the way you break my heart
the way you
scream at me
and tell me I’m
worth nothing
breaks my
heart
into a million
pieces
because
i can
never stop
loving
you
Thursday, April 30, 2009
poem of 9:52pm
Sneak Peak
i know, i'm finally posting something. okay so i was just doing math and all of a sudden the perfect lines popped into my head for the story i'm trying to write - remember i put up a summary before? yeah, that one.
“A girl once told me that you don’t always find what’s right in front of your eyes. She also told me that sometimes, what’s right in front of your eyes isn’t what you’re looking for. She made me promise to never forget that what I want is not always what I’m looking for, but it’s never too late for me to start looking.”
I paused, taking in a breath. I could feel everyone looking at me with their breaths held in, not daring to make a sound. Somehow what I was saying was important. Even though I was crazy.
“That girl means everything to me. I lost her once, but I don’t think I’m going to ever again. It’s sort of like I finally found what I was never looking for. I don’t know if she knew that I’d lose her, but I am so glad that she told me what she did. Or else I’d never have been looking for what I really want.”
I reached down and took Sianna’s hands in mine again. “Sianna, I’m sorry but… I don’t.”
“A girl once told me that you don’t always find what’s right in front of your eyes. She also told me that sometimes, what’s right in front of your eyes isn’t what you’re looking for. She made me promise to never forget that what I want is not always what I’m looking for, but it’s never too late for me to start looking.”
I paused, taking in a breath. I could feel everyone looking at me with their breaths held in, not daring to make a sound. Somehow what I was saying was important. Even though I was crazy.
“That girl means everything to me. I lost her once, but I don’t think I’m going to ever again. It’s sort of like I finally found what I was never looking for. I don’t know if she knew that I’d lose her, but I am so glad that she told me what she did. Or else I’d never have been looking for what I really want.”
I reached down and took Sianna’s hands in mine again. “Sianna, I’m sorry but… I don’t.”
Saturday, April 25, 2009
My contest entry: Like wind, like clouds
Ku woke up that morning to a feeling of freedom. The storm last night had taken the mighty tree that stood solid outside their coup to the ground, shattering the cage that kept Ku and the others within. He walked outside and saw Chi and the others pecking at the ground for worms that had left their underground tunnels to escape the flooding rain. Ku ignored these and went to the red seeds, fallen from the tree and ate those. This was sky food, food that would let him have his dream of flying above the world and never being couped up again. I will go to the top of a cliff and fly from there Ku thought and set out for the top. When Ku reached the top however he looked down on his brethren sitting contently and still eating. Ku was still hungry as well and decided that flying could wait till tomorrow, and proceded back down the hill.
The next day rain poored down, Ku and Chi lay huddled next to each other for warmth. Flying would be no good today he thought. He will wait for tomorrow.
The next moring sun again shned into the coup. Ku walked outside and looked up to the hill. Today would be the day to fly. But on the hill sat someone already, Chi. Standing still Ku watched as he saw Chi jump. The fool, Ku thought, you can not fly. And so it was as Chi hovered for a few moments, his wings flapping in vain, then he fell, plumting to earth and hitting it with a dull sound. Ku watched this all motionless, he thought of how he would never have done this, he had been fooling himself the whole time. He had thought he was special because he wanted to fly, but Ku knew chickens could not. But here was Chi on the ground. He looked forward but not up, yet he tried to fly. Why? Because he did not know that there were things that were not possible. He was the special one. He was the true one that was not pretending but was special. Chi not Ku. Not Ku the coward who said he would do the impossible but then said it could wait, but Chi who tried what he wanted with no fear. Now Ku shed worthless tears that what he wanted was no more, while Chi shed true tears of that, that he had tried.
The next day rain poored down, Ku and Chi lay huddled next to each other for warmth. Flying would be no good today he thought. He will wait for tomorrow.
The next moring sun again shned into the coup. Ku walked outside and looked up to the hill. Today would be the day to fly. But on the hill sat someone already, Chi. Standing still Ku watched as he saw Chi jump. The fool, Ku thought, you can not fly. And so it was as Chi hovered for a few moments, his wings flapping in vain, then he fell, plumting to earth and hitting it with a dull sound. Ku watched this all motionless, he thought of how he would never have done this, he had been fooling himself the whole time. He had thought he was special because he wanted to fly, but Ku knew chickens could not. But here was Chi on the ground. He looked forward but not up, yet he tried to fly. Why? Because he did not know that there were things that were not possible. He was the special one. He was the true one that was not pretending but was special. Chi not Ku. Not Ku the coward who said he would do the impossible but then said it could wait, but Chi who tried what he wanted with no fear. Now Ku shed worthless tears that what he wanted was no more, while Chi shed true tears of that, that he had tried.
Storm and Fire 18
Sorry this took a while! I should have chapter 19 soon, I've already written most of it and I only need to type it. There are only going to be 4 or 5 more chapters. Anyway, here it is.
Paul stared at his co-pilot. “I’ve only flown once! If anything, I should be the co-pilot, not have one.”
“I know that! I’m mostly here to make sure you don’t steal it. It’s happened in the past!”
“Nice to know they don’t trust me…” Paul muttered.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” replied Paul, “I’ll start up the ship. How will the ground crew know when to let the ship go?
“Talk to them with this!” she pointed to a small tube going into the dashboard. “Press that button next to it to turn it one. See? I am helpful!”
The button was only a few centimeters from the hole he spoke into, so Paul found that speaking into it forced him to have his cheek against his hand that was pressing the button. This made it both hard to talk and press the button.
“Untie da wope,” he attempted to say, his mouth not being able to work right with his hand right next to it. The ground crew looked confused. “Untie da wopes!” Paul shouted.
The ground crew still didn’t get what he was saying. Paul kicked out a window and screamed at them, “Untie the ropes, you fools!”
They finally got it. The airship was soon floating up, rising quickly with the thundering of the propellers. Yakima soon looked like just a grey splotch in the middle of the green farms. It seemed so much larger when he was on the ground. Now it looked just a few centimeters wide.
The built-in compass pointed north. That was the way he had to go. Back over Ellensburg and up the Columbia River. It probably would be easier and quicker than his first trip, which was intentionally hard. He even had a co-pilot. They would soon be in Wenatchee, and Paul would be able to tell Silvia why he was gone and what had happened. He hoped she wasn’t worried.
The co-pilot got up and started carrying things from the upper cargo rooms into the main room Paul was in. She seemed to be gathering cameras, food, and guns to the main room and throwing the food and guns in a crate Paul hadn’t noticed before. Paul wondered, what is she doing? Is she just trying to get my attention? No matter, I was hired to fly, not ask questions. I won’t bother.
Eventually, though, his curiosity got the better of him. “What are you doing?” he asked her.
“Didn’t you hear we’re delivering supplies to the army?”
“I did. Why don’t you leave them in the cargo hold?”
“We need to get them to Ellensburg.”
“Aren’t we just going to Wenatchee?”
“Right!” she said, grinning, “We’re airdropping them!”
