Ages 12-13

from Living Stone by Eden F.

Chapter 1: The Elder Forest

Maxine zipped and zoomed through Zaharrennia, The Elder Forest, as fast as she could go. She vaulted over fallen logs of Elm, Spruce, and Ograla. She weaved through tall, imposing trees that stood high in her path and were wide as a gearthy troll. She ducked under low branches, some bare, others coated with needly spines, and hurdled over small crystalline streams, chattering with all kinds of small bugs and mammals. The beauty of The First Forest surrounded her, yet Maxine paid no heed. Her obligation was demanding, and she had no time to spare. She had to get the Pixiemud as fast as possible and she needed the experiment to succeed. It was her duty, her gift to the world, and Maxine would not let it go to waste.

Maxine began hearing the chattering and gossiping voices of the fairies of Terrainia. They were shrill and feminine, with sugary tones and light syllables. I’m getting closer, she thought, her tired soul becoming rousing again at the thought of her destination being so close. By now she was awash in sweat, her lungs were heaving, her throat was dry, and her heart pounded like the tribal drums of the orcs. Eventually, Maxine slid to a stop. The trees were becoming serried and she was nearing her destination. Being able to run without slamming into a tree or tripping over a root was nigh impossible by the sheer amount of plants that now were packed around her, and she could not see four feet in front of her without a leaf of branch blocking her view.

Maxine looked around for a brief moment and was immediately intoxicated by the sheer, intense beauty of the forest. It surrounded her, touched her, flowed into her like water through a stream. She felt one with the Thousand-Year Woods, the ancestral starting point of everyone in the world. Maxine felt gusts of magic, strange and free, zoom past her. Here, in this home of her world, she felt fully at peace.

But her mission still remained.

Maxine needed Pixiemud, the sap of The Elder Tree, the first living thing in the world. It towers into the sky, reaching into the upper atmosphere, and it’s roots spread across the entire continent. Humans and fairies, of which Maxine was both, had begun trading the sap, among other herbs, for silks and food. Their bond had been forged by an anvil of nature, and Maxine had to take advantage of it.

Maxine began to stroll through the forest at a measured pace, taking in its beauty, ears soaking up the sounds of the forest. The combinations of chattering and chirping all seemed to meld together and created a kind of twisted chorus. The unpredictable chaos of nature turned into a beautiful, unimaginable, infinite song, echoing throughout The Elder Forest. The sounds echoed and shifted and changed. It was enchanting and strange, as if journeying through the Aether.

The natural melody distracted Maxine from the problem at hand.

While Maxine focused on the sounds of the forest, she didn’t notice the voices of the fairies had faded away. She looked around and saw huge towers of lush grass surrounding her, each blade twice her height. Maxine clung instinctively to her dagger tied to her belt. Not only was she lost, she was in much bigger danger. She was in tick territory. Giant Tick territory.

Maxine heard a raspy, lengthy chattering that was almost a roar. She turned in the other direction and ran only to trip over the gigantic root of an ogrewood. She fell face first into the dirt, then immediately rolled over to see huge black pincers over her mud-covered face. Maxine, with lightning speed, pulled her dagger from her belt and swiped at the Giant Tick’s right pincer with incredible force. The knife sliced right through the gargantuan creature’s limb and sent it flying into the grass, where it became concealed in the brush. Thick, green blood shot out of the tick’s injury, landing on Maxine’s face, and she spit out some that landed in her mouth. The tick reeled backward in pain, letting out a shrill screech that chilled Maxine to the bone. Maxine shot back up into a standing position, then charged, wildly swinging her green-stained knife at the tick, only to trip on the Ogrewood root again, where she fell on her face and rolled over. The Tick slammed one of its gargantuan legs into Maxine's left arm, which was holding the knife, and an intense spike of pain shot up through her body. Maxine’s teeth were gritted in pain and bile rose to her throat, as the tick’s oily black body was among the most disgusting things she had ever seen up close. Our heroine grabbed at her knife with her free hand and stabbed at the horrible beast. It shot into the tick’s left shoulder, sinking into the exoskeleton and making the tick reel back with pain a second time. Maxine, bloodied and dirty, threw herself at the tick, flying through the air and landing on its gore-caked face, clutching the remaining pincer with brute force only seen in trolls.

Maxine slowly lifted her leg on top the tick’s head, and she launched herself onto the tick’s back. Maxine fiercely dug her right fingers into the tick’s remaining pincer as it trembled and screeched in pain. Her other hand was pulling the knife out of the tick’s hard exoskeleton now. The tick shook and shook, unwavering, trying to throw Maxine off of her back, screaming in anger and agony, but to no avail. After several anxiety-filled, eternity-long seconds of intense struggling, Maxine had popping veins in her arms and head, her bloody cheeks were red with the effort, and her body numb and sore... and the knife finally shot out. Maxine lost balance and fell onto the ticks face, clutching the last pincer with all her might. The tick was riled up, as a tick would be, and charged into the ogrewood tree, slamming Maxines spine into the wood. Maxene clenched her teeth in anguish, then gave in and let out a pained cry. A stream of blood gently rolled down the bark of the towering flora. Then, with lightning speed, she took her green stained knife and plunged it right in between the tick’s gaping eyes. The tick screeched with such volume that Maxine’s ears bean to ring. Maxine stabbed the creature again. The tick began to thrash about. Maxine stabbed again. More icky green blood flew out of the tick this time, spurting out as if it were a geyser. The tick was struggling with such force and intensity that Maxine nearly got thrown off. Again. She was losing strength, and fast.

