I have never noticed nature. Yes, I enjoy flowers and taking photos of pretty sunsets, but the outdoor world has never appealed much to me. To my dad, however, nature is everything: the cure to sadness, the setting for every day off, and the plot to his stories. He loves hiking, camping, running—anything that combines movement with wilderness. So, when he proposed a vacation to Greece, I knew outdoor adventure would be included. What I wasn’t expecting was a six-hour hike to the peak of Mount Olympus—or how deeply it changed my life.

After arriving in the astounding country of Greece and sun-soaking, swimming, and eating souvlaki, my dad brought up Mt. Olympus. He insisted the hike would be worth the struggle and it was something he always wanted to do. I spent hours researching death rates and difficulty levels, but the information only heightened my anxiety. I tried persuading him, offering alternative hikes and tourist attractions, but he was dead-set until I agreed.

The beginning of the hike surprised me. We slowly ascended rocky paths as quiet chatter drifted around us, the smell of wet grass and traces of orange peel under my nails from our snack lingered. I began to take note of the surroundings I’d never experience again: trees whispering in the wind, distant rushing water, and the unspoken stories of the ancient cairns stacked around us. I even began to appreciate the hot sun pelting my back as my anxiety loosened its grip. We took small breaks, eating chocolate with the bugs and venturing off to take in the landscape below, until we finally reached the hut that veered from the peak. Waiting for us were groups of stray dogs sniffing for food, games, and strangers to tell stories, small comforts allowing the soreness of my feet to be forgotten while we played gin and let the dogs curl up at our toes. 

The actual summit, another three-hour hike the next morning, was where nature truly took my breath away. I watched it float up, up into the sky, along the yellow, hot sun that lay at its peak in the early morning, hovering amongst clouds of white in the bright, robin-blue sky. Beneath us, silent in its beauty, were mountainous fields of blossoming trees harboring off into the sea, and for a moment, I felt like Moses glimpsing the Promised Land from the mountaintop. The water was so clear, allowing shadows and commotion to be easily visible far below us. Birds sang around us like choirs, and I closed my eyes to let the sunlight engulf me. I wanted the memory to swallow me whole, knowing I would never experience this moment again.

I notice nature now. I take great value in the fleeting beauty in everyday things—the orange-hued sunsets along the lake, the deer that roam behind homes, and the blinding snow on Christmas morning—small moments that now allow admiration to burrow inside me.

During a five-hour drive up North, I was delighted to spend the weekend at a cabin for my 13th birthday; unfortunately, my anxiety heightened as well since I was now considered a teenager. What changes in my life would occur? I inserted my earbuds and pressed my temple against the chilly window. I imagined the trip would consist mostly of playing games with my cousins, watching a new Korean show that had just been released, and eating an unlimited amount of snacks; what I didn't anticipate was the tranquility I would find while being unaccompanied. As we continued driving, green and burnt umber foliage encompassed the road, painting the perfect picture of fall. The car came to a halt once my dad saw a convenience store constructed of logs; he needed to pick up a bag of ice and bait to fish with. Once we finally arrived at our destination, the property astonished me. Leaves littered the damp grass while water trickled from the branches high above; I then realized that this trip would be more soothing than chaotic.

By the next morning, following a night filled with laughter from my jester-like cousins, I longed to explore the comforting nature that engulfed us. My feet dragged across the rickety pier in the backyard that led to a sizable lake, and I entered the lemon-colored kayak with the bait we had bought the day prior. Once in the water, I embraced the autumn surroundings: the wind whistling softly as leaves glide gracefully through the air, the worms writhing in the plastic blue container, the turtles peeking their heads through the algae. Each entity was living its own life.

Later that night, we all gathered near the fire pit under the night sky as the flames reached for the stars. My family was cackling, and the campfire was crackling. The lake summoned me one last time before I went off to bed: seeing the lake in the dark was as if I were viewing it for the first time. I could hear the crickets chirping as the moon glistened in the water. The once loud horseplay was now faint background noise—almost like a whisper—as I focused on the new environment in front of me. I had never felt as connected to nature as I did at that moment.