“You sure I shouldn’t be worried about people trying to blow us to pieces?” Paul said sarcastically.
“Oh, no. We wouldn’t fly over the enemy army! That would surely happen if we were stupid enough to do that.”
Somehow Paul didn’t find that very comforting. Paul thought this ‘war’ this was an exaggeration. It was only bandits. At war? Bandits weren’t warriors.
That was what he thought before he saw Ellensburg. When it came into view, Paul was shocked. The city was in flames. Vast armies marched across the plains. Paul could hear explosions and gunfire from the kilometers-distant city.
“This happened in the few days I was in Yakima?” Paul shouted, “What’s going on?!”
“There seem to be Federalist troops coming as reinforcements. I’m surprised they haven’t tried coming from the east yet!” She smiled.
“What’s so funny about that?! If Washington and Oregon hadn’t tried succeeding from the Union, the Federalists and Chinese wouldn’t have been fighting here!”
“Now you’re talking about ancient history, old man! I’m smiling because we have a plan. We just won’t let them ford the Columbia River.”
“Yeah, well ‘ancient history’ matters quite a bit to us old people. Don’t mock the Federalists, there was a time when they had the largest army in the world. I’ve heard these bandits are former members of that army.”
“Don’t pretend that you know all the current events. I heard you lived in that radioactive no-man’s land to the west until a few months ago.”
“Don’t say that! It used to be much more this eastern desert.”
“Another ancient history lesson?” she said.
Paul sighed. “You youngsters sure can be annoying.”
“Well, I have to load a second crate. Fly over to that army there, but don’t get near those,” she said, pointing out various locations.
“It’s not as easy as it looks…” Paul muttered, but she was already gone. Soon enough, the crates were full and the co-pilot opened the hatch under them. They floated down safely, parachutes keeping their decent slow. He could see the army quickly open it. They must be low on supplies.
The rest of the flight was uneventful. Paul easily landed the airship. He started walking back to Wenatchee with the co-pilot and a few other employees. They were chatting amongst themselves about various things, mostly rumors about other employees. Do they really have nothing better to talk about? Paul wondered. I hope Silvia isn’t worried. I hope she’s not off training…
Reaching the hotel a few hours late, Paul entered the room. “Silvia?” There was no answer. It didn’t look like anyone had been there for days. Her bag was gone. “She must have gone to training,” he told himself.
Still, he was worried. Wasn’t her job in Wenatchee? With the craziness in Ellensburg, he hoped she wasn’t there. It would be reasonable to send new recruits there if the army was low on numbers. He decided to go to the military building and find if they knew.
“Silvia?” the person asked. “There are several Silvias in the guards. Do you have a last name?”
“No, I don’t. She’s a new recruit, though, if that helps.”
“All of them are training near Ellensburg.”
“Oh…” Paul said. He didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t much he could do but hope she was safe. He went back to his hotel room. Maybe he could think of something in the morning.
Paul stared at his co-pilot. “I’ve only flown once! If anything, I should be the co-pilot, not have one.”
“I know that! I’m mostly here to make sure you don’t steal it. It’s happened in the past!”
“Nice to know they don’t trust me…” Paul muttered.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” replied Paul, “I’ll start up the ship. How will the ground crew know when to let the ship go?
“Talk to them with this!” she pointed to a small tube going into the dashboard. “Press that button next to it to turn it one. See? I am helpful!”
The button was only a few centimeters from the hole he spoke into, so Paul found that speaking into it forced him to have his cheek against his hand that was pressing the button. This made it both hard to talk and press the button.
“Untie da wope,” he attempted to say, his mouth not being able to work right with his hand right next to it. The ground crew looked confused. “Untie da wopes!” Paul shouted.
The ground crew still didn’t get what he was saying. Paul kicked out a window and screamed at them, “Untie the ropes, you fools!”
They finally got it. The airship was soon floating up, rising quickly with the thundering of the propellers. Yakima soon looked like just a grey splotch in the middle of the green farms. It seemed so much larger when he was on the ground. Now it looked just a few centimeters wide.
The built-in compass pointed north. That was the way he had to go. Back over Ellensburg and up the Columbia River. It probably would be easier and quicker than his first trip, which was intentionally hard. He even had a co-pilot. They would soon be in Wenatchee, and Paul would be able to tell Silvia why he was gone and what had happened. He hoped she wasn’t worried.
The co-pilot got up and started carrying things from the upper cargo rooms into the main room Paul was in. She seemed to be gathering cameras, food, and guns to the main room and throwing the food and guns in a crate Paul hadn’t noticed before. Paul wondered, what is she doing? Is she just trying to get my attention? No matter, I was hired to fly, not ask questions. I won’t bother.
Eventually, though, his curiosity got the better of him. “What are you doing?” he asked her.
“Didn’t you hear we’re delivering supplies to the army?”
“I did. Why don’t you leave them in the cargo hold?”
“We need to get them to Ellensburg.”
“Aren’t we just going to Wenatchee?”
“Right!” she said, grinning, “We’re airdropping them!”
“You sure I shouldn’t be worried about people trying to blow us to pieces?” Paul said sarcastically.
“Oh, no. We wouldn’t fly over the enemy army! That would surely happen if we were stupid enough to do that.”
Somehow Paul didn’t find that very comforting. Paul thought this ‘war’ this was an exaggeration. It was only bandits. At war? Bandits weren’t warriors.
That was what he thought before he saw Ellensburg. When it came into view, Paul was shocked. The city was in flames. Vast armies marched across the plains. Paul could hear explosions and gunfire from the kilometers-distant city.
“This happened in the few days I was in Yakima?” Paul shouted, “What’s going on?!”
“There seem to be Federalist troops coming as reinforcements. I’m surprised they haven’t tried coming from the east yet!” She smiled.
“What’s so funny about that?! If Washington and Oregon hadn’t tried succeeding from the Union, the Federalists and Chinese wouldn’t have been fighting here!”
“Now you’re talking about ancient history, old man! I’m smiling because we have a plan. We just won’t let them ford the Columbia River.”
“Yeah, well ‘ancient history’ matters quite a bit to us old people. Don’t mock the Federalists, there was a time when they had the largest army in the world. I’ve heard these bandits are former members of that army.”
“Don’t pretend that you know all the current events. I heard you lived in that radioactive no-man’s land to the west until a few months ago.”
“Don’t say that! It used to be much more this eastern desert.”
“Another ancient history lesson?” she said.
Paul sighed. “You youngsters sure can be annoying.”
“Well, I have to load a second crate. Fly over to that army there, but don’t get near those,” she said, pointing out various locations.
“It’s not as easy as it looks…” Paul muttered, but she was already gone. Soon enough, the crates were full and the co-pilot opened the hatch under them. They floated down safely, parachutes keeping their decent slow. He could see the army quickly open it. They must be low on supplies.
The rest of the flight was uneventful. Paul easily landed the airship. He started walking back to Wenatchee with the co-pilot and a few other employees. They were chatting amongst themselves about various things, mostly rumors about other employees. Do they really have nothing better to talk about? Paul wondered. I hope Silvia isn’t worried. I hope she’s not off training…
Reaching the hotel a few hours late, Paul entered the room. “Silvia?” There was no answer. It didn’t look like anyone had been there for days. Her bag was gone. “She must have gone to training,” he told himself.
