Our Voice Volume 7

  Jack and the Sins

  (Bus)

  “Jack, if you don’t get it right this time, you’re fired!” My boss said as he shoved me out of his office with just the power of his words. The sky was grey and filled with dark clouds; I had a feeling it was going to rain soon and going back in to hide from the rain didn’t seem like such a good idea so I walked around looking for protection from the sky’s tears. I had almost no evidence as to who killed Miss Lusi Pheur, except for a suspect who had red hair, dark brown (pretty much black) eyes, 20-25, and a scar in the shape of an x on her right hand. It began to rain heavily just as I neared a bus stop. I had no hope in solving this case. In that moment, the bus pulled up. I got on and just went anywhere it took me.

  I got in and Bohemian Rhapsody was playing. I sat as close to that back as possible. Many people were on the bus, a soldier, a doctor, an old lady, a girl with long blond hair with small hands (but small hands are cool). I stared out the window on one of the stops and saw a girl with an x shaped scar and red hair. My eyes widened as I turned to get up and get out of the bus to stalk her silently, I find that she got on the bus and sat right next to me. “Hi, I’m Joy, I hope you don’t mind that I sit here” She said staring through me with her black eyes. “Go ahead” I said, hoping this girl will slip up and confess to the crime; if she did it that is. I went back to looking out the window waiting for her to make conversation with me. I could see out of the corner of my eye Joy pulling out a book from her red bag that blended in with her red clothes. It was a plain white book that was as thick as a laptop. The title of the book was The Book of Belial.

  The longer I was with her the stranger she acted. She got up and read an excerpt from her book. I think she was talking in Latin but I wasn't too sure as I am not familiar with that language. Most of the crowd responded with confusion except the girl with small hands who began to clap (surprisingly) very powerfully. Joy then sat down and passed me a note. It simply read “I know who did it, Jack.” I looked at her with confusion and slight fear considering I didn’t tell her my name. Joy gestured towards the window. “Look at the window Jack. What do you see?” She said fixing her position so she would be pointing at herself in the reflection. “You” I said as she put her hand on my shoulder. “No, I’m right here. So again, what do you see?” Joy said pointing to the window. “Your reflection? “ I responded not liking where this conversation was going. “What makes it mine, Jack? Joy said putting her hands in her lap and leaning back in her seat, looking up to the dirty bus ceiling. “Just because it looks like me? What if I don’t like me? I know you don’t like yourself, that’s why you-” She stopped talking and looked down and just sat there for about two minutes. She got up, threw a note on my lap, and then kissed me softly on the cheek. The kiss instantly knocked me out. I woke up in my bed at 2:00 am with the note still in my hand. It read “I didn’t kill her but I know who did. Come find me, Jack. With love, Joy A.K.A. Wrath.”

  I got up out of bed, scared and confused about how I even ended up in my bed. I walked into the bathroom connected to my room and washed my face with cold water. As I was looking up I saw an address on the mirror; I was in red so I could only assume it was blood, but I didn’t have time to worry about it yet. The address was 641 Parkway Drive, the place where Lusi was killed. I put on clean clothes, grabbed my keys and headed out the door. There were two men standing outside of my car. “Do you see anyone, Pride?” The man trying to break into my car said. “Not a soul, but if I did they would get the beating of a lifetime.” Pride paused for a moment. “By the way, where is Sloth?” “He is with Wraith, as usual.” the person trying to steal my car said annoyed. Then Pride noticed me watching them. “He’s here; I’ll take care of it, Greed.” Pride began to charge at me. I stepped to the right and he ran into the wall I was standing next too. “Pride you idiot!” Greed said running to Pride and me to my car.

  The drive was not too long but on the way there I felt a cut on my head. I had no idea how I got it but it must have been recently. I arrived to the address and the door was already open. From the inside I could hear sobbing and it sounded like Wraith. I walked into the house to see a girl hugging Wraith as she was crying saying “Why so soon?” Wraith spotted me and yelled “Move, Lust!” She rushed up to me and shoved me down “Why did you do it Jack? We had such a bright future together. Look at that!” Wraith moved out of the way so show the bloody scene. There was Lusi, with a gun wound on her shoulder and her heart. Why did you kill me?” The world froze when she uttered those words. She walked over to the body and pulled out a key. She then walked to a door on the other side of the room and put in the key. She singled for me to get up and to come with her. She sat down in front of a screen and played a video. “Sit” she said. I saw myself walked into her house and began to yell at Lusi. Then pull out a gun and shoot Lusi in the shoulder and then she pulled out a knife as I was turning away and cut me in the head, the same spot I had the cut. I turned back as I was falling and managed to shoot her in the chest. I was in deeply in shock. I had to watch the 10 second clip at least 30 times and after the 10th time I was crying. I turned in the office chair to see Wraith holding the gun she was killed with. She called for Lust and she was holding my body in her arms. “Goodbye Jack, I mean, Envy. Say hi to dad for us.” Wraith put the gun to my heart a pulled the trigger. I woke up on the ground to a red filled sky. A man with red horns began to speak “Welcome home, Envy.”

  Gnarly

  (1st Lines 2)

  He had the cutest blue eyes that you couldn't help but stare at. He looked very mysterious sitting all alone in the coffee shop. He noticed me staring and suddenly, shadows consumed the room. He was no longer sitting at the coffee shop and nor was I. We were floating somewhere but I was oddly calm about it.

  “Sup mate?” The feminine sounding man said as she was spinning in circles in air. “What’s your name, I’m Scarlet?”

  “Um, hi.” I said rather cautiously. “My name is Skyler and no offence but isn’t Scarlet kind of a girl’s name?”

  She replied with “That’s because I am a girl.”

  She removed her hood and let her long maroon colored hair flow out.

  “So Skyler,” She said, “what do you want to do, go to Mars, hang out with the dinosaurs, have a space party? We can do anything you want!”

  “Dinosaurs?” I said questionably.

  “You got it kiddo!” And before I knew it we were zooming through space.

  “You are pretty calm about all of this, why is that? Scarlet asked.

  “I don’t know,” I replied back “too much internet I guess.”

  I looked around awkwardly, waiting for us to get there until I decided to ask her about who she is. Before I could even speak she said,

  “I’ll tell you about me when we get there and yes, I can read minds.” I stared at her with awe about her abilities. I but I’m not sure if I was excited or scared to learn about her.

  “We are here!” Scarlet said as we crashed down to the foreign planet without a scratch.

  “Where are the dinosaurs?” I asked while looking around, realizing we are in a thick forest.

  “Aw snap son, we’re on the wrong planet. Oh well, we will go back after I tell you about myself.”

   We walked to this big boulder for her to sit down on.

  “Alright,” she begun with “ I have some weird abilities because my parents were born in space under some special conditions in space that gave them abilities that were passed down to me genetically and I was born on Earth about 22 years ago, understand? If not sorry that is about all I can tell you. I don’t know much else about me. Well except for that I can’t go near stardust. My powers would stop working but I was never told why.” She paused and just looked around and then said “Well we better get off this planet, I’m pretty sure it’s off the charts so I don’t know anything about it.”

  She got up and snapped her fingers and nothing happened. She had a sudden look of shock on he
r face and began to snap repeatedly. After about 30 seconds of her just snapping she slowed and came to a stop then looked at the rock she sat on then walked up to it and touched it. On her hand was now a white and shimmery dust. Scarlet turned to me and said

  “It’s stardust.” “That’s what I figured.” I said while looking down at the ground.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.  

  Scarlet responded with “I guess we just survive until the stardust’s effects wear off.”

  We moved on to the forest to see the rest of the planet. We saw caves, plains, mountains and more, but we still haven't seen any other forms of life or water sources. After hours of walking and getting to know each other better, Scarlet said,

  “I think we should go find shelter soon, we don’t know what comes out at night.”

  I nodded my head in agreement and we walked in to one of the caves we saw earlier. Venturing into the cave was rather exciting but what we found was unexpected. The cave had very soft grass to walk on, very smooth walls and a small pond in back. “Well, I guess we are set” Said Scarlet as she was rolling around on the ground in the cave.

  “Almost, we need some food.” Suddenly we heard a noise from outside the cave. Scarlet peaked her head out and said,

  “Whoa, I found food.” We walked out and there were these cows like creatures.

  “O.K. Let’s get some and go’ she said while trying to herd some cow things to next to the cave.” Are we not even going to question this, these things could be poisonous and we would never know?”

