is punishable by death.

My own father was going to sit there and watch me get killed.

The thought of hearing him tell me, in his arrogant, cocky king voice, “I’m disappointed in you, you’re a disgrace to this family.”

Horns pointed up and everything.

But this was years ago. We’ve moved past that and now I have my beautiful wife Kaelyn, who is bearing our child. And there is nothing compared to the day when I saw her face.

Her brunette hair glowing through the wind, her lips with a faint touch of lip gloss, her eyes shining bright as the early morning sky.

From the day I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one I needed. And, given the circumstances, I hate the fact that I have to leave her and our beautiful unborn child.

“Babe,” I said frantically. I started packing my bag as fast as I did on Jupiter.

“I’m so sorry that this has to happen, but I have to leave. My father is coming for me. He has found me, and I’m afraid of what he 255

will do if he finds the people I love,” I say as I go to lay one last kiss on her lips.

My eyes start to tear. I can’t believe I’m leaving. I never wanted this to happen.

“Bae, I feel like you are exaggerating a bit. It’s not that serious that you’re gay, and if he doesn’t want to accept it, he doesn’t have to,” she says, almost sarcastically.

She runs over when she sees me drop to my knees in tears almost toppling and folding into myself. She tells me, “It’s not that serious,” that “she’ll be by my side every step of the way.”

But I can’t burden her with that, so, almost hesitantly, I say “Babe I . . . ” almost hesitantly.

“I escaped from my father. He was going to kill me . . . and I’m sorry, but if he finds out that I was settled here, he will kill you and our baby. So yes, I’m leaving.”

Before I could even finish my sentence I heard the trumpets and dropped to my knees. I know that he has found me.

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This Is How It Started . . . One Look

by Kiszel Derouche

A girl entered the classroom. The teacher assigned her a seat in the front, but she refused. She walked to the back of the classroom and sat there. The teacher was shocked but didn’t mind it. The teacher projected her voice and said, “New student, what’s your name?”

The girl kept her head down and didn’t respond. The whole class turned and faced her as she sat there in silence. She picks up her head and says, “Morgan, Morgan Smith,” in a low, timid voice.

Morgan and her mom Pamela had just moved to Richmond, Virginia to escape Morgan’s wild past and start fresh. Morgan has always been a shy person. She has never really had good friends that she is able to express herself to, which led her to do some crazy things that a person wouldn’t imagine an introverted 16-year-old would do. There was this one time where Morgan was having a terrible day and she was on her way home from school. She passed by a burning house with an extreme fire that was happening two blocks down from where she lived. There were firefighters, police, ambulances, and news reporters.

As Morgan was hurrying down the block on the narrow street, feeling frustrated from her day at school, a lady and her crying baby were in the way.

“Excuse me, hello . . . pardon me,” she said in an attempting-toyell voice. The woman turns around.

“I’m sorry. All this baby work is stressful,” she said.

“I’m sure if you had no legs you would be a handicap and have a wheelchair and would be going faster than what you are going at now,” Morgan said in a joking manner to the lady. Morgan never has the best humor.

“Why would you say that?”

Morgan walked past and bumped the lady and the baby. The lady fell and the baby’s stroller tipped. This was all happening while a disastrous house fire was going on.

The next day Morgan and her mom Pamela went to the grocery store and the store’s TV was playing the news, showing the house that happened to be where Morgan just was.

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“Here, we see the fire on 77th Street. Everyone in the house survived but were injured.” The news reporting camera shifts and shows Morgan pushing the lady and the baby.

“Karen McLee was someone that was near the house fire but wasn’t inside the house. She was seen on the camera recording with a girl that pushed her. This is what the girl looks like.” (Shows picture.)

“Karen McLee was last seen at Richmond Hospital with no legs. If you have information on where to find the girl or know anything please contact us or the police,” the news reporter says.

“Morgan, that’s you. Why did you push that lady and her baby?”

Sighs from people around the supermarket noticing that the girl who pushed the lady and baby was her.

“Morgan, tell me what happened or I will go to the police and figure out what you did and go to the lady in the hospital,” Morgan’s mom said, with her eyes wide open.

Morgan didn’t say a word. She was breathing hesitantly, looking around and her hands were very fidgety.

Overall, the things she has done have gotten her arrested, and when she tries to explain herself, she ends up in therapy. But on the bright side she likes to sing and volunteer whether it’s helping the community by sharing food, cleaning the surroundings, spreading awareness, and many others.

As Morgan passed through the day, going to all her classes, getting the same introduction. “Welcome, what’s your name?” She ignored them like if someone was speaking to a deaf person without using sign language.

“Rude, ugly, quiet girl,” a girl murmured.

After class it was lunchtime. Morgan didn’t know where to go to find the cafeteria but there was a large and loud crowd talking about lunch, so she followed them. The cafeteria was two times as large as her last school. This cafeteria had very large windows, blue polished floors, only lunch booths and three lunch kitchens.

It was a sunny Monday afternoon. Although Morgan wanted to sit with someone, everyone already had someone. So she had to sit by herself; this wasn’t something new for Morgan. Morgan spotted the girl from earlier that called her rude and ugly sitting with her friends.

“Hey,” she called out, “I have class with you and I heard you called me rude and ugly. First off don’t call me anything if you don’t know me.”

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“Okay so . . . you’re not so quiet like I thought comin’ here and confronting people.”

“I’m not trying to get hostile with you; I’m just correcting you, got it?” Morgan said in a serious voice.

“Girl, you are not worth my time. I am Taylor Mitchell, the most popular girl in school. I can get one of my friends to beat you up,” she said in a sassy voice.

“Tell your friends to come after school. I dare you,” Morgan said.

After lunch, Morgan had her last two classes which were social studies and math. She could barely focus on the curriculum.

“All right, class, it’s the end of the school day. See you guys tomorrow,” the teacher said.

As Morgan packs up her things, a boy hands her a folded paper he got from Taylor Mitchell. It says “MEET ME BEHIND THE SCHOOL IN TEN MINUTES.” Morgan gathered her belongings and headed behind the school. There were four of them altogether.

“Are you ready?” they said.

“I’ve been ready.”

A car drove by, then backed up. It was Morgan’s mom!

“I have to go, my mom is here.”

Morgan walked closely to Taylor’s face and looked straight into her eyes and said, “Go get a knife and stick it into your neck because I don’t want to hear your commentary anymore. You would be doing me and others a favor,” she said with a smirk. After that feisty talk, Morgan walked to the car with ease, and Taylor left shaken.

Morgan went to school the next day like nothing ever happened, and Taylor wasn’t there. Two more days passed and then two more.

Taylor hadn’t been in school for five days but on the sixth day Taylor’s mom came to the school and said, “Taylor is in the hospital. When she came home from school on Monday afternoon she came home with a knife in her neck, blood on her neck, hands and clothes!”

“Students, if you know anything, please come to the main office.”

Taylor’s friends that were there behind the school told them everything that happened. So, eventually, Morgan was called into the office by Principal Larry to discuss the situation. “I heard you gave a death threat — is that true?” the principal asked.

“Maybe. All I said was, ‘Go get a knife and stick it into your neck,’” Morgan said.

“That is not okay and, because of you, that was most likely the 259

reason Taylor Mitchell stabbed herself and, for this, I would have to expel you. Please pack up all the things and your guardian will be here to pick you up,” Principal Larry said.

Morgan packed her things once more and waited for her mom to pick her up. Morgan’s mom walked in with the same face she had when she was expelled from her last school; she didn’t even face Morgan. When she signed Morgan out, she didn’t even give a sign she was leaving. Morgan just followed behind. They both got in the car and she faced Morgan. “It has only been your first week of school and look at what you have done. What is wrong with you, you’re going back to therapy because I don’t know what else to do,” Morgan’s mom said, crying out.

“Tomorrow, get ready to go to therapy and get out of my car and go walk home,” her mom said.

“What? Ugh,” Morgan said.

As her mom drove off, she thought, “Is this what my life really is?” This lady approaches Morgan and says, “You look like you are lost.”

“No,” Morgan said.

She gives Morgan a hug. “You look like you need it,” then she quickly backs off.

“What are you?” she whispers.

“I am a fortune teller and also part witch.”

“I think I need to go now,” Morgan said.

“No, I’m serious. It’s true, come to my office.”

Morgan’s mom would always tell her to stay away from people like this but her mom was already mad at her so Morgan went anyway. As they were sitting down in her office she told Morgan that when they hugged she felt a shiver through Morgan’s body and knew she was the one.

“People would tell me I’m crazy because I say I am a fortune teller and part witch. I wouldn’t say I’m crazy. I would say I am gifted, I don’t know how I got it but I do, that’s why it’s a gift I was given,” the teller says.

“All you need to do is close your eyes and relax and I will do my part,” the fortune teller said.

They both close their eyes and relax. The silence was loud.

Morgan opens her eyes. “So aren’t you going to say something like a-br-ka-da-br-a?”

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“I was already starting, it’s a mind thing not verbal.” So they both resume their concentration.

A shocking sigh came from the teller. She said, “You have a gift, you have the gift of compulsion.”

“What?” Morgan said confusingly.

“Also you told a girl a death threat, now you got expelled.”

“How did you know?”

“I’m telling you, I have a gift. You need to be careful what you say because compulsion can get out of hand once you are looking at them straight in the eye. The compulsion goes straight into effect.”

“Wow this makes sense now, that’s why Taylor did it. Thank you for telling me. I have to get home now.”

“I will get you an Uber,” the lady said.

“Ok, bye, thank you.”

Morgan arrives home. She was so excited to tell her home the news but she didn’t tell her mom because she was still very angry.

It’s the next day. Morgan and her mom walked into the therapist’s office.

The therapist led Morgan into the office and her mom waited in the lobby, and many topics came up like the death threat, the fortune teller, and Morgan being alone. But at the end of the session the therapist told Morgan’s mom that her situation needs to be taken up to a mental center.

The therapist took some deep breaths while she was walking towards Morgan’s mom.

“Here are some documents listing the best centers in Virginia and their contact information,” the therapist states. Going forward Morgan’s mom knew what she had to do . . .

“I know what I need to do now, thank you,” Pamela, Morgan’s mother, said in a determined tone.

Morgan and her mom headed home. All through the drive Pamela was breathing heavily like she was ready to burst with tears.

“Mom, please don’t send me there, you just don’t understand and you won’t believe me.”

“Then tell me, let me know what’s wrong. I am your mother.

I deserve to know when my child is going through something, is it depression?”

“No it’s not depression. I have . . . powers.” Pamela looked at Morgan like she was crazy, her eyes wide open.

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“Morgan Smith, I love you and I am going to help you by taking you to the mental center!” Morgan’s mom shouted.

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you wouldn’t believe me and this would even persuade you more to take me to a stupid mental center that I don’t even need,” Morgan screamed.

For the rest of the car ride, there was no noise. Morgan stared outside the whole car ride and did not dare to look anywhere and her mom drove but soon after she turned on the radio to stop the silence.

An hour has passed and the ladies are at the door. Pamela is searching for her keys.

“Great, I found it. Morgan, when we get in the house, go take a bath and prepare for bed. It has been a long day.”

“Okay,” Morgan said quietly.

Beep Beep Beep Beep Good Morning. That was the sound of Morgan’s alarm clock. The sun was shining brightly this morning. Morgan headed out of her room to say good morning to her mom.

“Good morning, Mom.” “Good morning, Morgan, I am heading out for work now, call if you need anything, see you later.”

“Okay, bye.”

Pamela wasn’t going to be back until 5pm but time flew by.

Morgan did her usual routine — brushed her teeth and made breakfast (pancakes and bacon with tea). Today was different but the same. She was expelled, it wasn’t her first time. So, afterwards she sat down and watched TV, and later on she read a book.

“Ughh, I’m bored,” Morgan said, sitting on the floor.

Morgan came up with an idea that she should watch a movie.

That would help speed up time. She decides to watch the movies on her computer. Soon after, she falls asleep.

“Morgan, I’m home . . . hellooo,” Pamela says.

Morgan’s mom checks her room and sees that she’s sleeping so she leaves her alone.

Morgan is awakened by the noise she hears, she checks her phone and sees it’s 6:15pm. Now that she is fully awake, she notices that it’s her mom speaking on the phone to someone concerning the mental center. So, she storms out to her mom.

“Please, Mom, don’t send me.”

“Go back to your room,” Mom said.

“No please, Mom,” Morgan says, crying out to her.

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“GO NOW!” Pamela demanded.

Morgan walked to her room with tears ready to pour out of her eyes. She slowly closed and locked her door, she sat down behind her door and cried her eyes out. This moment for Morgan was different than any other. Although she has been expelled before, suspended, arrested, and been to therapy Morgan did not come out of her room even if she was hungry, thirsty or needed to go to the bathroom.

“Morgan Kaliee Smith, open this door now; I want to talk to you!”

“Whatever you have to say, you have to say it now because I am not opening the door.”

“You’re going tomorrow, you need to be there for 12pm. It’s a 2-hour drive. We will leave here at 9am. You are staying there for six weeks.”

“Wha—” “I am doing this because I love you. I have been through so much with you, especially being a single mother and your dad working as a flight attendant. He’s always traveling so it is not easy . . . do you think I want to do this . . . no . . . goodnight, Morgan,” Pamela said crying.

That was just the end of their night.

Beep Beep Beep Beep Good Morning. When the alarm said good morning Morgan said it with the alarm clock. It would be the last time she heard the alarm go off for the next six weeks. Morgan looked at the alarm clock and said “6:00am.” Morgan’s mom knocked on the door and Morgan opened it.

“Good morning, Mom.” “Good morning, Morgan.”

They both worked together to pack Morgan’s clothing and everything she needed after Morgan brushed her teeth and took a shower, as did Pamela.

“We will take breakfast on the road,” Pamela said.

“Okay.”

“We are good on timing. Let’s head to the car — do you have everything for six weeks?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure I have everything, Mom. Also you don’t have to remind me that I have to stay for six weeks.”

“Morgan, let’s go.”

Morgan took a look around not to see if she was missing anything but to remember what it feels like to be home. Then, after a minute of 263

reminiscing, Morgan took a deep breath and headed out.

“We have been on the road for a while. Now let’s pull over to this McDonalds — what do you want to eat?” Pamela asks.

“Can I have bacon, egg and cheese Mcgriddle and orange juice?

Ugh, I’m tired.”

They got their McDonalds. In fact, they both got the same thing but, instead of orange juice, Pamela got coffee. Pamela drove into the parking lot to eat and take a break. They had an hour left until they arrived.

Yawn. “How far are we?”

“15 minutes away.”

“What, nooo . . . Mom, let me tell you this now because I do not know when I will ever have the right time . . . I have no control over what I’m doing. I feel like I have no one to talk to, even my own mother. You are physically here but not mentally, I tried telling you already I don’t know what else to do, so can you really blame me?”

Pamela starts tearing up, thinking: Am I not a good mom? Have I failed?

“We’re here, let’s unpack the car and get you settled in.”

“Welcome to Advanced Mental Clinic, how may I help you today?”

“Hi, today we are checking in.”

“Okay, great is this for you or her?¨ “It’s for my daughter, Morgan.¨ “Okay, great. I found her in the system. She will be here for six weeks. She will have no use of her phone because this place is to help you, not a sleep-away camp. Her way of communication is writing letters — if there is any emergency you will be contacted. Any questions?”

“No questions from me. Morgan, do you have any questions?”

“No, I just don’t want to be here!” Morgan said blatantly.

“I will transport your stuff into your room and you can exchange hugs,” the worker said.

“Come here, give me a hug. I am going to, surely, miss you. It will definitely feel different.”

“I am going to miss you and I am definitely going to write letters to you.”

“Ready to go to your room?”

“No, but I have to.”

“Bye, sweetie, I love you.”

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Pamela left and Morgan’s journey began. Although Morgan doesn’t deserve to be there she has six-weeks of free time . . . or so she thought.

Day One, Day Three, Day Five, Day Seven.

Dear Mom, I made it to my first week at this headache of a place called a “mental center.”

From the things I have seen to late night screams, strange noises, people whispering things in my ear that make me wonder, and people that come in stranger shapes.

Mom, I don’t think this is the place for me. I don’t feel safe. I say this with true honesty. I’m scared most of the time. I don’t want to sleep because I have the worst dreams about people here. They treat me like I’m a baby. Mom, I know you said you put me here to help me but I don’t think this is the way to get to that. I have 35 more days here. I don’t know if I can handle this, I’m not exaggerating! I might come out crazier than you think.

Love, Morgan Smith (The girl in a mental center that’s your daughter)

265

Being Apathetic Isn’t the Answer?

by Antoinette Gamble

Monday The sun is falling. The streets are empty and the street lights are turning on. Leaves are crunching on the sidewalk. The best time of the day is now. So peaceful and quiet. There is a lone bench up ahead, a calm breeze blows, and the trees still have leaves left on them. This lone sitter is reading a math textbook. The smell of chocolate fills the air and, looking up, there is a girl who appears without a sound which is surprising since the second she’s noticed she starts talking. “Hello!

How are you? Whatcha doing?” she says joyfully. Pointing at the book, hoping she will leave. “So, you’re studying. Why are you studying so late? Why are you alone?” she questions, looking like a confused dog.

After making a shooing motion and going back to reading, she stands there for a while before deciding the seat is empty. A mumbled “Why are you still here?” floats through the air. “You look lonely and it’s late.

I don’t want to walk around alone,” she states, like there is nothing weird going on. One is reading in peace while the other is chatting about anything and everything. An hour passes. The girl follows the loner to leave and chats on the way. Breaking out into a run, the girl keeps following. Exhaustion hits. Giving up and catching a breath, slowing down the pace with annoyance. Right in front is a two-story house. One window is broken and in need of repair. Besides that it is spotless. Walking straight towards the front door, the girl stays on the sidewalk and yells “Goodbye!” The sound of a door slam is heard.

Tuesday The sky is cloudy and the wind is blowing. People of all ages are walking by. Some are on their way home while others go to stores or libraries. There are piles of leaves all over the ground. That same bench is up ahead. That blue and yellow bench that is always there.

The bench that no one ever sits on. This recluse sits down on the bench, watching people hang out and talk to each other on those green benches in pairs or groups. Suddenly there is a “Hey!” spreading through the air. Looking up and watching her. She is skipping towards 266

me, she starts giggling and joins this loner on the bench. “How are you doing today?” she asks sincerely. “Fine.” a mutter slips past my lips. “Well, today I found this weird rock and . . . ” she starts to prattle endlessly. We pass the time talking about nonsense even though she does most of the talking. Neither of us seems to mind it.

Wednesday The winds are strong today and the streets are empty. Leaves are blowing everywhere, making mini-tornados of leaves. This weather makes me glad I brought my scarf. I walk to the bench. The bench is the same bench that is always there when I need it. Arriving at the bench, “I’m here!” a shout sounds from behind me. A sigh fills the air and I settle on the bench. A quiet “On time. For once.” drifts through the air. “Yay! So I found a frog earlier-” she mentions happily. A soft “Frog or toad?” fills the air. “I don’t know,” she answers. “Where?” this brief question fills the air. “By the pet store,” she answers carelessly.

A brisk “Return it.” travels through the air. “You think it belongs to them?” she asks. Looking at her with a deadpan face, I nod. “Oh! I’ll go bring Mr. Toady the frog to the shop!” she yells. The loud sounds of her running footsteps get softer and softer. This loner was alone on the bench once again.