Still, he was worried. Wasn’t her job in Wenatchee? With the craziness in Ellensburg, he hoped she wasn’t there. It would be reasonable to send new recruits there if the army was low on numbers. He decided to go to the military building and find if they knew.
“Silvia?” the person asked. “There are several Silvias in the guards. Do you have a last name?”
“No, I don’t. She’s a new recruit, though, if that helps.”
“All of them are training near Ellensburg.”
“Oh…” Paul said. He didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t much he could do but hope she was safe. He went back to his hotel room. Maybe he could think of something in the morning.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Time for a competition!
Here is the compotition, before the end of this weekend write a short story with no more than 1500 words. We will then enter these on Misc. Thought and have others judge them. The winner gets... nothing!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
to: Jennifer, from: Si
Her name is Gabriella, or Gabby for short. lol. It's ok. Her name doesn't come up much. Thanks for liking it!
Builder: Just wondering why my story isn't on the poll? You probably don't like it enough to put it on there. OK. What ever.
Builder: Just wondering why my story isn't on the poll? You probably don't like it enough to put it on there. OK. What ever.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
to: silvia, from: jennifer 2 [ft. sentence for builder]
opened a new post since you might not scroll to check comments... which is why i like my "re" idea on misc.
exactly! windstorm & builder made me get interested in the science fictiony type but in my opinion "teen novels" still get everybody.
i loved it! matthew and lizzy should get together... and evan and the first person girl too (haha i'm sorry i forgot her name).
builder: i'm sorry i'm trying to write. i'm kind of stuck on an opening though so i'm working on it/thinking.
exactly! windstorm & builder made me get interested in the science fictiony type but in my opinion "teen novels" still get everybody.
i loved it! matthew and lizzy should get together... and evan and the first person girl too (haha i'm sorry i forgot her name).
builder: i'm sorry i'm trying to write. i'm kind of stuck on an opening though so i'm working on it/thinking.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Howard Windstorm
Attention: the many spelling and grammar mistakes on the parts of the characters are entirely intentional and used to show accent and overdoses of coffee.
Howard Windstorm walked out of the meeting building, surrounded by his hundreds of armed guards. He took out his graphing calculator and called Izak. "I'm going to take a transport to Mars. Wanna come?" Izak told him that he actually had to settle a rebellion in Bangladesh and he would come within a few weeks. Howard agreed that it would be fine.
Ending the call on his graphing calculator, Howard decided to go for coffee. The happenings in the town were halted by the famous Howard Windstorm smiling and waving at them, but moreso, the hundred heavily armed guards surrounding them. Howard spotted a coffee show and got his money out.
"Oh! Howard Windstorm! How nice of you to support are small business! How can we help you?"
Howard contemplated the choices before deciding to buy the strongest coffee they had. They quickly mixed it up, doing their very best. Howard spent the entire time sniffing the air in an odd fashion, making him look like a mouse. The owners of the shop took notice of this and took care not to laugh. They finally finished and Howard snatched the coffee out of the shopkeeper's hands.
Howard thought the taste was wonderful. He finished it off in seconds. Smiling, he waited for the boost of energy to come to him. No boost came. Instead, he felt rather tired. He slowly closed his eyes, not thinking what could have caused this sudden lack of energy. He quickly collapsed to the floor. That was the last he saw of the coffee shop.
Waking up, he saw he was in what looked like a large prison cell. Looking around, he saw several heavily armed guards. They bore the emblems of the spy agency, his enemies. They must have kidnapped him while he was dozing off in the coffee shop! Looking up at his captors, he screamed, "What is with the bland decor of this place?! You could at least get some furniture!"
Ignoring his comment, they said, "We have caught you Howard Windstorm. You have committed acts of sabotage and treason on the United States government. You are sentenced to a life in jail and must give all your possessions to the United States government."
"Sure, but where's my coffee?"
"Windstorm, you are not amusing. Your simple jokes will not save you."
"You..." he said with a deeply angered look on his voice, "You took it!"
"You can't attack us. We are armed with guns. We will kill you if you try to escape.
"Oh, fine," said Howard, "I guess I'll just have to brew my own coffee." He ripped open his jacket and took some coffee beans out. Then he took out a portable coffee pot and started brewing the coffee.
"Didn't you check his jacket?" asked one of the guards, "You know he could be hiding a gun in there!"
Howard poured some coffee in some cups that were also in his jacket. The room was filled with the delicious scent. Even the guards thought it smelled good. Seeing this, Howard offered them some. Not used to being offered coffee by their captives, they were taken aback. "It's good. Best of the Peruvian brews, they say. The guards accepted. "Cheers to coffee!" said Howard, but the guards mostly ignored him and drank their coffee.
Unfortunately, they hadn't realized something: Howard couldn't control himself when he had coffee. Howard began to twitch, startling the guards. His breathing became rapid and he seemed to be looking at things that weren't there.
"Izak," he said, seemingly seeing Izak in front of him, "You have to give up this capitalism you're following. We need North Korea's support," then, seeming to hear an answer, he said, "Well, if that's the case, I'll have to stop you."
A guard interrupted, "What are you talking about?!"
"Shaddup! Don talk when eyem saying somethin'! Now Izak, you die!" he lunged at a spy and punched him below the heart, killing him. "If you're lucky, you'll still have a backup," he said. The other guard stood in fear, holding his gun out.
"Whut 'er you doin'? Get outta my way," he said, his vision being to distorted to see the gun. He walked past the guard, who was screaming threats at him, but Howard didn't seem to notice at all.
Then Howard turned toward the guard, having a very different expression on his face. "I shee noh," he said, seemingly back to his normal self but still with slurred speech, "Yur wun a da spies. Iw fix ya," and he threw a small cracker at the guard. In just a second when the cracker collided with the guard, the guard exploded. Howard did the same to the locked door. "Antawmatta shur is usefu," he said, and ran out.
Howard Windstorm walked out of the meeting building, surrounded by his hundreds of armed guards. He took out his graphing calculator and called Izak. "I'm going to take a transport to Mars. Wanna come?" Izak told him that he actually had to settle a rebellion in Bangladesh and he would come within a few weeks. Howard agreed that it would be fine.
Ending the call on his graphing calculator, Howard decided to go for coffee. The happenings in the town were halted by the famous Howard Windstorm smiling and waving at them, but moreso, the hundred heavily armed guards surrounding them. Howard spotted a coffee show and got his money out.
"Oh! Howard Windstorm! How nice of you to support are small business! How can we help you?"
Howard contemplated the choices before deciding to buy the strongest coffee they had. They quickly mixed it up, doing their very best. Howard spent the entire time sniffing the air in an odd fashion, making him look like a mouse. The owners of the shop took notice of this and took care not to laugh. They finally finished and Howard snatched the coffee out of the shopkeeper's hands.