  “Nope, not questioning it,” Scarlet said while riding off with the cow things.

  “Fine.” I said following her back to the cave. We made a pen for the cow things and decided to go to sleep on the soft grass inside the cave. When I woke up Scarlet was outside, I got up and walked to her. “Looks like they disappear in the sun but they leave behind veggies and fruits, already full grown,” she said while biting a bright red apple.

  Weeks passed; we were on the planet for months but we were thriving. Until one day, a huge storm came. All our progress had been lost, we had no food and the storm hit when we were exploring so we lost our way home. There wasn’t much we could do but find a new home. We walked for miles towards the rising sun and we hit a village, the first one we had ever seen in the months of being there.

  “Hello,” Yelled Scarlet, “Is anybody here?” We heard a rustle from inside a hut and a tall man walked out. He looked at Scarlet, got wide eyed and began to run back yelling in a language unknown to Scarlet and I. Then an army of men with spears came charging towards us. We tried to run but they were too fast and they surrounded us and aimed their spears. An important looking man walked out of the flurry of spears and said,

  “State your reason of return, Red Demon.” Scarlet stared at him for a few seconds and then said “Who is the Red Demon?”

  “Don’t play your games!” The man said now holding a knife to Scarlet’s neck. In anger I slapped the knife out of his hand. He looked at me, and said something in the unknown language. Another man came out of the crowd and hit me in the head, knocking me out cold. I woke up in the dead of night in the village but everyone was gone. But off in the distance I saw a red glare. I got up and walked to it, it was smooth, red and glistened in the moonlight. After admiring it for a few seconds, I remembered that Scarlet was taken somewhere. I looked around frantically and I saw what seemed to be a fire far in the east.

  I sprinted there, holding on to the stone because it gave me an odd sense of comfort. I got there and I was out of breath. There was a massive hole in the middle full of hot lava surrounded by guards and a giant metal strip that Scarlet was standing on to while her arms were tied up. On the ground, one of the guards noticed the stone in my hand and began to yell,

  “Stone, Stone!” in terror. Soon all of the guards were in a panic. The man who walked out of the crowd of spears then walked up to me and got on one knee and said,

  “I, Benjamin Thomas, live to serve you, lord. What is your first command?” I tried to act like I knew what was going and then commanded,

  “Release my friend immediately then take your people and go back to the village.”

  “As you wish, sir” Benjamin said as he ran to untie Scarlet and bring her to me. Then he yelled in his language and ran off with his people.

  “Thanks man” Scarlet reached in to hug me for saving her. How did you do it?” She asked as she pulled back from the hug.

  “They were scared of this for some reason.” I pulled out the stone and Scarlet's face lit up with joy.

  “The Arc Stone!” she exclaimed as she snatched the stone from my hand.

  “It’s said that this stone has the ability to make a portal to anywhere you want and cure all.”

  “Cool, so how do we make it work?” I said in a much less excited tone as she was probably expecting.

  “Well it’s red and in nature, that means fire, so maybe putting it in fire would work.”

  Scarlet turned and threw it into the lava pit and there suddenly the ground shook and the lava turned blue.

  “Let’s go!” Scarlet said grabbing my hand and jumping into the now sky blue fire. For a moment, my whole body felt like it was in lava then like it was in an ice bath, and that feeling continued for a while until it stopped. I opened my eyes and I was back in the coffee shop only this time Scarlet was right next to me. We walked out of that little coffee shop and just stared at each other and we knew what we were thinking. After that day we decided to explore the world just as we did the last.

  Shrek and the Magic Pencil

  (Humor)

  “Rez, if you don’t stop kicking me I will punch your butt so hard, you won’t be able to walk” I said staring angrily at him.

  “Fine, I’m done” Rez said in defeat as he put his head back down to watch his video.

  A few moments filled with yelling at each other from Ken, Cole, Link, Node and I about why we couldn’t take on a pack of little people was interrupted by Rez kicking me. I looked at him and he laughed hysterically. When I got up his laughing slowly dissipated. I raised my fist up and slammed it down on to his butt.

  “ECH!” Rez yelled and laughed in pain.

  He tried to get up and fell.

  “You paralyzed my buns.” Rez said rolling on the ground in pain.

  Suddenly there was a crash and the lights went out. The only light in the room was from outside the house, in the front yard. The room was silent except for our breathing and Rez’s thumps on the ground from trying to get up.

  We walked up to the door and opened it slowly opened the door. Apparently no one else heard it, saw it or cared enough to look at it.

  “Whoa, what is it?” Link said excitedly.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll go check it out.” I said.

  They all watched as I approached the object the crashed into my front lawn. It was a big metal ball that had a note on it that read:

  “To whoever finds this,

  This device makes your imagination come to life, good luck, don’t kill each other.”

  “What does that mean?” I thought to myself.

  I picked up the pencil and drew a dodge ball and threw it at Link’s face.

  They all wanted a turn to try out the magic pencil, but since I threw a ball at Link’s face, I let him go first. He began to draw a humanoid figure but it was too oddly shaped to be a human. Link then finished and took a step back as it materialized. It was a robot with a fur coat, zebra print leggings and a name tag that read “Hello I’m Neo Neo Alpha, 2026” Alpha’s head began to turn as he loudly repeated “SEARCHING” in a deep, robotic voice. “LOCATED” it yelled and shot his hand to Link’s hand and grabbed the Magic Pencil and flew to the Northwest.

  “Link, where is it going?” Node asked worriedly.

  Link shrugged as Rez appeared in the door way after being incapacitated for so long.

  “What happ-“Rez was cut off by an earthquake and
a roar in the distance. It got louder and louder as it approached. What we saw when it arrived was true horror. It was an army of Macklemores led by Alpha; They were all chanting “ WUT WUT WUT WUT…”

  “My god...” Whispered Ken

  “The end is nigh…” Node said as he began to tear up.

  Cole didn’t panic like the others, instead he ran inside to grab our sacred book, the Shrible. He flipped though it to 13:37, walked outside and read aloud,

  “… and when the Macklemores roam the earth, our father, Shrek shall come and banish the enemy from-…“

  “…my swamp!” Shrek bellowed.

  “SHREK!” we all said in unison. We were all so happy to see our lord. He walked up to the Macklemores and Alpha and yelled a mighty ogre roar. They knew they were no match for him so they ran off, never to be seen again. Shrek then turned to us and said, “This is OUR swamp now.”

  Shrek then took the Magic Pencil Alpha dropped when he ran off and drew a massive object in the sky. It was a flying swamp filled with Onions and Donkeys. We lived long happy lives with Shrek. We traveled the word with our flying swamp. Those were the best times of our lives. Eventually, we all settled down and got married to fellow followers of Shrek and taught our children our sacred rule, Shrek is love, Shrek is life.

  They Speak

  They never stop; I beg them to, but they still don’t. I’m surprised I have not completely lost my mind at this point. I can never escape the flurry of voices in my head, except on my birthday for whatever reason. Even in my sleep, they speak to me but, instead of just voices, they have bodies too, the bodies of famous figures throughout time. The only non-famous, or maybe just unrecognizable to me, is this pale girl. She has soft face, pale blue eyes and thick, long black hair. My dream/nightmare always ends the same way. The pale girl starts to charge at me yelling “You cracked it; It’s no use to me now, time for Plan B!” As I turn to try to run, she stabs me in the chest. As I am on the end of her sword, a light juts out of me, she looked up to me with hate in her eyes and says “Wake up Logan, I’ll be seeing again you very soon.” I used to wake up in a panic from the dream until I got used to it and my roommate/ Best friend, Etheal, came into the room to the room every day to make sure I don’t hurt myself, but it’s become such a frequent thing that he is already there before I wake up. He has not had to do that for years. But today, when I woke up Etheal had a cupcake and a birthday hat and was sitting at the edge of my bed. I looked at my phone, it read 10/13/07 10:36 am. He looked me with an expression of pure joy on his face and said “Happy 27th Birthday, Logan!” When there was a knock at the apartment door.

