science fiction stories

SCIENCE FICTION STORIES

MRS. SCHICK’S CLASSES, MAY 2011



Planets Ablaze

Benjamin S. Retzlaff

-‐ October 5th, 2318-‐ -‐USS Benmark-‐ The last few months have been hard I enlisted in the GUS Marine/ Special Forces on my 20th birthday. Two months in camp and were shipped of to the front line. Because most of the battles are fought in the so called “void” or gaps between the major asteroid bases as A12 or A41 which are two major strategic bases in between the planets. As a GUS Marine we are told of the times when the US marine was the elite of the elite they faceted the “British red coats”, The “NAZI SS”, and the Russian SOG. These stories come from the time of led bullets and low flying Fighters plains. The war that was so often referred to as “World War II” and know known as the “Second Great War of Earth”. My great, great, great, great grandfather was as in his journal to have fought that war as a Marin. His vivid detail and description of the horrific scenes helped me prepare for what I would be fighting. I only have the first couple of pages of his journal and will place a copy below. Entry 1 Date: Tuesday June 6th, 1944 Location: Normandy Operation: classified This is my 3rd day in the Maries, 2nd day of battle after that I decide that I would create a journal. I want people to know what it means to be in war as a soldier, clawing your way through trenches and seeing the blood of friend and enemy spilled on the ground. We are in a trench near Normandy the Marines and surviving resistance, ha, well the resistance they seem immune to the normal feelings of guilt and fear they will amaze there fellow men in with there ingenuity in the ways they kill. There crude weapons are more lithe then a sniper in there hands. We move up as if in water, slow motion, fighting for each inch. After the first two hours it becomes reflexes not me thinking or telling my hand to pull the trigger. Slowly the men around me start grabbing the magazines of fellow solders that have fallen or are picking up the enemies weapons. I soon realize that my ammo is getting light My last and only page of his journal. My first fight approaches I can’t help but wonder what it is like on a battlefield and whether my mind will work



unconsciously to survive and weathered I will survive. I wish I had the neural enhancer on now so I can think about these feelings now rather then on the battlefield. We enter the asteroids artificial atmosphere an all of a sudden the whole ship starts to shake and the all hands alarm goes off and I report to my designated area boarding landing craft hanger D3 –deck 3–. 30 minutes later I’m holding on to the leather grip above my head. “Landing in …30…29…28…–Boom–….” The sound of steel on steel is overwhelms the automated voice and everything goes black. “Computer log: recording last thought of solider lenient James …..’If this is what war is like then by all means this is what h*** must be like”



Zap

Jack S.

Today is just another normal Saturday in New York City. Yesterday in school we learned about World War 3 that happened in 2025. There was some USA general named Allen Smith that war the war for us. That must be why my name is Allen. My parents have been getting on me to do my homework, but I think I’m just going to give it to Reggie, my personal Robot. I love him. He does everything for me. Cleans my room, do my homework, fly me to places. He is awesome.

I hope to play a little baseball this after noon at Comerica Park. At one’ clock, I’m going to get my friends together and Reggie is going to fly us there. We arrive at the Ball Park, and we start to play. Smack! I hit the ball over my friend Jimmy’s head. After we are done playing Reggie flies us home. We arrived home late almost mid night, and I have to go off to bed. My parents give me a good night kisses, and with Reggie protecting me from harm when I sleep I slowly fall asleep.

I wake up and notice that Reggie is not there sitting right next to me. This is very weird I always see him next to me. Wondering where he is I go down stairs and turn the corner trying to find him. As I start going around the corner further I see he has red eyes. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! Black.

I hear talking all around me. My world starts to go to light and color, and not black.

“Son you’re awake,” a man says.

“Where am I,” I answer back.

“The Robot Recovery unit,” the man states.

“Why?” I question.

“You were shot by your personal robot back in the year 2052,” The man states —my name is George; I’m your doctor.

“What year is it now?” I ask.

“2100,” George answers, “You need your rest, go back to sleep.”

I follow the doc’s orders and I slowly drift back into a deep slumber sleep.



The Takeover

Anonymous

I remember that day like it was yesterday. It seemed to be a normal day. No one saw what was coming though. Zulora was supposed to be a perfect world, much better than earth. But we became too dependent on the service of robots. My own family is guilty of it too. We relied so much on R.O.B.-‐-‐ our robot butler. Only one good thing came out of that horrific day, I found love in someone unexpected. My mom thinks writing down the memories of that day it will help me “move on,” but can anyone really move on from that?

I got up that day like any other day. R.O.B. got me out of bed, my walls giving me the date and my schedule, and then R.O.B. getting me dressed and ready. Then I went downstairs, ate my breakfast tablet, and after finally getting done getting ready I made my way to the bus stop. I made it just as the bus flew down and to a stop. I remember sitting down next to Katie and Brad as Katie gave her usual talk about how robots are no good. Then as we arrived to school I made my way to my locker and typed my combination onto the touch pad and before I could even touch enter, the lights flickered and strange stuff started to happen. Little did we know some power crazy man was trying to take over the world.

When I got home after an odd day of school everything still seemed so off. R.O.B. was off charging which robots only do at night. After going through more odd technology glitches I remember mom finally confessed to us about how the government had warned that there were odd glitches that could not be explained. They tried to assure us everything was alright but everyone knew it wasn’t. Just minutes later R.O.B. appeared in the doorway with a red glow in his eyes, which is odd because his eyes are normally blue. Then he started commanding us to obey his every word. Then Brad crashed through the window and knocked out R.O.B. He pulled me along outside to his dads flying car where Katie awaited. We three fifteen year olds were going to have to save the world.

Brad had found out that the transmission from the tower that was controlling the robots mind was actually very close by. The journey there seemed so long and it was silent. No one dared talking, knowing what we faced ahead of us. We didn’t know what the outcome would be and it may not be so good. Katie had fallen asleep in the back to worried and worked up I suppose. Then I got a big surprise yet a great surprise.

“Rose, I want to tell you this because I don’t know if we will make it today,” I remembered Brad’s every word.

“W-‐what is it?” I managed to stammer.



“I’ve liked you a long time, ever since we met in fact. I didn’t want you to never know how I feel.”

I grab onto his hand and squeeze tightly to let him know I feel the same way. Then we pull up to a huge tower surrounded by barbwire and fencing. Unlike the government insisted though it’s not that hard to break into considering we do it in a second. On the ground we see a man surrounded by thousands of robots like they have been expecting us. Katie is awake by this point. We fly down to meet our enemy. We open the door and step out. Our plan is simple and if all goes well it should be a success, but there was a chance it could go wrong. Two distract and fight while the other makes it to the control panel and shuts it all down. Seems simple but these robots are smart and weren’t made stupid. Katie is very quick and she volunteers to go to the control panel while me and Brad fight. The fight starts and this part gets fuzzy. We were going strong is all I remember when everything goes black. I had been knocked out.

What seems like forever I wake up. Robots are knocked out everywhere and Brad and Katie right next to me. As I awake they breath sighs of relief. Brad had successfully fought of the robots long enough for Katie to get to the control panel. I notice the man who was behind all of this is tied up. Yet still he looks so smug. Seconds later a hover copter pulls up and government officials jump out and start to clean up and take the man away. Then another group carries us three away into another hover copter. As we fly away we know that when we get home we will be known as heroes. Although really we just did what was right. The paramedics come over and check me out and make sure I’m okay.

A year has passed and its now 2461. Brad and I are still happily together. Robots have now been banned because it’s still too risky. We are still considered heroes and now go to a private school to stay away from all press. Life has never really been the same that day. It’s been kind of like a happily ever after except not your typical kind. Now I move on to a new chapter in life-‐-‐ the real reason I’m at this school. I must not tell though, it’s a secret.



Selecting A Child

Erica B.

“What do you mean? We can’t have kids on Mars? That’s crazy!” Jenny was furious.

“I know. They didn’t—or should have—told us that when we decided to work here.” agreed Leo.

He was trying to keep Jenny calm but they were both very upset. They had been married for 2 years and wanted to start a family, but they were just told that unless their child had certain traits, the child’s chances of surviving were very little. Leo and Jenny – astronauts working on Mars—loved their jobs, but didn’t expect this news.

“There must be a way!” Jenny exclaimed, “we just have to keep looking until we find a solution.”

First, they talked to an expert—someone who was well-‐known and was recommended by many of their work friends—on the Mars environment. Her name was Sophie Rogers and she was very pessimistic about Leo and Jenny having a baby. “It can’t be done,” she said, “you can forget about that dream as long as you are on Mars.”

Leo and Jenny were crushed by her answers. They were about to give up—although they did not want to—when they met an unexpected stranger in the restaurant who overheard their conversation. “Have you met Professor Wonton?” the mysterious stranger asked, “he has a way to help you if you want to have a baby on Mars. Here’s his ID number.” The ID number was the latest technological advancement on Mars—a way to contact people directly through a chip in their brains—much more streamlined than the old-‐fashioned e-‐mail or cell phones Leo and Jennys’ parents used.

They got in touch with Professor Wonton, who invited them to his laboratory for people who wanted to have children on Mars. Inside, they discovered—after the Professor told them about—the Selectortron 3000. It was an enormous machine, as big as two walls of a school cafeteria. Jenny was surprised by such a gigantic machine, because with most computers and technology, the smaller it was, the better. Not in this case.

Along the sides of the machine were thousands of buttons listed with different characteristics a person could have—both physical and personality characteristics—blue-‐eyed, brown-‐eyed, black hair, red hair, caring, resilient, and so



on. Even gender could be chosen. Leo stared at all the different choices in amazement.

“How does it work?” he asked Professor Wonton.

“Very sophisticated technology,” replied the Professor, “so much so that almost no one understands it. This machine will allow you to order a child with all the attributes needed for life on Mars.”

“ORDER a child?” yelled Jenny, “does that mean what I think it does?”

“Yes, Jenny, you see, it is the only way that you can assure that your baby will be able to survive on this planet. “

Jenny could not believe what she was hearing. Leo tried to persuade her to be open-‐minded. “Just think, this is our dream, Jenny. If this is the way to have a child on Mars, then I think we should.”

“But is it right to be able to choose what kind of traits you want your child to have? I feel like I’m ordering off the ala carte menu at a restaurant! I’m not sure if having a child this way—no matter how tempting it may be—is morally right.”

“Take time to think about this if you wish,” said Professor Wonton, “and you can let me know at a later time what you decide.”

“Thank you, Professor Wonton,” answered Leo gratefully, “we’ll be in touch with you again soon.”

Leo and Jenny went home and for the next three days, the only thing they talked about was the Selectortron 3000 and having a child. All kinds of questions came into their minds. They discussed all sorts of “what-‐ifs” and each one led to the same conclusion—that they wanted to have a child, no matter what.

They got in touch with Professor Wonton—who was very glad to hear from them—again, and he agreed to help them “personally select” all the traits for their baby. It would have to be resilient, clever, flexible, and all kinds of other traits to survive on Mars. They had a lot of fun picking the traits for their baby and then Professor Wonton said, “Congratulations! Your new baby will arrive in 5 to 7 business days.”

Leo and Jenny found that very humorous, that their baby would be delivered to them. The following Tuesday, a flying saucer came whizzing up to their front door. Inside was Professor Winthrop—a colleague of Professor Wonton’s—with a gorgeous baby girl. She was exactly what they had ordered.

Her name became Ann Clark. Leo and Jenny were thrilled beyond words. As they prepared for their new family member, Leo said to Jenny, “Aren’t you glad we didn’t give up on our dream?”

“Absolutely,” Jenny replied.



Zapped from the Past

Tori D.

Niku opened his eyes as he felt little tiny feet on his snout. Opening one eye, he made out a blur of multiple colors. He focused and saw a little insect with paper thin wings, a small black body, and 6 limbs, crawling to explore Niku’s right nostril. He snorted, making the insect get pushed away gently on a small wave of air. Niku crawled out of his home, a hollow tree with leaf litter everywhere around and inside it.

Niku yawned, stretching his stiff, snake-‐like body in the sun.

Niku was a Hydrus, a small snake with 3 heads, 2 limbs, and a long tail. Except Niku was a rare type of Hydrus, he had one head, and wings. His multi-‐colored pebble scales allowed him to blend into his surroundings, because he was only the size of a cat.

Niku’s stomach growled as he flicked away leaves sticking to his scales with his tail.

He half walked, half slithered through the bushes, hunting for breakfast. He soon spotted a plump lizard crawling under leaves near a rotting log. Niku made the chemicals in his scales blend into his surroundings as he crept up to the little scaly creature. The lizards head popped up as Niku’s tail swished over a leaf. The lizard darted away with Niku right behind it. He darted left, then right, he was only a few feet away from the lizard when he flapped his wings to give him an extra boost of speed. Opening his jaws, Niku got ready to leap onto the lizard when all of the sudden, a white flash lit up the space between predator and prey, and Niku flew straight through the hole of white light that had opened up. As he went through the hole, he saw a new type of world open in front of him. He blinked as bright light flooded his eye sight, and shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the harsh light. He looked around cautiously at the strange things in the world he had entered. Two legged creatures looked at him, shocked, amazed, unbelieving, and even a little scared. Big objects, like machines, where everywhere, and the walls where pure white. One of the two-‐legged creatures started going towards him, Niku backed up, baring his teeth at the creatures. Thoughts raced through Niku’s mind, Where am I? How did I get here? What are these strange creatures? He tried to comprehend what was happening when everything went black, as Niku felt a pain in his leg, and fell to the ground.



Ugh. . . . . . Niku thought as he opened his eyes to a harsh bright light. He waited till his eyes adjusted, and looked around. He found him self in a sort of cage-‐like area. A lot more two-‐legged creatures where visible now, looking curiously at him. Niku backed up in fright to the back of the caged area. The creatures kept getting closer to the cage. Niku bared his teeth at the strange creatures, making some gasp. He made the chemicals in his scales blend into his surroundings and the creatures all made different noises. One of the creatures ran off, then came back with another two-‐legged creature, except this one had a sort of stick. The creature poked the stick through the open spaces, and Niku had to dodge the stick so he wouldn’t get hurt. The creature took the stick out of the cage, and told the rest of them something Niku didn’t understand, but it must have been bad because Niku heard them all go awe, or sigh. Then they all started to walk away saying things Niku couldn’t quite hear, little by little. When they had gone, Niku let his scales go back to their normal colors and he laid down in the back corner, with his wings over him for protection. Tears slipped down Niku’s cheeks. I want to go home. . . I don’t like it here. It scares me. I wish none of this had ever happened. Niku sniffed, and more tears rolled down his face. He heard a noise, and peeked out behind his wings, a creature, shorter then the others, had come up to the cage nearest to Niku. Niku didn’t back away this time, because as he looked at the creature, it had a friendlier, caring face. The creature slowly put its hand into the cage towards Niku’s head. Niku hesitated, unsure of what to do He closed his eyes tight, flinching away a little, as the creature’s hand got closer. Except this time, Niku wasn’t as scared because the hand gently stroked his neck. Niku opened an eye and moved his head towards the creature a little bit. Sadness shown on the creatures face as another tear slid down Niku’s face.

“I’m going to get you out of here” It said. It sounded like a much prettier voice, so it must have been a female creature. “My name’s Taylor”

Niku looked at the female with hopeful eyes. The female looked around to see if anyone was watching, and she snuck to the back of the cage. Niku watched as she took something out of the long fur on her head, and put it into a box-‐shaped object. The object made a click noise, and fell to the ground. The girl then took something off her back and opened it, setting it on the ground. Looking around again, she opened the back of the cage, picked Niku up gently, and placed him in the thing she took off her back. She closed the cage door, locked it again, and closed the thing Niku was in. Niku started to panic, but settled down quietly from the ssshhh-‐ing noises the female made. He felt the thing get picked up, and he soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

When Niku woke up, he was laying in a sort of cup-‐like thing. It was very comfortable though, it had a sort of soft cushion in it. He looked around and saw the female next to him, lying down on the blue floor. Niku seemed to be in a huge cage, except it had no openings, the sides were the color white, and a light came from a small sun-‐looking thing in the ceiling. He looked back at Taylor and made a noise, making her get up and look towards him. She lifted him out of the basket and he



crawled up onto her shoulders, wrapping his tail around her left arm so he wouldn’t fall. Taylor laughed, and walked into another area.

“This is the kitchen, the other room we were in is called a living room” she said. Niku listened to what she said, on how they were in something called a “room” and that those “rooms” where in “houses”. Niku’s stomach growled and Taylor went to get something out of the “refrigerator”.

“Now, what would a creature like you eat. . .” She said, looking in the “refrigerator”. She pulled out a green stick and held it in front of Niku’s nose. Niku sniffed it, but backed away from the green stick. This doesn’t look or smell like meat at all! I’m starving! He thought.

“Hmm. . . Don’t like cucumbers, huh?” Taylor said. She went back to the refrigerator and looked for something else. “Maybe you’re a carnivore.” She pulled out something pink wrapped in a shiny see-‐through material. She took a shiny stick from a “drawer” and cut the shiny covering. She then took a “fork” and pulled out a piece of the pink stuff. The scent of blood and meat wafted towards Niku and hit him like a wave. He started to drool as he walked up to the pink meat. Taylor took out a “plate” and put the meat on it, then allowed Niku to engulf it. All of the sudden, a knock was heard from the “living room” and Taylor went to get it. Niku heard the “door” open and he heard a male voice.

“Good evening, we have come to ask you if you have seen a creature about the size of a cat, with to legs and wings?” The male voice said.

“Umm. . . no, I haven’t.” Taylor lied.

“Oh, well, if you see the creature, call us at this emergency number as soon as possible. The creature is very important to us, because it could ruin part of our history for entering the future instead of staying in its own time area.” Niku heard the male voice say with urgency.

“O-‐ok, I’ll umm. . .keep a look out, then.” Taylor said nervously.

“Thank you, have a nice evening.” The male voice said. Niku heard the door close and Taylor walked back in with a small piece of paper in her hand.

“Ruin apart of our. . .history?” Taylor said, looking at Niku. “What does that mean?”

And both just stood there thinking their own thoughts.

The next day, Niku and Taylor were in the living room, watching a glowing box that had all different colors and pictures on them with sounds and words coming



out of another small cage in the corner. Niku was dozing on Taylor’s lap on the green couch.

