JANUARY 2015
StuCo pushes for formal Pg. 3
Volume 1 • Issue 4
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Senior focuses on Manga Pg. 6
Lady Bears battle adversity Pg. 13
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January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 1
OPINIONS
The least fulfilling time of the year The holidays are a time for friends and family to come together and have a sense of relaxation all up to the start of the new year. I know that after crunch time with finals and the last tasks the year has for us, it is nice to not have the feeling of urgency looming over everyone’s heads. After the most joyous time of the year, however, we come to the point of time when we realize all the wrong doing we have committed since January of the year before. It’s a tradition. We make commitments after the festive New Year’s party with our family. After all, the reason that we have parties on the Dec. 31 is to celebrate the ALEX survival of the year and the arrival of the next. The arrival of the next is not what we look forward to. It’s the celebration and distraction of the ending of the past year. During the party your problems all seem to disappear for the time because what’s in the past can’t be changed. No person could’ve put it better than a customer I helped out a while ago who said, “you never see all the pounds of the year and the holidays until the second day of January.” This is the part where you think, “uh-oh maybe I shouldn’t have done that last year.” The sudden realization that you need to change something in your life because you have a bad conscience never fails to present itself in the month January. There is room for improvement in our lives. So the question stands, why do we choose the first month of the year to change all the bad things? That’s a trick question with a discouraging answer in
a sense that we just don’t. We try to convince ourselves and everyone around us, but let’s be honest, we can never fulfill the change in a sudden decision after a recap of the year before. You might change your diet for a week or two, you may even buy a gym membership, but if you don’t feel like you have hit a fork in the road making you change, you won’t see any results in the long run. The New Year’s tradition of changing our lives has turned into something of a mockery. No longer are we taking it seriously and being faithful to a resolution that we make for ourselves. We simply parade VELIZ what we want to change and gain attention for it, but in reality it simply becomes a false promise. There is even a day in January called “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day” on the 17th, showing just how serious some people take their resolutions. If the need to change was truly important, then it should be up to that person to make the change and not due to the criticism from other people. If you’re not going to keep yourself in mind when creating a resolution, then why do it? We do it due to the feeling of necessity that we have to change, to give us a sense of purity and give us control over the new year. This actually backfires on us because if we don’t stick to our resolution then we feel like we have let ourselves down and have failed to accomplish anything and feel bad for the rest of the year. It is best to make a goal throughout the year when you get back into the habit of work so you have a stronger chance of succeeding.
About the Cover Photo: The varsity girls’ basketball team prays before the Conway Springs game at the Kingman Tournament. The lady bears went on to win the game 40-37 in overtime. Praying is part of the pre-game routine for the Lady Bears. (Photo by Alex Veliz)
The Sterling High School Cub Reporter and all subsidiary publications are designated forums of free speech. The print edition is published October through May of each school year by the journalism class at Sterling High School. It is distributed for no charge throughout Unified School District 376 buildings and the Sterling community. The first copy is free. Subsequent copies will cost $1 per copy. For information about being added to the subscription list, contact Todd Vogts at 620-278-2171. Letters to the editor are welcome. Email them to editor@sterlingstudentpublications. com. All letters must be signed. Anonymous letters will not be printed. All letters subject to editing for legal, grammatical and factual reasons.
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NEWS Freshmen Alley Rowland, Raegan Mantz, Kenan Comley, and Lucas Weigel laugh together at the Homecoming dance. (Photo by Kylah Comley)
StuCo leads push for Winter Formal LINDSAY GILMORE Cub Reporter
The past two school years at Sterling High School have consisted of four dances. The Student Council Mixer, Homecoming, Prom, and Morp. With Morp falling out of the dance rotation, Student Council has decided to host a Winter Formal for all students, and with word getting out about the proposed dance, most of the student body is eager for more information. “It was originally something that was talked about last year, but we never really went anywhere with the idea,” StuCo President Caleb Hendricks said. “This year we wanted to emphasize doing new things and this seemed like something that the student body wanted.” StuCo sponsor Ian Anderson said that the idea for a Winter Formal was completely brought up by the officers in Student Council. “It was a grand design by one of the StuCo officers,” Anderson said. “They know that the student body loves to
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dance.” StuCo sent a survey out to the student body and results were positive. “The results were overwhelmingly positive and for the first time in a couple of years we felt like students actually wanted to have a dance,” Hendricks said. “Its nice that they don’t just want to dance inappropriately, but to have fun with friends and have a good time.” Reasons of excitement surrounding the dance have been diverse. “I’m ecstatic. Other schools have had Winter Formal for years and I’m really glad that Sterling is finally hopping on the Formal train,” senior Solomon Dold said. “I think that a Winter Formal is going to be a fun way to get people excited for another semester of school.” Although planning hasn’t begun for StuCo, some ideas for the Formal have been suggested. “We’ve been open about hearing what it is that the students want to see,” Hendricks said. “At the end of the day that’s our job, to do the things that the student body wants out of their high school experience.”