Howard thought the taste was wonderful. He finished it off in seconds. Smiling, he waited for the boost of energy to come to him. No boost came. Instead, he felt rather tired. He slowly closed his eyes, not thinking what could have caused this sudden lack of energy. He quickly collapsed to the floor. That was the last he saw of the coffee shop.
Waking up, he saw he was in what looked like a large prison cell. Looking around, he saw several heavily armed guards. They bore the emblems of the spy agency, his enemies. They must have kidnapped him while he was dozing off in the coffee shop! Looking up at his captors, he screamed, "What is with the bland decor of this place?! You could at least get some furniture!"
Ignoring his comment, they said, "We have caught you Howard Windstorm. You have committed acts of sabotage and treason on the United States government. You are sentenced to a life in jail and must give all your possessions to the United States government."
"Sure, but where's my coffee?"
"Windstorm, you are not amusing. Your simple jokes will not save you."
"You..." he said with a deeply angered look on his voice, "You took it!"
"You can't attack us. We are armed with guns. We will kill you if you try to escape.
"Oh, fine," said Howard, "I guess I'll just have to brew my own coffee." He ripped open his jacket and took some coffee beans out. Then he took out a portable coffee pot and started brewing the coffee.
"Didn't you check his jacket?" asked one of the guards, "You know he could be hiding a gun in there!"
Howard poured some coffee in some cups that were also in his jacket. The room was filled with the delicious scent. Even the guards thought it smelled good. Seeing this, Howard offered them some. Not used to being offered coffee by their captives, they were taken aback. "It's good. Best of the Peruvian brews, they say. The guards accepted. "Cheers to coffee!" said Howard, but the guards mostly ignored him and drank their coffee.
Unfortunately, they hadn't realized something: Howard couldn't control himself when he had coffee. Howard began to twitch, startling the guards. His breathing became rapid and he seemed to be looking at things that weren't there.
"Izak," he said, seemingly seeing Izak in front of him, "You have to give up this capitalism you're following. We need North Korea's support," then, seeming to hear an answer, he said, "Well, if that's the case, I'll have to stop you."
A guard interrupted, "What are you talking about?!"
"Shaddup! Don talk when eyem saying somethin'! Now Izak, you die!" he lunged at a spy and punched him below the heart, killing him. "If you're lucky, you'll still have a backup," he said. The other guard stood in fear, holding his gun out.
"Whut 'er you doin'? Get outta my way," he said, his vision being to distorted to see the gun. He walked past the guard, who was screaming threats at him, but Howard didn't seem to notice at all.
Then Howard turned toward the guard, having a very different expression on his face. "I shee noh," he said, seemingly back to his normal self but still with slurred speech, "Yur wun a da spies. Iw fix ya," and he threw a small cracker at the guard. In just a second when the cracker collided with the guard, the guard exploded. Howard did the same to the locked door. "Antawmatta shur is usefu," he said, and ran out.
My newest project
I will be writing a three chapter short story. It will probably horrible because it will be a action, and I don't know if I can write that. Also it is in first person, which I am bad at.
Climbing High
Chapter One: The Cowardice
I have always been beaten up and made fun of because of my hieght. Because of this my family has been forced to move me from school to school in order to try and let me gain some friends. Unfortunatly out of five trys, they say if this one does not work out that I will be home schooled, so I will try my hardest at this new school. Carrying my backpack I walk through the entrance of the school. I feel peoples eyes following me, but I just keep looking ahead. Suddenly I hear snigering behind me. Not good, not good. Just keep walking forward, but suddenly I am jerked to a stop. Glancing behind I see a hand, that more closey resembled a bear paw. "Hold it right there, you forgot the entrance fee", comes the voice, raspy and sour. "Umm, how much?" I stutter, then smack myself, remembering I made a vow to not be bullied this time. "Look, whatever it is I am not going to pay it!" As the words leave my mouth though a shiver runs down my spine and I feel myself no longer touching the ground. "Then will beat it out of you"
I hear one snicker, and I feel myself pulled towards the shadows of the building.
Chapter two: The Anger
Aching, dirty and hungry I decided to sneak out of school and skip before anybody else could lay a finger on me. It's not like I am a pacifist, but I never really could protect myself, any bravery I have just washes away. I dose off as I walk and soon find myself in the shopping district of town. The confert of toys that love you unconditionally, there warmth and the feeling of friendliness, one of the only times I felt safe. This is silly, I thought. I'm in high school, been robbed of my money, and I want to buy a stuffed animal. Skulking away I walk into a alley, Just to disappear into the calm darkness where everything is garbage just like me. Suddenly voices come out of the darkness. I blink rapidly trying to get my eyes to ujust to the change of light. Suddenly the glint of steel reveals every thing. A gang gathered around something. It's like I can feel the evil radiati ng off of them. I try and run but my legs give way and crash to the ground with a horrible noise.They turn around and walk over "What do we have here? A little rat? Lets have funwith him just like the other girl.", one says. And again for the second time that day I am carried off into darkening light. As we enter the circle I see a girl, my age laying in the dirt her clothes ripped off. I feel anger rise, was it rape? One of the gang turns to me "Huh, what did you say?", he says. The pleaseure in his eyes as he sees me laying there becomes to much to bare. I twist and twist and tear at the arms holding me, and peal them away dropping to the ground. "Bastard" I hear one cry, and I look up to see him clutching a bleeding eye. They begin to surround pulling out the glinting steel of death. I feel that I will die, but I feel happy to have tried to help those girls.
Chapter Three: The Bravery
I reach for a peice of metal piping on the ground and swing, closing my eyes. I feel risistence hit it, and push. Warm liquid splatters on my face. Suddenly they rush, and I swing, two more go down, untill one reaches me and lunges with the knife, grazing my skin and opening my blood to the world. I let go of the pipe in pain, and clasp my hands to the cut. He again strikes and I twist away his arm reaching by my head. I bight, teeth sinking into his flesh and I feel his arm writhing trying to break free. His fist then connects with my head and I let go,, he falls to ground then, twitching slightly. One left. I charge and try and punch but he grabs my arms and lifts me up. "You'll pay for this" he hisses but then I sink my foot into his stomach and he doubles over gasping for breath. Finally he falls, and I find myself looking over six bodies. Blood coats the ground, but I still look onward, I find the girl and lift her onto my back. She cries in fear and struggles but I hold on tight and walk home. I found my strenght that day. Strength not to protect myself, but others, and only others.
Climbing High
Chapter One: The Cowardice
I have always been beaten up and made fun of because of my hieght. Because of this my family has been forced to move me from school to school in order to try and let me gain some friends. Unfortunatly out of five trys, they say if this one does not work out that I will be home schooled, so I will try my hardest at this new school. Carrying my backpack I walk through the entrance of the school. I feel peoples eyes following me, but I just keep looking ahead. Suddenly I hear snigering behind me. Not good, not good. Just keep walking forward, but suddenly I am jerked to a stop. Glancing behind I see a hand, that more closey resembled a bear paw. "Hold it right there, you forgot the entrance fee", comes the voice, raspy and sour. "Umm, how much?" I stutter, then smack myself, remembering I made a vow to not be bullied this time. "Look, whatever it is I am not going to pay it!" As the words leave my mouth though a shiver runs down my spine and I feel myself no longer touching the ground. "Then will beat it out of you"
I hear one snicker, and I feel myself pulled towards the shadows of the building.