Taylor sighed. “What are we going to do?” she asked the air. Niku lifted his head and looked at her. They looked deep into each others eyes, and knew what had to be done.

They both sighed, “I wish that wasn’t the only way.” Taylor said. Niku laid his head on the top part of her arm, and fixed his body into a cuddle in the crook of her arm. Her hand ran smoothly and gently down his pebbly scales.

“We’ll get ready to go tomorrow” She decided.

A few hours later, Taylor was feeding Niku when the door opened and closed.

“Taylor! I’m Home!” came a male voice.

“Oh shoot! It’s my older brother, Blaine!” Taylor whispered, looking around wildly to hide Niku. Her eyes landed on one of the cupboards. Picking Niku up quickly, she put him inside the cupboard and shut it just in time for Blaine to walk into the kitchen.

“There you are!” He said “What are you doing?”

“Uh. . . . I was just . . . getting. .” Taylor looked around for an excuse. “A drink! I was just, getting a drink.” She opened the cupboard that Niku was in and reached in for a cup. Niku sneezed from getting dust up his nose.

“What was that?” Blaine asked.

“I don’t know I didn’t hear anything” She said nervously, closing the cupboard and filling the cup with water from the refrigerator.

“Ok. . . I’m gonna go upstairs and change into comfier clothes” Blaine said, walking back into the living room and around the corner to the stairs.

Taylor opened the cupboards, grabbed Niku, and when Blaine was in a different room, she rushed to another room. She entered and inside was a desk with another shiny box on it except with buttons on the bottom, and a long rectangular cushion in the right corner by an opening that showed the outside world. Taylor laid Niku gently down onto the green cushion and went and sat on another cushion by the desk. After a few minutes of looking at the sunset out the window, Taylor got up and walked over to a different door from the one they had entered through. She opened it, and grabbed a different “backpack” she had called it, it looked relatively the same to the one Niku was put inside of.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Taylor said, walking out the other door. Niku heard thumping go down the stairs and disappear. He sighed, I wish I could stay here, I like



Taylor, and she’s so nice. But the rest of them scare me. Niku looked out the window and laid his head on the sill. He remembered how every night, he would climb to the top of his hollow tree and climb to the top of the tallest one next to it and watch the sunset, setting the whole ground on fire, making the trees shine and the other animals sing their last songs before going to sleep. He remembered their cheerful songs, singing of how the day has gone and night has come, every night. Then all their songs faded away to let the insects keep their song going through the night until the birds took the song back up at dawn. Niku’s eyes were half closed as he kept thinking of his home. The sunset faded and stars took its place. Niku crawled over to a cushion on the one he was on and laid down on top of it, and he fell into gentle dreams of the creatures at his home and the birds songs.

“Bye Taylor, I’ll see you later!” Blaine’s voice called, followed by the door closing. Niku shook his head, trying to wake up. He drowsily looked around and saw that he wasn’t on the giant cushion anymore -‐ he was on a different cushion on the desk chair -‐ and Taylor was sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes. She got up and walked over to Niku, patting him on the head. “Well, today’s the day.” She said mournfully, a tear running down her cheek. Niku crawled up her arm and wiped the tear away with his tail tip. She smiled with effort and set Niku down on the rectangular cushion Taylor called a “bed”, as she went into the closet and got dressed. Niku looked out the window at the retreating darkness of night and the lightness of the sun taking over the sky.

Niku felt the backpack lurch as Taylor ran across a street, and towards the building Niku had first entered this time zone in. She walked into the building and went up to the front desk. The lady at the desk looked up from her computer.

“Hi, I’m here to see umm. . . . .” she looked at the card. Giving the card to the woman, she said “I’m here to see the person looking for that lost creature. I think I might know where it is. The lady looked at the card and smiled politely. “Yes, please have a seat.” The Woman replied, motioning to the chairs opposite the desk. Taylor walked over and sat down, putting the backpack gently in her lap. Taylor watched for a few seconds at the woman on the phone, saying that Taylor was there to see . . . Taylor didn’t get the name, but it must be the person she has to see. Taylor opened the backpack a little and Niku stuck his snout out.

“Shh. . . .” Taylor soothed Niku as he made a noise and attempted escape. “Not yet, be patient” Niku snorted and ducked back inside the backpack. 10 minutes later, a man in a white lab coat came out from around the corner of a wall and towards Taylor. He got to her and put his hand out. “Hello, my name is Professor Calver, I was told you think you know where the creature is?” Taylor shook his hand. “Yes, but, is there a private place we could talk about this?” She asked.



“Yes, follow me” Professor Calver said, walking down a hallway with Taylor right behind with her backpack. They entered a conference room with wooden sound-‐proof walls and a table with chairs around it. The Professor offered her the head chair on one side, and he took the head chair across the table from her.

“Ok, so do you know where the creature is?” He asked anxiously.

Taylor hesitated “Y-‐yes. . .I do” she swallowed down the lump in her throat. “But you need to promise first, When you see him don’t do anything to him.”

“I promise”

“Ok. . .” Taylor opened her backpack and Niku crawled up her arm and onto her shoulders, glaring at the Professor. Professor Calver curiously looked at Niku. “Ah, so this is where you went, little Hydrus”

“How do you know what he is?” Taylor asked suspiciously.

“We have rarely found bones of his kind around the world. But what is amazing is that we have never seen one quite like this Hydrus before, because normal Hydrus’ have 3 heads and are wingless.”

Taylor looked wide eyed at Niku, like he would grow 2 more heads and loose his wings at any second.

“Now, understand this, we need to get him back to his own time period as soon as possible” Professor Calver said.

Taylor sighed “I know”

The Professor stood up. “If you would, please follow me”

Taylor stood up and followed him with Niku on her shoulders. The Professor led the way to a room that had bookshelves on one side, and all kinds of different machines on the other. They stopped behind a lazar-‐looking type of machine.

“This is the Transportalator 4000” Calver said proudly. “It’s number 4000 because it uses 4000 watts of energy to create a portal anywhere in time”

Taylor and Niku eyed the machine suspiciously “We have to use this to put him back into his normal time period?”

“Yes”

“It won’t hurt him, right?”

“No, perfectly harmless”

Taylor sighed sadly. “Ok, let’s just, get it done”



Professor Calver went behind the machine and pressed a few buttons. “I’ll set it to the last time a portal was made, which was when that creature flew into our time” The machine hummed to life, with neon green lights spinning around the base of the machine and the very point of the lazar part of the machine turned green.

“Stand back” Calver warned. Taylor backed up from where he was aiming and watched as Professor Calver shot the air and a portal rimmed in green vapor popped up. Taylor and Niku stared in amazement at the hole that had popped up in thin air. Taylor looked at Niku and set him onto the ground.

“Is it possible for me to walk into his world? Just for a minute? Please?” Taylor begged.

Professor Calver sighed. “Yes, but you must be extremely careful not to touch anything other then the ground”

Taylor nodded and Niku crawled up her leg, back onto her shoulders. She gulped, and stepped into the portal. She was met by rays of sunlight shining brightly through the trees, and she gazed around in amazement at the beautiful trees and plants. Niku glided onto the earthen floor of leaves and dirt and grass and dashed over to his hollow tree. He rubbed his head on the bark of the tree and made a sort of purring noise. Taylor watched with tears streaming down her face at Niku acknowledging his home. He heard her whimper and he went over to her. She collapsed to her knees and laid her head in her hands, sobbing into them. Niku nuzzled her arm and wrapped his tail around her elbow in attempt to comfort her. She took her backpack off her back and set it on the ground, taking a piece of paper out of the bag, she took it over to Niku’s hollow tree and placed it inside, making sure not to touch anything. She went back to her bag and took out a small bag of meat. She poured it all onto the ground by the tree and put the bag back in her backpack.

“So this is it then.” Her voice cracked as she said it. Niku crawled into her lap and looked up at her. “I’m gonna miss you so much” She hugged Niku and cried as Niku laid his head down on top of her shoulders, letting tears stream down his face as well. After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Taylor let go and put Niku down. Standing up, she put her backpack back on and walked towards the portal.

She turned around one last time at the little Hydrus sitting with his tail rapped around his paws by the hollow tree.

“Goodbye” Taylor said, tears filling her eyes.

And just like that, everything went back to the way it was, except a picture’s corner flapped in a gentle breeze, a pile of meat on one side of a hollow tree, and a sad creature, staring at the spot where the one creature that was nice to him had just disappeared.



Invasion

Micayla G.

It was the year 2211 and everything was as normal as it was in 2011. Evolving every year. World leaders put so much time and money into creating new equipment and gadgets. One afternoon a 12-‐year-‐old boy named Frankie was sitting on his back porch reading a book on his iPad 30 when all of a sudden a huge flash of light formed right in front of him.

Terrified, Frankie hid behind his hover board garage. He just waited and watched very closely. Then something started moving toward him. The light was so bright that he could barely see anything. The next thing he knew, he and his 8-‐year-‐old sister, Katie and their parents were in an abandoned prison. They were all very confused because they didn’t remember going there. All of a sudden, a robot walked up to them.

He said, “hello. My name is Robot Joe.”

“Why are we here?” Frankie screams.

Robot Joe answered, “you are here because it is time us robots get the appreciation-‐and admiration-‐we deserve. Say goodbye to the world you once knew, you’ll be here for a while. We are going to rule the earth.”

While that family was in jail, the robots had taken over the White House, then the whole United States. Day by day, more countries fell under the power of the robots. The robots would go to a new country and capture their leader, then from there, take over everyone else in that country.

The robots took over the whole world in only 40 years. Frankie was now 52, Katie was 48 and his parents were 80 and 81. When Robot Joe let them out, robots surrounded the entire earth. Everywhere Frankie went, there were robots. Anyone in the world who had any authority at all was a robot. Also, everything was technology. All the trees and wild life were gone, everything was computerized. People then had computer chips put into their brains, and the robots controlled everything the chips had on them. The robots could control peoples’ thoughts and actions. The humans were no longer in control. They had homes and food, but nothing was the same. It wouldn’t be the same ever again.

It is now year 2311, and the robots were starting to lose their control over earth. They only had control over 3 countries. There were many wars going on between the robots and the humans, and the humans won most of it. It has been 300 years since the robots had first taken over and they are still fighting for control. In the year 2276 a scientist who did not have a computer chip put into him, figured out a safe and easy way to get the chips out of peoples’ brains. He then did that operation



with anyone he could find, and once he got enough people he started a revolution. From there the humans started gaining most of the earth back.

By year 2398 the robots were completely gone. Every country was back under human control and everyone now knew that it was not safe to create things that were equally as strong as humans. Since the robots had destroyed most of earth, it took another 400 years for it all to be back to normal, then the world was finally at peace.



The Invasion

Garrik S.

It is a nice day in New York City! Mary, my wife, is up with my twin sons, Ted and Ned making Breakfast.

“Hurry up Chuck; you will be late for work!”

Mary yells through the intercom from down stairs. Ah, another day at work in the factory. I have worked at the factory ever since I joined the Marines 5 years ago. In the factory we make-‐-‐

“Hey Chuck you are late”

Says someone behind me. I whirl around to see someone I have never seen before. “Are you new here?” I ask.

“No I’m”-‐-‐ just then his eyes rolling back into his head and he started to speak in a deep crackly voice.

“They are coming surrender your planet or die!”

Then the man exploded into millions of tiny pieces of glass! Everyone saw what happened and started running around screaming!

Then we heard the sound of a helicopter landing, so we ran outside and saw a man dressed in a military uniform getting out of the helicopter. He came over and introduced himself,

“My name is Sergeant George; I heard about the incident and came here right away. What did the man say before he exploded?”

“Um-‐he said ‘surrender your planet or die’ in a really creepy voice” I answered.

“How many laser cannons have you made that we can use to defend Earth?” he asked.

If that’s what you are guessing that is correct our factory makes laser cannons for the Government.

“Only the 250 we made in the last 5 days sir, the others have been shipped out to other countries” I said.

“Well let’s tell other countries to be preparing for the attack, also prepare the city with the laser cannons we will need all the help we can get” He said. Boom! Just then a huge explosion rocked the city of entire Earth.

“What was that?”



“They are firing at the city and have blown the whole thing to bits!” Said a marine officer looking at the remains of the city.

“Sssh be quiet do you hear that noise?”

Bzzzzz! Just then a huge round black object whizzed through the sky followed by 4 others.

“UFO’s shoot them down!” Said the Sergeant.

He took out his laser assault rifle and started firing at it with the other marines. They had no effect on it but it did get their attention. They turned around and started firing upon us. From underneath the UFO’s a bright light shown and about 3 big green ugly slimy creatures beamed down and ran at us teeth bared. Good thing the fire from the marine’s assault rifles tore them apart before they could get close to us, but still we had the 5 UFO’s to deal with. Some of the workers behind us set up laser cannon and started firing. That gun tore the UFO’s to bits.

“Now we know how to destroy the UFO’s and the aliens but how do you destroy the mother ship?” I asked.

“I have no clue officer it is up to you and your men in your factory to find out.” Said the Sergeant.

“Sir we have received transmissions from almost a half a dozen countries that their cities have been destroyed and they are hopeless.” Said the marine on the radio in the helicopter.

“I have an idea on how to destroy the mother ship!” Said one worker close to me.

“How?” I asked.

“Well uh we can build a huge laser cannon.” He said.

“That could take months to build!” I said

“Not with our new machine that can manufacture any machine in a max of a day!” He said.

“Well get on with it! The more time we waste jabbering the more of a chance we won’t survive.” The Sergeant said.

So we worked around the clock and by 12:00 the next day we had it up and ready.

“Were ready to blow these pieces space junk out of the sky, let’s do this!” Said the Sergeant.

“Sir would you like to have the honor to blow these creatures from the sky?” A worker asked.



“Of course!” He yelled.

3, 2, and 1 click! Boom! It is like fire works in the sky but you could see it around the world! The next few days were celebration that the Earth was saved from an alien force!



Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Anonymous

The walls of the 3rd grade classroom were plastered with wonderful pictures that each child had made. The room was overflowing with singing voices coming from the children. Every child wished they could be home in the arms of their family, but instead singing songs with Mrs. Jones, the music teacher. Every 3rd grader had music class as their last hour of the day. With the thoughts of home in a little girls head, Mrs. Jones screams over the other children’s voices, “All right boys and girls, it’s time to learn a new song!” Every mouth in the room closed and every pair of eyes turned to Mrs. Jones. This little girls name was Abby Foster. Her bright ginger hair blanked her shoulders. Her indigo eyes took up most of her face and her metal braces made it hard to sing. Her hands were clutched around Mr. fluffy—her favorite stuffed bunny. Abbeys only wish was to go home. “Repeat after me class, heads, shoulder, knees, and toes,” sang Mrs. Jones. The class made their first attempt—I turned out better than she imagined. As Abby repeats the word toes, she appeared somewhere. She knew she had been here before, but she could not remember. The room was silent and cold. From the Corner of her eye, she saw a picture of herself on the wall. All of it started to make sense, she was back at home.

Her mother walked through the front door with a confused look on her face. “What are you doing home early?” mom asked warningly.

“I don’t know I just kind of got here,” Abby replied. Her mom’s face went blank and she walked away.

Days had gone by and every time Mrs. Jones would sing that song, Abby would transport to the place she would be thinking of. That night at the dinner table with her mother, father and her older brother Max, she told everyone what was happening to her. The family looked at each other with smiles on their face. “We all knew this day would come but we never expected it to be so soon,” said her mother. “Everyone in the family can do the same thing.”

CRASH! Men in dark Velcro suits smashed thought the thick windows of Abbeys home. “You’re coming with us!” exclaimed one of the men.

“Let go of me! What are you talking about?” screamed Abby’s mom. The men grabbed everyone who was sitting at the dinner table, and shoved them into four different cars. The cars looked almost new and the windows were tinted so no one could see in

The building that stood in front of them looked as though it touched the sky. After they all stepped out of the car the drivers told them to proceed. The room was very modern looking and the women at the front desk told them they had expecting them. They followed the women down a long narrow hallway and at the end was a



large conference room with a man in a black suit at the end of the table. “All right, you have two choices, you can stay here with us or you can go home and never leave your house, which one do you choose,” he said in a deep voice.

“What is all about?” mom said in an angry voice.

“We know your daughter can transport, we have cameras everywhere you could imagine and we saw her disappear out of nowhere. We need your daughter to help us with something,” he said.

“Help you with what?” the mom questioned.

“I’m sorry but we cannot release that information until your daughter agrees.” Abby stepped forward and said, “I’ll stay.”

“Ok so this is what we know, we have just received a threat to destroy mankind from what we think are aliens. We need your daughter to transport us there so we can eliminate them.” The man said while walking the family down the hallway. The family starred at each other. Stepping into an elevator their eyes glanced at the touch screen key pad noticing the 105 floors. Then man gently touched the 95th floor. As the family feels the smooth glide of the elevator, they look at each other in suspense. They hear a loud ding and the doors open. They saw a room filled with people with white lab coats and glasses. “Please step on the platform,” the man said. Once they stepped on the platform, they all joined hands and Abby sang the song hoping she could not let everyone down. They arrived on a different planet. The planet was green and covered with rocks and dust. “We can breathe this air because it’s the same as on Earth,” the man whispered. By this time Abby’s hands were sweating and trembling with fear. “Get down now!” shouted her Dad. Abby and the rest of the family face planted to the ground. Abby looked up and saw lasers flying above her. “What’s going on?” screamed Max. After getting no reply, the family looked up to see that the battle against the aliens had just about ended. Every last alien had fallen to the ground. With shaking hands, Abby grabbed the hands of her family and sang her song for the last time. They safely made it back to Earth and everyone thanked them for all of their hard work.



Killing Cold

Victor C.

The year 9999 was a utopia for the planet Htrae. The world was at peace, people lived long and well, and sickness was practically nonexistent. Robots did not exist, as the money and technology needed to make a large supply of robots would have been too large. However, life was still nice for all of Htrae. Humans made peace with the environment in the year 7108, when the burden of pollution was lifted from the environment. Everything was perfect. That was the problem. Everything was perfect.

On Earth, in the city of Juneau in the state of Alaska, two men walked towards a rift in space through thickly-‐polluted air. The pair seemed to be arguing about something.

“Kendall, don’t go near the portal! You’ve got a cold, and if you transmit the disease through the portal, who knows what havoc it would wreak on Htrae!” one man said. The other older man, with a cane, answered.