Then, the tick tripped on the Ogrewood root, sending it and Maxine into the ground. Maxine lost her strength and toppled off of the ticks forehead, panting heavily. Then, her breath slowed down, her heart beat slower, she went silent and closed her eyes. The tick got up. Maxine didn’t. The tick towered over her and reared its ugly, oily head downward to see her eye to eye. It raised it’s long, spindly leg over Maxine’s head. Maxine was about to get her skull crushed. Suddenly, Maxine pried her eyes open to reveal a bloodshot stare. An angry stare. With a final burst of adrenaline, she thrusted her dagger into the monster’s forehead one final time. The thrust pierced the ticks skull, and finally, the grotesque body silently plummeted into the cold ground. The tick smote, Maxine used the ogrewood tree as a crutch, pressing her weary, bloody hands against it to slowly push herself upwards until she stood at a limp.

Now that Maxine wasn’t in danger, she looked down at the tick. It’s midnight black skin would give anyone the shudders. It’s lifeless eyes was a dark brown, the stare could penetrate the soul. It’s six long legs were stronger than anyone would seem, for they looked as brittle as a twig, yet they were able to hold down a woman with bear-like strength. Small black hairs lined the creature’s spine, and blew peacefully in the wind.

Suddenly, Maxine heard rustling coming from the field of grass. Out came three more giant ticks. Maxine stepped backward, only to feel the hard, cool timber of the Ogrewood. More behemoths came from the shadows of the grass, until there were seven black horrors surrounding her.

“Gonna corner me?” Maxine yelled, panting and heart racing.

“Well, I ain’t going down without a fight!” Maxine raised her knife above her head, ready to stab into any eye that got near her as the grotesque horrors made their advance like a pack of hungry wolves.

Suddenly, a bright flash blinded Maxine and a flash of heat struck her weary body as seven bolts of lightning came down from the heavens and struck the ticks down, leaving the smoldering, oily bodies to rot in the woods. After she blinked furiously and her vision returned, a tall, plump woman stood in front of an awestruck Maxine. The lady wore purple dress and had large, glossy, transparent wings that resembled one of a fly’s protruding from her back. She had sharp, green eyes that foretold of wisdom beyond her years. Her hazel hair flowed down from her head and past her shoulders. It had stopped growing right atop her wings. She had fair skin and had a wand made of oak that looked like a small stick.

Maxine sighed with relief, but had a look of annoyance. “Mom! I almost had them!”

A Trail of Blood by Nora T.

A trail of blood,

Glistening ruby liquid,

Shaped by death,

Split from the living,

Leading to death,

Despair,

Doom,

A trail of blood,

Split from the living,

Now the dead.

from Untitled by Maya L.

My mind flashes back to the blazing fire in front of me. Walking forward, I let the edges of the flame lick the surface of my resistant skin, giving it a taste of what it will soon have. I then strut into it, my eyes glowing a deep ruby red the longer I stay in the flames. I feel my hair unleash itself from beneath my hood, rising upwards and lighting on fire, its protective seal allowing it to not catch ablaze.

"The U.S Women's National Team wins an Exciting World Cup, Raising Awareness about the Pay Difference between Men and Women in the Sport" by Talvin D.

The United States Women’s National soccer team won the World Cup last week by a score of 2-0, captivating a record breaking run. They started their season off with a record breaking 13-0 win against Thailand. No team has ever scored that many goals in a match, or won by that margin. Alex Morgan starred, scoring 5 goals in the win, breaking the record for goals scored in a match by a player. It was a historic night, but the record breaking did not end there. The women’s National team scored the most goals ever in a tournament, Jill Ellis is the only coach ever to win 2 World Cups, and the United States National Team is the first team to win 4 World Cups. It was a truly historic run, capped off by a record setting final win. Nobody scored throughout the first half, which was surprising considering the U.S. track record, but the first goal did go to the U.S. After a rough foul, Megan Rapinoe got a penalty kick, and nailed it. 1-0, U.S. Rose Lavelle scored the second goal for U.S.A. A miraculous kick right past the goalie to seal the deal and give the U.S.A. its fourth World Cup victory.