  Etheal said he’ll get he walked to the door and I followed. He opened the door at it was a girl that looked very familiar. She was wearing a black skirt, black shirt and a black leather jacket. Etheal questioned who she was and she said “I’m Paige, Logan’s girlfriend.” Etheal replied with “Logan doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Paige than said “Of course he does, right Logan?” She looked at me with such an intense look from behind Etheal that I said “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.” Etheal looked at me with such betrayal, presumably because I didn’t tell him of my apparent “girlfriend”. Paige interrupted his look of betrayal by speaking up and saying “Well, Logan and I should be off. We have something’s to take care off. Oh, and don’t worry about changing, I got you some new clothes you can change into later.” She grabbed my hand and shouted while running down the hall, “I’ll have him back my tomorrow, tops.” We ran all the way to her car. When we got in she immediately started to drive. “Who are you?” I asked with internal fear but trying to sound tough. She said “I’m that girl from your dream.” I looked at her with anger and disbelief and yelled “One, no you’re not and two how do you know about that?!” She turned to me and said “Maybe this will make you believe me…” and with a snap of her fingers, she looked just as she did in the dream. It did convince me that she was the girl from the dream but it was all too much for me to take in so my mind shut down as I passed out.

  When I came too I began to panic internally but didn't want to yell or anything in fear that she would stab me in the chest like in the dream. She assured me that I should not be afraid of her and she is just there to help me with the voices. I don’t know how she knew about it but I rather not ask because I didn’t feel like passing out again. I asked her where we are going and Paige said we are going to Dawn, CA. I asked where that was because I have lived in California for all of my life and not once heard of a place called Dawn. Paige said it’s the place where time began for humans and the source of my voices. I really doubted the time thing but source of my voices got me intrigued. Paige did warn me that as soon as we stepped in to Dawn’s borders, that my voices would start again but be stronger and continue to get stronger the closer we get to the source. She also warned me that it could get very crazy there and that I should have my guard up at all times and expect anything. We had been driving for hours when we had finally arrived. We wasted no time and just walked into town. That’s when I started to hear them again. It started out soft, and quickly grew very loud, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. We walked on and I began to see some pretty weird things. Everyone we saw looked eerily close to people throughout history like Gandhi, Abe Lincoln, Anne Frank and more. Paige said we were almost there when this man who looked like Martin Luther King Junior came up to me and simply said “Hello.” His voice boomed in my head. I heard it echo, it was like he just yelled in a megaphone, and into a microphone that had speakers placed right next to my ear. It was almost unbearable but it was not strong enough for me to have a visual reaction. That is until he said “Who are you?” It was so powerful I fainted and the last words I heard were from Paige saying “I knew something would go wrong.” I woke up back at the car in a panic and Paige had to calm me down. Once she had done so, she said with a very serious expression, “Logan, you just spoke to one of your voices.”

  I looked at her with awe. I was in shock yet amazement. All the voices in my head were the voice of a famous person. Despite how amazing that was, I still wanted to get rid of them. Paige said that because he spoke to me directly, his voice was amplified. I asked how we were going to get in there if no one can talk to me. Paige said we would just need to make ourselves blend in so they would not have a reason to talk to us. In the middle of making a plan for us to blend in yet have no reason for anyone to approach us, we heard a loud alarm. Paige jumped out of the car and looked panicked, she ordered me to follow her. We booked back into town and suddenly everyone was gone. I questioned the meaning of that alarm and Paige was just as clueless of what it meant as I did, but she did not have a good feeling about it. After about five or so minutes of walking, we arrived at an odd white dome. Paige said that we had arrived but it should not have been as easy even coming this close to what she called “The Extractor”. We walked into the entrance of The Extractor and the first room was shrouded in darkness. Paige turned on the lights and it was a bland, blue, metallic room with only doors. She told me to follow her and that our adventure would soon be over. After what felt like hours of walking in circles, we came upon a room you would see in a hospital. Paige told me to lie down on the bed in the middle of the room and then she would explain everything. I did as she said and lay upon the bed. Every single word she was about to say stuck in my head for the rest of my life. “You have something I want, Logan. It’s been inside you all your life and now, at this age was the best time to take it. What is inside of you is more powerful than anything anyone could ever wish for. And that Logan is the power of time. All the voices you hear are voices throughout history. The voices and the town of Dawn are possible by the little crystal next to your heart. That crystal has been around since the dawn of time and how it ended up inside you is perplexing but not important. With that crystal, I could go back in time and take over this planet and all of the other planets with intelligent life on it. Now are you ready to sacrifice your life so I can become ruler of the galaxy? O
h, and don’t try to run, if you do and run into anyone, I’ll have to start Plan B and it’s rather painful.”

  My mind was boggled. There was so much information to take in that I can’t even grasp it. But I had no time to think, all I knew was to escape this power-hungry psycho so I ran as fast as I could. As I was running I could hear her unsheathe her sword and the sound of footsteps trailing behind me. I ran and ran until I came to a room that was glossy and white. When I saw what was in there I stopped in my tracks. It was all the people that my voices belonged to. They were each having their own conversation with each other, until I made a noise. They all stopped and looked at me, then started to walk towards me and one at a time they started to talk until every single person in the room was talking. I tried to shove past them and run but it hurt too much hearing all of them talk. I fell on the ground, yelling in pain begging them to stop talking. I began to cry so I shut my eyes. Then suddenly, I felt a sharp pain next to my heart that was almost as unbearable as the voices. At that moment, all the people and their voices began to fade but the pain didn’t. I sat there in agony until Paige showed up and I got to my feet. She sprinted at me faster than I have seen anyone run before. As she was running she exclaimed “You cracked it, it’s no use to me now. Time for Plan B!” When I heard those words, I knew was about to happen, yet I still tried to fight it. I turned to run; she stabs me in the chest. I am still at the tip of her blade when a beam of light shoots out of me and then she utters, “Wake up Logan; I’ll be seeing again you very soon.” I open my eyes and I am suddenly back home. Etheal was sitting on my bed with a cupcake and a birthday hat. I looked at my phone, it read 10/13/07 10:36 am. Etheal looked me with an expression of pure joy on his face and said “Happy 27th Birthday, Logan!” When there was a knock at the apartment door.

  Chantel Stiles

  Roll-A-Story

  The Dream That Never Was

  “I can’t believe she would do something this horrible!” I thought to myself as I’m walking down the halls of my school. People all around me are laughing, and pointing at me. Tears begin to fall from my eyes. All over the lockers, walls, and doors are pictures of me, blood rushing down my arms. The wording underneath says, “Attention Seeker.” “Look at the cry baby!” A girl yells from the crowd, pointing at me, and laughing. I run as fast as I can. Suddenly I run into someone. I look up to see my former best friend. “Why. Why would you do these things to me?” I yell. “What do you mean?” She says looking at me. She than walks away, head hanging low. I run as fast as I can out of the school building, down the stairs, and towards the street. “What did I do to deserve these things!?!?!” I thought to myself.

  I’m finally to my house, I run through the front door, to my bedroom. I slam the door, and go to my bed. I kneel down and look underneath my bed. I see a black shoe box. I think back to when I first started hiding my razors there. It’s after my dad found out that I broke my promise again. I pull it out and slowly put it on my lap. I’m shaking by now, tears forming in my eyes. I open it to see several little silver, and sharp razors laying at the bottom of the box. Surrounding it are little pieces of paper. Each of them have a word. These are every single word I have ever been called. I don’t like to think of this. I don’t like letting people push me down. But I just can’t help it. I’m so used to the names they call me I can’t help but believe them.

  Suddenly the phone rings. I so fast, but so carefully put the lid on the black box and put it under my bed. I rush out my bedroom door, to the phone, fast enough to answer it before the ringing dies. “Hello?” I say. “Hi Crystal this is Adie.” She said. “Oh, uh, hi?” I say, wondering why on Earth she called me. She is one of those popular girls. Someone I thought would never call me. She is short, with brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. She is friends with everyone, unless you’re mean to her. I’m pulled out of my daze. “I saw those horrible pictures taped up all over the school. I’m so sorry.” She said apologetically. “It’s okay I guess. It’s just going to be something I have to deal with. No one really knows what I go through.” I say, tears rolling down my cheek like the rain on a windowsill after a late night storm. “If you need someone to talk to I will be here for you. I hope you know that.” She says. “Well I have to go.” I say. “Oh okay. Call me…” The lines goes dead. “I didn’t want to talk to her anymore. No one understands what I’m going through right now, not till they are in my shoes for a day.” I thought to myself.