Being solo made me hyperaware of the beauty in my life: seeing my family enjoy each other's presence made me grateful. What I took from this moment was that I can find peace in my solidarity while not feeling lonesome. Although no person was near me at these moments of silence, the trees swayed softly as if they were breathing, the bats flew, the frogs croaked, the insects buzzed: I was surrounded by life. Aging wasn't something for me to be afraid of; it was something for me to appreciate, that I get to live another day in this ethereal world.

It all started when I was eight years old; I woke up to the blaring sound of my dad’s alarm echoing throughout our cabin. All of a sudden my dad swung open the door; the door hit the wall with a thud. My dad slowly walked over to the edge of my bed. He very lightly tried shaking me awake but failed as he slipped and came falling on top of me. I felt all of his weight on me waking me up in a panic, as my dad slowly got off of me he whispered “Are you okay?”

I didn't respond. I was still too tired to respond. It was only 5:30 AM. I rubbed my face, my cheeks still chubby, the cool air coming from the AC unit flowing through my fresh buzz cut. I got up from my bed and walked out into the kitchen. My dad followed behind me trying to quietly close the door but that didn't work. The sound from the door created a shockwave through the floors of the cabin. I smelt the sweet smell of eggs, the sizzling of bacon being cooked. My uncle woke up an extra 30 minutes early just to cook breakfast. 

I pulled out a chair and sat down while struggling to put on my hoodie. My uncle had three plates in his hand, all of them clicking together as he served all of us.

After we all demolished our food we walked to the door and put on our shoes. While we put on our shoes my dad started the car. You could hear the engine roaring Vroooooom as the truck settled down my dad said “are you guys ready to catch nothing.” 

My uncle responded loudly saying “ we better not or im packing up the truck and going home.” 

I snickered at his joke because that would be another 8 hour car ride back home. Then all of a sudden we started the 10 minute drive to Big Lake ST. Germain. This lake was huge and known for its big Musky. I've never caught or let alone seen one. They are super evasive fish and known as the fish of 10,000 casts. I was giddily excited, my little body filled with adrenaline. My dad cracked open a redbull, it made a loud popppp startling me a little bit. 

The short little drive felt like an eternity but finally I heard the crashing of the waves hitting the bank. My dad pulled into the ramp to launch our boat. I got out of the truck and admired the beautiful scene. The sun was just over the horizon creating a dim glow over the lake. You could feel the light breeze coming off the lake causing a little chill in the air. The lake was surrounded by ginormous oak trees towering over me. When I looked up there was a giant bald eagle flying super low. I thought it was going to pick me up and take me away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my uncle waving me over to hop in the boat.

The whole lake was quiet, almost peaceful but it was all interrupted by the roaring engine of the boat. My dad yelling over the sound asked “are you guys ready?”

Me and my uncle looked at each other and laughed hysterically at the fact my dad had a big spider on him. When he looked down he freaked out at the sight, shaking his body like he was doing the salsa. After he was done freaking out he fired up the engine and started driving us to the spot. We felt like we were going MOCK 2 but in reality it was only 15 miles per hour. 

As we arrived at the spot my uncle scurried up to the front of the boat to put the trolling motor down. Once the trolling motor was down I grabbed my rod and started casting as far as I could. I was using top water to create a bunch of noise to attract the muskies to my lure.

Ten minutes flew by with a whole bunch of no fish. My dad let out a loud sigh and started complaining in that stupid voice he always does. Nobody responded to him and just laughed at his nonsense. 

All of the sudden I felt a strong tension on my line– I flung my rod back to set my hook creating a loud thwap. I yelled out “ fish on!”

This fish was super strong and it took all of my effort to catch it but when my dad finally grabbed it in the net I let out a sigh of relief. I had finally achieved my goal of catching a musky; this taught me patience is always the key to success.

I remember my first homecoming. I was very nervous, but very excited at the same time. I loved the event and I want to attend again.