In March, the United States Women’s National Team sued the USSF (there employers) for not giving the same pay to women as they give to men. “It’s ridiculous, and disappointing, to be honest,” said U.S. star Megan Rapinoe when asked about the pay difference. The Prize money for the men’s world cup is $400 million, and the Prize money for the women’s world cup is just a mere $30 million.

FIFA earns much more money from the men’s World Cup than the women’s World Cup. This is because many more people tune in to watch the men’s World Cup than the women’s, and FIFA promotes the men’s game more. Because of that, there are many more sponsors for the men’s World Cup. These mean that FIFA gets more money from TV coverage, and more money from the advertisements. This means they have more money to give to the men’s winners, so therefore the big difference. But, the United States women’s team has brought in more money from 2016-2018 per game than the men’s team for the USSF, according to the Wall Street Journal. Players’ pay comes from FIFA and USSF money.

There is $30 million at stake in the women’s World Cup compared to $400 million for the men’s Word Cup. The United States winning women’s team gets $4 million of that, which they split among each player. In 2018, France, the World Cup men’s champion team, got $38 million for its team. It’s now obvious why the women soccer players are so upset. Because of something they can not control and even with maybe bringing in more money to USSF, they are being cheated out of millions of dollars. It is unclear what percentage of the earnings FIFA is giving to the women versus the men, but it is sure that if the men won as many games as the women did, they would be payed more than the women would.

FIFA says it will double the women’s prize next time, but it will still be nowhere close to the men’s $400 million. The team says that their World Cup victory more than proves that they are just as capable if not more capable than men at the sport, so why such a big pay difference? There are many different answers to this question, but even if the percentages of the earnings might not be as unfair as it lets on, there is a big difference in the payroll of a male soccer player versus a female soccer player. FIFA says that it will continue to work on this, but they have a long way to go if they want to make things equal in the world of sports.

Pumpkin Pie by Freya B.

Dear diary,

I was in the park with some friends; not the new park the mayor built, the old one that’s like 70 years old. Me and my friends would come here and hang out because no one else does and it’s supposedly haunted. Anyway, we were on the old jungle Jim when I noticed something. After further inspection we realize it’s a half-eaten piece of pumpkin pie. How strange; nobody comes here anymore, let alone leaves their delicious pie here. “It’s very odd just sitting there don’t you think?” Amy asks. Let me tell you about Amy she’s very curious and questions everything which would be fine except that she’s also a total scaredy-cat so she will be curious about something and then make us go investigate. “Yes, it is” I respond not falling for her plan to make me go over there; Jake on the other hand does not see through her plan and walks straight over to the pie. Let me tell you about Jake; he’s funny and cool but is not particularly wise. He will do anything even especially if it's crazy. So, he had just run over to the pie and was now on the ground staring at it. “guys I looks like chunks the size of those really small ants are disappearing!” he exclaimed. Although “those ants” aren’t a real measuring size, we understand what he means and move on without correcting him. “That's impossible” Amy assured him; “No really, come look” he said which then forced us to go over there and see what he meant. When we got over there we looked and realized that he was right. None of us could figure out why tiny little bits were disappearing. “Maybe it’s a ghost, ooh” joked Jake. “That’s ridiculous” refuted Lily “or is it” he joked back. I then started feeling the ground and waving my arms around; I must have looked like a crazy person because they stopped what they were doing and looked at me. They asked me what I was doing and I told them I was seeing if there was anything there that maybe we could feel but not see. “You mean to tell us that something invisible is eating that pie?” Jake asked, “Why would it take such small bites then?” Lily added. I responded to them by explaining that yes that was exactly what I was saying and that was taking small bites so we wouldn't notice it was eating the pie. Then Jake asked me a very silly question, “Why didn’t it just stop eating the pie?” witch I gave a very simple answer to “Because pumpkin pie is delicious, duh!” we then started arguing about what the best type of pie was and by the end we realized that Lily was no longer there. I texted her asking where she was and she answered that she had biked home because she only lived a block away to get cornstarch. At first I was confused but then I understood, if we put cornstarch where we thought the creature was it would show up as a floating bubble of cornstarch therefore revealing itself. When she got back we immediately started putting it everywhere and we eventually found something. It was shivering and still eating the pie. When it realized we could see it it froze. We asked if it could make itself non-invisible and it did. “What are you?” Jake asked rudely. “I am a ghost” it said bluntly. Lily screamed. The ghost then explained that it had no intention hurting us and really just liked pumpkin pie. Lily began to ask the ghost some questions, the conversation went like this:

“Why are you eating it here?” Lily asked

“well this is where it was put and I can’t move things or I'll go right through them”

“Oh, I see, so it wasn’t you who put it there?

“Oh no but I do like pumpkin pie.”

“Don’t you wonder who left it there?”

“No”

“Oh, and what is your name?”

“Philip”

“Ok Philip have a nice time with your pie”

“Goodbye”

“Goodbye”

After that we went and got ice cream, hung out some more, and went home.

Untitled short story by Gabrielle H.