Chapter two: The Anger
Aching, dirty and hungry I decided to sneak out of school and skip before anybody else could lay a finger on me. It's not like I am a pacifist, but I never really could protect myself, any bravery I have just washes away. I dose off as I walk and soon find myself in the shopping district of town. The confert of toys that love you unconditionally, there warmth and the feeling of friendliness, one of the only times I felt safe. This is silly, I thought. I'm in high school, been robbed of my money, and I want to buy a stuffed animal. Skulking away I walk into a alley, Just to disappear into the calm darkness where everything is garbage just like me. Suddenly voices come out of the darkness. I blink rapidly trying to get my eyes to ujust to the change of light. Suddenly the glint of steel reveals every thing. A gang gathered around something. It's like I can feel the evil radiati ng off of them. I try and run but my legs give way and crash to the ground with a horrible noise.They turn around and walk over "What do we have here? A little rat? Lets have funwith him just like the other girl.", one says. And again for the second time that day I am carried off into darkening light. As we enter the circle I see a girl, my age laying in the dirt her clothes ripped off. I feel anger rise, was it rape? One of the gang turns to me "Huh, what did you say?", he says. The pleaseure in his eyes as he sees me laying there becomes to much to bare. I twist and twist and tear at the arms holding me, and peal them away dropping to the ground. "Bastard" I hear one cry, and I look up to see him clutching a bleeding eye. They begin to surround pulling out the glinting steel of death. I feel that I will die, but I feel happy to have tried to help those girls.
Chapter Three: The Bravery
I reach for a peice of metal piping on the ground and swing, closing my eyes. I feel risistence hit it, and push. Warm liquid splatters on my face. Suddenly they rush, and I swing, two more go down, untill one reaches me and lunges with the knife, grazing my skin and opening my blood to the world. I let go of the pipe in pain, and clasp my hands to the cut. He again strikes and I twist away his arm reaching by my head. I bight, teeth sinking into his flesh and I feel his arm writhing trying to break free. His fist then connects with my head and I let go,, he falls to ground then, twitching slightly. One left. I charge and try and punch but he grabs my arms and lifts me up. "You'll pay for this" he hisses but then I sink my foot into his stomach and he doubles over gasping for breath. Finally he falls, and I find myself looking over six bodies. Blood coats the ground, but I still look onward, I find the girl and lift her onto my back. She cries in fear and struggles but I hold on tight and walk home. I found my strenght that day. Strength not to protect myself, but others, and only others.
Again trying something new
Ok I am sick with a cold so I don't think I can write Eternal Feather right now. This means it is try something new time! Also note to Jennife: Please start posting your story.
A lake frozen, the ice covering the surface and mirroring the sky. Suddenly a black mark began to shadow the sky picture. Darkness shadowing everything, and then even more as the shadow broke through the picture destroying it, and causing pieces to lap onto the shore. A creature reared its head, tasting air long since forgotten from its memory. Crisp, clean, a feeling of rebirth filled its body and memories surged in sucking in flavorful air to wake and cleanse the body of fear and pain. "Ruuu, Ruuu, Ruuu, Ruuu,Ruuuuuuuuuuu", the beast sang as warmth entered its body and it could feel the power mussles moving agian. Freedom was sweet, and enjoyment of the shortness must be taken advantage of. Go be free. Go be free, Go be free.
Another thing to have fun with.
Colors and lights flashed. Life was alluminated again. It had been so simple, freedom only $15 and only now did he finally get it. All the pain was gone, only happiness, no pain from school, friends, the world. Yes the whole world had tried to keep him locked in misery, but now he saw through the wool they had tried to pull over his eyes. Then the colors began to dim, no, no not yet. Then suddenly he was out of it. Again, again. and once again he took the needle to his thigh and inserted it into his blood. His new happiness will never be taken away.
You have read to stories, both on freedom. One is about a creature that wants to be able to live in the world, and another was a high schooler experimenting with drugs.
A lake frozen, the ice covering the surface and mirroring the sky. Suddenly a black mark began to shadow the sky picture. Darkness shadowing everything, and then even more as the shadow broke through the picture destroying it, and causing pieces to lap onto the shore. A creature reared its head, tasting air long since forgotten from its memory. Crisp, clean, a feeling of rebirth filled its body and memories surged in sucking in flavorful air to wake and cleanse the body of fear and pain. "Ruuu, Ruuu, Ruuu, Ruuu,Ruuuuuuuuuuu", the beast sang as warmth entered its body and it could feel the power mussles moving agian. Freedom was sweet, and enjoyment of the shortness must be taken advantage of. Go be free. Go be free, Go be free.
Another thing to have fun with.
Colors and lights flashed. Life was alluminated again. It had been so simple, freedom only $15 and only now did he finally get it. All the pain was gone, only happiness, no pain from school, friends, the world. Yes the whole world had tried to keep him locked in misery, but now he saw through the wool they had tried to pull over his eyes. Then the colors began to dim, no, no not yet. Then suddenly he was out of it. Again, again. and once again he took the needle to his thigh and inserted it into his blood. His new happiness will never be taken away.
You have read to stories, both on freedom. One is about a creature that wants to be able to live in the world, and another was a high schooler experimenting with drugs.
Matthias' Survival I
If he doesn't want it here, too bad. As of now, I'm at a blog war with him.
What world is this? How could this happen? My God, nothing is the same. Nothing will ever, ever be the same...My parents!"Your alive!" It all came back to me, the time before the asteroid. No, just a dream. Twelve years had past. Has it really been that long? It flashed before my eyes. I woke, stiff and tired. My head flooded with pain. I lay on the ground, writhing for a few moments. With great effort, and without ceremony, I managed to sit myself up. I touched the back of my head and cringed. A large bump had been left by the blow from the brute's rifle. So uncivilized. Nothing's been civilized since it happened. I began to realize where I was. I had been dragged to the outskirts of town, and my possessions were stripped from me. I was surprised they bothered to leave me my clothes. Maybe they let me live so they can rob me again another day. Who knows. As my head began to clear, the memory of the previous day started to return. I had entered the old abandoned town of Maplewood, just looking for a new blade to add to my knife and axe. Good steel was hard to find these days. I had entered the old Home Depot - or what was left - hoping to find something without any rust on it. I was only lightly armed and carried just my day supplies. I had only planned for it to take an hour at the most; just a routine scavenging excursion, followed by an hour's work forging back at camp. I've always been nervous walking into abandoned towns. Robbers love to hide, waiting to jump you. This time I was just careless. It was plainly stupid really. What idiot nowadays marches blithely down the middle of a road, not checking for any booby-traps, snipers or other survivors? I'm getting too old for this. I shook my head. No use dwelling on what has happened, all there was left to do was keep pushing forward. I managed to get standing, dropped back to one knee, then laboriously rose again. I assessed myself. No cuts. That's good. Wouldn't want to get infected out here would I? I seen enough of gangrene to know to avoid it. Everything of great value I had was missing, excepting my boots. Thank goodness. Anyone without boots those days would have died within a week. Cold leads to frostbite, leads to sloughing off, leads to not walking, leads to death. If you can't walk, you die.