Around 11 AM, I went to a place in Lake Geneva to get my nails done. The place was quiet like a forest before disaster. Peaceful like a running stream. My mom went with me, wanting her nails to be dipped and redone. The lady who did my nails was as sweet as candy, shy, but sweet. She had done an amazing job on my nails and I absolutely loved them. At around 5pm my neighbor did my hair, which was soft beach curls with two small braids going from my temples to the back of my hair and were tied together with a small hair tie. I absolutely loved my hair; the soft, long curls, with the braids. My mom said how I looked like a celebrity when they were younger, but I can't remember who. I wanted to do my hair like that more often. After my hair was done, I went inside to do my makeup and to put on my heels and dress. The dress was a simple, strapless, light blue dress. The heels matched, having light blue which was the same color as the dress. My parents took some photos before my mom drove me to the homecoming dance. I got extremely nervous and my hands started to shake like the leaves in the fall air.

When I arrived, I scanned in before I waited for my two friends to arrive. I recognized my male friend immediately, having recognized his tall frame and his slightly messy but clean hair. My female friend had straightened her hair so I didn't recognize her right away. We talked for a bit before going into the main gym, where the dance was, to see if we saw any one else we knew. The gym was loud, but we quickly found people we knew. Throughout the night my male friend followed me around and was helping me in the court yard, due to my heels. My heels were either digging into the soft dirt or I was tripping on the gravel. My female friend talked to me often, though sometimes I couldn't hear her over the loud bass that seemed to shake the room all the way to my core. Throughout the night my feet were hurting due to the heels, so my male friend helped balance me. They served some ice cream, which seemed to chill the warmth that was building up. The whole night was fun and was a good break from school stress.

Near the end I noticed how much glitter was on me, no clue where it came from, but it was fine. I remember sitting down next to my male friend to take a breather, before going outside. It was packed with cars. My mom was stuck way behind so I waited with my friends. My female friend saw her mom and left, so I went with my male friend. He saw his mom, but wanted to wait for my ride to show up. We soon decided to talk to his mom. She was so sweet and nice. I absolutely loved her. My mother showed up behind me and I said “goodbye.” Before I went with my mom. On the drive home, I was nonstop talking about it, before I remembered about work the next morning. 

The night was very eventful and I loved every second of homecoming. The loud noise that made my head hurt, the smell of sweat, the blinding lights, the uncomfortable warmth. Even after everything I still would go back.

Cruel, distressful, wrathful, tearful, anguished: the emotions that come with the experience of saying goodbye is a universal, human emotion one way or another. The poem “A Valediction: of Weeping,” by John Donne, as a whole, is the way in which a man has to say goodbye to a person very important to him. The idea is expanded upon the three stanzas from the simple feeling of grief and despair, to the physical emotions someone can experience, and the feeling of negative riddance, along with the cruelty that comes with it. The tone throughout the three stanzas is one of depression and hopelessness — a side effect that occurs when one is in a powerless situation. In A Valediction: of Weeping, John Donne presents farewell as a profound and destabilizing experience, using metaphysical conceits to narrate how personal sorrow is a force capable of dissolving an emotional bond with years of support.

The emotions that one faces in the situation of farewell are magnificent in the sense that they are a mere cog in the process of it. The poem shows this throughout the first stanza in the descriptive language the speaker uses to describe his grief, which we are able to associate with him as the speaker because of the first-person perspective. The speaker covets the moral dread that comes with the use of imagery, hammering into the human heart the common emotions we as a species feel. Donne portrays vivid tears as meaningful objects rather than simple expressions of sadness. When the speaker articulates that his beloved’s face “coins them, and thy stamp they bear,” he suggests that his tears gain value because they originate from his love for her. It encapsulates the idea that crying is an emblem in the process of saying farewell — a common side occurrence that coincides with the stages of grief one can feel. The conceit elevates emotions into something precious, implying that sorrow itself testifies to the depth of their bond. By comparing tears to currency, Donne emphasizes that grief is not empty suffering, but something imbued with emotional worth. Additionally, the first stanza has the usage of comparing his emotions to the person they are saying farewell to. Specifically, in the final line, when the comparison happens, "So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore." The diction and word choice speaks a thousand words in how it apprehends the idea of the stages of grief that stems from physical distance. To put it in perspective for both sides, the emotions they are facing are parallel; and they are linked together in a way they bear together. This signifies the concept that, while they are 2 different people with different emotional states and lives, are connected in a way where they both understand how humans are still humans at the end of the day, how being human has a natural side effect of not being ethereal, and how we are all cogs connected in a chain of experiences. To conclude, the physical and intimate emotions that one can feel when saying farewell are a testament to how humans all experience grief one way or another.