It wasn’t barely seven in the morning yet. I was still working the graveyard shift at the Seven Eleven on the corner of Poplar and West. There hadn’t been a customer in hours. The streets were deserted except for the homeless man who made himself a bed in one of the lawn chairs outside of the hardware store. I’d seen this happen before. The store was closed now, but once it opened they’d kick him out. I remember somebody who used to work here, Jaime, going over there one morning and telling the owner to consider taking the chairs inside during the night. I was watching the interaction from across the street.

“Hey, you got a light?” The owner replied.

“Yeah,” Jaime offered the owner a little green lighter in the palm of his open hand. He used it to light a cigarette for both of them. My coworker looked over at me, almost a scared look in his eye.

“Listen, kid,” the owner took a drag. “Why don’t you mind your own damn business?”

“Can I have my lighter back?” He asked.

“Take it. Leave me alone.” The store owner tossed the lighter back to him as he went inside his store. Jaime crossed the street back over to the Seven Eleven.

“He’s crazy,” he shook his head.

Now I thought about it, feeling bad for the homeless man. He was only looking for a place to sleep. Right about now I wanted a place to sleep too. My shift was almost over. I was starting to pack up, but I had to wait for the next guy who was working to get there. I’ll call him Tommy. Tommy was usually late. He had the most absurd excuses. Came in once talking crap about loose dogs. But it’s hard to hide when you’re hungover. He’s real lucky it’s me who works the graveyard most nights. Anyone else would have reported him.

The end of my shift came and went, and there was still no sign of him. I thought about just leaving, but that would only get myself in trouble as well. So I stayed sitting on a fabriced spinning chain behind the counter reading some nonsense tabloid article. I heard the bells on the door jingle as the door opened and someone entered the store. I assumed it was Tommy. But when I looked up I saw a different man. He was in his mid-twenties probably, leather jacket, greased hair. He looked straight out of an S.E. Hinton novel.

“Hi. Can I help you with anything?” I remained seated, staring at him just a little bit.

“Give me a pack of Marlboros,” his voice was deep and gravely. I got up, put the magazine down and took a pack of cigarettes off the back wall.

“Anything else?” I placed them on the counter.

“Yes. What year is it?”

I laughed. “Ninety-two.”

“Ninety-two what?”

“Nineteen ninety-two,” I said, puzzled. He had to be pulling some kind of prank on me.

“Thank you,” the man grunted.

“Anything else?” I asked again.

“No.”

“Okay. That’ll be $3.29,” I punched the code into the cash register.

“Three dollars?” He looked shocked.

“Yeah..” I didn’t know what to say. The man dug around in his wallet and pulled out a five dollar bill.

“Keep the change,” he placed it down on the counter.

“Thanks. Do you want a receipt?”

“No.” The man shoved the cigarettes in the pocket of his leather jacket and left the store.

I decided that that had to be one of the strangest human interactions I’ve ever had. Surely it had to be a prank. Just some guy going around to different gas stations doing this for kicks. I went back to my article and soon after Tommy finally arrived. He was the kind of guy who was all over the place all the time. His hair was wet from a shower, and he was hurriedly trying to zip up a backpack.

“It’s twenty-after,” I told him.

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry,” Tommy smiled. He was used to smiling his way out of everything. He’d slip you an uncertain amount of money, give you a wink and think that would shut you up.

“There was a guy in here a while ago. Asked me what year it is.” I stood and leaned over the counter. Tommy was on the other side still trying to zip his bag.

“Probably just some crackhead. They run amok around here during the night.”

“Yeah, probably.”

I got my waterbottle from underneath the counter and was on my way. I never brought much to work with me. My walk to the train station started on West Avenue. The streets were still quiet as ever. The sun was only just beginning to rise. Everything was a pale blue with shades of gold. It lit up the dingy, abandoned buildings on that street. Garbage lined the sidewalks and spray painted symbols on the brick walls. The whole street was kind of an alley. Empty and claustrophobic. I dragged my feet along slowly, thinking about what I wanted to do when I got back to my apartment. My roommate would be leaving for work soon, and I’d have the place to myself to sleep for a while. I’d been awake since six in the evening yesterday, but I probably dozed off a couple times at work during the slowest hours. Two and three am was the rarest time to see people in the store. There were always a few early-risers around four or five, looking for an energy drink or coffee. And the partiers that came between midnight and one in the morning because they’d run out of beer. Usually it was the same people every night. That’s the thing about working graveyard shifts. The weird people come out at night. Most of them are pretty nice, though.

I reached the train station and found a seat under the sign that said Quick Street with a map of the train lines. I was the only one there except for a middle aged woman and her small child on the other side of the sign. I had cash to pay for the train. I didn’t have a card or anything. I counted out the cost one way to my apartment on Canal Street. A train rocketed by loudly, causing the little girl to start crying. I don’t mind crying kids. I don’t particularly like loud noises, either. Once the train passed, I saw a man on the other side of the tracks who wasn’t there before. It was the greaser from the store. He was smoking one of the cigarettes he purchased. He couldn’t have possibly gotten off that last train. It didn’t stop. So where did he come from like that?