  Next Day

  I walk into the dreadful place I call school. It’s so horrible here. It’s like prison, but worse. Everyone thinks they know everything, when truly they don’t. I can’t take another day here. I start walking towards my locker on the second floor when I run into someone. I look up to see Adie. “Oh I’m sorry Crystal, are you okay?” She asks looking at me with a worried face. “Yeah...um…I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I say about to walk away. “Here come with me. I can help you with your make up. It will be fun.” She says cheerfully, grabbing my hand and taking me to the girls’ restroom. We step in, standing there is three of her friends looking at me with disgust. One’s name is Sarah, another one is Jessica, and the last one is Mariah. They are all tall and slim. They are also people who think they are popular, and people I would never hang out with. “What’s going on?” I ask looking at Adie. She snickers. “You actually thought I would be friends with someone like you? You’re a nobody. You shouldn’t be here.” She says, as her and her friends start to push me towards the last stall. They push me in and start to corner me. One by one they start kicking, punching, and yelling horrible names at me. All I can do is take it. There is nothing more I can do.

  Out of nowhere everything turns black. All I see next when I open my eyes is the white walls, and cords, and machines of what I think is the hospital. Suddenly a figure is standing over me, a needle in one hand. “Oh you’re awake. It’s okay all this is a pain reliever, helps take the pain away.” The nurse with a white gown says to me. “Oh um it’s okay.” I say, as I try and sit up. “Oh I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” Too late. Pain already shot through me. I carefully lay back onto my pillow. “You have some visitors.” The kind nurse says to me. At least 10 minutes later someone walks in. I can’t believe my eyes, why would she come here after all the pain she caused me! “What are you doing here?” I yell at her. Standing in front of me is my former best friend Serena. She is tall with short brown curly hair. Her eyes are a dark blue, she is one of those people who is not popular, but not a nerd. She is just one of those people who is friends with everyone. “Crystal listen to me. That was not me. I did not do those things!” She says walking towards me. I can’t get out of bed so I stay where I am. “What do you mean you didn’t do those things? If it wasn’t you than who was it?” I asked, looking at her with tear filled eyes. “I don’t know, I just know it was not me. I promise you. I know what you go through. You know that I’m the only one who actually does!” She said. I didn’t know what to do at that moment. Should I give her one last chance, or just ignore her till she walks out. I sigh. “Okay. Okay fine, I will give you one more chance, but if it turns out that you were the one to do those things we are no longer friends.” I say as she comes towards me, carefully trying to give me a hug. “I totally understand.” She says with a big happy grin on her face.

  That Night

  I’m sitting in my hospital bed when two black figures are standing outside the hospital room. One by one they start to walk in. When the lights are turned on I’m kind of shocked. Standing right at the end of my bed are Jessica, and Sarah themselves. Two of the four girls who cornered me in the bathroom at school, and who were responsible for me being where I am right now. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked with a shocked look on my face. “We…We came to apologize.” Said Sarah. “Yeah, we didn’t want to do the things we did to you. Adie made us.” Jessica said. “What is going on?” I think to myself. “Well the real reason we came here is to invite you to a little outing. Sarah, Serena, and I are
going on an adventure through a hidden cave. We thought you might want to come.” Said Jessica. “Wait Serena is coming too?” I asked puzzled. “Well we haven’t asked her yet, but we figured if we told you that she was coming you would to. We didn’t think you would come if you knew it was just going to be me, Sarah, and you.” Jessica said. “No I probably wouldn’t have.” I said. I think to myself about everything that would happen if I did go. But, if I didn’t go I would probably be thought of as the girl who shot down a great opportunity of maybe fitting in for once. I’m hesitant about how I answer. “Okay I will go. On one condition.” I say looking at them with a serious face. “Yeah sure what is it?” asked Jessica. “I will go, IF, I do not see the presence of Adie anywhere. Serena has to go with too.” I say. “Okay, that is fine.” They say in unison. “Okay, then I will go.” I say, having an uneasy feeling go through my stomach. “Great!” Sarah said. “Well we better leave you alone so you can get some rest.” Sarah said. “Get well.” They both said in unison, as they start walking out into the hospital hallway.

  When they leave, I just sit there in complete silence. I don’t know what to do. Do I go with them? Or do I just stay home? Suddenly my phone rings. For a minute I forgot I had a phone. The ringtone that is playing is called Teenagers by My Chemical Romance, it tells exactly how I feel about being in High School, where everyone treats you like crap. I pick up my phone and look at the caller ID. It’s Serena. “Hello?” I say. “Hey Crystal. How are you?” She asks me. “I’m doing better. So the strangest thing happened just a few minutes ago.” I say to her. “Really what happened? Did Sarah and Jessica invite you to the cave this Friday?” She asked, kind of quietly now. “Wait how did you know? They just left?” I said kind of a little freaked out, “Are you like spying on me or something?” I asked looking around my room. “No silly. As soon as they left, they called me and told me.” She said chuckling. “Oh. So do you think it’s a good idea that I go? Or no?” I ask her. “Well I think you should. I’m going, so if anything happens I’m there for you.” She said. “Okay. I will go. But hey I’m starting to get a headache, I’m going to let you go.” I say softly. “Okay. Well I hope you feel better. See you soon.” Serena says as she hangs up the phone.

  It’s the next day, and I’m wore out. It’s beautiful outside, the birds are chirping, and the wind is slowly moving. I should be happy, but…it’s Friday, the day I go to the cave with Serena, Sarah, and Jessica. I don’t feel safe. I have this feeling deep inside of me that is making me think something is going to go horribly wrong. I’m pulled out of my daze by the sound of footsteps coming near me. I look up to see Serena. I smile real big as she comes running towards me and hugs me. “Ouch. Watch out I’m still a little bruised up.” I say flinching a little. “Oh. I’m sorry about that.” She says, stepping back a little. “So are you ready to go on an adventure?” I look around Serena to see Jessica and Sarah right behind her. “Yes, we are so ready. Right Crystal?” Says Serena as she looks at me with a twinkle in her eye. “Uh, yeah we are ready.” I say, an uneasy feeling going through my stomach. “Okay follow us.” Said Jessica. They lead us to one of their car, a convertible, red, and shiny. “Not a surprise. They’re rich. They get anything they want.” I think to myself.

  We all jump in the car, as they slowly pull out of the hospital parking lot. As soon as we are on the freeway, Jessica, in the driver seat, speeds up more. It kind of feels good. The cool was air blowing against my face. I slowly drift off into a little dream. It’s a scary dream. It shows us at the cave, Serena getting dragged back into the cave by Jessica and Sarah, as rocks start falling on top of her. What’s going on here? Is Jessica and Sarah not even human or something? Why would they risk going back into the cave when they know they are going to end up hurting themselves? This is so confusing, and weird. Suddenly I’m pulled out my day dream by the car squealing to a stop right in front of a steep and dirty hill. “Follow us. All we have to do is climb a little and then we will be at the cave.” Says Sarah. We follow their lead as we start making our way up the steep hill to the cave. When we get to the cave it’s scary. It is pitch black, and no one is in sight except for us four girls. “Uh guys, do you think this is safe? I don’t think we should go in there.” I say looking at Serena with a serious look.

  “Come on Crystal. I will be right here by your side.” Said Serena, grabbing ahold of my hand, as we make our way into the dark cave. It’s so weird in here. “Why are we here?” I ask. But all I get in return in a chuckle, and a deadly scream. I no longer feel Serena’s hand in mine. “Serena. Serena where are you!!!” I yell running frantically towards the entrance of the cave. I can’t help but go there. If I knew Serena, I would know if something would go wrong she would try real fast to get out of there. Suddenly the ground began to shake. And rocks began to fall from the caves ceiling. I run as fast as I can. When I get to the entrance I look back into the dark scary cave. “Serena. Serena please!” I yell much louder this time. All of a sudden a figure appears. “Serena is that you?” I say, puzzled. “Crystal. Crystal help me.” Says Serena. “Come out. Please come out.” I say. “I can’t. They won’t like it if I do. You have to come get me.” She says softly. I can’t see her, but I start walking towards her. When I’m in front of her I scream. This lady in front of me was not Serena. She was someone awful. “Where…Where is Serena?” I asked her. “Dear. What do you mean?’ She asked. “Where is Serena? I heard a scream and the next thing I know she is gone!” I yell. “Serena is not here.” She said looking at me with a puzzled look on her face. “But…Then where is Jessica and Sarah! Where are they??” I asked scared to death. “Oh hunny. You don’t pay attention to well. You see they never existed. They were a figment of your imagination. Everything you are seeing right now is not really happening.” She says.