The concurrence of grief that humans experience all around the globe tears into each other in how love is another part of the inevitable goodbye. In the second stanza, Donne expands the scale of turmoil through catastrophic imagery. Each tear becomes “a globe,” suggesting that the sorrow encompasses the entire planet of Earth. Separation does not cause sadness — it merely threatens to dissolve a universe that took years to build. Furthermore, in the last 2 stanzas, exemplifies the idea of how love, as beautiful as it might be, can lead to a world of depression and waters of change. The speaker in the last 2 stanzas, while having a similar tone to the first, talks more about how saying goodbye to his love is almost the experience of death itself; another idea that coincides with grief. Some lines specifically in the stanzas are key examples of the physical feeling of being dead inside, and how it individualizes into his own intimate soul of emotions. "So doth each tear —  This world; by waters sent from thee my heaven dissolved — Whoe'er sighs most is cruelest, and hastes the other's death, Weep me not dead, in thine arms, but forbear." These lines specifically, as well as the apostrophe of him referring to the moon, are all examples of how grief can mutilate a person's soul. It shows the moribund behavior of goodbye, and how it can psychologically affect a person so much that they start to feel like they are physically decaying, and that the heaven they had built from love has now dissipated. If you try to visualize his own perspective and how he feels, to empathize with him, it reveals the perspective of how grief affects someone on a psychological and moral level. Addressing his beloved as the moon, and taking into account the perspective of a real world circumstance, he is virtually implying the moon’s power and the tides split by lovestruck water. Just as the moon draws him upward, he is also being drowned by a sea of emotions. To summarize, grief, while it may be universal in the idea of farewell, can have a morbid result of the feeling of death — an intense side-effect of grief.

A Valediction: of Weeping frames the concept of farewell as a consequence of grief that comes with saying goodbye, using it as an example of how humans can decay from farewell. As a metaphysical poet, John Donne employs elaborate, intellectual metaphors that merge emotional experience with scientific and/or cosmological imagery in a way that can be relative to the love story at heart. Human emotions are universal, and the poem shows that with the specific example of farewell. Many readers might argue to just move on from it, but the poem rejects that fate and shows the darker side of it. Moving on isn't easy, and it is, in fact, a valediction to it. So the next time a person has to say goodbye, try to think of it from their perspective in how it grieves them to their inner core and beyond.

A Valediction: of Weeping 

 
        Let me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,
And by this mintage they are something worth,
        For thus they be
        Pregnant of thee;
Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,
When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,
So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore.

        On a round ball
A workman that hath copies by, can lay
An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,
And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;
        So doth each tear
        Which thee doth wear,
A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,
Till thy tears mix'd with mine do overflow
This world; by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolved so.

        O more than moon,
Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere,
Weep me not dead, in thine arms, but forbear
To teach the sea what it may do too soon;
        Let not the wind
        Example find,
To do me more harm than it purposeth;
Since thou and I sigh one another's breath,
Whoe'er sighs most is cruelest, and hastes the other's death.

-- BY JOHN DONNE

Buck 

Motor and I were in the abandoned factory, the place Paige had offered to let us reside. Motor was sound asleep in the corner, but I, however, was restless. Sleep didn’t come easy to me. Especially not after watching that black hole destroy my home of Nendone 10. Even before that, watching the war wage between my planet's tribes. So, I stood up and walked towards the far wall which was covered in murals. The moon lit it up through the skylights in a silvery glow, which drew my attention even deeper. One mural had a planet on it, one similar to that of Nendone 10. It was red, and even had the seven outer rings. Home. I lay back down on the futon and made a mental note to ask Paige about it in the morning. How could she possibly know about Nendone 10 and how it looked?