“Hey, mister, you got the time?” The woman was now standing next to me. Her tearful child in her arms.

“Yeah,” I glanced down at my watch. “It’s 7:30.”

“Thank you,” she disappeared back behind the sign. The greaser was now sitting two seats down from me. I ignored the fact that it would have been impossible for him to get there.

“You asked me what year it was,” I said to him. He sat staring off into space with his legs crossed. A cloud of smoke covered his face almost entirely.

“Sorry?” He replied without looking at me.

“Why did you ask me what year it was?” I spoke louder this time.

“Because I didn’t come from here.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Nineteen sixty-eight.”

“That’s not possible. This is a joke,” I assured myself.

The stranger turned to me. I saw his face again through the smoke. Something about him looked oddly familiar. “You want I should show you?”

“Yes, please.”

He threw what was left of the cigarette onto the ground and got up.

“Follow me,” the man said in his gruff voice. His voice was familiar too. But I couldn’t place it. He sounded older than he was.

I followed the man many blocks past the train station to Floral Avenue. Floral Avenue was on the other side of town, full of old apartment complexes and little shack-like houses. This neighborhood had a reputation that preceded it. He opened the heavy wood door of a large manor house that was now falling down. It had probably been split into apartments during the 70s. It looked like a crackhouse today. It was definitely a crackhouse.

“I’m not going in there!” I called to the strange man from a distance. I was now thinking this was some kind of trap. If I went in there I’d surely end up tied to a chair in a dank basement that reeked of mold. God knows what they’d do to me.

“Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe.” He held the door for me. “I thought you wanted me to show you.”

I hesitated. I was scared to go in there honestly. But I knew if I didn’t I’d spend my whole life wondering. Really what was the worst that could happen to me if this was indeed all a childish prank.

The inside was just like the outside. Rotting wood, creaking floors, peeling lead paint. You entered into a long hallway with musty carpet covered in debris. Off of the hall was a kitchen which we did not go into, but looked to be in pretty bad shape. The black and white checkered floors were cracked and missing in some spots. The oven window was smashed, refrigerator turned on its side, a sink so grimy it looked black. The hallway opened up into a large living room that looked like it used to be quite nice. There were several stained glass windows stretching from the floor all the way to the ornately carved ceiling which had collapsed in the middle. Huge pieces of wood dangled from up above or lay in the center of the room atop its own wooden floors. Two velvet chaise lounge chairs sat in opposite corners of the place. The cushions were long gone but the rusted gold plated trim remained. Through a wide open doorframe there was another smaller hallway with a grand staircase. It was wood with carpet over parts of it, patterns carved into the banister. There were still framed photographs mounted on the dark blue wallpaper going up the stairs. They were all paintings of rich people that appeared to have been painted in the 19th Century.

“Watch your step.” He warned me as he started up the stairs very carefully. Each step creaked loudly as if they were screaming. The man was already at the landing in between the next flight of stairs by the time I even stepped onto them.

“Hey, man,” I held onto the railing tightly. “What kind of crack are you on?” I’ve met crackheads before, and metheads. But I’ve never known any drug to cause one to act so strange. To become so unaware of their state or who they are, what was going on around them. Also he was too nicely dressed to be a drug addict. His teeth were perfect, not a spec of dirt on his classic white tee shirt. It was uncanny.

The stranger did not answer my question. He only continued to walk up the stairs at a steady pace. I tried to go up as fast as I would allow myself to catch up with him. The upstairs floors were even creakier than the stairs. I wondered if they were even stable at all. Clearly the floor above the living room was not.

“What’s your name then?” I asked.

“Michael.” He brought me into a room that looked like it used to belong to a child. There was a metal framed bed with a ripped up mattress, a little wooden desk with small trinkets on it. A wooden cross mounted solemnly on the wall.

“Michael what?”

“Jakowski.” The man brushed a sheet of dust off the desk. It flew up into the air, making me cough.

“What were you going to show me?” I sputtered as I spoke. I took a step forward, past the threshold of the door. The floor became non-exist as I began freefalling into the kitchen. The wood had collapsed just as it did above the living room. It happened faster than I could comprehend. All I knew was that Michael did not fall with me.

I was in my apartment when I awoke. I was alone and uninjured with no recollection of what had happened to me after the fall. Sunlight poured through the windows onto the slanted wood floors. I had no curtains in my bedroom so whenever the sun was up most likely so was I. The digital clock beside my bed told me that it was almost eleven am, Wednesday the 28th. Perhaps it was all just a dream. I’ve had weirder dreams before. But the thing was that I didn’t actually remember leaving work in real life that morning. Or coming home and going to sleep.