January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 3
NEWS
Wrestlers hit the mat W
KASADY SMITH Cub Reporter
restling is easily seen as “the awkward” sport. Wrestling is more than guys rolling around on a mat. Not everyone realizes it requires constant dedication and hard work. Despite what is seen on the surface, wrestlers put themselves through a lot more than what people expect to participate in a sport they enjoy. “I don’t think people understand what we have to put ourselves through,” senior Cody Salazar said. Wrestlers express there is more to wrestling than the preconceptions. “Everyone seems to think it’s ‘gay,’ but I don’t think it is at all,” junior Zane Nichols said. “There is so much masculinity when you are throwing another guy across the mat and pinning him. It’s really fun, and it’s a lot tougher than people make it out to be.” New wrestlers also agree. “It’s not gay. It’s more than just two guys rolling around on a mat. It’s more than that. I guess it’s like a test of strength kind of. You put yourself through a whole lot,” sophomore Derek Boeken said. Some students who played basketball last year switched and made wrestling their winter sport. “I don’t like winter sports, so it doesn’t really matter to me what I’m doing in the winter. Whether it’s basketball or wrestling, I won’t care. I just wanted to do something different,” sophomore Ethan Proffitt said. Some former basketball players find wrestling is tougher than basketball. “Oh yeah, it’s terrible. Conditioning is worse in wrestling than it is in basketball. It’s like full body instead of just running,” Boeken said. Aside from the conditioning, wrestlers also have the struggle of making weight. “It takes a lot of sweat and hard work. I don’t really fast. I just cut down on portions and don’t go back for seconds and drink more fluids,” Nichols said. Some wrestlers find it is harder to make weight at the beginning of the season. “The first of the season it’s pretty hard because you have to start cutting foods. It’s more eating right than cutting. I only eat stuff that’s really good for me. I don’t drink soda or eat candy as much,” Salazar said. Some of the newer wrestlers find that having to cut food is not only hard but unenjoyable. “I actually have to eat healthy, and it sucks because I love food,” Proffitt said. “I just like food, and wrestling isn’t helping with that.” Despite all of the hard work and sweat it takes to be a 4 • Sterling Cub Reporter • January 2015
wrestler, there are things that wrestlers get out of participating. “You get a lot of stuff like athleticism, strength, speed and coordination. It’s just all around. It definitely teaches you to persevere through a lot of things,” Nichols said. From the athleticism, wrestlers agree the wrestling involves more than brute strength. “Our coach has this saying, ‘Positioning beats technique beats strength.’ If you get in a good position, your strength is going to be better than their technique. If you get in a bad position, you can use your technique to get out of it,” Salazar said. Some wrestlers claim that wrestling requires perseverance. “You can be down 10-1 in a match and you can come back and win. It’s always a sport you can win,” Nichols said. Other wrestlers agree that being a wrestler requires selfconfidence because it’s a solo sport. “You can’t lean on anyone else because you’re the only one out there,” Salazar said. Even though wrestling is difficult and requires constant commitment, wrestlers enjoy their sport. “The conditioning and everything is terrible, but once you get out there on the mat, it’s pretty much worth it,” Boeken said.