“Don’t worry, Kevin. I’ll be careful not to cough into the portal.” Kendall made his way to the portal floating in midair next to a strange box-‐shaped machine.

“See? I’m not coughing -‐-‐” Kendall coughed, spraying spit into the air -‐-‐ directly into the portal. Kevin groaned in despair.

“See yourself! You just coughed into the portal! It’ll probably mutate along the way to Htrae! It’ll probably kill everyone!”

Kendall hurried away from the portal. “I guess we need to inform everyone…” Kevin sighed. Kendall was just too careless sometimes.

December 20th, 9999

In Uaenuj, Aksala, a strange disease was located and isolated for research. It’s strange that a fatal disease would suddenly arise in Aksala, seeing as diseases have been rare in the past few decades. Also, according to reports from Dr. Flambion Rabidor, the doctor in charge of the team who isolated the disease, there seemed to be a strange yellow glow all around Uaenuj. I am going to have to study the disease with three others. In fact, I’m flying to Ainigriv today to get to the lab to study the disease.

(Excerpt from the medical journal of Dr. Asthesus Maxidore)



Dr. Asthesus Maxidore, a tall, proper man, landed in the state of Ainigriv at exactly 3:20 p.m. He got off the plane he rode and consulted his Applatch, a wristwatch-‐type device that had a holographic projector controlled by a touch screen, and could have many applications installed upon it. He brought up the Map Application on the holographic screen to get to the Official Government Disease Study Center, or the OGDSC. Eventually, he reached a large building with many security features set up around it. According to the Disease Study Description Document he received via e-‐mail on his Applatch, the building had twenty-‐five floors; ten above ground, fifteen below. He happened to be working underground, to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. Asthesus walked up to the small entrance gate, where he had to push a holographic card into a small scanner, as well as have his eyes and fingerprint scanned, before the gate opened.

Once again, after the gates closed behind him, Asthesus brought up the Disease Study Description Document. Scrolling down to the list of the doctors studying the disease, he read them off again.

“Hmm. Let’s see. Dr. Mary Thenold. Dr. Theo Kackopholonicus. Dr. Katilolea Gratidon.”

He had never heard of them before, and he doubted that they had ever heard of him. When Asthesus entered the building, an assistant sitting at a small desk rose to greet him.

“I assume that you are Dr. Asthesus Maxidore. Welcome, we have been expecting you. The other doctors on your team are downstairs already.”

Asthesus nodded. “Alright, thank you.”

The assistant nodded and returned to the desk, as Asthesus punched -‐15 into the elevator to get to the fifteenth floor below ground. The elevator doors opened and he stepped in. In a quick rush, the elevator brought him down fifteen floors. When the doors opened, three other doctors were standing there, talking. They all looked towards him as he stepped out of the elevator. There were two women and one man.

One of the woman, with long brown hair and glasses, stepped forward. “Greetings. You must be Dr. Asthesus Maxidore. I’m Dr. Mary Thenold. These two,” she said, pointing to the black-‐haired woman and short brown-‐haired man in turn, “are Dr. Katilolea Gratidon and Dr. Theo Kackopholonicus.” The other two doctors nodded to Asthesus, who nodded back.

Asthesus sighed. “Well, I suppose we should get to work on the disease.”

“That’s what we were discussing before you came,” said Mary. “Apparently, the tubes containing the isolated disease and the dead victims that had been afflicted by it have vanished.”



Asthesus looked at the other doctors, shock evident upon his face. “The tubes and the corpses have vanished? That means the disease could be anywhere right now!”

Theo shook his head. “We don’t even know where the tubes are, much less the people. I don’t know what happened, but Dr. Flambion, who was in charge of the expedition to Alaska, said that the tubes and corpses were in his truck, but suddenly vanished later.”

“Where is Dr. Flambion?” Asthesus asked. Theo pointed at the end of the hallway that they stood in.

“His office is right at the end there.” Asthesus strode briskly to the door and knocked. He was greeted by a man who looked as though he had not slept for days.

“Who are you? Oh, are you another one coming to interrogate me about the missing things? Well, I don’t know. They were gone all of a sudden. I put them into the truck, everyone on my team saw me. I don’t know, but they definitely weren’t stolen. Now leave me alone to rest.” The door was slammed into Asthesus’s face. He glanced at the others.

“Well, that was strange.” He made his way back to the small group. “If they weren’t stolen, how could everything be missing?” He consulted his fellow doctors.

Mary sighed. “Asthesus, Theo, Katilolea, why don’t we go to a conference room to think?” The three all agreed and made their way to a conference room, where they sat down at a small round table with four chairs. “Well, here we are. Let’s think.”

“Well, perhaps everything was simply misplaced. Maybe they weren’t in the truck after all,” Theo said. Asthesus disagreed.

“The doctor said that he definitely put everything in the truck. Plus, how easy do you think it is to misplace cadavers? Maybe, the disease can eat certain materials.”

Katilolea shook her head. “I don’t think it would be able to actually consume bodies and plastic and use them for energy. Perhaps the disease can produce acids.”

“No, then there would be some markings evident of acid burns,” Mary said. “Maybe it decomposed the plastic of the tube into smaller, simpler molecules.”

“Well, if we take that hypothesis, which could possibly make sense, we still need to diagnose the disease. If people have been infected, and everybody in the disease retrieval team was probably infected, we need to stop the spread of the disease.” Asthesus sighed, shaking his head. “This is all so sudden. How are we supposed to stop anyone from traveling?”

Katilolea suddenly stood up. “Why don’t we examine the Flambion? Although he doesn’t have any symptoms yet, he probably has the disease inside of him.” They all stood up, and suddenly heard a scream from down the hallway in Flambion’s room.



They all ran to the room quickly, where he was coughing convulsively, clutching his chest.

Theo kneeled down. “Dr. Flambion, what’s wrong?” Pain was clear on the doctor’s face as he started to cough more and more. Suddenly, he moved his hands to his brain.

“My head, my chest, my lungs, my heart, it all hurts,” Flambion managed to whimper out. “I don’t know why. That disease must have gotten to me.”

Katilolea processed everything quickly. “That means that the disease is spread by air, if they got out of the tube and you were infected.”

Mary thought quickly. “Spread through the air? That would explain the coughing. A way for the disease to get out of the body and -‐-‐ and infect others!” The four doctors’ faces all paled. “This is very bad. Doctor, when did you go to Aksala?” asked Mary.

“About three weeks ago…” The doctor suddenly shrieked, and collapsed, completely still. Theo gasped.

“He’s dead…”

Theo stood up. “We’ve got three weeks to live and do something about this disease. But how will we ever survive? We’ll have to be contained in this bottom floor.”

Suddenly, multiple doctors flooded the room. A large commotion suddenly started.

“What happened? I heard a scream.”

“Me too, is someone sick?”

“Oh gosh, look at him!”

“He’s dead! What happened?”

All of the doctors turned to the four, looking for an explanation. The four all looked back, scared. So many more people had just been infected. “I’m sorry, but he died from the disease that he isolated. I’m afraid that we are all infected with it now. We need to inform the world of this deadly disease within three weeks, before we die,” Mary said. The doctors all streamed out of the room, panic-‐stricken.

“I thought that would happen,” Theo sighed. “The disease is probably everywhere now, if it can decompose anything.”

Asthesus looked at him sharply. “Say that again.”

“I said, the disease is probably everywhere now, if it can decompose anything.”

Asthesus sighed. “Of course, that’s why the corpses and the tubes were gone. The disease decomposed them. Mary’s idea makes sense. And if it travels by air, it



probably got out of the transport truck it was in. It’s probably spread across the country by now. We need to alert the government”

The four doctors rushed to the Communication Screen, a small, rectangular screen that could be used to communicate between levels in the building. Theo punched in the code for the ground level floor, and was answered by the assistant that helped Asthesus.

“Yes, what is it?”

“We’d like you to inform the President of a State of Emergency, filed under the Biological Hazard category. We believe that the disease has spread over the country.”

The attendant gave them a bored look. “Sure, I’ll do that -‐-‐ wait a minute! That’s impossible. Stop your nonsense, and don’t call for anything stupid like that anymore. The disease was clearly contained within specialized tubes for such tasks as transporting biological hazards. Good-‐bye.” With that, the assistant hung up. Asthesus slammed his hands against the wall.

“Why didn’t that assistant listen to us? In fact, I bet people have already died in Canada and western states!”

“You’re right. We need to find data on recent deaths. If death occurs in three weeks, some infected people, if there were any, should have died by now,” Katilolea reasoned. They moved over to a computer, searching up data on recent reports of death in eastern Acirema Htron. What they saw was grim. “Over 100 people killed in Ainrofilac already. Over 500 in Aksala. Deaths are building up in Notgnihsaw, Adanac, and Adaven as well. How are we supposed to stop this?”

Theo answered. “We must go to Aksala and find the source of the disease if we’re to be able to do anything.” The others nodded. “But, there’s one problem. How will we get to Uaenuj?”

Asthesus chuckled. “We could say we need a fast jet there for research purposes.”

They reopened the contact on the Communication Screen. The assistant looked irritated.

“What do you want this time?”

“We would like a jet to Uaenuj, Aksala to find the origins of this disease.”

“Fine. Come up to ground level, and you can leave in thirty minutes. Good riddance as well!” The assistant hung up again. Asthesus grinned.

“That was easy.”

The four did as they were told, and grabbed their suitcases that they brought with them for the trip upstairs. The jet was waiting for them in a private launch area at



the back of the government facility. The jet, of course, was automated, and required no pilot. The four got onto the jet, sat down, and prepared for an overnight trip to Uaenuj, Aksala.

In a small village in Juneau, Alaska on Earth, a town meeting was being held with the town’s small population of 82 people. They stayed inside of a building that acted like the town hall. Outside, wreaths of smoke floated about, dirtying the air. Kendall had already announced that he accidently infected Htrae. He was able to watch the other universe on his television -‐-‐ that was another bonus of the box-‐shaped machine he invented, the Space Ripper. He saw the deaths littering the places that Htrae called Ainrofilac, Aksala, Notgnihsaw, Adanac, and Adaven. Reporting this to the town, they all gasped and immediately started to think upon a plan to stop the growth of the disease. No one was really able to come up with anything. Well, that was until Kendall saw four doctors going to study Uaenuj, Aksala on his television. Televisions really did come in handy sometimes.

December 21st, 9999

We are nearing Uaenuj. It is very beautiful here in Aksala. There is lots of snow. Just as Dr. Flambion said, there is a strange persistent yellow glow all around us, which isn’t just from the sun. I wonder if it has anything to do with the disease. Such a strange disease, to be sure. With the ability to decompose anything, it will probably wreak havoc in the world. Of course, in a matter of weeks, the disease will decompose us as well. I must stop writing now, as we are landing.


The jet landed smoothly in Uaenuj’s empty airport. It was 7:00 a.m., leaving plenty of time to explore. The four doctors got off the jet.

“I suggest that we split up into two groups to search for any possible traces of the disease. We should all take the necessary equipment with us, of course. Alright, Theo, you come with me, and Katilolea, you go with Mary,” Asthesus said. The other three nodded, and they split into their respective groups, carrying a toolbox-‐sized case of equipment, as well as a small communication device.

Maxidore and Kackopholonicus started towards the center of the city. A faint yellow glow was still surrounding the area, which puzzled both doctors.

“What could that be? What do you think, Asthesus?”

“I’m not sure… perhaps it is an effect of the ice and snow with the sun’s rays.”



“I think we should investigate that glow. It seems to be the strongest at the center of the city.”

“Let’s contact Mary and Katilolea.”

The two brought the communication device up and entered a few digits to contact the other two. The screen lit up, and Mary’s face was seen.

“Did you find anything?” she asked. Asthesus shook his head.

“We think that we should investigate this golden glow around us. Have you noticed it?”

“Yes, we have. In fact, that was just what we were doing. Since the glow seems to be coming from the center of Uaenuj, let’s meet at the center of the city.”

“Agreed.” Asthesus turned off the connection and quickly walked to the center of the city with Theo. As determined, the two groups met up and conjoined together again. Yet, while the golden glow seemed to be the brightest here, nothing was found at all.

“Perhaps whatever is giving off this golden light is invisible,” Mary mused. They all started to wander around the small square that marked the center of the city. Just before they all decided to give up, Asthesus yelled out.

“Wait!” Asthesus said. “I think I found something. It’s floating in midair. It feels kind of rough and jagged.” The others crowded around the area. The thing Asthesus described was floating directly above the center of the city’s center square. They all squinted at it, and could vaguely discern a shape. It looked like a tear in middle of the air. Wide enough for a single adult to squeeze through, it indeed looked rough and jagged. The yellow glow seemed to be emanating from it.

Also, the tear didn’t fit with the air around it. Instead of being clear and covered in a yellow glow, it seemed to be cloudy and smoke-‐filled.

“What is this thing?” Theo asked.

“It seems to be a gate to another universe, if you asked me,” Katilolea said. “I mean, look. It doesn’t fit in this world at all. Should we go through?”

Mary nodded. “This could very well be the source of the disease. This other place though, it looks so… polluted. We need to wear our masks.” The masks she was referring to were simple masks designed to keep the air that was breathed clean. From their supplies kits, each doctor took one out and put it on.

“I’ll go first,” Asthesus said. He took a deep breath, held it, and edged through the tear. He vanished. Mary jumped through next, and then Theo, followed by Katilolea. They all entered the unknown.



They suddenly came out in a black, vast, smoky, dark place. It was filled with smog, and pollution was evident everywhere. They all gasped. After all, pollution was something that they had only learned about, but never seen.

“What is this place?” asked Katilolea.

“This, people who jumped through the portal, is the planet Earth. Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you!” An unfamiliar voice came from behind them. The four doctors jumped and turned around. An old man with a long wooden cane approached them. “My name is Kendall. I invented the Space Ripper.”

“The Space Ripper?” Asthesus had never heard of such a device. “What is that?”

Kendall chuckled. “Oh, it’s simple. You must be from Htrae, correct?” He asked. They all nodded. “Well, you see, in the year 7108, when pollution became too much for the environment to bear, we needed to inhabit other places to live. In this case, ‘we’ would mean almost every species on Earth. Moving to other planets was out of the question. There wouldn’t be any food. So, we had to go to another universe. So I, after years of planning, designing, making, and testing, invented the Space Ripper. Its mechanics allow it to rip open a gate to another universe, allowing only biological organisms to pass. That prevented any of the smoke around us from getting in. Speaking of which, I assume that’s why you’re wearing masks. You’ve probably never seen pollution before.” Once again, the four doctors nodded together. “Well, with the Space Ripper at my disposal, I just simply ripped open gates until I found a suitable universe. Closing them was impossible, for some reason. There are just gates floating around Earth in different places. I never went through a gate though, for fear of a side effect of traversing a dimension. I simply looked around to see the best place from this side of the gate. By then, the government was funding me, and when I opened the gate to Htrae, everyone swarmed me to leave Earth. Htrae, to my surprise, was a mirror of Earth. It wasn’t a mirror as in the exact same. I would say, it’s more like, mirror as in reversing everything. So then, as I kept watch through the gate, I saw everything reflected and the opposite of whatever it was like on Earth. The funny thing is, whenever someone went through the gate, but only when they were leaving Earth, they lost all of their memory! Not only that, but this gate gave off a strange yellow glow. I figured out that it was the energy used to create this gate. I don’t know why the gate was giving off that energy though. I saw all of this, and stayed in this old, nasty, disgusting, vile, and all the other horrible adjectives you can think of place. It was only recently, when I got a small cold, and accidentally coughed into the gate, that Htrae got a massive outbreak of deaths. I was sorry, but things like this can’t be avoided. Say, do you have the disease yet? I have the cure for it. I can give it to you.”

The four doctors, who listened through the entire story with attention, were startled when he said he had the cure.

“How could you have the cure for such a lethal disease?” asked Mary.



“It was lethal on Htrae. It’s a common sickness that doesn’t pose much of a threat among those that refused to leave Earth. There’s a small population of us living here in Juneau, where there’s the least pollution. There are also other small communities elsewhere in the world. So, would you like the cure or not?”

“Yes, we would,” Asthesus said.

“Kendall, sir, I don’t understand. Why is such a common disease, as you call it, lethal on our planet?” Katilolea asked.

“It’s simple. Htrae was what Earth never was: clean, nice, pollution-‐free, and disease-‐free. When you introduce a disease that has never been seen before into Htrae, that no one has built immunity to, it becomes lethal. Although the disease might have mutated into a much more deadly form as it passed through the gate.”

During all of this talk, Kendall led them through the dark, polluted, trash-‐filled land to a small village in the midst of everything. “This, my friends, is my home,” Kendall said, pointing to a small, black, one-‐story house. “By the way, what are your names? I never asked.”

Asthesus introduced themselves. “I am Asthesus, this is Mary, this is Theo, and this is Katilolea.”

Kendall chuckled. They entered his house, and he went to the kitchen to retrieve the cold cure. “Here. Take two of these pills and you’ll be fine.”

The four gratefully accepted their path off of death. “Sir, we still need to be able to help everyone on our own planet, though. How will we do that?”

“Well, if you go through that portal, you forget everything that ever happened, so it’s kind of useless to go back. You can’t really do much about it.”

Everyone was shocked. “But we have to help everyone in Htrae! They’ll die without aid!” Mary said.

Kendall shrugged. “You won’t be able to help if you go through that portal. In fact, you won’t remember anything at all, because your memory will be gone. Good luck then. Oh, not to mention that you’ll probably contract a cold and die. I suggest that you stay here with me and we can watch your world and come up with another way to save Htrae. Did you know that I can get signals to see any part of Htrae on my TV, as well as see data graphs on different locations in Htrae, from the Space Ripper?”

The four reluctantly agreed to stay, as it would not benefit anyone if they were simply to lose their memories and die from a cold. Suddenly, Theo asked something peculiar.

“Kendall, sir, would it be possible to alter the Space Ripper?”

Kendall looked wary. “What are you suggesting?”



“I think that it would be possible to re-‐wire the Space Ripper. There is enough technology here to successfully change it. I think that we possibly could change it so that is doesn’t rip space.”

“If it didn’t do that, then what would it do?” asked Katilolea.

“We could alter it to make it overlap space. We could possibly make it combine Htrae with Earth completely with the right technology!”