Thursday It is less windy today but still freezing. As I arrive at the bench, I witness a peculiar sight. She is already waiting for me at the bench.

She notices me and starts waving her hands at me as if I couldn’t see her. “Hey! How are you? Want to talk about what I found today?” she asks cheerfully. “Hello, I’m doing fine. You are going to talk about it anyway.” I complain. “Okay! So—” she talks enthusiastically about her story. We talk for hours and I’m actually enjoying it.

Friday Today, it is snowing for the first time this winter. The ground is covered in snow, kids are playing, and people are walking by. I walk towards that blue and yellow bench just like I did every day. This place holds so many memories from the past few months. I sit down and start reading a book. Twenty minutes pass. I’m still sitting alone and begin wondering, where is she? Suddenly, I see her running towards me. She is getting close and shows no sign of stopping. She is about 267

to crash into the tree next to the bench when she trips and falls onto the grass. “Why are you so clumsy?” I whine. She gets up and smiles like a fool. “Sorry, were you waiting long?” she says merrily. “Only twenty minutes this time. What delayed you this time?” I question.

“I found a dead cat,” she says dejectedly. “Was it your cat?” I ask.

“No, but it had passed away so I put it in a box. Can you attend the funeral?” She pleads. “You are having a funeral for a random cat?”

I ask. “Yes,” she says matter-of-factly. “And you want me to attend that very same funeral for a cat I don’t even know,” I respond. “Of course,” she says genuinely. “Why?” I inquire. “To mourn the death of the cat,” she says like this is a normal occurrence. “I don’t even know this cat. Why should I care?” I ask. “Because being apathetic isn’t the answer,” she responds. “Being apathetic isn’t the answer?” I ask in befuddlement. “I’m glad you agree,” she responds cheerfully. “Fine,” I respond amusingly.

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El Enano

by Keila Pinto

There is no such thing as being content in life. There is no person in this world who has felt fulfillment. Violet, in her short 16 years of life, recognizes that she, too, will face this fate. She thought it would be unfair, to die not having lived satisfied, to die not having enjoyed, to die without having actually lived. Violet considered herself to be someone with some meaning in life, since she believed in God. She thought that it would be worse to think that we were purely made out of coincidence, with no purpose, and no meaning. It gave her some comfort to think that it all wasn’t just an accident. However, this “meaning” or “purpose” was unknown to her. As she stared outside her window, she pondered, whether she would find her purpose.

Whether she would just live life, by just getting through it and not actually finding her meaning. Outside her window, she could see how the leaves fell from the trees.

It was the middle of fall, her favorite season. The reddish leaves fell quite slowly, like when a feather falls, so slow, and swaying, almost like it’s dizzy, until it finally falls to the floor. The wind blew ever so slightly, rustling the leaves, like a very gentle hand petting a dog. Her favorite hobby was staring outside the window. Even on road trips, she was so fascinated by what she would see outside the car window.

It gave her time to think about life and so on.

“Violet?” her mom asked.

“Hmm?” she answered.

“I’ve been calling you for the past 5 minutes. Come, I need your help.”

As Violet headed towards the kitchen, she could see her mom on top of the kitchen table, hanging up a painting, “Pass me that hammer” she ordered. Violet handed her the hammer. Her mom nailed the painting to the wall. Violet’s house was what most would call disorganized. The living room, having papers everywhere, dishes everywhere, an unfinished puzzle and puzzle pieces on the living room table, 2 medium sized couches, with balls of yarn all over it, not to mention her mother’s room, having makeup and skincare products 269

cover all the vanity. And that wasn’t even all the makeup they owned; it was just the half of it. Violet and her mother lived alone. Her mother would normally clean everything. With all the mess in their house, you would think they never cleaned, yet it was quite the opposite.

Violet’s mother would spend hours cleaning and cleaning, but the mess would always come back within a day. It wasn’t all Violet’s fault, though some of it was. It was safe to say that their home looked like a madhouse. Violet gazed at her mom, watching her proceed to cleaning the kitchen table.

Violet’s mother was short, with short black hair. Her mom looked young but was in her 40s. She had big beetle-like brown eyes, and very thin lips. Her mom was quite racially ambiguous. Some assumed she was Arabian, others Columbian, and others Ecuadorian. In reality, she was just plain Mexican. Violet had long light brown hair, her mother’s eyes, her mother’s shortness, and her mother’s wits. They were the same, yet different. Violet’s mother was extremely patient, while Violet’s patience had a limit. Violet was easily angered, yet it would take a lot for her mother to be angered. Violet was resentful, her mother forgetful. However, no matter their differences, they were the best of friends.

As Violet stared at her mother, she recalled a fairy tale her father would tell her. It was a story about a dwarf. Not a cute small dwarf, like the ones from Snow White, but an ugly and evil one. Where her father was from was a small little village, but there was so much superstition.

The story was a little dark, but basically, the dwarf fell in love with a beautiful human woman. The dwarf could turn invisible, so he used this skill to his advantage, and he would stalk her. On days where he got mad that she could never be with him, he would slam her plates across the wall. He would throw all sorts of things around her house, until there was a big mess. On days where the woman would have dates or male visitors, he would make them think she was a witch, by making things float around her and scaring them off. Eventually, everyone that knew her thought she was either a witch or cursed.

Violet believed this wasn’t the true ending. She believed her father had just forgotten it. It would be a rather bland ending, she thought.

It didn’t make much sense. But most stories have either a confusing ending or a clear one. Violet always hated confusing endings. She preferred endings that were clear to her. If an ending wasn’t clear it would make her anxious. It would become all she could think about, 270

consuming her thoughts. Perhaps it was her ego or just her desire to understand and know everything. Whatever it was, she disliked it.

Her mother wiped the sweat off her forehead, looking proudly at her finished job, and scampered joyfully into her bedroom. Violet watched in amusement. Just as she was about to grab some chips from the pantry, she heard a “pit-pat-pit-pat.” It sounded like footsteps.

She turned around. “Mom?” She did not answer. Violet shrugged, unbothered. Her mom was a very distracted woman. Sometimes she would not hear when she was called. It had become normal to Violet. Plus, the house was old enough, to be making creaking sounds and whatnot. Their house was one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood. It used to be clean and beautiful when they first moved in. Sadly, their presence seemed to have ruined its glory.

Violet returned to her job of finding the chips. SMASH. Violet turned around. She saw a broken dish on the floor. “Ugh,” Violet muttered. As she proceeded to grab a broom and sweep the pieces, the plate that had broken was her grandmother’s dish. Sometimes her grandmother would come over and give them things as a gift. The dish being one of them. From the corner of her eye, Violet saw something move. Her heart jumped. Terrified, she quickly turned around. She sighed, in relief. It was just her grandmother. “Oh no, the dish I gave you. Oh honey, you’ll cut yourself. Here, let me clean it,” she said with her rough voice as she started taking the broom into her hands and sweeping up the pieces. “Wow, every time I come here, this house seems to be getting worse and worse.” she said judgingly. Violet just chuckled nervously. “I should probably stop bringing stuff. Every time I come it’s either destroyed, broken, or something,” she uttered, this time jokingly instead of judgingly. Her grandma stared at the pieces, distantly, and almost with a hint of sadness. Violet’s grandma was a very emotional woman. She was always either terribly sad, mad or happy. It was rare to see a hint of an emotion on her face. Violet had learned to just not ask. “Anywho, I just came by to leave a few things and leave,” she said cheerfully, the sadness on her face leaving in the blink of an eye. She grabbed some bags and left them on the table.

“Oh, thanks, grandma.”

“No problem, anyways I’ll be heading out. Tell your mom I said hi.”

“Sure thing.”

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Her grandma grabbed her purse, headed out the door, and, with a big slam of the door, she was gone. Violet walked towards the bags her grandma brought and started taking the items out. More dishes.

Typical, she thought. She sighed and proceeded to put them away into the cabinets. CRASH. This time, instead of turning around with fear, Violet turned around annoyed. Another broken dish. Typical, she thought once more. As she picked up the pieces with her hands (she was too lazy to sweep the pieces), she noticed a drop of water on the plate. It was blue. It ran down the plate, leaving a glistening blue streak behind. She saw more blue drops across the floor. She looked to where they were leading, to the corner of the kitchen, below the oven. As she looked down, her expression changed to horror. She saw a very short old man, with a pointy hat sitting on the floor. The same glistening blue streak running down his cheek. They were tears.

He held a piece of the dish in his small hands. The dish was covered in more tears. He looked at Violet. Violet, too afraid to move, stared back. Violet tried to scream, shout, run, but her body wouldn’t budge.

The old dwarf held a picture in another hand. It was a photo of a young woman. As Violet looked closer, she recognized the woman in the picture. It was a picture of her grandmother when she had been young. Suddenly, realization started rushing into Violet. The story, the broken dishes, the constant mess that would never go away in her house. The reason why her grandmother’s things would always break every time her presence was near, and every time her presence had gone. Violet’s fear turned into pure sadness, heartbreak, and sorrow.

The ending of a story was finally clear to her. A story she would have rather stayed confused about.

272

The Same Old Thing

by Delilah Rodrigo

I always want more in life. But the one I made for myself has left me nowhere, utterly nowhere. I have friends, but not the ones that you are really close with. We have fun, we kind of just snack, eat and watch the latest Ryan Gosling movie (which 9/10 times is The Notebook). Don’t get me wrong, they’re really nice but, without them, I have nothing to do. Like my parents are busy people who aren’t home. They’re always on call, they’re surgeons. I watched a couple (or all) episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and I don’t get it, like standing all the time on your feet and cutting people. I mean it can be fun, like the rush, but living in a small town all you get is to treat the next-door neighbor’s lung transplant because they’ve been smoking since the 60s, and the flu.

I wish that my parents would have forced me to do some boring after-school club or signed me up for one, because eventually I would like to have something right, and then my whole life would be planned out. The phone rings. As per usual, my friends ask to hang out and we all decided to meet at Addison’s house, and since Amelia is the only one that can drive (because I failed my test three times), she’s picking me up.

“Hey. I was really thinking that we can switch things up instead of watching The Notebook, you know,” Addison said.

“Yeah,” I responded, “No problem. So what are we going to do?”

“Ummm I don’t know. We can have a baking contest and then Olivia or my mom can be, like, the judge.”

Olivia is Addison’s younger sister, so you know she won’t choose sides.

Ameila pointed out, “Yeah, so where are we going to do all of this because I know your room is the smallest in the whole house?”

“That’s why my dad left me the attic. He emptied it and everything so we can just decorate it and clean it up,” Addison said. “Even though we were cleaning and it isn’t, like, my biggest strong point but, hey, at least it’s something new.”

“Luna, LUNA, LUNA, remember these? These were the pants you left at my house ‘cause you ripped them.”

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“Jesus can you be any more loud, anddddddd I thought you guys forgot about that, like, so not cool, Amelia.”

Later in the day while everything is done and there are no more cobwebs, we have the old princess TV, Just Dance 2013, and a bunch of snacks. We have done almost everything on the list, and, of course, Amelia won because somehow she watched all of Cake Boss and did it even though they only use Rice Crispy Treats. But it’s fine, because I won Twister and all the board games until they got mad at how good I was. So Addison cheated by taking some juice that apparently helped with singing. It’s like all the rage in Korea, but I will just let her take the win on that. Thinking that we are done for the night and watching a movie was all that was left, Amelia had to come out with this crazy idea of “astral projecting”—you jump through different galaxies or something. I don’t know how she got into that kinda stuff; it’s like those people who think that the government is controlling everything, but honestly I don’t care. Whatever.

“Yeah, so basically, like, the government has really advanced technology that likes to control you with your surroundings and it stops you from opening your third eye.”

“So what we, like, get, like, super speed or something,” Addison answers.

“Yeah, what she said.”

“Yeah, well I don’t know. I never did it and I’m too scared to kinda do it alone . . . but you have to play, like, some vibration sounds and just close your eyes.”

“I’m sorry, but that sounds boring,’’ everyone responds.

Addison: “Yeah, that kind of sounds like selling our soul. I don’t know about that.”

Since there was nothing better to do and Amelia really wanted to do it, we all decided we would try it this one time, so I set up the sleeping area. Amelia brought more snacks in case and Addison got her mom’s Bible in case anything happened.

As we laid down we were just silent. The rain and, I guess, it could be that resin and the music made me really tired and all the things we did today. I finally felt like I was meant to and belonged somewhere when all my life I saw people together and bonding being the outsider and it stuck with me. Maybe it could be new beginnings. Feeling my eyes get heavy I closed my eyes and I dreamed about rising in the air into this weird white room. I had never been here, but I wasn’t scared.

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It was weird because I walked and walked into someone’s mind and I was no longer in my small town in Massachusetts but in New York and in the 1970s too in some weird elevator. It was me but it didn’t look like me?? And then I shifted to another universe back in the 1800s in a field playing with my father. I was so confused. Lost and scared, I gasped for air and everything went in reverse, and I woke up.

“Dude, are you okay? You were talking in your sleep . . . NO WAY did it work? How do you feel? What did you see?! I told you it was going to work and should’ve put a bet on it.”

“First, can you guys, like, umm, I don’t know, shut up, my parents are sleeping.”

Cutting Addison off, “Sorry. I guess it was a nightmare.”

“Second, what happened? All I can see is white.”

“Yeah me too. It was weird. I thought aliens were going to pop up, but—oh well—I guess it was just a scam.”

As my cheek started to flare up, I didn’t know how to explain to them that it wasn’t a scam.

“Well I saw the white room too, but I started to walk and saw myself but like in the past and I got scared and panicked.”

As they both laugh at me, thinking it was just a dream, I laugh too, still feeling uneasy about how we had the same dream. We fell asleep ten minutes into The Notebook. But waking up was a different story. It felt like someone was sitting on me and everything was blurry, looking for my glasses, then realizing I don’t wear glasses. Somehow things go back to normal. Thinking nothing of it, I go down and see everyone’s already eating breakfast. Addison’s mom is a cook at the fancy restaurant across town so she doesn’t mind cooking.

“Oh hey, about time you wake up. My mom just finished making breakfast so just in time.”

“Thank you, Mrs.” “No problem, Luna, it’s blueberry pancakes, my specialty.”

As the day goes on we clean the attic, get ready and go home. I noticed something about Amelia. She’s yellow, like she still has her warm olive complexion. It was just, like, a glowing color around her.

Really bright if we have to put that out there.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Omg you can notice? Well you know how we were, like, dreaming about the same things? Well, what if it’s true, like I can write a whole book or something?”

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“Honestly I thought you were crazy but I think you’re right. But what if you do write a book, wouldn’t the government just come after you?”

“True, true. Oh well. I mean I can get powers right, like, umm, did you get something, or did someone speak to you?”

“Erm, I don’t know. Why, someone was supposed to?”

“No, well, yes. I don’t know, but let us know. Maybe you can move things with your mind like that girl from that show Stranger Things.”

“Yeah, as if.”

Laughing and playing music, we finally arrive home, and, as she leaves, my mom comes home from work, noticing that she’s upset because of the glowing blue and grey color around her, she still puts a smile on my face.

“Hey mom, are you okay?”

“Yeah it’s nothing, you know, some patients just never make it.”

Going along with it, I go to my computer and Google it, and apparently it’s a real thing. It’s, like, some genetic thing that opens once your third eye is open, and apparently the ritual we did is different for everyone, and there can be millions of different endings to it. And if you don’t do it right, bad things could happen. What if I never woke up? What would’ve happened to Amelia? And Addison, what if the reason for me yelling was to stop them? Or what if it was all my fault?

Feeling sick. Which is something I have been feeling a lot. I clean my room. And under the pillowcase I find some sort of button, a button that I never put there, and nobody in my house can sew, and none of my clothes have buttons either.

I’m wondering if someone broke in and I start checking around for more clues. More and more buttons show up nonstop. And the ones I have found disappearing. I have been running around in circles in my room for the past 30 minutes, and with the little information I have gathered, I only get more confused. It’s not like anyone understands so I run downstairs.

“Where you going? Didn’t you just come home?”

On top of my feet I say, “Oh yeah I have to go to the . . . library, I need a book for my essay.”

Nodding to let me go, I go to the local shop and get some sage, panicking.

“30 dollars, Mrs., Mrs.” “Huh, oh yeah here keep the change.” Damn, 30 dollars! This 276

thing better work.

“Shoot, the book.” Running in and out, I get home and burn it and clean my room, the button, and my house. I fall asleep without noticing and the dream, or the image, I should say, is all I see when I sleep. More and more things from my past show up, and everything’s the same personality and everything, until one day things go back to normal. After weeks without sleep, I have a good sleep, but nothing changed. I still see the colors.

“Hey Luna—you look really tired, you okay?”

And everything, every little thing that has been happening just put there for Addison to know, for her to tell Amelia, and she says it’s just that this new type of energy has been taking over my old body, and I need to change what I wanted before. The intentions I had while in the “globe” took a couple tries to find out what my intentions were.

But then, looking back, it was that I am lost. A lost soul, some say, and once I became more aware and selfless not only did I get to know myself but also those around me. That was the reason for the colors around everyone, and I even found out I have one too, soon Addison and Amelia did it too. The meaning of it was not to get out of the system, but to become part of the system. And there was no way the government could be controlling us. It’s just impossible . . . or what we believe.

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Because He’s Good to Me

by Jasmine Campbell

Sweet mango seeds and mesmerizing palm trees, a breathtaking country indeed. Jamaica is a land of not only adventure, but getaways, and I say that with a double meaning. All is well and beautiful unless you’re in the ghetto, where evil lurks as a pretty smile. Sadly, this is where I reside. My name is Amina. Old Harbour was the place to be when we were young. Water fights and fairs. We had not a worry in the world. You didn’t get killed unless you were a bad person, but that has all gone to the dogs. I turned 17 not too long ago and my parents are already forcing me to take on their religion. Might I say being Muslim in Jamaica is not the safest nor easiest. They want me to be modest but I want to wear basketball shorts and be comfortable in my own skin. A pretty mini dress would be nice too, but that is not my reality.

“In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous.” Jamaica has no special victims unit, so THIS is my story.

Mommy: “Mina, you’re 17 now. I know you want to be ‘normal,’ but it’s not in your blood to be, baby.”

Amina, angrily: “Why can’t you two love me the way I am?! How can you grow and carry a person for nine months, hear their heartbeat and not protect them?”

Mommy: “We never said we didn’t lo-” Amina: “Save it! If modest is what you want, then modest you will get. When I turn 18 you two will never have to worry about your embarrassment of a daughter.”

Dad: “AMINA!” Mommy: “Winston, please don’t, let her calm down.”

Dad, sighs: “What are we going to do with that girl?”

And playing their game is exactly what I did. So that night I told myself that I hated them and after my 18th birthday I’d never return.

Half of that was true. I had terrible dreams. An Ol’ Higue, a witch known to feed on the blood of children, appeared to me one night.

The old witch looked gristly and grotesque, matted snow white hair and dark skin tinted green. She glared at me with pitiless arachnid-like 278

eyes and with an almost wheezing voice told me my time wouldn’t be long. Grabbing her nose and pulling her skin off, she transformed into an owl and flew away into the night. I jumped up in a deep cold sweat but I reassured myself that the dream was simply due to my late-night snacking. Boy was I wrong.

Naturally, I’d call her, but, after a sleepless stomach-wrenching night, I desperately needed someone to lean on. Finally talking myself into a space where I was calm enough to wander over by myself, it was time. So slipping on my Chador, I began the journey to my best friend’s house.

