AFTER

Leah Charlic was perfectly happy in her old life. She was best friends with Samantha Charles, she had a cat named Ripple, and she even had a butler! But then, Samantha went missing and Ripple disappeared along with her. They had put up missing posters for her cat, but Samantha was really all anybody in Mulberry Commons, California cared about. Leah had heard the adults talking, telling the police that Samantha was last seen in a red dress near the pond, that she was 11 years old with freckles. But that didn’t seem to be helping Samantha, or Ripple. She had heard that they were sending out a search party tonight, and she was determined to go. Leah looked out the window. Strangely enough, she saw her butler, Martin, walking toward the bus station, with a bunch of cats following behind him. She recognized a fluffy white cat as Mittens, who used to play with Ripple. She also saw a short haired, dark, tortoiseshell tom-cat… Ripple! She shook her head and blinked. When she opened her eyes again, all of them were gone. The sun must be playing tricks on my eyes, she thought.

Soon, it was 5:00 at night and after a lot of begging, her mom had allowed her to join the search party. The police weren’t that talkative, so it was a little awkward. They searched the street, but they found nothing. Suddenly, an officer cried out. They rushed to the sound of the voice, but all they found was a trail of blood. The chief of police said if they followed the trail, it might lead them to the officer, and Samantha. So Leah got in one of the police cars and they drove away. The blood led to a dark alleyway, deep in the city. She saw something up ahead. Leah had a sickening feeling that she knew what it was. Sure enough, it was the dead bodies of the officer and Samantha.  

“We’re not too late, we can still catch the culprit,” said the chief. 

“Are you?” said a chillingly familiar voice.

Martin stepped out from behind some boxes. There was a kitten on his shoulder. It said “mew” and started sharpening it’s extremely long claws. Cats flooded from the shadows. Leah realized that Mittens and Ripple were among the crowd.  

“Y-you won’t get away with this!” She shouted, even though it sounded super cliche.

 “Won’t I?” he asked. 

She turned around and saw that there were cats behind her, and they had killed the rest of the party.

 “Say nighty-night!” Martin held up a gun. 

Leah Charlic was never heard from again, but some say if you go into that alley and listen hard you can still hear the meow of cats and the echoes of her scream.

Before

Samantha Charles feels like the most normal kid. And that was scary enough by itself. But when she went to bed last night, something happened. Something terrible. She was just falling asleep around midnight, when she heard something coming from her closet. She would be very stupid to open it, so she squeezed her eyes shut. The sound came again, but this time louder and closer. She opened one of her eyes, just a bit. A figure was moving around in the darkness.

“Mom?” she whispered hopefully. 

“Guess again.” came the reply. 

Samantha recognized the voice as her best friend’s butler, Martin. 

“Wha-” she tried to say, before sharp claws scratched her arm and she fainted from the pain.

When she woke up, she was in the back of a van, her hands were tied and her legs felt like they were paralyzed. They probably were. The van jolted to a stop. The trunk doors opened. Martin picked her up and carried her down to an alleyway. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LEGS?!?” Samantha screamed.

“I had them injected with a special concoction in the lab.” He responded. 

Despite the situation, she said, “Concoction? Don’t you think that’s a bit cliche?”

“Oh shut your soup hole!!!” he roared. 

Martin laid her down on the ground. Somehow, he had gotten a hold of a chainsaw.

  “Say nighty-night! Hey that’s pretty good, I should use that as an evil catchphrase!”

Then he brought the chainsaw down. She was then ended.

Dolls

One day, a group of innocent little kids were playing on a beautiful day. Near the spot that they were playing was the old Katter house. They used to collect antique and creepy dolls. But one night, on a red moon, a bright red light flashed through the house and knives flashed. They were never seen again. But that was 13 years ago. Anyway, a little girl named Lucy decided to go inside the Katter house to show that there was nothing to be afraid of. The kids watched as she opened the front door and walked in.

 A couple minutes later she came back out and said,“See nothing to be afraid of!” 

Suddenly, pale gray hands grabbed her and dragged her into the house. The kids convinced themselves she was just playing a prank on them, but they ran away, just in case. The next day, the kids went back to play. Then they saw a little girl. She had pale gray skin, and long, stringy hair, put into braids. Her eyes were all black and seemed to have sunk into her face. Instead of a nose she had 2 holes in the middle of her face. She wore a ripped, old fashioned black dress. She looked a lot like Lucy. Then she started to sing,

 “Do you want to play with me? We’re as happy as can be! You will never hear me lie, because I will make you die.” 

Then she said, “Do you wanna play dollies?” 

The kids ran away in terror. The next day, they came back to play again. The girl was still there. She sang the same song but this time said,

 “Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body.” 

Again, the kids ran away in terror. The day after, the kids came back to the spot. They felt something drawing them back, time and time again. Once again, the doll was there. She sang the same song and said, 

“Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body. Your dolly can have a special accessory.” 

The kids ran away again. The kids were pulled to the spot for the last time. 

The thing that used to be Lucy started her ritual, “Do you want to play with me? We’re as happy as can be! You will never hear me lie, because I will make you DIE! Do you wanna play dollies? We’ll play over your dead body. Your dolly can have a special accessory, it’s called a bloody dagger.” 

Then she attacked. Only two kids got out of there alive. They were named Julie and Marcus. They eventually got married, but they never forgot Lucy. Then one night, on a red moon, they heard a knock on the front door. When they opened it up, they saw…Lucy. “Do you wanna play dollies?” She said, and this time, the couple didn’t make it. 

PART ONE   

I looked around my cage. I could tell by the tag on the front, even though I couldn’t read, that it said ‘FAILED EXPERIMENT!’ How was I a fail? Well, for example, I had bunny ears that were only pink. They wouldn’t change color like the rest of my fluffy body. Plus, I was also a wolf, with bunny ears! Then the meerkat came back from being experimented on and yelled,

“It’s me! Mario!” 

He had a meerkat body, but now he had a Mario overalls pattern on his fur and a super Mario hat. 

“I bet they’ll get a new meerkat and make it Luigi,” a meerkat (Bartholomew) with a bunch of spikes out its back muttered, looking angry that the scientists made his best friend act like a sicko. 

“Stop whining,” I muttered. 

“Easy for you to say, 06-79! You don’t have any friends!”  Bartholomew squeaked. 

Ugh, I thought as my fur turned blood red with anger, I don’t have any friends because nobody  wants to be friends with a failed experiment. I felt extremely tired of everything. Then a scientist started talking. Another power of mine, to understand human language.

 “Are we going to get more paranormal animals to test on, in that forest that has a hole leading to a whole new forest, by the way?” the female one asked. 

“I’m pretty sure we will,” said the other.  

My ears perked up in hope. Maybe I could go there, I thought happily. All the creatures I could meet. All the fun I could have. I fell asleep that night dreaming of life there and having LOTS of friends. 

The next morning, a scientist pulled me out of my cage with a collar and held an electric whip in the other hand. Probably to make me feel intimidated by him. Then the tests began.
The scientist chained me to the floor.

“Bro! No need to get all aggressive!” I shouted in my best Kevin Hart voice. What? Scientists turned on the TV for us sometimes if we were being impatient. I’m the only one who knows what they’re saying, of course. They say a lot of curse words sometimes. Also, scientists can’t understand what I’m saying. 

The first test for me was beginning. They wanted to see my color reaction to things they do to me. 

First, they dropped my favorite treats in front of me. I turned a bright pink as I feasted. I can’t resist, okay?! Then, one of them zapped me with one of the things called “testing guns.” Humans are rude! They test it on experiments! My color first turned red (for anger) and then a bruise colored purple. Yes, it looked disgusting. 

Then they did nothing and stood there. My fur turned teal. It meant I was feeling normal. I was sorta happy but not. Then they showed a big image of a wolf being chased by a hunter. I turned orange. I was emotional now. Then it showed the wolf dead. I turned a somber blue.

“Ok, 06-79, your first test is over! Time for the second one,” one of the scientists shouted.

For my second one, they put me in a wind thing. They wanted to see how long I could stay up there. The wind would die down by the second.  The scientists were trying to see how much wind could support me if they gave me wings. Yeah, people can do that! 

“Y’all stupidos! I wanna get wings now! So I can soar above your heads and escape!” I shouted at them, as one person gave me a thing I had to wear for it. Wait… why wasn’t I wearing a head-protector? Then, I got pushed off the thing, and I never thought I’d say this, but the scientists have never made me feel so happy in my whole life. I turned a bright, bright pink. The brightest I ever had. My bunny ears didn’t match the rest of my body even though I was pink. I felt the wind getting lower, but I didn’t pay any attention. I had been flying! I had so much joy inside that I could explode! Like explode!!! Then the wind couldn’t support me anymore, so I fell. There were these words in my mind. 

                Falling…..

                          Falling……..

                                    Falling…….. 

PART TWO         

I woke up. In my cage. Bleh. My bowl had slimy stuff inside it. I ate it because I was hungry. Then I saw a scientist pointing at my cage.  

“Mr. Gorista said that 06-79 would be placed in the machine that kills failed experiments tomorrow.”

What?! They were gonna kill me? This was bad! Like really bad!

Then the other one said,  “Me and the team are going to get more paranormal animals from the forest tomorrow. Other people who don’t work in Future Labs will have to deal with a bunch of security.” 

“Where exactly is this forest?” the first guy said. I have been asking that same exact question!

“You dumbo! It’s literally on the other side of the river F. Labs are on!” 

That was all the info I needed. I started chewing on my cage super hard. I kept going. I felt the wire hitting against my teeth. It hurt, but my life depended on it. After a while, the wire broke and I could get out. Then a loud noise broke out. It was a siren. Then a bunch of scientists burst into the room. They were all shouting all at once, and I couldn’t understand. Then I charged through them and went down a bunch of things that I’m pretty sure are called stairs. 

Finally, I went out the door and I was outside. Oh, there were so many things to smell! But I had to concentrate. I ran fast. Quicker than I have ever run. Pretty soon, I got to the river. My only problem: I didn’t know how to swim!

 PART THREE

I tried to remember how to swim, but it was a very long time ago when I had to figure that out. I remembered two things. #1: if you’re going to put your head underwater, hold your breath! #2: Kick with your legs. 

Okay, that was actually helpful. Thank you, memories. Then I leaped into the water. My head plunged down for a second, then I raised it back up. I kicked and kicked hard, fighting the currents. I was almost to the other side! 

“Ya—” 

I began, but a large current swept me down the river. I saw a drop at the end of the river. Waterfall! I clung onto a rock and pulled myself up there. Then I made a far leap. I still landed in water, but I was close enough to get onto shore. Oh, that was close! I panted and rested for a moment, but on the other side of the river, I saw some scientists. 

No breaks yet! I told myself. First get to the forest, then nap! 

Turns out that guy near my cage wasn’t lying. There were a bunch of human guards stationed in the area. I turned black and snuck into where there were less guards. I blended into the shadows. 

        At last! I was in the forest. I just didn’t know I’d feel so lonely. Then a voice came out, “You’re not from around here, are you? I’m Uniko.” 

PART FOUR                                                                                                                                                                 “These are my other siblings: Rose, Thora, Koman, and Gonga.”  Uniko showed me a bunch of wolves who looked like they would give me a serious beating.

They looked exactly like their sister. Except Rose had a pink pearl on her head and Thora had a purple one. Uniko had a blue one. Koman and Gonga were identical, black with no pearls. All of them snarled.

“What is she!?” Rose growled. 

“A science experiment, that’s what!” Koman howled.

“Stop it, guys!” Uniko snarled. “She’s my friend.” 

  The siblings exchanged glances.

“Fine, she can live with us. As long as she causes no trouble.” Thora muttered. 

Uniko gave me a happy smile. When nobody was looking, I turned a happy bright pink and walked right behind them.  

There’s only 3 things in life that actually matter: family, books, and life. In short, I have just managed to keep all of them. Oh. You don’t know. Okay, let’s start from the beginning.

It had been a long day. I, Luna, had gone to school, gotten made fun of with my best friend, Maya, had a swim meet, and belly flopped off the diving board. So naturally, I went home, took a looooong hot shower, read some books (I love reading), and drank some hot cocoa. As I snuggled up tightly in my pajamas, I saw something racing past outside the window. I figured it was probably nothing. I had no idea how wrong I was. That night, I had a really weird dream. Someone was mumbling-no, saying-something. 

I think they were saying, “Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum. Go to the pond of scum.” By that time, I was already awake. My body was aching for some reason, and even though I slept a long time, I was impossibly tired. Even though I was awake, I could still hear the repeating voice in my head. After school, I went to Maya and told her about the dream. With a hint of laughter, she said,

  “Maybe, they are referring to an actual pond? Or a lake!” With a jolt, I realized that the “pond of scum” is the Pond Scum Lake nearby! I quickly texted my mom and dad, then jumped on my bike and rode toward the lake, wondering what awaited me at the “pond of scum.” I should’ve known it was not good. When I got there, I immediately looked around, trying to find someone to tell me what to do. 

I suddenly heard, “she’s here,” in a raspy voice. I did not manage to find the attacker but then, I got kidnapped. When I woke up, I found myself in front of a large red throne with a masked, hooded figure. 

“Ah, good. You’re awake. I want to talk to you at dinner. 9:00 tonight,” they said, laughing, in the same raspy voice I heard at the lake. 

Before I could interrupt, they called, “Soldiers,” suddenly serious. Some guards appeared and took me by the arms. Soon, I found myself in a cell. It was completely closed off except for a food slot. I sat on the bed, quietly wondering what he wanted to talk to me about. 

At exactly 8:47 (I have a clock in my cell), the guards slowly opened the door just a crack, and said, “Dinner time!”

They then put a sack on my head, and dragged me out. When they finally stopped, I tried to take the sack off my head. Didn’t work. They plopped me on the gold seat, and took the sack off my head. I was amazed at the beautiful, lavish spread of food that I saw. As I looked around me, I saw a beautiful gold table with the man from before. This time, they were wearing a red cloak, a red and green mask, and pitch black shoes. I considered escaping, but there were guards on either side of me. I smelled food. I was starving! 

While I was shoveling food down my mouth, they said, “I need your help. The people are in danger!” They slowly took off his red and green mask. 

“Maya,” I exclaimed, with my mouth full, scared. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Kitty was a happy cat that lived in her royal palace called the kitty palace. The night was coming soon and Kitty wanted to get in bed. She turned off the light and settled cozily in her bed. She heard wild winds outside of her window. Then she heard thunder and balled up under her blanket. 

Kitty was young and was afraid of thunder, so she yelled, “Mom, Dad can you come in here?!” Kitty’s parents came in and they sat in Kitty’s bed until she fell asleep. When Kitty woke up, she was no longer in the palace. She was in a jungle! There were lush green plants and the air was very humid.  “This is very different from the palace!” said Kitty. She saw her cousin, a leopard named Swiper. He got his name because he took a lot of the animal’s belongings. His best friend is a parrot named Feathers. Feathers has magic powers because he was born from a magic waterfall. 

Swiper said, “The palace was moved last night by all of the harsh winds and the thunder. The palace can now be found in the peaceful meadow which is across the river.” 

Kitty said, “Swiper, you should come because you know the way!” Swiper was happy to help out his cousin, so they started towards the peaceful meadow. 

Swiper led the way out of the jungle and the peaceful meadow was in sight! However, there were many miles to cover before they reached the kitty palace. Kitty thought that it would be an easy adventure, but she soon realized that she was wrong. They reached the desert that they would have to cross to get to the kitty palace. Kitty knew that if she wanted to cross the desert, it would take up to five days at least! 

They started the journey. Kitty and Swiper thought that it was getting dark after a little while, so they decided to camp in a clump of sand. When they woke up, they continued on their journey to cross the desert. After four days, they could see the canyon! They kept going and finally, they were out of the desert! Kitty and Swiper were hot and tired, so they took a little nap. When they woke up, they started to go through the canyon.   

“There are a lot of rock avalanches in the canyon, so we have to be very quiet,” said Swiper. Kitty wanted to see if the canyon had an echo, so she quietly said, “Hello!” 

Swiper told her, “Kitty, please be more quiet.” However, Kitty needed to sneeze. She tried to hold it in but she couldn’t! The canyon trembled. Swiper and Kitty started to realize that they were about to experience a rock avalanche! 

“Get on my back!” shouted Swiper. “The end of the canyon isn’t far, so I think that maybe I’ll be able to get through before the avalanche does.”

Kitty hopped on Swiper’s back and they charged through the canyon. They beat the avalanche by a fraction of a second and were both breathing hard. Kitty and Swiper now needed to cross the mountain. They had two options for crossing it: they could go through it in the cave that they could easily get lost in, or they could climb the mountain that they could easily fall off of. Kitty finally said, “We’re going to climb the mountain.” They walked up the icy path for many days. Now Kitty and Swiper were very high up on the mountain. On an icy ledge, Kitty slipped! However, Swiper caught her just in time and put her back on the mountain. One day later, they were off the mountain!  

Swiper said, “We are now crossing into the cave. There are many critters in the cave, but the journey is only about five hours.”  

Kitty and Swiper were hoping to be in and out. There was a map on the wall that listed all the creatures. The list said:  “Here are the creatures that you might encounter: bats, cave crickets, cave newts and spiders. Be safe crossing through these parts” 

“We should go in,” said Kitty. So, they entered the cave. “It is very dark in here,” said Kitty. Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any cave creatures, and they made it out alright. 

“Okay there’s only one thing left to do,” said Swiper. 

“What’s that?”asked Kitty. 

“Cross the rope bridge,” replied Swiper. Kitty was very nervous for this event, because the rope bridge was over water and if there’s one thing cats hate, it’s water. They arrived at the rope bridge and it looked very unstable. 

“Get on my back,” said Swiper. “I can carry you across the bridge!” Kitty got on and Swiper slowly put a paw on the bridge. The wooden board gave way and snapped off the bridge, falling hard into the rushing water. “I know you are afraid of water, but you are the only one who can cross that bridge!,” Swiper shouted over the loud noise of the water. 

“What will happen to you?” asked Kitty. 

“You can come back later and get me, then we can fix the bridge and make it stable. You can do it, Kitty, just don’t look down!” shouted Swiper. 

Kitty slowly started to walk onto the first board. She started walking board after board.  Kitty’s heart started thumping, her body started trembling. Soon, she was at the halfway point! 

“You’re doing great, just keep going and don’t look down,” said Swiper. But Kitty made a big mistake and looked down! She saw the water, the rocks and the waterfall at the end of the river. Kitty collapsed onto the board. “No! Kitty the board will snap! Get back up!!” Swiper yelled. But, Kitty was too late. The board snapped, leaving Kitty hanging by one paw on the rope of the bridge. “Kitty!” Swiper yelled nervously. Swiper called for his jungle friend, Feathers, to teleport over and save Kitty. Feathers had super strength and teleporting powers. Feathers grabbed Kitty just before the board snapped and put her on the side of the bridge leading to the peaceful meadow. Kitty ran to the kitty palace and hugged her parents. She felt so happy that she finally got to the kitty palace. 

“Mom, Dad, I have some things to do before we have dinner,” said Kitty. She grabbed materials and ran to the bridge. She spent many hours there and finally, the bridge was made. It was a beautiful red bridge that had golden railings on the side. There was a sign at the end of the bridge saying: “Welcome to the peaceful meadow! Home of the kitty palace.” Swiper and Feathers were finally allowed across and they decided to stay there for a few days. Kitty’s parents invited Swiper and Feathers over for dinner as a thank you gift. They ate salmon for dinner, and for dessert they had Kitty and Swiper’s personal favorite: chocolate cats! Swiper was about to leave the next day. 

“Come back soon! You know where we are,” said Kitty. 

“I will. There is a train station not far from my place that takes me right to the bridge, but you can come over to my house too,” said Swiper. 

“Okay,” said Kitty. “The only problem is that it’s such a long walk to the jungle.” 

“You can just call Feathers,” said Swiper. “He lives close by.” 

“Okay, I promise that I’ll visit sometime soon,” said Kitty. 

“Here is the code to my house if I ever don’t answer the door or I’m not there,” said Swiper. “It’s 7199.” 

“My code is 3097,” said Kitty. “I’ll see you in a few weeks!” 

“Your birthday is in a few days. I’ll visit then,” said Swiper. 

Feathers went back to his home and so did Kitty and Swiper. A few days later, Swiper and Feathers came over for Kitty’s birthday celebration. They had lots of fun and they played lots of games. Swiper and Feathers left the next day. 

“Bye!” said Kitty. Then, it was back to the palace for Kitty.

THE END!

Jack Birkenhead Jr. was on his dad’s pirate ship. He heard drunken yelling blasted into his ears. His dad came and shut them all up. His dad went down to him. 

“Are you okay?” Captain Jack Birkenhead asked.

“I don’t know if I can be a captain like you. I don’t know if I can command people like you can. I don’t know what I can do,” he said.

“You know that I will stop being their captain in a few days, son.”

“I know… I just don’t know what will happen. Maybe they will hate me.”

“Are you scared?”

“No, I’m not scared, just—” As he was talking, an enemy ship came up to them.

“Fire the cannons!” the captain said.

“Yes sir!” they replied.

Jack stood there, mesmerized at how his dad commanded respect.

“C’mon,” said a fellow pirate.

Jack ran up to the firing area. He grabbed a cannonball and slowly walked over to the cannons. The cannonball was so heavy he didn’t know if he could hold it. He felt it slowly loosening from his grip. He put the cannonball in the cannon and it blasted him back. He felt like every step was him being tied down on an anchor. He had a headache and stumbled back. He felt like thousands of thoughts were racing through his head all asking him for attention. He felt like his throat was closing up. He barely stumbled back to the safe area. 

“Where is my son?” the captain announced. 

“Back at the rooms below deck!” the pirates replied. Jack thought that if he was a captain, he could never have this power.

“NO!” he heard the pirates screaming. He ran above deck (he wanted to think it was dramatic running, but it was really just a slow limp). When he finally got above deck, he saw his dad, the thing he loved most in the world, captured by the enemies.

“Give us the ship and destroy it or we will keep your captain hostage.”

“No, don’t do it-” yelled the captain, but he was cut off when they knocked him unconscious.

“If he dies at their hands then we will fulfill his last wish. Never surrender!” the pirates screamed. The enemy ship sailed away. 

“You are the captain now,” the pirates said to Jack. “I will get him back no matter what.” Jack said. “Let’s do this!”

Jack felt guilty his dad was captured because of him and he was going to get revenge.

“Can we track my dad?” Jack asked his fellow pirates in their meeting room. 

“Yes and no,” answered their chief tracker. “We can track the ship but we can’t track your dad. We just have to hope that they keep him on the ship.”

“Where are they?” Jack asked.

“They are probably in the crystal cavern.”

“Where is that?”

“That’s where they sacrifice.”

“Bring us there NOW!”
They journeyed to the crystal cavern, but while they were adventuring they encountered the pirates again.

“Blood!” the enemy pirates screamed.

“Give me a sword,” Jack said to his fellow pirates. One of them handed him a sword. (Jack was excellent in the art of sword fighting.) Jack then jumped onto the ship.

“Where is my father?” Jack asked the pirates.

“Why would we tell you? You only have a sword. We have 24 people and we can just capture you?” the pirates responded.

“You have left me no choice,” Jack said. He jumped forward and started to attack the pirates one by one. Jack sliced and diced. He didn’t kill anyone, he just cut their weapons in half and knocked them unconscious. When he had defeated everyone except for the captain of this ship, he put his sword blade to the enemy captain’s throat and asked, “Where is my father?” 

“Below dec—” The pirate was cut off when he saw Jack’s pirates on deck.

“WHERE?” Jack yelled.

“Below deck.”

“Thank you,” Jack said as he threw him off board. Jack and his crew went below deck to find one room locked. He sliced the door in half with his sword. He smelled the fragrance of lavender showing that the most important people on the ship lived in this cabin. He saw a painting of a man and a woman together. On the side of the room, he saw two well made beds and two pillows with a lace trim on the side. The roof of the room was a brownish-green and some parts of the roof were broken. The floor was a sage color. At the front of the room was a mantle piece flooded with different trophies and spoils of war. At the very top of the mantle, he found a golden crown which had a different gem on each spike. 

Jack snapped back into reality. He looked in front of him and saw his dad tied up and heavily gagged. Two men with shotguns were standing near him. Jack instinctively threw his sword at the first man. The man reacted, but not fast enough. The sword pierced him and he fell to the ground. The second man, in an instant, aimed his gun at Jack. Jack started to run but before he could do anything, he got shot and fell to the ground. The second man tried to reload, but Jack’s crew brought him away and back to their ship.

Jack’s eyes fluttered open and saw that he was back in his bed in his room on the ship. He couldn’t believe that he was a captain now. 

“Tsk, tsk,” said the doctor. Jack looked up to see their doctor cutting open his leg. He tried to stay calm.

What would my dad do? Jack thought. He would keep calm because he was a captain and ask what was happening.

“What is going on here?” Jack asked.

“Do you not remember? You went on their ship and defeated all their pirates, but when you went to the room, your dad was in it and you froze and got shot.” 

“We need to go back and save him!” Jack screamed. “Because it is my fault that he got captured,” he said quietly.

“You cannot do anything now,” the doctor said. 

“I need to do something—”

“YOU GOT SHOT! You cannot do anything now unless you want to get killed. You need to heal,” the doctor commanded.

Jack waited there and fell asleep. He slept for 16 hours. When he woke up he still had a wound, but they had finished the surgery and he could move. Jack left the operating table and went to the battle meeting room. 

“Where are they now?” Jack asked as he limped into the room. 

“They are in the delta stream and moving to the cavern,” Brokeon, their tracker, said before he saw Jack coming into the room. “You can’t fight them,” Brokeon said to Jack. “You will just get killed. We have lost one captain today and we won’t lose another.”

“How are they already at the delta stream?” Jack asked.

“You have been out for 16 hours,” Brokeon replied.

I can’t be the captain, but I will have to keep this crew alive until I can get the real captain back. I am a temporary replacement for the real thing. I cannot lead them, Jack thought.

“We need to go to the cavern. Take the beta stream, then switch to the Iota, and after 31 km go to the alpha stream.”

“It seems we have a captain after all,” Brokeon said.

After 8 hours, both of the ships were at the mouth of the cave. They started to fire at each other. Jack and Brokeon jumped off and landed into a pool of water. They quickly ran from the water to the entrance of the cavern. Jack looked into the cavern to see his dad tied up at the back of it. He ran forward even though his leg was injured. The cavern looked unreal. On the floor there were brilliant shining blue crystals. There were potholes and in the middle there was a stream with steaming blue water.

“Leave him alone!” Jack screamed at the top of his lungs. Brokeon tried to calm him down, but he couldn’t do anything. He was carrying a long and bent wooden pole from the ship.

“Use it to hop over the boiling water with it and free your dad!” Brokeon said while giving Jack a sword. Jack used it and jumped over. As he flung himself over he heard a crack and snap. Brokeon then used it. 

“So they can’t get back,” he said. Brokeon knew it would crack. He started to jump over, but he thought he would jump over and be safe. As he was jumping over, it snapped. As he was falling instead of saving himself he took out the last piece of it and handed it to Jack. Brokeon fell into the steaming water. Jack fell to his knees, screaming. He then started to run over to the two men and his dad. To any normal person with an injured leg, after being splashed by boiling water and running on crystal they would fall over and die, but not Jack. Jack was fueled by anger and sadness. He was faster than he had ever been, even with a shot leg, and he crossed the 100 meter gap in a matter of a few seconds. Jack was only armed with a sword and piece of wood, but he was going to save his father. The two men next to his father were the same two men that had shotguns before. Behind the two men was a massive chasm and a drop so deep that no one could see the bottom.

“I see you are the person that stabbed me with a sword,” the first man said to Jack. He had a massive patch on his chest that was bandaged up and blood was seeping through. Both of the men were in fancy clothes. 