  “Wait what?” I say. What is going on I think to myself. “Why am I here? Why am I thinking these things if they are not real? How can I get out of here?” I ask. “Oh that is not my job. I don’t help people.” She says. “So I have to get myself out of here?” I say looking at her with a puzzled look. “Yes.” Now that I look at her, all I see is a beautiful girl, who shouldn’t be in the position she is in right now. “Can you get out of here too?” I asked her. “Unfortunately there is no way out for me. I’m stuck here for all eternity.” She says, with a sad look on her face. “Oh.” I say sadly. “But don’t worry about me dear, we are here to get you out of this mess.” She says smiling. Wow that is the first time I saw her smile since I’ve seen her, and I haven’t seen anything so beautiful in my life. “Okay dear. All you have to do is wake up.” She said. “Wake up? What do you mean wake up? Is all of this just a dream? Will I ever see you again?” I asked, just throwing the questions at her.

  “Yes soon someday you will see me. But until then. Wake up.” She said. Her voice fading away in my head. “Wake up. Crystal wake up!” I hear Serena’s voice in the distance. “We’re losing her!” Someone whose voice I don’t recognized said. “Wait. Wait a minute. There’s a heartbeat!” A doctor says. I look up to see Isabelle floating near the ceiling. “Don’t leave. Don’t go into the light. Go back to the life you are supposed to live.” She said softly. “But what about you!” I yell. “What about me? I’m already in a great place my dear. I’m happy being here. But now I want you to go back. Don’t go into the light.” She said.

  “She’s back!” Said the doctor. I open my eyes to see a hospital room full of people. People I love. I can’t help but smile. When I try and lean up, a pain shoots through me. “I wouldn’t do that.” Said the doctor. “Yeah I got that now.” I say smiling. The blonde doctor smiles back at me. “Welcome back.” She said. But the voice didn’t come from her. I look around the room, in the corner, where no one can see, is the image of Isabelle. “Thank you for everything.” I lip say to her. “You’re very welcome.” She said. I smile. Soon she smiles and slowly fades away.

  Who is Isabelle you may ask? Well Isabelle was a girl who was trapped
in a world full of hate. No one liked her. She was told she was an outcast. So she decided to end it all one night. One night, Isabelle went into her room, grabbing a chair on the way up the stairs. When she gets into her room she puts the chair in the middle of the room. She walks over to her closet, reaching back and grabbing a box. A box she has gotten prepared for a night like this. She knew one day, this day would finally come. She opened up the beat up box, staring down at a gun, rope, and razor blades. She settled with the rope. She took it out and stood in front of the chair. “This is it.” She thought, “This is when it all ends.” She stands up on the chair, tying the rope around the hook on the ceiling as tight as it will go. She then put the rope around her neck. She looked around the room one last time. Took her last breathe and dropped. Isabelle knew Crystal because they were very close friends, from a very young age. They could never be separated because of how they were always together. Isabelle didn’t want to see Crystal go through the same problems she went through, so she came back as a spirit to help her out.

  The reason she is a part of the story is because she knew the feelings Crystal was going through. She knew that all the pain and sorrow one day would all come to an end. She knew the struggle I was going through, and she didn’t want my life to end as shortly as hers did. She was the girl at the end of the tunnel. The only one stopping me from going into the light. She was my guardian angel.

  The End.

  Chantel Stiles

  Name Story

  The Unexpected Day

  It was a dark, and stormy day out in Austin, Texas. I’m wearing a long black coat, black slacks, and a top hat. (I know snazzy right?) I like to just walk down these empty street and get lost in the moment. I was just walking the dirty streets, when out of nowhere I hear a loud scream. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, till a lady in a blue nightgown comes running out of the Red Horn Bar. When I step closer I can she has blood on her hands, and nightgown. She has grey short hair, and round glasses that basically fill up her whole face. “Help! Help me!” She yells. I race over to her. “Ma’am what’s going on here?” I ask. “Who are you? If you are not a cop I don’t want your help!” she yells. “Ma’am calm down I’m Detective Dee Winchester. Now what seems to be the problem here?” I ask. She doesn’t say a word, just grabs me by the wrist and pulls me into the bar. She runs over to the stage, where a woman with short, blonde hair, and a nice red dress, is laying on the ground covered in blood. “My daughter-in-law! She’s dead!” the woman yells. “Okay ma’am. I’m calling for backup right now.” I reach down for my cell phone and dial a number. “Hello? Yes. I need back up. At Red Horn Bar. Lots of blood. Dead.” I say. Soon I hang up the phone. “Well? Are they coming or not!” the woman yells. “Ma’am you need to calm down. They are on their way. While we are waiting, may I ask what your name is, and the name of the young lady?” I ask, pulling her away from the body so she doesn’t have to see it anymore.

  “My name is Vivian Doyle. And the young lady is my daughter-in-law Bea Miller. I don’t know what happened! I was sitting in my bedroom upstairs, when out of nowhere I hear a BANG, and a loud THUD! I ran downstairs to see what had happened. And when I came down here, she was gone.” Vivian said tears forming in her eyes. “Okay Vivian. When the cops get here you need to give them the full report of what happened. Okay?” I say. Suddenly the door bangs open, 4 cops, and 3 paramedics come rushing in. “Where is she?” asked one of the paramedics. “Over there.” Said Vivian pointing towards the young girl’s body. Soon she is pulled out in a black, and silky body bag, and a cop walks up to Vivian. “Ma’am, can you tell me what happened here tonight?” He asked. She went on and told him the whole story.

  While they were talking, I decided to take a look around, and see if there were any missing pieces to the puzzle. I was just looking around when out of nowhere I saw something shiny in the corner of my eye. I walked over to where it was, bent down, and picked it up. I inspected it carefully. It seemed to be a shiny, silver pin that was shaped as a bull. “Now why would this be in here?” I think to myself. I stand up holding onto it carefully, and walk over to where Vivian and the cop stood. When I got up to them, they both turned and looked at me. “Ma’am do you have any idea why this would be in here?” I ask showing her the pin. “No idea. I don’t have any clue,” she said. Carefully the cop takes it out of my hands and inspects it. “It seems to look exactly like a pin my little boy has at home. He likes to go to the rodeos and see the bull riders. And every year he gets a pin exactly like this one,” said the cop.

  “We need to go check that place out. Care to take us?” I ask the cop. “No not at all. Follow me.” Said the cop, as he starts to walk out the front entrance of the bar. When we got into his car, he turned on the sirens and raced for the Rodeo. We were going fast until we came across a little place. It was big, and brown, it kind of looked old, and torn apart. It looked…abandoned. “What is this place?” Asked Vivian, “It looks like no one owns the place anymore.” “Well, it has been a couple of years since I have been here.” Said the cop. “What!?! Are you telling me that you took us to a place that hasn’t even been open in what looks like forever!” yelled the woman. “Ma’am calm down.” I said grabbing her shoulders. “Don’t you tell me to calm down. I will not calm down!” she said yanking from my grip. She sits in the back of the cop car, tears rolling down her cheek like the storm going by.

  “It’s okay Vivian. We will catch this guy who did this horrible act of violence and put him in a place he deserves to be.” I told her. She looks at me with tear filled eyes, and gives me a big hug. “Thank you Detective Dee. It means a lot that you are doing this for me.” She said, giving me a big squeeze and let go. We make our way out of the car, to see a guy standing in the doorway of the building. “Hey you! What are you doing here?!” Yelled the cop. I was so puzzled. Why would a guy be standing in the middle of a doorway at an old abandoned Rodeo? “Hey stop!” yelled the cop at the guy as he starts running towards the building. Vivian and I follow close behind.

  We run inside the building to hear a loud bang. We look around. “Where’s Vivian?” I asked. “She was just with me a second ago.” I said. The cop doesn’t listen, just follows to where he thinks he heard the sound. We soon walk into a room, to find the guy dead on the floor. Vivian was standing over him, blood splattered on her shirt. “Vivian. What’s going on?” I ask taking a step towards her. “Don’t move.” She said, pointing the gun at me, “I’ll shoot.” “What are you talking about? Put the gun down.” Said the cop. BANG! The cop was dead. “I told you. Don’t move.” She said looking at me. I could see how angry she was. “I never liked her. My son thought I adored her, but no. She was always so mean to him. Made him do everything for her. So I had to end it all someway. Right?” She said looking at me. “Well, I guess. But wait what did the man on the floor have to do with anything?” I asked. “He knew what I did. He watched me the whole time when it happened. He ran when I saw him. He was going to tell. And I just couldn’t let him do that. No way.” She said.