White panel van with tints darker than me, a tire that seemed to be on its last breath; this vehicle was starting to look suspiciously familiar. Trying to be the gangster I constantly portray myself to be, I shook off the feeling as being paranoid. However, turning the corner, an eerie sense of dread and panic fell over me. I asked absolutely no questions. Within seconds I found myself sprinting through bushes.

Not even Usain could catch me. I ran all the way to a nearby river to hide and gather myself. Barely making it, I felt a sharp tug on my headpiece. A man with a shirt tied around his face was bracing my neck, the next holding a gun to my stomach. This one had a brown bandana over his mouth and nose, almond eyes piercing through my soul. “If you scream, I’ll blow your stomach out,” he said to me. I’ll never forget how I felt his smirk through the bandana. So I stayed quiet.

White panel van with tints darker than me, a tire that seemed to be on its last breath. The vehicle I had shaken off had a trunk with my name on it. What felt like hours went by. Finally, I was taken out and placed into a room. It was hot. Sweat trickled down into my blindfold, stinging my eyes. I felt defeated.

Slow but ominous footsteps approached.

“I won’t hurt you” he almost whispered.

Then it hit me. That voice sent every hair on my body to stand at attention, I refused to believe that this was the man I had trusted all these years ago, but it was a pill I was forced to swallow.

“Your father told me you wanted to be free, so let’s see,” he said in my ear.

As black as I am, I felt like I had turned white. This sacred thing that I worked so hard to keep, the amount of temptation that I overcame so I could make losing it a special moment, yet this is how 279

it will meet its demise.

I was stripped with blindfold still on; you can take a good guess of what happened next. I didn’t fight back. In the moment you just take it and tell yourself it’s something you must do to stay alive. Thinking the worst was over, I could finally stop holding my breath, wrong. One after the other they “finished” me off, I felt disgusting but disgusting was better than dead, so I took it.

The room is still very much hot, the cold cement floor of the room kept me cool in a way. Rooster was now screaming, signaling that morning had now arrived and by then I lost all track of time. It felt like I’d been there for weeks. Raped numerous times in a day, my spirit was broken. I can confidently say I am no longer the person I was when I went in. The parents I told myself I hated had made a dent in my heart only a warm hug and sugar sweet kisses from them could fill, so I cried. I cried so hard that my sobs echoed and bounced off of the concrete walls. A man came in threatening to knock me out if I didn’t stop, but I couldn’t.

“You think this is a game?” he screamed, grabbing the blindfold off of my face, sending my neck flying down.

I wanted to scream but no sound could come out. I was terrified, so, like Niagara Falls, the tears came crashing down my face. Snot bounced from my nose like Nickelodeon slime. It was time to die.

He left but I learned to not think positive until hours went by. Just as I had felt relief, he came back in and beat on me some more. My feet were untied so I decided it was time to fight back.

“You feel you can overpower me?” He laughed and slapped me in the face.

Cheek red hot and stinging with embarrassment, I stopped being afraid.

HAG PTUI! My spit splattered on his face.

“Go to Hell!” I yelled, biting down on his hand as he tried to choke me.

“I’ll meet you there,” he said, whilst punching me in the mouth and throwing me against the wall.

I could feel the blood dripping down my throat: warm, wet and metallic.

I picked up a long sugar cane stick he swung at my head. Using the little strength I had left in my body, I tried to throw up my hands.

I swear I did, but I was too late. I could barely stay conscious and the 280

shocked look on his face told me all that I needed to know.

I shut my eyes and everything went dark.

Emerging from the darkness, I felt a sense of relief. No longer bound with rope or blind-folded, I was surprised to realize that I felt no pain. How did I manage to survive? Suddenly, a man I’d never seen before approached me, wrapped from head to toe in a beautiful white fabric which looked to be made of the finest silk. No words escaped his mouth, but somehow I could hear his voice, rolling off the tongue smooth and deep like thunder, sending chills down my spine.

“Who are you?” I asked, with no response. The silence was thick but strangely peaceful.

Within the blink of an eye, blood began trickling down his garments, screaming. How the hell does blood scream? The silk, too, melted into a large puddle of blood. To my surprise, what emerged from the bloody puddle was no man. The being grew almost 10 feet tall, it had no face or body, just a ball of energy with wings as big as my body. It was mesmerizing.

“Do you want to die, Amina?”

“No.” “Well it’s a little too late for that, my baby, you’ve been asleep in limbo for a quarter of a century. It’s time I came to collect you.”

“Who are you, what is limbo and how could I be in it for 25 years if I just closed my eyes?” I asked, chuckling. This was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.

I pinched myself. I’m dreaming, aren’t I? Without a second thought, it whispered secrets to me only a dead man would know. I froze.

“They took your last breath and left you stuck between two drastically different worlds for longer than you had been alive. But, if you take my hand and go with me, you can live again.”

I was feeling so many emotions, anger overpowering them all.

My once-warm body was icy cold, my once-melanated skin pale and discolored. Denial really is the first step. How could I be dead? It was something that surpassed me. Now here comes this hideous thing in which I oddly found peace, telling me that I could live again, that I could see my parents again. How could I refuse? So, foolishly, I agreed. With that, a hand formed from the tip of its wings, skinny with merely a pointer and pinky finger. I shook it. Strangely enough, it pulled me closer, a warm embrace in which I hadn’t felt before.

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Looking up, it was no longer a thing, but a handsome man. Tall, skin dripping with melanin and any element that I had ever found elegant.

They do say he comes to you as everything you’ve ever wanted.

A beautiful harp melody played. It was divine and unlike anything I’d ever heard before. The sound blessed my ears like velvet. Then, as if levitating, we began to dance.

Resting my head on his chest, I asked for the third time, “Who are you?”

“Iblis,” he softly whispered into my ear They say being exploited at a young age leads to promiscuous behaviour and rebellion. In that case: Lord forgive me not for I have sinned, Forgive me because I enjoyed it.

He took not only my heart, but mind, body and soul. I had made a deal and danced with the devil . . . May God have mercy on me.

282

Into the Mirror

by Kadeem Campbell Phang

Kadeem always had a decent life. He grew up with nice parents, he was an above-average student, and now he has a good-paying job.

He spends his time writing essays for the AFYW organization. Have you ever seen things that weren’t there? These things tend to happen from time to time but not exactly to the point where it feels real.

Kadeem has been very down lately because he has a job far from his parents and his friends. He tends to get sober sometimes and hit the bar, but nothing is curing his loneliness. Something lately that has been happening is he has been hallucinating and seeing some weird stuff. He thinks it’s just from all the beer and alcohol he has been consuming, but it’s something bigger than you can imagine.

Kadeem meets up with his new buddies at a bar. It’s kinda been an addiction to be there.

“Hey, what’s up man, how you been, haven’t seen you in the bar in a while?” his friend Paul asks.

“Pretty good, I’ve been trying to get my mind over not seeing my family, and my only brother is in the hospital, but I can’t see him.”

“Dang, God bless, I haven’t had a family since I was 10. They went missing somehow and nobody could find them.”

“Don’t worry about that, though, man you will get used to it, drinks on me.” (Paul flirts with the bartender trying his best to get a discount.)

That was the last time Kadeem saw Paul. It’s been rumored that Paul went insane after that night. The police say he had a mental episode and others said it was the drinks that made him lose control. It was neither. Paul has been hallucinating night after night like Kadeem was; he just couldn’t take it anymore and started freaking out one night and started screaming “She’s coming for us” while trying to harass people physically. Kinda like those crackheads you see getting in your way.

One day Kadeem was working real hard on essays and articles for AFYW. He took a deep sleep from working all day. 3am hit and some strange things started happening. He woke up and started to 283

hear liquid dripping. He gets up and walks to the bathroom and he’s attracted to this beautiful smell of flowers. It smelled just like chocolate cosmos. There, Kadeem was in front of a beautiful lady with nice black hair, hazel eyes and pleasing brown skin in the mirror. He was too distracted to know what was going on. It was almost like she was hypnotizing him. He took her hand and went through the mirror with a bubble-like effect. Kadeem now doesn’t feel like himself, and, as he took a walk around, everything was better in this life. Kadeem woke up and realized he has to make changes to be happy in life, even if it means sacrificing something that’s important.

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Stuck In Another World

by Brianna Curbelo Inspired by Henrick Selick’s film Coraline

Today started off like every other day. I woke up to the sound of my screeching alarm *ERCHHH ERCHHH* Gosh, I hate that sound so much. My mom is already up, cleaning as always. The smell of Fabuloso hits my nose quickly. She has her music blasting. Nothing like Romeo Santos playing early in the morning. She bobs her head lightly and starts dancing with the mop. I say, “Mom, stop, you looking crazy.”

“Oh shhh you’re just a hater,” she tells me. I laugh and grab one of the bagels she has on the kitchen counter. Why is it so hot it burns the tips of my fingers? I eat anyway. I head back to my room. Finally I can relax and watch some movies. I open Netflix on my Firestick TV. What should I watch: Mean Girls, Coraline, Winx, or the Avengers?

The obvious choice was Coraline. I’ve loved this movie ever since I was little. Everything about it amazed me, from the talking cat to the other mother with the button eyes. I wanted to be just like Coraline ever since I first watched the movie. I click the “play” button but this option pops up asking me, “Do you agree to enter this world?” There’s no turning back now. I press the “yes” button. This loud ringing starts as an arm reaches out. It looks like Coraline’s. I grab it. *THUDDD* Suddenly I wake up in the middle of Coraline’s bedroom, the peeling paint hanging and the dead-looking fireflies hanging around her bed.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Coraline??” I say, looking confused.

“Obviously. Stop acting weird. We have to get out of here before my mom gets back from the grocery store.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the Other Mother. I´m tired of being here, trapped inside this house with nothing to do.”

We then run down the stairs to go to the tiny doorway in her living room. She opens the door to where it’s full of bright colors. It’s a cool-looking tunnel but with a nasty smell, the smell of something dead. Gosh this really stinks. Can we hurry up?!

“I’ll go first, then you follow behind me. Ready?”

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“Ready!”

Why did I say that? I really don’t want to go.

We climb through the tunnel to the smell of . . . freshly cooked bacon and eggs?? Eggs are so disgusting. I feel something brushing my leg. It’s the cat. “You look different today, why are you scared??” he says. Of course I am but I can’t let him know that. The Other Mother calls us to the table with our plates already on it.

“I guess she’s already finished cooking.”

“I hate eggs. Do we really have to eat this?”

“Yes, just follow my lead. This is all worth it, I promise!”

We finish the food and head to the garden. All these plants are so different I guess they really are exotic. They stink so much, the smell is like a sewer. Why am I here?? I should’ve stayed home.

“Having second thoughts?” the cat says to me.

“No, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be, what do you know?

Just go away already.”

He runs away. I hope he knew I didn’t really mean it. This place is just getting to me. Coraline’s too busy watering the tulips.

“Let’s head upstairs to watch the jumping mice, the garden really smells today.”

“The jumping mice??”

“What is up with you today? You act like you’ve never been here before,” she says with a straight face.

I don’t remember being here. Is she mad? We head upstairs. Before getting to the front door you could already smell the popcorn and the cheeses. I’m starving. The Other Mother’s food isn’t filling. We get inside and the music is so loud that you can´t even think straight. My head starts pounding. I head into the tent that is in the center of the living room—at least that’s what I think it is. Coraline hands me a cotton candy.

“This is going to be great. “ “Totally,” I say sarcastically.

Suddenly I begin to feel dizzy. Caroline is staring at me confused.

I faint on the floor next to a strange-looking box. *BANG* a loud noise wakes me up. I’m beside Coraline and we’re locked up in chains behind a mirror. The room is full of bones and the smell of death.

“I should’ve never listened to you! I didn’t want to come here!” I yell at Coraline.

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“So why did you follow me here?”

“I don’t like the thought of being alone. I wanted to be just like you.” I look down at the cold ground full of bones.

I guess I should’ve just been myself instead of trying to be something different.

Did I really feel the need to fit in that bad? I get pulled back into this vortex and—BOOM—I´m back home.

The day starts over exactly the same, my loud alarm ringing *ERCHHH ERCHHH* while my mom is already up cleaning as always, and the smell of Fabuloso hitting my nose quickly. Today is going to be different, I just know it is. All I have to do is be me.

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Forsaken Scar

by Emmanuel Harper

As a human, you can never depart and have no regrets. You can never depart without sinning. As a human, you can never depart this world without leaving and taking pride in something, wanting what is not yours or over-indulging. You can never depart without living and having a selfish or lustful desire for something.

I wake up every day feeling empty like a gauntlet that desires to be filled. Every day I feel deceitful like a liar.

I hear my alarm clock and do what I normally do—wake up, brush my teeth, wash my face—and all the other things people do to get ready. I leave and, as I head out, I blink and see a radiant color. Beautiful and brilliant, I see a glowing pair gazing at me in the darkness like a warning. I feel hesitant and fearful and think nothing of it. Looking for inspiration for my new novel I wonder why the world calls me a lazy genius and recognizes me as a philosopher. Even though I’m lazy I’m energetic and respected and many look to me for guidance, which is why I decide I may as well become a therapist and counselor.

I wander into a bookstore and into an aisle for legends and fairy tales. I entertain myself and read a book about a dragon that was portrayed as evil. As I read on, the dragon burned villages, demanded gold, over-indulged desire and slept in it. As I read, I could not see evil. I thought to myself, “What’s the difference between humans and dragons?” Then I remembered Fafnir and how he turned into a dragon. I could not find the difference between him when he was human and when he was a dragon, though he gained scales, wings and a tail. With my PhD in Ethics and 300 IQ, I could not comprehend any difference. If anything, he is more himself as a dragon. I always wondered why I felt fond of dragons and never saw them as evil. It might be that they’re honest to themselves, not trying to deny what desires drive them. Then I felt a gaze like it was trying to devour me, and fear ran down my spine. I looked at Fafnir, the sinning, slothful dragon. Fafnir saw me not as a liar but as honest. I feared that yet desired it.

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Then suddenly, for a split second, I saw darkness and a faint dim light appeared. I saw an image of a telson and then got the sudden feeling of uneasiness. I slightly gained consciousness from my trance and thought to myself, “What are these images I’m seeing? It’s as if they’re fragments of memories regained.” I think back to the first one.

It felt different, like it was more of a vision of a path than a memory.

It was like it had an unspoken warning written in red that’s clearer with a black background. Then I heard a woman talking about needing a therapist. Suddenly I heard a beep. It reminded me of my alarm clock.

I see darkness, then that brilliant red light. I suddenly knew what the warning was. It was “Tread carefully.” I realized I got hit by a car while it was backing up. I hear a beep again. Then I see a white light and remember getting dragged away and slipping into darkness. Then I remember the front of the car. I realized I was targeted but, somehow, I did not blame them. I did not feel like it was evil. I hear another two beeps. One was different. I was sure that it was an EKG. The other reminded me of my alarm clock, and that vision made me feel hesitant again and feel like a liar. I tried to think about what the warning truly meant, because it was not one, but two, signs in red. I think about what the woman says about a therapist and then I thought, “When’s the last time I searched within myself ?” I started to remember a quote about the abyss: He who fights with monsters should be careful. Then I remember the first meaning of the warning “Tread carefully.” The quote slips my mind. I didn’t care. I denied but knew the answer I was seeking was in the darkness. Then I gaze and gaze. Then I suddenly see a frog, scorpion and then a vivid image of a monster. Then it became clear—dragon scales tougher than iron eyes, bloody red, dark, tinted yet radiant like crimson, yet brilliant and enchanting like scarlet.

I look the dragon in the eye; it was like I was looking into a cage of denial. I look away and say, “Your warnings come in a pair. Your eyes are deceitful on the surface and perceive you as evil but I feel akin with you as if we are one in the same. When I look at you, I see a mirror, but when I look at your eye, I see one perceived as evil but who knows the truth. Both eyes have their own warning; one says ‘Tread carefully,’ but what is the other?”

The dragon says to me it means to tread you must gaze down the abyssal path for what you seek. The warnings come as a whole truly meaning to tread but carefully down the path you gaze. I ask him, “Who are you?” He says, “I am the personification of what you 289

desire and guardian to what you fear keep dormant.” I ask him what awaits me. The dragon tells me my eyes are the key warning and gate to what you seek but hide. Lie to yourself for and deceive on the outside. I ask the dragon like your eyes. He tells me no, my eyes are what you fear but the path yet seek. He says my eyes are perceived to people as something they are not on the outside but honest and true deep within the inside. He says my eyes are the gateway to the soul that holds the truth you fear yet seek. My eyes are the key to the gate that opens the path you wish to gaze and tread. The dragon says to me you cannot become a dragon like me or Fafnir until you accept your true nature. Right now you are nothing but a . . . He says look into not the surface of my eyes. Every soul has a story. The dragon says to me remember thou warnings that need not be spoken but is written and expressed from the surface that gazes instead of gazed and what they mean tread carefully when you gaze into the abyssal path because when it gazes back you may not obtain and conquer what you seek but become devoured and enveloped in what fear. Tread down but carefully the path you gaze what you desire to become is a dragon not an evil monster. I look into his eyes like I’m looking into a mirror.

I look beyond his eyes and into abyss. As I gaze the dragons’ eyes told me a story. The story about the scorpion and the frog then the tension made sense to me the story goes. A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting, but the scorpion argues that if it did that, they would both drown. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. The frog lets the scorpion climb on its back and then begins to swim. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: “I couldn’t help it.

It’s in my nature.” I feel an electrical surge and I wake up two months later. I am released. I leave, I press the first floor and the button glows crimson red. I stare at it and I see the dragon’s trial. And the path I gazed I feel whole. I will not lie to myself any longer. Like a dragon I am greedy. Like a dragon I’m honest. Like a dragon I am cruel. Like the dragon from the legends what I desire may seem evil but it’s not.

Like the dragon and the scorpion, I am not evil; I am honest. I am honest, not verbally yet physically just like the scorpion that stings the frog. I do it because it’s in my nature to do so. I am greedy, I envy I 290

overindulge, I slack, I lust, I hold pride in things and I set my wrath on those I see fit. On the surface it may seem evil but deeper into the abyss through my tented radeon crimson eyes, that’s yet brilliant and enchanting like scarlet past the deceiving demonic surface that worms those who gaze and through the gates of my eye and into the window of my soul—like Nietzsche quoted about the abyss, is beyond good and evil in the darkness you will find the light like yin and yang.

There is always a part of the other that resides deep within the other and when I got hit and I saw the light in the darkness that was dim yet radiant was not the golden gates nor was not of me departing but that of my desires and true nature. I look away then lie to myself about and deny. When I gazed into the abyss I saw the truth. I saw my inner demons and my desires and accepted them. I accepted the things I want yet fear. I became honest like a dragon with not the world but with my self my nature and what desire and like a dragon I SIN like a dragon. I am not evil, just honest, though on the surface may seem evil. I am not, it’s just in my nature to do so.

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Strange and Unusual Events

by Canora Hepburn

I woke up to the sound of Mr. Baldwin’s loud voice bouncing off the walls of the classroom. I don’t know how I even managed to fall asleep in such a loud environment in the first place. I guess staying up all night can do that to you. “About time you woke up,” my friend Erica said to me. She sits right next to me in social studies.

“I was up all night studying for the test this week,” I said to her as I adjusted myself in my seat.

“You are like the smartest person I know, Dina. You shouldn’t be worrying like this.”