Freshman Derek Boeken and senior Cody Salazar practice wrestling techniques in Nickerson. (Photo by Kasady Smith)
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Class allows students to run businesses Juniors Kylee Cornelius and Macreedy Kocher pose with their homemade candles. (Photo
DALLAS LACKEY Cub Reporter When you think of school, you usually think of long days and homework you don’t like to do, and, in most classes, you don’t have a lot, if any, of say in what you do for projects. Teacher Brian Richter’s Entrepreneurship Class allows you to create your own product and sell it. “The class allows them to do something they want to and pursue it rather than me guiding the whole thing,” Richter said. Senior Sarah Wheeler has started Beautiful You, where she sells bath scrubs. “I like the class because making a business and making money isn’t something you would think of doing at school,” Wheeler said. Wheeler and senior Jess Roberts have expanded their businesses past just selling them to people within the school. “Now we are in the Broadway Market, and we are selling there together,” Wheeler said. Roberts makes homemade soaps, which sounds easy but is anything but. “It is very hard to make soap because if you mix it wrong it can actually be very dangerous,” she said. Last year, Stupid Moose Lip Balm busted onto the scene, and this year senior Andi Dowell is making it again. “I like it because it makes me be
by Taryn Gillespie)
outside of my comfort zone by talking and trying to sell lip balm,” she said. Juniors Kylee Cornelius and Macreedy Kocher started making candles. “I like working with Macreedy because we have similar ideas,” Cornelius said. Looking past making a product and
selling it for profit, Richter seems to see more than just making money. “The class allows them to see everything that goes into being a business owner,” Richter said. “Mainly, though, it allows them to change their mind-set and see the great things that they can accomplish.”
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January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 5
FEATURE
Manga man Finding interest, passion in comics changes senior’s life KYLAH COMLEY Cub Reporter
I
n 1970, the first Comic-Con San Diego was born, hosting only 300 attendees. Now Comic-Con International is the biggest comic book and pop culture event in the world. One of our own, Bobby Foster has been to Comic-Con three times and plans to go again this next summer.
“Comic-Con is basically just a huge celebration of everything nerd related,” Foster said. “You can find anything from anime, video games, comic books, movies, just kind of everything, and there is enough of an audience these days that such a thing can exist.” The San Diego Convention Center takes up 56 acres (2.6 million square feet) and holds the event, along with it’s recent 130,000 attendees. “The convention center is huge,” Foster said. “Like you’ll get a workout
Senior Bobby Foster poses with his favorite voice actor, Yuir Lowenthan and his wife Tara Platt. (Courtesy Photo)
6 • Sterling Cub Reporter • January 2015
walking from one side to the other.” The tickets for this annual event are extremely hard to get a hold of. “The people that have been to Comic-Con before like me receive an email saying when they are going to sell the tickets, and they sell out almost immediately after they put them out online,” Foster said. “So my parents and I set out at least three computers and wait for them to go on sale. We set up multiple computers to make sure we get tickets and just in case one crashes.” The trip to Comic-Con isn’t just for Foster. It is a family affair. “My parents love going to ComicCon with me,” Foster said. “My dad’s a huge comic nerd and my mom loves costuming so she loves seeing all the cool crazy costumes people come up with.” Most people attending Comic-Con wear all different types of costumes, Foster is fortunate to have his mother help him design his own. “The first two years I went to Comic-Con I wore a costume from a game called Persona 3. One of my favorite “weird Japanese games,” I was the protagonist,” Foster said. “The third year I was planning on being a Knight Solaire from Dark Souls, but my costume wasn’t together in time.” Hundreds of events go on during the four day festival. “There are different game companies, like Nintendo, and they’ll have a game room which is them basically just saying here is all our stuff, go nuts, play all these demos, here have a free www.sterlingcubreporter.com
Foster poses with a few of his many video games and Mangas. (Photo by Taryn Gillespie)
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January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 7
Filling his pockets with all the free gifts being given away might be pretty awesome in Foster’s mind, but it doesn’t compare to what he says is the real fun of the event. “My favorite part is people watching,” Foster said. “You can meet some pretty cool people standing in line, while they are running stalls and panels, the people at Comic-Con are awesome all the way around.” Being the one of the only students at Sterling High School to attended such an event is a big feat, but Foster is more than a Comic-Con geek. “I love spending my spare time playing video games or watching Anime,” Foster said. “Both of these things are kind of passions of mine, I just find them really entertaining in their own reasonable ways.