Meanwhile, the villains at the warehouse...

“How exactly do you plan for me to bring him here?” my assistant asked. “He seems highly intelligent.”

“Another reason why I want him,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to lure him here. He seems to be attracted to danger.” 

“But doctor, we can’t put innocent lives at risk it’s too-”

     “I don’t care. Get him. Now.”

Buck 

The door to the factory rattled open, raising my senses high. It startled Motor awake as well, and he took a defensive position next to me, only for Paige to stride through the door. 

“Morning boys,” She said, handing me a cup of warm brown liquid. 

 “What is this substance?” I asked, worried it could be poison. 

“It’s coffee,” Paige said, taking a sip of her own ‘coffee’. 

I only tilted my head. 

“Ya know, like Caffeine?” Paige asked. “God, how did you even survive on your planet?”

 “Nendone 10 had adequate nutrient and hydration sources, as well as a stable-”

“It was a rhetorical question, Buck.”

 “Oh.”

I took a sip of this so-called “coffee” and immediately spit it out. “That is rather…untasteful.” 

“Not a coffee guy,” Paige said. “Noted. It’s definitely not for everyone.”  

 “Bucky has something to ask you, Paige,” Motor said. 

“What?” Paige asked. 

 “This painting," I said, standing next to the wall. ‘This is Nendone 10. How do you know what to construct of it? You’ve never seen my home planet.” 

“I honestly don’t know,” Paige said. “My dad was a scientist…and a doctor. A crazy one at that. He abandoned me when I was four, and I’ve lived with my step dad since. But he always told me about these far away universes and planets…how every star in our solar system leads to something bigger. He gave me a drawing like this before he left.”

“Now that makes me wonder how your father knew,” Motor said. “Do you have any idea of his wear-abouts?” 

“Only that he still lives within state borders,” Paige said. “Look, I don’t know anything about your planet other than what you’ve told me. I swear I don’t know where my dad is. I wish I could help you more than I already am, but I can’t. Sorry.” 

“It is not your fault, Paige,” I said. “But I do wish to see the city news. How do you work this device?”

“The TV?” Paige asked. “Like this.”

Paige picked up a remote like device, and switched the TV on to the local news channel. 

…a local farmer raises a 300 pound pumpkin….car crash on I-15….BREAKING NEWS….

“Now here’s something fascinating,” I said. “Paige, could you please adjust the volume.” 

Paige nodded and turned the TV up. 

A giant robot is attacking downtown Las Vegas. All police units on the scene….hospital under attack. 

I sharply turned on my heel and began changing into my super hero uniform. I slid on my red undershirt and put the black T-Shirt with my tribe’s logo on it over it. I slipped on my black boots, and my white battle cape, as well as red gloves. Finally came my black mask, covering my eyes and hiding my identity. 

“Buck,” Paige warned softly. “People are going to start to ask questions. You stopped that train from crashing last week, and stopped that armed robbery at the bank the week before that. What makes you think that someone hasn’t seen you? Want you for some kind of an experiment?”

“Are you telling me not to save all of these innocent lives?” I asked, strutting towards the door followed closely behind by Motor, who had extended his wings from his under carriage. 

“No,” Paige said. “I’m not. I’m just asking you to think before you act. Could this be a trap? At least let me come with you.” 

“I sighed. “Fine,” I said. “But Motor will protect you.” With that I summoned my flight power and took off through the now open door. 

As I flew through the sky, the air whipping my jet-black hair, I could see the robot destroying the city below. Skyscrapers were already reduced to piles of nothing, and people ran about screaming, while police vehicles and ambulances lay on their side of flattened. Somehow, Motor had gotten there before me and was already on the ground. I took the opportunity to land myself. 

“Star Boy!” Motor exclaimed, careful not to use my real name so the public couldn’t stalk me later. “Paige went inside!”

He gestured with his left wheel towards a hospital. The foundation was cracked, and the walls looked just about ready to cave in. 

“Understood,” I said. “Stay with the humans, and keep them away from that robot.”

I didn’t wait for a response, running into the dark corridors of the damaged hospital. Smoke stung my lungs, and fire alarms rang in my too-sensitive ears. 