Erica just so happens to be my best friend and the girl I’ve known since 6th grade. She always knows the right thing to say. “I know, I know, but you’re just saying that because I’m your best friend and you know I suck at anything academic,” I say in a sour tone.

“C’mon, lighten up, you shouldn’t be worrying about a test right now. Anais is throwing like the biggest party tonight!” Anais Barnes is the nicest girl in school. Good grades, popular friends, helps out at charities. She’s, like, your all-American girl. Her throwing a party is to be expected.

“You know who is going to be there,” Erica says with a smile on her face.

I roll my eyes with a scowl on my face as I know exactly who she is talking about, Jasper Stilinski. He isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill hot guy jock. Think of more of a quiet but very humorous guy who nobody really bats an eye at. This whole crush I have on him started in the 7th grade, gym class to be specific. Me and him were last to be picked in a game of dodgeball and ended up on the same team. A very uneventful way to be introduced to a crush. Now here we are in 9th grade and we’ve been friends ever since. Erica, Jasper and I are the “Dream Team,” as Erica likes to call us. I’m not very fond of the name but she likes it and Jasper doesn’t mind it so I don’t say anything about it.

The bell rings as students march through the halls scrambling to the next class. Erica and I meet up with Jasper so we can all walk to 292

the lunchroom together.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” says Jasper with a smile on his face.

“Nothing. I was just telling Dina how she shouldn’t be so bummed right now about grades when there is a huge party going on tonight.” I give Erica a look that implies that I don’t want to get into this conversation again.

“Oh yea, Anais’s house has, like, everything. I don’t see how you aren’t more excited,” Jasper says in an encouraging way.

“Thanks guys, but I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Okay fine,” says Erica. We walked through the lunchroom doors and the first thing I smell was the pizza that they always serve on Fridays.

“Yay, pizza again,” Jasper says in a sarcastic tone. We sit down at the table in the far left of the cafeteria. We start talking about what time we would meet at my house to get to the party when I suddenly see a vision of one of our teachers, Ms. Gregg, tripping over a student’s book bag.

“Ms. Gregg is about to fall,” I say in a hurried voice to Jasper and Anais.

“How do you know?” Jasper asks confusingly. Just as he finishes that statement, Ms. Gregg trips and falls face-first on the cafeteria floor. The whole cafeteria goes quiet. Some of the other teachers and students quickly run over to Ms. Gregg to help her up. They perch her up into one of the seats. Mr. Callaway ushers us students out of the cafeteria. While we are walking out of the cafeteria, I see paramedics walking through the front door.

“I can’t believe that actually happened,” Jasper says quietly.

“Yeah, one minute she was walking around, the next she was being wheeled off by the paramedics. Wait a minute, Dina, how’d you know she was going to fall? We were all the way on the other side of the cafe?” Erica asked me.

“I-I don’t know. I literally just had a feeling. It was like I saw it happening before it actually did,” I say in a confused tone. Jasper and Erica look at me like I’m crazy.

“That doesn’t make any sense, are you sure?” Jasper asks me.

“Yes I’m sure! I wouldn’t just make something like that up,” I blurt out.

“Okay, okay chill, don’t take it too serious. It was probably just a coincidence. It’s not like you have super powers . . . or do you?” Erica 293

laughs and playfully punches me on my arm. “I guess it probably was a coincidence but I mean it would be pretty cool to have powers, you know how much cool stuff I can do with that!?”

We all laugh as we split up to go to our next class. While I’m sitting in geometry I think about what had happened in the cafeteria and question if I really do have powers. The loudspeakers crackle as Mr. Philips, the principal, murmurs, “I can’t believe that happened.

Do you know what could happen to our reputation if this gets out?!”

Principal Philips says as he probably doesn’t know that the speaker is on.

Moments later he comes back on the speaker and frantically tries to explain what he just said. “Good afternoon, students and staff, you probably heard what I just said and I am here to assure you that you have nothing to worry about,” he awkwardly chuckles. “Many have probably heard about what happened to Ms. Gregg today in the lunchroom. Sadly she did fracture her ankle in the fall but is expected to make a full recovery. It would be best if you don’t share this little accident with the public on the school’s behalf, thank you and have a wonderful afternoon.”

Mrs. Thomas, our math teacher, continues talking to the class about the assignment while I take notes in my notebook. Forty-five minutes later the final bell rings which signals that it is the end of the day. I make my way to the front of the school to wait for Jasper and Erica so we can go to Paula’s Diner (aka Erica’s mom’s diner). We love going there mostly for the free food from time to time given to us by her mother.

The place is always filled with truckers and construction men taking their afternoon break. We sit down and reflect on the events that happened today.

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Remains

by Janae Jones ft Keyanna E.

Hello there. My name is Lea and I’m 26 living alone in rowdy Chicago.

You may be wondering why I am alone. Well, other than my siblings being grown and having their own lives to live, my parents were killed in a shooting incident. Ten years before today to be exact. It was a pretty vivid night. Around 53 degrees, it was lightly raining outside. I lay on my warm and cozy bed while reading a book. My parents were downstairs enjoying a movie after we had just - not too long ago finished eating dinner together. I went from hearing raindrops faintly hit my window to suddenly hearing ruckus occurring downstairs as I listened to the loud sounds that were coming through the thin walls. I heard my father panting to the shooter.

“We don’t have anything, we don’t have anything.”

Then, suddenly, one blaring gunshot is let out. I was horrified.

As I’m still being attentive I can make out the sound of my mother bawling her eyes out for about 45 seconds. A second gunshot is let out. The amplification of the bullets made my stomach turn. Moments after, it was silent. The silence was so crisp I could hear my own heartbeat. But - fast forward - I waited until I knew for sure the killer of my parents was gone before going downstairs and seeing the brutal scene. I urgently called the police and minutes later I witnessed both my parents’ lifeless bodies being taken away from me on stretchers.

Present day For work I am a mortician. I decided to take on this job because I want to help families with the healing process after losing someone.

I do this by ensuring that their loved ones are in good hands and all their legal requirements and wishes will be considered. It’s 10:27 am and I’m waiting for my best friend Marie to arrive at this breakfast diner we’ve been wanting to try for a while now. Me and Marie met as seniors in high school and we’ve been inseparable ever since. There isn’t a day when you see her and not me and vice versa. Marie is never on time and so I got us a table. A waiter arrives shortly and brings along two menus, a refreshing tall glass of water with a lemon afloat, 295

napkins and utensils to start us off. Finally Marie decides to join me at 10:35.

“Hey,” Marie said.

“Girl, what took you so long,” I said.

“I could not find cab service for nothing and so when I finally decided to drive here I perceived that my tank was close to being empty and so I needed to stop for gas,” Marie responded.

“I’m famished, this combo sounds delicious.”

“Where the hell is the waiter?”

Just as Marie said that, he magically appeared in front of our booth.

“Good morning and welcome to East Egg Cafe. What can I get you ladies to eat today?” he recited in a cheery tone.

“Good morning, and can I get the double stacked French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage with a side of mixed berries and the medium French vanilla East Egg Cafe special smoothie?”

“And for you?” the waiter asked.

“The waffle and bacon combo, a side of toast, a lot of butter please with a large black coffee.”

The waiter takes down our orders, recites them back perfectly and then informs us that the wait would be about 10 to 15 minutes. As the waiter walks away towards the kitchen, I spark a conversation.

“So how’s work at the hospital been?”

“Stressful.” Deep sigh. “Haven’t gotten much sleep working these long 11 hour shifts. So many patients come in. I had about seven kids come into the hospital with high fevers and then close to 15 adults with heart and breathing problems. It gets draining when no one cares to ask me how I am feeling when I’m trying my hardest to hope for so many people.”

“Maybe you should take a break. Then it would be the best decision mentally and physically for you.”

“Hey ladies, here’s that double stacked French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage with a side of mixed berries and the medium French vanilla East Egg Cafe special smoothie for you and your waffle and bacon combo with the side of toast, lots of butter and the large black coffee.”

In unison we say “Thank you” and both giggle.

We pray over our meals. “Lord God, Heavenly Father, bless us and these Thy gifts which we receive from This meal Jesus Christ, our 296

Lord. Amen.”

We then grub on our meals, syrup dripping from Marie’s lips and noticeable jelly stains on my baby blue top. Spills of coffee on the table, crumbs from toast scattered on the floor around us and egg remainders sitting on the plates that we stacked so they can be picked up by the cleaners.

Before we know it, it is now 12:15 and Marie has to get to work by 1:30, as I do - the same but around 2. I pay the bill, placing two twenties, seven singles and about 80 cents on the tab. We both arise from the table and head towards the exit and walk towards our vehicles.

“Bye, I’ll catch you later.”

“Love you, Lea.” “I love you, Marie.” We scream at the top of our lungs out of our windows while each of our cars disappear out of sight, because we’re going down opposite exits.

Marie’s Point of View It’s now 1:28, two minutes before I clock in and so I assemble myself to start the first hour of my ll-hour shift off strong. Washing and sanitizing my hands, then applying my gloves, buttoning up my lavender colored scrubs, slipping my feet into my zebra-printed Crocs, ready for the day, I clock in. It’s surprisingly a tranquil day today, not a mob of patients in the waiting room, not a gang of doctors rushing up and down the long freezing hallways, not even piles of paperwork on my desk in my office that need to be filled ASAP. I might have spoken too soon or the silence was too good to be true because as I was strolling down the hallway to my office I rushed to deliver a baby.

Running from the hallway—from my desk—to the steps, to the first floor, I rushed to the main desk to pick up the pregnant patient.

The patient on the wheeled stretcher looked out of breath and was panting for help for her and her unborn baby tearfully. She looked very distressed and frightened. Three other workers and I are pushing her along the long hallways. It felt like forever, almost as if time was frozen and everything was moving in slow motion.

“Information on the patient?” I questioned.

“Her name is Nicole. She is of Afro-British descent, 24 years old, 5 foot nine, weighs 127. She is eight months pregnant. Her due date is supposed to be Aug. 12 and her heart rate, as of right now, is 55.”

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“Okay, code OB, let’s get her to her room quickly,” I panicked.

We finally get inside the delivery room and I get her on maternalfetal medicine and get her under monitoring.

“All right, Nicole, I need you to try to keep calm and focus on your breathing while I go and get the tools needed to move on with your delivery,” I uttered.

“Can I please get some water and I’m having some major back pain.”

“Would you like some epidural?” I questioned.

Barely conscious, Nicole responds yes.

As I walked out of the room I ordered one of the other workers who was helping me with Nicole to go and give Nicole her requested epidural to help reduce the discomfort in her back . . .

“John, go and access our patient and treat her with some epidural,” I ordered.

“Ok, I’m on it, Marie. ” Six minutes passed, and I’m back with Nicole who still looks like she is in excruciating pain.

“Did someone not come in and give you treatment?”

Nicole shakes her head from left to right.

“Excuse me, please,” I responded.

I jet to the hallway where John is enjoying a cup of coffee. I smack him with the clipboard in my hand, then jet back to Nicole to treat her properly. I come back and Nicole’s heart rate has dropped down by 10 due to such low heart following protocol Nicole must start pushing out this baby or we lose them both. Time is ticking.

“Hey, baby, Nicole I’m going to need you to start pushing.”

“What? No, it’s too early,” she said in panic.

“Okay, I understand that you’re scared but I will take every step with you now. When I count to three I will instruct you to push.”

“1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . Push!”

“ARghH.” “1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . Push.”

“One more time.”

“Oh, my back, I can’t do this. I can’t breathe and my chest is tight.”

“Am I going to make it?”

“Yes, Nicole,” I say, so as not to worry Nicole.

I started to panic when I noticed that the baby’s heart rate was 298

very faint while Nicole’s heart rate was now drastically dropping.

“I’m losing her!” I screamed “Nicole, please keep your eyes open and keep responding to me.”

Nicole is showing signs of a heart attack . . .

“Help! I need help in room 276,” I wailed. Not a single soul came running through the door of this room.

BEEP BEEP BEEP Was the tune coming from the monitor after losing both Nicole and unborn baby girl Niccolette?

Tears roll down my eye and then glide downward towards my now-blushed cheeks. I remember I’m still at work and so, even though I’m distraught from not being able to save the day today, I have to do the next steps of protocol after losing a patient.

“Transfer Nicole to the morgue unit please doctor Faith, thank you.”

Back at the morgue It’s so sad to see other women down here. You’d think that working in a hospital you’d see more lives saved than lost. Her name was Nicole, she had a whole life with her unborn child to live. Died from heart failure during premature labor.

Prepping the body for the autopsy a man walks in in tears, I already knew he was here to say goodbye to Nicole. Surprisingly I didn’t think anyone would let him down here so soon.

“Hello, I’m Lea the mortician at this hospital. I’m so sorry for your loss. If there’s anything I can help you with, let me know.”

I said my piece and stood quietly, waiting to see what he’d say. Just a whisper from him he spoke, “She was my world, and our little girl went just like that.”

“Yes, this is tragic and life is very spontaneous; you never know when it’ll just take you away. They are both in a better place.”

As I spoke, his tears became heavier and his breathing louder.

“They are not gone, I swear, just sleeping.”

He giggled in between breaths. “How could this happen, how could I not get a chance to say goodbye?”

“Well if you need a moment I’ll give it to you.”

I walked out to give him a moment of privacy. About 15 minutes later he came out, tears wiped and he was smiling. He said, “Thank you,” and walked away.

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I returned to the room, unsettled and disappointed to see Nicole lifeless on my table. But all the more reason for me to get back to work. I don’t know what came over me while analyzing her. She looked so alive still. I couldn’t help but to grin at her too. I walked to my desk and opened the top drawer and picked up a feather from medical school. This feather was used to help people cope with the death of their lost ones, helping them to realize they are gone. They’ve moved on and such. I have the urge to use it. I tickled Nicole’s nose and her ears and she remained still. I tickled her feet and the side of her arm too; still nothing. I tickled her belly last to give this baby some attention too. I felt strange, so I stopped. She was so peaceful.

I decided to pack it up early today. So I put the feather back on my desk, collected the last of my notes and headed out the door to meet Marie upstairs. I know my friend must be taking this one hard. I know how much she cares.

On my way out the door I took one last look at Nicole before shutting off the lights. Walking down the barley-lit halls I heard giggles of a child and footsteps of an adult. No one but me is ever in the morgue. Instantly I knew the tickle test worked again. Both Nicole and her baby woke up long enough to follow the light. I smiled down the hall, knowing that the man must have said all the right things to comfort them as well.

300

The Day That Changed Everything

by Jordan Mayers

It’s funny how one day a letter can come in the mail and change your life. But, I guess today was not my day.

“Dear Miranda, we regret to inform you that you are not what we are looking for in a candidate for the Canvas Art Institute. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Thank you for your time.”

My mom looked at me with a look of despair.

“I am so sorry, sweetie.”

She reached for me, but I rushed away and said, “Not right now, I need some space.”

I walked up the stairs with thoughts racing through my mind. I can’t believe I thought I could do this. I should not have gotten my hopes up. Maybe I am not meant to be an artist. I went to my room and looked at all the paintings as well as artists lining my gray walls and my accent red brick wall. Looking at everything, I found myself saying, “Why did I even start art?” I went over to the painting on the wall and reached to take it down. The painting was going to come off when all of a sudden it was stuck in place. I turned around and saw a lady. She was light blue, like the people in the movie “Avatar”; she was dressed in a light brown dress and wore gold embellishment jewelry.

“Who are you?”’ I asked the strange lady.

“I am Genie at your service.”

I squealed in excitement I HAVE A GENIE!!!

“SO, do I get, like, three wishes?”

Genie laughed and said, “Aah humans, you guys are funny. I am not a genie like you see in your movies, my dear. I am a genie who helps lost souls.”

“Huh?” I looked at her in confusion.

“What’s your name?”

“Miranda.”

“Well, Miranda, when people lose their passion for something they love or find themselves questioning why they love it in the first place genies like me come in and help them find their love for it again.”

“So, let me guess, you are going to take me to some magical realm 301

to help me find it again?”

“No, I am going to take you through your memories.”

“Wait wha—”.

Genie snapped her fingers, and we disappeared into thin air.

Next thing you know, we were in a sunlit white room with light beige hardwood floors. A man with dark brown hair came in with a little Dominican girl with long black curly hair. He said, “Welcome to my new art studio.”

“Do you remember this, Miranda?” asked Genie.

“Of course, I do. This is the first time I painted in my life. My uncle Sam was an artist at the time and got a new studio. He used to give me a canvas and let me paint whatever I wanted. That was the good old days.”

Genie looked at Miranda nervously and said, “Ok. So Miranda, there is one little thing I left out about this trip through your memories.”

“What is it?”

“I am going to put you in your body from back then; so you can feel everything again.”

“Three, two, one.” Miranda was now in younger Miranda’s body.

Uncle Sam brought out a mini canvas that was slightly bigger than Miranda’s body.

“What paints do you want, Miranda?” asked Uncle.

“I want light blue, light pink, purple and black.”

Uncle Sam gave them to her and said, “Have fun, Miranda, and do not mess up too much please.”

Miranda felt a sense of excitement looking at her colors and wondering what she could do with them. Miranda didn’t know where she was going with it, but she started anyway. Miranda painted the canvas with dashes of purple, pink and blue. Thirty minutes later, the canvas was a background with pink, purple and blue stripes. After this, Miranda painted flowers over it with black paint. Then, she looked at it and admired her work. She felt a sense of pride and happiness that she made this. She yelled for her uncle and Miranda showed him her work.

He said, “It looks beautiful.”

She asked him enthusiastically, “I like doing this, Uncle. Can I keep doing this?”

“Sure, Miranda.”

Then, Miranda went back into her body. Miranda felt dizzy at 302

first; then adjusted.

Miranda looked at Genie and said sarcastically, “Thanks for the warning, Genie.”

“It was not that bad, Miranda.”

“Anyway, how did it feel being in that memory?”

“It felt freeing to try whatever I wanted without thinking; it has been a while since I did that. I miss it.”

“Ok, we are officially halfway there.”

“To what?”

“You will know soon.”

Miranda rolled her eyes but went along anyway.

“Can you at least give me a hint of our next memory?”

“No, but it is the last memory we are going through.”

“Eric Garner Pronounced Dead At A Hospital After Cops Put Him In A Chokehold.”

Miranda looked at the TV in shock before she went to summer camp. Miranda felt a lot of emotions about this situation. However, she pushed them down and went on with her day. While she was walking through the halls of the summer camp, she felt overwhelmed with emotion. When she got home, she decided to let it out the only way she knew how—with painting. She painted a colorful marble background with the BLM fist logo. In that moment, Miranda realized that she did not just want to do art for fun; she wanted to do it as a career. Then Miranda was poofed back into her body and Genie brought them back to the present. Genie and Miranda were sitting on the roof of Miranda’s house.

Genie asked, “So, Miranda, why do you do art?”

“I did art as a form of therapy and entertainment for myself at first, but as I grew and saw the injustices going on in society I decided to use my art to represent something bigger than myself.”

“So, Miranda, will you continue doing art?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Genie.” The genie poofed them back into Miranda’s bedroom.

“No problem, Miranda, since it is my job and all. I hope this journey helps you continue doing art for a very long time.”

“It will.”

Miranda hugged Genie and asked, “So, where will you be going?”

“Helping more lost souls. Bye Miranda.”

“Bye, Genie.”

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Just like that, Genie was gone.

Then Miranda heard a loud banging and opened her door.

Miranda’s mom came in and started giving her a speech about how life can sometimes be hard, but it does not mean you should quit.