“ Foster spends an estimated 17.5 hours a week watching anime, a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults, as well as children. “I was drawn to anime way back in the day, watching stuff like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon,” Foster said. “When I got older, I began to realize that this wasn’t an American thing, and was actually anime. The first anime I watched, while actually knowing what it was, was in 2010 and it was called Soul Eater. I was sucked in after that.” He also enjoys reading Manga, which are comics created in Japan, or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language, translated to English. Some Manga are hundreds of chapters long, and can take years to finish, some have even been running since the 80’s. “The panels in a Manga are read from right to left,” Foster said. “It’s gotten really natural for me because I’ve read it for so long, but starting out, when I first picked up a Manga I was like, ‘What is this?’ The book is basically backwards, and you kind of have to get acclimatized to it, but I really love it.” When Foster isn’t watching anime he could be found playing video games on his Playstation 4 or X-Box 360. “One day my mom and I were going from garage sell to garage sell and we found a Nintendo 64 and 20 games for 8 • Sterling Cub Reporter • January 2015
really cheap,” he said. ”The rest is kind of history, I totally fell in love with it.” Continuing to work with video games and anime is a dream of Fosters. “I want to be a voice actor,” he said. “When they bring over an anime from Japan, often more times than not, they will change the voice casts, so they will be speaking English so you don’t have to read subtitles, and that’s the kind of voice acting I would like to do. ”I’m
not good at speaking Japanese, I can’t translate, I can’t program or anything, but I do have a voice, and it’s something I enjoy as well, I love acting.” Foster has already been working on improving his knowledge of video games and anime. “When I am listening to my headphones most of the time I am listening to podcasts done by a “Lets Play” group,” Foster said. “ They have a
Foster gets photo-bombed while posing by the San Diego Comic-Con sign in his Persona 3 Protagonist costume. “It’s really awesome when people recognize my costume,” Foster said. (Courtesy Photo) www.sterlingcubreporter.com
podcast every week and they go over news going on in the nerd world, you know movie news, game news, anime news, that sort of thing. When I’m not doing that I’m listening to music from game sound tracks.” Foster’s interests have greatly influenced his social life and the person he is today. “I still have a social life, and I still like to hang out with friends. I’ve made friends from all over the world on the Internet because of my interests,” he said. “I used to have really thin skin and would get upset whenever someone made fun of me, but now I don’t really pay attention to what people say or think about me. I just do my own thing and am happy with myself.”
Foster poses with three of his favorite video games. (Photo By Taryn Gillespie)
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NEWS
Foreign exchange students experience America TARYN GILLESPIE Cub Reporter This year Sterling High School is playing host four foreign exchange students. These students get the opportunity to come to Sterling for approximately 10 months and join in all activities and fun as any other student in Sterling would. This includes sports, family life, food, and classes. Charlotte Marx came from Germany to spend a year living with Craig and Linda Calderwood. “It’s really nice living with the Calderwoods,” Marx said. “I am like the only child, so I get spoiled.” While she is here she has an opportunity to make friends and do things she couldn’t do at home. “I wanted to try new things and be involved and join the sports teams,” Marx said. “I enjoy the spirit of the teams and how everyone is helping me out with basketball since I had never done it before.” Marx wasn’t sure she would like the cuisine while she was here. “It’s hard to get used to the food because it’s different than what I eat at home,” Marx said. “But I really like it. I like Sonic!” Betty Baar came from Germany as well. She is living with Spencer and Rebekah Wagley. “I can’t even describe how awesome it is. I can’t imagine a better family than the Wagley’s,” Baar said. “When
Foreign exchange students Daviid Lombardia, Philippe Bruchmann, Betty Baar and Charlotte say they are enjoying their time in the United States. (Photo by Taryn Gillespie) we are all together, they are just so lovely and full of love.” A unique aspect of Baar living with her host family is the Wagleys are in the process of adding to their family permanently by adopting an infant from Colorado, who they have already named Sully. “It is awesome that they are able to get baby Sully,” Baar said. “I can’t remember my little sister being little, so it’s so cool to have a baby brother.” Philippe Bruchmann came to Sterling from Germany as well. Bruchmann lives with Mona Ball. “I love living with Mona,” he said. “I love her like a mother.” Bruchmann has grown to enjoy the
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food while being here in Sterling. “My sister told me that the food wouldn’t be good here, but it is,” Bruchmann said. “I really like it.” Bruchmann said time away from his family can be tough, but he finds ways to keep in touch. “I miss my family at home,” Bruchmann said. “I Skype with my family and friends every other week.” Daviid Lombardia, who came from Spain, lives with the John and Linda Ricker. “It’s always fun living with the Rickers,” Lombardia said. “I really like how they are always joking around and not too serious.”