I got up and tried to open my bedroom door. It sticks so you have to turn the knob all the way and pull really hard. Then it sends you flying back when you finally get it open. I went out into the living room and kitchen area where there was a couch and a small television. The kitchen had a refrigerator, a sink, an oven, but no dishwasher. We were the dishwashers. I looked around for my roommate, knowing he was probably at work but wanting to check anyway. Maybe he could tell me what happened earlier that morning. He wasn’t there, of course, but his cat was. She brushed up against my ankles, pleading me for food. I didn’t actually know where my roommate kept the cat food so I just gave her some of the treats on top of the fridge. I sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. There is no man from nineteen sixty-eight, I told myself. Perhaps I hallucinated it all, and I did come home I just don’t remember it. Maybe I had some sort of neurological condition and should see a doctor. But instead of overthinking every possible crazy explanation, I let the mindless sitcom lull me back to sleep.

When my roommate got home from work, I was still hazy and sitting around in my pajamas. I had to do another graveyard shift in a couple hours and I hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“You okay?” Dean asked me as he stroked the cat’s reddish brown fur.

“No. I think there’s something wrong with me.” I answered honestly.

“Are you sick?”

“No. Maybe. Just in my head.” I got a cigarette from the pack on the kitchen counter and lit it with the flame from the stove.

“What are you talking about?” Dean laughed, setting his messenger bag down on the table. I leaned against the wall in the kitchen.

“Do you believe in time travel?”

“No, why?”

“I can’t remember anything that happened to me this morning. I woke up here but I don’t know how I got here.” It was hard to explain. Because it didn’t make any sense.

“What does that have to do with time travel?” He asked.

“There was a man. He said he was from nineteen sixty-eight. But I can’t tell if that was real or not.”

“I really don’t know what to tell you. Maybe see a doctor.”

“Yeah,” I nodded slowly.

I got to work at nine even though my shift started at nine-thirty. Missy was the only one left there. She was standing outside the store, smoking and watching something go down across the street by the hardware store. There were two police cars, and the owner was standing in the doorway of the store. One of the policemen was talking to him. I came and silently stood by Missy.

“They’re arrested him,” she said in her soft voice.

“The owner?”

“No. That homeless man.” Missy pointed to him in the backseat of one of the cop cars. I stared at him and he stared back. He smiled at me just a little bit. And there was something strange about it. I knew that smile.

“Do you know his name?” I asked Missy.

“The homeless man? Oh, boy, I think it’s Michael something. Can’t remember, been a while since anybody’s talked about him.”

“Was his last name Jabowski?”

“Yeah,” Missy thought about it. “That sounds about right.”

Wali Man and Banana Boy by Ethan T.

The year is 59666234, homosapiens no longer exist. Instead creatures of bizarre power and shape control everything, creatures that would blow you wildest dreams away. These creatures like any other creature are corrupt and evil, and if it weren't for our heroes there would be chaos and pandemonium, speaking of our heros let's meet them.

*RING* *RING* “Hello this is Wali Man how may I help, save, or cook for you?” Our here said in the same monotone voice he uses every time he gets that call. “I think I have found an underground radioactive banana trade going on. I need you to get here as soon as possible” “Where is it going down?” “194 Ellis Ave, Best of luck” With that Wali man hung up the phone and yelled to Banna Boy his sidekick, “Get off Ape the X legend” Banana boy completely tangled in cords asked “Why, what's going on?” “We don't have time just follow me” And with that our heroes got in the Wali van and drove off to 194 Ellis Ave.

“Stop right there criminal scum!” Yelled Wali man as he saw the culprit. It was his arch nemesis Walister monster. He wasn't any ordinary villain, he wasn't the villain that would beg for mercy as soon as he saw Wali man, he was the type of villain who would fight wali man and even occasionally win or put a good fight. He was dangerous and insane, he created the radioactive bananas and he has been using them to create an armey to take over the world, the only thing between him and world domination is Wali man and his brave sidekick Banna boy. “You can't stop me, the trade is already done, there's nothing you can do.” Well I think my fists disagree” And with that Wali man leapt across multiple buildings then landed his fist into Walister Monsters green and scaly face throwing him 1,000 feet downwaord. Walister monster then jumped up 1,500 feet in the process punching Wali man up with him as he launched up. He then threw Wali man into the 1,00 foot deep hole and dropped down to slam him, Wali man almost dead pulled out his last effort, he punched Walister monster 10,000 feet into the sky then kept punching him until he got to the orbitary a small rock out of orbit, he threw Walister monster down to earth the threw the orbiter down on top of Walister monster almost killing him in the process. “Walister Monster I will kill you if you don't surrender.” Wali man gasped. “Walister? Where are you? Banana boy find him” Banana boy quickly ran over to the evil banana van and found Wallister consuming every single banana, an act that would kill anyone. “Walister stop! Your going to kill yourself!” Screamed out banana boy.

*Weird monster growl noises*

Walister had consumed every banana, his power was immeasurable he was ripping the universe apart every time that he took a step a part of the universe was destroyed. The raw energy being emitted from him was so much that the air around him would liquidate at his control. He was not a monster, he was a god.