While her mom was trying to cheer up her daughter, Miranda looked out the window and saw a rainbow flying over the sun. She thought to herself that rainbows usually symbolize hope.

Her mom asked, “Earth to Miranda, are you going to be ok?”

Miranda answered and said, “Yes, I will be,” and for once she finally felt it.

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Magical Return to Football

by Demani Mercer

Last week, I saw an email that made me boil with joy. It showed that I would be cleared to go back to football the next season. I felt so happy because that meant I would return to a sport where I hurt myself. I felt so happy and filled with joy because I was gonna go back to a sport I love most. As of today, I will always remember that email to get me back to the football championship. When I was little, I injured myself and I couldn’t even finish the game, and it cost my team our football championship. So I got a chance to watch my team win it back but they failed. So one day me and my team will get it back because we are the longest-reigning champion of 277 days. And when we get it back, we will become three-time champions.

When it comes to seeing news that will make you happy, you just want to tell people that you know. The thing about leaving and returning is that when you leave you feel like you won’t come back, kinda like going into retirement. But when it comes to returning it is like coming out of retirement and getting to your main goal once again. A friend once told me that the more you believe in yourself, the more you can think about getting to a goal that is important to you.

And you know what people say: Don’t talk unless you can walk the walk. Some people believe that when people dream something, it won’t come to reality. I am one of the most dangerous players in history. My two wins proved it and soon it will be three. Like I mentioned, I’m the longest-running champion of 277 days.

This was my division and my evolution. There was a reason why I was the most dangerous. I’m the blackprint, the standard, and the best of the best. I believe change is a greater good because people have dreams of being champions or getting something that you really want. Things change for the better and the better is to accomplish those dreams, and I already lived it and I will do it again soon enough.

305

Nighttime Hysteria

by Nicholas Barnwell

Strange noises are no rare occurrence, especially in a house. But in mine at night, they aren’t rare. In fact, they’re guaranteed.

When the clock strikes 8, the noises don’t hesitate to show me they were just hiding, waiting for the moment I feel alone the most.

From things falling over to floor boards creaking at random times throughout the night.

Last week, on April 2, the thing that happened almost seems impossible or, “too much of a coincidence.” A can of beans fell off the counter like someone pushed it, like it got mad at us for not eating it on time.

When I ran to pick up the can I noticed it landed showing the side of the expiration date: 4/2/21. Today’s date! If that wasn’t a sign, a sign that my little apartment in Crown Heights was haunted, I don’t know what is.

My name is Nick and my nighttime hysteria isn’t hysterical, so don’t laugh. But if you insist on judging me, come live it for yourself.

Come and see that at the same time everyday, my house will speak and it won’t take no for an answer. See, I’m not mad because this is my hysteria not yours and those who fail to believe will soon fail to breathe because who’s to say your house won’t give you an eviction notice and who knows how they’ll do it? This isn’t about you; it’s about the recurring pattern of sounds that make my skin chill and my heart beat out of my chest.

“You’re hearing things,” my parents said, like I’d make this stuff up as if they were completely oblivious of what’s going on in their own home.

Is this all in my head? I asked time and time again even though I knew the answer but because everyone around me couldn’t hear it I felt as though it was all in my head. Was the house after me? Was it something I did, or said?

Was it strange that these noises only started to appear once our family decided it was time for a remodeling?

That’s it! The poor house just wants to be left alone.

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“Dad!” I yelled. He replied in disgust, “Yes, son,” with me making the assertion “WE CANNOT REMODEL THIS APARTMENT!!!!”

“Why?” he asked, looking at me as if I was in delirium. You have to listen to me. I pleaded that our house is haunted and it’s only wish is that we do not change a thing about it. “Yes and it’s only wish is that we don’t remodel it. Wow, ok son, you’ve convinced us”.

There is nothing sarcastic or funny about this; you have no idea what I‘ve been witnessing, things like random falling of objects at specific times—crash—and just like that a wanky light bulb that was in the ceiling comes down with a face shattering into pieces. In utter shock me and my dad jumped up waking up my mother as well, “What the hell was that?” my father asked.

My mother looked at us in disdain yelling, “IT’S 1 IN THE MORNING.” “See see,” I said as I was still trembling in shock. “You can all see for yourselves now.”

“That lightbulb was barely holding on; what makes you think this house is haunted?” asked Dad. Yes maybe it’s normal for light bulbs to fall but not one with a note in it that read “Leave me alone or leave.”

“What are you talking about?” my dad asked. (I gave him the note which had fallen out of the lightbulb when it broke.)

“Ok, but what does any of this have to do with y’all interrupting my sleep?” my mom said, completely disregarding the thing I just said like it was irrelevant.

“Mom you ju—” “No, you don’t get I WAS SLEEPING GET OUT OF OUR ROOM AND PLAY YOUR GAMES ELSEWHERE.” “Dad, come on, you gotta believe me.”

“I think you’ve taken this too far, Nick. Time to end this madness.

I don’t know how this note ended up here but it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we’re remodeling the house.”

“I thought this is what you wanted. For years you’ve been begging us, harassing us on how your room wasn’t big enough, how you wished you had a bigger room and now that you get the chance you don’t want that to happen anymore.”

“This conversation is over; your mother is right. You’re getting suspicious over every little thing jumping to stupid conclusions.”

“This is real life and in real life houses don’t give you hidden 307

secret messages telling you to get out because it doesn’t wanna get remodeled.”

“See how crazy that sounds because it is.”

Leaving in disappointment, I knew that there was nothing else I could do to convince them. I felt that all hope had been lost and somehow I had to save us alone.

Sometimes people can’t see what’s right in front of them Just like our Justice System sometimes the obvious isn’t enough.

Crazy to think some people believe that Derrick Chauvin is justified in the brutal murder of George Floyd and blame his death on his drug use.

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Untitled

by Md Abrar Chowdhury

There was once a peaceful society separated only by the treaty made between the Minatoma and Mori clans. As these were the only existing clans on Earth, they always had a rivalry because of limited resources and sheltering from the demons that existed on the planet. They were called the Oni Kitsune and they are wretched creatures that often tried to trick the humans into taking the burden of purgatory. In this world, it is run by a mysterious god called “Yomi” and she exists in the 8-Jigen. We are in the 3-Jigen so we can only comprehend things that are in this 3-Jigen and cannot process anything that is after the 5-Jigen. These barriers allow this god to create and destroy the Human-Jigen without getting affected by all the chaos that she causes.

She is seen as a heartless god that eats and obsesses over the pain and suffering of humans. She created this Jigen in order to create the forbidden fruit that gives her the power that she desires. You see, the Oni Kisunes were once immortal humans that cheerfully roamed the earth, as one of god Yomi’s projects. As time went on, Yomi realized that immortality didn’t generate enough energy to fuel her Forbidden Tree.

The moments of happiness were decreasing because all of the humans achieved all their goals and they had nothing left to do. They were the first Sedai of failures. They were doomed to purgatory and many other attempts of creating worlds only led to disaster until she created someone that piqued her interest. By pure luck, she created an individual who had powers that allowed him to gain immeasurable amounts of strength and he dominated the 3rd Sedai. He created fear and tragedy in human’s lives and he finally gave her the secret. She finally found what fueled the Forbidden Tree. only emotional pain and tragedy fueled the Tree fast enough for her. So what she did was create a 4th Sedai, one designed to only cause sadness, and the cycle of hatred began. She used this idea in the last and final Jigen that she can create. Reasons were unknown for why but this final world is her last chance to gain what she so desperately needs.

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The Prologue In the world of the 4-Jigen, there are Oni Kitsunes that roam the earth. Oni Kitsune is derived from the Japanese word, demon and fox. For these are some vile creatures, they use tricks and gimmicks to try to finesse their way into a human’s mind to force them to pass on their burden. The four main Kitsune are the first people who were blessed with immortality. They were also the first ones that gave up on their lives by trying to kill themselves. One tried burning himself alive, one tried drowning, another tried jumping off a cliff and, lastly, one got hit by lightning. These attempts bounded their powers that would get and give to the humans. In return, they will get the death that they wanted, and in the afterlife, if it exists at all. If only they realized what type of person they made a deal with. To the world’s knowledge, Yomi the goddess of the world, is a selfish, narcissistic goddess that only cares about power. If only they knew the full story . . .

Chapter 1 The name who no one knew, but soon, everyone would. Kai, the son of the Shoji, who sold dairy products to the local grocery vendor, was in for a surprise. Kai was born in Fukui, East County in the lower region of the earth. Kai was born to outsiders, the reasons for why they exist are unknown but there were rumors that they began to appear. Legend has it that Oni Kitsunes had preyed upon a Mori clan member and was transformed into a human, while that person got the power that would later fuel generations of ascendants to the flame.

With this person gaining the ability to empower objects with lightning, other clan members had grown greedy for power and made a deal with the tricksters. They thought they would gain strength, but instead, they were eviscerated from the planet. People soon found out that there are only a few true Kitsunes upholding their abilities to transfer power to humans. These were quickly named The Originals, strong Kitsunes who are not done with their life on Earth. Although they wanted their suffering to end, they were very grateful for the life that Yomi gave them and were prepared to find out what her goal was and find a way to fulfill it. Kai, being extremely poor, had dreams of being strong and becoming a strong warrior and protecting the Mori clan’s royal members. Even though he had little to no chance of actually even making it to the academy, he tried his absolute best to train and work hard to become the greatest.

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Chapter 2 “Father! Father! Get up! There’s a huge spirit outside!” Kai said. He came back from refreshing their milk stock so his Shojen can easily sell his milk the next day. He wasn’t prepared for the gigantic Oni Kitsune, who spewed of dark energy and devoured everything in which it came in contact. This Kitsune was not counted for in the mythology of their world. They were really confused at what they were seeing. “ KAI! Stay back, he’s probably a mere trickster trying to trick us into giving in,” Shoji said. They were quite familiar with these normal Kitsunes, those who promise them a fortune in exchange for a small price. That small price being that they owe them their soul after they die. Of course, neither the fortune nor the small price is legit.

That’s just how they are. Tricksters invested in seeking peace in their life. So much that they would rather have someone else take their spot in this empty and boring life. If only this Kitsune was JUST a trickster.

Kai wouldn’t be scarred for life and he wouldn’t have gone down this road. This sad reality would soon change his life. FOREVER . . .

Chapter 3 “Come out, come out wherever you are! HA! Hiding in a shack isn’t going to stop me! HAHA,” the Dark Kitsune said, as he destroyed what little home they had left. At last, he finds them hiding in the backyard and he comes to Shoji and says, “It’s your time, Shoji. You have hid from us for 30 years. You have to take this burden. THE BURDEN OF DEATH. Shoji then faces towards Kai and tells him to hide behind the little garage they had at the back. He starts glowing a very dim purple with a fading aura covering his body. Kai catches a glimpse of this and he immediately remembers a story his father told him. A story about a gallant who bravely fought against the Kitsune and who was the descendant of a power holder. He protected everyone and, when it came his time, he had a child to whom he transferred his powers. With the power of evolution, this child would get his father’s power but also a surplus of abilities through the previous users’ experiences. With this said, he also gains their knowledge of the beginning of time and the truth of the world. The only way to trigger this power is common knowledge between the power holders.

I wonder why his father was glowing . . .

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Chapter 4 “Kai. I’m sorry. Up until now, I only thought about your welfare but I knew this day would come. The day where my past catches up to me.

I was selfish for keeping this from you. I just wanted you to have a normal life. One where you don’t carry the burden of our existence.

In time you will learn to master this power and I hope you can be the one who can change this accursed world.” Shoji says his last words sobbing as he unleashes his latent ability. His aura grows as large as his weakened power can go. He protected Kai with a shield and fully blasted the Kitsune with a purple beam of light. Although it wasn’t enough to kill the Dark Kitsune, he weakened him and he fled. “NO! FATHER!” Kai screamed. Kai then loses the most important person in his life. He then feels this immense pain in his heart. The feeling of loss. The emptiness that would soon change his life. He starts crying.

He sits there and lets out all the air in his lungs. “Father. Why? I promise you. I WILL FIND THIS POWER. I’ll master it. I’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. THAT TRICKSTER WILL PAY. WITH THEIR LIFE.” Kai angrily spoke. He had a plan. He would kill him and take his power and create his own clan. A clan that doesn’t care about what family you were born in, one that didn’t care about if you had powers or not. A clan that fights and helps achieve his dream.

He sobs and then he sees strange memories. A flash that shows him a glimpse of someone’s memories. He then gets fully covered in a strong red aura. His aura is very different from his father’s, bright red fully illuminated in the darkness of the night. One that would soon be known as the color of revenge. The things he sees would fully change how he sees the world. His concept of life held no weight until this moment. He embarks on an adventure. To discover how to use his powers and start his own clan and someday capture all the Kitsune powers and take control of the world. As he is now, all power holders will learn of his existence and hunt him down and try to keep the power in only the two clans. For they know the dangers of Kai’s powers . . .

Interlude (Fast forward 1.5 years) Kai learns the basic form of his abilities and is now prepared to set off and fulfill his promise to his father. He saw most of his father’s memories and regretted all the times he harshly thought of his father.

He saw the struggles and the sacrifices his father made in order for 312

him to live peacefully. He went into Kohona ( home of the Minatoma clan) in search of allies willing to join him in his crusade. He gets into a battle between a swordsman named Itsuki. They had a very stupid disagreement and this is where he tested his strength. They battled and ultimately ended up in a tie. They made up and Itsuki said his goal was to grow as strong as the Minatoma King so he could reshape this country. When Kai was asked, he grew quiet. He told him his plan and Itsuki was shook. He agreed to join his revolutionary clan and try to aid Kai in his attempt to change the world. Itsuki and Kai fight side by side and fight off the Oni Kitsunes and soon are known as the Demon Slayer Duo. Itsuki starts to look up to Kai because of his determination and his strength. Kai was fearless and dominated all the Kitsunes. They eventually decided to head out of Konoha but one person caught their attention. There was a dark druid that went by the name Akane.

She told stories of various Kitsunes over her lifetime and she was a heavy drinker, to say the least. She murmured about a dark and scary kitsune that the clans have disregarded because of how dangerous it would be to pursue such a beast. When Kai heard of this story, he was shook. Kai knew of this beast all too well and he confirmed to everyone in the bar that this Kitsune existed.

He told everyone his story and everyone being very toxicated shrugged it off and laughed but both the Dark Druid and Itsuki were serious. Itsuki never knew his motivation for his dream and followed him because of his unshakeable determination to achieve peace. He knew the full length of the hatred from the clans and what it meant to be an outsider. You see, if you weren’t born with prestige lineage, you were treated as a nuisance to society because you were either a lineage to a Kitsune holder or just powerless. This hierarchy was so inhumane because everyone became crooked. Money and popularity were all that mattered to the people on top.

So it was for Itsuki, born into powerless people. It makes you think how much training someone had to go through to tie with a power holder like Kai. This being said, Itsuki has never gone face to face with an Original Kitsune or one that wasn’t identified like the Dark Kitsune. Akane talks about poneglyphs that are around the world that tell the stories about endeavors such as this unknown Kitsune.

The only way to find a certain poneglyph is to have the power of the Originals. Kai, not knowing the requirement for finding poneglyphs, 313

asks Akane to join his crew and set out to find poneglyphs in the land of Kanashimi. This land is said to be run by the Rejected Ones that were run out of the main nations. They are ruthless and they protect various poneglyphs that can only be read by the selected few. These people believed that the only god is a ruthless person who is just like the Oni Kitsunes and there is no afterlife. These beliefs were excerpts from ancient poneglyphs that the founder of the Rejected Ones read and confirmed. Since this would cause panic and only panic, the clans decided to run these people out of the country in order to preserve their wealth. So Kai and his new group set out to investigate these lands and hopefully find the truth of this accursed Kitsune.

Kanashimi Land 1 Kai and his crew arrive at Kanashimi after 2 months of their departure from Konoha. Kai and Itsuki are starting to warm up to Akane as they get to their destination. Besides being very strange like going into a sad backstory everytime they mention anything, she is a pretty chill person. When they got to Kanashimi, they were immediately greeted harshly by a group of rejects. They were very aggressive and even blew up half of their ship. They started fighting and, when Kai went into his base form, they were all shocked. It was said before that Kai’s aura was the color of revenge, but the poneglyphs said this color marks someone special. They start battling and Kai wipes the floor with them. He destroys all the soldiers and eventually a commander comes out. His name was Shogun and was one of the strongest soldiers they had on the island. He told them to back down but Kai was filled with determination.

Akane comes out and attacks Shogun with void arrows and they inflict no damage. She took out her Eternal Darkness Sniper and shot him in the head. They were all surprised to see that the bullet barely even laid a scratch on his forehead. He was definitely strong.

When Itsuki and Kai go to attack him, he starts to get serious and gets physical. “You will not get through here alive, you know. We are strong enough to attack the entire of Moria and possibly succeed.”

Shogun said. Moria is the home of the Mori clan. They are also said to house the two strongest power holders and they are feared by the Minatoma clan. The only reason why they are in peace is because the power holders refuse to fight each other and destroy so many lives, knowing the consequences.

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“I won’t let you beat us. We have come too far. I need to know where it is. I must get revenge for my father. Let’s go fight him, Itsuki.”

Kai shouted.

“You bet. No way will we be beaten by a small obstacle.” Itsuki replied back. So they go full force towards Shogun unaware of his abilities. Kai went for a body blow while Itsuki went for the head.

They were doing their ultimate combo off the bat because they knew he was strong. What happened next was very unexpected. Shogun punched Kai in the face and knocked him cold. He then used Itsuki’s own sword to slash him and threw a blast at Akane, and she was down.

He destroyed them all in a couple seconds. He really wasn’t kidding . . .

Kanashimi Land 2 (5 days later) Kai: “Where the hell am I? My head hurts so much!”

Akane: “Hello? Anyone there?”

Itsuki: “Why are you guys so loud?”

Kai: “ITSUKI. What happened? I’m so confused. Did he really finish us that quickly?”

Prison Guard 1: “Hey, you guys are making so much noise. You guys like getting electrocuted?”

Kai: “SCREW YOU. Unshackle us! NOW!” Prison Guard 1: “I guess so. Level 3 for you. Have fun!”

Kai: “AHHHH!! What is actually wrong with you?”

Akane: “Oh my god! Are you okay, Kai?” Itsuki: “AY! What do you think you’re doing to him? I’m gonna teach you a lesson. Watch when we get out of this.”

Shogun enters.

Shogun: “Oh, you lot are finally awake. It took you guys only five days. The other ones are longer.”

Kai: “WHAT? 5 DAYS! No way.”

Prison guard 1: “HAHA. This guy is resilient, let’s try level 5.”

Kai: “STOP IT. NOW!” Kai then gets electrocuted on the highest level meant for the animals that aren’t tamed as quickly. He then starts getting very angry. He goes quiet while he is getting fried.

Prison guard 1: “Oh no fun. He died already.”

Shogun: “Uh. He’s not dead. It’s best if you get back.”

Kai then starts seeping out red aura. He is growing his aura since the last time he has transformed. He starts growing fangs from his aura and breaks out 315

of his shackles. He fiercely punches the prison guard and makes him into chunks of meat.

Shogun: “Woah, slow your roll. We kept you alive for a reason.

We believe that you are a descendant of one of the hidden Originals.