“I see you are the person who shot me,” Jack said to the second man. As the man was looking at Jack’s leg, Jack swung the piece of wood and got the gun stuck in it. Jack immediately pulled it back and grabbed the gun. He then smacked the first man in the wound with the piece of wood and backed away. The first man fell into the chasm and now Jack had a shotgun and sword. 

“Your shotgun isn’t even loaded,” the second man cackled. “I knew he was going to die.”

Jack looked at the gun and realized it wasn’t just a shotgun, it was a bayonet. With the bayonet, he cut his dad free while keeping his sword pointed at the second man.

“Why haven’t you just shot me?” Jack asked the second man. 

“Because you remind me of my son.” The second man snapped back into reality and aimed his gun at Jack. By this time the captain was free and had the bayonet in his hand. Jack lunged at the man and pushed his gun downwards with Jack’s sword. The captain stabbed the man’s arm with his bayonet. The man screamed and shot the captain, who fell to the ground. Jack rushed to his side. Jack felt that his dad was alive and before he could get up he felt a cold metal circle placed on the side of his head. The gun.

“It’s over, little boy,” the man said. He was about to shoot when Jack stabbed him in the chest. The man fell backwards but he was still alive. Now, Jack had lost his immediate adrenaline and his leg wound was starting to hurt again. With every step forward, he felt a jolting pain in his leg that stretched up to his chest. The man was also in pain, but was able to shoot Jack’s hand. Jack dropped the sword in the chasm and fell down to his dad.

“Now it’s over,” the man said. Before he could shoot Jack, Jack took the bayonet from his dad and stabbed the man who fell into the chasm. Jack carried his dad and they limped back to the river. Jack saw a bridge made by his fellow pirates over the boiling river. All of them were singing in celebration that their captain was saved and mourning that Brokeon had died.They walked across the bridge and the captain muttered something. Both of them dropped a gold coin in the water to commemorate Brokeon, and got back on the boat. As they were on the bow of the ship the captain said, “Remember you were going to take my place? Well now you did, captain.” Jack Senior and his son, the new captain, both smiled.

In an old cottage on Bugsberry Lane lived the Janes. The youngest Jane was Issa. Issa’s seventh year of age was right around the corner. All little Issa Jane wanted was a doll. Any doll: wood or glass, thin or plump, hairy or bald, bonnet or a straw head-dress. But Issa knew that her parents wouldn’t be able to afford a lavish doll. Emporiums and antique shops were too high-priced. In Mum and Pop’s point of view, dolls were just costly rubbish that lasted less than a week. 

But Issa Jane single-mindedly wanted to be gifted any doll there was. So all she could do was to ask her mother one last time. 

“Mum, I would like to be gifted a doll from you and Pop for my natal day present.”

“Issa, I’m sorry but you know that Pop and I are not in a great stage in life, and we will not be able to afford this doll.” 

Issa would try again. “Pop, I would love a doll, any doll… from you and Mum.”

“Dear, Mum and I can not keep spending such money on this rubbish you say you are bound to have.” Little Issa Jane was disappointed once again, but was still determined to receive any lavish doll. Then Issa thought of a quick-witted idea. If Mum and Pop thought that the dolls from emporiums were overly expensively priced, then why couldn’t Pop just craft Issa a doll. All Pop would need would be wood for the doll’s head and body, and old clothing scraps for the bonet and the gown.

Aunt Ethel had gifted Issa a few steelies to fiddle with in her free-time. Steelies would make the perfect replacement for the doll’s eyes. Pop would have to carve the steelies into the wood, then somehow he would attach the body onto the head. Pop should have the things he’d need in the shed. All Issa needed was her steelies. Issa slid the dusty cup-boad open and yanked out her bag of shiny glass steelies. She pulled out two of the shiniest steelies, and rolled them around in her palm.

They were small, smooth, and cold. Perfect for a doll’s eyes. Issa ran to her Pop’s shed, excited to ask her father for her request.

“Pop, because you and Mum won’t be able to buy a doll, would you have time to craft me a doll? Out of wood?”

“Well, do we have everything I’ll need to craft you a doll?”

“Oh yes, Pop! You just need wood, old clothing scraps, and steelies which I have right here.” Issa opened her hand to show Pop her shiny steelies. He nodded and examined the steelies.

“First of all, where would we find wood, and clothing scraps?”

“Hmmm…I know!”  Issa ran to her Mum for clothing scraps. Mum was sewing together an embroidered nightgown for Issa. The velvet fabric had red roses printed on it, perfect for a doll’s bonet and clothes.

  “Mum, may I have the extra velvet fabric you’re holding?”  Mum handed Issa the fabric. It was soft and fluffy.

“Use it wisely, we don’t have much of it.” Issa nodded happily and thanked her mother. And then ran back to the shed to give the velvet fabric to her Father.

“Pop! Look at this. Now you just need wood!”

“Now where do we find wood?”

“Look outside Pop! You could also shave down a tree.” Issa and her Pop found some perfectly smooth wood outside. Now Pop just needed to carve it into a wooden doll. Pop pulled out his chisel and the materials beside him.

“Now Issa Jane, I only have one set of bi-telephones, so you’re just going to have to wait till your doll is finished to come into the shed.”

“Okay Pop, thank you.” In the meantime Issa helped her mother cook and clean. Issa Jane was very eager to meet her new doll. Issa already had started thinking of names for her doll. Barbara Ann, Mary Lee, and Hilda Lynn were her top choices. Pop spent eight days in the shed working. The longer it took the prettier it must be. Finally Pop called Issa out to the shed to meet her new doll.

“Issa Jane, before I show you I thought you should know beforehand that there was not enough wood for five fingers on each hand, so instead of five fingers there are three. So that’ll mean six fingers in total instead of ten.”

“Oh, that’s okay! I’m just so excited to see it!” Pop stood in front of Issa then slowly pulled out her doll. It was beautiful. The velvet fabric was now a bonnet and a gown. The steelies looked perfect as the eyes. Pop had even found water based paint, and painted the doll a soft peach color. The cheeks were rosy pink and the lips also looked perfect. Issa was shocked, for the doll was even prettier than she expected. The fingers were strangely a bit crooked but it’s not like Issa would be staring at the doll’s fingers the whole time.

Issa thanked her dad again, and then realized that none of her planned names suited her doll well. So she decided to call her new doll “Three Fingers” because of the doll’s fingers. Issa Jane took Three Fingers everywhere she went, to the market, to the lake, and even to her day school. This was the best natal day present Issa had ever received. Issa decided that Three Fingers was her new best friend.

“Three Fingers, I’m going to go visit the loo. You stay right here on the sewing table. I’ll only be gone for a couple of minutes.” Issa went to the restroom then skipped out to see Three Fingers. But there was nothing on the sewing table. Issa looked under the table in case Three fingers had fallen. But her doll was not there. Issa’s parents were on a trip to the market for a few ripe potatoes, so Issa knew that one of her parents would not have moved her. Issa started to panic.

“Three Fingers, where are you?! I know I placed you here.” Issa Jane headed to her room where she did her best brainstorming. When Issa walked into her room she saw Three Fingers placed on her bed. The steelies looked especially shiny.

“Th-thr-three F-fingers i did not place you here.” Issa heard the door open.

“Issa, we have arrived.” Issa ran to the door to tell Pop about Three Fingers. But all he said was,

“You must have just forgotten where you placed the doll. Issa Jane, Three Fingers can not move by herself. Why don’t you go to sleep, it is already ten past nine.”

“Okay fine, Pop.” Issa headed up to her room to sleep. Issa laid in her bed with Three Fingers below her bed. Mum and Pop said that Issa shouldn’t put Three Fingers in the bed because the wood could rust the mattress. Issa had decided that she probably went insane this afternoon, because Pop was right, a doll can’t walk, talk, fly or move.

Then Issa’s lamp turned on and the light shone in her eyes. But Issa didn’t turn her lamp on. She was the only person in the room other than Three Fingers. But Issa suspected that the electricity in her cottage was not working well. So she got up, turned off the light and went back to bed.

“Good night, Three Fingers. Sleep well.”  Then Issa’s lamp flickered again. Issa was starting to get annoyed.

“A real ding dong must have set up our electricity.” Then Issa heard a scream coming from the kitchen. Issa ran downstairs to see what the trouble was. Mum was at the counter staring at the cutting knife in front of her.

“Mum, what is the problem?”

“Oh… um… nothing Issa Jane, head back to bed.”  Issa knew that there must be something going wrong. So she hid behind a small bookshelf to spy.

“Arthur, I’m telling you! I placed the knife at the kitchen table then went to clean my hands. And when I returned the knife was back at the cutting board.”

“Margaret, that is impossible! You must be going crazy like Issa was. A knife can not walk, talk, fly or move.”

“I am going to go lie down.”  Issa was confused, since it was just like what had happened to her. She crept back to her bedroom before any of her parents could notice. When Issa walked in, Three Fingers was laying down on Issa’s shaker chair. She started to freak out.

“My eyes must be ill. Surely Three Fingers could not have teleported.” Issa put her doll back under the bed, and tried to get to sleep. Issa turned towards the wall and tried to fall asleep. Then Issa turned to face the door in a more comfortable position. When Issa turned around, Three Fingers was standing up on the edge of the bed. The steelies stared at her.

“A brainless nincompoop must be playing a joke on me.”  Issa shoved Three Fingers deep under her bed and tried to fall asleep. Issa looked at her rusty clock tilted on the wall. twenty five past eleven. 

“Gosh I better get some sleep, hopefully this fool does not wake me up again.” Issa heard arguing from the kitchen. 

“Arthur, why are the lights flickering? Didn’t the electricity man come yestermonth?”   

“The storm this past week must have messed up the electricity. That is the only explanation.”  

“Tomorrow morning I’ll head out to town to fetch the electricity man.” All the cottage lights were turning wonky. There must have been something wrong with the cottage. Issa was halfway asleep when she heard her name being whispered 

“Issa. Issa.” She froze. 

“H-hello?! Who are you?” Then everything went quiet again. It could not have been Mum or Pop, they would not have played such an evil joke on their own daughter. Issa layed back down, covered her ears, and stuck her face in her pillow so she would not hear or see anything. Issa finally fell asleep but only for a couple of hours. 

Issa woke up again and heard a frightening unfamiliar voice that repeated:“Three Fingers, Three Fingers, in this room I linger.” Issa screamed and jumped out of her bed. One solution fell into her head, to tell Pop. Issa ran to the kitchen as fast as she could run. 

   “Mum, Pop!” But no one was in the kitchen. The lights were all off. Issa suspected that her parents must be in their room. So she ran to their room and shoved the door open. But no one was in the room and the lights were all off. Where could they be? It was way too late for them to be in town, and they wouldn’t have left without telling Issa. 

“Mum! Pop! Where have you gone?” But the whole cottage was silent. All Issa could hear was her own voice echoing through the walls. Issa decided to check outside for them. When Issa opened the door Three Fingers was placed lying down on the cottage doorstep. The steelies had a stranger glow to them than usual. The steelies made the doll look alive. The doll’s head slowly tilted to the right then to the left. Three Fingers was haunted.

Then Issa found herself in a dark room. There stood a mirror in the middle of the room,  the only light. Issa looked in the mirror. She was wearing a velvet rose printed bonnet and gown. Her hair was gone and her eyes were all black. Issa looked at her hands, and she only had three fingers. Issa was Three Fingers.

Hi, I’m Tommy the racoon!

I hope that you will put some food out for me or even just do simple things like leaving your trash can open to give me food. If you do so, I will also bring food for my mom and dad and my 5 pesky sisters. 

But last night at 8, I went out looking for food, and when I was trying to recover some almost ripe and delicious tomatoes I saw a shadow behind me. It was big and shaped like my worst fear. They’re very ugly (compared to this handsome dude) and they’re very complicated. They leave food out for me in these things that are apparently called bird feeders instead of what they should be called—raccoon feeders, but then they’re mad because I eat the stuff inside them. Humans are one head-scratching creature.  

Enough about humans. I scrambled to the bush. 

“Dan, did you eat the heirloom tomatoes from the garden? It’s not funny. I need them for the caprese salad.”

The woman had hair that looked like noodles and eyes that were the color of the sky. The man shook his head. “I don’t want your tommy toes until you add dressing. Why don’t you ask the  neighbors to see if anyone else is experiencing tomato theft.”

“Fine,’’ replied the wife.

To my relief, the woman went inside, but the man just sat there and smoked. Unfortunately the silence didn’t last. Three minutes later the woman came back outside. “Apparently the neighbors have the same problem with their tomatoes.” The woman was talking like she just made a special scientific discovery. Humans are also definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I mean, duh, Sherlock if one’s gone they’ll miss other tomatoes too. I kept listening to their conversation but after a while they went inside. When they were out of sight, I ran to the tomato patch and picked the last tomato which they didn’t see. Another thing about humans, they have bad eyesight. ALL OF THEM. The tomato was one measly yard away and they couldn’t see it. It was now reddish green and hard to miss. I plucked the tomato and ran back home. 

“Where in the world have you been Tommy?” Asked my mother.

 “Out getting breakfast,” said my older sister Olympia. I didn’t answer, I just slowly trudged up the tree past the waking owl and thought about what was happening. I was now afraid that I would get caught. I was not going near those people again and I would warn my family later too.

After some thinking, I decided to take another walk around the neighborhood.  As I was walking around the neighborhood, I stopped at the spot where I always get my food. I heard the woman say “those dumb squirrels”

I looked at my delicious enemy who was trying to get to a bird feeder, even though  to a nearsighted human it looked like it was going at the tomatoes . I thought this whole thing was hilarious and Nutty the squirrel was barely getting away! “What are you laughing at?” Nutty snarled. “ Watch your elders,’’ I said. Nutty dodged the lady and ran.

On Saturday night, I was out hunting for food with my family when a huge truck showed up in front of us. It had the word “exterminator” on it in bright neon orange. I turned and ran, leaving the rest of my family running in different directions. I now live without them in a place that is called NYC which provides a lot of food.

That is the story of how I moved to NYC with no notice whatsoever. 

I haven’t been what I pictured for as long as I lived. I always pictured myself talking to people and being perfect. “Miss Lily, are you able to tell us what the square root of 19 is?” Mr. Mad says. I tremble for a second, then my mind starts its work. I see stars and numbers, glances of memories. I go up to the board and write 4.35889894354. Mr. Mad sighs and says, “Very good, but would you please explain.” He knows I hate writing because I can’t speak, and when I try, my head hurts. I write sentences and sentences until I finish. He reads them aloud and says, “Very well, you may go back to your seat.” 

After the heavy ring of the bell, everyone stands up and says, “Thank you, Mr. Mad.” 

Then the other kids rush out at the speed of light. The day ends, and I walk home slowly. Suddenly, I see a girl. I glance again and she disappears. “You know that we, elves, don’t stare.” I turn around and see that girl again. I think in my mind,

What elves, crazy girl? 

“Hey, that is so rude,” she says.

Wait, you can read my mind!?!? I think in my MIND!!

“Yes, all elves speak through their minds,” she sighs.

“Wait, wait, wait, what elf stuff?” I ask.

“I am here to take you to the world of time and life,” she explains.  

“How do you read my mind? I want to think for myself,” I inquire.

“Just look in your brain and say, ‘Time is life.’ Also, my name is Theiry,” she says.

“Neat name! So where are we going in this so-called elf world?”  I ask.

“Follow me, and just do what I say,” Theiry commands.

She takes out a shining necklace and says, “Life has turned, change is made.” A blasting blue light shines in front of us. Theiry takes my hand and squeezes it. I close my eyes and pray. 

I suddenly see trees, fairies, flowers that change colors every minute, and elves. I thought they would have pointy ears, but most of them don’t. I see a bunch of elves. Then I see one that has leaves and vines for hair and tree bark for skin. There is one elf with pointy ears and strands of white hair.  I look all around my hair. I don’t have the strands of white hair. 

A bold voice says in my mind, “Who is this uhh, human?” 

I flash behind me, but I don’t see anyone. I look around and see a gust of wind swarming around Theiry. Somehow, Theiry is talking to the wind. How crazy can this get? Then I hear something that I remember from when I was little. This song called Little Elf. It sings like an angel.

“Little elf, ride and lie

Take the time to stay in your prime

Little elf, hide and guide

Make a choice of left or right

Little elf, kind and fine

Take a chance to stay all the time

Little elf, ride and lie

Take the time to stay in your prime.”

The song strikes me hard in the gut. I follow the music and start singing it in my mind. Then, I feel a person place a hand over my shoulder.  I turn and see Theiry. Amazed, she asks, “How do you know this song?” 

“I heard it sung by someone,” I reply.

“Who are your parents?” Theiry questions me.

“My parents abandoned me as a child,” I snap back.

“Okay, c’mon, we need to get to my house,” Theiry says. 

Theiry and I walk on a path and see a HUGE mansion. I see three people waiting for us. Theiry walks up to a man and whispers to him. The two other people are stunned. I slowly walk toward everyone. I hear, “We will try.” Then a blast of fire shoots at me. I somehow feel all of the power in my body turn into light, go to the fire, and turn it into ash. Everyone stares at me with amazement. 

Then I hear, “All hail princess Lily.” Everyone drops to their knees. I think, 

What the heck is going on??!!!!????

“What happened is that you are the princess who was stolen by humans. They stole you as a child because they wanted us to be even. We kinda killed their president. By accident!” Theiry explains. 

“How do you know I am this ‘missing princess?’” I question her.

“Only the bloodline of rulers can be connected to the sunlight,” Theiry says. 

“Your parents are the rulers of the eleven races,” a deep voice says.

“Lily, this is my dad, Trix,” Theiry says. 

Trix is a tall, brown-haired elf.

“This is Jakknas, and this is Amar.” Theiry introduces me to the other two elves. 

“Hello, this is the arrow and bow from the elven race.” Amar, a blond girl with long hair, slowly pulls out a silver arrow and a bow with trees and flowers.

“Thank you,” I answer. 

“I am sad to say, but the king and queen were assassinated last night,” Trix says in despair. 

“You will have to become the ruler of the elven kingdom.” Amar declares.

I take the bow and arrow and say confidently, “I am ready.”

“When the king and queen died, a poison gas went into the eleven worlds. Only someone from the royal bloodline can go to Nexis and go into the light. Because the poison gas started from the royals, it has to end by a royal death,” Theiry says.

“The assassin knew that; it was their plan all along,” Trix says and puts his fist in the air. 

“I am going to go there,” I say with determination.

“You will have to go to the other side of the world,” Trix says, after calming down.

“I am going to Nexis, whatever happens,” I say bravely.

I walk for weeks and months until I get to Nexis. I find out Theiry, Amar, and Jakkanas followed me; that is just too annoying. Elves do not need to eat food and drink water for years, but I still do.   

Months Later:

I am at the grounds of Nexis. The place where anyone who goes into the light fades into ash. I am looking to Theiry, to Amar, and to Jakkanas. I stare into the light. I am thinking, Should I die and save millions or live and kill millions? I look at my arrow and bow. I give them to Theiry and say, “Take this to my parents’ grave.” I think I am who I pictured. I am who I want to be. I step into the light, I feel a teardrop go down my cheek. I say, “Goodbye.” Then I slowly feel my body turn into ash. I am gone.

Epilogue:

What, where am I? I stand up and see broken cities and dust. I see gray clouds with a beast’s face.

Chapter 1     

“Zeke, Emma, Timea! Wake up! It’s time for breakfast,” Mom said.

“Ok, coming!” said the kids.

The kids ran downstairs. 

“Honey, can you serve them breakfast? I have to go get dressed. Don’t stay in your PJs on the couch all day,” Mom said.

“Fine, but I’m only going to serve them this one time. I have to finish my football game,” Amon said.

He was slumped on the couch, surrounded by empty chip bags and beer bottles. His shirt was stained with boxed mac and cheese.

“Dad, why can’t we go in that room near your bathroom?” said Timea.

“Because I said so. I don’t look in your diary because you have privacy, so don’t look in my stuff either,” said Amon.

“Sorry, Dad,” said Timea.

“Whatever, it’s fine. Mom cooked you guys bacon and eggs. I’m going to sleep, so eat quickly,” Amon said.

“Ok,” said Timea. To her brother and sister, she added, “Guys, we should sneak in. I think Dad is hiding something from us.”

“But if we sneak in, Dad will catch us, and we will get in trouble, AND WE WILL PROBABLY GET GROUNDED, so yeah,” Zeke said. 

“But what if Dad is going to do something bad in the room, and we have to stop it?” said Emma. “Dad goes in that room at night. I saw him once. Let’s get in right now since he’s sleeping.”

“Fine, but if we get caught, it’s not my fault,” said Zeke.

“Ok, but we have to figure out the code for the door to open it,” said Emma.

Chapter 2

“What if the passcode is about us? Like, two of us are ten, and one of us is twelve, so what if it is ten-twelve or twelve-ten?” said Zeke.

“Ok ten-twelve. Let’s try it,’’ said Emma.

“It unlocked. Holy moly! What is this place?” said Timea.

It was a small room with a big desk, a huge world map on the back wall, a big bin with bombs, crystals on the ceiling, and a big window with a hole. 

“No way, bombs! What if they’re going to make the Earth split in half?” said Emma.                                                         

“Or EXPLODE!” said Zeke.

“We have to get out of here now,” said Timea.

“Oh no, the door is locked! What are we going to do?” said Emma. 

“I also hear footsteps. HIDE!” said Zeke.

They ran and hid behind the cabinet. Footsteps echoed in the hall.    

“It’s good to be back in the lab,” said Amon to himself. “It looks like someone has been here… Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

“I have a plan to get out. When Dad’s head is turned, we can get out. He has the key on the door just in case he forgets the code, so we’re not locked in forever. LET’S DO THIS!” said Zeke.

They ran out.

“We made it,” said Emma.

“Guys, let’s meet here at 6:30 in the morning. Dad will be sleeping and Mom will be at work,” said Timea.

Chapter 3    

Ring, ring, ring went the alarm at 6:30 in the kids’ bedroom.

“Guys, wake up. It’s 6:30. We need to go into Dad’s lab,” said Emma.

“Ugh, fine, but it’s way too early for this,” said Timea.

“Last one there is a rotten egg, but walk so Dad does not wake up,” said Zeke.

Zeke ran.

“I beat you all,’’ said Zeke.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just get this over with,” said Timea. 

“Timea, don’t say that, it’s rude,” said Emma.

“Yeah,” said Zeke.  

“Sorry, I guess,” said Timea. 

“Emma, put in the code for the door so we can get inside,” said Zeke.

Emma typed ten-twelve on the keypad. The door opened.

“Guys, I know this might sound crazy, but Zeke, you love tech and you’re good at it. Can you make Dad’s machine better at picking up the dirt and put it on whatever is under there, just in case it’s something bad? Then we can cover it up and get what’s under there. Emma, I can attach you to a string, and you can climb down to grab what is under there. If it’s something bad, Zeke will instruct you, and I will pull you up. Then, I will open the door a little bit, so I can see when Dad is coming or walking by if he wakes up,” said Timea. 

“Got it,” said Zeke.

“I’m in,” Emma said.   

“Ok, let’s do this,” said Timea.  

Chapter 4

“All I have to do is reroute the system, update it, and code it,” Zeke said. 

“Emma, are you ready to climb down? I’m also going to tie the rope to the pole over there just in case,” said Timea. 

“Guys, the machine is ready. All we need is to grab the dirt and put it on top of what is under there, just in case,” said Zeke.

Emma climbed down. 

“GUYS! I see a bomb with a timer that says we have 5 minutes,” said Emma.

 “Is there a button to stop the timer?” said Zeke. 

“No, there is not,” said Emma         

“Guys, I brought my water bottle. Emma, I’m going to pull you up, and then I’m going to give you the bottle. Pour the water on the bomb. Zeke, put the extra dirt on top,” said Timea. 

Chapter 5 

“Guys, I just remembered something: those types of bombs can still explode when water is poured on them, but we still have to cover it up with dirt so Dad does not dig again and try to explode the Earth,” said Zeke. 

“We have 2 minutes! I’m going to put the water on it now,” said Emma. She poured the water.

“I’m pulling you up right now,” said Timea. 

“Ok,” said Emma. 

Timea pulled Emma up.

“I’m going to put the dirt on it with the machine,” said Zeke. He put the dirt on it.

“According to my calculations, we have 30 seconds left,” said Zeke.

“We have to hide under that desk over there, just in case,” said Timea. 

BOOM! The ground shook.  

“WE DID IT!” said Emma. 

Sirens blared, and the police came.
“What happened here?” said Officer Oui Bucky. 

The kids explained what happened. 

“Where are your Dad and Mom?” said Officer Oui Bucky.

“Our mom is at work, and our dad is sleeping,” said Zeke.

Mom walked in through the door.

“What happened here?!” said Mom.

The police explained it to her.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, kids, that you had to go through this. We’re going to move to Paris,” said Mom. 

The police walked over to arrest Amon.

“What-wha… happened? Why are you arresting me?” said Amon.
“Your kids stopped your bomb, and you know why we’re arresting you,” said Officer Oui Bucky.

“Nooo, I didn’t do that!” said Amon.

“I’m sorry, Amon. You’re going to be sentenced to jail for life,” said Officer Oui Bucky.

 The End 

Chapter I

Snowflake, a bunny, lived in the town of Meenlam. She was a postbunny, meaning she ran around the town delivering letters to her fellow townspeople. Snowflake also went to some of the nearby towns, such as Baldis, Rineen, Yoham, and Sarvenos. Snowflake was good at her job, but she was not the best because many of the other bunnies who worked with her were extraordinarily fast. Even when they ran to some of the farthest towns, they could get there in a very speedy three days, because those towns were over twenty kemdos away. Snowflake had heard some bunnies talk about the towns being over fifty miles away, but she had no idea what miles were. 

Snowflake loved baking. When she wasn’t delivering mail, she could often be found in her kitchen, baking something delicious. She often gave half of what she made to her neighbors because she lived alone and couldn’t eat everything before it went stale. Snowflake’s favorite things to bake were chocolate chip cookies because the batter was just as good as the cookies, and chocolate cake, just because chocolate cake is amazing. 

Snowflake also loved going to the beach, but only on cold days when she could be alone. Everybody came on the hot days because they didn’t like the cold water. Snowflake tolerated it better than most bunnies because she did it all the time and she also had a thick coat of fur. Besides, most of the time she just sat on the sand and gazed at the ocean or read. Snowflake liked being alone because she could think without having to hear everyone running around on the beach. 

One cold winter day, Snowflake decided that she should go to the beach, since she hadn’t been in a while. She sat down on the sand and watched the chilly waves rush towards her paws and then fall back into the ocean just before they pierced her boots. After about fifteen minutes of this, Snowflake decided to walk along the beach for a while. She was halfway to the small, abandoned garden of lilacs when she felt her boot thud against something sharp. She lifted her shoe, and she saw a tiny crab scuttling around on the wet ground. It looked lost, so she picked it up and walked it over to the sea. She set it down and the waves escorted it into the murky blue depths. A little bit later, she turned back and walked home. When she was nice and warm by her fire, she slept for an hour or so, and then she got up and made a batch of brownies. 

As she was waiting for the oven to ding, someone knocked on her door. She got up from the couch, and she opened the door. A cold gust of wind swept into the house, moving the fog covering the town to reveal a young bunny sitting on the doorstep. 

“Are you S-S-Snowflake N-Neepim?” the little bunny asked. Snowflake couldn’t tell if he was stuttering because he was cold, or because he stuttered no matter what. 

“Why, yes. I am Snowflake Neepim. What’s your name?” Snowflake replied. 

“B-Benny. Mrs. Evental a-asked me to f-find you a-a-and then to journey w-with you to this place and deliver t-t-this letter with you,” Benny said. 

Snowflake asked, “May I see the letter?”

“Y-yes. The l-letter is v-very important. A-at least, t-t-that’s what Mrs. Evental s-said. Also, s-s-she said it was. . . across the Forest!” Benny squeaked the last part as he handed the letter to Snowflake. He squeaked because the Forest was the most dangerous part of the world. Nobody knew what was past it, but clearly Mrs. Evental knew because she had to get a letter to someone there. Rumors flew around the village whenever someone went in because everyone believed that monsters and carnivorous plants lived there. The last time someone had gone in and come out alive was thousands of years ago when the Forest was new. To Snowflake, it didn’t seem right to risk her life just to deliver a single letter, but she would do it because Benny couldn’t do it alone. She grasped the letter as she looked at the address. 