Kendall bit his lip. “I’ve got enough junk technology to change it like that, but you know, overlapping two universes just like that is dangerous. It could possibly eliminate Htrae and Earth. In fact, it could just about do anything.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Theo challenged.

Kendall sighed. “Fine. First though, let’s check up on Htrae with my TV.” He turned the TV on and it showed a map of Htrae. Kendall switched it to a population map, and saw multiple states in eastern Setats Detinu, the Htrae mirror of the western United States, with areas containing less that one person per square kilometer.

“This is bad. If we want to change the worlds, we need to start right now! Kendall, tell us what to do and we’ll do it!” Asthesus said. Everyone nodded. Kendall brought out multiple large crates filled with equipment, and started to instruct everyone.

“Alright, this is what we need to do first…”

December 31st, 9999

We finished changing the Space Ripper today. We have now renamed it the Space Conjoiner now, and we will use it soon. Right now, it is actually 11:40 p.m. I’m rather tired, but we will test it right when Kendall says that it is ready. The residents of this town have also been very helpful, assisting us with changing the Space Ripper into the Space Conjoiner. I think that they also would like a better world. There have been alerts and calls of States of Emergencies in countries all of Htrae. This could possibly be the last entry I ever right in this journal. All of this, just to stop a disease. I hope it works.


Asthesus, Mary, Theo, Katilolea, Kendall, and the other residents of the town in Juneau stood in front of the Space Conjoiner. It looked like a simple box, but had many wires attached to the gate between Htrae and Earth. Kendall had briefly explained it.



“The wires act as a conductor between Htrae and Earth. Specific instructions will allow it to conjoin the two universes together. The gate serves as the connection between the two universes.”

It was now 11:55 p.m. Kendall walked to the Space Conjoiner, which was covered in small buttons and switches and had a keyboard. “I’ll start the process now.” Everyone waited with bated breath as Kendall started to operate the Space Conjoiner. Switches were flipped, buttons were pushed, and commands were typed. The wires slowly started to glow with a yellow glow identical to the one in Uaenuj. The glow slid from the wires to the box, which started to glow as well.

It was now 11:58. “I’m just about ready to launch the conjoining program, which will take a minute to activate,” Kendall announced.

It was exactly 11:59 when Kendall pushed the Enter command, starting the conjoining program. For a minute, all was silent. During that minute, the Space Conjoiner started to glow with a brighter and brighter light, until it illuminated even the smoke filled night sky. Everyone was awed.

It was 12:00 a.m. It was January 1st of the year 10000. It was then, that the two worlds known as Earth and Htrae met. It was then that the two worlds exploded with such a violent force that shockwaves were sent throughout galaxies within the near vicinity of either planet. And then, from the resounding chaos and destruction of the two planets being brought together, a small, single, bright bead of light blossomed. It bloomed and grew until it was the same size as Earth and Htrae. However, unlike both, it was an empty planet. There were continents and oceans. Nothing else existed, and nothing else mattered.

The conjoining of Earth and Htrae had been successful, at a cost.

The world had been born again.



One Day in October

Anonymous

“Good morning New York City! Today is Tuesday, October 19, 2234. It is eight o’clock in the morning so it is time to get up!” The hologram radio was yelling at Carter.

“Ugh, is it really eight o’ clock already?” He groaned, hitting the snooze button. He slowly sat up in bed, stretching before standing up. “Lights, on,” Carter said, and the lights slowly turned on, making the room brighter and brighter. Meanwhile, as he slowly stumbled down the stairs, his mom was making his breakfast. Well, sort of.

“Stove, fry one egg and two slices of bacon,” she ordered, “Oh, and fridge, pour one glass of orange juice.” Just as she said to do, the stove turned on and began to fry exactly one egg and two slices of bacon, and the refrigerator poured one glass of orange juice. Just as Carter got downstairs his breakfast was ready, and everything was neatly set out on the table. Perfectly ̶ just like always.

“Thanks, Mom,” Carter mumbled with a mouthful of food.

“You’re welcome Carter,” his mom replied, “It was no trouble at all. But next time, please wait until you swallow to talk to me”

“Yeah, yeah,” Carter said getting up from the table. “Dishwasher, clear and clean dishes,” he yelled as he ran up the stairs. Again, just as he had said the dishwasher picked up the plate, cup, and silverware and washed them instantly. This Tuesday, the sun was shining and there was no sign of rain. Today, Carter thought, is going to be perfect. Upstairs, Carter took a quick shower and threw on the first clean clothes he could find. He rushed out the door to catch the bus̶ but not before his mom stopped him.

“Carter, come here. You are not leaving this house until you give me a hug,” she told him. Carter ran over to his mom and hugged her.

“Bye Mom,” Carter quickly said as he sprinted out the door.

“Bye sweetie, I love you,” Carter’s mom called.

As Carter got outside the bus was just pulling up, well, flying up. He hopped on and sat down in the first empty seat he saw. Carter was the last stop before they began to go to school so over the intercom the bus driver ̶ or flier ̶ said, “Good morning students, thank you for choosing your local flying bus, please be sure to keep your seatbelts fastened at all times and thank you for flying!”



As they finally arrived at school the sky began to change from sunny to dark clouds, like a thunderstorm was coming. All of the students looked up at the sky as they stepped out of the bus, wondering how the weather could change so quickly.

They all walked into their classrooms ready to learn.

“Students, please put everything away and put your Smart Helmets on, they will turn off automatically when your lesson is over just like normal.” Their teacher, Ms. Genevieve said.

“Ms. Genevieve, may I please go to the bathroom before my lesson?” Carter asked.

“Yes, you may Carter, but please hurry.” Ms. Genevieve said.

“Yes ma’am.” As Carter walked to the bathroom something strange happened that has never happened. All of the lights went off for about three seconds and then turned right back on. Carter didn’t think much of it. But, as he returned to class, the principal of the school was in the classroom, him and Ms. Genevieve were talking in stressed whispers that stopped when he entered and Ms. Genevieve was crying.

“What’s going on in here?” Carter asked, suspiciously.

“Carter, you won’t believe it, you just won’t believe it,” Ms. Genevieve replied, sobbing, “there’s nothing we can do, we’ve tried everything we can think of. They won’t

be normal now, ever.”

“Who, who won’t be normal, what’s wrong?” Carter begged.

“The power surge, it locked the helmets. We can’t get them off and the children won’t stop learning until the helmets have taught them everything they know. These kids will be here forever, the helmets are always learning new things.”

“And we’ve called the company and they told us everything they could think of to unlock them, but nothing works,” the principal added.

“Hmmm…” said Carter “have you tried just unplugging them?”

“Yes ̶ I told you ̶ everything has been tried!” The principal shouted.

“Have you tired rewiring the circuitry so that the helmets only need to teach them a certain amount?”

“No, that we haven’t tried.” The principal said pondering the idea, “But who would we test it on? If it doesn’t work the student could have some serious mental damage.”

“Try it on your son, Steve, I know it sounds cruel, but you are the principal of this school, it’s only what seems right.”



“Okay,” the principal sighed in agreement, “let’s do it.”

After about two and a half hours of working on Steve’s helmet, they were finally done. They had read the full manual of the Smart Helmet and found a loophole. They realized that if they make the helmet think that it only knows so much, then the helmets will stop teaching and unlock.

“In exactly sixteen seconds the helmet should unlock and we can rewire all the rest.” Carter stated.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven,” the principal began counting down, “six, five, four, three, two, one!”

“Click,” the helmet unlocked.

“Yeah!” Carter and the principal screamed, “it worked! The helmet is unlocked!”

“Man,” Steve groaned, taking his helmet off, “how long was that thing on for, my head kills.”

Carter and the principal explained to Steve what happened. They also explained to him how to rewire all of the helmets so that all of his classmates could go home. All three of them rewired all of the helmets to unlock at the same time.

Carter, Steve, and the principal all said it together this time, “Ten, nine, eight, seven,” they all looked at each other smiling, “six, five, four, three, two, one!”

“Click,” all of the helmets unlocked simultaneously.

Of course, all of the students groaned as they all took off their helmets, holding their heads. The principal sincerely apologized for what had happened to them. He told them that if it wasn’t for Carter, they would have been learning forever. Carter was just beaming with happiness and pride.

All of the students loaded onto the flying bus and went home thanking Carter and patting him on the back. They all went right to bed except Carter. Cater went home to his mom and explained to her everything that had happened. His mom hugged him and told him how proud she was. They made their dinner, well the stove did, and they talked and when they were done the said, “Dishwasher, clear and clean dishes”

Then, Carter went upstairs and got ready for bed. Just like normal, his toothbrush brushed his teeth for him and his comb combed his hair for him. He set his alarm for the next day but not before hearing what he hears every night.

“Good night New York City! Today has been a pretty interesting Tuesday. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. But for now, it is ten o’clock at night and it’s time for bed.”



The Seven

Drew V.

In what remains of the Milky Way, the human race has been decimated. Most of the humans remain in hiding hoping the heroes will save them. There are seven heroes – Ryann, Vivian, Kera, Mark, Dustin, Gammo, and Abdullah. Each has a special ability or specialization. How did they get this way, no one really knows. The year is 3024 and they have 36 hours before the Garastalians invade the hiding place. They have to get aboard the mother ship and destroy it before it reaches earth or all will be lost.

As the seven packed their gear they got a message with some terrible news, they found out that the aliens were even closer then they had heard.

“Great, less then 24 hours before they get here,” blurted Dustin.

“We’ll have to hurry if we’re going to get to them before they get to us,” said Ryann.

“Hey lets just get the gear loaded so we can get out of here and get to those stupid aliens,” muttered Mark.

“Yeah Mark’s right guys lets load up. Vivian what are you doing, hurry up!?!” yelled Kera.

“Ok, ok, calm down guys. I know that we’re all really tense and tired for the mission. But that doesn’t mean we have to fight ourselves or else the Garastalians have already won,” Gammo said from the back of the room.

“Alright but she started it,” muttered Vivian.

“Well that’s everything boss, we’re ready to go kick some alien...” Dustin started.



“Don’t you dare say it or your off the mission!” screamed Abdullah.

“Fine I wasn’t gonna’ say it anyways,” replied Dustin.

“That’s right you weren’t. Now get on the ship,” Abdullah replied.

As they strapped down for take off everyone quieted themselves for the launch. As the countdown began everyone was thinking about what they were going to do after they got into space. Dustin and Gammo were planning on playing “Star Belt Galactica”, Abdullah was going to strategize for the battles he knew was to come, Vivian and Mark were going to check on the weapons, and Kera and Ryann was going to make some food for the 8 hour trip.

“Well ladies and gentlemen welcome to space. You may unfasten your seat belts and do what you plan on doing,” said the autopilot.

“Don’t have to tell us twice,” replied Dustin and Gammo.

“Alright everyone get out of here, I’ve got work to do,” said Abdullah.

“Kera and I are going to the kitchen,” replied Ryann.

“Yeah and Vivian and I were gonna’ check the weapons,” said Mark.

“Alright then get to it,” barked Abdullah.

A while later, when they were about two hours away, the seven ran into a group of Garastalian scouts. The Garastalians were no match for the RAV-‐47C. In one shot the ten Raptors were finished.



“Well that was fun!” yelled Gammo.

“And easy. This is giving me an uneasy feeling. We should be more cautious,” said Abdullah.

“Yeah you’re probably right,” replied Mark.

Minus that little incident the seven had absolutely no problem getting to the Garastalian Everest. Unfortunately they had greatly underestimated the size of the Everest. It‘s name definitely suited the ship. As the RAV-‐47C scanned the ship the computer said,” 1000 meters long, 375.5 meters tall.”

“That is one seriously big ship,” was all Gammo could say.

“Well, we’ve attached guys lets get on and beat those aliens numb,” said Ryann.

“Yeah but we’ll have to do it quick, only 15 and a half hours until they get to the hiding place,” said Kera.

“Alright lets get to the engine room. According to the intel the spies gathered, it’s in the middle of the ship. Should be easy enough to find,” said Abdullah.

“Lets hop to it then,” said Dustin

As the seven got ready they packed the bomb they brought with them and all the weapons they had brought. After all that they started off. At about halfway there Kera noticed something peculiar.

“The Garastalians still haven’t sent someone to take us out.”



“Maybe they don’t know we’re here,” said Mark.

“No these are smart aliens, they wouldn’t just leave us alone or ignore us. They must know we’re here. And they must have a plan to stop us,” said Abdullah.

Little did the seven know, the aliens new exactly where and who they were. They knew that the seven had been sent by earth to destroy their ship and they thought that as soon as they set the bomb it would be easy to destroy them.

“Look if they want to come get us then they will. And if they don’t then that’s their problem,” replied Vivian.

“Hey look there’s the engine room! And with 12 hours to spare? Wow that was a long walk,” said Dustin.

“Yeah it’s strange how time flies by. But we’ve got work to do so lets take care of it shall we,” said Gammo.

“Alright enough chatting. Kera give me the bomb,” commanded Abdullah.

“Here you go,” Kera responded.

“Thanks, now lets sink the controller with the bomb and set it up,” said Abdullah. ”Dustin which engine generator is the biggest?”

“I believe that would be the one that’s right next to you,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Of course of course my mistake,” laughed Abdullah.



“Everything is souped up and ready to go,” Vivian stated.

“Alright lets blow this pop stand. And hey, have any of you guys seen Gammo?” asked Abdullah.

“Nope,” replied the others.

Just then they heard footsteps coming down the hall. It was Gammo. He explained that about 250 aliens were coming to the engine room to kill them and that they had to get out quickly. Just then they heard an explosion from the door.

“Battle stations everyone!” screamed Abdullah.

As the seven got to their hiding places the aliens entered the room. Then the seven opened fire. The first line of aliens were killed by Dustin’s bazooka. Then it was all guns from there. However the battle only lasted 4 hours.

“Do you think if they knew where we were that maybe they figured out where the ship is?” asked Kera.

“No we should be fine as long as we don’t run into any trouble,” replied Gammo.

Lucky for them they never hit another alien. Also the aliens really didn’t know where the ship was because they didn’t activate the cameras until someone reported seeing them. They also turned off the cameras after they heard the explosion at the engine room door. So the aliens thought that the seven were dead and taken care of. They knew it would take a while to get the bomb upstairs once the seven were defeated. But the seven weren’t dead and they were on their ship with 2 hours to spare. With about 1 hour left the computer said the ship was out of range and that they could fire off the bomb. So they did and the day was won. But the war wasn’t over. In fact – it was just the beginning.



My Daughter’s Angel

Ryann, F

My daughter has been sick for a very long time. Since the day she was born, she has been suffering from almost every heart problem known to man and has been through more operations in her eight year life span I have performed in my entire medical career. What I wouldn’t do to give my daughter a normal childhood; but throughout her whole life she’s been experiencing nothing but pain and fear. She is all I have since her mother’s death. Ever since Scarlett was born, I have dedicated every waken moment to fix her heart. Being an eye doctor, it upsets me that I can’t even help my own daughter. Over the years, I have been doing research; going to conventions around the world, and getting advice from today’s best doctors, but nothing seems to work!

I decide to visit Dr. Audrey Jones, one the world’s best know cardiologist.

Dr. Audrey’s office was located several blocks from mine. It was on the top floor the World Science Medical Building. Dr. Audrey’s office was always cold and dark; desk always cluttered with research articles.

As I entered her office, “Hello James,” she called out.

“Hello,” I replied.

“I have been following your daughter’s case for over three years now and I think I have a solution on how to cure her,” she explained while clicking on a button on the table and two holograms of hearts appeared.

“As you can see, this is Scarlet’s heart over here,” she pointed to pale pink heart to the left, “and this one over here,” pointing to the bright pink one on the right, “is the average human heart. I have analyzed the two awful closely and I have noticed something was missing. In every person,” she clicked the button again, which showed the image of a blue star, “there is this cell in the blood stream that regulates only through the heart called the Zenuscalvery. The Zenuscalvery is what actually controls the heart’s action and movement, not the brain. Everyone has only one, even your daughter. However for some unexplainable reason, one is not enough for her condition. I estimated that she needs at least five, in order for her to have a stable heart. ”

“Is it easy to receive the Zenuscalvery?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not, since this is what makes the heart function. If it were taken out of the blood stream for more than five seconds, the heart would immediately shut down and would eventually end in death,” Dr. Audrey answered. “I’m sorry James, but there is nothing anyone can do.”



“With just this one Zenuscaverly will she still be able to live?”

“With Scarlet’s condition, I would say maybe six or twelve more months,” Dr. Audrey sorrowfully replied.

I took a deep breath before getting up to leave. “Well thank you Dr. Audrey for everything you’ve done.”

“I’m truly sorry James; I know how much Scarlet means to you.”

“Thank you again doctor,” I repeated while I shook her hand and began to head for the door.

“Wait! James!” Dr. Audrey yelled out. I faced Dr. Audrey again. “I would strongly advise you not to let Scarlet know anything we’ve discussed today. People usually experience a major depression when they hear about these things. ”

“Okay,” was all I could manage to say.

I broke down in tears when I got to my car.

“My darling, my sweet darling, and she is all I have left,” is what I repeated in my mind over and over during my entire drive home. Once I got near the house, I wiped my face, so Scarlet couldn’t tell I was crying again. She is such a strong little eight-‐year-‐old. If she saw me crying, I would not be setting a good example for her. I pulled up in the driveway and walked into the house, while attempting to hide all my emotions and feelings.

“Scarlet, I’m home,” I called out.

“She’s in her room,” responded Hannah, the nanny.

“Thank you Hannah,” said as I walked up the stairs. I opened the door to Scarlet’s room and there she was painting.

“Oh! Hello, Daddy. Look what I made for you,” she said. She held up a painting of her and me with very big heads and little very thin bodies.

“I have never seen a painting this beautiful in my entire life! I bet Picasso would be jealous. You know what -‐-‐ how about we get Hannah to frame it and put it in the study?”

“That would be wonderful!” she exclaimed smiling from ear to ear. Suddenly Hannah was at the door,

“Time for dinner you two.”



“After dinner, we’ll hang it up,” I told her and gave a kiss on the cheek. I lifted her up and carried her to the dining room.

When dinner was done, we hung the picture on the wall next to a picture of her mother and then Scarlet left the room to get ready for bed. In a short time span I heard a loud thump and I sprinted to investigate what was the matter. To my horror, it was Scarlet. She was at the top of the stair case lying on the floor.