What world is this? How could this happen? My God, nothing is the same. Nothing will ever, ever be the same...My parents!"Your alive!" It all came back to me, the time before the asteroid. No, just a dream. Twelve years had past. Has it really been that long? It flashed before my eyes. I woke, stiff and tired. My head flooded with pain. I lay on the ground, writhing for a few moments. With great effort, and without ceremony, I managed to sit myself up. I touched the back of my head and cringed. A large bump had been left by the blow from the brute's rifle. So uncivilized. Nothing's been civilized since it happened. I began to realize where I was. I had been dragged to the outskirts of town, and my possessions were stripped from me. I was surprised they bothered to leave me my clothes. Maybe they let me live so they can rob me again another day. Who knows. As my head began to clear, the memory of the previous day started to return. I had entered the old abandoned town of Maplewood, just looking for a new blade to add to my knife and axe. Good steel was hard to find these days. I had entered the old Home Depot - or what was left - hoping to find something without any rust on it. I was only lightly armed and carried just my day supplies. I had only planned for it to take an hour at the most; just a routine scavenging excursion, followed by an hour's work forging back at camp. I've always been nervous walking into abandoned towns. Robbers love to hide, waiting to jump you. This time I was just careless. It was plainly stupid really. What idiot nowadays marches blithely down the middle of a road, not checking for any booby-traps, snipers or other survivors? I'm getting too old for this. I shook my head. No use dwelling on what has happened, all there was left to do was keep pushing forward. I managed to get standing, dropped back to one knee, then laboriously rose again. I assessed myself. No cuts. That's good. Wouldn't want to get infected out here would I? I seen enough of gangrene to know to avoid it. Everything of great value I had was missing, excepting my boots. Thank goodness. Anyone without boots those days would have died within a week. Cold leads to frostbite, leads to sloughing off, leads to not walking, leads to death. If you can't walk, you die.
Monday, April 13, 2009
to: silvia, from: jennifer
hey i read your latest entry! very flirtatious thing going on between evan and the main character, i think. not sure what you were aiming at but if that was the point -- take it from someone who knows... very sweet :)
The Water Pressure Manager
I've been lazy so I'm scouring my hard drive for any stories that I wrote in the past. This one was for English class and every line had to have dialogue, so there are no descriptions beside what the characters give. Enjoy if you can, I don't think its that good.
The Water Pressure Manager
The radio static emitted from the intercom suspended on a rope attached to the ceiling erupted into a stream of intelligible speech, the voice of the one of the commanders of the underwater city: “WPM, water pressure levels are too high. Adjust valve twenty-four to a stable 42 psi. You know we can’t stay safe from the water from leaking from the ocean above into the city if you keep making mistakes.”
The Water Pressure Manager grunted back, “Can’t you at least give me enough respect to call me by my full title? You may be commander of the city, but I have my rights and those are to be respected.”
Angered at the statements of the WPM, the commander said, “I control this city. I can decide whatever I want, and if you say such nonsense once more, I’ll send you back to the mines.”
“Fine,” said the WPM, shaken by the threat, “I’ll do anything to keep out of those—those vile slave pits. I don’t believe those awful coal mines fit within the law, or anywhere near it.”
After a few more hours of groping in the cold, dank water ducts, turning valves and fixing old leaks, the WPM finally collapsed to the ground seeing his shift was over, sighing, “Well, that’s all for today.”
Just then a young man burst in, shouting, “Hello, sir!” as he walked over to the WPM, “My name is James Wilson. I’m going to guide you to your new sleeping chambers.”
They soon arrived at a room with a sign saying ‘WPM’s quarters’, so James announced “We are here, sir!” as if it weren’t blatantly obvious. As they stepped into the small room, James said “This a swell place,” to the bland decor, poor lighting, and toxic-looking liquids dripping out of a pipe apparently coming out of the mines.
The WPM looked at him bitterly, saying, “You think this entire city is wonderful, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course, sir!” James replied, shocked that anyone could suggest that it was possible to dislike the city.
“Well,” the WPM asked in scornful tone, “What is there to like about this place?”
James grew more shocked, insisting, “There are high paying jobs in the country, free food, accommodations…”
“The jobs are torturous slave labor with your precious high pay going into the highest taxes in the country,” the WPM said harshly, “the food is little more than the most putrid garbage of the rich commanders, and these rooms are practically jail cells.”
“I never thought of it that way,” stuttered James, shocked at the insults to his city.
“Those rich commanders in power live a good life at our expense,” the WPM growled with constantly increasing anger, “They portray themselves as heroes, who worked hard. That is all a lie! They got as high as they are by forcing us to work in the mines while we work hard getting nothing ourselves.”
“If you say so, sir,” said James, still startled at the outburst.
“Can you actually enjoy life in a miserable, dank, depressing place such as this?” shouted the WPM, nearly screaming.
James thought about it for a while, realizing the city might not be all the great things he was taught in his childhood, eventually admitting, “Yes, it is bad, but what can we do about it?”
“The exits to the city,” said the WPM, delighted to have an audience, “the water ducts: who controls them?”
“The WPM,” said James as realization hit him, “You, sir!”
“Would you care to help me escape?”
James grew cautious, saying, “What of the risks? What of my family? I would never see them again,”
“Do you expect to see them again anyway? The government wouldn’t want you to see your family, for fear you would stop working as hard to help them. If they died in the mines, do you expect the government would tell you?”
“I don’t know, sir. Give me a few days to think about it.”
“Every day the risk grows; will you come or not?” The assistant remained silent, so the WPM whispered, “All you have to do is short out the security systems as I open the ducts. I have a subaquatic rocket ready to go; I stole it several years ago.
“All right, so we will do it tomorrow morning at 10:30, as I believe your shift starts,” to which the WMP nodded in agreement. The next morning at 10:26, the WPM was greeted by the voice of the commander, “Listen, you WPM. I expect there to be no problems at all. Got it?” As the voice faded away, the WPM cackled, “Oh yes, no problems at all. Just a system failure, that’s all,”
As on cue, the security systems and electricity shut down, so the WPM called James on his radio, “Hurry. They’ll have the power fixed in a matter of minutes. I’ve got an entrance nearly made”
Several minutes later, on backup power, a voice came over the intercom: “There was a major breach in the system! You are to be put to death for your disobedience. Answer me immediately, or we will torture you, too,” but there was no answer; and never was there an answer.
The Water Pressure Manager
The radio static emitted from the intercom suspended on a rope attached to the ceiling erupted into a stream of intelligible speech, the voice of the one of the commanders of the underwater city: “WPM, water pressure levels are too high. Adjust valve twenty-four to a stable 42 psi. You know we can’t stay safe from the water from leaking from the ocean above into the city if you keep making mistakes.”