32084 Grenom St NW

Bartrembos

“Alright. We’ll go across the Forest. We need to pack lots of food for the journey. Do you have any idea why Mrs. Evental wants us to deliver the letter?” Snowflake declared. 

“N-no, Ms. Neepim. Can I search your h-house for good f-f-food to bring?” Benny answered.

“You can, but please, call me Snowflake. I despise being called Ms. Neepim,” Snowflake replied. They walked into her house and started searching the cabinets to find foods that would be easy to bring. They ended up with two backpacks and two sleeping bags, and as they left the house, they waved at a town they might never see again. 

Chapter II

Snowflake and Benny stopped when they reached the Forest. They stared up at the towering trees looming above their heads. Then, with brave glances at the other, they pushed the shrubbery aside and stepped into the Forest. 

They had crossed the river before then, and they were miraculously almost dry. The river was known for being very fast and powerful, and most bunnies were drenched if they tried to cross or go fishing in it. Snowflake was very glad about that, since being wet while trying to cross a dangerous forest would not be good.

The first thing Snowflake noticed was the quiet. Before they went in, she heard the sounds of the river, birds, and the wind. In the Forest, there was nothing. There were no birds, no wind, and no animals of any sort, only the sound of their footsteps, which even now sounded muffled. 

“W-where are the n-n-noises?” Benny asked softly. 

“I don’t kn- aahhhhh!” Snowflake screamed. Benny clung onto Snowflake as a huge snake slithered down from the trees. It stared at them for a minute, and then it glided up the tree. Snowflake and Benny calmed down and continued walking. They came to a huge wall that appeared to be made of ivy, but it was probably stone underneath. They poked around for a while, searching for a door. Benny yelped as he fell through the wall, and Snowflake rushed to him. He had found the door, and he fell through it. Benny stood up and dusted himself off, and they paraded into the place beyond the wall. 

It was a castle that stood behind the wall. It towered above the rest of the Forest, leaving an immense shadow over the trees. Loud chirping noises could be heard anywhere, and the air smelled of royal perfume. Snowflake wondered how she hadn’t noticed it as they were walking, but then she remembered that nothing could penetrate the canopy. As soon as they stepped through, however, a group of guards rushed towards them, and they tied their paws behind their backs. These guards weren’t bunnies, though. They were parrots!

The guards bumped them through the palace and stuck them in a small cell. The only words they said were, “Breakfast is at 7, lunch is at 12, and dinner’s at 6,” and then they left them all alone. 

“W-what just h-happened?” Benny quivered as he spoke. 

“We’re in a castle, and those guards just imprisoned us! We need to get out of here!” Snowflake answered. She frantically searched the cell, but there were only two tiny cots and a toilet. She spied a nail beneath one of the cots, but she couldn’t reach it. 

“Benny, can you get that nail for me? I can’t reach it,” Snowflake asked. Benny nodded and squeezed under the cot. He stayed under there for a moment and then he popped back out, nail in paw. 

“Is t-this the nail y-you wanted?” Benny said. 

“Yes, thank you,”

“You’re w-welcome.”

 Snowflake reached her paw through the bars of the door, and she stuck the nail into the lock. Unfortunately, a parrot guard came down the hall, and Snowflake had to stop. The clock struck noon, and the guard started to unlock the doors. The prisoners trudged out of the cells and they followed the guard to what was probably the dining hall. Snowflake and Benny had no choice but to follow everyone to the hall. 

The parrots serving the food passed out trays, and they spooned a bluish-gray glop to everyone. Benny looked down at his food in disgust, and he spat and pushed it away. As she did the same, Snowflake whispered, “Hey, I’ve got some apples. We can eat those once we go back to our cells. Then we can break out of here!” 

“What’d you do to get in here? I smashed one o’ the windows in King Obb’s palace. You look like some little stupid people, so I’ll tell ya that this is King Obb’s castle,” a gruff voice grumbled. They turned around to see a massive pig with a severe underbite point to a window high up in the hall. Sure enough, it was smashed to bits. 

“I insulted King Obb. This guy did the same,” Snowflake replied. Benny nodded in agreement. Just then, bells rang and all the prisoners stood up and got escorted back to their cells. 

Benny gasped, “They c-cleaned it! Our n-n-nail is gone!” He plopped down on his cot and began to sob. Snowflake dug out her apples and handed one to him. She sat down and they began munching forlornly on the apples. 

“I have earpins!” Snowflake cried. 

“S-s-so?” Benny said. 

“So, we can use them to pick the lock!” Snowflake said joyously. She dug in her bag and she pulled out two earpins. She stuck one in the lock and wiggled it around. The door swung open just as a royal-looking person flew down the hall. Benny jumped up and shut the door. 

“What was that?” King Obb asked. His voice was nasally with a snooty accent, and it sounded wicked. King Obb spun around, and his gaze locked on Snowflake and Benny. 

“Probably one of those little punks bangin’ on the bars,” a parrot guard replied. King Obb didn’t look satisfied with the answer, but he turned around and marched on, the guard trailing behind. As soon as Snowflake could no longer hear their wings beating, she opened the door again and slipped out, backpack and sleeping bag with her. Benny followed her out, but then he whispered, “How w-w-will we get o-out? G-guards will be w-w-watching the exits.” 

“The window that the big pig broke!” Snowflake exclaimed after thinking for a few moments. They ran up as quietly as they could, and then they stopped. The window was too high up for them to reach. They couldn’t get out that way. 

“I know! We can s-stack the t-tables!” Benny exclaimed. They began stacking the tables, one after another, making sure they had a way to get up to the top of the stack. Once the tower was high enough, they crawled through the window and jumped down. Half of the dining hall was below ground and there were some high bushes below, so they weren’t hurt falling down. They ran to the wall, and they climbed up the ivy, and they jumped over. They were free. 

Chapter III

Snowflake and Benny raced away from the castle. They had gone out on the opposite side of where they came in, so they didn’t have to circle all the way around to continue going. They trekked in silence for a while, but they began to talk when the ground beneath them started to pull them in. 

“Why is the ground sinking?” Snowflake asked. 

“I t-think it’s q-q-quicksand!” Benny replied. They screamed as the quicksand swallowed them, but they stopped when they fell into a huge cavern. Floating lights filled the cavern with a warm glow, and dancing bunnies wearing bright dresses were twirling around a stage on the far end of the room. A slow, romantic piece of music was being played by an orchestra that appeared to be in a glass room above the ceiling. Snowflake loved the lights bobbing about. She wanted to hold onto them forever, and she felt herself drop into a dreamlike state. She saw Benny walking slowly towards them, and she felt a very strong urge to do the same. Snowflake walked to the lights, and the last thing she remembered was hugging them, and then everything went black. 

When Snowflake came to, she was still clutching the lights. Benny was muttering something about how he loved the lights so much, he would never let go. Then he woke up. Snowflake saw the lights again and she went over to them. One of them morphed into one of the dancing bunnies, but this one had a wicked grin, and she bent over and kissed Snowflake on her forehead. Snowflake collapsed on the ground, fast asleep. The bunny walked over to Benny, but he batted her away. Now the bunny came flying back and she knocked Benny down! As she stalked over to him, she tripped over her long high heels. Benny used this opportunity to grab a stick and whack her. He hit her until she was unconscious, and then he grabbed her keys and dragged Snowflake out. 

When Snowflake woke up, a massive Venus flytrap was looming over her head. She shrieked and Benny woke up with a start. They had both fallen asleep after they escaped. 

“What’s g-going on?” Benny asked groggily. Then, he noticed the plant and he screamed, too. He jumped up and quickly slashed the Venus flytrap’s stem with a sharp stick, and then he collapsed and he promptly began to snore. He was just tired.  

Snowflake waited an hour before trying to wake Benny again. It had been really early in the morning when they were faced with the Venus flytrap, and they would still get an early start that day. She nudged Benny until he woke, and they ate a quick breakfast before continuing across the Forest. 

For the next three days, they trudged through the Forest, only talking when they had to. It was a very boring journey, especially since nothing else imprisoned them or tried to eat them. 

Snowflake was thinking that the Forest never ended and that Mrs. Evental had just made it up when the Forest suddenly ended and they were standing in a beautiful meadow with flowers in all colors of the rainbow. Snowflake and Benny rushed forward, only to smack into an enormous web and the meadow flickered and disappeared. They tried to move around, but the web was sticky and they couldn’t break free. There was a buzzing noise that sounded like a bee, and a huge firefly loomed over their heads. It lifted Benny off the web with ease, and it made a weird sound that sounded as if it were sniffing him. It tossed Benny to the ground, and it repeated with Snowflake. This time, the firefly must have thought she would taste good, because it lifted her up to its mouth, and it was about to put her head in when Benny swooped down on a vine, grabbed Snowflake, and launched over the web. They tumbled down a small hill and landed in the creek at the bottom. 

“Oof,” Benny groaned from underneath Snowflake. She slowly stood up and grabbed Benny’s paw and helped him stand. 

“I thought… fireflies were… herbivorous,” Snowflake panted. 

“Me t-too. I guess t-that one w-wasn’t,” Benny agreed. They dusted themselves off and they continued walking. They had learned to just keep on moving, even when something was hard. 

They walked for two more days, which made them very, very tired, and then there was light up ahead. Snowflake and Benny glanced at each other, and they ran towards it, despite their legs aching as if they had just stood for a week without sitting once. They pushed through the bushes, and there was a small town sitting there, waiting to be discovered. They were out of the Forest. 

Chapter IV

They raced into the town, and they noticed a sign that said Bartrembos as they frantically searched for the mysterious creature’s house. They ran around for a little while, searching for the house, but it became dark very quickly, so they found an inn called The Four Mugs. Once Snowflake and Benny had checked in and placed their stuff in their room, they sat down at a table in the dining room and began to talk about their mission. 

“So, just to remind you of what we’re doing, Mrs. Evental gave us this letter to give to somebody at this address, and it’s very important that we deliver it because something really important is inside. Also, do you have any idea what’s in the letter?” Snowflake informed Benny. 

“N-no. Mrs. Evental s-said, ‘This letter has s-something very important inside. Please d-d-do not open i-it. Just give it to the c-c-count at this address,’” Benny said, mimicking Mrs. Evental’s voice. 

“Do you think we should open it? Actually, the count would probably notice, so we shouldn’t open it,” Snowflake said. 

“H-how would he k-know?” Benny asked. 

“The seal wouldn’t stick, and it might be broken.”

“Oh. W-what if we got a n-new seal?”

“We don’t have Mrs. Evental’s seal stamp. Look, the name Koria Evental is engraved in the seal. This count probably knows what the seal looks like, so he would know that we opened it,” Snowflake pointed out. A waiter walked over to their table with two lemonades and two bowls of fettuccine alfredo. They ate a delicious meal, and then they went up to bed and got the best night sleep they had had in days. The next morning, Snowflake and Benny ate a quick breakfast and then they left to go and find the count. 

“Scarcem s-street. . . J-jalims street. . . Grenom s-s-street!” Benny read the names of the streets as they passed them. They turned down Grenom Street and they looked for number 32084. 

“There it is!” Snowflake cried when they found it. 32084 Grenom St. was a tall and dark house. It was very neat and nothing looked broken or out of place. A weird smell was coming from the house. It was something like cinnamon combined with molasses. Odd chattering noises came from the back of the house. Snowflake and Benny walked up the steps to the door and they knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal a tall and gaunt bunny. He wore all black, which contrasted his pale white fur. He looked sad, as if he had been living all alone for the past ten years, and he had a very long nose, a thin line for a mouth, a worry crease, and very dark eyes. He gazed at them for a long time, and then he said, “Come in. I am Farmirn Jayis. Why are you here?” 

“We’ve come to deliver a letter from someone in our town named Mrs. Evental. Also, I am Snowflake,” Snowflake answered as she and Benny walked into the house. 

“Was Mrs. Evental’s first name Koria?” the count asked. 

“Y-yes,” Benny said. 

“And what might your name be?” Farmirn inquired. 

“B-benny,” Benny answered. Farmirn gestured for them to sit down in some large armchairs as he got out whatever had made that weird smell earlier. They turned out to be cinnamon spice cookies, and Snowflake and Benny took them gratefully. 

“Now, may I see this letter?” the count requested. Benny handed him the letter, and they peeked over his shoulder as he read it. 

August 7, 1483

Dear Farmirn,

I write to you to warn you of a bunny hungry for power in our village. He knows there is a place beyond the Forest, and he plans on storming Bartrembos and claiming it for himself. I want you to know so that you can protect Bartrembos from this evil bunny. He has black fur, green eyes, and one of his ears is half as long as the other. Please, protect yourself and your town from this bunny. I love Bartrembos, and I would hate for it to be taken over. Oh, I forgot to mention his name. It is Dreim Varlik. He is a powerful bunny in our town, so he will not have trouble recruiting an army and going there. Please stay safe. 

On a lighter note, I received your present. Thank you so much. The sapling was a very thoughtful gift. I still do not know how you can send that in the mail and get it here so quickly. It is a sapling, and that makes it very hard to transport it, especially all the way across the Forest. Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Koria Evental

“So, this b-bunny named Dreim Varlik is coming to take o-o-over Bartrembos just because he can, and w-we have no i-idea for how he learned about this p-p-place, right?” Benny said. 

“Yes. We must go to the Council at once and inform them of this danger!” Farmirn cried. He stood up and bolted out of the front door, letter in hand. Snowflake and Benny rushed after him. They were exhausted and out of breath when they reached the town hall. 

“Councillors! I am sorry for coming without warning, but I have just received a letter from my friend in a town called Meenlam. She informed me that there is a bunny in her town who discovered Bartrembos and they want to come here and take it over! We must pro — ” Farmirn said quickly. 

“Hold on there, Farmirn. Repeat that more slowly,” a councillor, who had the name Councillor Jinlis on his chair, interrupted. 

“I have a friend in a town named Meenlam. She just sent me a letter warning me of a bunny who has discovered Bartrembos, and that bunny is going to come here with an army and take over our town,” Farmirn repeated, much slower this time. 

“Thank you. Do you have any idea of how powerful this bunny is?” A councillor called Councillor Zarina asked. 

“My friend, Koria Evental, said he is very powerful and he will have no trouble recruiting an army and pushing through the Forest,” Farmrin answered. The Councillors turned towards each other and they began talking in hushed voices about how they should stop this threat. Eventually they came to a decision. 

Councillor Barikl said, “Go to the Emnesi. For the two young bunnies, that is where our army resides and trains. Tell them to block the town off and prepare their weapons. We are going to war with these flops for bunnies.”

Chapter V

Snowflake ran straight to the Emnesi after receiving directions from Farmirn on how to get there. 

“Block the town off! Prepare your weapons! A group of bunnies are coming from across the Forest and want to take over Bartrembos!” Snowflake yelled when she got there. 

“Who are you?” one of the soldiers asked. 

“I’m Snowflake Neepim of Meenlam. I came here to deliver a letter from all the way across the Forest, and some bunnies from my town are coming here to take over Bartrembos!” Snowflake cried. The soldiers murmured in discussion. 

Before they could speak, Snowflake called out, “The Council ordered you to do this!” As soon as she said “Council,” they started running about the camp, gathering their weapons and rushing out the door. Snowflake watched as they positioned themselves all around Bartrembos, making sure their weapons worked properly. They waited for hours, but at sundown, loud footsteps started coming from the Forest. A couple minutes later, Dreim Varlik’s army burst out of the Forest. They must have thought the people of Bartrembos would be just going about their normal day, but they found an army instead. Dreim’s army waited for a minute, glancing at each other and appearing to think, How did they know? before they charged at Bartrembos’s army. 

The next hour was filled with the clashing of swords and bows shooting nonstop. Everywhere Snowflake and Benny looked, soldiers were fighting and bodies were lying on the ground. Some moaned and twitched, while others lay still. Bartrembos was winning, but then the other army rolled a huge cannon out of the Forest. Three bunnies had to work to get a single cannonball in, but the balls were weak and they only destroyed a couple houses, which was not much compared to what it had looked like. Snowflake spotted Benny on the edge of the battlefield, and he was creeping towards the giant cannon, a bomb in one of his paws and a box of matches in the other. 

“Benny!” Snowflake shrieked. Benny turned around and put his paw to his mouth, signaling for her to be quiet. He crept up to the cannon, and he began to army-crawl between the bunnies’ legs. He went underneath the cannon, and he stuck the bomb into the hole after lighting it. He jumped up and ran back to Snowflake as the bomb exploded. 

When all the smoke had cleared, Snowflake saw the cannon, but it was completely destroyed. Many more bodies now lay near it, and Snowflake recognized them as the bunnies operating the canon and other warriors. The soldiers from Bartrembos used this opportunity to start fighting again while the others were still in shock. 

“Where did you get that?” Snowflake asked Benny. 

“F-farmirn gave it to m-me just in c-case we needed it,” Benny answered. Shouts came up from the battlefield, and Snowflake and Benny peeked over the wall of the fortress they were on to see the Bartrembos soldiers standing in victory. They had won the battle! 

Chapter VI

Snowflake and Benny were at a massive party. Once the battlefield had been cleared up, it was decorated with streamers and balloons that flew high into the sky. The town bakers had worked hard to make cupcakes, cakes, salads, and more for the celebration. It was so loud, Snowflake and Benny had to scream to hear each other. Near the end of the party, Farmirn got up onto the makeshift stage and quieted everybody. 

“I would like to propose a toast to Snowflake Neepim and Benny Kembi. They delivered a letter to me from Meenlam informing me of the bunnies who attacked us earlier today. If they had not come and given me the letter, we would probably be dead right now. To Snowflake and Benny!” Farmirn called. Everybody raised their glasses of lemonade and said, 

“To Snowflake and Benny!”

After the celebration was over, Snowflake and Benny stayed at Farmirn’s house for the night. The next morning, he took them in his donkey cart, and he drove them all the way back to Meenlam, and it took them only four days to get there. When they got back, they were celebrated as heroes because they saved another town from destruction. They became leaders in the town, and the first thing they did was create a road through the Forest to make it easier to get from one place to another. Snowflake and Benny led very happy lives, and they were written about in history books because they accomplished so many good things, and Snowflake and Benny became the greatest leaders in all of Meenlam history. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: LET’S GO!

Chapter 2: Into the Forest

Chapter 3 The Impossible Eating Wall

Chapter 4: Wait, I Have a Great Idea!

Chapter 5: Hurry to the Flight!

Chapter 6: WE GOT THERE, WE’RE GONNA HAVE SUNGLASSES AND A DOG!

———————————————-

Chapter 1: LET’S GO!

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Sunglass Dude and a penguin named Pengu. The penguin and Sunglass Dude were best buds. Anyway, they were about to go on an adventure to go to Hershey Park to get sunglasses for both of them and get a dog.

So they started by getting out of the house and saying, “LET’S GO!”And they were off, with a grapple hook, on their journey walking to their favorite things. 

Chapter 2: Into the Forest 

So then they walked and walked so far that they saw a beautiful forest. The trees were light blue and it was like a miracle. They said, “Whoooooaaaaa!” They were so surprised that they said, “That’s so cool!” They were so happy to go through the forest! They saw birds and squirrels, and even a bald eagle. They played in the forest a lot, and it was the best place to play because the animals were nice to play with. Then they went off to walk off to the unknown, or should I say, the airport. So they went off on the long walk back on their journey. Then they saw a modern mansion. It had a pool and it was shiny and it was so cool! They saw the owner and Pengu, and Sunglass Dude said, “What are you doing in this forest?” 

The owner said, “Well, this is the mage forest, you know that, right?” 

They said, “No.” 

The owner said, “Well, we’re in magic city.” 

They said, “Okay.”

 Between them, they were like, “This is so cool!” 

Pengu and Sunglass Dude said to the owner, “We need to look around the city. Can you show us around?”

 The owner said, “Okay! Come with me!” 

When they were done, Pengu and Sunglass Man asked, “Is there an airport around here?”

The owner said, “Yes. But there is a giant chocolate wall that’s, like, impossible to eat through.” 

Either way they went…

Chapter 3 The Impossible Eating Wall 

… anyway, they went to the wall and started to eat through it. They were eating so long that they needed a rest, so they decided to sleep all day and then they kept eating. Even though they were so tired, they started to climb. But they kept falling on their butts. They said, “Oww!” every single time. Then they went on to keep trying and falling on their butts. 

Sunglass dude said, “I QUIT!” 

Pengu the penguin said, “ME, TOO!” Then they walked away. Suddenly…

Chapter 4: Wait, I Have a Great Idea! 

… Sunglass Dude said, “Wait, I have a great idea! Remember, we have a grapple hook. Let’s grapple over the top of the giant wall!” 

Pengu the penguin said, “Yeah, let’s do it!”

They did it, but they still had a river to cross. They saw the river and it was brown and smelled really good so they started smelling the river again and again. Then finally a person went up and said, “What are you doing?!” 

They said, “Umm nothing. We were about to go to the airport.” 

He said, “Oh okay.”

Pengu and Sunglass Dude got into a boat and began to sail to the airport. While sailing, they saw a bunch of fish, a bunch of swans, two great beard gray herons, and one mythical animal called a kitsune that is so cute and that is a type of fox. Everything was so cool to watch. Then they arrived at the airport. When they got there, they had some money for a ticket so they went and bought their tickets. 

Chapter 5: Hurry to the Flight!

When they got a ticket, first they went to one of the lunch bars because they were hungry. When they started to eat their first bite, they said, “This food is amazing!”

Then they kept eating there so long that they had to hurry to the flight when it was called! They said, “Oh no! We’re about to be late!” 

They both ran so fast that they were able to make it. By the time they got there, they were so tired, they were out of energy! They were so exhausted, that they slept on the plane for four hours. Then they ate some food and it was okay and they were full. They went to the bathroom and after, they were bored that they played some games on the screen in the seat in front of them. Pengu and Sunglass Man played Pac-Man, which made them happy. After they finished playing the virtual game, they were sleepy so they slept again and when the plane landed, they woke up. 

Chapter 6: WE GOT THERE, WE’RE GONNA HAVE SUNGLASSES AND A DOG!

When they got to Hershey Park, they were like, “We GOT HERE YESSSS, LET’S GOOOO!” So then they drove to the city in the car and they went to the bathroom, they were like, “This is so shiny!” They looked all around and got a quick drink. They kept walking and looking everywhere for the dog and sunglasses, and found them! Then they were like, “It’s party time!” So they made a cake and balloons and invited everyone and had fun. That night they played and cuddled with the dog with sunglasses who was very cute.

The end !

Or is it…

Chapter I                      

As the mannequin holds me to the ground, blood pours out of my chest through my shirt. I never thought I’d be here.  As I lay helpless on the floor, I think about my life. My misery. My anger. 

I think back to the night my life changed forever. I was fourteen years old at the time. My mother left  me when I was four years old, so as long as I could remember it was just me and my dad. Ever since I was born, my dad strived to give me the best life possible. To him, this just meant getting rich. He thought the most logical way to do this would be to invent something. Every day I returned home from school, my father had decided that he was “onto something” but by the next day he had abandoned the idea. 

 Some of his ideas like a mechanical dish sponge were practical but other things like disposable rain boots were completely ridiculous and stupid. When I was fourteen years old, my dad came up with an idea that he thought he could actually sell. His idea was a self-charging cell phone and I personally thought anybody would benefit from that. He began pitching his idea to many companies. One of the employees named Daniel Ozark from a company called TechToday was developing a similar product and thought my father was trying to sabotage this.

Two nights after my father’s pitch, Ozark knocked on my father’s apartment door claiming  that he had a deal to propose about my father’s product and needed to talk to him about it in the hall. My father and I were overjoyed that TechToday was actually interested in my father’s product. I was about to go out into the hallway to see why the conversation was taking so long, but just as I approached the door I heard a gunshot and saw blood beginning to poor through the crack under the door. I instantly fell to the floor sobbing. Amidst sobbing I heard Ozark’s footsteps as he sprinted away from the scene of the crime. I couldn’t believe it. Daniel Ozark, a seemingly innocent man, had stolen my father’s entire fortune and killed him.  

It’s Ozark’s fault that I’m going to be killed by a mannequin. I never would’ve resorted to crime if it hadn’t been for my father’s death. But I don’t have time to think about this now.  I’m losing blood rapidly and I can feel the life draining out of me. The long elegant diamonds around the mannequin’s neck have punctured deep wounds in my skin allowing for blood to pour out. I try to wiggle my way out from under the mannequin but I feel more stabs from the diamonds pin me down to the ground so all I can do is lie helplessly and hope that I am taken out of my misery. 

I consider calling out for help but if I’m caught robbing the largest jeweler in New York City I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison and odds are it’s too late for me at this point. Then suddenly I feel I sharp stabbing in my chest. I gasp for air and then my vision goes black and I fall completely lifeless.  

Chapter II 

I groggily open my eyes to find myself lying in a warm, neatly made bed, in a small room that looks much like a hotel. I sit up to examine my wounds on my chest from the mannequin but find them to be completely healed. The skin is now shiny and smooth rather than rough and torn apart.  I sit up and examine my surroundings. There is a night table on either side of my bed and each of them are decorated with dazzling and elegant bouquets of flowers. On the walls there are gilded picture frames which have exquisite photos of underwater seascapes and of grand looking waterfalls. There is a large television on the wall directly across from the bed and underneath is a gorgeous honey colored bureau. On top of the bureau there is a wicker basket full of candies, fruits and are two leather backed books. I stand up and bring the basket to my bed. I flop down onto the bed and toss the books out of the basket and begin munching on the sweet delicacies. I may not know where I am but I would never turn down free food.

When my father was shot I was furious that he never gave me the life and the wealth he promised me and so I resorted to crime. It served me well. I had a few close calls but I was never caught and from every casino, bank and jeweler I ever robbed I finally had the life my father meant for me. 

All of a sudden I feel a surge of rage. Why didn’t my father give me a better life? Why did my mother leave me? Why at the age of 38 do I still live alone? I’m too angry to eat any more candies. I grab the first book that I had tossed aside and thrust myself into a pillow. I can feel my hands shaking. I don’t know where I am, or why I’m here.  How come I, Travis Hunter, a criminal, am being granted free food? If I don’t remember finishing the robbery I must have been caught! How did I not see this before? I’m trapped! In an attempt to calm myself, I once again pick up the book. I think the title The Afterlife for Dummies sounds like a great novel and so I open the book and continue reading. 

After flipping through introductions and copyrights I finally reach chapter one. I begin to read: If you are reading this you have reached the land of the dead. Welcome. Please report to the front desk immediately to discuss your housing-Thank You! Me? Dead? This can’t be! I am very much living and breathing. Or am I? Being in the land of the dead simultaneously makes all the sense in the world and no sense at all. 

Of course, just waking up in a completely new location with no wounds does partially justify the fact that I may be in the land of the dead. That being said, there’s no such thing as the afterlife- there just isn’t. If there really was an afterlife my father would’ve come back to Earth. To me. But he didn’t. This all could just be a big prank, so I decide against going down to the front desk. Instead, I turn on the TV, but the TV doesn’t work. I keep pressing buttons but the only thing that shows up is a flashing notification that says, “Please report to the front desk!” So I do. I stand up and walk downstairs to where I assume the desk is. I can’t believe that I had actually given in. I didn’t want to believe that I was in the afterlife. I couldn’t be dead. There was more I needed to do. I needed to finish robbing the jeweler, to find love.  But deep down inside it seemed to be the only logical explanation. 

Chapter III 

“Here you go. Fill these out and bring them back when you are down,” says the receptionist standing at the front desk as she slams a pile of forms as thick as a dictionary onto the desk. I look at her wide eyed. Does she really expect me to do all of this?! 