“Hannah! Hannah! Please, get my case!” I bellowed. I practically flew to the top of the stair case. I kneeled down and lifted her up. “Scarlet, dear please wake up! Scarlet please wake up! Hannah where are you?” I loudly cried out. I quickly lifted her arm to check her pulse and to my relief she was still breathing.

“I’m here, sir,” Hannah said out of breathe.

“Good, I want you to take my case and bring it to the car,” I ordered.

We both rushed out to the car with Scarlet in my arms. Then, I gently placed her in the back seat with Hannah. I started the car and zoomed down the road with no regards to the speed limit.

Once we got to the hospital, I had Hannah lift Scarlet in my arms. I bolted through the parking lot to the emergency door.

“Help! Help! My daughter needs help!” I yell.

Everything happened so fast. Several doctors came rushing to my side. They put Scarlet on a gurney with an oxygen mask over her face and wheeled her down the hallway. The receptionist took me down to the emergency room where Scarlet was. She grabbed me a chair and I sat there with tears running down my eyes. Soon Hannah came and we both waited there at the door for a few hours before one of the doctors finally came out.

“Doctor, please tell me please she’s going to be alright! Please, tell me she’s gonna be ok,” I wailed.

“I’m sorry sir, but we did all we could do to save your daughter’s life,” every word he said came to me gradually. He motioned for me to go inside and there she was, my little girl. I slowly walked over to her. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing-‐-‐my Scarlet dead. I put my hand in hers and wept. All the doctors left the room to let my daughter and I have privacy. Thirty minutes had passed when a blue glow appeared out the window. I got up to get a better look; I opened the curtain and in came what looked like an angel. She came through the window and stood beside Scarlet’s hospital bed.

“Hello?” I shuddered.



“Hello, James.” said the angel in a smooth, sweet familiar voice.

“Oh my gosh, Linda is that you?” I was stunned. The angel giggled and turned around.

“Yes, it is,” she said. I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Why are you here? Am I dead?” I asked.

“No, you’re not, but Scarlet is. So, I was sent to come and give her these,” she held up the five blue stars.

“Where did you get those from?”

“From a plant far away this galaxy called Zenus,” she held the stars in both her hand and lightly placed them on Scarlet’s chest. Then I heard a sudden gasping. Scarlet was breathing again. My eyes widened and a smile had wiped across my face. Linda bent down and kissed Scarlet’s forehead and brushed her hair back. A smile appeared on Scarlet’s face.

“Mommy,” Scarlet murmured in her sleep.

Linda stood up gliding towards the window.

“I must go now, for my work here is done,” Linda said looking back at me.

“Miss you Linda,” I said with tears swelling up in my eyes.

“I miss you too, but one day we will all be together again,” she said happily.

She began to flap her wings and fly away.

“I love you, and tell Scarlet the same,” she said as her voice trailed off.

“I love you, too,” I whispered. She disappeared into the night sky.

“Daddy -‐-‐ is that you?” a weak voice said.

“Scarlet, my little girl!” I cried as I held her in my arms.

“Why are we at the hospital?”

“You fainted but, now you’re okay and you’re now going to be okay forever.”

I looked down at Scarlet and there she was -‐-‐ my little darling.



A Life Down Under

Anonymous

“Beep, Beep, Beep!” buzzed the alarm clock.

“Just five more minutes,” begged Heather, as she rolled over in her bed. Reluctantly she threw off the purple comforter and slowly opened her eyes. Clear blue light swarmed around her and a school of brightly colored fish swam by up above. Her coral garden was blooming and thriving outside in vibrant reds and oranges and the shinning sun bounced around her bedroom.

She walked down the stairs and strolled into the kitchen. She got out the ingredients for an omelet and the coffee pot burst to life. Right on time thought Heather glancing at the clock which said 7:30.

“TV on,” she commanded.

The Weather channel mans’ voice was automatically heard,“It is going to be a beautiful day down here in Atlantis City!”

After breakfast, Heather went back upstairs and into her walk-‐in closet that was perfectly organized; not a sock, shoe, belt or dress out of place. She paced up and down the wall deciding what to wear. The regular temperature made it certain that every day would be somewhere in the 60’s – 80’s. Summer and Spring wardrobes were her favorite so not having the Winter weather under the sea really wasn’t that bad .Finally, she pulled on her favorite blouse, which had the pretty watercolor flowers, a pair of kakis and Sperry’s to finish her look. Heather grabbed her glasses, tote bag and coffee mug and headed out the door.

The city tunnels were pretty packed going out of her neighborhood, bikers and walkers waved and smiled to each other as they all headed downtown. Approaching up ahead she could see the incredible city, inside a gigantic glass dome as scientists had once predicted could never be done. Up until she was called on by the scientists working for the EOLPP—Expanse of Livable Places Project, she didn’t believe it could ever be done either. In fact, she was just a designer living in Chicago until being called upon to design an underwater city. At first, she was afraid; designing a city was no easy feat for someone who was just out of college. It turned out to be just the opportunity she was looking for and gave her the recognition she needed to make it big in the business.

Out of the tunnel-‐walks the city practically glowed, the sparkling sun reflected off the glass and stainless steel buildings. Reaching her building at last, she walked in and took the elevator up to her floor; where she entered her key code and finger scan.

“Entrance Granted. Welcome Heather!” the mechanical voice said from inside.



Her office was just as she liked it. The fabulous view of the city beneath her and the glorious office was a designer’s heaven. She sunk into a back-‐massage desk chair and spun a few times, just as she had when she was a little girl in her dad’s office. It reminded her that she needed to pay her family a visit soon.

She glanced at her phone panel built into the wall and saw the green message light blinking. She clicked it.

“Message 1 from, “University Scientist, Dr. Hudson””

“Hello Heather! I trust you have adjusted to life well since the relocation about six months ago. I am calling on you for another project to complete for the EOLPP. As the creation of Atlantis city was such a success we are looking to construct another underwater city. Land dwellers have expressed interest in the option and we have a list of about 3 million people waiting for the new city. You have the option to assemble your own team of helpers and will be provided all necessary help and funding by the EOLPP and US government. If you are interested in accepting this assignment, Please see the packet that has been delivered to your office mail port. Let me know by Tuesday at 12:00pm if you accept. Talk to you soon, Bye”

Another City?! Was her first reaction, but her thoughts were immediately interrupted by a buzzing from her bag.

It was her cell phone.

It was Peter.

“Hello!” she exclaimed.

“Hey Heather, I have to tell you urgent information!” he replied

“Well what is it?” said Heather sounding slightly impatient. Peter was one of her friends from high school and college. He had worked with her on the project from the beginning.

“I got a message from the Surface and it’s not good. There is the threat of underwater aftershocks from 2 earthquakes that took place this week up on land.”

“Oh gosh, that’s not good. But we have securities and precautions set up for this kind of thing, right? I mean the metal protection dome can cover the glass of the domes, and all of the electricity wires and water pipes run way, way underground and up to the surface. The shock proof pavement makes the city safe. That means we would be unaffected by the aftershocks. The only thing we would possibly need to worry about is—Oh no our oxygen shipments!” Heather trailed off at the end. Scary images raced through her mind.

“Yep. As you know the oxygen loads come from California and one of the earthquakes occurred there. The oxygen shipments cannot go through because the entire port was destroyed on the surface. Our travel elevators that lead up to



California are down as well. We have to contact someone fast and have oxygen for the city delivered or else we risk the people of this city slowly suffocating. We have about 32 hours’ worth of oxygen in our stores down here for emergencies and we are going to have to use it. It will be enough to pump breathable air throughout the city, tunnel-‐walks and neighborhoods for a little over a day. The place on the surface that bottles the oxygen was completely destroyed in the quake so we must seek international help. There is a place in Australia where they make oxygen tanks for scuba divers and submarine trips. We need to go there and convince them to allow us the oxygen they have.”

“Okay, we will then. We will do whatever it takes to protect this city, but on one condition.”

“And that condition is…?”

“This incident cannot be released to the public-‐-‐until later at least, and I mean it. Today I had a message from Dr. Hudson and there is potential for another city down here! This time 3 million people are on the waiting list and I cannot risk them backing out because they think it’s not safe. The EOLPP could cancel this whole idea and we are way too far for that! This could be the answer to the overpopulation problem that we have been faced with,” she spoke with great determination and tinge of anxiety.

“Alright, I understand. We’ve got to get going though, Time is of the essence. Meet me in the submarine garage. Around 11:30, with anything you may need. The trip will take about 10 hours.”

“Okay I will be there, see you soon Peter.”

“See you Heather,” She heard him say and then the phone went to the beeping that comes upon the other end hanging up.

Heather knew she couldn’t afford to waste any time and hurried out of her office and back home.

She immediately began packing a duffle full of clothes, toiletries and so on. She had always been one to over pack. After she had fit everything and anything she could possibly think of to bring into her duffle, she ran out the door and sprinted down the tunnel walk.

Completely out of breath from the rush, she came upon the submarine garage and warehouse. It was large, almost a mile and a half long; many submarines were stored inside. She tried her best to compose herself and went inside. “Peter….Peter?” she called walking up and down the giant warehouse full of submarines. Then she saw him at last through a glass window at the top of a stair case. It appeared to be an office of the Warehouse Manager.



She could see his short, brown, curly hair and perfect smile almost a mile away. He was wearing his work clothes, a striped polo and khaki pants with his laptop/briefcase slung over his shoulder. As soon as she made it up the stairs and through the office, he immediately turned to her and said, “Heather! You are just in time.” They hadn’t seen each other in at least two months and immediately she ran over to give him a hug.

He introduced her to the warehouse manager and grabbed the keys for their sub. He surprised her and rented a submarine complete with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living room, a kitchen and of course a control room. The submarine also had plenty of underneath storage for the oxygen tanks they would need to bring back with them.

“This is amazing” Heather shouted as she unpacked her things in her bedroom. “I had no idea that you would rent a submarine the size of a large condo!” she yelled across the hall.

“You can get a good submarine for your money these days. People own submarines the size of cruise ships and I thought why not? We are going on a deep sea trip for 11,500 miles. Oh yeah, and check the kitchen I think you will like it.” He added with a smile.

As she walked into the kitchen she couldn’t help but to raise her eyebrows. “No way! A milkshake machine!” she was shocked. The kitchen was full of amazing gizmos and appliances along with plenty of snacks. This is enough food to last two weeks she thought to herself.

“What do you think?” Peter asked looking amused.

“A little over the top, but I think it will do.” She replied with slight sarcasm.

Their journey continued for hours. They talked, played Monopoly, watched movies, and played Wii 10th edition(the newest video gaming system on the market). Occasionally a pod of whales passed by and there was plenty of beautiful, aquatic wildlife to look at through the windows. They were having a great time and the thought that about a million lives were relying on their mission had almost dissolved from both of their minds.

Of course Peter had worked out all of the trip’s logistics and programmed the submarine for a smooth journey. Before they knew it they were 20 minutes from Sydney, Australia where the oxygen company named ELEMENT O was located. The plan was to make an international trade deal with the company. This included them giving oxygen supply to Atlantis City, becoming a main supplier for new cities, and having permanent back up storage in case of a natural disaster or emergency. In return, the company would receive $10 million dollars up front and a guaranteed construction of an Australian city to be built underwater. It seemed like a good deal, but they would have to meet the CEO and executives in person on land.



Peter parked the submarine in an inlet near the main harbor, then pulled out full scuba gear from a closet. He handed Heather a purple and gray suit and kept a gray and blue suit for him to pull on. Once they were in full gear, they swam all the way to the surface were the warm sun hit their faces. Stumbling up on the beach, Heather was overwhelmed with excitement. She hadn’t been on the surface in 6 months and yet it felt as if it had been 6 years, it was exhilarating. The sand in her toes and warm air made her want to stay at the beach all day long; to build a sandcastle and listen to the waves.

It was almost 4pm and Peter was halfway up the coast, he yelled to her, “Are you coming or what?” She ran to catch up, her feet sinking into the deep, white sand with each step.

At a hotel along the beach they checked into a room so that they could change and rest. They enjoyed a dinner out by the ocean and the sun was down when time drew near to meeting the corporate leaders of ELEMENT O. They had scheduled a late night meeting; as it was most convenient for the company on such short notice. In the mean time they strolled about the wet, wooden docks.

Heather gazed dreamily up at the sky which was filled with millions of twinkling stars. She couldn’t help but wonder all the beautiful nights like this she had missed while she was down under. She looked to Peter who was staring out at the boats drifting peacefully on the ocean; he had grown up by the sea and she could tell by the look in his eyes he enjoyed the familiar sights. “Do you miss being up here as much as I do?” She inquired. “I don’t think I ever used to appreciate nature’s simple wonders until they weren’t part of my everyday reality.”

Peter turned and replied, “I know, it’s crazy. I don’t think I ever would imagine that I would be living underwater, where seeing a coral reef out of my office window is normal and seeing the seeing the sun rise and set on the beach is not.”

“Who knows where we could end up someday, I mean once the ocean is full of cities, where we will we be living next? We could be neighbors to the stars living in space! These new scientific ideas make it more and more unlikely to know anything that the future has in store,” He added.

“You’re right, but isn’t there some excitement in not knowing?” Heather beamed as her voice became soft. “Even if we are neighbors to the stars, I don’t want to forget how spectacular they look like from earth.”

Peter nodded in agreement, then he glanced to his watch and suddenly exclaimed, “We’ve got to go!”

They ran off the docks and hailed a taxi to take them downtown to the company headquarters. They walked into the board room where they were met with straight-‐faced executives waiting to hear their proposal. After an hour of discussion and reasoning, the company finally agreed to the deal and sent them off with plenty of oxygen and the promise to keep daily shipments coming to the city.



Heather and Peter were both overjoyed but had barely anytime to celebrate. They had only limited time to get back to Atlantis city, the clock was ticking for the people relying on them.

Rushing back to the beach they dove into the cold water and swam down to find the submarine. They hopped in and took off full speed. Pretty soon the sub was cutting through the water so fast, that fish that swam by it were a blur.

They made it back to the city just in time to load the oxygen back up into storage that could be pumped into the domes. Everyone was safe and nothing was out of the ordinary.

Both Peter and Heather headed home for a good night’s rest after their long and tiresome trip. Heather made sure to ask Peter to meet her in the morning for his help on the next project, from Dr. Hudson before she bid him farwell.

In the morning they discussed various blueprints, drafts, and concepts for the new cities. Each idea that was mentioned was better than the last. They both were having a lot of fun and enjoying each other’s help; After all two heads are better than one.

There was so much building to be done and there was an excited buzz from people about having a neighboring city. They knew that they were safe and the threat of being without oxygen had completely vanished since the details of the ELEMENT O deal was released to the public later that same week. Peter and Heather were even recognized as heroes to the city.

One day after walking home from work, and tending to her garden. Heather realized a package had been delivered to her door. She brought it into the living room and opened it on the floor. Inside was a huge rolled up picture and an odd mechanical device. There was also a note that read….

Here is a photo of the stars, because I know how much you love them. I also included a telescope that will let you see them even underwater. I haven’t forgotten what you said on the docks, about excitement of not knowing what lays in the future. You are right on that note. Doesn’t it feel great that we did something so important for this city and the human race!? What an adventure.

~ Peter



The Last Olympics

Chris T.

I would rather suffer torture than wait any longer. I can no longer take the fear of destruction. It has slowly been eating away at my conscience. How would you take the anticipation if your entire civilization’s prosperity depended on one simple contest? This contest is a football game between two colossal tribes. Those tribes are known as the Lacuna and the Lust. Which provokes my sense of curiosity, so I asked my mom, “Mom, how were The Lust and The Lacuna created?” She answered, “About ten thousand years ago, in the year 2012, a nuclear war brought the world to its demise. The great powers of the time wreaked havoc upon one another, turning the world into a barren wasteland.”My dad added, “There were some survivors though, about two thousand people left on the planet. These people separated into two different tribes, one being the Lacuna, and the other being the Lust.” I have always known I am a descendant of one of the thousand Lusts, making me a part of the Lust nation. While listening to my parents, I learned that these people lived life as the very first men did, scavenging for food and drink. As time went on, these civilizations began doubling and tripling in population every year. Because all books and knowledge of mathematics, science, and other important information was lost in the apocalypse we had to rediscover this for ourselves. But, we do understand Basic English and History. This knowledge was taught by the survivors of the war and was passed down from generation to generation. Hundreds of years passed and society advanced, once again. While the Lust and the Lacuna are equally advanced in the area of technology, their perspective of government differs. The Lust believe in a democracy, similar to the government system of America (which existed thousands of years ago). The Lacuna live in an empire, with one man being the almighty leader. The President of the Lust and the Lust Congress have been in an ongoing feud with The Emperor of the Lacuna. The two great nations have been at war for 3 millennia. Billions and Billions of people have perished in this deadly battle, and neither tribe had gained any ground. About ten years ago, the two nations had a peaceful meeting. They decided that the fighting must end, and that their differences will now be settled a different way. They agreed that they would hold an Olympic type sports series. Both countries will acquire their top athletes for each sport, and pit them against each other. The sports included are: Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball, Soccer, Bowling, Hockey, Track and Field, Swimming, and Rugby. In the event of a tie (both nations win five events) there will be a tiebreaker. This tiebreaker is a football game between the two tribes. Those were the rules, and ten years ago it began. The Lacuna won Tennis, Volleyball, Bowling, Swimming, and Rugby. The Lust won Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Hockey, and Track and Field. Of course, this causes a tie, and evokes the 11th event, football. Which brings me to present day, where I am sitting at home watching the football game with my brother, my sister, and my parents. You now understand the monumental effects this simple game will have on billions of people. I glance around my room, and study my family, for in the back of



my mind I realize that we could have limited time left together. My dad screamed, “YES!!!!!!!!!!!” when one of the receivers caught the ball for a 226-‐yard gain. The two super teams have been nearly evenly matched thus far. The score is 24-‐22 with the Lacuna in the lead. There is five seconds left in the game, and we have the ball. It all comes down to this play, everything. My freedom, as do billions of others, depends on this kick. My mom’s eyes glistened in he light as she declared, “Whether or not this may be our last moments together I need you all to know that you give me reason to live. I will forever live in your past, and I hope I will always live with you in your heart. I love you.” As tears begin to stream down my cheeks, I run to my mom. She embraces me with open arms like she always has. We turn to the television to witness a historic undertaking, in the form of a sport. A field goal through the uprights would win the war and the fighting will be ceased. A miss will cause our civilization to fall, to suffer the wrath of the Emperor. The pressure upon the placekicker cannot be measured. But now, after all of this time, the moment is finally here. Here we go. The snap, the kick is up and it is.. wide right. I can feel the shock in my body, as if I’ve been stuck by lighting. The air is heavy, and pressing on my lungs. Every breath is a struggle. Through the T.V. I hear the shrieks and the roars of The Lacuna. My vision is blurred. I am on the verge of passing out. The last thing I saw was soldiers bursting into my house, seizing my mother and father, as they scream no. One clutches me, and as I fight removal from my family, I scream “No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOO.” Cherish your life and everything in it. You never know when it will change for the worse.