Therefore you have a destiny to fulfill. Hidden Originals are the Oni Kitsunes that help the goddess Yomi control the people and keep the people in line, but ever since your father and an old generation rebelled against this destiny, Yomi has been creating new Kitsunes that have stronger powers and will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams. We want to stop that from happening. You will have to read the poneglyphs in this land in order for you to fully understand.”

Kai’s mind is going through so many turns that he is so confused.

Kai: “What? I— have a destiny—” Shogun: “It’s okay if you need time, the most important thing is you are worthy.”

Kai: “I think I kind of understand. I’m ready to read the poneglyphs.”

Shogun: “HA! You think you are capable right now? I’ve been training for 20 years and I can’t even make a dent into any poneglyph.”

Kai: “THEN HOW? I NEED TO FIND OUT WHO KILLED MY FATHER. THAT KITSUNE WILL PAY.” Shogun gets quiet.

Shogun: “You know, son, sometimes you need to move on.

Forgive and Forget. You have a lot of responsibilities here. You are one of the descendants of a infamous kitsune. You must read these poneglyphs if you want any of humanity to survive.”

Itsuki: “WOW! Kai you have an actual meaning in this world. I bet you feel so special! No need to brag!”

Akane: “Kai. You belong on this earth. Unlike me, you have a use for society. I hope you can achieve this dream.”

Kai: “STOP! Who said that I’m accepting any of this. I want to get revenge for my father and reshape our society. I don’t want to fight a god. I just want peace between humans and eventually to find balance in this world. Scratch that. My true goal is to find the Dark Kitsune and kill him and GET MY REVENGE.” Shogun: “You can choose to walk down that path, but what about after? You will dedicate your life to track it down and ultimately kill the Oni Kitsune. What then? This road you’re going down will only cause you pain and suffering. You need to find peace and forget this accursed monster. For you have the power to change the world . . .”

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Chapter 5 (Kai and his team train in the boot camp that the commander had placed them in, each to master their ability and strength. Kai, being the most determined, trained overtime and showed the most progress.

They go through battle-ready combat and exercises for about nine months. By this time, Kai and his team have grown exponentially stronger and now fight Shogun to test their strength.)

Shogun: “Let’s see how strong you guys have gotten since the last time.”

Itsuki: “You won’t beat us this time.”

Akane: “We got this. This reminds me of the time when my entire family was slaughtered and I had to watch as it happened.”

Kai: “Itsuki, Akane. You know what to do, it’s time.”

Kai and the rest go into a newly-developed formation and attack Shogun strategically. He is so surprised to see that there are no openings and he sees Kai’s new form. Now Kai has full wings and a dragon’s head growing on his aura. Kai has really been training. He trained nonstop and you can tell by the way he carries himself that he will achieve his goal. They attacked shogun with an attack where he couldn’t block and they destroyed him in one move. Akane threw dark poison to make him vulnerable to other attacks while Kai and Itsuki, did their duo move but this time, 100 times more powerful. After this, Shogun nearly got knocked out and was impressed. He finally allowed Kai to try to read the poneglyphs. He had informed him that this specific one told the story of the Dark Kitsune. The one he swore to kill to his father and gain the power of. He goes to the poneglyphs and he focuses his aura towards the key and gets a flash of the Dark Kitsune’s history and the secret of the world. This vision also showed where his hideout was. After he sees it all, he silently walks up to his crew and tells them, “We are going, we have a destination to get to.”

They knew what he wanted to do but were confused about where they wanted to go. He finally knew the identity of the Dark Kitsune. He sets his way to Moria Island. Home of the Mori Clan . . .

Final Chapter Kai and his crew set off to Moria Island to go fight the Dark Kitsune.

Kai still hasn’t revealed to his crew who this power holder is. They are so confused as to why they are entering this island but they will soon find out.

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Kai: “Listen. The Dark Kitsune is a power holder. Someone of immense power in the Mori clan.”

Itsuki: “Whoever it is, I know we can beat them. We will follow you to the ends of the world.”

Akane: “I agree. We have come so far. We have gotten so far with each other, we will finish it together.”

Kai: “Thank you, guys! I haven’t had too many friends in my life and my father was the most important person in the world. He didn’t have much, but he did give everything to me.”

As they get to Moria Island, Kai reveals who the Dark Kitsune is. It is the King of the Mori Clan.

Itsuki: “WHAT? THE— KING—” Akane: “He is too strong, Kai. Even with our power, we cannot defeat him in such a short time.”

Kai: “If you guys don’t want to come, so be it, I’ll go alone. I would rather die than let my father’s killer roam this planet.”

Kai zooms past them and heads straight towards the royal capital.

Itsuki and Akane follow behind him but are slower because they don’t have the same ability as him. He gets there and wipes out all the guards.

He reaches towards the royal knights. He reminisces back to when he wanted to be just like them. Protect the king and make good money to support his future family. Such an innocent dream. One not filled with emptiness and sadness. In one instance he lost the only person that mattered to him. He wanted to be strong and have a meaningful life. Now he chases this path of rogue life, and he will soon try to kill the person who he wanted to protect. So as he completely demolishes the royal knights, he destroys his future dream and permanently leaves his past behind.

Itsuki and Akane finally reach him as he heads towards the Kings mansion. There a ton of soldiers but they have his back and help defeat them all. He slowly gets closer and now the entire Island is on lockdown. “All soldiers. There is a threat at the King’s mansion!” blares the loudspeaker that is placed in every district of this island.

The three commanders come out and they are not playing. It is not very often that someone challenges the king. They are not to be trifled with and one of them is even a power holder. He holds the Lightning Kitunes power and is one of the strongest commanders in the Mori clan. Itsuki takes him on and Akane takes on the other two while Kai advances forward. He finally meets the person who killed his father.

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The king turns around and tells him something. He tells him the reason why and it makes him even angrier.

The king says, “I did it because it was fulfilling my mission to the goddess Yomi. She wanted it, so I achieved her goal. That’s how this life works, you do what you’re told and move on.” He immediately rushes him and goes all out towards the king. He goes to his half form, and shoots fireballs at the king. The king stops all the fireballs and fully transforms. This time as a power holder and not the Kitsune itself. He attacks Kai with his Dark sword and keeps at him no matter what. He has the full mastered form of the Kitsune. He has 9 tails and the face of a fox.

As he attacks, Kai gets weakened heavily. He is not strong enough to defeat this beast, for this monster had a steady power holder for too long. Kai’s mere two years is not enough training even for his stature. The king holds a sword against his chest and slices him. Kai falls to the ground and lays there. As he loses consciousness, he is met by a dragon. This creature tells him that he needs to unlock his power in order to beat this Kitsune. He gives him a key and he unlocks a door that leads to his mind. It turns out that Kai is a power holder to this mystical dragon instead of a Kitsune. He becomes one with the dragon and gains his final form.

So being one hit away from death, he transforms into a full dragon aura. He gets up and proceeds to attack the King. He punches him and knocks him off his feet. The King already knew what was happening.

He had read the poneglyphs. One about a dragon who gave powers to humans to fight against Yomi’s vile creatures. He was Yomi’s longlost fiancee. The reason for Yomi wanting all this pain and carnage is because she wanted to release her fiance from the underworld in her Jigen. For she was a god in the 3-Jigen, she was a mere orphan in her own Jigen. The reason why she was named Yomi is because her sole goal is to reunite with her fiance. She has an attachment issue that started as a child and when she met him, separating is the last thing on her mind.

Until one day, Ato was taken by the almighty god of their world and demanded that she give him what he wants for Ato. So knowing this, The king refuses to lose against the power of anyone. What he doesn’t know is that Ato wouldn’t want this. He has given this mystical dragon power because this pain and agony is not fair for the humans.

He sends this message to Yomi hoping that this would reach her and 319

for her to try other methods. So as Kai rises and fights against the King, he not only fights his own demons, but the ones created from this sadistic world. He will not lose. He creates one final attack as he is bleeding out. He does the same blast his father did before dying. He creates a supernova-like blast and finishes the job. He gets rid of the King. He gets his revenge for his father. As he bleeds out, he reflects on his journey. He had created amazing friends and although his father died, the journey to getting revenge just made him feel whole, but he was not finished. He had not finished his full oath to his father.

He has gotten ridden of only one corrupt king and his journey has not ended. He gets up and patches his own wounds with his aura and as he falls, Itsuki and Akane come to catch him. He is not dead. His goal isn’t either.

To be continued . . .

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The Teenmunks and the Mysterious Voices

by Kamille Forde

It started as a normal day, and Pepper was walking towards her school H.S.F.T.A. (High School for Talented Artists). And she was about to meet up with her best friends Kara, Auggie, Olivia, Jenny and Mike.

They were waiting for her at the nearby bike racks, as they were about to head into their first class.

“Hi guys,” Pepper greeted them with a wave and a smile.

“What’s up, girl?” Kara asked.

“How’s it going, Pep?” Mike asked next.

Pepper rubbed her neck. “Weirdly okay, but . . . ” “But wait, Peppy? What’s the matter?” Olivia asked as she was putting on her jacket.

“Well, this morning was crazy when I woke up . . . ” Pepper began.

FLASHBACK to this Morning At the Clarkson-Brooks’ house, Pepper had woken up and started getting ready. She was wearing a pink/dark purple denim patchwork dress, a white shirt with black flats. As she walked down the stairs to get to the kitchen, she noticed something strange in the atmosphere.

“Uh, family? What is going on here?” Pepper asked.

She noticed that her father, Manny, was flying. There was a light blue fog that floated around their furniture, making it impossible for them to reach the ground. He was about to watch T.V. but the furniture started to dance around all over the place.

Her father started to go up in his daughter’s face, while crossing his arms.

“Pepper, sweetheart, I would like you to explain this to me.”

“I, uh, I don’t know what’s going on either, Dad! But don’t worry, I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Pepper gulped.

Pepper began to use her pink lantern ring to create ropes to tie down the furniture and try to get rid of the fog. However some of the fog was beginning to let out, and things were going back to normal.

As the fog disappeared, Pepper started to get into the kitchen to get breakfast and head her way out.

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“Pep, wait for us!” her siblings, Bryan and Amy shouted.

“Okay guys, I’m right here. I’m just going to get my guitar.”

Pepper said shockingly. She and her younger siblings were about to leave the house and walked straight to school.

End of Flashback “And that’s what happened,” Pepper ended.

“Woah, that was crazy!” Jenny said, with a shocked face.

As Pepper, Kara, Mike, Auggie, Olivia and Jenny walked into their school, they saw many of the other classmates hanging out by their lockers, playing games, talking to each other and mostly procrastinating to getting into their class.

“Hey guys, I don’t want to ruin this but me, Jenny and Auggie have to get to advisory class,” Mike said.

“Okay, you guys, see you three at lunch with the others,” Olivia said, waving goodbye to the three.

As Olivia, Kara, and Pepper entered their classroom and started to unpack their bags, their two other friends, Rachel Ferguson and Victoria Smith, came to the table and started sitting down next to them and greeting them with smiles and hugs.

“Hey girls, how are you on this fine day?” Rachel asked.

“Nothing much. Come on let’s get to work.” Kara said, as she was getting ready on her computer, making sure no one knew her secret.

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Hero’s Heart

by Vernon Hodge

There once was a baby at an end of the river that was found by a wandering hero. The wandering hero was confused and looked to see if he could find the baby’s parents near the river. He looked for hours, but he couldn’t find the parents of the baby anywhere. He didn’t want to leave the baby alone by a river, so he decided to take care of the baby and bring him to his home village. When he went to pick up the baby there was a ripped note and a box behind him. The note had said, “Please take care of my son Dai.’’ After that the note had lost the rest of what it said. The box was locked but the key was on baby Dai’s chain, so the hero didn’t want to open it because it looked like it was meant for Dai. The wandering hero picked up the baby and the baby woke up with the biggest smile on his face, and the hero told Dai, “I’m going to be your GRANDPA Gohan.” Dai smiled with joy and Gohan took Dai to his home at Windmill Village.

A couple of years pass and Dai and his grandpa Gohan are still living in Windmill Village. Windmill Village is a small village that’s constantly windy and is surrounded by mountains. Only a couple of people live there and Gohan became the elder since he is the oldest and was once known as a legendary hero. Dai is now only six years old and he lives with his grandpa Gohan who’s 50 years old and his wife Delilah, who is 48. Gohan trains Dai to be a hero so he could travel the world and find his birth parents. Dai is not the only student of Gohan. Gohan also trains another little boy named Robin who is seven years old. Robin is the oldest, and he has to take care of his two siblings for his mom to work. Robin’s father is a white knight, so he tends to leave for important missions often. But even though he does, Robin still dreams of becoming a white knight and fighting alongside his father. Robin knows that a white knight gets important and difficult missions that haven’t been completed in 10 years. He has always thought highly of his father and never felt abandoned.

Gohan is now starting to teach them how to be proper heroes by showing them sword techniques and hero spells. Gohan doesn’t know a lot about spells, but he is a master swordsman and is famous for his 323

dragon sword technique, where it incorporates fire dragon magic and sword skills. Dai is always excited to do sword training, but he doesn’t really like spell training one bit. Dai always says, “Spell is too hard to do, let’s do sword training, it’s cooler.” But Robin is the opposite; he likes both swords and spells. Gohan decides to train them until they master all his techniques and become true heroes.

Ten years have passed and Dai is finally old enough to become a hero and is about to embark on his adventure to find the truth about his life and parents. Before he goes, he says his farewells to his family and friends that he grew up with in Windmill Village. Dai goes back home to go pack his bag with all the things he needs for his journey.

As he walks into his room, with swords everywhere the eye could see and looks like he never cleaned it once, he reminisces about all the time he spent living together with his grandfather. Dai looks at his wall. He could see the hundreds of slashes he has put on his walls from his sleepless nights training to keep up with Robin so that he doesn’t fall behind in Gohan’s training. After he is done packing and leaves his room he spends his last day with his grandfather Gohan and his best friend Robin. They have a party to celebrate how they have been training together for 10 years and have finally mastered everything Gohan taught them. Robin is also leaving the village to pursue his dream of becoming a white knight, so he decides to leave the village to join Knight Academy in the capital of the kingdom.

Even though they will both be leaving the village, they swear that they will meet up again when their goals are complete.

Before the night ends, Gohan tells them a story from when he was a great hero of a famous group called Falling Petals and how it was formed. Gohan said, “The Falling Petal was a group which was originally made up of three commoners and a prince. The prince was a rebel and used to sneak out of the castle to experience the lives of the people in his kingdom. One night he ended up in the slums where all the most dangerous people and criminals live. Word spread that a prince was spotted in the slums and he ended up surrounded by criminals. My two friends and I helped the prince escape by fighting off the criminals with our sword skills. We couldn’t beat all of them so we had to run out of the slums to the castle. After we got close to the castle, the people stopped chasing us since they saw all the knights at the front entrance. One of the knights said, ‘My prince, are you ok, you’re covered in blood?’ But the prince wasn’t worried about that.

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He just had a happy look on his face and was grateful that we saved him. The king was furious and kept a very close eye on him, but, every once in a while, the prince snuck to come and find us and we would hang out and try new sword techniques. In the end, the prince begged the king to let him travel the world and he eventually gave in, but my friends and I swore to protect his life as we traveled.”

Dai asks, “What happened to the prince?” and grandpa Gohan told him that the prince is now the current king. Both Robin and Dai jump up in confusion and both say “YOU KNOW THE KING?!”

Gohan just laughs and says, “Go to sleep. You have a long journey ahead.”

The next day Dai and Robin are at the village exit about to go on their journey. Everyone is there to wish them good luck on their adventure. Robin’s mom came and gave him his dad’s first sword and told him, “Don’t keep your father waiting for my son.” He hugs his mom and says, “I won’t.” Dai’s grandfather Gohan walks up to Dai and tells him, “This is a box and note I found when I found you by the river.” Dai looks at the note and asks where the rest is. Gohan explains that was all for today and then Dai tries to open the box, but it is locked. Dai’s confused but Gohan points to his heart and Dai finally realized that the key he had all along was for this box. He opens the box and sees a necklace with a crest that looks like a phoenix head.

Gohan looks surprised but tells him, “This is your first clue to find the truth.”

After that, Dai hugs his grandfather and says his farewells and goes on his journey, which was even harder than he expected. Gohan just looks at a Dai in the distance and says, “The world we live in is so small I would have never guessed that you were their son.”

It’s been two days since Dai left the village and he has been looking for a village all this time. He thought it would be easy, but Dai had no sense of direction at all. To make it even worse, Dai spent all his money on swords and armor instead of food. He thought it was all over till he spotted a town in the distance. He rushes over there as fast as possible to find so much food and water once he’s there. He goes to the entrance of the town, and they check to see if he has a bounty on his head. Once he got in, he saw the town was huge with many people and buildings. The town was called Alabasta, a town covered in sand and a ton of tourist attractions. They had a whole bunch of shops and amusement parks that had a cowboy theme. Dai was so excited 325

he wanted to look at all the stores and go to all the amusement parks.

Then he suddenly remembers he is starving and goes to find a place to eat. He couldn’t find a place that would let him eat with no money until he saw a poster for a bar hiring a hero to catch a wanted criminal.

Dai takes the poster and heads to the bar, hoping they will feed him if he accepts the job. The people at the bar agreed to his condition and explained the situation about the person Dai needed to find. They said that the man was named Diablo and he is gathering people to storm the capital by threatening them. The people later explained that Diablo took their son and wouldn’t give him back if the son’s father didn’t join the battle against the capital. The boy’s father was a retired commander who had military secrets and techniques, but once he retired he bought a bar in his home village.

Dai, after hearing their situation, understands what type of person he is and is furious. He tells them, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I get your son and stop this man.” After that, Dai heads out looking for this man named Diablo. Dai was searching for hours but couldn’t find any clues until he spotted a crowd of men surrounding women who looked like they were knights. Dai gets closer to hearing their conversation and hears the woman say, “I will not let you gather people to attack my king and the capital.” The man in the center says, “I’m Diablo. I wouldn’t lose to no knight and especially to no woman.”

The lady laughs and says, “No man has ever beaten me and you cowards are not going to be the first.” Diablo, in a rage, cast an attack spell and charged in with a sword. Diablo and the mysterious woman knight started to fight in the center. Diablo is losing and calls to his men to fight and, before they could move, Dai comes in with his sword and his fire dragon sword techniques to stop the men from attacking. Dai says, “It wouldn’t be fair if you all fight this woman.”

She laughs and says, ”Thanks for your help, but they could never even lay a scratch on my armor.” Dai and the mysterious woman knight join forces and instantly defeat all the criminals. It was all over, Diablo and his men were unconscious on the floor. Dai and the woman tie them up and look in the nearby buildings to see if there are any captured people. Dai finds them and tells them to hurry home before it’s late. After the people leave, Dai goes to talk to the woman, but they are shortly cut off by a platoon of knights. Instead of the knights going to collect the criminals, they rush to us and say, “They’re the traitors and it looks like she has an accomplice.” Dai 326

stands confused while the woman knight grabs his arm and tells him to come with her. Dai, with a scared look on his face, runs with the lady for hours until they could finally escape.

Dai is very confused and worried and asks the lady, “Who are you? I thought you were a good guy but the knights are after you.”

The lady tells him, “I’m Ezra Scarlet. I serve the royal family as the commander of a legion soldier that protects the royal family at all times.” Dai is still confused. “If you’re that important, why are they turning on you?” he asks. Ezra proceeds to explain that on her last mission it was a setup to try to get rid of the royal protectors to kill the royals with no problems and she needs to get back to the capital before their plan springs into action. Dai says, “Oh that’s it, I’m in and I have someone in the capital that I want to protect.” Ezra tells Dai, “This isn’t a job for you but me as a commander. I owe the king so much and I’d rather die than see him die. Do you understand how this is not for kids?” Dai says, “Come on, you saw me fight already and two is better than one. Please I want to save the king too.”