“Come on, it’s really not that much-now go!” I pick up the stack, using my forearms to support all of the weight. The receptionist was right. It’s really not that much. The first page looks like this: 

Welcome to the Afterlife! 

You, Travis Hunter, died of blood loss yesterday while robbing a jeweler. We want to make your stay in the afterlife, which will last for the rest of eternity, as comfortable as possible. Therefore, you may pick one of the following three choices for the rest of eternity: 

Choice Number One: 

Heaven or Hell

This is the standard choice. Good people will go to Heaven and not so good people will go to Hell. We will inform you if you belong in Heaven or Hell before you make your choice. Please understand that very few people actually go to Hell (criminals,serial killers, etc.) and even if you do we will still try to provide an experience appropriate to your behavior on Earth.

Choice Number Two: 

Community Service on Earth 

Since you are now dead you are technically a ghost and may return to Earth invisibly to help make a positive impact. This choice is our most advised. Here in the afterlife we like to do everything we can to help our neighbors on Earth. 

Choice Number Three: 

Haunting 

This is a very ill advised choice. Choosing to haunt humans can put you in immense danger and possibly throw off or ruin the rest of your time in the afterlife–which is eternity. 

Please contemplate your options and pick a path.

For Choice number 1, go to page 1; for choice number  2, go to page 47; and for choice number 3, go to page 113. 

I know what I’ll do. If I really am dead I’ll make the best of it, and that means making it worse for everyone else.  Choice number three had my name written all over it. I could destroy the life of Daniel Ozark and his family. I could finish robbing the jewelry store I died robbing. I will finish that robbery. I must–I will destroy the lives of everyone who destroyed mine. 

Chapter IV 

 “Sir–you did read this, choice three is a very ill advised choice,” says the receptionist after I turn in my forms. 

“I’ve made my decision, and it is final!” I shout, really losing my cool.

“All right sir,” says the receptionist, shaking her head. “Here are the rest of the forms and information you’ll need.” She says, placing a packet down on the desk. 

“Thanks,” I say sarcastically, and walk away with the forms. They read: 

If you are reading this you have chosen to go back to earth to haunt and complete your “unfinished business.” Please understand that this is a very dangerous choice and may result in many consequences. 

 You will be transported back to Earth 36 hours from now. Before you leave please fill out the following form: 

Name____________  Date of Death________________ 

Date of Transport____________ 

Where on Earth would you like to be transported?_____________

I understand that I will be invisible to all humans and that choice #3 is a very dangerous choice. 

_______________________(your signature) Thank you! Please enjoy your stay in the afterlife! 

After I finish the form I bring it to the receptionist’s desk. 

“New York City, huh?” says the receptionist, her eyebrows jumping up and down. 

“Oh, yeah,” I respond.

“Alright–we’ll call for you in 36 hours.” 

“Thanks,” I say and walk back up to my room. 

Chapter V 

I’m still asleep when I hear a booming voice in my room calling, “Travis Hunter! Our teleportation to Earth leaves in 35 minutes. Please report to the front desk immediately.” 

I look around, baffled, trying to see where the voice is coming from but I don’t see anyone so I decided there must be some hidden speaker. I hurriedly freshen up and head down to the desk for my transport. 

“Hello, Travis,” says a receptionist. 

“Please step into this capsule,” she says, motioning towards a small cabinet next to her desk. I raise my eyebrows at her questioningly. Does she really expect me to fit into that cabinet?                                                                                                                            

“Go on,” she says.

 So I do, and it really isn’t that small. Just as I’m about to open my mouth to ask what she’s going to do I begin to feel myself swirling around in all sorts of crazy loops like a sock in the washing machine. As I begin to feel nauseous, the swirling stops and the capsule opens. I step out to find myself on a dirty New York City amidst many tourists and vendors. I start pacing down the street, noticing how dirty the city has become–so crowded and full of shouting people. 

A large pack of students on a trip begin walking down the block straight towards me–their stares are dark and devious. They’re really out to get me. I run as fast as I can but they’re still tailing me. Just as they’re about to slam into me I shut my eyes, hoping it will somehow help reduce the pain I’ll feel–but then no pain comes. The pack of students seems to walk straight through me. 

Chapter VI 

 Before I knew what a terrible and vile man Daniel Ozark was I was so excited for my father’s pitch with TechToday. Before his pitch he told me all about the company and its employees–including Daniel Ozark. I was able to salvage very few of my father’s belongings but I was able to save an information packet from the convention where he pitched his cell phone to TechToday. The packet included the personal information of many participants in the convention. Including Ozark. In the years following my father’s death I constantly studied the packet, memorizing the addresses and phone numbers of Ozark and his family. This information was all I needed to begin my haunting.

I walk into the first apartment building on the street, bolt up to the front desk, pick up the phone and dial Ozark’s number. 

“Hello?” He answers in a hoarse voice. 

“Daniel Ozark!” I shout with rage. “I’m coming for you!” 

“Hello?” he says again with no emotion. I continue shouting but he can’t hear me and he hangs up. I pick up a pot of plants on the desk and smash it on the floor. I don’t understand–why can’t he hear me? And then it dawns on me: I was dead. I couldn’t be seen, heard, or felt. I felt so much animosity towards Ozark, towards the afterlife, but mostly myself. I felt so senseless and naive. And now I’m stuck attempting to haunt people for the rest of eternity!  If I can’t be seen, heard, or felt the only basic function I can perform and have it noticed is to pick up items, and give the illusion that they’re floating. I’m so angry. There’s only one thing left to do–so I walk up to Daniel Ozarks apartment. 

Chapter VII 

When I enter Ozark’s apartment he is sitting on his couch smoking a cigar and watching TV.  I slam the door and he looks up in alarm. 

“Who’s there?” He shouts with panic. “I know you’re in here! Show yourself!”

 While Daniel continues shouting into space, I creep into the kitchen and grab two butcher’s knives. I hold them up high to create the illusion that they are flying through the air. 

I slowly walk into the living room where Daniel is panicking and begin to approach him with the knives. He cries out so terrified I feel I have already succeeded. He pulls out his phone to call 911. His hands are so shaky he can hardly hold it. I knock the phone out of his hand and throw it out a window across the room and watch as it falls 13 stories and smashes on top of a garbage truck. I throw the first butcher knife across the room so it lands right in the middle of a photo of Daniel hanging on the wall. I expect him to scream out in terror, but rather he just stands in the middle of the room petrified. It’s the perfect opportunity for me–so I strike. I throw the second butcher knife straight into Ozark’s chest, piercing his heart. 

I watch in elation as Ozark begins losing blood. He breathes so heavily–gasping for all the air he can get, and then one second he’s done. He stops breathing. I did it. I killed Daniel Ozark. 

Chapter VIII 

I sit down on Ozark’s couch to review what I’ve just done. I’ve really done it. All for my father. I am so proud and I just sit back on the couch to relax. Just as I am dozing off to sleep I feel a strong burst of air come from above and begin sucking me up like a vacuum machine. I fight and flail to stay on the couch but I can’t control it. I am thrown in crazy loops and turns and when it stops I am back in the hotel where my afterlife experience began. I storm up to the desk–enraged. 

“Excuse me!” I shout. “Why on Earth am I here?” 

“Please follow me, sir,” the receptionist responds. 

“No! I will not follow you until you tell me why I am here!” I respond, still yelling. 

“Sir, your recent actions on Earth have resulted in a dangerous and severe phenomenon and we need you to help reverse your actions. Now please come with me.” 

“No!” I yell back. Before I can continue protesting two guards walk in and drag me away from the desk. They drag me down a long corridor that smells like mildew and into a small dark enclosed room with a table and chairs on each side. The men thrust me into a chair and chain me to it. The taller of the two men exits and the other stays with me. Before long, a tall, intense looking woman wearing a navy blue blazer enters and sits in the chair across from me and motions for the other guard to leave. The guard exits and now I am alone with this mysterious looking woman. 

Chapter IX 

“You, Travis Hunter, murdered a Mr. Daniel Ozark this morning on Earth,” says the woman. I nod and she continues talking. “Every time a dead person or ghost murders a living human, there is a different and dangerous outcome. And I fear that you have created something we may never be able to undo.” 

“What do you mean?” I respond, now very nervous. 

“Travis, when you died, you reached the afterlife and were given 3 choices–correct?” 

I nod. 

“It seems that when you killed Mr. Ozark you disturbed this balance. Ever since your murder, when people die they just rest silently in their coffins.” 

“So what?” I respond.

“So what?!” She exclaims, obviously beginning to lose patience. “Mr. Hunter, you do realize that you’ve just destroyed the afterlife forever!” 

“Well, why is this even a choice if it’s so dangerous?!” I respond. 

“You see, when setting up choices for the afterlife, an angel got to make two decisions and a demon got to make two decisions. The angel chose Heaven and community service and the demon chose Hell and haunting. Understand?” 

I nod. “But I still don’t understand why you need me! What am I supposed to do?” I shout. 

“We have two options as to how to approach this. We can (a) send you directly to sector 13 of Hell which is the most violent and tortuous sector and allow my team and I to try to figure this out. Or you may (b) go back to earth for community service, which may help balance out the bad and evil you recently put into the world and resolve this issue.  And if you do a good amount of community service we may be able to let you into Heaven. What is your pick?” 

I contemplate it for a minute and then respond. “B.” 

“That is your final decision?” asks the woman. I nod. 

“We’ll give you your community service assignment tomorrow morning at 7:00 am sharp and we will send you to Earth directly afterwards. Understand?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Please return to the room where you slept the day you died. I will see you at the desk tomorrow at 7. Goodbye, Mr. Hunter.” 

Chapter X 

I arrive back in New York at 7:45 with a community service assignment that reads: 

Travis Hunter

Temporary Community Service Assignment: 

You will be stationed in a NYC subway station and your job will be to (a) pick up any litter and throw it away and (b) help return and find stolen items. There will be serious consequences if you disobey this. Thank You for your service and devotion to the afterlife. 

~Marleen Murphy 

Head of Afterlife Operations

I can’t believe it. Community service in a subway! Not only is it boring, it’s vile. But I have to do it–to get into Heaven. I can’t be doomed in Hell forever! I can’t be tortured for the rest of eternity!

Instead of walking to the nearest subway station, I walk five blocks further in order to reach a cleaner one. I sit down on a bench and just watch as people walk by and talk and yell. I find it astounding how much trash people drop and how random the stuff is. One guy drops his license and now I have to chase him through the station to slip it back into his pocket. I pick up so much gross trash, from cigarette butts to food rinds and at the end of the day my hands are completely covered in dirt. I am not coming back to this station tomorrow. It is an absolute waste of time. Besides I bet I’ve already done enough community service to fit into Heaven. I’ll tend to some of my unfinished business instead. 

Chapter XI 

 At 11:30 pm I arrive at the jeweler. I pick the lock and sneak inside with a sack that I hope to fill with diamonds. When I enter, I walk on the opposite side of the store than I did on my first attempted robbery, just to ensure I don’t trip over the mannequin again.  I take out a mallet and begin smashing cases and pulling out pounds of jewelry and throwing it in my sack. I take a small elevator down to a large vault in the basement. The vault is beautiful–full of beautiful diamond sculptures. I pick one up to admire it. It’s carved in the shape of a heart and is absolutely stunning. 

I can’t believe it. I’ve actually done it. I’ve robbed the jeweler. I have my revenge! I start running on my way out, out of pure joy, but then I trip over a piece of shattered glass, fall backwards, and drop the diamond sculpture. It lands on my foot, holding it down to the ground–disabling me from standing up. 

I can’t believe myself. I’ve done it again. I’m stuck. I pull and yank my foot as much as I can but it’s just stuck. I’m not in pain; I just can’t move. But then it strikes me! If I’m a ghost, I can’t feel pain, I can’t die again–so I reach as far as I can and grab my mallet. I heave the mallet back and smash it against my ankle, watching as that gorgeous diamond sculpture shatters into tiny bits and pieces. But I’m free! I watch in awe as the scratches the glass had cut in my skin seal up. I jump up, run back to the vault, grab another sculpture, and race out of the jeweler as fast as I can with my sack of riches. I’m so proud! I’d done it! My father would be so proud. But then a scary thought hits my head. 

What will I do now? I’m dead, what’s the point of money anymore? Where will I keep the riches? I have nowhere to live. 

Chapter XII

I don’t know what I should do with all the riches. They’re worth so much but I have nowhere to hide them. For the moment I decide to take the riches back with me to my old apartment building and hide them in the secret cabinet where my father used to store his inventions. When I get back to my apartment, it’s still completely the same. I look back through old photos and my bedroom. Practically everything I own was stolen. I had never questioned this. Until now. I just completed a masterful heist and yet all the riches seem to be causing more trouble for me than helping me. Maybe if I hadn’t been a criminal I might’ve had a family or might’ve been able to lead a normal life. I probably wouldn’t even be dead. I can’t believe myself. I should’ve seen this before. I sit down on my couch and turn on the TV. Just then I once again feel the vacuum sensation. I restrain as much as I can but once again it just sucks me up and drops me back in the afterlife hotel. 

Chapter XIII 

“Travis Hunter!” I hear a voice scream as the woman in the blue blazer enters the lobby. I look up at her questioningly. 

“Why do you think you are here?” She asks with malice in her eyes. 

“I don’t know, ma’am,” I respond, my voice very nervous and unsteady. 

“Follow me, Travis,” she says in a suddenly calm voice. I begin following her and she leads me back to the room where she had explained the phenomenon I had created. 

“Sit down,” she says–in a very intense voice. I obey. She chains me to the chair and sits across from me on the other side of the table. 

“You, Travis Hunter, have directly disobeyed my instructions and you have jeopardized the function of the afterlife forever!” She shouts. She stands up and opens the door and a middle aged man being held by two guards staggers in. The man reaches towards me and I towards him. I know this man. I love this man. This man is my father. I hadn’t seen him in so long. I had forgotten what happiness felt like. The wonderful sensation of happiness makes me I feel like I’m flying. But then in a matter of seconds it’s taken away from me.  

“Not only did you disappoint me,” says the woman, “you let down your father. You really think your father, who gave everything for you, wanted you to become a criminal?” 

I don’t know what she’s talking about. My father didn’t give me anything. Everything he promised me he lost.  

“No. Your father didn’t want you to become a criminal,” she continues. “You robbed a jeweler when you were supposed to be doing community service! Your father belongs in Heaven where there is no place for you. We are moving you to sector 13 of Hell.” 

I can’t believe it. I let my head fall to the table in distress. I’d destroyed my life. Forever. 

“Effective immediately,” she says. She claps her hands twice and two guards enter. They each pick me up by one arm and begin dragging me away. I flail and fight but they’re too strong for me. I beg for mercy. I just want forgiveness, and my father. I’d waited so long to see him. But it’s too late. The guards drag me out of the room and just before I’m pushed through the dark portal to Hell I get one final glimpse of my father’s tears. 

The End

One day, I started a backpacking trip with my sister and two of her friends. I was stuck with them for the rest of the week. I’m fine with my sister’s friends, but my sister? No thank you. She takes any chance she gets to insult my brown hair and tall appearance. The date was July 23, 2019. It was 7:15, and I could see only the last speck of sun. I found a perfect spot to set up the tent because it was already getting dark, but my sister wanted to keep hiking and find the site that we had planned to set camp at.

“You are so stupid!” I exclaimed, “I am not hiking in the dark, Allison!”

She snapped back. “It won’t be my fault if you die all alone, Amilia.” Although I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

I stayed where I was and set up my tent, but my sister and her friends kept going. I felt unsure about staying where I was alone, not knowing how far my sister would be, but I felt more unsure about hiking through the forest in the dark. All I needed to do was to wake up early and find my sister before she left the site, but what if she goes off trail or leaves before I get there? Or what if I’m farther than I thought? As you can tell, I tossed and turned the whole night. In fact, I could only sleep for about 3 hours. 

I woke up a couple minutes ago, and I was already regretting my sleep. It started raining just now, and if I woke up earlier, I would have probably gotten to the site before the rain. I am so stupid. Without another hesitation, I grabbed my poncho and started speed walking along the trail, soaking in my regret and self pity. 

All of a sudden, I stopped in my tracks. There was a fork in the trail. That’s when I realized I didn’t have the map. Though I had held it for the entirety of our first day on the trail, I didn’t remember which way to go. I went with my instinct and went to the path on the left. I was walking for what felt like hours, though it could have just been minutes since I chose the path. I just kept on walking until I was half starved, but I couldn’t stop there, I had to keep walking. I walked and walked until I reached an empty campground, and thought, I must have reached the campground. Allison must have left, but I can eat here!

 I knew which path to take from the campsite. I wasn’t that unfamiliar with the path. I sat down and took out a bar from my backpack and started eating. It tasted so good because I had been walking for 4 hours according to my watch, and I started at 9. After the bar, I took out my trail mix because Allison had all of our real food. After eating, I stood up and started to walk again, this time, faster, because I knew that I didn’t have much farther to walk. 

I walked with intensity, no matter how tired I felt for another two hours before another thought came into mind, what if that was the wrong campsite, and I had really gone the wrong way? I still walked for another three hours until the sun started to set. I had truly given up now. The rain was dripping off of every tree in sight. Everything was soaked. I was terrified, and I realized that I had gone the wrong way. I turned around and walked and walked. There was no space on the trail to set up a tent now, so I had to walk the dark with my flashlight in hand doing exactly what I told my sister I wouldn’t do.

“Hello?!” I screamed, “Anyone there!?”

I was only answered by the sound of rain hitting the leaves and insects living their lives. I walked for another four or so hours before realizing the sun was rising, and I still probably had a long walk to go before even reaching the campsite. My legs felt like if I took another step they would snap, my stomach felt emptier than Hawkins lab, and my giant purple water bottle was emptier that my stomach! Despite how I felt, I kept walking, 

“Allison?” I yelled, “Help me! Help!”

I walked for what felt like weeks before I reached the campsite. By then, my lightheadedness reached a maximum, so I got out my sleeping bag and went to sleep. When I woke up, my lightheadedness had gotten better, but I was dehydrated to a point when I thought my body couldn’t take it anymore. I had one day left before my body would die of dehydration. I needed water. I sat there feeling the rain on my head… the rain! 

It’s water, so I can drink it… Right? It was my only option, so I had to try it. I sat there watching the rain drizzling into the bottle. One fifth of the way full, one fourth, one half, my throat was hurting more and more to a point where I couldn’t take it. At one point, I gave up waiting, snatched up the water bottle and drank. I knew I couldn’t waste time anymore, so I stood up and kept walking.

My legs hurt at every step even though I had rested, but I needed to get home. I walked and walked for another 2 hours until I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I sat down on the trail, drinking the last bit of water out of my water bottle. My eyelids felt like they were 20 pounds, and I sat there for another five minutes going between being awake and asleep. All of a sudden, I couldn’t take it anymore and just took out my sleeping bag and fell asleep. 

I woke up in my bedroom feeling better than ever and I just stood up and went on with my normal life until I felt dripping on my forehead. 

“Mom, the roof is leaking!” I yelled

That’s when I really opened my eyes, and I was still stuck in the forest with water dripping down on me. I sat up and my back ached with pain, and I cried, I cried for hours. I then realized that I couldn’t just sit there. I had to go. My water bottle was still empty, but I kept walking and walking for hours and hours. It was six o’clock when I finally sat down to eat for the first time in two days. The food tasted better than heaven. I ate and I ate until the bag of beef jerky was all gone. After I had eaten the jerky, I was still not ready to walk, but I needed to. My pace going back to the fork in the road was way slower than my pace a few days ago. I was walking much slower than before. Despite everything, I kept walking. 

I walked until 4 in the morning, and I collapsed. I was next to a stream and filled my water bottle, made a fire, and boiled the water. I took out my sleeping bag and went to sleep. My brown hair looked like pom poms stuck on my head. I slept for hours and hours until I woke to the sound of chirping birds. When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed and the birds chirping were actually the beeping of machines. I heard voices. It was the sound of my mother telling the doctors that Allison found me by a stream. What? 

“Oh you’re finally awake, I thought you wouldn’t…” She couldn’t say more.

This is a dream, this is a dream, “This is a dream, this is a dream, THIS IS A DREAM!”

I fought my mother as she tried to hold me on the hospital bed, so I couldn’t get up.

“NO! THIS ISN’T REAL!” I screamed. “WHERE AM I? HOW DID I GET HERE? WHERE IS ALLISON?”

“Wait a second, I’m going to call dad.”

“Hello?” says my dad’s voice, I can see him on my mom’s phone screen. I can also hear a noise in the background, a crying sound.

“She woke up, Burt.”

“Great! Alison and I were just having a chat.”

“What chat?” I asked, trying to sit up

“Lie down Teresa, it’s nothing,” replied my mom.

I watched her screen turn black as she hung up, then my eyes closed, and I fell into a deep sleep.

It is generally accepted, not as a problem, but as a fact, that mankind is willing to harm others, who are less powerful than they are for their own selfish desires. Hans the Turkey learned this the hard way when November rolled around. Hans was the son of Peter, a very old turkey who spent nearly all of his time hidden from the farmer, napping, and Barbara, an old, but feisty turkey. 

He and his friends had been living on Fred Ballnaz’s farm for several months before Thanksgiving preparation began.

The fat man must really love animals. After all, he lets us live on his farm without doing any work, Hans thought one day.

Just like the other turkeys, Hans had been feeling festive and truly thankful that he lived on Farmer Ballnaz’s farm, without a care in the world. Then, through the open window, he heard Farmer Ballnaz’s wife, Vivian, having a conversation with her friend Ethel on the telephone. She was sitting in her kitchen, chatting merrilly. The window was open, because Vivian wanted to get some fresh air, so Hans heard every word she said.

“Yes, Ethel, I have very little work to do for Thanksgiving dinner now. The mashed potatoes are all ready, and the stuffing is too. I have prepared the gravy and the corn and cranberry sauce and I’m sure it will all taste wonderful!”

A pause.

“Yes, Ethel, of course we’ll have turkey!” 

Hans gasped. Had he heard wrong? Surely he would not be eaten. He would not. He could not. He was not food, food that would be served on a plate, food that would be eaten. He ate food. How could you eat food, yet also be food?

“Fred will kill the turkeys tomorrow, and he must kill all of them, because we are having so many guests.”

All of them. All of his friends. His sister. His brothers. His parents. Everyone. Everyone he cared about, served on a plate.

Hans needed to hear no more. He silently walked back to a sunny area on the farm where lots of turkeys were talking about how thankful they were that Farmer Ballnaz was so generous.

Hans decided not to spoil their happiness. He sank to the ground and buried his face in his feathers. He could save them, he knew, if only he worked hard enough.

And suddenly, he got a brilliant idea.

***

When Farmer Ballnaz sat down for dinner that evening, he was very hungry, and very tired. It had been a long, hard day. He had chopped wood, milked the cow, picked apples, plowed the field, fed and watered all of the animals, and shoveled manure. The next day would not be any easier. He would have to milk the cow, kill the turkeys, feed and water the animals, pick beans, shovel manure, and help Vivian cook. He sank into his chair.

Hans had his plan ready. He would pull out the farmer’s chair just before he sat on it. Farmer Ballnaz would wind up on the floor. Hans would then call out, “This man is a fool. A fool. A foolish fool,” in human language. While doing this, he would be recording a video of what was happening to the farmer. He would release it to social media, and by morning, Farmer Ballnaz would be ashamed to step out of his house. Hans was all ready. He had even stolen the farmer’s camera.

This is what actually happened: 

Hans took out the camera and, not knowing how to operate a camera, or how to take a video, took a picture. He dropped the camera, smashing the lens, and, not knowing that the camera was broken, that he had taken a picture and not a video, and that Farmer Ballnaz had already sat down, he pulled on the chair. Of course, a turkey is not strong enough to move a large chair with the weight of a human on it, so Hans was groaning and wheezing as he tried to pull the chair. As he did this, Hans tried to cry, “This man is a fool. A fool! A foolish fool!” But Hans had forgotten something very important while making his plan: He could not speak human language. So it sounded more like this: “Bok bok bok bok! Bok bok bok! Bok bok bok bok!”

Farmer Ballnaz looked down at Hans. Hans was large for a turkey, and Farmer Ballnaz was short and fat, but his eyes made Hans feel like he was steadily shrinking. 

“Damn turkey!” bellowed Farmer Ballnaz. He took off his belt. Before Hans knew what was happening, the harsh leather of the belt was cutting through his feathers and stinging his skin.  Hans’s squawk of agony never left his body. He was too shocked. He knew that Farmer Ballnaz was going to kill him, but he had never been hurt like this. He limped out of the house and out to the field. It was already dark out, but some turkeys were still there. Turkeys who would not survive a holiday that was meant for giving thanks. 

Hans lay down and wept.

                                                                            ***

Farmer Ballnaz could not believe what had just happened. Never before in the farm’s 54 – year history had one of his turkeys gotten a whipping from him. His turkeys had never gone in his house, handled (or broken) his camera, or attempted to drag a chair. Could he have imagined this? No, that was not possible. He was not wearing his belt. If he had imagined whipping Hans, he would still be wearing it. Farmer Ballnaz could not manage to feel remorse, though. For when he was just a little boy, he had been taught that animals were inferior to humans, and therefore still believed it. Eating was what the turkeys were for, wasn’t it? It wasn’t his fault that animals were for eating. He should eat them. If he didn’t, he would be ignoring the fact that humans should eat animals. He should do whatever was necessary in order to acknowledge that animals are for eating. Even it meant spanking a turkey.

Vivian sat on a comfortable armchair, reading a book. She couldn’t concentrate on the book, though, not after what had just happened. She didn’t know how to think about what just happened. A turkey being spanked by her husband was a lot to think about. She was slightly less dazed than her husband was, but what she really thinking about was that her husband had cursed. He hardly ever said God’s name in vain, and him swearing about a turkey’s bad behavior was so unlike him. She couldn’t imagine how he was feeling now, but she decided that she could ask him later.

Maybe never.

Hans himself was in misery too deep to describe. I certainly hope that you never feel as miserable as Hans was at that moment, but being a living creature, you probably will. (Unless, of course, you’re a vegetable or mineral, in which case you will probably never feel Hans’s misery. Of course, if you actually are a vegetable or mineral, you probably aren’t reading this story right now, but that’s beyond the point.) Hans needed to save the turkeys from a terrible fate. He needed to save his friends from being murdered when they were supposed to give thanks. He needed to. He needed to. 

And suddenly, Hans got another great idea.

***

It looked as if someone had painted the world black, but Hans the turkey just kept going. He couldn’t stop now; he couldn’t get scared. The farmer was asleep. It sounded as if the whole world was asleep, and Hans was very sleepy himself, but he did not want to sleep forever, and that is what would happen if his plan did not work.

He approached Farmer Ballnaz’s house. After taking a spanking from the farmer, the house seemed larger and more intimidating, but Hans could not stop now. Not if he didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving on a silver platter.

Hans looked at a window. Well, he didn’t really look at the window. He looked through the window. Turkeys cannot see glass, so he didn’t know that there even was a window.

I’ll just run through the hole in the house, he thought.

Hans gave a mighty leap and propelled himself towards the window. He crashed through the window. Shards of glass attached themselves to his body. Hans felt agony wrapping itself around his body, like a python suffocating its prey. His blood poured all over the violet carpet. He tried not to faint. His pain was so strong that he almost forgot why he had leaped through the window in the first place. Then he remembered: He needed to save himself and his fellow turkeys. He needed to execute his plan. 

Hans crept silently across the hall, opening and closing doors. He stomped out of each room, however, bitterly disappointed.  At last, he came to a room that he walked into, grinning despite his pain. 

At last, I have found it, he thought. The fat man’s gun rack.

The gun rack of Fred Ballnaz had very few residents. In fact, his gun rack had only one gun on it. Hans stared at it, smiling madly. Once he had the gun, he would destroy it. Then no turkeys would be killed just for dinner ever again.

Hans grabbed the gun and raced through the hallway. He decided to jump through the window that he had broken last ti-

Bang.