The Adventures of Green Beans

Jenny C.

Once upon a time there was a magical unicorn who went by the name of Green Beans. Green Beans has not always been a unicorn. A long time ago he used to be an ordinary white horse. But, when he reached his adult years he joined a scientific research project. A team of scientists were experimenting with the idea of genetically altering horses and turning them into unicorns with special powers called The Unicornian Research Project. They had offered Green Beans a spot in the study and he accepted. The project was a success, so Green Beans and the six other test subjects are now living as a fully registered unicorns. They were relocated to a new, virtually crimeless area and are now living comfortably among other unicorns, as well as a number of other magical creatures in the heart of Sugarcane Valley.

Quite often Green Beans is visited by his best friend Rasbee. His full name is Blue Raspberry IV but he prefers to go by Rasbee. Green Beans loves to chat with his friends and always welcomes visits from strange travelers from far away lands passing through Sugarcane Valley. Green Beans especially loved being visited by Rasbee because both he and Rasbee were part of the Unicornian Research Project. They have been friends their entire lives and knew everything there was to know about each other. Rasbee is the only creature living in Sugarcane Valley that knows what Green Beans’ favorite food in the whole world is. It is very important that it be kept a secret because the food that Green Beans gets so much joy from eating is illegal in Sugarcane Valley, as well as any other food that does not contain at least seventy percent sugar. As long as Green Beans lives in Sugarcane Valley he will never be able to eat cheese. Living in Sugarcane Valley has its perks, but a large availability of cheese is not one of them.

That was the one thing about Sugarcane Valley that Green Beans absolutely hated. He hated not being able to eat, think of eating, describe, or discuss delicious cheese. Never again would Green Beans say “J’adore le formage,” which of course means “I love cheese” in French, because Green Beans is very proud of his French heritage. Why for thousands of years Green Beans’ ancestors have been happily munching on perfected French cheese. He gave up all that for the opportunity to become a unicorn and live among magical creatures.

Green Beans didn’t always play by the rules. A few weeks after moving into his new home and discovering that he would no longer be able to eat cheese, Green Beans attempted growing a cheese plant in his backyard. But no sooner than Green Beans finished packing down the soil around his plant the Sugarcane Valley Police Department (SVPD) discovered him. He was heavily fined and had to spend the night in jail. His time in jail gave Green Beans a lot of time to think. He thought about cheese, of course, and he thought about his family, far away from him in France. He



wondered if he would ever be able to nibble on another cheese cube ever again. Oh and how many different cheeses there were! Why, if he concentrated hard enough he could name them all! Green Beans closed his eyes sat very still and started thinking. Slowly, one by one, images of cheese floated through his mind…

American… Blue… Bocconcini… Brie… Cheddar… Colby-‐Jack… Cottage… Feta… Gouda… Mozzarella… Pepper Jack… Provolone… Ricotta… Swiss… it went on, and on.

When Green Beans was released the following morning, the Chief of Police pulled him aside and told him that because he was part of the Unicornian Research Project he was not allowed to leave the Land of Sweets or else the scientists would not be able to monitor his progress affecting their data. Green Beans already knew that. Those scientists were very protective of their multi-‐million dollar project; they would do anything to ensure that everything goes according to plan. He wasn’t about to mess it up any time soon.

So Green Beans thought long and hard about his cheese dilemma and came to the conclusion that he was going to really try to fit into this new community. He would focus on more important tasks instead of pining away for one last taste of cheese. Green Beans was going to become a model citizen.

Green Beans was good to his word and followed all the rules. He disrupted no one and caused no mischief or mayhem. For the first time in months, Green Beans expressed no thought or care towards cheese, nor anything that slightly resembled it. It appeared that Green Beans would no longer be at the mercy of his taste buds. Until a strange visitor appeared on his doorstep in the middle of the night.

Green Beans woke up to find himself surrounded by darkness. The sound of knocking on his front door had woken him.

“Who’s there?” he called out into the night. The mysterious knocker gave no reply, so Green Beans, still in his pajamas threw back his sheets and silently crossed his bedroom decorated with hundreds of pictures, capturing memories of his family, friends, and trips he had taken over the years. Glancing at them he couldn’t make out any of the faces staring at him in the darkness as he walked by the only sound that could be heard was the muffled clip-‐clop, clip-‐clop, of his hooves on carpet.

He reached the door of his bedroom, opened it, and turned left quietly clip-‐clopping across the hall, down the stairs and finally reaching the front door just in time for the mysterious visitor to right the bell again. This time more impatiently than the last. Wondering who in the world could be calling at this hour Green Beans opened the door to find himself standing face to face with the most peculiar man he had ever seen before.

The man was short and rather large around the middle. His face was round with five o’clock shadow as well as sweat and dirt smeared everywhere you looked at him. He wore a straw hat that seemed to have seen better days, a red Hawaiian shirt with pictures of flowers that used to be white covering it and had a blue hiking



backpack slung across his back bulging with various items. His beige khaki shorts landed just above his extremely hairy legs and were also caked in dirt and mud. Green Beans’ gaze finally landed at this man’s feet to see worn out brown sandals that had the company’s logo printed on the straps. The socks he was wearing with the sandals came halfway up his calves and were shocking white. They were too clean to match the rest of his outfit, but by the look on the man’s face he did not appear to be aware of that fact.

“Hello?” Green Beans was startled by the strange man’s appearance on his doorstep and wasn’t sure how to address him.

“Good evening kind sir! I apologize for waking you but I have heard that you take in weary travelers. My name is Salamander Joe and I have been traveling through these parts for a few weeks. Five days ago I reached the summit of Candy Mountain and was making my way through the Lollipop Forest when I lost my way and ended up here at your doorstep.” The little man said all of this very quickly.

“Um, would you like to come in?” Green Beans asked.

“Very much my Unicornian friend, I would like that very much!” Salamander Joe answered.

The little man whizzed past Green Beans, down the hall and into the parlor where he called out, “If you don’t mind terribly, I would love a cup of tea! It’s freezing out there!”

When the tea was ready Green Beans put it on a tray and carried it back to the parlor where Salamander Joe was waiting. Green Beans set the tray on the coffee table in front of him and sat down in the overstuffed chair next to the fireplace where, it appeared, Salamander Joe had already started a fire.

Salamander Joe reached for a cup and said in a very low serious voice, “Listen, I’m going to get right to the point so I waste the least amount out your time possible. I am part of a secret government agency that specializes in extraterrestrial life forms. We have been monitoring you for quite some time and we believe that you are more than capable—“

“Wait, I already know about the Unicornian Research Project, I was one of the six participants, I know all about that.” Green Beans interrupted.

“I am well aware Green Beans, but that is not what I am talking—“

“How do you know my name? I never told you my name, did I?” Green Beans was getting more and more confused the longer this man kept talking.

“Please, let me continue, I have been sent here to ask you if you would like to accompany me on an expedition to the moon. It has been rumored that there is a colony of aliens living there creating large quantities of cheese and—“



At the mention of the word cheese, everything that had been said by this clearly insane man didn’t matter anymore. Right then, in the middle of the night, with this strange man droning on in between sips of tea, Green beans knew that he was going to do whatever it took to get that moon cheese.

“So, will you join me?” Salamander Joe had apparently finished his speech.

Green Beans smiled and said, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Then it’s settled! If you would be so kind as to let me stay in your spare bedroom, we will be off bright and early tomorrow morning!”

Green Beans could barely ever hear him, he was so excited that he was finally going to eat cheese again. Not just any cheese either, Green Beans was going to eat moon cheese! He could barely contain his excitement.

At exactly five o’clock A.M. Salamander Joe burst into Green Beans’ bedroom cheerfully shouting: “Get up! Get up! We’re leaving in fifteen minutes! Can’t be late! C’mon, get up!”

Green Beans groaned, then finally got out of bed grumbling and muttering.

Salamander Joe, who was already dressed and had eaten breakfast, just tutted and said, “My, you’re a mess! Come on, come on, got to brush those teeth, comb that main, I’ve already made a fresh pot of coffee for you! C’mon! That moon cheese isn’t going to wait all day for us!”

With the mention of cheese Green Beans moved noticeably faster and seemed all around a lot more cheerfully. Fifteen minutes later Green Beans and Salamander Joe were out the door ready to begin their adventure. Salamander Joe confidently led the way while Green Beans followed close behind. They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a small clearing. Salamander Joe pulled out a small silver box from his pocket pushed the red button on the lid of the box causing it to open. From inside the box Salamander Joe pulled out two small yellow colored pills. He gave one to Green Beans and kept the other for himself. Then he put the lid back on the box and put the box back in his pocket.

He leaned in towards Green Beans and said in a low voice, “These pills will allow our bodies to be able to leave the space ship without a space suit. We’ll take them when we land. They won’t provide oxygen though, there’s a different pill for that.”

With that Salamander Joe reached into his pocket one more and pulled out a box exactly the same size and shape as the last one, except this one was colored gold. He pushed a blue button that was on top of this box, set in down on the grass in front of him then took a few steps backwards, gesturing for Green Beans to do the same. The gold box beeped once, twice, three times, them with a loud popping noise a small space ship just big enough for two people, or one person and a unicorn appeared in front of them. Salamander Joe walked towards the space craft. Just as he was about



to walk right into the side of the ship, a small door slid open allowing him to enter. Salamander Joe beckoned for Green Beans to do the same.

Once inside Salamander Joe made his way to the front of the space ship where the controls were, sat down, and began pressing buttons. Not wanting to miss out on anything, Green Beans sat in the seat next to his being very careful not to touch anything. Green Beans had so many questions to ask Salamander Joe but before he could open his mouth he looked over at his and saw how concentrated on pushing buttons he was, Green Beans decided not to interrupt him.

Before he knew it the space ship was rising slowly off the ground, climbing higher and higher into the sky. Not too much later they found themselves in space getting closer to their final destination. Finally, they had arrived on the moon.

Before Green Beans could do anything dangerous Salamander Joe reminded him to swallow the yellow pill he had given him as well as the purple one that he extracted from a bronze box identical to the two others. Green Beans was so excited to find the moon cheese that he could hardly swallow the pills. Even after he did he still had to wait for Salamander Joe to gather supplies for them to collect the cheese with. After what felt like years, but was really only five minutes, they were finally ready to leave.

As he walked along the surface of the moon Green Beans began to notice that all around him was absolute silence. He couldn’t see any cheese from where he was, and when he turned around to report this to Salamander Joe he was nowhere to be found. Wondering where he could have gone Green Beans called out, “Hello? Salamander Joe? HELLO?” But there was no reply. Green Beans decided that his best bet was to go back to the ship and look for his there. When Green Beans found the crater that the space ship should have been, there were only dust and craters. Green Beans was starting to worry now, where could he have gone? Finally, it dawned on him. Salamander Joe had ditched him. He had left him stranded on the moon all alone with no way to go back to Earth. There was no moon cheese it was all just a trick. But, what would leaving him here on the moon do? He wasn’t fabulously rich; he hadn’t told anyone he was going there hadn’t been time.

While Green Beans was busy cursing Salamander Joe for leaving him there, he didn’t notice a small, one eyed, green creature appear from behind a rock.

“Excuse me,” it said in a high pitched voice, “But I can tells you exactly what happened, I was on my lunch break and I couldn’t help but overhear your landing. It’s been a while since there has been anyone besides my species on the moon, it was rather interesting.”

Green Beans was so utterly confused he, continued staring at the little green creature but it made no difference because it just kept talking.

“My name is Roberta, but you can call me Bertie, I saw you come out of your little ship first and head in that direction,” Bertie pointed to where Green Beans had just



walked, “then your little friend got off the ship and thought you had gone in that direction,” she pointed the opposite way that he had gone, “and when he couldn’t find you he came back to the ship muttering about how looking for you was thirsty work and how he wanted a Coke. So he climbed back into that little ship and flew off looking for a vending machine. Ha! By now he’s probably found our cheese factory and-‐“

“Wait, did you say cheese factory?” Green Beans asked, “You’re telling me that there really is a cheese factory on the moon?”

“Why of course there is! It’s a short walk in that direction, I can take you there if you like, we make the most wonderful cheese! Ah think you’ll really like it.” Without waiting for a reply she smiled and led him in the direction of the moon cheese factory. Bertie took him into the most beautifully designed factory Green Beans had ever been in. Every inch of the place, from the crown molding on the vaulted ceilings, to the flowers, perfectly arranged on the antique tables that lined the entry hall. They made their way towards what appeared to be a kitchen. Inside there were hundreds of little green creatures that looked just like Bertie. They wore white aprons and gloves and were concentrating very hard on perfecting the cheese.

“Here, try some,” Bertie said taking a small square of cheese off of a plate sitting on the counter next to them. “I insist.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Green Beans replied quickly taking the cheese out of her hand, popping it into his mouth quickly before anyone could stop him. As soon as it touched his tongue Green Beans knew that this was like no other cheese he had ever tasted. Nothing could compare and he wondered for a second if, after tasting this masterpiece, he would ever be able to appreciate any other food ever again. As soon as he swallowed he knew he must have another piece. But he stopped himself, because at that moment Green Beans knew that he had to share this with as many people as he could, starting with Salamander Joe. That is if, he could find him. No sooner had he finished that thought that who should burst through the doors of the kitchen, it was none other than Salamander Joe. He had a slice of cheese in one hand and a bottle of Coke in the other. It appeared that he had the same idea as Green Beans.

They began to talk in between bites of cheese and discussed the pros and cons of starting their own cheese delivery service. Finally they agreed to open their own business and share this cheese with the world. The factory workers all thought it was a good idea and agreed to supply them with the cheese, and so the Salamander-‐Bean Cheese Delivery Service was born.



Sci Fi- short story

Anonymous

Sci-‐ Fi Short Story

Were all standing in the middle of Texas-‐ with dinosaurs surrounding us everywhere we look? Until we all start feeling the ground shake and we look up and see a giant dinosaur looking down at us with drool coming out his mouth and licking his lips. “Was he going to eat us?” I thought to myself. He starts talking like human talking everyone was amazed sad to say I was to. “I was sent here to find my master here on earth,” he said. While he was talking a baby chimp appeared at my feet and climbed up my leg and sat on my shoulders. Where did he come from, maybe he escaped or maybe he just came from Africa, no one knows or really cares at this point. “Why did he choose me?” I thought, maybe he knew I loved monkeys and decided to come find me.

Were I oh right, dinosaurs they were everywhere the one talking was Nike he was the oldest. As he would say whoever sent him said he was the “chosen one” but I couldn’t tell what was so special about him, was it because he was so old and wrinkly like a raisin? Well he began telling us this boring story about how his mom had always told him he was special but he never knew why she said that. Or frankly why would she say that he’s really not even interesting I mean he talks slow and is just old besides that who cares.

The only thing he said that I really cared about that if he didn’t find his master the world would be terminated point blank. How could he say that he doesn’t have the time to know everyone for all I know he could go any day now? Why would anyone want to terminate the world without even living here, or even know any of us and how much fun everyone is. At that very moment he turned into a human why? I had no idea maybe he wanted the full Esperance of being a real human who knows what his plan his. Nike told everyone to go on and pretend as if he wasn’t there so we all listen and did as we were told.

Weeks and weeks went on and we had not been terminated maybe he found his master. Next I knew months went by and then finally years. Where could he be, maybe he left I don’t know, the next thing I knew what that everyone was to go back to the center of Texas were we met Nike. As we boarded the plan everyone was talking about how they thought he found his master or he had made a final decision. So everyone was at the center of Texas when a man walks up with a lady who looks to be his assistance. He then spoke and said he was Nike a young stunning man in what seemed to be his early thirties. As he started talking he said he had found his master. We all wondered what his or her name could be. Nike then started talking again, he said finding a master was not what he was really here for. The real reason he was here was to find love and love takes precious and is something you cannot rush. Love was what he was trying to find not a master in which he was talking



about a wife. The woman who people thought was his assistant was yet to be his fiancé but she did not know that. At that very moment he got down on one knee and said I love you Alexis Douglas and enjoyed my time with you and hope to spend much more time with you, Will you marry me? “Yes I will marry you, I cannot think of what my life would be like without you.”

Then and there I realized love is a very valuable thing that you cannot rush into love or a marriage. You have to cherish everything and everyone around you because you never know when you will find the right person for you. Maybe it’s love at first site or maybe it takes time but one day you will find the right person for you.



The Disease

Bethany L.

My eyes opened, slowly focusing on my surroundings. Huh? Where was I? Oh right. Some town in Iowa. Observing the room, I decide I like this house a lot. The room I had slept in was painted a light blue and it had colorful flowers dancing along the borders. The furniture was dark brown, and looked expensive. The bed was soft, and huge pink draperies surrounded it. No wonder I slept great last night. Happiness bubbled inside me at the possibility that we may get to stay here for a while. I kick myself out of bed and see what they have for me to wear. My legs rush me over to the large dresser. When I yank it open, I hear a huge crack! as some of the wood splits. Oops. Oh well, it’s not like the people who lived here would care. They were probably dead. After carefully opening the drawer, my hands immediately land on a pretty purple dress and some pretty sandals. The dress automatically shrunk to fit me and the sandals, being small, had to expand a little. I put my hair up and check a mirror. “Today is August 16th, 2092” the mirror told me. It was really dusty so I wiped it off, feeling bad for the mirror. I wonder if it knew that nobody was ever here.