  I take a step towards her. “Don’t. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I need to.” She said, the gun shaking in her hand. “Ma’am just put the gun down. We can talk about it. Please.” I said. Carefully, I walk towards her, gently taking the gun out of her hand and placing it on the floor. “Come with me. We can call for help, and get this mess cleaned up.” I say. “NO! I can’t get into trouble. I just can’t. Then my son will find out, and what am I going to do then, when he finds out I’m the one who killed his fiancé?” She said, tears starting to fill her eyes again. “Just, come on it will all be over soon.” I say. I take her to the cop car, and call for back up. Soon police cars, and ambulances are surrounding the building. “What happened here?” Asked a cop as he starts walking up to us. I look at Vivian. “Go ahead.” I tell her, taking a step back.

  She breaks down into tears, as she tells the cop her story. “So you’re meaning to tell me, you didn’t like this young lad
y, so decided to go on a killing spree?” Asked the cop. “Well, I mean, I guess? I don’t know.” She said. “Okay well I am sorry to tell you, but you are being placed under arrest.” Said the cop, as he takes his handcuffs out. “Place your hands behind your back ma’am.” He said. She did as she was told. “I...I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to!” She cried out as she was being put in the back seat of the cop car. “I know. Don’t worry Vivian everything will be okay.” I say, watching the car drive off. I make my way to the other cop car we came in.

  As I’m sitting in the driver seat, making my way back into town, I think of the crazy day I had. “That was….unexpected.” I say to myself, knowing there will be more to come.

  The End.

  Chantel Stiles

  Choice

  Battle Wounds

  My name is Mallisa, and I am 15. I am from a small town called Monticello. I am known to be a very quiet, and shy person. I don’t like to talk much to people, even if it is my closest friends. I have a dad and a mom. They are divorced, and have been since I was three years of age. I have a brother named Kolton, who is 12. And a sister named Chayenne, who is 16. But there is more to me that meets the eye. I have secrets I’m scared to tell. But for now we will start at the beginning of it all.

  “You always stick up for her!” I yell to my mom. “Well if you didn’t act the way you did it would be different!” She yells back. I run up to my room and slammed the door. I sat on my bed and cried. “Why does my life have to be so messed up?” I thought to myself.

  It’s later that night and I can’t take it anymore. My mom treats me differently from Kolton, and Chayenne. All I have is my friend Madi. I text her and tell her my feelings are coming back. I cry because I know I shouldn’t do this. But I can’t take the pain I feel inside. How I always get treated the way I do. Madi texts back. She tells me don’t do it. It’s not worth it. No good will come from a slit up and bruised wrist. But she doesn’t understand. Doing what I do makes the pain go away, even if it’s for a short while. Everyone thinks self-harm is stupid. But those people don’t understand what, people like me, go through every day.

  As I’m crying I look at my phone. I have a message. I open it and cry even harder. “Why would someone say a thing like that to another person!?!” I think to myself. I can’t take another second of it! I take a box out from under my bed and open it up. Inside are four small and silver razor blades. I gently pick one up. “They are all asleep.” I quietly say to myself. As I take the blade across my skin. as the blood flows down my arm I cry. I cry harder than I ever have before. On the outside I cry, but on the inside I can do nothing but smile of pure happiness.

  It’s the next day, and I’m at school. I wore long sleeves so no one will see the scars that are upon my wrists. I walk around the halls with my friend Madi. “Are you okay?” Madi asked me. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?” I answer. “You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes. Mallisa what’s wrong?” I start to cry. She helps me to the auditorium where we sit and no one can find us. “Mallisa are you okay? Why are you crying?” She asks me. I look at her and all I can say is “I’m sorry.” I lift up my sleeves and show her. All she can do is stare. “Why?” She asks me as she sounds like she is going to cry. “I can’t take it anymore Madi! I can’t take all this pain!” “But you could have come to me. I’m always here for you. You know that Mallisa.” I cry as she wraps me in her arms and holds onto me tightly. “Everything will be okay.” Madi says. “No it won’t. And we both know it.” I say choked up by tears.

  As we sit there in silence, the bell for first class rings. “We should go.” I say. But she doesn’t move. “Madi?” She looks up and says, “ Let’s go. Let’s just leave.” “But we can’t just do that Madi. People will get worried about us.” “I know. We won’t run away, we will just go walk around town. Go to a park or something.” So we do. We leave the school and go to an empty park. As we sit on the swings in complete silence, I say “I’m sorry.” She doesn’t say a word. “You need to get help.” Madi says. “What!?! No. What are you talking about?!” I scream. But she is right. I do need help I just don’t want to admit it. “Okay.” I say. “Alright let’s go.” She says as she grabs my hand.

  As we are walking towards the Mental Help Center I cry. “How will my mom find out?” I ask. “I already texted your mom and dad.” Madi says. “And they are okay with this?” “Yes Mallisa they are okay with it.” Madi says as she smiles at me. As we walk in I squeeze her hand tighter. While Madi is talking to the lady at the front desk, I sit and wait quietly. Then two women come and take my hands. “It’s okay. They are just taking you to your new room.” Madi says softly. I ran and hugged her. Than followed the women into the room.

  1 year later….

  It’s now been 1 whole year and they are letting me go!! I smile a big smile when I see my friends and family waiting for me. My life has changed but not that much. My family asks how it went. “It went good.” I reply. “You don’t sound too positive about that.” Says my mom. “I said it was good mom.” I say as I walk out of the Center. We are finally home. I go straight to my room to unpack. I than get a call from my friend Kyle. “How did it go?” Asks Kyle. “How did you find out?” “I heard it from Madi. I was worried about you.” “Oh. It went okay I guess.” “You don’t sound too sure. Do you want to meet up?” “Sure.” I say. “Okay. Meet me at the park.” “Okay.” I say and then I hang up.

  When I am finally get to the park, Kyle runs and gives me a big hug. I smile. Kyle, he is one of those friends who is always there for me, just like Madi. “I missed you like crazy!” “I missed you too.” I say. “Are you sure you’re okay Mallisa?” “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I ask. “Don’t lie to me we both know you are not okay.” “Okay….I lied. I’m not okay. That place did not help at all! I just faked being okay so I could finally get out of there! It doesn’t help the pain go away. And my mom will always be the same. I just….I don’t know what to do anymore.” I say as I start to cry. “It’s okay, it will be okay.” Kyle says as he wraps me in his arms.

  He finally walks me home at Midnight. “It will all be okay. I promise.” He says. “But what if it’s not going to turn out okay?” “It will just trust me on this.” Kyle says as he gives me a kiss on the cheek and walks away. I walk into my room, sit on my floor, and pull the box out from under my bed. “Welcome back.” Says a voice in my head, “We missed you.” I think to myself, “You say it will be okay, and I truly wish I believed you. But I know it will never be okay.” I take the small and silver razor blade across my skin once more. I cry on the outside while I smile in the inside.

  Ten years has gone by. Over these past ten years, I have gotten a lot of help. I went to another mental center, I have a therapist, and I have regular check-ups with my doctor. Life is going great. I have changed so much, I have not self-harmed over these last few years, yes I have had some slip ups, but everyone does once in a while.

  I am now married and have two children of my own. They are beautiful and I couldn’t ask for anything more wonderful than the life I live in now. Their names are Bentley, and Nevaeh. My husband is amazing too. His name is harper. He understands what I go through because; he too, has gone through the pain I went through. My children see my scars and I know they wonder what is wrong with their mommy. All I say to them is they are my Battle Wounds, they smile, kiss my scars, and go and play. Thinking back I knew what I did was wrong, and I shouldn’t have done what I did back when I was 15. But you know what? Those scars upon my wrists made me who I am right now. I am not ashamed at all of those secrets.

  In my past life I was someone I thought I would never become. I was always depressed and alone. I always thought the names people called me were true. I let those harsh people bring me down. I thought I would never be happy again. But now I am a bright and happy girl.
I would not change one thing about my past. I am stronger than I have ever been in my life. In my past life I was someone I don’t ever want to see or become again.