A bullet darted right past Hans and hit one of his feathers, which fell onto the floor. The bullet kept going and eventually hit a leg on a large oaken chair. Terrified, Hans turned around to see who had shot. He was amazed to see Vivian, standing several feet behind him, holding a gun.

“Oh,” she said when she saw Hans. “I thought a burglar had gotten in. I guess not. I won’t need this, then.” She threw her gun to the floor. 

“I really shouldn’t tell Fred. I don’t want to worry him. Of course, he’ll notice when his gun is gone.”

Vivian approached Hans, grabbed the gun, and walked off to put the farmer’s gun back in the gun rack.

Hans could not believe what had just happened. He had been horribly injured by destroying a glass window by jumping through it. He had a feather blasted off by a gun. He had almost been shot. He had been spanked with a belt. And why? Just so that he would be eaten on Thanksgiving day.

Depressed, Hans slunked back to the field and wept.

                                                                           ***

Hans awoke that morning before the last star had vanished and looked around. He had spent the night sleeping in the field while the other turkeys slept in a chicken coop that chickens had not lived in for years.

Just like they always had.

Always. Could anything always happen? He had always been treated kindly by Farmer Ballnaz, before Thanksgiving preparation began.

Always. His plans had always failed, but before they had failed, he had always thought that they wouldn’t.

Hans formed an idea in his mind that wasn’t too extravagant, but might, just might, work.

Hans dashed to the chicken (turkey) coop and awoke Peter from a deep sleep.

“Oh, father, I need something heavy, but not too heavy, not too big, and not noticeable.”

“Why, son, why?”

Hans did not want to tell his father that he was saving himself and everyone else from murder.

“I’ll tell you as soon as I can. First, I need a heavy thing.”

Peter flicked a ball of straw that had been in the chicken coop for no apparent reason since the farm had been owned by Farmer Ballnaz. Hans grabbed it and ran towards the house. This time he ran quickly, fearlessly, lest he be frightened away by the memories of pain and terror.

Hans jumped through the hole in the window, too quickly to consider what he was doing and be scared away.

He silently crept into Farmer Ballnaz’s bedroom and quietly pulled open the farmer’s dresser drawer and found where the shirts were kept. He put the straw ball in the right sleeve of one of the shirts. He then ran to the kitchen and hid in one of the cabinets, hardly daring to breathe.

Soon enough, Farmer Ballnaz came downstairs and poured a drink of whiskey. He poured more than he intended to, due to the weight on his sleeve, but he didn’t notice. He then turned on the TV to the sports channel and began to watch a soccer game. Whenever an athlete got close to scoring a goal, he would stare at the TV, seeming oblivious to anything else, Hans noticed. When one athlete grew very close to scoring, Hans crept out of the cabinet and, very silently, poured over the cup, spilling whiskey everywhere. The fat farmer did not notice until the goal had been scored. After that happened, he did notice, and without even cleaning up the alcohol, he poured more whiskey. But again, due to the fact that there was extra weight on his sleeve, he poured more than he intended to. 

And so it went. By the third glass or so, Farmer Ballnaz looked a bit odd.

By the fifth glass or so, Vivian came downstairs.

By the  seventh glass or so, Vivian noticed that Farmer Ballnaz looked a bit odd.

“Dear, I think you’re having a bit too much whiskey,’’ said Vivian.

“I guess… ” murmured Farmer Ballnaz. 

“I think you better go back to bed until you’re sober,” said Vivian.

“I guess… ” murmured Farmer Ballnaz.

As Farmer Ballnaz dragged himself to bed, Vivian left to shop for marinades.

Marinades that the turkeys would have been cooked with.

Marinades that they would have been cooked with if it wasn’t for Hans.

                                                                      ***

When Hans returned to the chicken (turkey) coop, he considered that he would not have gotten Farmer Ballnaz drunk if his father had not helped him. He had not received help from anyone in his failed attempts to save the turkeys. Maybe getting help once in a while was a good thing. As soon as he got back to the chicken (turkey) coop, He made an announcement. 

“Friends, turkeys, coop mates, lend me your ears.”

“Say what?” said one of the turkeys. Hans ignored him.

“We are not safe on this comfortable farm. Farmer Ballnaz has a desire to kill us for food.          We must flee.”

The turkeys squaked and flailed in surprise.

“He’s batty!” cried one.

“He’s wild!” cried another.

“He’s out of his mind!” cried a third.

“He is not!” cried Peter. “My son knows perfectly well what he’s talking about. Explain it to them, Hans.”

And Hans did. As he discussed what had he had heard through the window, the turkeys began to tremble with fear. When they heard of how Hans had been spanked with a belt, the little ones began to cry. And when they heard of the gun rack, the turkeys needed no more convincing.

“Let’s go!” cried one of the turkeys.

And so they left the horrible farm.

As Hans watched the farm seem smaller and smaller, he smiled. Maybe November was a bad month to be a turkey, but they had survived.

The end

Prologue: 1899

Vegetable King Cabbage and Vegetable Queen Onion finally ruled the tomatoes and cucumbers, but not the fruits. The king and queen did not know that whenever they take down another fruit, a hero named Watermeloan sets his sights on the vegetable villains. 

Chapter one: Rise of the Veggies

Time of day: 9:59:68847562756 p.m.

“What a beautiful day! We sold more than four hundred items in this day! Wow, and it’s the record for this month!” The manager of the grocery store yelled with excitement. “Ohh man looks like we need to refill all the vegetables.” 

He looked around and saw the large grocery shop full of empty bins, trash, and with rotten tomatoes and apples lying on the ground. 

“Everything is just so messy.” 

So, he cleaned the floor, swept the trash, and after the giant clean up, the grocery store looked just like new. 

VROOM!!! and the manager drove back home.

* 

“Well! Another war is going to happen today! Ahhh,” sighed Wattermeloan. “Now for the big plan. Where is Cantelope? Where are the apples? Where are the Mangos? C’mon! Let’s BEAT the veggies UP…..”

*

“Get up veggies! We have a lot of work to do today. The fruity poopy are still getting a lot of energy. We need to finish them all.” Cabbage said. 

Onion Rolled  up from her bed and yelled, ”CABBAGE! I 100% 

disagree with you. I believe that the fruits are still asleep!’’

“Well, well, well, whatever, Oni. Let’s prepare for the fight.”

*

Time 12:29:3718352846384937 a.m.

“Another fighting day. We fought the veggies from the 1800’s until today. These stupid veggies. When will they end this dumb war? Ahh! My grandfather was tortured by the stupid veggies. Phh! They’re so guilty and mean and ….they just want to control the whole world….” said Watermeloan.

*

“Mr. Peas, go! Do your job. Go! Quick, quick, quick,” said Onion. Mr. Peas is a spy for the veggies since the cabbage and onion became king and queen. Now he is going to spy again on Watermeloan and the fruits…..

*

1 hour later…

“Ma’am or Ms. Onion? I have spied on Watermeloan and saw the fruits preparing to battle us,” Mr. Peas said. 

“Okay, we will prepare too.” Onion replied. 

And then about fifteen minutes later, both sides had already prepared for the fight. Orange is ready to self-destruct on the side of the veggies. Watermeloan is also ready to throw fruits, like oranges, over like a bomb. And Onion is setting up the peas cannon. And Cabbage is pulling his blade and pointing it at the fruits, meaning to charge at the fruits. Then the fight happens. It was such a mess. Trash was thrown on the ground. Fruits exploded, and juice spread everywhere. Watermeloan was fighting Cabbage in a big brawl. Cabbage pulled out his blade and stabbed it into Watermeloan’s right arm and then Peas tied Watermloan up with a rubber band. Suddenly, all the fruits surrendered because Watermeloan is their leader and  they don’t want to leave him behind. 

Now all the fruits are in danger. Cabbage took all of the fruits to their palace. Now every fruit will be smashed into pieces by a huge metal hammer. Only Cabbage could lift the hammer up because he has a special power, but just the hammer can’t defeat Watermeloan. Only if you could stab a knife into Watermeloan’s eye would he be defeated. 

BOOM! BOOM! 

Cabbage is smashing the hammer on the ground to test his strength. And then he smashes Strawberry, Orange, and Banana. And now it is Watermeloan’s turn to die. Cabbage tried and tried to pull the strong glasses off of his eyes but he accidently hit his own bottom. It hurt really bad. 

Cabbage called Onion to help him. Onion squeezed herself and then she made use of her stinging smell to make Watermeloan’s nose and eyes burn. Cabbage pulls off Watermeloan’s glasses while he is distracted by the burning scent.

Cabbage was so happy that he could finally kill Watermeloan. So he went to grab his knives. On the way, Tomato was feeling very sad about joining the vegetables. So when Cabbage, Onion, and the other guards went to get the knife to stab it in Watermeloan’s eye, Tomato jumped down from the window above where Watermeloan was being tortured and took in his hands the rubber band that was tying Watermeloan to the ceiling. 

Tomato untied Watermeloan and told him that if you make Onion watch something sad, like a sad commercial, Onion will cry and will eventually peel apart. Watermeloan understood what Tomato was talking about and decided to grab a cellphone and turned the channel to a sad commercial. 

When Onion and Cabbage came back, they saw Watermeloan still hanging, but Watermealoan was faking it. So they grabbed the knife. Just when they tried to stab it into Watermeloan’s eye, Watermeloan jumped to the ground and the phone appeared behind Watermeloan. 

Then Tomato turned on the phone and turned the channel to a sad commercial, and it started to play, knowing that when an onion is really sad, it peels apart. Onion saw the commercial and her nose fell off first and then her eyes and then her whole body. 

Onion died.

Cabbage was so sad that he ran out of the grocery store. And every veggie surrendered just like the time the fruits surrendered because of their leader Watermeloan. HURRAY!!!

*

Time of day:8:59:999999 a.m.

The manager came in the grocery store. He saw the grocery store looked like a landfill. He yelled, “I THOUGHT I ALREADY CLEANED THE SHOP YESTERDAY, URGH! IT MUST HAVE BEEN A DREAM! WELL……. NEVER MIND I GUESS! I WILL CLEAN IT NOW!”

The End

In a world of cats, humans, and sparrows, a cat named Alice loves the smell of fruit snacks so much that she invents and uses a machine to capture this smell. She begins to sell a perfume called Perfume of the Fruit Snacks. It’s sold everywhere. When the cats put on this perfume, they stay cats because it was made by a cat. It makes them fall in love with the first cat they see while wearing it. All the cats are falling in love with each other! 

But when humans put it on, they turn into cats! Alice didn’t know her perfume would do this. It becomes a cat-only world — except for all the sparrows who aren’t affected and this one human named Jam, who decides to make a perfume out of the smell of chocolate chip cookies. He drops bombs with a MI62 bomber plane. These bombs called 22 panzers were made by the cats. Inside them, there’s the perfume Jam made. 

The sparrows want the world to be normal again, but they can’t do much. The perfume covers all the cats’ bodies and turns them into humans. Alice is arrested and covered with the human perfume. She’s turned into a human and stays in prison. Jam’s awarded the medal of honor! Still, there are millions of cats hiding underground. 

In the future, a human army invades the underground hiding spots. Humans create and drop a cookie perfume atomic bomb… It takes 15 years for the cats to become humans, though. Meanwhile, the humans who were originally cats are having cat children! They speak like cats. Then the governor decides to make every human that was a cat back into a cat. And the world is back to normal again, and the world is in peace. All the cats who should be cats are cats; all the humans who should be humans are humans; and the sparrows are still sparrows, flying above everywhere.

One day, there was a man called Spiky who had a horrible life. There was a girl called Lola who had a wonderful life. Lola and Spiky had a fight because Spiky slapped Lola for the fun of it. He was an incredibly mean person who wanted to make people part of his army. At the end, Spiky took Lola and trapped her in a mirror. But Lola died in the mirror. So they put candles to show that people loved her. And Spiky went to jail. Spiky got to be a witch. All the people were shocked. 

Then a goddess came. She was as beautiful as the sun. She had long, gold hair and kindness that shined out of her. There were shimmering gold hearts on her dress and red hearts on her gloves. Her long hair was held back by gold heart clips and she was barefoot. The goddess fought Spiky. At the end, the people found out that the goddess was Lola, who got powers from the mirror. Lola killed all the people to make them safe because Spiky had three lives and Lola wanted to save them from his army. One person yelled, then stopped because a knife was showing from his heart. People were yelling and stopped breathing. Lola used all her powers on Spiky. Lola lived happily ever after.

I lay crying, in bed, with a body.

That body used to belong to my sister, my pale, thin-skinned, dark-haired sick sister. She was the happiest girl in our town and would help people who were sad or angry. 

My mom was also about to cry. She sat in the corner of the room next to my dad. I wailed and cried until I almost could not breathe. Then, my mom came up to the bed, patted her head, and let a tear out. Then, she left the room. We followed her to the parking lot of the hospital. We drove home, and my parents and I walked into our cold, empty house. I ran to my room. I cried her name again and again: Lauren, Lauren, Lauren! 

Blond, beautiful, fun Lauren.

When I finally stopped crying, my mom came in. 

“I am going to run for Congress, Elizabeth,” she said firmly. 

“Really? That is great. But why?” 

“I am going to run because someone must run against having to pay for healthcare. It is not fair for people who are dying because they do not have enough money to pay for medical insurance to cover a simple checkup.”

I looked at her in surprise.

“Would you mind being a part of my campaign?”

“Sure,” I said hesitantly. 

She gave me a big hug. Then, she went to meet with possible supporters. 

 Later that day, she came home with a sad expression on her face. 

“Hey, Mom, why are you sa –”

“Hi, Rachel, do you want some warm stew for dinner?” my dad cut in.

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” my mom answered, thankful. 

 After we devoured the stew, I put my dishes in the dishwasher and went back to my room, my cold, empty room which was just like the rest of the house.

I could not go to sleep that night since I was thinking about my sister too much. I found myself looking at her soccer posters hung up on the wall and her toys lined up at the end of her bed. Those were the toys she played with before she was sick, before we were sad, before she died. 

I slept in my sister’s bed to remind me of her.

The next day my mom went off to work on the campaign and did the same for the next two days. The third was different. She asked me to come with her and skip school. When we walked over to a small house at the end of my block, I laid my eyes on an old man and a young woman, who had a stack of little cards with my mom’s pictures on it. (She looked really good.)

The photo made me really sad because I realized how much Lauren looked like our mom — her blonde hair, her eyes, and her smile. It also made me sad that she was not here to fight for her health. 

The young woman gave me a stack of little cards and told me that I could give them to people around my neighborhood. When I stepped outside the door, I felt encouraged because we were fighting for a good cause and helping people vote for their rights. 

I stepped up to the front door of a nice, petite, yellow house, which was across the street from our house. I never noticed the house because I was always having so much fun with my sister. A little old lady came up, and I gave her a card.

She looked at the card for what seemed like forever then said, “Young lady, you look a lot like this nice woman in the photo.” 

“Yes that is because she is my mother,” I informed her.

“That makes a lot of sense. You live across the street. Don’t you?” 

“Yes, in that small pink house,” I responded.

“May I bring some muffins near dinnertime for a little gift for you and your family, and your sister. You have a sister, right?” she asked. 

“Yes, but she recently passed away,” I said sadly.

“So sorry for your loss. What is your name?” she asked, eyes full of pity.

“My name is Elizabeth,” I told her. 

“Okay. I will see you later, Elizabeth. And thank you for the card. My vote is going to you and your family,” she said in a sweet and gentle voice. 

I walked away from the house, excited that we at least had one vote. I walked over to the next house. The house was very old with paint chipping and loose boards on the patio, but I still knocked. A man stuck one eye out of a little crack in the door. I offered him a card, but he declined. Instead, he gave me a card with a picture and black letters on it. When I returned to the sidewalk, I stared at the card. After a few minutes, I realized that he was the guy who was running against my mom. 

After I left, when I got to a trash can, I threw the card out so that my mom wouldn’t think I was trying to conspire against her. When the sky darkened, I headed back to the small house, where I met the old man and young woman. When I arrived at the small house, I got inside and saw my mom and the people who were helping with her campaign. When I came in, they all looked at me with a smile. I placed the rest of the cards on the table. My mom said her goodbyes to the people, then I followed her to the house. When we got home, we saw my dad talking with the old lady who lives across the street. They both looked at us, my dad with a face that clearly said, “Help me!” The old lady had a basket that looked filled with muffins. 

“Hello, Elizabeth, and I am guessing this is your mother.”

“Yes, this is my mother. What is your name? I do not think you told me when we met?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. My name is Harriet.” 

“What a lovely name,” my mom said.

“We have been talking for a long time,” my dad said, with a pinch of annoyance in his voice.

“Yes. It has been very nice talking to you, but I think I must go. Sorry I could not talk for longer. I love your house, and I can help with anything you need. I will be right across the street!” Harriet said.

My mom faced me and said, “Who was that, Elizabeth?”

“Oh, that was the old lady I met while giving out the little cards.”

“And she can talk!” my dad said dramatically.

“Well she does live by herself,” I said.

There was a knock on the door. My mom went to open it and found my aunt Ellen. I was so excited to see her because every time she comes over, she brings gifts! I went to welcome her and before I said anything, she dragged in a big gift. I dragged the big, heavy, pink gift to the living room and opened it. Inside lay a black and blue bicycle! I was so happy because it matched the one my mom had, and my old one was too small! I was so excited. I ran to my parents to show them. They were so happy. Then, they looked at Aunt Ellen with surprised faces. 

“You bought this for her?” my mom said. 

“Yes, of course, I have to keep my record of bringing gifts for my niece.”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,” my dad and mom laughed sarcastically.

“And I thought it might come in handy.”

“What?” My mom and dad said in unison.

“Ohh, nothing. Nevermind,” she said. “And I will not be able to go to the debate tomorrow.”

“Well, okay. Let us go to the kitchen and talk over some coffee,” Dad said. 

“Great! Sounds good,” Aunt Ellen replied.

And they walked to the kitchen. By the time I finished staring at my bike, trying to ride it in the house, and being yelled at by my parents, it was time to go to sleep. I got ready to sleep and got in bed, but before I went to sleep I prayed. I prayed for my sister’s safety up there. 

When I finally went to sleep, I dreamt that Lauren was still alive and we played and played. When I woke up, I was very sad to end my dream because I was having so much fun. My mom came in the room.

“Sweety, wake up, it is time for the first debate!” my mom said energetically. 

“Okay. Getting up,” I said.

I was so excited that I forgot about the dream. Once we were out in the driveway, we realized that all of our tires were flat! My mom was furious and so was I. After about ten minutes, my mom had an idea. 

“Wait here. I will be right back.”

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, she came out with two matching bikes. They had black and blue stripes. I jumped up and down and praised my mom. Then we got on the bikes and were off to the debate. We finally got there! When we did, we saw John. H. Corel, the guy running against my mom, staring at us in surprise, and Aunt Ellen.

What was she doing here? And with him?

To be continued… 

Once upon a time, there lived a happy family that lived in a galaxy called Tangah. Tangah was very mysterious, for it was always night time. The family contained four family members: a king, a queen, and two little girls who were identical twins. Their names were Lily and Molly. They played in the courtyard all day long. They had a maze, a garden, and so much more, but what they loved most in the courtyard was the outdoor library. 

Every day, they read different books together. They even took them to their bedrooms secretly. Then, one day at bedtime, the twins heard murmuring from their parents’ room and overheard something bad. 

Something horrible. 

Their father would be going on a long journey to the twin galaxy and Molly would be going with her father.

“They’re just joking, right? They aren’t separating us!” they said to themselves, but they knew it was true. They felt their stomachs turn. Molly felt like she was drowning. She had to sit down. Lily was also scared because she didn’t want to miss her sister. Molly would be going on a long, dangerous journey to a different galaxy: the twin galaxy.

***

The next morning, the twins woke up to the smell of oatmeal and brown sugar. Molly put her pink and purple gown on, and Lily put on her blue and cranberry gown. They put on their best faces, greeted their parents, and sat down. The parents discussed how they liked their oatmeal, then brought up the galaxy switch. The twins couldn’t help but cry. 

“You, Molly, will go with me to our twin galaxy,” the king said. 

“Lily, you will stay here with me,” said the queen. 

“Spend as much time together as possible today. Tomorrow, Molly and I leave for our galaxy,” the king said. 

“Why do you have to separate us?” Lily asked. 

“Don’t question me,” said the king. 

“Do you want to go to the outdoor library?” Molly asked. 

“Sure,” Lily answered. 

They walked out of the castle and into the sunlight, over the cobblestone bridge. They stopped to look at the maze to their right and the garden to their left. The golden tulips were their favorite flowers in the whole universe and they were in bloom, just like every spring. 

The cobblestone path continued on nearer to a circle of birch trees. Monarch butterflies always gathered there. On a tree were several chrysalises. They wondered when the cocoons would transform into monarchs.

They walked across another bridge to the beautiful outdoor library and into the center of the circle of trees to a little golden bookshelf and cream-colored chairs. A lake was to the right. They took a seat and resumed reading Bob the Beaver and The Ice Family. 

“Wow! Bob has really changed!” Lily exclaimed. 

“Really? Bob was always their friend!” Molly pointed out.  

“True…” Lily said. 

That night, they had their favorite meal, but the twins didn’t feel better about the galaxy switch just because they were eating food they liked. They stayed up all night, staring at the galaxy painted ceiling. 

“I’m going to miss this place,” Molly said.

 “Yeah, I wonder If we’ll ever see each other again,” Lily said. 

“Molly, what if we forget each other?” Lily asked. 

“Well, remember my 9th birthday I got the royal necklace maker as a present? That came with copper heart-shaped lockets we can make with each other’s picture in it!” Molly exclaimed. 

“You girls better be going to bed. No nighttime reading or anything,” the king said rudely. 

“We can still do the lockets, right?” Lily whispered. 

“Yes, even if father says no,” Molly said boldly. 

“If you say so…” Lily said hesitantly. 

Molly pulled out the royal necklace maker, and they went to work. 

“Molly, what should mine have?” Lily asked.

 “Engrave my name and your name on there like so. Then I’ll show you a really cool thing,” Molly said. 

Lily had made a beautiful copper heart locket with their names engraved and a picture inside of Molly. Molly had the same thing, except Molly’s locket had a picture of Lily inside.

“There’s one more step– the cool thing.”

Molly took out a cauldron and said a magic spell, “Getaran DNA!” 

Then, a poof of blue smoke came pouring out of the pot. Lily soaked the lockets in the blue potion. Then they put the lockets on and felt a strong vibration. Like magic, the lockets lifted into the air and connected to each other. Molly grabbed her locket and disconnected it from Lily’s. 

“What did you do to the potion?” Lily curiously asked.

“I made a potion that has the power to make our necklaces vibrate and connect our necklace as we get closer. Nobody else can wear these necklaces.”

***

The next morning was full of hugs and tears as Molly left their galaxy.

“Bye, Lily!” 

“No! You can’t leave!”

“I’ll be back before you know I’m gone!” 

***

“Dad, how long will I stay in the twin galaxy with you?” 

“Well, it takes 3 years to learn to rule, and you get to rule temporarily for one–”

“So, this is what it was all about? Me preparing to become a queen in a different galaxy? I thought it was about a problem in the twin galaxy!” Molly said.

“Calm down, Molly. It’s your duty to be a queen when you’re old enough. Your mother didn’t get upset or angry at her father when she found out she would be queen,” the king told Molly. Then, Molly didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day.

***

Lily had missed Molly, and she stopped going to outdoor library, due to how sad she was. 

“What would you like to do?” The queen asked Lily.

“See Molly.” Lily said.

“Your father is preparing Molly to be queen in the twin galaxy. She is only gone for four years, Lily,” the queen said.

Lily was so sad, she couldn’t bear to sleep. That night, Lily sang a sad song. “…I can’t wait to see you again, it’s only a matter of time…”

***

The first day of queen training went horribly. Molly decided to send a letter about it through galaxpress mail system. Since they were in different galaxies, it would take four weeks to get to the other galaxy.

12/24/3023

My dearest, Lilian, 

I hope this letter makes you happy, so laugh as much as you need to. 

So first, this letter is about how queen training went. In the morning, I had to hold a porcelain cup with hot chamomile tea with my pinky sticking out, and guess what happened? I spilled it all over my dress and father’s cape. 

Please respond as soon as you get this letter with help!

Love, Molly

***

Eight weeks passed and Lily hadn’t responded. This had made Molly very disappointed and scared. Molly wrote again to Lily, this time asking if she was okay.

2/18/3024

My dearest, Lilian,

You have made me very anxious- what is happening? Please respond as quick as possible. If you don’t, I am calling father for help.

Love, Molly, 

P.S. 

Please respond soon

***

Lily had responded, finally.

4/14/3024

My dearest, Molly,

Mother and I have been locked up in the dungeon in our own castle! An evil dragon is taking over our galaxy. Sorry for the delay- Galaxpress was taking FOREVER. 

I got your letter though! 

Please call father for help!

Love, Lilian 

P.S. 

S.O.L! (save our lives)

Molly called the king for help. 

“You must be kidding.” he said, but Molly showed him the letter, and he still didn’t believe the news. “I’ll have to investigate further,” the king said.

But Molly couldn’t wait. At night, she snuck out of the castle and started her journey to the other galaxy. She started towards the blueish-purple river of stars. She was going to slay the dragon, and save her mom and sister. It was risky, but she knew she could do it. She was brave. 

“Don’t worry, Lily. I’m going to save you,” Molly said, and then she stepped out into the unknown.  

To be continued…

One day at school, two kids came to Hamilton Middle School without knowing each other at all. At lunch the new kids, John and Will, met each other and then met Shane. They played football together at recess. Shane approached Will and John because he had no friends, and he wanted to become friends with the new kids. The new kids didn’t know him and how he had messed up in life beforehand, and it’s not often you get to restart with a clean slate. Shane had accidentally lit someone’s report on fire in science class, and he let the turtles out in their classroom. He also ran over all the plants in the garden by accident. Shane was a lonely dude with no friends, so he approached John and Will. They bonded over football and became better friends over the weeks. Shane realized that John was athletic but dumb and Will was smart but lazy, and Shane thought he was athletic and smart.

Three weeks after they met, John wanted to know Will and Shane better, and what better way than going to the Halloween fair? They were middle schoolers, and they thought that they were too old for Halloween.

“Are you guys going to the Halloween fair? My older brother works there, so we can get discounts off of tickets,” John said.

The next day, they told their parents that they were going to go to the Halloween fair which was in two days, but the parents didn’t want them to go because they knew that there were a couple of kids that had gone missing at the fairs, so they wanted to check and make sure it was going to be safe. So they checked it out and saw that it said it was going to be safe and there was going to be lots of security. The next day, they all went to the fair. It was mostly just teenagers. The fair was mostly Halloween stuff, like scary skeletons, grim reapers, zombies, ghosts, and haunted houses. They went to watch a clown movie called It. They were only showing very scary movies because it was Halloween evening. And then they went to go play some fair games, ride some rides, and then they met up with John’s older brother. Then they went to go do games, including dart throw, with John’s older brother and saw some of their classmates and talked with them. They went on a ride called The Fireball, which was a ride that went upside down, and the ride got stuck when they were upside down—though it was only for five minutes, and then they got it back working. 

Shane said, “Okay, we’re not doing another ride.”

Will said, “Yes, we are.”

Then they all went to the bathroom to start puking because all of the stuff that they ate at the fair and just went back out. They felt kind of dizzy, but after throwing up they felt fine. And they went to go grab some funnel cake because all the food left their body. 

At around when it was turning dark, they went to go see when the fair was going to close, and it said it was closing in half an hour, so they started hurrying up and doing more stuff. They won a whole bunch of teddy bears and watched a magic show, and this guy was pulling bunny rabbits out of his hat, then John watched people juggle swords and eat flaming food. They were having a blast. Then they went all into a photo booth, and they took lots and lots of photos, and they didn’t hear that the fair was closing. They walked out, and they didn’t see anybody. 

“Where’d they go?” they all said in unison.