Ezra realizes she has no time to be trying to convince him not to go but instead she says if he could lay a scratch on her then he has a chance and is strong often to fight with her. Dai accepts the challenge and he gets his fire dragon technique ready. Ezra notices his technique and prepares to show him hers. They both are serious but Dai makes the first rushing in to go for the first attack but Ezra vanishes before his eyes. All he hears is a gust of wind and he suddenly ends up flying back to the ground. Ezra taunts Dai and says, “If you couldn’t block that, why even try to go?” Dai, after being hit to the ground, realizes the gap between his skill and hers but Dai just starts laughing and says, “This is fun.” Suddenly Dai becomes quiet and sprints his way to Ezra. Again she suddenly just disappears and all he can hear is wind.

Dai closes his eyes and is able to sense the wind direction and where she is going to come from. In that instant, he charges his best sword attack and swings it at full power. Ezra sees his courage and forgets to hold back. Dai was sent flying back while Ezra was just fine.

Dai laughs and says, “That was great and there is still so much for me to learn.” Ezra shows Dai her arm and Dai sees that her armor on her right arm was completely shattered. She tells Dai, ‘’You did very well against my sword technique and you’re ready to fight alongside me.”

Dai jumps with excitement but soon realizes how bad his body hurts from her attacks. Ezra felt bad so she used a healing spell to help him 327

walk. Ezra tells Dai to hurry up and they embark on their journey to the capital. But before that, they decided to set up camp for the night.

When they’re about to go to sleep, Dai asks Ezra, “What did the king do to make you such a loyal knight?” Ezra started to explain her past and her connection to the king: “When I was young I lived a life of stealing to provide for my family but once I was caught I was lucky enough to run into the king before the knights put me in jail. The king said, ‘What did this young lady do to get herself in jail?’ The knight explained all my crimes but he still spared my life because he thought I could be a good soldier based on my past and strong body. He offered to put me in knight school and take care of my family if I promised to stop doing crime. I stopped and then I trained and worked my way up for many years to be in my position and thank the king for this life.”

Then she asked Dai what was his reason to travel. Dai explained his situation about his journey to find his family and showed her the note that was with him when I was a baby. Once she saw the letter she jumped and said, “This is the paper we used in the castle which means your parents are royals.” Then she remembers 16 years ago the kingdom was attacked and they were trying to kidnap the king’s newborn baby. The king decides to send the baby off with a note and its necklace with the previous commander of the royal family guard.

They defeated the enemy but they couldn’t find where the commander was. It turned out the commander fought the leader of the attack to the death and both ended up dead. The only thing that the commander had left was a piece of the note that the king gave him in his hand.

She asked if Dai had a necklace with a crest of a phoenix on it and he showed her the one that was in the box grandpa gave him. Ezra was so happy and said, “I’m glad that I found you. It must be fate that you and I are going to save your family.” Dai is still in shock but even more excited to save the king. Ezra and Dai decide to go to sleep to prepare to fight in the capital.

After two long days, they made it to the capital to stop the king from dying but the evil knights were one step ahead. Dai and Ezra were fighting them off, but they overwhelmed them so they had no choice but to surrender. They took them to the throne where the king should be but instead it was different. Ezra, in rage, says, “Where is the king?!” The unknown man walks up to Ezra and tells her, “You don’t have to worry about him” and laughs in her face. Dai, after realizing that he was going to lose his dad and mom before even meeting them, 328

was in a rage and, because of that, the necklace started to glow. The crest was shining in the necklace and he could feel the power inside him growing. Dai looked up and focused all his newly found power on the unknown man, but the man said, “You’re not the only one that has power” and he used the same power as Dai and knocked him unconscious.

When Dai woke up, he was in a jail cell with cuffs on to stop his magical powers. In the cell were Dai, Ezra and the royal family.

The king explains that the reason that they were in the cell was that Dai’s older brother Mugen became power-hungry and overthrew his father. The king wanted to explain more but, because Dai used the power for the first time, it took too much out of him and he slept for two days. He woke up just before the knights came to bring them to the execution platform. The knights walk all of them to the outside execution platform. Dai thought it was over because he couldn’t use his sword and his time with his family was over. Then Dai heard his name screamed from one of the knights in the crowd. The voice sounded very familiar and he remembered Robin was also in the capital. He looks up and sees Robin using the fire dragon sword technique to free Dai and the rest. Robin heard about Dai getting captured by other knights so he snuck onto the execution platform. He tells Dai, “You can’t do anything without me.” Dai laughs while Robin gives them weapons to fight back. Dai gets his sword and Robin and Dai fight together to take care of all the evil knights. In a flash, Dai and Robin defeat all the evil knights like it was nothing.

The king notices the technique they used to fight and says, “That’s Gohan sword skills, he must have trained and taken care of Dai.” Dai tries to use the power he newly discovered to beat his brother but it wasn’t enough. Then the king told Dai not to use anger but think about who you want to protect. Dai tries to focus while Ezra and Robin fight his brother. While Dai is focusing, Ezra uses all her power to try to stop Munga but she hesitates because she was fond of him.

Munga takes advantage of her hesitating and deals a blow to the chest.

Finally, Dai has enough focus and shoots his last shot of power at his brother. Instead of killing him, the blast cleared him of all the evil in his heart because Dai just wanted to keep his family together, not kill his brother he just found.

A dark aura started to flow out of his body and Mugen went back to his old self. Mugen was imprisoned for what had happened 329

because he did kill tons of different people. The king made Robin’s dreams come true by making him a white knight, and he was able to go on a mission with his dad. Dai decides that, since one of his goals was complete, he wanted to travel the world and get stronger. The king let him go but let Ezra go with him to train and protect him.

After they left, Gohan came to the capital and shared his moments of Dai’s childhood with the king because they both figured out their connection to Dai.

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A Football Miracle

by Brooke-Lynn Monger

Brooklyn, New York, is where I lived during the year of 1995 when the racial dispute was going on over the African American fight with some Jewish man. Sorry, I don’t pay attention to history class, but let me tell you a few things about me.

My name is Earthen Junior and I’m a sophomore at Townsend Harris High School. Everybody knows me as the 5’10” B+ student and amazing football player—not to brag, but I could steal anybody’s girl with my rock hard abs and my 7 touchdowns at every game. My team isn’t as good of a team if I’m not there.

But that’s what changed everything, I got knocked up pretty bad after school one day when a group of Jewish kids came and jumped me, one pulling a trigger. I didn’t know them but I guess the dispute was getting to them, and anyway African American and Jewish kids were just always going after each other over it, but I had never been involved. I thought my life would’ve been over but as my grandmother said, “God will always be looking over me.” As I sat in the hospital, hand over my paralyzed legs, I wondered if I would ever be the same.

I heard a little knock on the door.

“Come in.” I whispered. I slowly turned my head as I watched this fine thick dark melanin queen walk around my bed and plant a kiss on my forehead.

“How are you feeling, baby?” she asked with a look of worrisome concern, shown with the way she curved her eyebrows. I sat up a little and smiled, I felt that large sting hit the side of my body, but all that pain was worth being close to my girl.

“Hanging in there baby, ah you know I’m staying strong for you.”

I didn’t wanna look into her eyes, she would’ve known if I was lying.

“Mhm,” she mumbles and walks to the chair and plops down.

I smirk and twist my head back to the TV. My favorite football team, the Seahawks, was playing against the Jets. Their score was up to 14, I tried to ease the pain off with some ice from the bucket I got earlier from the nurse as I strained my neck and eyes to see DK Metcalf make that winning touchdown. I shouted, “Let’s go!!” and 331

waved my arms up and down as if I was in the stands watching them.

Lynn rolled her eyes and said, “Now it’s just a game, lay down and keep quiet before your voice busts and you can’t yell ‘Let’s go’ ever again.”

I straight up ignored her; she didn’t know how bad my passion for football was. Nobody did. Someday I wanted to meet DK Metcalf, even be like him. But me laying in this hospital bed cooped up like I had a disease, I knew my chances to play were 0 in a million.

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The Small Angry Being

by Perla Morillo

Hi yea. You there, yes you, the one who’s reading this story about me!!

I am Molly. Ummm people see me as a mean person, umm, I am short but I don’t know why sometimes I throw things at people and then laugh at them. So they see me as a very aggravating person but I have a high curiosity about things. My mother Lola says that being very nosy can get me into problems at times and, well, she’s right because I should mind my business at all times. But it’s, like, me being Curious George. For those of you who don’t know, Curious George is a kid show. It’s about a man with a yellow hat that has a monkey; they are best friends. There are times where George gets curious about things, like things that go around the neighborhood. But enough about that.

Back to my mother—she is a very hard-working and determined person.

This one day at night in my backyard where my room was, I saw this light. It was magical and it was coming from the bushes. So, as I am a very curious person, I went to check it out and I saw a unicorn.

I know you guys probably think I’m crazy but I saw it and it looked at me. At first it was scared, but then I said, “No, no, don’t be scared, little creature.” I don’t know if it understood me, but it came to me and sniffed my hand and it put its head to mine. As you guys know, I am short so things aren’t complicated for me when it comes to little things. When I saw this creature I had to go back to my room because my uncle woke up. So I ran to my bedroom and woke my sister up and I told her I saw it. But she didn’t believe me, so I kept insisting she come to check it out. Sadly, she came with me and she didn’t see anything, so, obviously, she thought I was crazy. The next day and it was like nothing. I went to school and I saw some kid named Ziar getting bullied and picked on and usually, I am the class bully. But when I saw him getting bullied I got very mad and stopped everything.

It was like the unicorn changed me from one day to another.

However, everything went to normal, and when I got home I saw my dog and my cat arguing. How can I put this? I would hear them arguing, and angry but people thought I was crazy or I was sick. They 333

would literally be saying words to each other and I would talk to them to calm them down and they would argue with me. So I was like oh no, wait a minute. Then I would argue with them. So as I stay being crazy, like they pictured, I would just go on my day doing what I do. Later on, my dog Lester was barking and I thought something was wrong so I checked on him and he said he saw something white with a horn. So I ran in the house and got my camera so people could see that I was not playing around. But I never caught it so I stayed being mean and annoying and started changing everyone’s positive mood to a negative attitude. One night, my sister and I went out to see the start. Then I saw the light so I took her with me and then we saw the unicorn. It was so pretty. That was when I saw hope that I can be a better person to myself and to others. I gave my sister a big hug and said sorry for all of the things I have done.

To conclude, I know you all think that this story is supposed to be funny. I mean it is but some of it doesn’t make sense. But that’s the point. Not everything has to make sense to have a clear observation about life. My character turns out to be a person uncontrollable, but, in the end, we all learn lessons no matter what we go through to learn them. We all learn from our mistakes, and her mistake was being a person that no one waited for her to be like. But she has to learn how to value what she has no matter what is blocking her from being a better person to herself. She should always be grateful for what she has today because tomorrow it could be like if they were never there.

Just like the unicorn, the sister didn’t see it at the beginning and it didn’t leave any signs or anything to show that it was there. I hope my story motivates you to learn how to be the person that you wish to be, not what others picture you to be. (My Motivation Message.)

Molly said bye and thanks for listening to her side of the story. See you next time.

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The Red Eyes

by Mickel Prince

How long has it been? Almost nine years since I think I joined the U.S Army. Why though? I had a lot of op, why the Army? Oh right, as a kid I used to be bullied a lot for being shorter than most of the other boys and I wasn’t the kindest either but can’t blame me. I had an anger problem—when the teacher asked how they could help me I just replied, “You can’t, it’s something I got from my dad.”

I say that as an easy way out of counseling, I used to get suspended a lot back then. I mean it’s a common scene of a kid with an anger problem and bullies are not compatible. But as I got older, I got over it. As I came out my thoughts, I heard: “Sergeant? Sergeant Prince?”

“What is it, second in command, Sophia?”

“Did you hear the mission?”

“No, sorry, I was lost in thought, can you go over it again?”

She stared at me with a disappointing look in her eyes.

“You need to take your commanding job more seriously. You have 50 men under your command and if you don’t take this more seriously you’re gonna get them killed.”

“I think you’re gonna kill us before me with all that nagging you do.”

“Shut up, I’m going to go over the mission,” she replied with a slight smile.

I first met Sophia in the 9th grade. At first we hated each other and argued a lot with each other but due to me having anger issues and a superiority complex, which I did blame her for. She was too smart for her class, so that caused our classmates to avoid us and we were forced together most of the time for group activity. We unconsciously slowly grew on each other and eventually became best friends. I’m grateful to her even though I don’t say it; without her I wouldn’t have even been here or graduated high school for that matter and I didn’t have any goals or ambition but she made me join the military with her even though I didn’t—and look at me now, platoon sergeant and the salary is good too. I came out of my thoughts again to hear Sophia 335

saying: “So you understand now?”

“Yeah,” even though I haven’t heard a single word.

“If you heard, then, what is the mission?”

“You know I didn’t hear a word you said.”

“Are you ok, you’ve been spacing out a lot today.”

“Ahhhh, you’re worried about me?”

“You’re not worth my time to be worried over, whatever, I’m not gonna explain the whole mission again so basically, there’s been a number of reports from a small village in the Amazon forest about four beast-like creatures appearing out of nowhere every night and they wipe out three of the four platoons that Brazil had sent in one night and the one that survives that night did so with the skin of their teeth. So our platoon has been assigned to investigate it with five more 100 men platoons. We will be deploying at sunrise.”

“Why us though? They have six more platoons.”

“Yeah, they do but we have been performing better than all of them, so that shows us how important this mission is.”

“Whatever, we are just investigating, should be easy enough.”

“I hope you’re right, I think you should get some sleep, we are leaving early tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Good night, Sergeant.”

“Yeah, good night.”

In a blink of an eye, it was morning, I had a hard time sleeping last night for some reason, but I have a feeling that this mission is gonna be a long one. As I was about to board the transport plane: “Sergeant, the major general has ordered you to go to headquarters immediately, sir” “Okay, I’ll be right there. Second in command Sophia, accompany me there.”

As I entered the room, the atmosphere there was so serious that you could have seen it in the air.

“Sir, you requested me?”

“Yes, Sergeant Prince, I want you to know that this mission is very important and I want you to avoid fighting if at all possible. You are one of, if not the best commander, in all the U.S Army force. I still wonder why you keep refusing to be promoted to a high rank?”

“Personal reason, sir.”

“Okay, Sergent you may leave now and be a care Sergeant,” he 336

said with a kind of worried look.

From that moment onward I know that the higher-ups were keeping something very important about this mission.

It had been four hours since we had left for Brazil and Sophia asked me a question that brought back old scars.

“So how is your love life?”

“My love life huh? Nothing new, just me being single. So how is married life going for you?”

“Frank is away on a job, so Elizabeth is with her grandmother until I get home.”

Oh yeah, I forgot she had a kid now but I guess it’s best that I didn’t know that, I guess seeing her happy is enough for me. Ahhh life is a jerk.

“I think you should retire and find a life for yourself outside of the military,” she told me.

“Okay, only if you promise to retire as well. I mean you have a kid now and you should be in her life more.”

“I hate you, but ok I promise,” she replied with a slight smile.

It was a long and quiet journey after our conversation but we eventually arrived at a small village in the Amazon forest and were greeted by villagers that opened their village to us and offered us coconut water and smiled at us even though you could have clearly seen that they were suffering. Still, it was comforting to see there are still nice people in this world. As I was taking a look around I passed by the graveyard and I saw that they were still burying their dead.

It really makes you wonder what’s the point of doing good things in the world, if you just get death, pain and sorrow in return. As much as I want to help them, I can’t disobey orders to just investigate.

The plan was to prepare ourselves before nightfall. After we finished preparing I went to meet up with Sophia. I couldn’t talk to any of the villagers because I didn’t know their language so I was relying on Sophia because she was the only one who spoke the language.

“Hi commander, I think you should know this about this mission,” Sophia said with a worried look on her face “What is it, Sophia?”

“Well I was talking to one of the elders in this village and he told me a kind of folklore about a tribe that used to use magic years ago.”

“Well, let’s hear it,” I replied.

“Well four hundred years ago there was a peaceful tribe that used 337

witchcraft, they were called de duivel kinderen which means the devil children in Dutch. Due to that they were shunned by nearby villages and were avoided most of the time. But later on the deadly plague hit a tribe that was the nearest to the de duivel kinderen tribe. The plague killed everyone in the tribe, so the people started to believe that the gods were punishing them because of the de duivel kinderen—due to the fact that four tribes came to get slaughtered, the whole tribe but one little boy from the tribe that survived that night and has come back for vengeance on anyone, person, or thing that they cross path with.”

“If this is true, Sophia, tell me how is he still alive if it was hundreds of years ago?”

“Hi, I’m as confused as you are.”

“Okay, whatever, it’s just a story anyway, we have two more hours to go before we head out, and please prepare our troops, I know that we are just investigating but we must prepare for the worst. Whatever is out there wiped out four platoons in one night.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

Those next two hours passed like two seconds and we were now in the middle of a dark forest, and the sound of trees shaking from the cold night breeze and with our guns and night goggles. All of a sudden: “Sir, my night goggles don’t work anymore,” one of my men whispered to me.

“Yeah, mine aren’t either.”

My men started to panic because our night goggles stopped working and the forest was pitch black but I had to plan ahead.

“Stay calm. Sophia, hand me the flashlights and we will head back to the rendezvous point.”

At the rendezvous point there was an open space with no trees.

“Sir, what is that?” one of my men asked me with a terrified look on his face.

When I look at the direction the soldier was looking at, a pair of red eyes gazes towards us, the sight of it would send a person who is not used to guns firing at them mad.

“Soldier, aim,” I said, trying to be brave for my soldier even though I was terrified as well.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“You will pay, you all will pay for killing my tribe,” a voice replied 338

in a pitch-black forest.

“Commander, there is a pair of red eyes at three o’clock, another at nine o’clock and there is one more at the rear.”

All of a sudden we were surrounded with nowhere to run.

“Commander, what do we do?” men are screaming at me.

“Hi, whoever you are, let’s talk, ok?” I said to the pitch-black forest as a way to prevent conflict.

But as I turn my head to the right I see one of my soldiers’ fingers shaking from fear on the trigger and before I can say stop: “Bang!” the guns fired.

And there was this brief moment of silence before I heard “Kill them all,” the voice shouted.

And we started to hear growling at us from every side like a pack of wolves had found their dinner and did not plan on leaving leftovers.

As the red eyes started to come out of the forest onto the open space and the moonlight shined on it, we saw an eight or maybe nine-foot monster and its skin was so rotten the slightest touch would make it decay and the blood lust in their eyes it would make any man regret being alive at that moment due what those eyes say that was about to happen to us and suddenly they attacked with superhuman speed.

“Fire!” I yelled indicating a shot.

And all I could hear were the screams of my soldier and the gunfire.

“Commander, bullets seem to not affect them, sir,” Sophia said.

“Try RPG,” I replied.

“Sir, yes sir.”

As I was looking around to try to make sense of things I saw a purple orb in the forest glowing, so I quickly grabbed the flare gun from my gun holster on my right leg and shot it to the orb. I saw a person in, like, a navy blue gown and then he started to run after me. He realized that I saw him, so I grabbed my handgun and the flashlight and when I was about to chase him I felt a hand grab me.