The Water Pressure Manager grunted back, “Can’t you at least give me enough respect to call me by my full title? You may be commander of the city, but I have my rights and those are to be respected.”
Angered at the statements of the WPM, the commander said, “I control this city. I can decide whatever I want, and if you say such nonsense once more, I’ll send you back to the mines.”
“Fine,” said the WPM, shaken by the threat, “I’ll do anything to keep out of those—those vile slave pits. I don’t believe those awful coal mines fit within the law, or anywhere near it.”
After a few more hours of groping in the cold, dank water ducts, turning valves and fixing old leaks, the WPM finally collapsed to the ground seeing his shift was over, sighing, “Well, that’s all for today.”
Just then a young man burst in, shouting, “Hello, sir!” as he walked over to the WPM, “My name is James Wilson. I’m going to guide you to your new sleeping chambers.”
They soon arrived at a room with a sign saying ‘WPM’s quarters’, so James announced “We are here, sir!” as if it weren’t blatantly obvious. As they stepped into the small room, James said “This a swell place,” to the bland decor, poor lighting, and toxic-looking liquids dripping out of a pipe apparently coming out of the mines.
The WPM looked at him bitterly, saying, “You think this entire city is wonderful, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course, sir!” James replied, shocked that anyone could suggest that it was possible to dislike the city.
“Well,” the WPM asked in scornful tone, “What is there to like about this place?”
James grew more shocked, insisting, “There are high paying jobs in the country, free food, accommodations…”
“The jobs are torturous slave labor with your precious high pay going into the highest taxes in the country,” the WPM said harshly, “the food is little more than the most putrid garbage of the rich commanders, and these rooms are practically jail cells.”
“I never thought of it that way,” stuttered James, shocked at the insults to his city.
“Those rich commanders in power live a good life at our expense,” the WPM growled with constantly increasing anger, “They portray themselves as heroes, who worked hard. That is all a lie! They got as high as they are by forcing us to work in the mines while we work hard getting nothing ourselves.”
“If you say so, sir,” said James, still startled at the outburst.
“Can you actually enjoy life in a miserable, dank, depressing place such as this?” shouted the WPM, nearly screaming.
James thought about it for a while, realizing the city might not be all the great things he was taught in his childhood, eventually admitting, “Yes, it is bad, but what can we do about it?”
“The exits to the city,” said the WPM, delighted to have an audience, “the water ducts: who controls them?”
“The WPM,” said James as realization hit him, “You, sir!”
“Would you care to help me escape?”
James grew cautious, saying, “What of the risks? What of my family? I would never see them again,”
“Do you expect to see them again anyway? The government wouldn’t want you to see your family, for fear you would stop working as hard to help them. If they died in the mines, do you expect the government would tell you?”
“I don’t know, sir. Give me a few days to think about it.”
“Every day the risk grows; will you come or not?” The assistant remained silent, so the WPM whispered, “All you have to do is short out the security systems as I open the ducts. I have a subaquatic rocket ready to go; I stole it several years ago.
“All right, so we will do it tomorrow morning at 10:30, as I believe your shift starts,” to which the WMP nodded in agreement. The next morning at 10:26, the WPM was greeted by the voice of the commander, “Listen, you WPM. I expect there to be no problems at all. Got it?” As the voice faded away, the WPM cackled, “Oh yes, no problems at all. Just a system failure, that’s all,”
As on cue, the security systems and electricity shut down, so the WPM called James on his radio, “Hurry. They’ll have the power fixed in a matter of minutes. I’ve got an entrance nearly made”
Several minutes later, on backup power, a voice came over the intercom: “There was a major breach in the system! You are to be put to death for your disobedience. Answer me immediately, or we will torture you, too,” but there was no answer; and never was there an answer.
Whispers of Voice
I watched Matthew and Lizzy pair up and wondered, Who would want to be with me, the smart, silent chick? I felt a tap on my shoulder and I swung around with my arm extended to hit the person behind me, stopping a centimeter from his neck.
"Dead." I laughed. "Hey Evan. Wanna be my partner?" I asked, letting my hand drop.
"Yeah. Nice knife hand, by the way." He said smiling. A second too late I noticed his leg behind mine. He pulled my legs out from under me and I landed on the floor.
"Nice." I whispered, trying to fill my lungs with air. I kicked up, stopping inches from his crotch, then rolled and stood quickly.
"Paralyzed." I stuck my tongue out at Evan, smiling. I came back and spun around so we passed back to back and brought the back of my fist close to his head, while he pushed his elbow into my side, gently because we were doing "no contact" or close to that.
We continued to fight, getting praised by the teacher occasionally. When we finished in class, Evan and I walked over to where Matthew and Lizzy were.
"I love PE! Best class so far." I said, panting.
"Yeah." Lizzy agreed, gasping.
"Let's head to lunch. I'm starving! You're also a good fighter, Lizzy." Matthew said, walking towards the mansion to the dinning hall.
"Matt, aren't you always starving?" Evan asked, teasingly.
"Yeah, Matt! That's nothing new!" I laughed. Evan and Lizzy joined in.
"yes. Now, let's get going." Matt replied.
Then we started walking with him, to the back door of our school, to lunch.
"Dead." I laughed. "Hey Evan. Wanna be my partner?" I asked, letting my hand drop.
"Yeah. Nice knife hand, by the way." He said smiling. A second too late I noticed his leg behind mine. He pulled my legs out from under me and I landed on the floor.
"Nice." I whispered, trying to fill my lungs with air. I kicked up, stopping inches from his crotch, then rolled and stood quickly.
"Paralyzed." I stuck my tongue out at Evan, smiling. I came back and spun around so we passed back to back and brought the back of my fist close to his head, while he pushed his elbow into my side, gently because we were doing "no contact" or close to that.
We continued to fight, getting praised by the teacher occasionally. When we finished in class, Evan and I walked over to where Matthew and Lizzy were.
"I love PE! Best class so far." I said, panting.
"Yeah." Lizzy agreed, gasping.
"Let's head to lunch. I'm starving! You're also a good fighter, Lizzy." Matthew said, walking towards the mansion to the dinning hall.
"Matt, aren't you always starving?" Evan asked, teasingly.
"Yeah, Matt! That's nothing new!" I laughed. Evan and Lizzy joined in.
"yes. Now, let's get going." Matt replied.
Then we started walking with him, to the back door of our school, to lunch.
Not Mine
This is another by Isaac. I may have messed up the paragraph structure, it wasn't separated. If something looks wrong, it is, and try to ignore it. I may make this better when I have the time.
Citizen 1010370
"Attention all autonomous units: entering phase four: mandatory compliance. Level One sector sweep. Judgment wavier in effect. Capital prosecution authorized. Shield. Inoculate. Contain. Surgical strike units: cauterize, pacify."
The muffled words of the City Protection Dispatcher and the sirens of the Terror Police helicopters thudded through Richard Armstrong's groggy ears. He didn't want to wake.