Then they heard some evil cackling, and then they got scared. They wanted to go home, but it was too dark, and they didn’t know where they were supposed to go. Then they saw John’s older brother sweeping, and then they ran to go and ask him where everyone went. He told them that the fair closed ten minutes ago.

And then he said, “You guys should be going home now.”

So they headed to the front gates, but the gates were already closed, and when they tried to tug, there was another tug against them. They tried to open it several times, but a guy wasn’t letting them. They could feel a pull keeping them from opening it. They couldn’t see it, but all they saw were two eyes in the dark. Then they ran for John’s older brother. 

Will said, “John’s older brother, we just saw glowing red two eyes in the dark—I think there’s something, that we’re not alone.”

“First of all, I have a name. My name is Mark. Second of all, we’re not alone because there’s other people that work here. Third of all, you probably just saw the gatekeeper, the person who is watching people leave and getting the tickets from people.” And then they saw the magician, Onzony, who was tall, scary, and dressed in purple. And Mark said, “Hey, Onzony, what’cha doin?”

“I’m being your worst nightmare.” 

Then Mark said, “Wait—so you’re Trump singing?”

“No, I’m here to kill you!”

And then instead of pulling a bunny rabbit out of his hat, he pulled out a chainsaw, and they saw people on stilts cackling and surrounding them. And then they saw a clown on a unicycle going around juggling axes.

And then the clown went right in front of them and said, “Happy Halloween!”

And the clown threw the axes up in the air, and all the axes landed right in front of the four kids. 

“Aaaah!” they all screamed in unison and started running, but they ran into a giant scorpion, and the scorpion put its stinger at them.

Then they all ran into a different direction, and they ran into an inflatable sign saying, Go see the circus! Then a trapeze man walked to the other side of the sign and stabbed a sword right through the sign into Will’s stomach.

“Noooo!” John screamed, and he grabbed the sword and sliced off the trapeze man’s head.

Then they ran away.

“Okay, I think we lost them.”

They went to hide in the photo booth. They sat there for an hour before they realized that they were being carried. When they realized they were being carried, they looked outside the photo booth and realized that they were on a chain hanging three feet above sharks, and they could see sharks snapping at them, trying to jump.

Then a clown said, “They’re really hungry! I think we might need to feed them.” 

“Got it!” said the magician who cut the chain, and they fell into the shark tank.

And they were all swimming frantically and trying to get out while Mark was jumping on top of sharks trying not to get bitten, but then his arm got bitten off, and it was so bloody, and there was blood all over the pool. Then Mark jumped out while whimpering, then John also got out, and everyone got out.

“Release the snakes!” one of the clowns said.

A whole bunch of snakes, including Cobras and boa constrictors, came out of the dirt, and a snake got on Mark and tightened around him and then swallowed him whole! Then John and Shane were so mad and sad that they were speechless, then they ran away and got on the ferris wheel and climbed to the top of it. Then the rest of the fair started climbing up the ferris wheel. Then finally John and Shane reached the top, and they realized they had gotten ahead of the fair. The clowns were climbing up, and they were five feet away from grabbing them.

Then Shane spotted a pool and said, “Okay, on three we jump into the pool.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

They all jumped, and then something threw an axe at Shane, and Shane got killed before he hit the pool. John hit the pool, but he didn’t realize that the pool was full of crocodiles, and the crocodiles ate him. All that was left was a pool full of red.

The End.

Chapter One 

James stared at Ryan batting for the Chicago Colts leading 35-7 against the Louisville Colonels. The fastball pitch and… 

“Bam! He hit a homerun! This is the greatest picnic of the season in the history of baseball and it occurred at the West Side Park today when the Colts broke the record by scoring 36 runs on 32 hits for a total of 51 bases,” the commentators exclaimed. 

The crowd roared with excitement. People would remember this day forever. James jumped up and down in his seat. His brown hair flowed as he jumped in the cool June wind on that hot exciting day. James and his dad were sitting in the nosebleed seats high in the air overlooking the field. All the players looked so tiny from high up. No one had a very big expectations for the Chicago Colts because they had lost eight of their previous ten games.

“Wow, Dad, that was a great game!” James gushed loudly over the noise of the crowd.

“I know; this is amazing!” shouted James’ dad. 

The game eventually ended, with the Louisville Colonels not scoring any more runs. From high up James and his dad could see all the Chicago Colts players with their arms around each other, jumping up and down with excitement. June 29, 1897 would be the year that the Chicago Colts broke the record for the most runs in a MLB game. Every person paused to take in what had just happened, while usually the crowd left quickly to get home. Then suddenly everyone flooded out of the stadium pushing against each other at the same time to find the ten year-old James Marcelin lost in the crowd. James had lost his father’s hand by people ripping their hands apart in a hurry to get through. James had to push and shove to get through. He couldn’t even see over all the tall masses pushing him forward. James’ heart was pounding. He was sweaty. He was breathing heavy. Would he ever find his dad again? James saw a woman trying to get through the crowd. 

James went over and asked with a shaky voice, “Excuse me, have you seen my father?” 

She replied, “Well, what does he look like?”

“He is really tall and has a plaid jacket, hazel eyes, and a hat… it’s like a business hat.”

“Oh, sorry, I don’t remember seeing someone like that,” she sighed. 

“Well, thank you for your time,” James said back politely. 

James went over to some other stranger and asked again, “Excuse me, have you seen my father?” But the man just ignored him and kept walking to get out of the rambunctious crowd. 

So instead of asking another stranger, James went to the fence to get out of the rush of people and to try to see his dad. He tried to see over all the tall strangers, but he couldn’t spot his dad. James decided that he would go back to his seat, for maybe his father was waiting there. But when he arrived at his seat, there was no one to be found. Every person had left the stadium. Then, out of nowhere, standing before James was the player for the Chicago Colts, thirty-four year old Jimmy Ryan. James’ eyes flicked to Ryan’s face, who was standing tall in front of him. Was he actually meeting the Jimmy Ryan? His brown, bushy mustache and long face made him easy to recognize and hard to miss. When he spoke his voice was very bold as if he were speaking through a megaphone. Jimmy was wearing a striped cap that covered the brown mop of hair on his head. 

James stuttered,“A..a..are…youu…Jimmy…Rrryan?”

“Who else would it be?” Jimmy said, slapping James heartily on the back.

“I’m… a big fan!” James exclaimed. “I’m trying to find my father, he’s really tall, and he has a plaid jacket, and a business hat on.” 

Jimmy replied, “Well, I haven’t been paying much attention to people passing, but if you want, you could have a tour, and we could look for your father.” 

As James and Jimmy started at the locker rooms, his dad, Charles Marceiln, was rushing through a door from the concession stands to the seats, desperately searching for his son. He felt queasy, like he was about to do a big performance. Once he was through the door, he was suddenly back at the concession stands. But something had changed. He was back in a crowd of people. But they were all carrying a little box that was almost 2-dimensional. Most people also had Cubs caps on. Charles wondered who are the Cubs? As he looked around he saw a shop, but people were sliding odd cards, not paying with paper money.

Instead of just gazing around, Charles asked a man wearing a Cubs hat where they were, and the man snarled, “Where do you think we are? We’re in the Cubs stadium of course.” 

“Who are the cubs?” Charles asked.

“Only the greatest team in baseball history since 1903.” 

“Wait, what’s that date?” 

“1903,” he answered

“Wait, then what’s today? 

“It’s June 29th, 2019,” the stranger said then hurried to get to his seat. 

“… 2019,” Charles said panting.

Then suddenly, Charles’ head spun as if he had been spinning all day and the noise of the crowd slowly got fainter and fainter… until he couldn’t hear or see. Everything went black.

There was a girl named Issa. It was her birthday so her mom went to the store to get her a doll. When the mom found the doll section, she picked out the prettiest doll in the aisle.

And a man that worked at the store walked over. “Are you sure you want that doll, it only has three fingers?”

Her mom was sure she wanted that doll then the man warned her again: “Do not play with the doll in the basement and do not call the doll Three Fingers.”

The mom disbelieved him, and she said, “okay,” and she paid for it.  And then she gave Issa the doll, but the mom forgot to tell Issa the rules about the doll, so she played with Three Fingers in the basement and called it “Three Fingers.”

That night when she was sleeping she heard a noise like this: “my name is Three Fingers. I’m on your door frame.” She woke up and looked on her door frame but the doll wasn’t there.

She couldn’t fall back asleep and then she heard it again: “My name is Three Fingers. I’m on your bed frame.” She looked behind her but the doll wasn’t on her bed frame. Issa got super scared and ran to her parents’ room but her parents’ door was locked shut. She stood in the hallway and her room door was closed and locked too. The doll quietly appeared behind Issa, and the doll tapped her on her head. But she couldn’t see, and then no more Issa and no more doll.

Karen and August were best friends. They did everything together. Their parents were best friends and had known each other since they were in middle school, so Karen and August had known each other pretty much their whole lives. The girls went to the same middle school, they had the same interests, and they even went on vacations with each other, though they were a little different when it came to emotions. August was a bit shy while Karen was super outgoing, but they usually put those differences aside and focused on their friendship. Everyone knew them as the best friends. 

So when Karen got a new beach house, the girls were dying to go together. So they begged their parents and they eventually said yes. The girls were ecstatic! They immediately started packing. Two days went by and the girls were driving to the new beach house. When they got there, they explored the whole house. There was a pool, a deck, and the house was huge! There was a game room, a lovely kitchen with flower wallpaper, and 5 bedrooms!

The girls swam a little bit and caught some crabs. Afterwards, they wanted to explore the neighborhood. They asked their parents, and they said, “Yes, as long as you stick together.” So they went off. 

The girls were really excited when they saw an abandoned plantation. There was a “NO TRESPASSING” sign, but the girls ignored the warning and kept walking. There was a dirt path they went down, and it was an insane sight. There were fields of long grass, a pool, and a huge mansion right in front of them. The pool was murky with leaves floating on the top. The house was all beat down, and there was broken glass scattered around the house. There was a small guest house a little ways out into the fields.

When they stopped staring in awe Karen asked August, “Where do we start?”

“What do you mean?” August asked, confused. She didn’t want to go into the house. She just wanted to look.

“Let’s explore! As long as we stay together we are allowed to!” Karen exclaimed.

“But there was a-” but before she could finish, Karen was already pulling her into the small guest home. As soon as the girls went inside, they felt a cold rush of air that gave them chills.

“What was that?” August asked, looking around, aghast. 

“It was just a breeze. Chill,” Karen said, annoyed.

“Umm, ok,” August said, unsure. She felt like something was watching her, but she brushed it off. The girls walked a little further and they smelled something horrid and moldy. They looked at the ground and saw a rotting mouse moving with maggots. 

“No, no, I’m done! Bye! You have fun exploring a spirit filled maggot dump while I go back to the house!” August shrieked.

“What do you mean spirits? We have to stay together, remember? You can’t leave if I don’t, and there is no such thing as spirits,” Karen said, super aggravated. Why was her best friend being so annoying? Spirits aren’t even real!  

“Fine. Five minutes though, deal?” August said, aggravated as well. Why was her friend being so ignorant? Can’t Karen tell I’m scared?  

Karen took her left hand and put it behind her back. She crossed her fingers and said, 

“Deal.” The girls kept walking while August was clueless of what just happened. The girls walked into the very back of the house and saw a kitchen all burnt up as if there was a fire. Ash scattered all over the ground. Karen thought it was cool, but August thought it was gross. The girls didn’t really want to touch anything so they decided to head upstairs. As soon as they got upstairs, they heard a strange wispy noise that sounded sort of like a whistle. 

“What the heck was that?!” August cried. 

“Um.. It- it was, um, probably the wind. Yeah, the wind,” Karen said, unsure. She definitely heard that noise, and it sounded like a demonic whisper to her, but she didn’t want to leave yet. She wanted to explore the big house, too. So she thought of a plan; she wanted to sound ok so August wouldn’t completely have a heart attack. 

“Listen, we only have 3 minutes left. Let’s go in the mansion, and then we leave,” Karen said.

“No way am I spending another minute on this property!” August exclaimed. 

“You promised, August! Please!” Karen begged.

 “Ugh fine. Only 3 minutes! Wait, what if something happens to us? Like we get hurt?” August asked.

 “We have phones, remember? We can call for help! Now let’s go!” Karen said, pulling August down the stairs and out of the house.

 As they passed through the door frame they still felt that chill, but the girls didn’t say anything. Karen was confused. Why was her friend not flipping out? she thought. They tried opening the front door of the house, but it was locked so then they tried the back door and voila! It opened in a snap. The door creaked open, and they found themselves on an indoor patio. It had some chairs and a recliner, and it looked really dusty and smelled sort of like mold, but the girls quickly left that room and went to a big room that could have once been a living room. Chipped paint flakes covered the ground along with broken glass scattered around. But then Karen saw something that made her shudder. A small finger looking object was lying in the corner with dried blood covering it. 

“O-ok. Um.. let’s leave. Ok?” Karen said.

“Why do you want to leave so soon?” August asked. “I’m finally feeling brave, and I’m starting to think it’s cool in here.”

“It’s been three minutes though! Time to go!” Karen urged.

“Karen, I saw you cross your fingers. I just acted like I didn’t know, to make you happy. We are staying. Like you said, you can’t leave if I don’t. It’s fine. I’m not scared!” August said.

“I’m leaving!” Karen shouted. 

“Fine. See you soon, Karen.” Karen ran to the door and tried turning the door knob, but the door was locked. Karen ran back into the room where August had just been and she wasn’t there. Karen even tried the front of the house, but that door was locked.  Karen turned around and saw a slight shadow of a girl. Karen blinked her eyes and looked again and saw nothing. She could have sworn that she just saw a shadow. Karen looked for any possible exit when she found a piece of August’s skirt lying right in front of the basement door. She took all the courage she had and decided to walk down to the basement. She flicked on a light switch and was horrified by what she saw. Right before her eyes, August was tied to a chair bleeding from everywhere on her body as if she had been slashed. Karen was terrified as she realized August was dead. Immediately, Karen pulled out her phone but there was no signal whatsoever. She tried screaming, but it was no use. When she couldn’t call for help, and there was nothing she could do, she looked closer at August’s body. Blood dripped from the chair, splattering all over the floor, and August’s mouth hung open as if she had been… screaming? How? I couldn’t hear a scr- but Karen couldn’t even finish her thought when the lights flickered. Standing in front of August was… a shadow? 

“August?!” Karen screamed. 

“Told you I would see you soon,” said the shadow. 

The room went black. 

CHAPTER ONE

It was a hot and sunny day when Jeff and Bob walked into the circus. The noise was loud, they could hear people laughing, carousel music, and an announcer calling over the loudspeaker, “Last call for a ticket to the Great Juggler’s Show!” Jeff bought a big bag of hot, buttery popcorn, which smelled amazing, and cotton candy. Bob bought a hot dog, and they both bought cold sodas. They walked down the grass eating their food, looking around for something cool. On each side of the grass were tents: white and silver for the acrobats, red and blue for the animal tamers, blue and silver for the magicians, and one more tent for refreshments.

“Do you like school?” asked Jeff, while eating his popcorn.

“Not really,” said Bob. “The teachers are so mean.”

“Yeah,” said Jeff. “Ms. Butterbottom is really strict. She didn’t let you celebrate your birthday! We never have parties for holidays, and we had a lot of homework.”

Jeff and Bob were both thirteen. They were both wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Bob looked up and saw a platform ahead of them. A crowd had gathered. They were watching silently in amazement while a clown juggled on a unicycle. The clown was wearing a red wig, a red nose, big shoes, and a bright yellow and red polka dot shirt.

“I hate clowns,” said Jeff.

“Me too,” said Bob.

“Especially after that movie last night,” said Jeff. They had watched a horror movie, Politics About Clowns.

Jeff and Bob avoided the platform. They saw a path to the left, leading towards the carousel. They kept walking, eating their popcorn, and talking.

To the left of the pathway, there was another tent. It was red and yellow.

“What time should we go home?” asked Jeff.

“Well, I want to invite some friends over for a party tomorrow. We could have a pool party at your house… ”

The clown on the stage did a backflip on his unicycle while juggling ten balls. The crowd looked amazed, cheering and clapping.

Suddenly, Bob and Jeff felt a hand wrapping around their arms and yanking them backwards into the tent. “AHHHHHHHH!” they screamed.

Nobody saw Jeff and Bob — they were too busy watching the clown. Outside the tent, all they could see was a bag of popcorn left on the ground.

Jeff and Bob were tied down in wooden chairs inside the tent. The chairs had blood all over them. They saw a whole bunch of clowns in a dark room holding knives.

Everything had happened so fast that Jeff and Bob were confused. “Who are you?” asked Jeff and Bob quietly.

“We are your worst nightmare,” they all said. One of the clowns stepped forward to tighten their ropes. The clown had a freaky face with blood all over it and a lot of white and black makeup. It had red blood all over its white clothes and ruffled collar. It had red hair, ugly teeth, and stitches all over its eyes.

Jeff and Bob were shocked and frightened to death.

The clowns explained their ugly plan. “You must be clowns, or you and your families will die.”

Jeff and Bob didn’t know what to say. There was no escaping the clowns.

“It’s better for only us to get hurt than all our families,” said Jeff.

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Bob.

Jeff and Bob answered. “We want to be clowns,” they said.

“Good,” said the clowns. “And we are killer clowns. So you will have to kill people.”

“We don’t want to be killer clowns!” said Bob. Jeff and Bob were very, very scared.

One of the clowns came up behind Jeff and Bob with a gun. He pointed it at their brains, but Jeff and Bob couldn’t see. Then, the clown put a hole in their brains and put a chip inside.

Jeff and Bob dropped their heads. When they woke up, they had red eyes.

CHAPTER TWO

It was a hot and sunny day when Steve and Joe walked into the circus. Steve and Joe were looking for Jeff and Bob at the circus. They had just come home from vacation yesterday. Jeff and Bob had told them they were going to the circus, but they were on the plane, so they couldn’t go.

Bob’s and Jeff’s parents had called Steve’s and Joe’s parents, but they didn’t know where they were. So then, Steve and Joe went to the circus to find them.

When Steve and Joe walked into the circus, they started looking. First, they got food because they were starving. They got strawberry funnel cake with whipped cream and powdered sugar on top. They also got popcorn, hot dogs, and cold sodas.

They started walking around, and they saw a whole bunch of tents. They walked in the first one, and they saw a security guard. The security guard said, “Do you have a ticket?” They said no.

“We spent all our money on food,” Steve said to Joe.

“We have to get in there,” said Joe. “Bob and Jeff could be in there. Maybe they stayed there all night, or maybe they joined the circus!”

Steve used his martial arts karate moves to attack the security guard. He was down in two seconds. And Joe was just standing there. He didn’t know any martial arts.

They looked in the tent, but they couldn’t find Jeff and Bob. Elephants and musicians were doing a show in the middle of the tent. There was a humongous crowd. They loved it! They were amazed!

Steve was feeling proud of himself for taking out a security guard, and Joe was worried about Jeff and Bob.

When they went out of the tent, the security guard woke up with ten other security guards. Steve and Joe knew that the guards were there for them. Steve and Joe tried to punch the guards, but then they had to run away because the security guards were chasing them. They ran into a white and silver tent.

It was dark inside the tent. There was creepy violin music. Then the lights turned on, and acrobats were surrounding them. They looked like normal acrobats — they were wearing sparkly silver leotards and no makeup except for jewels on their foreheads. But they were holding knives, and one had a chainsaw. Then, Steve and Joe saw clowns behind the acrobats. They couldn’t recognize Jeff and Bob.

Steve and Joe were shocked. They gasped.

The acrobats said, “Now you and your family will die if you don’t become an acrobat.”

The acrobats put chips in their brains with a microchip gun. Then, Steve’s and Joe’s brains forced them to obey the evil acrobats.

CHAPTER THREE

It was a hot and sunny day when Marie and Cooper walked into the circus. They were trying to find Jeff, Bob, Steve, and Joe. Their parents all knew each other, and they all called Marie’s and Cooper’s parents to see if they knew where Jeff, Bob, Steve, and Joe were. Jeff and Bob had been missing for two days, and Steve and Joe had been missing for one day.

Marie was a five foot seven Japanese young woman, and she was fourteen. Cooper was a five foot nine blond guy, and he was thirteen.

They were at the pool when they got the phone call from the parents. They were kind of annoyed about leaving the pool. They were kind of worried and mad at the same time.

The first thing they did when they got to the circus was buy food. They bought buttery popcorn, cotton candy, blueberry funnel cakes, hamburgers, hot dogs, and sodas. They also got a slushy. And that’s all they got.

They started looking for Steve, Joe, Jeff, and Bob. They called their friends, but no one answered. Marie and Cooper went to the big tent where the elephant show was going on. And then they found $300 on the ground. They were lucky! They bought two tickets and took turns watching the show and looking for their friends.

After the show, they still couldn’t find them. But then the SWAT team came, because the money that Marie and Cooper used was fake. The SWAT team went looking for Marie and Cooper, but they raced away. Marie was kind of slow, but then she punched them, and Cooper ran away to a tent that was blue and silver. It was nice outside, but inside the tent it was dark, stormy, and mysterious. And then, the lights turned on.

Marie and Cooper were circled by evil magicians, acrobats, and clowns. They couldn’t recognize Steve, Joe, Bob, or Jeff. Marie and Cooper were shocked. They had no idea what was going on.

So then one magician said, “Your family and you will die if you don’t become evil magicians. HA HA HA HA HA!”

He looked like a wizard. He was kind of ugly. He looked like he was 70, but he was only 40. He had a long, scraggly gray beard.

Marie and Cooper both turned into magicians with a chip inside their brain.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was a cold, dreary night at the circus. The clowns, acrobats, and magicians got together to do their really, really, really evil plan. Their plan was that they would attack the human race and rule the world. The plan was to attack the president first, to rule the world, and then they would attack the whole US, then North America, then South America, then the whole world.

They started going to Washington, DC. Then, when they got to the president’s house, they broke in, killed the security guards, and then murdered the president. Then, they took control of the United States, and then every United States citizen had to go to the White House immediately. Then, they turned all the people of the United States into clowns.

Then, they took over Mexico and Canada. Mexico turned into acrobats, and Canada turned into magicians. They took over South America, and they all turned into clowns. Europe turned into acrobats, and Asia turned into magicians. And Australia was the last defense of the human race. Then, they took over Australia, and they all turned into clowns.

But then, there was one more country left. New Zealand. They attacked. Half of them got demolished, but the clowns, acrobats, and magicians still won. Then, the only quest was to take over Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, and the other planets. So, they started creating rockets. Acrobats took over a third of the planets, and magicians took a third, and clowns took one third. But they couldn’t reach Neptune.

But then they all came to Neptune with a powerful rocket. Then, they started to defeat Neptune. The acrobats used their flexibility to catch the people on Neptune, the magicians used their spells to freeze the people, and the clowns used their knives to kill them. Now the Milky Way was called The Haunted Circus. No humans or aliens survived. There were nine million clowns, acrobats, and magicians spread out across the galaxy. They journeyed to each of the hundred billion galaxies. Now they had a billion billion recruits in the Milky Way, and they had about another billion billion in the Sunflower galaxy, and another billion billion in the Whirlpool galaxy, and another billion billion in the Black Eye galaxy. So, they had billions of recruits.

Now the six friends were the leaders of the Evil Haunted Circus, and they ruled the whole universe. They were friends again, because they were leaders, but they didn’t remember their old lives. They didn’t know who their parents were anymore, and their parents became clowns.

The End!

DAY ONE

“Aaah! My eyes! They burn… ” I said. The waves crashed, causing me to fall asleep. But soon enough, one hour later, I was bought! I was finally going to be free at a gigantic house!

“Mom, can I get this crab? The young, blue shelled one so that he lasts long!” said my owner, Lucas.

“Sure, Lucas,” said my owner’s mom. “Whatever you want.”

And at first sight, I saw in his eyes that he was going to love and cherish me for all of my life. But right after he bought me, we had to go in this scary piece of metal that went so fast! And it was so fast, I almost got sick! It had all these bags and coolers in the very back, and that’s where my owner was sitting, all alone! And the worst part is that it took one hour and thirty minutes until we finally stopped! And when we finally did, they left me in the piece of metal! Then finally, one hour later, they came back! But the same thing happened! So for two hours, I had to sit in an uncomfortable cage in an uncomfortable piece of metal that was fast. And I didn’t even get food. And then, we finally came to a stop. For good. That’s when I saw it. A gigantic house! Where were we? We definitely weren’t in Bethany Beach… so where were we?

“Buddy, we’re in Maryland! Chevy Chase!” I stared at him in despair. “Buddy, this is all the peace and quiet you need. Let’s go inside!” said my owner. “This is the office. This is where I sleep. This is also where you sleep. Let me show you my brother’s crab. You guys are gonna have a great time!” said my owner.

So, he showed me my “friend” as he called him. But he was so massive. We both hid from each other, and my owner and his brother started laughing. Humans were idiots sometimes.

“I’ll call you The Flash. You’re so fast,” said my owner.

So after, we went to sleep, but I couldn’t because my owner complained to his mom that I was making too much noise, so she put me in a scary room, and I was up all night.

DAY TWO

The next morning, Lucas’ mom wasn’t there to wake him up. His dad was. He fed me, but I didn’t like the smell of the food. So, I didn’t eat it. And then, he put me back in his room. And then he let me exercise for a few minutes, fed me, and then just left the house with his dad. Where did they go to that took so long? He was finally back with his grandma and his brother like… five hours later! Then finally, Lucas went to get me out of my cage and let me exercise. Lucas was a cool dude. I tried to speak to him, but his response was way out of topic.

When I said I needed water, he said, “Looks like you need exercise!”

And then once again, obviously, he brought in my brother’s crab like… two hours later, and he put my face in front of his face. We both ran. That crab was huge!!! I didn’t like him. That crab was annoying. He spoke too much and smelled. He said things about the World Cup, trying to bet me 50 bucks that England was going to win over and over again, and he sang soccer songs, and shouted, “HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!” Take a shower, dude! I just ignored him, but I didn’t think he had any reason to ignore me… I was just a perfectly normal crab living a normal life. This time, Lucas didn’t get tucked in by his mom again. Where was she? So once again, I expected him to wake up in the middle of the night to my cage rattling and kick me from his room. But this time, he didn’t! So this time, I could finally get some sleep!

But I woke up to him in the middle of the night when he was moving in his bed while he was asleep…  so I said, “Dude! Quiet!” and rattled my cage.

Then, all bad was released. Lucas woke up, angry. This time, he didn’t take me to his parents’ room. He took me to the basement. I couldn’t sleep all night. It was so dark…

DAY THREE

I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten in two days. The food was so gross. Seriously, Lucas? Just give me a banana. Lucas was worried for me.

He said to his dad, “Dad! The Flash hasn’t eaten his food in two days. I’m worried… ”

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to get Gabe to get The Flash to eat. It’s going to be fine,” said Lucas’ dad.

Lucas got ready for where he was going and played on his iPad for a bit until he had to go. My water sponge was out of water.

Then, when they were about to leave, Lucas checked my sponge and said to his dad, “Can I quickly give my crab water in his sponge?” and Lucas’ dad hit the wall really hard.

I started to get scared.

His dad screamed at Lucas and said, “YOU SHOULD’VE DONE THAT EARLIER!”

“Well, do you want my crab to die?” said Lucas.

“Sure. Let him die. I am going to kill him!” said his dad angrily.

I started to get so scared… I started crying. “I don’t wanna die!” I said.

But Lucas’ dad didn’t kill me. He didn’t even come upstairs. I calmed down. I stopped crying.

“You need to go to Writopia! I’m going to be late for a ten o’clock meeting in downtown D.C.!”