“Where are you going?” Sophia asked.

“I saw someone in the forest.”

“Well wait for backup.”

“I can’t or he will get away, just trust me please.”

“Okay, just please be careful, I won’t forgive you if you let that jerk out run you.”

“Like he would,” I said with a smirk.

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After running for a while he trips and falls, giving me time to get closer to him. He tries getting up but I tackle him and punish him before he could. He tried to grab the orb but I punished him again and grab it.

“No, give that back, that’s the last magic power my tribe gave to me,” he said.

I immediately smash the orb hoping that something would happen and all of a sudden the gunfire sound stops from a distance.

“What have you done?” he yelled and rushed at me. But I punished him again and he fell to the ground.

I grab my gun and point it to his face.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Kill me if you want to because that’s all you people know to do,” he replied.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act dumb like you don’t know what I’m talking about, you all will pay.”

Wait, could the story the village elder told Sophia be true?

“Commander? Commander, come in,” I heard from my radio.

“Sophia, is that you?”

“Yeah, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, what about the monster?”

“I don’t know but they just dropped dead.”

“Okay, that’s good to hear.”

Before I turn around to tie the man up, I feel something sharp pierce my back. I turn around and realize that he had stabbed me with a knife and he was laughing.

“That knife had poison on it, so you will soon die,” he said and kept laughing.

I pistol whip him to his face sending him unconscious. I pulled the knife out my back and started to make my way back and use the trees to hold myself up as I slowly felt myself lose consciousness.

But I kept saying in my mind, “I need to see Sophia, please let me see Sophia,” knowing that I will soon die.

But I couldn’t and fell and sat down resting my back on the trunk of a tree, and I suddenly heard Sophia’s voice.

“Kevin, Kevin!”

“I left the guy unconscious a little more that way,” I said before coughing up blood.

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late.

“Stop talking.”

“I have been poisoned, so I’m already dead.”

“No, you’ll be fine,” she said as the tears ran down her face.

Tell her! Tell her you love her, tell her, you idiot, before it is too

“You know you’re ugly when you cry.”

“Please stop talking, Kevin, please don’t talk, you need to live please.”

I remember in high school whenever she looked down I called her sweet Sophia and it always made her mad but at least she wasn’t sad.

With the last strength I found in my body, I gently touch her cheeks and say, “Don’t cry, my sweet Sophia,” before I breathe my last breath and my eyes forever see darkness.

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Illusions Can Become Reality

by Justin Vargas

As I wake up to the smell of my mom’s breakfast—specifically eggs and bacon—the thought of half my family passing away hasn’t left my mind. It was mind-boggling to me, knowing that death is a part of life. My chest felt cold and empty, knowing I’m slowly but surely noticing everyone leaving me in Earth life and going to the after life. I finally get up and refresh myself by showering and brushing my teeth.

I hurry up and sit at the table and I seemingly analyze my mom. In the middle of me chewing on my pancakes I question her.

“Mommy why is everyone dying?”

She responded instantly, “Eat your food so you don’t show up late to school.”

Time flies and I’m in school and thinking of my mom getting so hesitant about the question I asked hasn’t left my head. I try to fight it out, but nothing is working. Sooner or later it’s time for me to go home. I see my mom with a bright smile on her face excited to see me.

I run to her as fast as I can and give her a big hug.

“Your cousin Riley is coming over today. Are you excited?” she asked. I immediately jump up and get hyper. Me and Riley haven’t seen each other in years. We pull into the driveway and I see Riley there waiting for me at the door. We both make eye contact and know what time it is. I jump out of the car, grab Riley and take him inside with me. As we’re in the middle of making TikToks, Riley stops me and says, “Give me a sec. I have to use the bathroom.”

“Okay,” I say.

I sit there rewatching the videos we made and hear a dark, loud, painful scream from downstairs.

“AHHHHHHHH!” I take flight downstairs so fast you would’ve thought I was a track star. I look at my mom and she is covered with dark red coloring. She stares at me with a blank face.

“Mom, what did you do?”

“Ugh, the Kool Aid spilled all over me. Now I have to wash clothes again. Oh and go check on Riley.”

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I think to myself, “Did my mom just kill Riley? That can’t be true, she would never do that.”

“Whew, that was close.”

I ignore it and just go to try to find Riley. Thirty minutes go by and no sign of him. How could this be? Riley would never just disappear.

I begin to tear up, eventually crying. Riley was like my brother. We did everything together when we met. He was the peanut butter to my jelly, the ham to my sandwich, the bread to my bacon, egg and cheese. How could this happen to me? The closet pushes open with the breeze airing out into the room.

“Riley?”

I notice a shoe that belonged to him. I pick it up and examine it.

His blood was on the bottom of the shoe. I drop the shoe and run downstairs to my mom and yell.

“YOU KILLED RILEY! I HATE YOU!” “WAIT, WHAT? I WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE!” I open the door and run, being led to Neverland. It’s 8:30 and I’m sitting at the park lonely with no one to call or talk to. Dad? Gone.

Grandma? Gone. Uncle? Gone. Aunt? Gone. And lastly, Riley? Gone.

I feel alone. Like a kid on the first day of school. Like a stray cat with no owner. Who do I call? Who should I call? Is it even worth it? I want to give up. The wind blows hard, nearly yanking the trees off the ground. My head is telling me this is a sign by the universe, but what could it be saying? The wind continues to blow. I inhale and exhale and get a lightbulb. Save yourself. I sneak inside the house and try not to make a peep. I catch my mom on the couch crying with tissues everywhere. Is she sick or was she crying? Part of me feels bad, but I can’t tolerate someone who maliciously kills people. I enter my room, close the door and lock it. The closet door opens again. The windows are closed.

“Hello?” I say.

I notice a bright beaming light bleed through the clothes. I slowly walk towards the closet in fear of a random man in my closet. I peel my clothes out of the way and see a blank room. So I walk forward and forward some more, hoping I meet an end.

“Hello. We know you’re here, child.”

Is that Grandma? My heart beats faster and faster causing me to faint. I wake up to my grandma, dad, aunt, uncle, and best friend sitting in a chair.

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“Save yourself, Steven.”

“Save yourself, Steven.”

“Save yourself, Steven.”

I look around and everyone is saying it repeatedly.

“Wha- wha- what are guys talking about?”

“Steven, you have to get out of there now and defeat your mother or else you will live this life forever without us.”

“Well, well, well. I see you’ve been snooping around, kid,” my mom says with a suspenseful voice.

“GET OUT OF HERE, STEVEN!” they all yell.

I run faster than The Flash himself. I grab the phone and hide under my mom’s bed. I can hear my mom’s heels walk up and down the hallway.

“Steven. Steeeeeven. Where are you? I just want to play. Come on out and play with me. STEVEN!” *BANG!* she bangs on the wall.

You would think it was the thunder outside. The sounds of hair tap on the window as my mom opens the door.

“Hmmm, where can he be . . . in the CLOSET?! Nope. Is he UNDER THE BED?! Ding ding ding. GET OVER HERE, YOU BRAT!” She lifts the entire bed.

I run out and kick her in the leg and dial 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“HELP! MY MOM IS TRYING TO KILL ME!” I yell.

“Kid, if you’re pranking-calling, it’s not going to work.”

“THERE YOU ARE! I SHALL FEED ON YOUR SOUL! HAHAAAAA!!!”

“Awww, do you guys hear this? The kid and his mom are playing hide and seek.”

“PLEASE, HELP ME!” “How old are you, son?”

“13. I’m 13 years old.”

“You meddling kids don’t know better these days. Do some homework and live life properly.” *hangs up the phone* “GAHHHHH!” I feel three light taps on my shoulder. I turn around slowly with a shook face.

“Any last words, little man?”

“AHHHH!” *Gasps* wait *looks around* everything is normal what the— 344

“Hey, cuzzo, wanna go get ice cream?” Riley asks.

“Wha- wha- wha- RILEY, YOU’RE ALIVE!!!!”

“Of course I’m alive, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Hey, Steven, hurry up, we’re gonna go get ice cream,” says my mom.

“Aunty, can you believe he thought I was dead?”

“The kid probably just had a bad dream. Leave him alone.”

I stare in shock and look at my mom. We both just have a staring contest. She tilts her head to the right as she steps into the room and shuts the door.

“M-m-m-mom what are you doing?” I say in fear.

Her head spins around three times. You can hear the cracks in her neck. It was cringey, like nails on a chalkboard. She jumps on top of me and chokes me and yells.

“YOU KNOW TOO MUCH, KID.” AHHHH— *cuts off scream*

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Dear Humans

by Keyarra Williams

Dear Humans, I’m writing this hoping that once my time has finally run out, you find this and believe that there are more of my kind. My name is Milly . . .

Milly Perish. I was born in 1853 and, yes, I am a vampire. I know, trust me, I know. But I am real and there are more just like me hiding. The story behind my becoming a vampire is more magical than one could possibly understand, but I’m willing to share my story.

In spring of 1873, I was at my happiest, or so I thought. I had a new best friend who I was learning so much about. My parents were happy, my siblings were growing, and then I met him. This strange man by the name of Bryce Fills who seemed so sad and alone just grasped onto me, and I felt the connection grow stronger and stronger with time. He told me everything he felt was important for me to know, such things like he was a vampire but one who controls his urges to feed. I believed him, he had a way of convincing. I began to adore him and trusted him with everything. My mistake. One day, I remember it was raining rather aggressively. My best friend Alice and I were running home and we came across him just standing there as if he were waiting. He told me, “Leave everything you know behind and come with me.” I told him I could do no such thing and that made him furious. He was so upset in a way I never seen before. He then said to me, “I guess I will have to just let you outlive them in order for us to be together happily.” And before I knew it, he bit me! Yes, he bit me, this man who I trusted and confided in bit me.

I woke up to my best friend hovering over me staring at me in awe. “No . . . no . . . no . . . how are you here, Milly? I watched him snap your neck. What’s going on?” As she continued to babble on, my mind was racing, my stomach was growling, my body felt different, and I knew he had turned me.

“No he didn’t. He wouldn’t do that to me. He knows what I am,” I whispered to myself. “I can’t be both . . . no.” Alice was just as confused as I was because, believe it or not, we both were witches. So 346

when she saw what Bryce had done to me, she didn’t expect me to be alive after.

I could still feel my magic in my system, which I didn’t understand being that I was not fully trained. “Alice . . . ALICE . . . hand me that candle please!” She handed me the candle still just as baffled as I was, and she watched me concentrate and light the candle with magic.

“How? You died, Milly . . . I watched you die, how are you still a witch?” she asked me.

I looked at her and grabbed her arm, “I don’t know.” My palm grew red the longer I touched her and Alice got weaker every second my hand was on her skin almost as if I was siphoning her powers to combine with mine. We learned about heretics and how rare they are, but Alice knew that I had become way more powerful than the ancient siphon heretics.

“How did you do that?” my innocent best friend asked me, still confused about my transition.

I was confused myself, “You’re asking me questions I don’t have the answer to . . . we need to talk to your mother. She would understand.” Alice’s mother had experience with heretics in her younger days. She fell for one who ended up being Alice’s father but, shortly after, he abandoned them both. We ran to her mother’s home trying to be discreet as possible.

“Hello, my love I made,” she started.

“Mom, listen, I think Milly is a heretic. I don’t know . . . I think she’s more than that . . . or less . . . I don’t know. Milly, show her what you did,” Alice ambushed her mother with everything that happened before I even opened my mouth. Her mother nodded, taking everything in. She let me grab her. My palm, again, got red as my powers mixed with hers, becoming more powerful than ever. The lights began to flicker and the candles all began to light up. I knew that I had just become the most feared witch or vampire or heretic whatever it is, I was . . . I knew there had to be more like me.

“Milly, my love, you most definitely are a heretic but not one I’ve ever dealt with. I need to see just how strong your powers really are.”

My mind was racing, so I stepped out for air. I needed a long break.

Despite everything that I was figuring out about my newly transitioned body, I couldn’t stop thinking about Bryce and how angry I was by what he had done to me. Just my luck, there he was in front of me. All the anger I had, all the things I wanted to say . . . just didn’t. Complete 347

and utter silence.

“Milly, please understand. I turned you for us,” he pleaded to me.

But I just couldn’t wrap my head around how selfish he was . . . that’s where my anger struck.

“You’re selfish, Bryce.” I hit him. I hit him so hard he literally bounced back. “You didn’t think about what I wanted, or how I felt, or if I wanted to spend eternity with you.” I hit him again and siphoned his vampire magic out of him, making him extremely weak.

“I’ll move on, but I will not forgive you.” I went to hit him again, but I felt that anger turning into rage. I didn’t want my powers taking over me. I knew with our magical mystical lives we would cross paths again.

Hopefully it would be different . . . no, hopefully I would be different and less angry. I decided to walk away. Alice, on the other hand, was not so forgiving of Bryce. She watched as I siphoned off of him, and she told me that she wanted what I had. She wanted to make people hurt, but the rage that I felt was unmatched. I was stronger than just a vampire. I was stronger than a witch. I was stronger than everything.

And my magic body would cause many issues in the future. It’s like I could see my future. I knew everything that was going to happen in my lifetimes. I didn’t want Alice to go through that feeling because I saw her future as well—one of my new power perks I was not very fond of.

Well, I’m afraid I’m ready for my time to end now. Just remember, there are more of me . . . I made sure of that. I live on in every siphon heretic there is. They all know the story of the original Milly Perish, and now you do too . . . .just the shorter, less violent version.

Sincerely, The strongest Milly

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Acknowledgements

In our Young Writers Publish program, 826NYC works with classes of students and teachers on creative writing projects around and beyond New York City. Ninth and tenth grade students from Academy for Young Writers explored science fiction and magical realism this spring to produce the incredibly imaginative tales in this book. I Told You Not to Buy a Robot & Other Stories is a compilation of the original work of these students.

A huge thank you to our 826NYC teaching artist, Vanessa Friedman, for creating a virtual classroom where students were able to explore different texts and experiment with different styles of writing. Your support, encouragement, and consistency helped our young writers tap into their imaginations and memories to produce such moving work, and your care in helping them brainstorm, write, and revise each week was invaluable.

We are particularly grateful to Jaclyn Reyes and Lucia Brockway for their support of this project. Thank you for inviting us into your classroom and facilitating such a smooth collaboration. Your hard work, warmth, and steadfast dedication to your students allows them to flourish as young writers and thinkers.

Thank you to our asynchronous readers who provided mentorship and cheerleading throughout the creative process: Abbey Chase, Mary Durocher, Nick Eliopulos, Erin Rose Elliot, Susan Evans, David Ewalt, Zack Fine, Amber Hunter, Aimee Lam, Ashley Paul, Holly Settoon, Kristin VanDiest, and Richard Zhang.

At 826NYC we depend on the dedicated volunteer editing and design cohort that make our publications a reality. Thank you to Harriet Provine for designing such a beautiful book for our students.

To copy editors and proofreaders Chelsea Bonollo, Sydney Bradley, Krys Giang, Dena Levitz, Nicholas Martinez, Tiana Moe, Marianna Nash, and Emily Stout for their careful attention to each of the student’s pieces, thank you.

A big thank you to The Jane Friedman Anspach Family Foundation, The Hawkins Foundation, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, 349

The Kettering Foundation, The Minerva Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, and The Resnick Family Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, for their generous support, which allows us to publish our students’ work. The program is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Thank you especially to the 826NYC staff for their behind-thescenes support of this project, from curriculum development and the book-making process to volunteer recruitment.

Finally, thank you to the students at Academy for Young Writers for taking risks with your writing and sharing your words with us.

Writing can be a challenging and hopefully fun process, and your dedication to your craft and your stories shines through in these pieces.

We are all excited to see what books you’ll produce in the future!

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About 826NYC

826NYC Location And Leadership

826NYC and The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. 372 Fifth Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215 718.499.9884 www.826nyc.org

Staff

Joshua Mandelbaum, Executive Director Naomi Solomon, Director of Education Nico Garbaccio, Volunteer and Programs Manager Corey Ruzicano, Programs Coordinator Summer Medina, Community Engagement Strategist Jesusdaniel Barba, Programs Coordinator Julianna Lee Marino, Programs Coordinator Lauren Everett, Communication & Fundraising Coordinator Chris Eckert, Store Manager

Board Of Directors

Michelle McGovern, President Ted Wolff, Vice President Ray Carpenter, Treasurer Kathryn Yontef, Secretary Michael Colagiovanni Jen D’Ambroise Liza Demby Jamal Edwards Amir Mokari Arjun Nagappan Tammy Oler Katie Schwab Danielle Sinay Andrew Sparkler Alyson Stone Maura Tierney Thom Unterburger 351

826NYC Programs Write After School

Reading and writing go together like peanut butter and jelly. Write After School students work alongside 826NYC staff and volunteers to build their reading, writing, social-emotional skills and unleash their imagination as they play and learn about the power of language. Three times a year, students revise their creative writing for publications that are printed in English and Spanish and shared with families, volunteers, and community members at celebratory readings.

Write Away Workshops

Young writers come together in Write Away Workshops to explore a multitude of genres and subjects and to develop their voices. Groups write freely and participate in imaginative writing activities and lessons.

Whether it’s a song, a piece of climate justice sci-fi, or a nature guide, young writers leave the workshop with a piece to be proud of, as well as a newfound understanding of the topic, and new friends.

Young Writers Publish

Turn your classroom into a creative writing lab. During Young Writers Publish residencies, 826NYC teaching artists collaborate with educators on creative, impactful, curriculum-aligned projects that transform students into published authors. Residencies run from six weeks to a full year, depending on the project. Each Young Writers Publish culminates in a book, newspaper, zine, podcast, film, or performance featuring your students.

Write Together

826NYC hosts classes across New York City for Write Together: an interactive writing experience that encourages creative expression, explores the elements of storytelling, and strengthens writing skills.

Elementary-aged classes collaborate on illustrated children’s books, middle schoolers choose their own adventure, and high schoolers learn the art of memoir writing during a fast- paced and whimsical 90 minute narrative program.

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Teen Writers Collective

Teens are the next generation of literary leaders. That’s why we launched the Teen Writers’ Collective. The collective brings together young writers from around the city to explore the art of writing and literary citizenship. They’ll create a community of passionate and creative peers, serve as 826NYC youth leaders, and inspire younger students and peers across the network.

Student Publications

Through our programs, our volunteers work with students to help them create stories, poems, and ’zines. Because we believe that the quality of students’ work is greatly enhanced when they are given the chance to share it with an authentic audience, we are committed to publishing student works. By encouraging their work and by guiding them through the process of publication, we make abundantly clear that their ideas are valued.

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In I Told You Not to Buy A Robot & Other Stories, a collection of science fiction and magical realism short stories by students from Academy for Young Writers, readers will meet many extraordinary characters all leading wild lives. There’s Nyota and Nariyah, twins who learn an unexpected family secret on their 16th birthday. There’s Jiska and Nobu, men who fight each other until a deep misunderstanding is revealed.

There’s a student with a magical pencil, a girl and a magical park bench, and a guy with a magical big dream. And of course, there’s the main character in the title story: Michella, desperate to save her friends and family from an army of robots! Come for the imaginative world building, stay for the emotional depth—once you pick up this book you will not be able to put it down!

Proceeds from the sale of this book benefit 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students, ages six to eighteen, with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

ISBN 978-1-948644-74-7

9 781948 644747

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