  Chantel Stiles

  Funny Stories

  The Night It All Started

  I was walking down the road when suddenly there’s a loud honk, and a scream. I never realized I was the one screaming. I didn’t know what was going on, all I heard were voices around me, and sirens going on. Red, and blue lights were flashing all around me. “Hello, ma’am can you hear me?” asked someone. I moan, and nod. “She’s okay!” The person yells. I moan again, because the scream made my head hurt. “Oh I’m sorry about that.” Said the person. I could kind of see what she looked like through the blurriness around me. She was medium height, short brown hair, and blue eyes. “Wow, blue eyes, that’s unique.” I thought to myself. But suddenly I’m pulled into a deep sleep.

  That night

  I moan, and grunt as I gently lift myself up more on the hospital bed. I wasn’t real sure where I was at first, well even who I was. I turn to my right and see a woman sitting, well asleep, in the chair. I lean a little closer to see that it’s my best friend. “Sarah?” I say. Shocked the girl looks up and smiles. “Oh hey Chrissie, you’re awake.” She said coming over and giving me a hug, and a peck on the cheek. “That was strange.” I thought. I give an awkward smile and look around the room. I try to figure out more about myself, but all I know is that my head hurts really badly. But as soon as she said my name it clicked. I’m Chrissie Ann Johnstein, I’m 19 years old, and I’m from Jackson, Mississippi. “What happened?” I ask looking at Sarah. “Oh, well, you were walking down the road when a crazy driver came speeding down the road. He swerved off the road, you tried getting out of the way, but it was too late.” She said, “but the good thing is, is that you’re okay now.” I smiled again. Then the door swings open, the door slamming on the wall behind it.

  A lady with long brown curly hair, brown eyes, and a long black dress on comes walking through the door. “Oh there you are.” She said tilting a little as she walks towards Sarah. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” She said. “Umm, who are you?” I ask looking at her. “Oh shut up no one was talking to you.” She said to me. A nurse comes running in. “I told you you’re not allowed back here, it’s for family members only. I’m sorry Chrissie.” The kind nurse said. “You need to leave.” I say, sitting up a little more. “Leave, leave? I am not leaving my daughter here with a girl like you!” She said stepping towards me. But as she comes towards me she slips a little and falls. I can’t help but laugh just a little.

  The nurse walks over, helps her up, and leads her out of the room. “I’m so sorry Chrissie. I didn’t know she was going to come here. Please don’t listen to her when she said a girl like you. She just doesn’t like the way I am. She doesn’t like that we are together.” Said Sarah. “Together.” I thought. Then it all clicks. I knew what happened that night. I was walking to Sarah’s house. I wanted to get her out of there, because her mom was drunk, and she was hitting Sarah. “God, I hate your mom.” I say. “You remember.” She said rushing towards me. I smile as I give her the biggest hug ever. “I was walking to your house you know? The night I got hurt.” I say looking into her eyes. Her eyes fill with tears. “I know.” She said. I let her climb up on the hospital bed with me as we lay next to each other, and drift off into a deep sleep.

  The next morning I wake up to realize Sarah isn’t next to me. “Sarah?” I say out loud. No answer. I look down on the floor next to my bed and find that my bags are packed. “When did those get there?” I think to myself. I hear a soft knock on the door. “Can I come in?” A voice asked. “Sure.” I say. Sarah walks through the door. “Guess what!” She said with a big smile on her face, “they are discharging you today!” She said. She runs over and gives me a big hug. “Yay!” I say a big smile on my face. “I’m so glad, but wait where are we going to go when we get out?” I asked. I sure didn’t want her to go back to that horrible lady, and I wasn’t too big of a fan of my family either. “That’s the other great news!” she said. She runs out the door, and later comes back with a nice little pink bag. “Open it.” She said handing it to me with a huge smile on her face. I reach into the bag and pull out a little brown box. I open it. I’m shocked. “What is this?” I asked, taking out the little silver key, placed neatly inside. “It’s our key.” She said, about to jump out of her skin with joy. “A key to what?” I asked. “A key to our new house silly!” she said.

  “When did this all happen?” I asked. “Well, we were talking about it for some time, and I finally had gotten just the right amount of money. I went down to the apartments, and asked for the manager. We talked for some time, and look now. We got the apartment! It’s not so fancy, it needs some work done, but it will be great for the two of us.” She said. I smile with joy. I’m now out of the hospital, and I have a new apartment with the most amazing girl ever. I couldn’t believe it. Soon the nurses come in and unhook everything from me, help me off the bed, and lead me to the bathroom where I got changed. I looked into the mirror in the bathroom, looking at the scars on my body. I just slipped on my t-shirt when a soft knock was on the bathroom door. Sarah opens the door and comes in. She doesn’t say anything just stands behind me and wraps her arms around my waist and puts her head on my shoulders. “You’re beautiful, don’t you ever forget that. Scars and all.” She said, kissing me on the cheek and stepping out of the bathroom.

  I soon follow her lead back into the hospital room, where I sit on my bed and put my black combat boots on. I’m wearing a knee length, pink and white dress, with my hair up in a bun, and black glasses on my face. I look over at Sarah. She is wearing blue jeans, a blue v neck, and her hair is up in a ponytail, with blue flats on her feet. “She’s so beautiful,” I thought to myself. She turns around, looks at me and smiles. I walk over to her and helped her pick up the bags she had brought. As we walk out of the hospital I stop. I look around and squint a little. “You okay?” asked Sarah, as she turns around towards me. “Yeah, uhh, just haven’t been out in a while, it’s kind of bright,” I say. She laughs and starts walking towards a cute little blue car. Kind of junky, but cute. In the back seat are tons of boxes, she had to tie down the trunk because there was so much stuff in the back. I couldn’t help but laugh. She turns to where I’m looking and punches me. “Don’t make fun of me, I didn’t know how else to fit everything of ours in my car, it’s small you know. “She said, slamming the car door, opening the passenger side door, and walks around to the driver’s side. “Oh how romantic, you open the car door but don’t wait for me to get in the car to shut it.” I say laughing. “Oh I’m so sorry, I’ll just stand there and wait next time.” She said turning the key. “Well that’s much better.” I say smiling.

  She turns on the radio, and playing was Welcome to the Black Parade by my all-time favorite band My Chemical Romance. Sarah turns to me and says, “Did you know they broke up?” “What no!” I say. “Yeah no joke they broke up.” She said. “La la la la. I’m not listening.” I say covering my ears. She laughs, “Okay, okay I’m done. You can uncover your ears now.” She said. I carefully uncover my ears. “Broke up!” she yelled. “Gahhhh!” I say nudging her a little. “So are you hungry? Because I am.” She said. “Yeah, I’m tired of that hospital food.” I say. “Oh yeah me too!” she said, as she makes a quick U-turn and heads towards a Denny’s parking lot. “Oh yummy, Denny’s!” I said. I could already feel my mouth begin to water. We make our way into the restaurant. “Hello my name is Jen, how can I help you?” a lady with short blonde hair asks, just as we sit down. “Uh, yeah I would like a coke for now,” said Sarah. “Yeah same for me.” I say. “Alright I’ll be right back.” Said the waitress. “I thought you liked to drink water?” Sarah said. “Well when you drink water for quite some time, you kind of get in the mood for soda.” I say.

  The waitress, soon comes back with our drinks. “Are you ready to order?” she asked
, annoyed. “Uh yeah I would like 3 pancakes, 2 eggs, scrambled, some bacon, and a piece of toast.” I say. Sarah gives me a shocked look, “I will have the same, but no bacon.” The waitress writes it down, and walks away. “Gosh darn order enough?” she asked. “What I’m hungry. Why didn’t you get any bacon?” I asked. “I don’t like it.” Said Sarah. I’m shocked. “Oh. My. God. You don’t like bacon. Who doesn’t like bacon, it’s like the best thing mankind has ever made in the century of mankind. You are not human.” I say grabbing my heart like it’s about to fall out. She laughs, and takes a drink of her coke. Soon the food comes back and we start to eat. I start shoving everything in my mouth like I haven’t eaten in ages.

  “So where do we go now?” I ask Sarah as we make our way out of the restaurant and to her car. “Well lets go check out or new apartment! And get everything settled in before we do anything else.” She said, actually opening up my side of the car, and waiting for me to get in before she shuts it. “Thank you.” I say smiling as she gets into the car. “You’re welcome.” She said giving me a smile back. As we make our way down the winding roads Sarah turns and looks at me for a second. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said. “I’m glad I’m okay too.” I say giving her a little shove. Soon we pull up to an apartment building. “Well we are on the top floor.” Said Sarah making her way towards the front door.