“Paige!” I screamed. “Paige! Where are you?” 

 “Over here!” Paige yelled back. I ran over and found Paige curled against an interior wall, cradling something. 

“What is it?!” I yelled over all the noise. 

 “A baby!” Paige responded. “It was the only one left. I had to save it.”

“I understand,” I said. “But you were supposed to remain with Motor! Now this whole structure is about to-”

Suddenly there was a loud crash as the hospital walls crumbled. Paige, the infant, and I were buried under thousands of pounds of rubble. 

“Ow,” Paige said, her voice cracking. 

 “Paige!” I exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“My arm,” Paige said. “It’s stuck.”

 “Hmm,” I said. “So it is. Give me the infant.”

Paige handed over the young child, and it immediately nuzzled into me. 

“So?” Paige asked. “Aren’t you going to do something about my arm, or are you just going to stand there?”

“Honestly I wish to stand here, but you are more important than my wishes, so…”

“Buck. Do something!”

“As you wish,” I said, using my X-ray vision to examine Paige’s arm. “It’s broken.”

“Obviously!” Paige said. “A trained meerkat could tell me that! I meant get us out of here.” 

“I-I cannot,” I said. “I do not possess the superpower for that.”

“Not even telekinesis?"

“It is not strong enough.” 

Paige sighed. “What do we do?”

“We wait for Motor to save us.” 

“What if he doesn’t?” Paige asked. 

“He will. He is my guardian.” I looked down at the bundle in my arms. “I did not know humans were so small and fragile.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Paige said. 

“Life is one of the greatest miracles I’ve ever seen,” I said. “I will protect it with my own.” 

“How pathetic!” A voice boomed above us. Suddenly Paige, the infant and I were all picked up at once. “Hello, Star Boy. It’s great to meet you.”

“Who are you?” I asked as the robot held us in front of its face, Paige fully in its steel grip and the infant and I dangling by my cape. 

“None of your beeswax,” The robot said matter-of-factly. “I only want the girl. Goodbye.”  

The robot released its grip, and I desperately tried to ignite my flight power, but it was too late.

“Bucky!” I heard Motor scream. 

 I tucked the infant against my chest and braced for impact. The buildings still standing went by in a blurr, and I hit the ground with a thud deep in my skull. Then everything went black. 

“Buck.” I hear a voice say. I groan. 

“Buuuuuccccckkkkyyyyy.” The voice says again, louder this time. Finally I connect the voice to Motor. 

I groaned again and finally opened my eyes, to find Motor was above me and the infant was nowhere near. 

Oh no. “No! Nononononono!” I panicked, searching for it.

“Buck it’s fine,” Motor said. “The infant. If that’s what you’re looking for, the mother took it.”

“Without waiting for me to regain consciousness?” I asked. “Why?”

“I dunno,” Motor said. “No thanks or anything.”

“At least it’s safe,” I said, standing up and dusting myself off. 

“Wish we could say the same for Paige,” Motor said, making a gesture I’ve never seen him make before. “The robot thingy took her. I followed it for a while, but then I came back for you.”

I sighed. “Did you see where it went?”

“I followed it all the way to that abandoned warehouse just outside the city.”

“Warehouse?” I asked. “We must go. Now.” 

Paige (2)

“Hello, Paige,” a raspy voice said above me. “It’s been a long time.” 

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to get out of the restraints holding me to…the table?

“Seriously?” The voice asked as a face appeared in front of me. It was burned, likely from whatever kind of chemicals this psychopath was working with, and one eye was missing. I made a disgusted face as I realized who it was. “Aren’t you going to say hello to dear old Daddy?”

“You’re not my father!” I spat, basically vibrating with fury. 

“Oh, don’t say that,” My father said, cupping my face with his hands. “You are my beautiful baby girl.” 

“Leave me alone!” I yelled. 

“I will,” My father said. “That is, the intended Star Boy shows up. You see, Paige, all I truly want in life is a live alien specimen. One as fascinating as Buck Sentry.” 

My stomach lurched. “How do you know his name?” 