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January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 11
SPORTS
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Kylah Comley (4) goes up for a layup during the 1st half against Berean Academy. Comley led the team in scoring with 13 points on their way to a 51-22 victory.
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CALEB HENDRICKS Cub Reporter Only six games in and the Lady Bears have already faced a seasons’ worth of adversity. Cold shooting nights, injuries to key players, and the earliest loss in over three years have all managed to come about in the first month of the season. “Facing all this now is different than we are use to, but in a way I think it was beneficial for our team,” senior Chelsey Riffel said. “We know the feeling of losing now, so we want to win. The team came together after the loss, we talked about what needed to be done to move on, & that was that.” After blowing out Berean Academy in the first game of the season, the adversity kicked in. In the first game of Kingman Classic, the Bears were pushed to the limits by Conway Springs, shooting only 3-20 from the three-point line. However, the team was still able to pull it all together in the end. “We started out the year really struggling with getting our shots to go,” sophomore Maddie Thrasher said. “Thankfully we were able to do the other things right and overcome it even being short a few players.” For a team already short on a players, the early injuries to the front court have already played a factor, leading to
Sydney Wilson (12) watches as Andi Dowell (right) blocks a Berean Academy player. Wilson led the team 6 blocks and ten rebounds, while Dowell led the team with 4 steals. www.sterlingcubreporter.com
Emma Lambert (5) shoots a three point shot over a Wellington defender. After leading by 6 at halftime, the Bears out scored the Crusaders 18-8 on their way to a 67-43 victory. The victory put them in the Championship game of the Kingman classic. extended minutes for some and causing underclassmen to step up into varsity roles. “We are really running low on numbers this year, and the injuries aren’t helping, but just knowing that everyone is going to come back healthy and stronger is what’s keeping all of our minds positive,” sophomore Lindsay Gilmore said. “Right now we are trying to fill a lot of the roles we used to have before the injuries, and that is helping us work harder and get better as a unit.” After losing to Kingman in the Kingman Classic Championship game, the team used the loss to figure out what it is that they need to work on moving forward and how they can improve. “We can overcome this, and we plan to,” freshman Kadie Smith said. “We’re looking forward to the games in the future that will make us better, and this was just one of those games that shows us our weaknesses. We will use that to our advantage to become a stronger and better team.” With a quick turn around to league play, the Lady Bears were able to turn it around with only one practice before their game against Lyons, and knock of the #2 team in 3A. “I think just looking at the positives from the loss really helped us bounce back,” Gilmore said. “If we would’ve just sulked for a week, we wouldn’t have beaten Lyons.” With the majority of games remaining on the schedule, the Bears look to continue their hard work, and take on any adversity that comes their way throughout the rest of the season. “I think if we play as a team, encourage each other, and play and practice as hard as we can, we can beat anybody,” junior Kylah Comley said. “It’s just good for us to face adversity at the beginning of the season and not at the end.” January 2015 • Sterling Cub Reporter • 13
INFOGRAPHIC
New Years Resolutions
“Next year I want to stop drinking soda for a year.” Senior Jamie Dechant
“Staying in shape for football my senior year.” Junior Tristin Padgett
“I want to pass finals.”