“BANANA BOY THIS WILL BE YOUR DEMISE.” And with that walister monster punched banana boy through five buildings, and almost a 6th if it weren't for a steel beam. “Walister stop this!” Wali man yelled out. “I can not stop what has already been done, I am a… g...o...d.” Walister bellowed out. “If you don't stop soon the entire universe will tear apart, your already destroying it as it is.” “I will shred this universe down to its very last at-molicue and rebuild it from there .” Countered Walister. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Walister shrieked in pain as the very fiber he was made up of started to tear away as the raw energy housed inside of his body got restless and wanted to expand. An incredibly hot and white light was shown when parts of his body got torn apart. Wali man knew that if he where to let walister die then everything near him would as well and that includes the solar system itself. Knowing this Wali man tackled Walister, he tied him down and then he quickly ran to the jelly bean store, he grabbed a jelly bean and got some illegal extra bounce spray. He then went back and grabbed Walister, jumped onto the super jelly bean and bounced into space.

Banana boy woke up and saw what was happening, he quickly launched himself into the air as well. Banana boy found the two fighting in space and tried to save Wali man. “Wali let go, you'll die if you don't.” Screamed Banana boy. Wali realized he wasn't yet far enough away from earth yet to allow walister to detonate, he also realized that banana boy was too close

to him and would die because of the blast, he knew what he had to do.

Wali man kicked off of banna boy, pushing banana boy away from the blast and pushing wali further from earth in this moment he threw the key to the secret safe at banana boy, banana boy yelled in agony, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo”

DOO do doo do do do dooooo do do dooooo do doooooooo dooo doo do do dododod dodo dodo doo doooo dooooo do.

The whole town attended Wali mans funeral, the whole town mourned for him, everyone except for banana boy. “Hes out there, alive, i swear.” This was the talk that banana boy had every single day. Everyday people would give him funny or looks or try to pitty him in some way shape or form. Banana boy knew, he knew Wali was out there, to prove he was going to have a live unveiling of what was in the vault.

“Hello everyone im all allingstinallingtonallister and today we will witness greatness as Wali mans vault is being opended, now lets see whats inside. It looks like… old laundry expired food and a letter saying what things he should buy, wow. What a let down.”

Banana boy was shocked, he didnt know what to do. Wali man was realy gone…

The End.

Starfish by Maddy P.

People become parts of you.

Some people become vital,

Essential to your happiness and life.

Like an arm,

Or liver.

And that's a way to understand how hard losing someone is.

It's like cutting off your arm,

Or removing a vital organ.

And if you are a starfish,

Then maybe your arm will grow back

And you’ll heal.

And if you lose an organ,

Maybe you could get a transplant.

Because no matter how the people around you affect you and your happiness,

You are more than them.

You are more than an arm.

You are more than your liver.

Haiku by Karen Z.

remember the day

so surrounded like winter

things kill me... needle.

Untitled story by Tenzin P.

“To any ships who can hear this! This is the Liberty calling in for assistance, we were hit by an asteroid and our engines are in pieces, requesting immediate assistance, Liberty out.” I yelled desperately into the comms. Dizzy from the fire extinguisher slamming into my head and tearing my ear, I passed out on the bridge of my ship.

***********************

I woke up to find the floor splattered in dried blood and my ear hurting more than your whole arm being chopped off, without painkillers. I slowly stood up, dizzy only to end up on my bottom. I looked at my PDA to find I was out for a solid 13 Artisaian hours (roughly 17 Earth hours). I once again stood up this time not as drowsy as the first time, I grabbed a console to stabilize my self. I heaved myself up into an upright posture. I looked around at the messy little command bridge to see the escape pods used, desks and chairs sprawled out all over the place as if someone had shoved furniture as if they were children’s toys. I hobbled over to the barely functioning radio only to be disappointed that no one had bothered to reassure me that they were going to rescue me from the wreckage of the Liberty.

I slowly hobbled my way to medical bay to find the medical bots, Olivia and John were in parts, with recurring sparks that would scare the living daylights out of me. The murder of the robots would prove VERY unfortunate for me because the next two options were bear the killer pain or try almost killing myself to fix up my body, as you can guess I chose the latter. I lie down and adjusted the mirrors so I could see my ear, then I got the menacing stapler, which in theory was supposed to fix up your teared up skin to smooth out the pain but it proved that only medical bots could use the stapler with precise accuracy. I took a deep breath and then held it and slowly then positioned the stapler over the point where the skin and flesh were hanging. I then stapled it together, milliseconds after I fell off the bed and doubled over in pain, I then passed out for the second time today.