“It’s pretty obvious. Honestly, does he seriously think that little mask really hides his identity?”

To demonstrate his point, he gestured to the wall where a picture of Buck from the news in his superhero uniform was. He flipped it up and then there was his yearbook picture. When did he get that taken? Ugh never mind, not important right now.

“Now,” My father said, grabbing my broken arm and twisting it painfully backwards until I screamed. “When Buck shows up he’ll have a reason to surrender. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to see his girlfriend in any pain.” 

Buck (3)

I was flying so fast that the wind was whipping through my hair and making it fall into my eyes, so I had to keep brushing it back to see. Suddenly, something big, round, and fluffy flew directly into me with a collision so hard it nearly knocked me out of the sky. 

“What the-!” I was about to curse when the fluffy thing barked. 

“Cosmo!” Motor exclaimed. “How did she get here? Nendone is destroyed, that must mean that she was too.” 

“Who cares!” I exclaimed, petting Cosmo as she flew alongside us as well. “I’m glad to see her. We can use her to our advantage.” 

“What’s she gonna do?” Motor asked. “Lick ‘em to death?”

“We’re almost there, come on!” 

Paige (4)

I shivered once, then fought off the chill. Damn. This room was chilly. 

“Bucky,” I whispered. “Please don’t come. He’s gonna hurt you.” 

“Hello, Sweetheart,” a voice as smooth as honey said. “Your daddy told me to check on you. Do you want something to eat? A drink?”

The person who owned the voice came into view. She was dark skinned with red lipstick and dark black hair. 

“I could use some water,” I rasped, not being able to tell if this was a trick or for real. 

“Sure,” The lady said, holding a cup of water up to my lips for me to drink. “Sip.” 

I took a few sips of the icy water. It was a cool reprieve for my tongue and throat. 

“You have better bedside manner than my father,” I said. 

The lady laughed. “He just wants results. Honestly, I do too, but I think that experiments…or hostages in your case…should still get food and water. Want some more?”

“No,” I said. “What are you guys gonna do to Buck if you get him?”

“When,” the lady corrected. “We get Buck Sentry, we will probably dissect him, sell him to the government, I’m not sure.”

“Oh,” I said. “What about me?” 

“Well,” the lady said. “You were in contact with the alien. Your father will probably want you for experiments.” 

“And what if Buck rescues me and we both escape?” 

“Don’t be silly,” The nurse chided. “Buck will never come for you.” 

“Yes he will!” I screamed. “Buck would never abandon me!”

“Don’t be so sure,” the lady said. “Oh, and by the way ... .I am Nurse Needle.” 

Buck (5)

“Motor, get ready for casualties,” I said. “Paige might be injured, or worse.” 

“On it,” Motor said, landing on the street. 

“Come on, Cosmo,” I said. “We’re going to save Paige.” 

Cosmo and I broke down the door to the abandoned building, and Cosmo immediately started sniffing until she nudged open a door where Paige was located, tied to a table, arm bent at an impossible angle. 

“Paige,” I whispered. “Let’s get you out of here.” 

“Bucky!” Paige exclaimed. “What are you doing here? You have to get out, they’re gonna-”

“They won’t do anything,” I cut in. “I’m not going to let them. Now come on.” 

I picked Paige up bridal style and snuck her out of the building without being noticed, which was weird if this was a villain hideout. 

I laid Paige down on her back in front of Motor. 

“Luckily,” Motor said, scanning Paige. “Only her arm is broken. No other major injuries or illness seem to exist.” 

“Great,” Paige said. “Buck, we need to talk. My father said he wants to dissect you!” 

“Your…father?” I asked. “Hmm. This explains-”

“I was so scared!” Paige yelped suddenly, throwing herself at me in a very, very tight hug. “But then you rescued me! You’re my hero, Buck Sentry!” 

“But what about your father?” I asked. “Do you know what this means?”

“What does it mean?” Paige asked, raising an eyebrow. “Buck?”

“It means he’s one dumb villain. But that escape seemed too easy. Like he wanted us to get out with no trouble.” 

“Well the point is we are out,” Paige said. “Now c’mon. Let’s go home.”