When I get downstairs, my caretaker, Mrs. Mallory, was busy at the stove. She’s a short, stocky woman in her forties. She has curly orange hair that looks like it’s on fire. She’s a nice woman; she takes good care of me. Her husband is seated at the large mahogany table, eating some of the soup she’s made. He looks up and smiles crookedly. He’s an older man, slightly balding with unkempt hair. It makes him look a little wild. Unlike Mrs. Mallory, he’s extremely skinny, which adds to his whole look.

“Angie! Come get your soooup!” Mrs. Mallory sings. She seems awfully happy today. “Look honey! We have food to last us a lifetime here!” I look to where she’s pointing. A enormous cabinet spilling over with food. SO much food. I definitely like it here.

I take the soup and grab a seat at the table. I pick up my spoon to try the soup. SMACK! I look towards the stove. Mrs. Mallory starts flinching and jerking, the cooking spoon hitting the counter. Her eyes, briefly meeting mine, are yellow, animalistic. She quickly catches herself and goes back to stirring. In that moment I know she’ll have to die. I must report her, before she harms us. Her husband had noticed too. He hunkers down in his large chair and solemnly stares at his soup. I press a button on my silver bracelet. They will be coming soon. They’ll know to take her. They always know who. We all have the disease, the one that killed most of the



planet. It passes through air and can live for long periods of time in any environment. Impossible not to catch. For some reason it’s progressing slowly with us. But it does get bad after a while. When it does, we must kill them. The disease causes them to act like animals, hunting everything they see. You can’t think-‐-‐caught in a huge killing craze until the disease eventually finishes you. So we must know when it’s gotten too bad. We must control it. The exterminators burst through the door. They wear bright orange suits that cover their faces and carry guns. The suits are completely unnecessary. We all have the disease. Like that’ll protect them.

Mrs. Mallory starts screaming. “No! You don’t understand! It’s not my time! I’m perfectly fine, see? Please! NO!” They don’t listen to her. She shrieks and her husband starts crying. He must not move, or he will be killed too.

“Please! You don’t understand, IT’S NOT MY TIME!!” They drag her out, her screams audible as she’s pulled along the road. I turn off the stove and sit back down. I try the soup, it’s some sort of vegetable-‐meat kind, it’s really good. A tear falls into the broth. I stop myself. Life must go on, no matter how short of a life that may be.



Nizax

Dakarai B.

Ding-‐Dong went the door bell ding-‐dong dinnng-‐dong wait a sec “I’m on my way “I yell and I open up the door and step through.

As I stepped through the portal I could hear the drip-‐drip of the water hitting the cave floor. As I walked through the cave there was a sudden movement in the corner of my eye. As I whip around to see what it was, I hear a sound behind me and something hard hits my head and I drop like a rock. As I wake up I could not remember anything from when I was in the cave. As I looked I could see that strapped into something kind of like a hospital bed .As I tried to break loss I heard foot steps coming towards me. As I strained to see who it was, I yelled to the person “who are you.’

The shadow hissed back “I am your doctor.’

‘What am I here for?” I cried.

“You are here for an experiment and I am here to get you ready.” And there was a sharp sting in between my upper arm and my lower arm. I looked down and saw a scaly reptilian hand appear with a syringe and in that syringe was a gooey green substance and the substance is called Nizax. As he emptied the rest of the green substance into my arm I black out.

As I neared the edge of consciousness I could here voices but I could not see any light. As I woke up I could feel a waxy kind of substance around me. I try to get out but my arms won’t obey. There must be something wrong with me, I yell but it seems as if no one can hear me. I keep yelling but there is a strain in my voice and now I can barely whisper. Then I remember something, I remember that substance, that substance that the doctor put in my arm. There is an intense heat in the wax cocoon and it starts melting as I look around the room I see a mirror as I walk to it seems as if there is an intense heat in the room. I’m at the mirror I open my eyes and scream. It can’t be true. It just can’t be. This is not happening I think to myself. I open my eyes again and theirs that monster staring right at me I’m on fire. In my head I’m wondering how is this not hurting me. And then I remember they injected me with Nizax. As I try to stop this fiery inferno I’m thinking there’s got to be some kind of switch in my head and I think what that may be.

“Fire off.” Nope nothing. “Water” nothing again. As I think of something that has to do with fire I remember that one movie that they made a long time ago I think it was called fantastic four and there was this one guy who had the power of turning on and off his flame power owwh yea flame on and they fire is extinguished like it was doused with water. Wow is that cool or what I think I could get used to this and I walk to the door open it and step out into a desert. Man is this weird or what. And I



flew up into the air with a whoosh. Wow I can fly and be on fire this is awesome and I get hit by a jet and Lamicheal James is never heard from again. The end I say to my kids, “wow dad that story was awesome” they say in unison and the door bell rings.



The Bird

Anonymous

The strange bird was perched on the roof of the pristine but plain metal building. It cackled and crowed in alarm as I walked past the perfectly pruned bushes, to the large door. A gust of wind came out of nowhere and ruffled my hair. When I reached the building, a voice demanded my name and fingerprint to enter.

“Keila Whine,” I said, voice shaking as I stuck my thumb onto the print-‐pad that came out from the side of the door.

“Access granted,” Stated the machine. The well-‐oiled doors opened without a creak and I entered the building. My footsteps echoed throughout the empty room. The ceiling was 2 stories high and the room was made of nothing but shiny metal. The silence surrounded me and sent a shiver down my spine. I stood, waiting for someone to guide me to where I was supposed to be.

“Hello?” I asked, my voice filling the whole room. I started to back out, thinking I was in the wrong place, when a piece of the floor disappeared and a screen came out of it. It was floating in mid-‐air. It seemed as if a beam of light was holding it up.

A woman popped onto the screen and said, “How may I help you today?”

I was startled and mumbled, “Um, I am here to speak to Mr. Klein about my brother’s jail sentence.”

The woman on the screen looked down, she seemed to be scanning a schedule, “Yes, of course. You are Keila Whine, he is expecting you. Go right through the door to your right.” As if on cue, a portion of the wall opened. I took a deep breath, adjusted my skirt and walked through the door. It brought me into a large office. At one side of the room was a plant and at the other, there was a desk, but nobody was sitting in the chair. This was very strange. A screen rose from the desk and turned on.

“Hello, you must be Keila,” The man on the screen said in a cold voice. He was wearing a suit and had his hair slicked back. This was strange, I had been expecting a real person.

“Yes, I am Keila Whine. I’m here about my brother’s jail sentence,” I said.

“Of course, of course, but before we talk about that, let me tell you a little story,” he paused and looked down, “You see, the government is trying to control the current society. This job is a bit difficult, given the circumstances. People rebelling every day, just like your brother.” My brother had been part of an organized rebellion. Him and some of his friends didn’t think that the government should be controlling us like they were and they had a protest. When some policemen came in to break it up, they wouldn’t leave so they arrested them. My family had been devastated. We tried



to come up with the money to bail him, but we couldn’t. We had been saving for months and finally had enough. I had come here—to the jail—today to take him home.

“We have to take care of those kind of people,” he continued “Or the country wouldn’t be safe for the type of people-‐like you Keila-‐who just want to live your lives in peace.” I nodded. I didn’t really care what he had to say, I just wanted to get my brother and bring him home to my family.

“I understand, Mr. Klein, but I have the money right here, I would like to bail my brother out from jail.” I said politely.

“Yes, Keila. I will see what I can do. Just deposit the check in the slot on the bottom of the screen.” He said. I looked and found what he was talking about. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the check. When I put it into the slot, it seemed to come out to him.

“Ah, yes. The exact amount.” Mr. Klein said in a greedy voice, grasping the check.

“Could you release my brother now please?” I asked. I was getting impatient.

“I am afraid that I cannot do that Ms. Whine. You see, your brother has been executed. He continued to rebel in jail and we had no choice. You may exit the office to your left.” The screen went black. I was shocked, this was not fair! All he did was stand up for what he believed in! The government had too much power. He was not going to get away with this. My brother was not a bad person. He didn’t deserve to be executed! But the screen had turned off. I tapped on it. Then I started to pound.

“HELLO?!” I screamed, furious. This must be against the law. They had killed my brother—and taken the money that my family had been saving up for months. They can’t do this!

“I would like to speak to MR. KLEIN!” I shouted again. Why wouldn’t anyone respond? Why were they all on screens? There had to be some real people around here somewhere. I pounded on the walls. I yelled at the top of my lungs. I walked out of the office and into the room I entered in. The door shut behind me.

“HELLO?!” I searched the walls for another door, but that was the only one. The screen that the receptionist had popped up on earlier was gone and I was alone. I stayed there for what seemed like hours, waiting. Someone had to come eventually. I yelled, asking for Mr. Klein, anyone. I scanned the room endless times looking for another entrance. There was a fire in my chest. I was so angry. My brother was innocent in the first place, and then they had executed him! I punched the wall as hard as I could and my hand throbbed in pain. The metal must be steel, it was so sturdy. It was then that I finally started to cry. I sobbed for hours and hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about my poor brother, he did not deserve to die. He was just fighting for his rights. The government had gotten out of hand, they were controlling too much.



I was still crying when, through the blur of my tears, I saw orange outside of the building. What was it? I went up to the door and looked out. The world was on fire! Flames were eating up the bushes and coming towards the building. The fire went for as far as I could see. I didn’t want to look at my apartment building, but when I did, I saw that it too was on fire. My family was in there! Why was this happening? I pushed on the doors, but they wouldn’t open. I kept pushing, but the doors wouldn’t budge. I slammed my whole body against them and I kept trying. My family was out there! I needed to help! I began to realize that I was trapped. Now, the flames were almost to the building. I needed to get out!

I slumped against the door and started to cry. About my brother—and the fact that I was trapped in a strange building while the world outside was on fire didn’t help much. I cried for what seemed like hours and when I got up, I looked outside and I saw ashes. Nobody was around and the buildings had been reduced to heaps. Fires were still roaring. I tried again to get out. I pushed against the door, but this time it opened! I ran outside and everything changed. The sky was blue and the buildings that were on fire were there again, just as I had left them. I was baffled. I looked back at the building and it looked just as it did when I walked inside. Then I heard a bird crow, and a gust of wind ruffle my hair . . .



The Inventor

George L.

Will lived in a small town in northern Montana. It was a place no one has ever heard of. If someone drove there-‐it was probably by accident. But even in this little corner of the world, Will was always different. He just didn’t quite get things people his age got. But the one thing he did get was science and math. When he was fourteen he took college chemistry and calculus classes.

He wanted to invent things. He had a science lab in his basement where he did experiments of things he built like the robot he built when he was twelve. He had it do his chores allowing him to build bigger and better robots. When he was fifteen, he built and patented an automatic lawn mower that after one time through a lawn, it memorizes the lawn and runs through the lawn twice a week. He made millions.

Now at 22, he is a millionaire with a large professional lab. His next big project was the accident avoiding car, where it would automatically avoid any object. All the user had to do is guide the car and select the speed. The car would do the rest.

When he became 40, he was the richest man in the world, having 48 patents, and changed the world for the better. He had ended the need for war and designed buildings that could withstand anything.

On his hundredth birthday he died, giving his money to his friends and family. All of his life he wanted to change the world for the better. He succeeded. On the side of the bed he died in, he left a simple note. I have left all my intelligence, emotions, and thoughts to my son. He will pick up where I left off.

His friend Josh read the note by his bed wondering why he would say that. He did not have any children. Josh heard a noise walking up the stairs. And with small robotic motions a child walked in the room. It said in a steady slow voice, “Hello Josh. My name is Will-‐ Jr.”



A New World

Kelly B.

According to an inside source, the World Council is not going as planned. The nations cannot agree on anything. Environmental issues, a world currency, or the ownership of the newfound islands in the Atlantic. None of the issues at hand have been resolved. The politicians of the world fear the worst is yet to come and that….. I flipped off the T.V. Its rubbish, absolute rubbish that people think there will be a World War III. I mean we have had peace I our world for over 75 years and now they say a war. Absolute rubbish!

I grabbed my blue robe and headed off for my very last day of school-‐my high school graduation day. I was going to meet my friend, Mandi Traclet, at her house and then we would head to the football field for graduation. Hopefully, my dad could make it, but I wasn’t counting on it that much. He worked for the government on secret projects and had not come to one school event since my first grade play when I was a flower in Peter Rabbit. So to say the least, my father did not care about anything I did as long as no laws were broken.

I started to write a note for Dad if he came home and forgot, but I just ended up ripping the paper up because even if he got the note, it would most likely be too late. Then, I second guessed myself. What if he did come home and wanted to come? So, I started writing the note all over again, ripped it up, and made the executive decision to not leave a note at all.

I drove over to Mandi’s house and waited over an hour for her to fix her hair and make-‐up.

“Mandi, it’s not that big of a deal-‐you’ll be wearing a hat anyway,” I complained.

“Um, excuse me, my fancy pants friend-‐Jacquelyn, not everyone can just look perfect with no effort,” she stated with jealousy.

“Mandi, I don’t look that pretty okay? Any one of your looks is better than mine, so can we please hurry it up. I don’t want to miss dinner!”

I swore she was insufferable, but she still was my best friend in the world so I stayed and watched her do and undo at least 10 more hairstyles until she got it right. Then, her parents took pictures and we went out to dinner before the big night. Of course, Mandi’s parents wondered where my dad was.

“Jacquelyn, where’s your dad? He was going to meet us here, wasn’t he?” Mandi’s mom questioned curiously. Since my mom died when I was little, Mrs. Traclet was my second mom, and with my dad’s job, practically raised me. I hated lying to her, but, sometimes, I had to do it under the circumstances.



“Well….”

Okay, think-‐what excuse have I not used in a while-‐ AH HA, the simple one!

“He called and got stuck in traffic so he will hopefully make the ceremony.”

Yeah, she should buy that.

“Oh, sweetie I know that-‐-‐he’ll make it. And you know what? We will even save him a seat. Just call and tell him that we will be sitting front row on the left side. Okay?” she said encouragingly.

As she said that, the waiter came by with our meals saving me from an awkward silence. We all participated in meaningless table talk while eating our dinner, but the entire time I was feeling disgusted with myself for lying and with my dad for not supporting me. I tried to help it, but Mandi could always tell when something was up, this time was no different.

“Jacquelyn, we are going to the bathroom. Right now,” Mandi demanded.

“Um, Mandi, hate to break it to you, but I don’t need to go the bathroom.”

“Oh, but you do!” With that she grabbed my arm and pulled me all the way to the bathroom.

“Ugh, Mandi will you stop it!” I yelled.

“Alright, what’s up? You have been acting weird all evening. You should be happy, we are graduating! You’ve dreamed your whole life for this, what is the matter?” she inquired.

“It’s nothing Mandi. Come on let’s get back to dinner.”

“You see the thing is, it is something. It’s got you all worked up and now I’m worked up. So young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?” she said. Mandi, when she got all worked up, tried to be confident to confuse, but it just ending up making me mad.

“It’s my dad, Mandi and you of all people should know that. I am always mad because he can never get away from his stupid job long enough for one moment with me. Not even my graduation. Okay? Now, come on-‐we should get back to dinner.”

When we returned we sat in silence and ate our dinner. Soon, after that we left for graduation and when we arrived at the football field, we ran off from Mrs. and Mr. Traclet and met our friends in our seats. We were all talking when the principal said the big evening was going to start. I took one last look at the Traclets only to notice my father still had not shown up.



The graduation was teary eyed, laughable, and pretty much amazing. I felt so accomplished to receive my diploma only to be filled with disappointment when I looked out into the crowd and realized my father, yet again, would have to take a rain check.

Two Weeks Later

Summer had begun and I was just beginning to settle into a normal routine and then, it was announced that I had a pair of new neighbors; a mother, father, and a son just a little bit older than me. When, it came time for them to move in, I volunteered myself to help them move in because I had nothing better to do. They said it would take a couple of days to finish it all, but I really did not mind it. It was a job to keep me busy.

I came to know the son, Alec, as I helped with the move and found him rather attractive. He had pale skin, a dirty blond hair cut, and hazel eyes. He was funny, smart, and as far as I could see absolutely perfect. Before, the end of the first day I was drooling over him and I do believe he noticed, so he made it his mission to tease me about throughout the day.

“So Jacquelyn, what are you doing this summer?” he said causally, but with a smirk.

“So far, working hard at a job I don’t have to do, so I could be by a boy who is absolutely clueless that I like him,” I replied hoping he would take the hint.

“Why, Jacquelyn, whatever do you mean?” he said as he held back laughter.

“Real subtle, Alec,” I replied in a coy manner, exaggerating the enunciation on the C.

“I could say the same to you, Jacquelyn.” He shot back copying my enunciation on the C. After he said that I could contain myself. I began to laugh and he followed. Somewhere, in the mess of our five minute laughing spree, I fell off my chair only making us laugh more. When I tried to get up, I “accidentally” pulled the chair out from underneath Alec making him fall, which led to more laughter. Then, with us lying on the ground laughing our heads off, I leaned on him and we ended up kissing.

As the summer went on, Alec and I became inseparable. With it being summer, neither of us had an agenda which made it perfect timing for love. The thing was, we never had to try and impress each other. Our dates were never five star restaurants, boating trips, or even a trip to the movies because most of the time we would just hang out at one of our houses. Especially Alec’s house, because they had a separate patio with a pool, small deck, and a fire pit area.

One day, when I had just come home from “swimming” at Alec’s, I was really hyper. I walked in the door laughing, remembering all the jokes from that day to find my



dad sitting at our kitchen table with two plates of pasta and iced tea all set out. Now, this was odd-‐I mean really odd. I had not seen my father all summer (not exaggerating) because he got up way before me and came home after I had gone to bed.

“Hey, Jackie…”

I hated it when he called me that.

“I thought we could have a nice family sit down dinner tonight. Wouldn’t that be nice? I feel like I haven’t seen you all summer,” he said with a smile. Most likely trying to guilt me into dinner, but it was not going to work. Not this time.

“Ummm…..sorry dad. I have plans with Alec Walsh. You know, the new kid next door.” I replied hoping he would take the excuse and leave it at that.

“There’s a new family next door? I hadn’t even noticed. Oh, and this Alec kid is he nice? Do you like him as more than a friend? You realize I’ve never meet this kid, right?” my dad questioned.

“Well……one-‐yes there is a new family next door, two-‐I can’t believe you did not notice, seeing I spent two weeks helping them move in, three-‐ Alec is super nice, four-‐ I do like him in a “more than friend” way, we have been going out for a little over a month, and five-‐yes, I realize you haven’t meet this kid,” I respond coldly.