So that’s where he went every day! What’s Writopia? Well, at least I knew where he went every day. And then, they left. And I heard some shouting outside. So, I just sat and waited for Lucas to come back. When Lucas came back from Writopia, he finally took me out of the basement. He put me up one floor, which was much cosier. Then, he gave me a banana, which I did not eat, but I usually would. Then, he just watched some TV. He let me out of my cage while he was watching TV and let me exercise. I liked Lucas, but sometimes he was scary… like… his hands were colossal. So, as usual, I was expecting to have to go face-to-face with my mortal enemy, The Soccer Dude, and yes, that was what I called the one who shouted, “HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!” all night long, and I was the only one who could hear it, but no. The happiest day of my life was today. God shined the light on me. Angels watched over me. I did not see The Soccer Dude today!!!

“HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE! HARRY KANE!”

DAY FOUR

The next morning, as usual, he gave me water and went on his iPad for a bit. No questions asked. And I still had a headache from The Soccer Dude shouting Harry Kane all night. Lucas left to Writopia, once again, and I was all alone with a madman singing “Ole.” When Lucas returned, I heard a calm, soothing voice. Apparently, his mom was here! Even I was surprised! One day she was not here, the next she was!

“Mom. Did you bring anything from your business trip?” said Lucas.

“No, sweetie. I’m sorry. Next time I will,” said Lucas’ mom.

“It’s okay, Mom. You didn’t have to,” said Lucas.

Okay. Business trip. So… where did she go for the business trip? So, Lucas just picked me up like it was nothing and held me in his hand. Okay. Imagine this. You have to sit in the palm of a sweaty hand in a hot room for two hours watching a piece of metal that has a screen that projects people kicking a ball and flopping on the floor. Plus, my mortal enemy (The Soccer Dude) was in Lucas’ brother’s hand, cheering for England. That’s what his definition of fun was. At the end of the game, The Soccer Dude wept. The Soccer Dude snapped his pinchers in the air. You see, that’s why I only did normal things that crabs do.

“WHYYY!!! England! Ye lost! How? It’s only Croatia!!! Come ON England ye worthless scrubs! Wahhhhhaahhaahaa,” wept The Soccer Dude.

“Oh, come on, dude! It’s only a game! What’s the meaning of people kicking a ball and flopping on the floor?” I say.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” said The Soccer Dude in a weepy voice. “This is the World Cup. It happens only every four years, and this is very rare! England is way better than nasty ol’ Croatia!” The Soccer Dude pinched me!

“Aaah!” I started to cry. “Lucas!!! Aaah!”

Lucas heard the pinch. He immediately came downstairs. He threw The Soccer Dude on the hard floor. The Soccer Dude was hurt. Yay! Then, he quickly sprinted to me.

“Are you okay?” said Lucas. I was bleeding. It hurt! I frowned.

“Mom!” said Lucas.

“Yes, Lucas?” said Lucas’ Mom.

“The Flash is bleeding!” said Lucas.

“Oh, no!” said Lucas’ Mom. “I’m coming right now!”

“We need to put a tiny piece of folded paint to stop the bleeding,” said Lucas.

“Good idea,” said Lucas’ Mom. She ran upstairs to get toilet paper and put it where I was bleeding. And it stopped after a while.

At night, The Soccer Dude finally stopped yelling “Harry Kane” and singing “Ole.” For the first time, I was not taken to the basement. Instead, I was taken to Lucas’ room where I had to boringly watch Lucas sleep for 11 hours. But still, I loved him. I was growing to be comfortable with this house. And that, my friends, was when I realized Lucas’ family would cherish and protect me forever.

Fin

Credits

Lucas Gebrekristose (story idea)

Rita Feinstein (comments/helping/correcting)

Ebony Adkins (comments/helping/correcting)

Marina Cooper (comments/helping/correcting)

Sofia Laguarda (comments/helping/correcting)

Special thanks to my family and my wonderful crab who hold and cherish me, knowing I will do the same for them.

“Where are you going tonight, honey?” Major Moe Momper asked his wife, taking a sip of coffee.

“I’m going to review this place called The Garlic,” Melissa Momper responded, taking a sip too, but quickly put it down. “I can’t drink too much coffee; I don’t want to fill up.”

“The Garlic? Isn’t that the last place your friend Cathy went before she vanished?” Moe Momper replied, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes,” Melissa answered sadly, “The Garlic’s owner, Jessie Goodwin, told the police Cathy mentioned the idea of moving to Peru. But she never said anything to me. I’m going to ask Jessie about her. I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“She didn’t tell me anything either. Or anyone, apparently. Her sister, Lila, says she hasn’t heard from her the whole seven months she’s been gone! And what about Sarah and Robert Churchill? Didn’t they vanish after eating there too?” Moe Momper said.

“The police said they moved to Idaho. Everyone’s worried about them, too. No one’s heard a thing from them! Or Cathy, for that matter. That’s weird, actually,” Melissa replied. She paused, then looked at her watch. Her watch said 5:45 PM. “Time to go. Dinner starts at six. I’m all dressed. I’ll be back in no more than two hours, honey!”

Melissa walked out of the room, out of her house, and into her car. Every time she went to work, she would wear her usual: a blue sweater with a white undershirt, white jeans, and blue high heels.

“The restaurant The Garlic is being visited tonight by the famous Melissa Momper!” the radio man exclaimed.

Melissa smirked. She was a famous restaurant critic, so she was always announced on TV, the radio, magazines, and social media. It was a tradition now. She loved being famous! But her smirk quickly changed. There was no one in the parking lot but one lonely SUV. It was black, and the windows were tinted. “That’s funny,” she whispered. She maneuvered her car to a parking spot far away from the SUV.

Sighing nervously, Melissa walked through the doors. There’s probably just no one because I’m here, she thought to herself.

Melissa expected pictures of garlic and many tables with fancy silverware, glasses, and plates. But she was wrong.

It was pitch dark inside, except for one light in the middle of the room. Under that light was a single armchair. No one was sitting there. Melissa frowned.

“I should probably wait here,” Melissa said. “I don’t want to sit there if Jessie is.”

“Don’t worry — it’s all for you,” a slimy voice cooed, coming out from somewhere. “Please, sit.”

Out from the darkness emerged a short lady with short brown hair in a bun. She was wearing a pink dress with a white apron. But the strangest thing was her earrings. They were… vampires’ faces.

“Uh, no thanks! I just… ” Melissa got out her review notebook. “I guess hospitality — check?”

“Don’t worry,” the lady said. “I’m Jessie. Sit down, and I’ll get you some dinner. Chicken?”

“That’d be nice,” Melissa whispered uneasily. “Can it come out fast? I’m in a rush. Moe — my husband — is waiting for me.”

“Don’t be silly,” Jessie purred. “How can Melissa Momper be busy? Any good critic knows it’s one restaurant a night.”

“Yes, that is true,” Melissa mumbled. “Is this it? Is this what happens every night? Just one customer?”

“Oh, sometimes there are more,” Jessie replied. “But we wanted it to be extra special for Melissa Momper.”

“Um… I like your earrings,” Melissa tried, unsure of how to react. “I have similar earrings… clovers?”

Jessie snickered silently. “Sit. I’ll be back soon.” She was gone.

Melissa didn’t feel so sure about sitting, because it might be a trap. But she didn’t want to make Jessie feel bad — even though she wasn’t sure if she would. She daintily walked over and sat. In about twenty minutes of doing nothing (she had a watch), Jessie finally came out with a big, decorated platter with roasted chicken on it. Garlic was sprinkled over the chicken, and there was a lemon on the side of the plate. Mashed potatoes were on the side. It smelled like no other chicken, and just the smell made Melissa’s mouth water. The chicken looked perfect. Jessie placed it on Melissa’s lap.

“Thanks… ” Melissa said. “Looks yummy.” She took a big bite. She stopped chewing. It was the best chicken she’d ever had. It was as if one of the chefs from the show Moe always watched had made it. “This is awesome.” She quickly took another bite.

“Now, while you’re eating, may I tell you a story?” Jessie asked, sitting on an old wood chair that had not previously been there.

“Sure,” Melissa answered, “about what?”

“Do you know Cathy Banks?” Jessie started, and Melissa nodded.

“Yes,” Melissa said. “Do you know any more details about why she left? She was my best friend.”

Jessie ignored this. “Robert and Sarah Churchill?” Melissa nodded again. “They’ve all come here, but I think you should know one thing.”

“That is?”

“Cathy’s not in Peru. The Churchill’s are not in Idaho.” Jessie smiled, and she clasped her hands together.

“Where are they?” Melissa trembled.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” Jessie asked and lifted the big platter off of Melissa. “Follow me.”

Melissa didn’t want to, but she knew it would be for the better. “Okay.”

Jessie led her to the kitchen, a set of swinging doors that were further back from the chair. Inside was a counter, an oven, a stove, and other appliances. Melissa relaxed.

“Back here, through this door,” Jessie went on, making Melissa tense again. She wanted this to be over with.

Jessie led her through the other door, and in here was a black room. Inside the room were three people sitting on the floor, but Melissa couldn’t tell who because it was dark. As if on cue, Jessie turned on the lights.

“Melissa Momper?” Robert Churchill asked. He stood up. The thing was, he and the two women looked healthy. They were playing cards. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“Robert and Sarah?” Melissa whispered. “Wow. Cathy? How have you been? Everyone was worried about you, and they didn’t know where you were and couldn’t contact you!” Melissa sat down with them.

Jessie looked nervous.

“I’ve been good! How have you been?” Cathy said. “Still in the critic business? Would you like to join us for a game of cards?”

“No, she was just eating here, and I was giving her a tour.” The four of them looked up to see Jessie. “Come on, Melissa.”

“Bye, guys!” Melissa reluctantly said, waving to her friends as Jessie pulled her out of the kitchen. And then she was out of the room. “Jessie — that was so weird!”

“I think you should leave now,” Jessie whispered. She had gotten quieter.

“But what are they doing there? I deserve an answer,” Melissa demanded. “Can I go speak to at least Cathy again?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jessie said and hustled Melissa out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you go write your review?”

“It won’t be a good one if you don’t tell me why they’re there,” Melissa murmured.

“You won’t tell anybody, though,” Jessie said. “You wouldn’t dare, would you?”

“Well, I might,” Melissa threatened, “if I don’t have an answer.”

All of a sudden, Jessie’s face turned bright red. “Why don’t you come with me, Melissa?”

“I think I better get home,” Melissa said, face turning red. “I won’t tell if you let me leave.”

“Just, before you leave, I might want to tell you one thing,” Jessie said, her face flushing now. “I locked you in.”

“What?” Melissa mouth widened. “Can you… unlock it? And why?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jessie mumbled. “You just have to take a test to get out. But it might be hard.”

“But why can’t you just unlock it?” Melissa asked.

“I can’t.”

“You’re the owner,” Melissa went on. “You own the place. Why can’t you unlock it?”

“I’m not the owner,” Jessie grumbled. “The owner — nevermind. Please. Just take the test.”

“What’s in the test?” Melissa was hyped up, her face getting redder and redder. “Jessie, I’m not a good test taker.”

“Sit here. I will come out with the first test,” Jessie ordered. “In the chair again.”

Out of breath, Melissa sat. A big frown took over her face. “Will this take long?”

“As long as you make it.” And then Jessie disappeared.

A few minutes later, the silence broke when Jessie came back, holding a deck of cards. “I just need you to be the victim of my magic trick.”

“Victim?” Melissa repeated.

Jesse ignored this. She spread out the cards. The backs looked like normal cards, red with a geometric design. “Pick a card — any card,” she demanded.

Melissa frown deepened, but she picked a card near the right end. “I pick this one.”

“Look at it, and follow the order,” Jessie instructed. “I will be back in ten minutes. The more tests you fail, the more you have to do. Oh! I almost forgot. I need your phone. No cheating.” Melissa reluctantly gave her phone to Jessie.

“Jessie? I don’t get it — ” Jessie was gone.

Melissa sighed and read the card.

It read:

Yay! You have selected me as your card. Your first challenge is to tie your shoes together and hop across the length of the room. Your time starts now! Good luck!

“But I don’t even have anything to tie my shoes!” Melissa cried. “I’m wearing high heels!”

She looked further down the card. There was a picture of rope, and under it said: Pick up the rope! Melissa was very confused. She put her fingers on either side of the tiny rope and pulled. All of a sudden, a real, long rope came out of the card.

“Okay,” Melissa whispered, “I’ll tie it around my ankles. Now where does the room begin?”

She walked to the door where she had come in. “This is so weird,” she said to herself.

She began hopping. This is not so bad, she thought. She had passed the armchair and near the kitchen door when she fell. She quickly got up. “It never said you had to start again at the beginning.” Soon she reached the kitchen door.

“Impressive,” Jessie said, suddenly appearing. “Almost record time. But sorry, you failed.”

“Why?” Melissa was still panting, out of breath. “Was it my fall? It never said anything against it.”

“No, that was fine,” Jessie replied. “You just put the rope around your ankles. It said shoes.”

“But that’s impossible!” Melissa yelled. “I’m wearing high heels! How do you think I’m going to do it? You’re a cheater!”

“Let’s move onto the next test.” Jessie spread out the cards again. “Pick another card.”

Melissa glared as she picked a card on the left side.

“I’ll be back,” Jessie cooed as she turned around and left into the darkness.

This card said:

Yipee! You picked me! My challenge is really hard. You have to stack cards, so the top card is a foot above the ground. You have ten minutes. Like always, your time starts now!

“Uh, where are the cards?” Melissa asked, then saw the drawing on the bottom of the card. She felt so weird that she was pulling a deck of cards out of a card. “Alright. I’m not that good at stacking. Maybe… ”

She made a teepee with the cards, carefully trying not to tip it over. After balancing a card horizontally on top of that, the teepee fell over.

“This is so hard,” Melissa groaned. She tried again, and it fell over. She wasn’t even close to a foot. She tried again, and again, and again, and again, but every time it still fell over. Finally, the ten minutes was up.

“Melissa, your time is up,” Jessie said. “This test wasn’t really about stacking the cards, but about finding the secret to it. You must have misunderstood the question. All you had to do was put them on top of each other. Even if you had found out the last second, I would’ve given it to you.”

“Well… ”

“Well nothing,” Jessie said. “Pick another card. This will be your last chance.”

Melissa glared at Jessie as she picked a card right in the middle.

This card read:

I can’t believe it! Another read to add to my record. This is my tenth time being read! Anyway, my challenge to you is to sit still for five minutes straight without thinking about anything. The only thing you’re allowed to do is blink every minute and breathe every three seconds. Clear your mind! Your time starts now!

Melissa put down the card. “The only hard part about that is clearing your mind,” she smiled. “But it should be fun. After all, I was the president of the meditation club in college.”

She walked over to the armchair and sat. She took a big breath to start. Her mind cleared. She was aware of her breath patterns.

Five minutes later, Jessie came. “Good job — again, but sorry, you failed,” she informed.

“What?” Melissa shouted. “This is a joke. How? I should have passed! I followed all the rules! I’m going to leave now! If you keep me longer, you will not want to see your review!”

“Shh! Quiet down,” Jessie demanded. “There’s no need to be loud. You failed because of your breathing patterns. You didn’t follow the rules.”

“It’s impossible, then. You try!” Melissa stepped closer to Jessie as Jessie stepped away. “I was president of my meditation club. We did stuff like this all the time! And I got it right!”

“But that wasn’t a test, was it?” Jessie said, turning back to Melissa. “Time for the next test.”

“I don’t want to do another one,” Melissa said.

“Well then you can join Cathy and the Churchills,” Jessie responded. “I would be happy to take you there.”

So that’s how they got there, Melissa thought. “But why did they even come? How did you trick them? They’re smart. They wouldn’t fall for anything.”

“You did.” Jessie remained calm. “And I’d like to think that you’re smart. Do you?”

“You’re messing with my head,” Melissa told Jessie. “You didn’t trick me. It’s part of my job to come here, it’s not part of theirs.” She tightened.

“I told Cathy that there would be a cat convention there,” Jessie went on. “She loves cats. And the day before the Churchill’s anniversary, I told them it would be the perfect place for dinner.”

“How do you know Cathy likes cats?” Melissa pressed. “And the Churchill’s anniversary date? And they didn’t recognize you? And why would they believe it?”

“I told you I’m good at disguises,” Jessie reminded Melissa. “I dressed up like an elderly man and told them what they would like to hear. And I know things.”

“You know things? So do I,” Melissa stated. “But how did you know the little details that make a difference?”

“I know things,” Jessie repeated.

“I want you to go and tell those poor people what you did!”

“I’ll go over there with you,” Jessie responded. “But only one of us is coming back.”

Melissa huffed, but followed Jessie. “At least they’re happy,” she mumbled to herself. “Moe, I’ll try and be back soon.”

“Who’s Moe? Didn’t you say something about him earlier?” Jessie asked.

“Doesn’t matter.” It felt good for Melissa to finally tell Jessie it didn’t matter.

Once they got to the room, Jessie swiftly opened the door.

“Guys, Jessie would like to confess that she lied and tricked you into coming here,” Melissa said sincerely.

“Oh — but she told us,” Robert said, and the others didn’t look fazed. “We know that already.”

Melissa opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She turned to Jessie, but she was grinning.

“Now, will you go in? I have work to do.” Jessie smiled, closing the door on Melissa.

Melissa leaned against the door, but heard nothing except footsteps walking away. Suddenly, she realized something.

“Guys, have you ever tried to open the door?” Melissa asked.

“No; it’s locked,” Cathy said, frowning. “And we’re happy here, just playing cards all day.”

“And why would we want to leave? Jessie would be there,” Sarah agreed.

“But I want to find out what she does when we’re not there,” Robert chimed in. “Don’t you, girls?”

“I suppose,” Sarah said, and Cathy nodded.

“So would I,” added Melissa. “But don’t you realize that the door is unlocked? I didn’t hear anything lock after she walked away. Maybe she forgot.”

Melissa twisted the door knob, and it opened. She went on, whispering, “Let’s find out what she does all day!”

The three followed her out into the kitchen. No one was there. There was a window on the swinging kitchen doors, so they peeked through that. There was Jessie, sitting on the chair, talking to someone. They didn’t see the four.

“That must be the real boss,” Melissa said, and the others nodded. “I’m going to get a closer look.”

Moving angles, Melissa saw a slimy creature as big as her or her husband. The slime was dripping down him, onto the floor, leaving puddles, yet he never was completely out of slime. There were holes where his eyes, nose, and mouth would be, and when he moved his lips, you could clearly see that he was. He had the shape of a normal human body, with a face, arms, legs, and a chest.

“You did a good job today,” he said, his voice slimy. “Keep it up. I haven’t been here in a while, so this is a good welcome. I like this restaurant much better than that warehouse we were in for the past three months. Who are you going to trick next?”

“I don’t know,” Jessie admitted, “but I think someone named Vincent. I saw a picture of him on TV, and he looks like someone who would be quite gullible.”

“Where does he live?” this monster asked, his voice slurring. “He has to be close by.”

“He lives on Acorn Street,” Jessie answered.

Melissa tensed. “I live on Acorn Street,” she told the group. “He’s my neighbor.” She leaned in closer to hear better.

“How are you going to invite him?” the monster questioned, more slime still dripping.

“He apparently likes to bake, so I’m going to tell him that there is a baking contest,” Jessie replied.

“I’ll get to bake when I’m human,” the monster grumbled to himself. “I’ll make cookies.”

“What was that?” Jessie asked.

“Nothing. So back to this Melissa Momper,” the monster said. “What are you going to tell her business? Her family? For her there’s going to be a lot of questions.”

“I’m going to tell them that she decided to become a cook here, and she’s going to stay here,” Jessie responded.

“But won’t her husband come back and ask if she wants to bring clothes?” the monster pressed.

“Yes,” Jessie said. “He loves her and would be worried because of that.”

“I’ll get to feel that emotion when I’m human.”

“I can tell him to drop it off at the restaurant, and I’ll pick it up,” Jessie offered.

“We can’t have him here at the restaurant,” the monster pointed out. “He would suspect something. And wouldn’t he ask to see Melissa?”

“We can say she’s busy,” Jessie went on. “Or we could quickly let her out. I trust her. She seems too fragile to tell anything.”

“She might blab everything,” the monster accused. “And watch out what you say, or I might have your blood next!”

“We could monitor her,” Jessie suggested. “But oh — that would never work out. She could tell her husband. He could tell the police. But we can’t let her go.”

“No we can’t,” the monster agreed. “Oh, did you take the cars away so that they can’t escape?”

“Yes,” Jessie answered.

Melissa flushed. “Guys, have you ever thought that we could leave?” she asked. “They seem so distracted that they would never notice.”

“But what if we’re caught?” Cathy asked. “And they took the cars away.”

“Can we at least try?” Robert questioned.

Melissa smiled. Robert was always on her side. “Sarah? What do you think?”

“I say we give it a go,” she cheered, and Cathy playfully sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Okay,” Cathy gave in, but the other three could tell she was smiling.

“Great.” Slowly but quietly, Melissa cracked the door open. “Follow me.”

The three followed her. Melissa smiled. They were actually listening to her. That meant they believed in her. No one had ever done that before. It felt strange, but also felt nice.

They were lucky it was dark. They managed to stay in the shadows, and soon they passed Jessie in the chair. All was going well, and they were close to the doors, then:

“Do I smell humans?” the slime monster asked. “Jessie — go check on them. I can’t stand the smell.”

“Yes, Zorth,” Jessie replied.

“Zorth?” Melissa mouthed to the other three. “What kind of name is that?”

Robert shrugged.

“We have to get out of here quickly,” Sarah whisper-shouted. “Jessie is coming!”

Melissa nodded. She led the others further.

“STOP!” a voice demanded. The voice was strict and harsh. Quick footsteps approached them. Melissa didn’t want to turn around. “How did you unlock the door? I always lock it!”

“Jesssssie,” Zorth said, stretching out the “s.”

“It was unlocked,” Melissa said, gaining confidence. “I guess you forgot to lock it.”

“But — how?” Jessie stammered, but made the mistake of stopping in shock.

“Go!” Cathy whispered to the others.

They scrambled out of the building. Melissa could hear Zorth the slime monster grumbling inside.

“At least the smell is gone,” he murmured. “When I’m human, I’m going to put on perfume.”

“Keep running,” Melissa panted, running fast with the others. “She could catch up.”

“It’s too bad we don’t have a car,” Robert said. “Then we could really get ahead of her.”

“I did.” Melissa slowed. “But where did they put it?”

In the parking lot where Melissa had parked her car (as far away from the black car with tinted windows as she could), there were no cars. Even the black car wasn’t there.

“Oh, well. But we know Jessie took them.”

“Keep running,” Sarah repeated, starting to jog again. “I think I hear Jessie behind us.”

Down the abandoned streets they ran. It was hard to make out things in the darkness, but soon their eyes adjusted. The cobblestones make echoing noises under their feet, and the trees loomed over them like that slime monster, Zorth.

Suddenly, a branch moved. The four all heard it. A head peaked out from among the other branches. “Hello,” the voice said. It was that same strict and harsh voice as before. Jessie.

“Ahh!” Melissa jumped back into Cathy, who fell into Sarah, who collapsed onto Robert.

“Guys, keep running!” Robert ordered, straightening up. “Keep going. Don’t stop!”

They ran for a while, Jessie behind them. How Jessie got there so fast, they didn’t know. Finally, they were completely out of breath and had to stop for a minute.

“Jessie is still coming, but I can’t run anymore,” Cathy whined, holding her chest. “I haven’t run this fast for a while!”

“Oh no! Jessie is about to be here! We’re doomed!” Melissa cried. “What are we going to do?”

“Hide?” Cathy guessed, and shrugged.

Honk, honk!

The four turned. “Moe?” Melissa said. “What are you doing here?”

They all got in the car, and Moe started driving away quickly. “I was looking for you,” he told them. “You were out so late, Melissa. It’s almost midnight. What were you doing? You were supposed to be back by eight at the latest. And Cathy, Sarah, Robert… I see you moved back.”

“We never moved anywhere,” Robert replied, confused.

Moe’s eyes widened. “Why were you running? Melissa, where’s your car?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I parked it in the parking lot, but it just… disappeared. I’m glad we have yours though.”

“So your solution was running home?” Moe asked, slightly laughing. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I forgot I had my phone,” Melissa lied. She was glad Moe hadn’t noticed Jessie, because that would have been a whole another set of questions.

Wait —

Melissa turned to look in the rear-view mirror, only to see Jessie, standing where they just were, seemingly smirking directly at Melissa. Melissa looked closer and realized Jessie was holding Melissa’s phone.

Le Fin

Once there was a taco named Bill. He was a happy taco until the enchilado army took control of Taco Square Central.

But Bill said, “You can’t just take over Taco Central!”

“I just did,” said Enchilado General 1.

“Move it, Bill,” said Enchilado General 2.

“Fine,” said Bill with a sigh. Bill thought about what just happened. “I know!” said Bill, and he got right to work, and in the morning he had a robot.

Then, he took the robot to the enchilado army, but they killed him. But then, two tacos came out of Bill. Bill just discovered the taco secret.

Then the Enchilado General 1 said, “You’re a freak, so I’ll burn you. Boy you so fat, when you go on an elevator, you have to go down.”

“Don’t you dare say a burn to a taco,” said Bill.

“I just did,” said General 1.

“Robot attack!!” said Bill, and then the robots kicked the enchiladas one by one until only Generals 1 and 2 were left.

And then General 1 said, “That robot’s a freak! Get out of here!”

Then, Bill used the chomp taco secret, and then General 1 got gobbled up by a big chomp of a baby’s mouth. And that shut him up.

General 2 ran away screaming and said, “CHOMP! CHOMP SECRET! TACOS ARE VILLIANS! THEY USED THE CHOMP SECRET.”

Bill walked with his robot back to his house in Taco Central. And when he was walking, some of the enchiladas were running in fear, and some of his best friends were giving him dirty looks. Bill ran straight into his garage, and he dismantled the robot code 1528. Then, he went outside in a disguise. And he went to the enchilada army.

A whole crowd of enchiladas came and said, “I want his skull! Kill him! I got a pitch fork in your head!”

Then, he ran straight back into his house and turned on the robot with the same code he used to turn it off and dismantle it. Bill upgraded it with laser eyes. But he found someone doing a little work on it. He was a baby.

Bill picked up the taco, gave it some milk, and said, “Go inside the machine,” in baby language. “Go inside the robot,” said Bill, and it followed the command.

Then, the robot turned into a baby inside a laser eyes robot.

The baby flew with the robot to the enchilada crowd outside that was getting really angry now and banging up his house. It accidentally used its laser eyes on them, and they turned crisp black into a pile of ashes. And then, the baby cried and wailed because he turned them into a pile of dust. So Bill had to get the baby out of the robot and inside, so he would get him to stop crying in public. His wish came true. The baby taco stopped crying. Bill told the baby everything about what the enchilada army was doing, but then something happened: a portal opened and a donut took him and the baby into the portal and then, in a couple of seconds, they were in Donut Land.

“Where are we?” Bill asked the donut who brought him there.

The donut said, “I live here. This is Donut Land.”

“Can you show me around?” said Bill.

“Okay,” said the donut. Then, they started walking up a hill and into Super Cake Donut Hill.

Bill said, “Can I eat some of it?”

“Only a little bit,” said the donut. “We’re not allowed to eat it.”

“Are you an outcast?” asked Bill.

“Of course,” said the donut. “Some of us are outcasts here. You want to be an outcast? Or be regular?”

“Regular,” said Bill.

Introduction

Once there was a little boy who lived in Cuba, and a hurricane wiped out his village. He was the only person who survived in his village. He crawled for a couple of hours, but he was a baby, so he couldn’t go that far. Somebody found him and asked what his name was, and he said “James,” and then the person took him to a orphanage. Over the years, he started to hate the caretaker because the caretaker was mean. He made them work day and night! They had to clean toilets and make a TV. James also made some friends, and their names were Adam and Paul.

Story

Adam said, “Maybe we should break out of here.”

“Okay,” said James. “But we’ll need a plan.”

So they found some people who didn’t care if they helped, so they told the people the plan, and they did it. So now they got to the bathroom, while the kids asked if they could get more chores. The diversion occupied the caretaker, so then the three boys could go down the big toilet and get outside of the orphanage, and the toilet took them to a forest.