Sophomore Max Fulbright
-40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. -Past the first week: “I want to spend more time with my family.” 75% Freshman Camille Schweizer -Past 2 weeks: 71% -After one month: 64% -After 6 months: 46%
Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/
14 • Sterling Cub Reporter • January 2015
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ENTERTAINMENT NOTE: Killer Serial Fiction is a part of Sterling Student Publications. It is the home of creative writing by Sterling High School creative writing students. Stories appearing here are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. These stories are presented for entertainment purposes only and are not intended to be read as being part of Sterling Student Publications news coverage. For more stories, visit www.sterlingstudentpublications.com/fiction.
Animal Intelligence BY ALLEY ROWLAND
The chair was a soft leather, letting me sink comfortably down into its depths. It had cup holders, a TV and a mini fridge underneath. The only thing it didn’t do was calm my nerves. Ever since the animals of the world were given human intelligence by some cotton-headed animal rights scientists, we have been at war. You would think that we could simply use our bombs, right? Well, maybe if there were enough people to launch a big enough attack. The animals that got human intelligence included insects of all shapes and sizes. They’ve infested every house, river and crop field. 90% of the human population died from infected food or by bite, sting and burn. The 10% remaining now live on islands off the coast of Oregon; the only place we feel safe. For years we’ve been hunkered down, living of meager supplies while our population dwindles. Most people would be considered “poor” with only a tarp and a blanket to call your own, if you were lucky. The elite got all the privileges and nice stuff from the life we had before, like this chair. Anyway, the military announced a brand-new scientific discovery that would help find the main hold of the rebellion and take back our world. And I got to be the first guinea pig. “James?” a nurse asked, appearing before me as if from thin air. I nodded, too scared to speak. “Come with me please,” she said in a monotone voice. I stood on shaking legs and followed her down a hallway smelling of rubbing alcohol. Soon I lost track of which way we were going and I was afraid I would be lost forever in the bright-lighted maze. Eventually we turned into a hallway with only one door. Walking toward it, I had a strange feeling of walking to my death. Suddenly a sharp pain went through my neck as arms grabbed me from behind. I yelled, kicking my legs and trying to wiggle my arms free. I became light-headed and couldn’t help it when my eyes closed. +++ My first sense to return was smell. Wet earth, rain. The smell of living things. I heard birds chirping, the gurgle of moving water. I opened one eye slowly, viewing pine and 16 • Sterling Cub Reporter • January 2015
birch trees hanging off the earth like bats. Carefully I raised my head. I was lying on a bed of soft grass, surrounded on all sides by trees. The water I had heard was a small stream to my right, moving slowly on its way. I tried to stand, but my legs refused to cooperate. My hands also wouldn’t listen. Looking down, I received the biggest shock of my life. My body was gone. Nothing remotely human was nearby. Maybe I am dead, I thought. I could be a spirit, cursed to haunt the earth until it dies. But that was impossible. I could feel myself breath. I could move my head, my ears moving to catch sound. Wait. My ears were on top of my head. Gasping, I looked down, seeing four hairy paws connected to four furry legs. Running on unsteady legs to the stream, my tail went out for balance. My tail!? I had a tail! What did those scientists do to me?! The face that appeared in the stream had a long muzzle with a big black nose. Two brown eyes looked back at me, wide with fear. Two ears stood straight up like horns, and it was panting, tongue brushing against gleaming white teeth. A wolf. I was a wolf! I began to run, panicked, not caring where I was going. Now that I knew what I was I noticed that my eyesight was sharper, my hearing greater and my sense of smell deeper. My powerful heart beat through my body, aided by the bulky lungs receiving vast amounts of oxygen. This was obviously the big scientific weapon that the government would unleash. This wasn’t even a weapon. It was a tool to get rid of the useless people in our almost already useless population. They will turn them into animals and let them die alone, knowing nothing about how their bodies work or how to become human again. Unless they were stopped. Maybe it wasn’t even possible to get our old bodies back. Even if it could happen, we don’t know how to get back in. No. This was they way my life would go now. I will continue forward until I find a stronghold, and I will out myself where I belong: with the animals. We will find a way to access the lab, and don’t ask me how, because that’s not up to me. I only care about the answers those cowardly answers those scientists will give when they see my snarling face and my fiery eyes. www.sterlingcubreporter.com