***********************

I woke to a start, alarms beeping, and lights flashing. I rubbed my eyes and stood up, to see the medical bay’s floor splattered with blood from my slowly recovering ear. I hurried over to the command bridge despite my injured foot. I would usually have a crew of 10 people helping to keep the ship under control, but unfortunately the crew have used the escape pods leaving me to die on this blazing wreckage of the Liberty. I looked at the console the alarm was beeping at, it said an unknown craft had entered the orbit of Artisaian which the Liberty’s wreckage lay, slowly orbiting a rocky planet which supported one colony on it. The colony had about 5,000 people on it, which was enough to support a small colony but not enough manpower to support a fully fledged spaceport.

I attempted to contact the unknown craft only to get a reply of static and then silence. I looked out the window, but I couldn’t see the unknown vessel. I looked outside using the cameras only to find the camera below ship was pitch black, curious I studied the view more to see if this was a camera issue or if there was something blocking the camera, then out of nowhere the alarms started to blare. I then heard sizzling and the a huge crack. The whole ship jerked left and right. Then silence, and suddenly a thud followed by 5 more. They sounded like they were inside the ship. My heart started to race as I understood the events that had happened in the last 20 seconds. I could feel the hair on my neck rise, goosebumps rapidly spread across my body. My ship was being boarded.

I silently tiptoed over to a closet and hid in there knowing that the closet is likely not to be searched by the unknown people. I could hear them talk to each other, they were speaking a language that would be impossible to recreate with a human throat and tongue. The footsteps sounded like they were getting closer, until they were right in front of the closet. Heart pounding I stopped breathing to make sure they wouldn’t know that I wasn’t here. A bead of sweat rolled down my face and dripped onto the cold metal closet floor. The creature stepped closer to the closet examining the door and possibly the sound that was emitted by my sweat. The creature suddenly turned and made a noise to one of it’s pals who sprinted over. They started talking about something then one of them pointed to the blood where both of them stood with a weird scary look on its face. The creature looked at each other closely, it’s beak like mouth open revealing rows of sharp teeth, the pale white pupils were focused intensely at each other. It squawked and clicked at it’s partner. They both then turned and left the room. I sighed in relief and carefully stepped out of the closet. I tiptoed over to a counter and crouched devising a plan.

***********************

After 10 minutes of carefully making a plan I crept out of the medical bay, my plan was simple yet terrifying, if everything worked out I was supposed to get onto the alien ship which was going to be hard enough, then I had to find the escape pods and deploy all of them. How I was going to get onto the ship is a different story. I slowly crept around a turn only to find a soldier there, it’s back turned on me. This is a chance to get a weapon, and maybe there uniform, if it even fit on me, said one part of my brain, the other side said for me to wait for the soldier to go away and then go. I decided to charge at the soldier. As I charged the soldier turned around expecting to see his partners but instead met by a blur of human and then a punch to the face. The creature fell in shock and in pain because a huge cut had crossed his face. I took the rifle the creature had, uncomfortably slinging over my shoulder. I took his body armour in case another soldier tried to shoot me. I stood uncomfortably and walked toward the hole the aliens had ruptured in my ship. Strangely nobody was on guard, they must not have expected a human to come out of this wreck. I walked into the alien ship, which was not well light besides the main corridors. I looked at a map the aliens had conveniently placed. Inconveniently the map was written in an alien language and not in english. I looked at the symbols vaguely understanding the fire sign as an emergency area. Of course the escape pods were located at the opposite area as I was. Suddenly behind me a pair of alien soldiers turned a corner and they were both looking at me confused at what I was doing on their ship. I decided to make a break for it to the escape pods. The aliens both pursued me but they were both severely slowed down by their legs which were not meant for sprinting but more for speed walking. The aliens stopped and equipped the guns and aimed at me. I ran even quicker not bothering to look behind me.

I had finally found the escape pods which were located in a circular room, I sighed with relief, but the aliens, figuring out my plans called for backup, I could hear hundreds of footsteps around me. I quickly pulled open the escape pod door which weighed about as much as an elephant and stepped inside the escape pod. Hands trembling like a rattlesnakes tail, I closed the door, and pushed a huge button on a wall. The button then retracted into the wall and then a roar began to emerge from the escape pod as the prepared itself for launch. Outside the thick window the aliens had gathered around the hatch into the escape pod and began pulling on the handle. Unable to open it they growled out in frustration. One of the weaponless ones squawked at the frustrated one. It then got out a gun and shot the window. Worried I looked around to see if the escape pod would launch. But the escape pod was still preparing itself. The hatch began to weaken, the handle was burned off entirely. The escape pod then began to slide down a metallic chute. The alien clearly unhappy roared in frustration. A smile began to sprout on my face as the escape pod left the chute and flew out into space. A holographic map of the surface of Artisaian appeared. I touched the location of the colony and the engines sputtered to life.

I sighed with relief surprised my plan had worked. I looked out the window, Artisaian’s bright oceans gleaming in its star's light, as if welcoming me to the planet, that would be my home.

Haiku by Veronica H.

Fire burning bright and tall

An assassin souls can not escape

Leaving behind trails of ash