“A little over a month and you didn’t tell me!” he raised his voice.

“When would I have told you? You are NEVER home and I have probably only gotten five phone calls from you all summer. You missed graduation, dad. Or did you not even notice that? GRADUATION! And not even a little as a text message. How do you think that made me feel?” I screamed.

“I di, ….., I wa…..” he stumbled.

“Like crap, Dad! Like crap.” As I said that I was holding back the tears. I ran upstairs to my room and got out of my swimsuit as quickly as possible. I threw on shorts and a tee, pulled my soaking hair into a messy bun, and dashed down stairs.

I was full on sobbing when I rang the doorbell at the Walsh’s. When Alec opened the door he was smiling, as usual, until he saw my face. He pulled me inside and he hugged me. He just stood there, asking no questioned, and hugged me for what seemed like forever.

Three Weeks Later



When my birthday (July 2nd) rolled around, Alec wanted to something extra fun. I said it was no big deal. Next, came the issue with my present-‐he wanted to get me the perfect one. I, once again, had to explain I did not want anything special. As long as he was there, it would be perfect for me.

On July 2nd Alec woke me up at 6 am by throwing rocks, not pebbles, but rocks at my window. The rocks actually caused a hole and broke through the window hitting me. When he realized what he did, he began yelling apologetically up at my window. I acted mad and said I was not coming down. While he stood there, yelling apologies up at me, I was getting ready. I snuck out the back door and tip-‐toed around to the front of the house. I got a running start and jumped onto Alec’s back piggy-‐back style. He then proceeded to carry me all the way over to his car and set me the passenger’s seat. He jumped in himself and started driving to an unknown destination.

I clicked on the radio, hoping to find music, but at six thirty in the morning, all that is on is news. So as Alec drove around and I became really excited to see what we were doing for my birthday, we listened to CNN news report the latest about the World Council.

A world war is on the horizon. Small wars have broken out across the globe. Nuclear weaponry threats are being made at all nations, but the United States has received the most. We encourage all individuals and especially families, to stock up on necessary items such as water, batteries, and most importantly…

“Alec, why did you flick off the radio? I was really hoping to find out the most important necessary item in case of a nuclear war,” I complained sarcastically.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to ruin our perfect day,” he stated.

“Alec, I told you I don’t want anything special,” I lied.

“We are over halfway there. So no more protesting, from you young lady,” he teased.

“Well….where exactly is there-‐may I ask?” I inquired. He just made that half smile/half smirk face that made my heart melt (he never let me forget it) so I gave in.

“Now, Ms. Jacquelyn, reach into the glove compartment and pull out the black eye mask. Put it on so you can’t see. I want this to be a surprise,” he ordered. I followed his orders and waited for him to tell me we were there.

In no time, we stopped and got out of the car. Immediately, I smelled lots of plants and thought, oh, great-‐A forest hiking trip. Alec grabbed my hands and pulled me around for what seemed like forever. We went up hills, around hills, and at some point I think we went through a hill. Then, we sat down and he told me I could take the blindfold off. Once I adjusted to the light, I realized we were surrounded by



beautiful plants, trees, and garden décor. It took me a moment to process it all, but I figured out where we were.

“You took me to the botanical gardens didn’t you?” I said in awe. I turned to look at him only to see him just smiling watching my reaction. “I can’t believe you did this. How in the world did you know I wanted to come here? I’m pretty sure I never told you.”

“The fact that when we were moving in, you helped the landscapers the most. It was either this or Turner’s tree farm so by process of elimination, this is where I decided to bring you.”

“Well, you got it dead on. Why do you have to be so perfect?” I teased. That was my birthday. We sat in a beautiful garden just talking and hanging out. Alec had even packed a picnic lunch. But, around 6 it began to rain so we headed home. We got lost in the garden multiple times; therefore by the time we got to Alec’s car we were drenched. He drove home with us laughing the whole way home.

“Would you like to go swimming in the rain?” Alec asked when we pulled into his driveway.

“Why not-‐we are already wet.” As we headed for the pool, Alec grabbed my arms and started humming the tune of my favorite song. So we stood there, stupidly dancing in the rain, as Alec sang my favorite songs.

“So was this the best birthday ever?” Alec wondered.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” I said with a smile.

As summer went on, Alec and I became closer and closer while the World Council grew further apart. On July 29th, 2027, World War III began. The United States did not initially start in the war. President Gabert didn’t choose sides until August, but when he did, panic struck our nation. Nuclear and biological weaponry was being used all around the world. The President promised the nation no attacks would be made on U.S soil, but everyone knew he could not promise that.

August 7th, was the first bomb attack on U.S. soil. Bulgaria had used a SEB-‐Intoxication (biological toxin) bomb and hit Anchorage, AK. Thousands of citizens were wiped out and the president couldn’t do a thing. On certain T.V. stations and radio channels, there was a repeating lop of a message from the president.

Our nation is at war. This war will not be fought on foreign grounds, but in our own backyard. This war will be fought with our children defending the homestead. This war will be fought until the world knows peace. Please activate plan 114 and know where the safest bunker is. These bunkers have been set up for years in case of an emergency. In the bunkers, you will find each family has a large room. There are also teachers ready for students and food stocked for your arrival. Medical supplies and



hospital will be set up all across the nation. Please save yourself and activate plan 114. The government will be running from underground bunker as well, so know that your country will survive. America will survive!

One morning my dad woke me up before he left for work to talk. He went on and on about how we must prepare and how I need to know all about plan 114.

“Jacquelyn, you must be prepared. There is a bunker not far from here and made for families with government workers. We will be moving in there tomorrow afternoon. We will have one room to stay in and only a few hours a day in the common room. Those will be assigned to us once we check in. There will be monthly doctor and dentist appointments and a small gym in our room to keep your health up,” My dad explained.

“Dad, there’s no way. I will not move into an underground bunker to live. I will not attend a university online. And I will not leave without Alec. There is no reason to do that,” I complained.

“I’m sorry Jacquelyn. But, you have no choice-‐tomorrow we are moving,” he commanded.

“Well, I’m staying here. And you can’t make me leave,” I stated.

“Jacquelyn, as long as you live under my roof. You’ll do what I say,” he commanded.

“Then tomorrow I’m moving.”

“Thank you! That is final!” my dad exclaimed, exasperated.

“Out! Tomorrow I will go and live with Alec or Mandi. Whichever one will take me. And THAT is final!” I yelled.

After a long discussion with Alec and The Walshs, they agreed I could move in with them. I would bring my bedroom stuff over to their house and live in the guest room. Moving in was really tiring and unlike earlier in the summer, Alec and I had gotten over our teasing phase. So, most of the day consisted of Alec’s parents carching us kissing in what would become my bedroom.

On August 16th, the bomb hit. I was working on packing up for college when the attack started. Bulgaria was targeting my hometown of Harrisonburg, Virginia. With my room in the basement, I did not hear the warning sirens going off until it was too late. By the time I went upstairs, the entire house was in flames form a biological bomb that went off not far from the house. It released an exotoxin, which caused me to go into septic shock after a certain number of minutes. At that point, a falling piece of debris hit my leg, trapping me. I vaguely remember the rest, but all I truly remember is Alec’s voice.

“Jacquelyn! Where are you? Jacquelyn.”



He was screaming my name, but because of the septic shock, I couldn’t respond. He yelled for what seemed like forever, until he found my crippled body underneath the debris. He tried as hard as he could to lift the destroyed housing off me. The whole time the fire was burning and the deadly toxins were seeping into his blood stream. He finally pulled me out from underneath the rubble and took me to the bunker.

There, I was put into intensive care because the septic shock had put me into a comma. I stayed in that comma for an entire year, until the technology was developed to help. For one year, 365 days, Alec lived at my bed side, just hoping that I would wake up. He ate, slept, and cried as a laid motionless, with multiple tubes and valves connected to my body.

On August 28th, 2028-‐I woke up. The first thing I remember seeing was Alec. He was sleeping on the small couch next to my hospital bed. He looked exhausted and weathered. I tried to talk to him, but all that came out was some weird groaning sound. He immediately perked up and smile when he saw my eyes were open.

“Jacquelyn?” he questioned in amazement.

“Alec? Where am I? What…where is, what happened?” I was delirious and very confused.

“Today is August 28th, 2028. Over a year ago, the bomb hit Harrisonburg. I was out with my parents grocery shopping when it happened. I came home to our house ablaze, with you still inside. I jumped out of the car and ran into the fire. I was searching through all the fiery debris, when I found your body underneath a support beam and part of the house siding. It took me several minutes before I was able to pull you out. It looked like your arm was broken so I made sure not to hit it as I got you out of the fire. I ran back to the car with you in my arms, and we headed for the bunker. I took you to the emergency care center in the bunker, while my parents tried to contact your father. I talked to the nurses and found out that you had breathed in a large amount of toxic air from the bomb. Your body went into septic shock, and then during surgery to fix your arm you went into a comma. Since, I was near the bomb, I breathed in some toxic air but not as much as you. From the fire, I suffered from severe third degree burns on most of my body, just like you. I was treated and then released to live with my family, But II decided to stay here in case you ever woke up. The doctors wanted to take you off meds, but I insisted that you stay in the hospital. Then, about a month ago, a doctor invented a new medicine to help victims of the bomb attack. They gave a large dosage to you, but after the first two weeks went by with ne results they gave up. But I never gave up. I have stayed by your bed side for the entire time, just waiting for you to open your eyes. Today, you did and I can’t thank anyone enough. You survived.”

“Wow! I can’t believe you stayed here this entire time. I can’t thank you enough—Wait, where is my dad?” I stammered out.

“Jacquelyn, I’m so sorry…”



“No, no, NO!”

“I’m so sorry Jacquelyn but he died in a fire. He got trapped in the basement of his office building and the rescue team couldn’t get there in time. I’m so sorry.”

“He’s gone. I never got to tell him I was sorry for fighting with him. He never knew. He never knew!” I cried out. And for the first time in a year, I cried my eyes out and Alec just held me.

Several Months Later

“Today’s the day!” I sang out cheerfully.

“I know! I’ve been counting down for months now!” Alec responded.

“I’ll finish packing up all the things here if you want to go sign the release papers,” I suggested. It was July 1st, 2029 and I was finally being released from the hospital. Alec and I were moving into a small living area in an underground bunker for college. We would both be studying History of Art at online Oxford. It would also be the first time I saw the bunker outside of the hospital.

“Alright, be back in a sec. Then, we can start moving in, “ he replied with a smile.

Once everything with the hospital was wrapped up, I went into the bunker. It was absolutely amazing. There was a complete growing area for plants growing with artificial sunlight and an advanced watering system to the far right. Straight in front of me was town square. There were small stores in the shape of a circle with entrances and exits on either side. There were shopping centers, supermarkets, doctors, dentists, pet stores, and restaurants. To my left was the living area. There were tons of alcoves with doors, which I assumed were like houses. They even had mail boxes. As Alec and I walked to our “house” I became more and more amazed. There were schools, playgrounds, sports fields, town halls, everything that a functioning society would need.

As we walked around, I noticed more and more similarities to the life we knew on earth and the life we knew underground. There were animals everywhere. People were walking their dogs around. Instead of cars, there was a single rail that ran straight through the middle of town and connected to all he “streets” were the houses were. There were little train cars going past it every few seconds. The streets even had names to resemble the city were we used to live. It was astonishing that all of this was underground.

When Alec and I arrived at our house, apartment 5398275, to the left was 5398274, and to the right was 5398276. There must have been billions of houses, set up like this, all in order around the country. Alec opened the door and we stepped inside. It was small and going to be very cramped, but we would make it work. We always did.



The next morning I woke up to find a small flower sitting on the pillow next to me where Alec’s head should have been. I immediately noticed it was bleeding heart, my favorite flower that should have been extinct because of the nuclear war. There was a note attached to it. I opened it up and began to read:

My Dearest Jacquelyn,

I know for your last birthday I gave you a garden, but under the circumstances I hope this will do. This is a flower that I took from the garden that day, two years ago. It was your favorite. It has sat in a pail of chemicals, persevering itself for today-‐your birthday. I also wrote a poem to go along with your gift. Now, I know it’s not the best, but it’s the thought that counts.

Somewhere over the clouds

Way up high;

This is where my love for you

Will forever lie

Somewhere through the breeze

Where birds chirp their love song

This is how much I love you

All along

Somewhere over the rainbow

Lay between each time

This is how I'll show you

With all of my rhyme

Somewhere on a paradise

When the sun shines bright

I will show you how shiny your love

Is in the glistening light



Love, Alec

Ten years Later-‐Present Day

“You, ready?” Alec asks me.

“With you, I’m ready for anything,” I say with a smile. Alec grabs my hands as we step back onto the ground after years underground. The landscape of the world has been changed from the war. Now, all the fog was gone and you can see true sunlight. It lights up the new world for us to see. The mountains have been leveled and the lakes have been dried. Our world has been changed because of a war. It will never go back to the way it was. It is a new world.



Plagued

Katie V.

It was close to midnight when the alarm sounded. The previously quiet city exploded with noise and activity. Everyone knew what the alarm meant. The plague had come. Arya, who had been falling asleep on her feet moments earlier, was now wide awake, rushing with adrenaline. “Bryn!” she screeched. He appeared in the doorway, and Arya knew he was thinking the same thing as her.

The kids.

Their minds seemed to think as one as they ran into the kids’ room. “Mommy, what’s happening? Why is everyone screaming? You said it couldn’t reach us here.” said Carm. Evyl remained eerily quiet. Though he might not have known what exactly “it” was, but everyone else did. The abiotic plague was the world-‐wide pandemic that affected all life, killing plants and turning people and animals into man-‐eating monsters with an insatiable appetite. “Well, I guess I was wrong, wasn’t I?” Arya said through clenched teeth. Then she relaxed. This wasn’t Carm’s fault. “Sorry, Carm, I’m just kind of stressed right now.”

“That’s okay. I love you anyway.” Carm said. You might not if I can’t get you out of here in time, thought Arya. She burst through the front door, Carm holding her hand. Evyl was in Bryn’s arms, maintaining her ominous silence. Their intentions were instinctive. Very nerve was hyperactive, charged with adrenaline and screaming, “Save the children!”

Carrying five-‐year-‐old Evyl and two-‐year-‐old Carm, Bryn and Arya ran. They ran through the city, alive with the energy of the blazing inferno, flickering with heat and light. They ran through the torrid buildings, knowing the streets would be packed rafters above a second before the beam hit the floor, aflame and assiduous, creating a barrier between the family and their way out. “Bryn! We have to jump, it’s the only w-‐-‐!” Arya exclaimed.

“No!” he interrupted, surprising her with the savagery in his voice. “We’ll be burned alive. We have to go back.”

“What? We can’t go back, Bryn, you know what’s out there.” she retorted, equally surprised with the malice in her own words. Arya was painfully aware of the time they were wasting by arguing. Overcome by an animal instinct to protect her children and a sudden, inexplicable rage, she pulled a knife from a hidden pocket



and quietly slit his throat. He made a choked gurgling noise as is eyes rolled back and he drowned in his own blood. “Come, Carm, Evyl, we don’t have much time.” she said, and ran into the flickering flames.



The Marcinicos Rade

Jacob L.

Hi, my name is John. I am an assistant of my buddy, Alexander, and, we are both space engineers. We have been working together for 12 years. My father was also a space engineer along with my grandfather. My grandfather past away of old age a couple years ago. Then, a year later, my dad was in a severe car crash and bled out because the ambulance didn’t show up in time. It was a really sad funeral to attend, but I have gotten over losing my dad. Besides, I still have my mom with me.

Today, Alexander and I were called into the base to get ready for a trip to the moon. We were told to fix the moon rover because one of its wheels is jammed with lots of dirt and moon rocks.

But, first we need to fuel up the rocket. If not done right, we could lose all fuel in one rocket and go of course to a different planet other than the moon. I have always had a fear off that because there have been sightings of many dangerous living things on other planets. A few years ago that happened, everyone in the rocket ship landed on Pluto and never came back to Earth.

We are about to take off on our trip to the moon. This will be my 3rd time going. It’s truly a fun adventure. First we need to go through and see if everyone is here – Tina (pilot), Brock (co-‐pilot), Alexander (manager of ship), and Mark (gives commands from base/watches the radar). Ok, we are all her now be need to go through the supplies – Powdered food, drinks, medicine, and blankets. All right that should me everything so let’s suit up and get buckled into the ship and prepare for takeoff.

LAUNCH SEQUENCE IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 WE HAVE LIFT OFF!

Many hours later…

ALERT – ALERT – ALERT-‐ ALERT – ALERT – ALERT -‐ ALERT – ALERT – ALERT – ALERT

My fear has happened we have lost fuel in one of our rockets and we are off course. Mark says we are headed for Mars. One of the planets that life was said to exist.

“EVERYONE BUCKLE UP AND HOLD ON TIGHT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A HARD LANDING!” Mark yells.

A few minutes later…

“Is everyone alright?”

“Not Alexander.” Tina says.



“What’s wrong with him?”

“He has a big piece of scrap metal through his heart and he has no pulse. Tina screams.”

Great now there is only 4 of us left.

“Mark, what planet are we on?”

“Ah Mars sir.” He replied.

“Oh no!” I said.

My fear has come true.

“Ok everyone regroup and let’s find a way out of this wreck.”

“Ok, everyone is out now we need to find a way to get out of here before the Marsincos capture us.”

“John?” Tina yells.

“You spoke too soon because HERE THEY COME! RUN!”

Stop there humans or we will be forced to kill you. Ok you guys asked for it. BLAST!

“TINA NO.” I yell.

“Everyone stop running they hit Tina.”

Come with us now humans. “Alright we surrender we will go with you.”

We arrive at the Marsincos Base. 3 of us left. Mark, Brock and I.

“Mark is it?”

“Yeah why?” Mark says.

“Come with me.”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mark yells.

“Mark I yell while being chained on to a wall with rusty chains.”

“Your friend is dead now.”

No it’s just the two of us you stupid aliens.



“Wrong word choice Brock. Come with me.”

“ NO, BROCK!”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Brock yells!

“Why are you doing this?”

“You don’t need to know human now stay here be quiet”.

After the Marsinco Guard leaves I notice that my chains are not very tight. I try to slip my hands out then… ZAP!

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