  We step inside the building and make our way to the staircase. I look up, “All the way up there?” I ask. “Yes. It’s good exercise.” She said, laughing. “Well you know the thing is, is I don’t do that kind of thing.” I say slowing making my way up the winding staircase. “Gah are we almost there.” I ask. “Chrissie, we are only 2 floors up, we have 8 more to go.” She said laughing. “God this is taking forever!” I say dragging my body up the stairs. Finally an hour later we made up. “Oh thank the lord!” I say as I collapse on the floor. “Come on get up, you know we still have to get the stuff from my car?” she said looking at me. “Oh you got to be kidding me!” I say. “Oh quit your whining, you big baby.” She said laughing making her way down the hall and turning towards a brown door.

  She opens up the door. “Here we are, home sweet home.” She said. I look around. “Well it isn’t too bad.” I say. Around us is a white room, with carpet ripped, and a chair knocked over. Making our way to the rooms, we saw that there was the same thing, but I couldn’t believe what I saw in the bathroom. “This is disgusting! How could someone have lived like this?” I say. There was a golden tub, and a golden toilet, with gold everywhere. “This is just; I don’t even know to describe it. This is a horrible bathroom, who would have thought to use that kind of color!” I say turning to Sarah. She’s laughing, “It’s kind of….cute.” “Oh no, we are not keeping this in our house. This is going to be the first thing we fix.” I say making my way out back into the living room. “Alright let’s go get all of our stuff, so we can start repairing. 3 hours later we finally have all of our stuff in the apartment, placed where we wanted them to be. “Ahh, that looks much better.” I say collapsing on the couch. “So what do you want to do now?” Sarah asked turning towards me on the couch. “Well, let’s go look around the city, go look at the beautiful views.” I say. “Alright just let me change.” She said about to get up and get dressed. “No you look perfect.” I say.

  When we finally make to the ground floor of the apartment, I kind of felt tired. “Oh god, don’t tell me you are already tired, because we just walked all the way down those stairs to do something you wanted to do, so we are doing it.” Sarah said grabbing my hand and leading me out of the building and down the street. All around us were lights, so many different colored lights. It was like living in a dream. “This is amazing.” I say. “Yeah it is.” Sarah said turning around to face me, but ended up falling. We start bursting into a fit of laughter. “Are you okay?” I ask, helping her to her feet. “Yeah I’m fine now.” She said laughing.

  We made our way to a nearby park, and sat on a blue and shiny bench. “Oh this has been the best day of my life. Thank you Sarah.” I say. “You’re welcome. I just wanted you to remember all the good times we have had together.” She said leaning her head on my shoulder. Suddenly a guy jumps out of nowhere. “Boo!” he said. “Uhh can I help you?” I ask. “Darn it. I didn’t scare you.” He said. “Uhh.” I say looking at Sarah. “I don’t know.” She mouthed to me. “Can we help you with anything?” I ask again. “Nah, just thought I would have fun, but didn’t seem to happen.” He said, shaking his head and walking away. “Uh, well that was strange.” I say starting to laugh. Soon I and Sarah are laughing again.

  When we make our way back to our apartment, Sarah stops me in front of a little coffee shop. “Remember this place?” she asked looking at me. “Oh yeah, this is where I first met you. I thought it was so funny when you went to give me my coffee and ended up spilling it.” I say smiling. “I was just so nervous!” she said, “I didn’t know if I should say hi or just give you your stuff and leave.” I let out a little giggle. “Ready to head home?” I ask her. “Yeah.” She said, “I’m starving.” “Alright.” I say.

  As we make our way back up the huge staircase, I can’t help but think. “How could I have ended up with such a funny and beautiful girl?” “I don’t know. You tell me.” Sarah said. “Wait what?” I ask. “You asked how you ended up with such a funny and beautiful girl like me. I said I don’t know you tell me.” “Oh that was meant for me and my own thoughts, didn’t mean to say it out loud.” I say blushing. She laughs. “I love you.” She said. “I love you too.”

  The End.

  Chantel Stiles

  3 Thing Story

  Halloween Night

  One dark and cool night some friends were sitting around a campfire. They were having a great time. Telling ghost stories, and eating s’mores. They laughed and talked. When out of nowhere the fire is blown out, and all you hear is a loud scream coming from nearby. “What was that? “Asked Kolton. “I don’t know.” Victoria says as they all huddle into a group. They all look around. “Where are Mark and Mallory?” Cheyenne asks. “I don’t know. They were here before.” Kolton said. They all start to panic.

  Then out of nowhere they hear the crunch of leaves, they look up, and standing there was Mark. “Where were you?” Cheyenne yells, “And where’s Mallory?” “I don’t know where she is, and I was just taking a walk.” Mark says. “Where did that blood come from on your shirt?” Kolton asked. “Oh, I fell.” Jason says.“I don’t believe you.” Says Kolton. Than all at once they all start to walk through the woods looking for Mallory. Cheyenne then screams. “What is that?” Victoria yells while pointing at a body lying on the ground. They all look down and see Mallory’s lifeless body on the ground covered in blood from head to toe.

  “What did you do?” Victoria says yelling at Mark. There was no response. Everyone turns around. Mark is nowhere to be found. “Where did he go?” asked Victoria. “I don’t know but Kolton you go find him, me and Victoria will stay here.” Says Cheyenne. Kolton runs to the camp ground. Everything is gone. The tents are gone, and so are the coolers. But the fire is still lit. He runs as fast as he can back to the girls. “He’s gone. He took all our stuff with him.” In panic they try and figure out what to do. Then as soon as they are about to go look for him again, they hear another scream coming from a distance. Kolton and Cheyenne turn around to see that Victoria has disappeared.

  “Where did she go?” Kolton asked as he looks at Cheyenne. “You were taking too long, so she went to go see where you were.” She is then about to cry. They stand up, and start to run towards where they think they heard the scream coming from. When they are running something brushes against Kolton’s shoulders. They look up. Hanging from the tree branch is the body of Victoria, and taped to the bottom of her shoe is a note. Kolton carefully pulls it from the shoe. On it, it says “He will not stop till everyone is dead!”

  “Okay I can’t take this anymore I’m going for help.” Cheyenne
says as she walks towards where she thinks the road is. “No you are staying with me and we are going to look for him.” “No. I’m am not staying in a place where there is a serial killer on the loose!” She says. “But we have to stick together Cheyenne.” “No. I am going to go look for some help.” “Fine. But be careful.” He says giving her one last hug. He starts to walk towards where he thinks Jason might be. When from behind he hears a blood curdling scream. “Cheyenne! Cheyenne where are you!” He yells as he runs around looking for her.

  Then from a distance he sees the light from a fire, and people sitting around it. He can’t make out their faces, but he thinks they might be able to help. When he gets close to where he can see their faces he is shocked. Sitting around the fire is Victoria, Cheyenne, Mallory, and Mark. And with them is all of their belongings. Everything is set up exactly how they had it before. “But…But….But….you guys were dead. And you killed them all. I saw it with my own eyes!” He can’t believe what he is seeing. They all start to laugh. “Guys this isn’t funny. Tell me what’s going on.” He says, really mad. “Today is Halloween, and we knew you believed in all the scary stories, and movies people tell and show you. So we thought we would give you a little scare. To show you none of that stuff is real.” Jason says.

  They laugh even more. “You should have seen the look on your face when you saw all of our dead bodies. It was priceless.” Mallory says. Kolton pushes her. “It’s not funny guys. You guys are just jerks.” “Oh come on you knew we were just joking around with you.” Cheyenne says. “I’m mad at you the most. You’re my sister. You are supposed to protect me, not scare me like you did.” Kolton said to her, his face red with anger. Then out of nowhere they hear the crunch of leaves. “Guys stop it. Jokes over.” Kolton said. “It’s not us I swear.” Victoria said scared. “Then who is it?” Kolton asks. Then a guy runs towards them with a knife in his hands.

  “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” They scream.

  The End.

  Portfolio

  By: HD

  Poetry

  My

  My monster is quite useless

  It’s quiet and so conserved

  I tell it to be angry, standing there unnerved

  My monster is weak and pathetic

  Won’t need an aesthetic

  Sometimes it is admired, stomped on by others

  My monster dwindles in her number

  It is black and empty, trodden

  Lain down by the fallen

  Less emotions means it won’t feel the noose

  For my monster is abused

  In every shape and way

  The thick taste of betrayal

  But my monster is myself

  And I have none to blame but me

  HD