They started walking, and Paul said, “Hallelujah! We got out of that orphanage!”

James said, “I doubt we’ll ever have to go back to that place, we’re in the middle of nowhere. Let’s keep walking.”

But Paul didn’t stop feeling happy, and then the trees started dancing around him.

James and Adam both said, “You are outstanding, Paul.”

Paul said, “I had no idea that I could do that.”

“It’s so cool. Let me try,” said Adam. Adam tried to do what Paul did, but nothing happened.

Then, Paul had a vision of his father, and he saw himself in his father’s arms, and his dad, the earth god, was saying his name, telling him he was his dad and that he was a god.

“You, Paul, are a demigod.”

Then, things went black, and he woke up, and Paul asked James how long he was out.

“You weren’t out at all, Paul,” said James. “Why do you think you were out?”

Paul said, “I had a vision, and it was with my dad, and he said he was a god and I was a demigod.”

“Wo — ” and then an earthquake interrupted Adam. A gigantic chasm opened up in front and in the back, and when you looked into it, it looked like a man laughing.

Then, walls erupted out of the chasm.

Then, a hurricane swept the three kids into the air. It looked like James was standing. Or am I hallucinating? thought Paul.

Then, James used his hands and created another hurricane to fight the other hurricane, and it destroyed the other hurricane, and it also destroyed the wall of rocks.

James, Adam, and Paul ran out of the forest more scared than ever, and they ran and ran until the found a meadow.

Then, they set up camp, and they talked about what just happened.

Paul said, “How did you do it?”

Adam said, “I think I know what’s coming next.” Paul was not correct.

James passed out, and he had a vision. He saw the god that had almost destroyed his dad, and then he felt like he already died because he felt so scared. The god who destroyed his dad identified his dad, identified himself, and said he was the god who destroyed his dad, and he was coming to kill him and his friends.

Then, James woke up, and he asked Adam and Paul if he had been out, and they said yes.

And Paul asked, “What did you see?”

Then James said, “I saw the god who almost destroyed my dad, and he’s coming to kill us! Run!”

Then, with a burst of wind, a man appeared, and he was wearing black robes with a long beard, and his hair as wavy as wind. And he said, “I shall kill you.”

And then, he hurled a hurricane at James, which James stood on, and he did two hurricanes of his own, and they barely did anything to Pumpulus. Then, Pumpulus whipped up an F35 hurricane, and it knocked James a hundred feet away. And then, Paul joined him, helped him up, and then Paul made some trees fall on Pumpulus. And then, Pumpulus made a hurricane barrier around himself to make them bounce off and fly back at Paul. But Paul was quick and dodged both trees, picked up James, and got back to Adam.

And Adam said, “This guy is insanely powerful!”

But then, because of Adam’s anger with Pumpulus, he somehow created a tsunami, and then Adam knew he was a demigod. And then, a tsunami was overflowing the area and racing towards Pumpulus. It got to Pumpulus, got inside his mouth, and he coughed up a bit of water, then he was okay.

James said, “Maybe we should combine what we’re good at.”

And then, they combined hurricane, nature, and a bit of death and tsunamis. And then a humongous wall of all that stuff mixed together was racing towards Pumpulus. And then Pumpulus got hit by it, and he was very badly damaged and hurt. Even his godly healing powers weren’t enough to heal everything.

And then, he retreated back to his home and said, “I’ll be back to kill you, James, Paul, and Adam.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Prophecy

When two blades meet

When two arrows split

When all have met their final resting place

There will be peace

And life will start again

Chapter One

Long ago, in ancient northwestern Russia, a man came to exist. The man is only known as the father of civilization. He had nine children in his family. His children split into one group of five and one group of four. As time passed, they came across many disagreements, and they decided to settle them. The father had wisdom and asked them not to fight, but they went on. The group of five had crafted their own style of civilization, and the group of four did too. They decided that the feud would be settled in their father’s home.They split up. The group of five went to the Himalaya mountains, and the group of four went to the region of Arabia. The father was depressed that his children had left and they were fighting. So, he repeated the prophecy and hoped that the feud will be settled. Meanwhile, the siblings left their feud to turn to a battle and to a war as time passed. They trained each generation in their own type of civilization and trained them to fight for their civilization and to train the next generation.

Chapter Two

The civilization of four called themselves Aintisariuna, which meant victorious in their language. Their main activity was fighting because they trained so much. They were all training to solve the feud that the two civilizations had. There were levels based on skill and diversity of choice of weapons. The most advanced would train with the rayiys or the masters. All they did was train, eat, sleep, pray, and cook. The training academy was called Esubat Alqatala. The rayiys were of the highest level of the previous generation. More generations passed, and they considered the father of the four who created their civilization. He was considered god. They worshipped him as a god and prayed to him every day to get his grace so their civilization would defeat the other one.

Chapter Three

The group of five called themselves Huīhuáng, which meant glorious in their language. They didn’t train as much as the Aintisariuna, but they still trained. The Huīhuáng were better cooks. They couldn’t find much to eat in the Himalayas, but they still made it work and taste very good. They cooked with spices found in caves, which made the meat taste more salty but much more flavorful. They used the fat to cook the meat, and they also used the fat to give the people more energy. They did have to practice fighting at their home with their family. Their training academy was called Yǒngshì liánméng, and they had to work incredibly hard on their fighting. The students’ masters were called Zhus. They had belief in mythical creatures, such as the dragon. The dragon was supposed to mean luck, so they worshipped it. They also worshiped the father of the five who created the Huīhuáng. He was also considered sacred. They prayed to him to get luck for their training.

Chapter Four

“Wake up!” said Shajaea’s mom.

“Ughh, do I have to wake up now?” groaned Shajaea.

“Yes, today you learn to use your bow and arrow. Wake up.”

Grudgingly, Shajaea slowly rose from his bed and washed his mouth, got changed, and combed his hair. His mom gave him bread with butter and cheese for breakfast. Then, Shajaea made his way to Esubat Alqatala. When he showed up for class, everyone was there, and he was late. At first they made the students just slap water. Apparently it helped them draw a bow. Then, he had to dry fire a bow. That means to shoot the bow without the arrow. Then, they had to teach them how to load the arrow into the bow within half a second! They couldn’t eat until they finished their day at the academy. Then they fired at the targets.

“Bullseye!” exclaimed Shajaea.

They kept shooting until all of them got all of their five arrows in the bullseye. Shajaea was the first to do that! Then, he got to go home. He got home at mid evening, and his mom had his dinner ready.

Over dinner Shajaea said, “Mom, I was the first to finish shooting bullseyes!”

“That’s great! Do the same tomorrow,” his mom instructed.

Then, he said his prayers and went to bed.

Chapter Five

Yǒnggǎn woke up to the whistling sound of the wind. He got ready and had his breakfast, which was sweet rice noodles. Then, he took his sword and went. He was really early to practice, so he trained with the Zhǔs in the meantime. Then, his class arrived. They did one on one training with swords. Nobody was allowed to eat until the class had finished. There was a tournament on who was the best sword fighter in the class, and Yǒnggǎn won!

“Yes, I’m so pleased that I won! My mother will be fascinated and so will my father!”

The class was now dismissed. Yǒnggǎn went home. He arrived at late afternoon.

“Mother, Father, I won the sword fighting tournament today. Isn’t that great?” exclaimed Yǒnggǎn.

“That’s excellent!” said his mother.

“Great job, son!” his father remarked.

Yǒnggǎn had his noodles for dinner, and he said his prayers and went to sleep.

Chapter Six

Shajaea woke up bright and early because he didn’t want to be late again. He took his bread, butter, and cheese with him, and he made his way to Esubat Alqatala. He arrived as the earlybird of the class. Shajaea started training with the rayiys, and finally, his class arrived. They started teasing him because they thought he cheated yesterday in archery.

“I didn’t cheat!” said Shajaea.

“Yes you did. How did you get four bullseyes on your first round, then you got all five arrows in the bullseye? You cheated, that’s how,” said his classmate.

“Enough!” said the rayiy. “Let’s get on with training.” The rayiy handed everyone a sword. “Today we will do a round robin tournament with swords.”

You could hear the clanging of the swords and the thumps of when you punched or kicked someone. You could hear the clattering of swords dropping to the ground. Each person in the class had to fight everyone else, but not at the same time. There were twelve children, so everyone had to play eleven matches. It took up almost the entire day. The person who won the round robin would advance a group. Eventually, Shajaea won the round robin and joined the new group.

Chapter Seven

Yǒnggǎn woke up late. He quickly got dressed and rushed to the kitchen and grabbed his noodles. He slurped them down quickly and rushed to Yǒngshì liánméng.

“Finally, where have you been?” said the Zhǔ. “Whatever, we must start our lesson.”

The Zhǔ handed everyone a bow, arrows, and a small target. They all placed their targets on the wall and fired from across the room.

“The first one to get all bullseyes will advance to the next group,” said the Zhǔ.

Yǒnggǎn and the others shot for what seemed like forever. He could hear the sounds of arrows whizzing past and puncturing the target. He saw the string vibrate after he released the arrow. Yǒnggǎn could hear the low snap of the bow firing the arrow. Yǒnggǎn shot one bullseye, then the next, then two more. If Yǒnggǎn made this shot into the bullseye, he would advance to the next group. The arrow flew at great speed and went in the exact center of the bullseye.

“Yes, I made it up to the next group!”

That was the end of the day, and Yǒnggǎn started to make his way home.

Chapter Eight

Shajaea went home and told his mom the news.

“I moved up to the older group! Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, that is fantastic!” said his mom.

“Well done, I’m so proud of you! Always try your hardest,” exclaimed his dad.

“Thanks, dad,” Shajaea said.

Shajaea and his family had dinner and went to bed. The next morning, Shajaea woke up extra early to be able to bathe in the river. He dried himself after the bath, put on his clothes and went to Esubat Alqatala. Shajaea was still the first one there. He was especially excited for that day because he was meeting his new class! He shot some arrows for a while, and then his class came.

“Today we will be focused on fighting with your fists and your legs. You will normally use this strategy when and if your enemy knocks your weapon out of your hands.”

They all learned techniques and moves, and then they had a mini tournament. Throughout the day, Shajaea could hear the crack of a punch and the whip of a kick. Shajaea saw much more determination and energy in his opponent. The scores didn’t matter, but they needed to learn how to fight. They eventually finished the long day of training.

Chapter Nine

Yǒnggǎn reached home, and he was in perfect time for dinner. He shared how he aced archery and he moved up to the next group. And his mother and father seemed pleased. Then, he said his prayers and went to bed. The next morning, Yǒnggǎn woke up extra early to be able to take a bath. He got ready and had his breakfast and went to the river. He had his refreshing bath and went to Yǒngshì liánméng. He was perfectly on time. Yǒnggǎn arrived and met his new Zhǔ, and then his new class arrived.

“Today, we shall continue working on with our hands and feet.”

The fact that the Zhǔ said “continue working” intimidated Yǒnggǎn a little bit. He still participated in the training activity. In fact, Yǒnggǎn was doing better than half the other kids! Eventually, everyone had to practice with everyone. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted.

Chapter Ten

Shajaea walked home and got there in great time for dinner. He ate and said his prayers and went to bed. The next morning, Shajaea woke and got ready on perfect time. He got to Esubat Alqatala right on time and so did the rest of class. The rayiy was standing in front of them all, and he had his hands behind his back and a stern face.

“What’s going on?” asked Shajaea.

“The time has come,” said the rayiy.

“What? What does that mean?”

“It means that you are in the right generation.”

“You’re making no sense, what are you talking about.”

“What I’m saying is that you guys are part of the generation that we want to fight the other civilization. I talked with all the other rayiys about your performance yesterday, and they said that their students also did extremely well. So we decided that we will have you as that generation to settle the feud.”

“Oh,” said the entire class at once.

Shajaea was confused as to if he should be happy to help his civilization or sad that he will actually be in a real battle and he might die.

“Today we will spend your training day on getting ready for battle. Each of you grab weapons. We will fight these exact weapons in the war. We will focus on how to use these weapons effectively together.”

Shajaea chose a bow and arrow, a sword, and a dagger. He hated axes. They are too large and big. Shajaea shot at moving targets while moving. He partnered up with someone else and practiced his sword and dagger. He learned to switch between bow and arrow, sword and dagger in a second. Soon the day was over, and the entire academy was prepared for battle. He was partially nervous, but he felt he was ready.

Chapter Eleven

Yǒnggǎn went home, and he was tired, so he quickly ate, prayed and went to sleep. The next morning, he woke, got ready, and ate his noodles. He headed to Yǒngshì liánméng. He got perfectly on time with the rest of his class, and his Zhǔ was pacing around the room with a grim expression.

“Ah, my class. I have news for you.”

“What is it.”

“Well, I’m not quite sure how to explain, but the Zhǔs think that, well, you’ve all been chosen.”

“Chosen for what?” questioned the class.

“Chosen to settle a feud.”

“You mean the feud between the ancient siblings that five of created our civilization?”

“Yes,” the Zhǔ blurted out.

“Oh my god.”

Yǒnggǎn was shocked. He was clueless about if he was nervous or proud to serve his civilization. He may die in the war. All Yǒnggǎn could say he was that he was shocked. Nonetheless, he trained for battle. He picked up his bow and arrow, his sword, and his dagger and learned to switch between them in a second, and he shot at moving targets while moving. And he fought with his sword with a partner, and he practiced his dagger. He practiced long and hard. Eventually, the day was over.

Chapter Twelve

Shajaea walked home slowly. He wanted time to think about his thoughts on the war. Eventually, he found that he wanted to serve his civilization. He got home and ate his dinner.

“Mom, Dad, I’m fighting to settle the feud.”

“I’m happy that you will serve our civilization, but please be safe,” said his parents.

“It’s war. It’s not safe.”

Then, he said his prayers. After his prayers, he sat a little longer and asked the god, “Why am I chosen to be one of the people in the generation to settle your children’s feud?”

Then, he went to bed hoping for an answer. During his dream, the father of civilization sent him a message.

“You have been chosen because you fight, but you also end.”

Shajaea woke in the morning and had his breakfast. He was still wondering about the message god sent him. Then, he got ready, he sheathed his sword, slung his quiver over his shoulder, and sheathed his dagger and left for Esubat Alqatala. When he got there, he left with his group for northwestern Russia. They went on for three weeks. And finally, they got there.

Chapter Thirteen

Yǒnggǎn walked home as slowly as possible. He couldn’t move on without an answer. So he thought and felt like he needed to ask god about this. So during dinner, he informed his parents that he was fighting in the war, and he said his prayers.

After, he asked, “Why am I in this generation? What would happen if i wasn’t in this generation?”

Then, he went to bed.

In his dreams, Yǒnggǎn received a message from god.

“You are in this generation to fight and resolve. If you weren’t in this generation, this feud would never be resolved.”

Soon, Yǒnggǎn woke up, and he had his breakfast. Then, he slung his quiver over his shoulder, sheathed his dagger and sword, and left for Yǒngshì liánméng. He arrived with his class, ready to leave for northwestern Russia. Then, they left.

Chapter Fourteen

The first thing Shajaea saw were little heads popping over the horizon. He pointed them out to everyone else, and suddenly someone yelled, “Charge!” and everyone was charging straight toward the little heads.

At first, Shajaea was confused, but within seconds he understood and drew his bow and charged ahead. He shot from about one hundred meters away just to clear the area he was in, and he went on. After his shot, many arrows were coming for him, so ran into the fighting space and rolled up to someone and stabbed them with his dagger. This battle was brutal. Once someone knocked his dagger from his hand. He’d lost his stealth, so he leapt up and flew down with his foot out and kicked an enemy straight in the stomach, and then he grabbed his dagger. He switched to his bow and arrow and shot three enemies approaching him. There were only around fifty people on each side.

Chapter Fifteen

Yǒnggǎn was luckily still alive. The sun was now directly above them. He fought three enemies at once with his sword and defeated all of them. He saw one other boy also taking on many attackers at once. He was doing the same thing that Yǒnggǎn did. Yǒnggǎn leapt up in the air and kicked someone in the head and stabbed the nearest enemy to him. There were only about ten people left on either side. They all spread out and fought their opponent. He’d helped the people in his civilization, but they all kept dying, and then Yǒnggǎn defeated them. He shot some of the enemies but so did that same boy, and like Yǒnggǎn, that boy seemed to excel in his training.

Eventually, one of his last enemies yelled, “Shajaea, help me!” and one of Yǒnggǎn’s friends yelled, “Yǒnggǎn, help me!” at the same time, and both fired at the enemy, and the arrow went straight into their enemies’ chests.

Chapter Sixteen

They both shot at each other, and the arrows split because they hit each other. They both had no more arrows, so both Shajaea and Yǒnggǎn drew their swords. Every place that one of them struck, the other one blocked. The crashing of swords was a constant sound. They kept fighting and fighting. They tried to stealthily stab the other, but they just blocked it. They fought day and night for eighteen days straight. They kept on fighting in the brutal cold of Russia. They each tried to win for their civilization which some of was still at home. They fought through the cold and through the night. On the nineteenth day, they were smashing their swords together, and they were blunt, and they both took out their daggers and stabbed each other at the exact same time. Then, both fell on the ground dead.

Chapter Seventeen

In the air was a large cracking sound, and it flowed through the entire universe. Then, a flash of light. Yǒnggǎn and Shajaea opened their eyes. They got up and so did everyone else. People vaguely remembered the war. They didn’t remember why they were fighting though. They all remembered being killed, and they were extremely confused as to why they were still alive. Every living being that had ever known about the feud had forgotten about it. There was now peace. Everyone went back to their home. The two civilizations were now at peace. They all branched out. Some people went to eastern Europe. Some went to Africa. Some went to southern Asia. Some went to western Asia near the Mediterranean Sea. But there was still peace. They all started their own life where they settled. Their families grew, and then they spread. Eventually, the entire continents of Africa, Europe, and most of Asia were inhabited. Then, there wasn’t any war there for a long time. The next war was still between two civilizations.

The End

Before

Have you read Jake, David and the Adventurous Volcano Adventure (Book 1) and/or Jake, David and the Super Bowl Surprise (Book 2) both by Logan Hunter Thomas? Well, whether you have or haven’t, you are lucky. Either way, you should definitely take a look at this before you read the book. The Jake and David series is a group of chapter books that go on adventures. When Jake and David meet each other, they discover that they both love writing books. So they opened up a bookstore so they could write books and get money. Throughout the Jake and David adventures, this series is ready to embark.

Chapter One

After what the Jones family had now called the Super Bowl Smash Mistake, ten-year-old Jake and David were finally getting to know each other. They decided to try and stay at home for a while. Jake and David worked in their bookstore for eight hours. They decided they wanted to see all the books that they had made with everyone. So the next day, they threw a big Celebration of Writing and Reading Fair. There were games and pizza and prizes and a ceremony to thank Jake and David for the years of books.

After the party, many children brought books to the boys that they made to show more of their appreciation. The very last kid to come was very shy but couldn’t wait to meet Jake and David. His name was John. He had tan hair and was wearing a tie-dye shirt with blue jeans and red Crocs.

“Hi,” he said quietly. His mom Annie came running over with his book from them, All You Need To Know About The Eiffel Tower. Jake didn’t remember making that book. Neither did David.

But instead of telling Annie and John the truth, they said, “Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome,” Annie said for John.

As Jake and David walked back to their house, Jake said to David, “Do you still not remember All You Need To Know About The Eiffel Tower.”

“Still don’t,” David replied.

When they got home, Jake and David ran down to the bookstore. They wanted to see if they still had a copy of the book. Under the fifth bookshelf, they both found a copy at the same time. They were fighting over who got the book, until they both saw another copy and both started fighting for that one, and they kept doing that for one hour until they both stopped fighting and got their own copy to read. They decided to go on a nonstop Amtrak train to Paris so they could maybe remember what inspired them to write the book. They bought two tickets for a Paris trip to the Eiffel Tower or in Spanish, la torre Eiffel. The train left at 5:27 A.M. on July 6 and stopped in Paris on July 10 at 4:18 A.M..

On July 6 at 5:45 A.M., David wanted to go upstairs and explore, but Jake was asleep. So David went up but carried Jake in a stroller. Upstairs was a playground that said, NO STROLLERS ALLOWED. David ran down the ramp and removed Jake from the stroller. He then slapped Jake to wake him up. Jake bit David. Jake also started to open his eyes. David pulled his brother up to the TeddyGround Country Train Park. The park was on every train in the world, so they could always use it. As soon as they arrived at the sign, Jake went wild.

“WOO!” Jake exclaimed.

“Incredible,” they both said as if they were hypnotized. They both skipped over to the moon bounce trampoline zone. Later, David climbed The Spooky Scary Dreadful Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed.

Chapter Two

David was waiting in line when he smelled the wonderful French toast tatter and croissants for breakfast. He tried one of each. They tasted delicious. Jake then got breakfast, and the boys talked about their next book. After their breakfast and hot tub time, David got in line to climb the wall. The line was short because people were nervous. David was second in line. But he didn’t mind. He was a super amazing climber. He had practiced every month at The School For Climbing. He ended up on the wall in less than 50 seconds. It was definitely an experience that Jake didn’t want to risk, but David on the other hand was proud to be doing it alone. David tried to convince Jake to give the climbing wall a “whirl,” but Jake couldn’t get over his fear.

There was fake lava on the sides, and it was in a room with no lights. The climbing wall was 1,004,580 centimeters with harnesses for ages six and under only. You had to go around the real fire and through the ice tunnel. Then you go through the real volcano quickly and if it erupts fake lava while you are in there, you must stay on the train for all eternity! But if you do better on the next level than the first, you are free to leave the train and get a free train ride home if possible, depending on oceans and seas. But if it erupts real marshmallows in a bag, then you can feel free to eat all you want. David made it to the top and got a wonderful trophy made of gold and an invitation to the Professional Teenager Climb Kickoff!

Jake loved the trophy but didn’t have enough bravery to continue. But he didn’t have the heart to quit. So he got in line for for The Spooky Scary Dreadful Possibly Deadly Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed. But he was so scared, he got right back out. Although, it wasn’t very delightful waiting in the dark. But they had to do it to get to the wall. At least for safety reasons, only one person could be on at a time and there were comfy beds on the floor in case you fell. You got two chances per day. When you get a trophy, you do the wall that is twice as scary as The Spooky Scary Dreadful Possibly Deadly Climbing Wall Where People Get Killed (which by the way is not on the TeddyGround Country Train Park). Jake was about to get in line when the train bell rang. That meant they were in Paris, France or Paris, Francia. At least the TeddyGround Country Train Park was on every train in the world. It was 4:18 A.M., so most people were exhausted. But Jake and David wanted to see the tower. They were wide awake!

Chapter Three

In Paris, Jake and David decided to first take their luggage to their rental house and spend some time there, then later go take a walk to The Eiffel Tower. Jake and David noticed a big pipe in their wall above their bed that read: DO NOT ENTER! Next to it was a pipe that said ENTER IF YOU WISH. The walk was a good ten minutes, but Jake and David got a lot of exercise on their way. At 8:15 A.M., Jake and David arrived at The Eiffel Tower. The tower was enormous! Jake and David had reached their destination. The boys wanted to explore The Eiffel Tower. It had 1,665 stairs and 1,680 levels. But they were tired. So they took the elevator to the 1,680 level. On that floor there was Gustave Eiffel’s Hidden Apartment.

“Do you think we should go in,” Jake said. “It looks kind of spooky.”

“Are you kidding,” David replied. “It’s the perfect time to start exploring, Wonderful Haunted Eiffel Tower.”

“Eek,” squealed Jake.

“I don’t want to go in,” cried Jake.

But David was finding Jake’s whining, crying, and moaning irritating. He was so furious that he grabbed Jake’s shirt, shoved him in the apartment, and locked them both in. David ran in so fast to stop Jake, that the key to unlock the door fell out of his pocket, and David shut the door before noticing. They were in locked in! They both howled for five straight minutes blaming the other person.

“Why’d you shove me in here,” scolded Jake.

“What are you talking about,” said David in a snotty voice. “It’s your fault that you are such a scaredy-cat!

As they were arguing, up from the chandelier came a ghost! It was like the creepy ghost photos on Halloween that babies were scared of, but somehow, it frightened David. Somehow, Jake had the courage to face the ghost, but David started to whine.

“See what scaredy-cat feels like,” teased Jake.

David had just noticed that the key was no longer in his pocket.

“Run!” David yelled.

“No way!” Jake replied.

The ghost was a nightmare to David. But to Jake, the ghost was one of the best parts of his life. They tried everything to open the locked door. Soon, when the fun for Jake was over, Jake had a great idea to leave. Jake and David both searched for a trap or back door. Finally after ten minutes, Jake and David succeeded in shoving the ghost in a bird cage. David found the secret door. Jake noticed that they had pipes like the ones in their hotel. One said DO NOT ENTER and one said ENTER IF YOU WISH. The boys took the secret door that said ENTER IF YOU WISH. It led to a slide. Jake and David rode down the slide. The slide came out of the room, but it didn’t exactly take them in the direction they wished to go in. When the slide ended, they landed in their hotel room.

“So that was what the pipes were for,” said Jake and David again like they were hypnotized.

“Well,” said Jake admittedly. “It’s been a long day, but I think we both learned a lesson.”

“Me too,” said David. They went out to dinner and went home to Paradise Countryside on August 1 at 1:47 P.M. and arrived on August 4 at 5:43 A.M. But Jake and David didn’t mind the length of the trip. They liked long train rides because they could come back with at least 50 newly printed books.

The End!

Jake’s eight friends are at Logan’s house, and Logan is deciding in his room what they should do. Then finally Logan has an idea.

“Let’s watch some TV.” Then he asks Jake, “What should we watch?”

“Teen Titans Go.”

They watch Teen Titans Go, and in the middle of the show, Jake asks for Logan to get him a snack, so Jake pauses the TV while Logan goes off to get him a snack. They have ice cream, noodles, and crackers with only chocolate in them for snack. They only have two crackers at a time. They all have four crackers because they want a double serving of crackers. This is a special day, because they don’t usually stay at Logan’s house for so long. So when they finish their last cracker, and all their food, the show ends and the friends ask:

“Whaaat should we do?”

Jake says, “Let’s go over to my house! And let’s swim in the pool for about half an hour and then play with my dog, then we can come back to Logan’s house and watch more TV!”

While they get ready to go out the door, Logan says,

“I’m going to go to the store to buy a dog, so I’ll meet you at Jake’s house.”

And then Jake says, “Sure, but don’t be late.”

So Logan goes over to the store while Jake and his friends go to Jake’s house on their skateboards. Logan gets a dog and then remembers on his way that there’s a shorter way to Jake’s house. He goes from the store to Jake’s house fifteen minutes after Jake went to the house and started swimming, and then it was fifteen minutes later when Logan went to the house and met them there. Then Jake says,

“That was quite a long time, we only have fifteen more minutes to go and play in the pool.”

So they have fifteen more minutes in the pool; then they go back inside the house and dry off and then Jake says, “Let’s play with my dog and let’s see two songs that I wanted you guys to see.”

And Logan reminds them, “Wait, I brought my dog over here.”

And they say, “Well let’s play with both dogs, and we need a name for your dog.”

And Jake says, “And since you haven’t met my dog, you need to know his name is Joseph.”

So they name Logan’s dog, and they decide for it to start with an ‘L.’ They decide for it to be “Lake.”

Lake is a blond curly haired dog and bigger than Joseph. The dogs start wrestling with each other and Jake and his friends and Logan watch the wrestling of the dogs and then they start to watch these two songs called “Man’s Not Hot” and “Man’s Not Cold.” Then they see how many subscribers they have in Jake’s house and in Logan’s house; then they watch another episode of Teen Titans Go at Logan’s house. Then they see how many people have subscribed to the “It’s Everyday Bro” remix, and then they see how many have subscribed on “Man’s not Hot,” and then they see how many have subscribed on “Man’s not Cold” with Jake’s eight friends.                                                                                         

THE END