"No, five more minutes—No, I really don't want to—Aww,—"
Richard swore reactively as consciousness grabbed him by the head and wrested him from his drunken stupor. With a groan, he swayed to his knees. Bright lights—too bright—swum in his blurry vision. Ah, ah ha, ohh…. Flashes of his surroundings. A tunnel, stretching into infinity. Coldness, wetness, and a million pieces of broken glass. Too much, it was much too much. Richard rolled over and vomited over the side of the small ledge he was on.
As there were no apparent duties for him, as far as he could see, anyways, Richard allowed himself to think and talk freely.
"Wow," he said to the tunnel at large, getting up shakily. "What a doozy."
Staggering to his feet, he looked down and saw an empty bottle in his hand. He dropped it, and wished he hadn't, as it crashed with the echoing sound of a ball-peen hammer striking a church bell. It added to all the glass around him, and Richard slowly began to piece together why he was hung-over. That, at least, was obvious.
"Notice, free-radical terrorist still at large. Extra units injected to assist sanitization." the dispatcher said, echoing dimly from corroded tunnel speakers.
Poor guy don't stand a chance, Richard thought morosely. The Terror Police would find everyone they were looking for, and they would pay in the end. But there was no reason Richard should feel anything. Under the New Constitution, Richard wasn't required to think anything at all. He was a good citizen. But how'd I end up here?
He looked around. From the left to the right, the tunnel stretched on into pinpoints. Sheet metal bolted to the walls had rust smeared down its sides. Fluorescent lights buzzed dimly at irregular intervals. The tunnel looked derelict.
Richard saw a piece of paper on the ground, looking like something ripped from a phone book. Richard picked it up, and recognition flickered dimly in his brain.
"Level two, singularity imprint negative. A note to all citizens: inactivity is conspiracy or coercion. Antiperson Number One must be sterilized. Vaporization vehicles dispatched. Seal arteries. Inoculate, pacify. Ongoing sector sweep. Stand by."
The voice of the dispatcher was female, clinical, and cold as iron. Richard knew on the surface that the voice was his friend, and the friend of all good citizens, but deep down he wasn't so sure. Richard read a bit of the paper he picked up. It looked like a piece of a diary. There shouldn't be any diaries! Writing was illegal! The discovery shocked Richard, but on the inside he felt strange. His conflicting sides were getting worse, and their divergence made him feel nauseous. He didn't even know what the side was.
Richard slumped against the wall of the tunnel. He still didn't know what he was doing here. He was getting the feeling that he may have been kidnapped. But what kidnappers—who were terrorists, as were bank robbers and people who refused to recycle their garbage—would bother to supply him with more than ample drink? His unease grew.
The Dispatcher had started another monologue: "Level Three Sector Sweep, engaged. Attention populace: Antiperson One Physical Attributes: Male, brown optical pigmentation, brown hair—"
That registered a little in Richard's brain, as he smoothed back his russet widow's peak.
"—unshaven, unwashed, clothed in unremarkable, unkept garments, mechanical vision enhancements—"
A growing sense of restlessness came over Richard as he straightened his glasses, which were slanting over his nose.
"—hooked nose, highly athletic. Assumed combat efficiency: level ten. Alert: May be armed and is highly dangerous. Has rejected identification number 1010370, has reassumed born name Richard Armstrong.
Richard jumped a foot into the air, hitting his head on the curvature of the wall. Vertigo taking him thoughts swirled around and around in his head like a tornado. He had a lot to deal with, and he wasn't good at dealing with even little things. And it was all hitting him at once like a twenty-pound sledgehammer. He had kept a diary, he remembered. He had wrote and edited and published an uncensored news pamphlet, he remembered. He had rejected the new totalitarian doctrine from the start of the ghastly, titanic empire. He had run an underground railroad once Metropolis had announced its sovereignty from the United States and flew the standard of the Iron Crown. He had killed the Terror Policemen that came to amputate him from the populace. He had found his way down here, and he had tried to forget, and in failing that, tried to die.
He was not a good citizen. He wasn't even a thought trespasser, which could be forgiven. He was a law breaker, a terrorist.
"No. No, no, no no, no, no NO!" Bending and feeling positively awful, Richard straightened up screamed at the tunnel, shaking and perspiring in the echoes of his shout as five years of indoctrination fought for a commanding place in his mind.
From far away, the Dispatcher was beginning again: "Level Four sector sweep. Attention, all autonomous units: echoreceptor devices detect vocal patterns of the Malignant, sterilization units: engage on sight. Repeat: Permanently amputate Anitperson Armstrong from the Organism Metropolis."
Richard could hear the throbbing engines and alien sirens of the Terror Police Evisceration Engines sounding down the tunnel. Hearing them, his brain, his programming, told him to stay, told him to lie down on the ground to accept capital justice. It would bleed adrenaline from his own body to prevent escape from prosecution. His motor system would collapse, and his brain would shut itself down last, pending escape. His own body would become his enemy.
He ran. He knew that would be the right thing to do. He was fed up and going crazy with his city, the oppression, and the endless voice of the Dispatcher in his head even when the public speakers were off. He had been thrust from the brink of death into a place he couldn't understand, and it wasn't fair. He was being torn apart by his thoughts and memories and chemicals in him that he never even knew about. Right there he made the decision to die in the open air as a free man, and not as a number and citizen propaganda tattooed on the inside of his skull.
He took off.
Luckily, he was a great runner, a superb athlete. Astonishing amounts of alcohol wasn't enough to erase that. He ran past a hundred subsidiary tunnels as the Dispatcher said, "Antiperson Armstrong, compliance is subsumed in beneficial citizen conduct. Comply, submit, comply, submit, comply, submit…."
That voice drove him up the wall. Voices should have emotion; Richard always thought that when he heard it before. Voices should belong to people, people with faces and thoughts and feelings, who's purpose was not to uncover and destroy. Richard felt this very strongly.
He ran on and on. On and on through the endless tunnel. Onwards into the pinprick of light in the distance, pounding the narrow concrete miles that stretched on and on into freedom. He made it to the end, eventually, somehow, amazingly. He turned the bend in the tunnel and burst through into the night air. He was dismayed to find himself inside the city limits. The smokestacks and refineries of Metropolis spat fire into the air behind him, poisoning the green world. In five-foot neon letters the New Constitution was written, suspended above Metropolis by rusting cables:
All Citizens Shall Have Freedom From Thought, Freedom From Speech, Freedom From The Written Word, And Freedom From God.
He hated the words and everything they stood for. Richard felt awful knowing he wouldn't be able to bring them down in his lifetime. He wanted to be on the other side of the fifty-thousand volt fence surrounding the city. He could see a sheep grazing in the distance.
He liked animals, he remembered that. He liked how they were curious, how he could gain their trust by standing still. There were no animals in Metropolis. He heard the Eviscerators behind him, and this time he didn't run. He was exhausted in every way possible to be exhausted, and he had nothing left.
The last thing he saw before they took him was the half moon, hanging over the green hills like a watchful lantern.
"Check him," said the Terror Officer, looking down behind a black facemask from the cockpit of an Eviscerator.
"NW-001—gone."
"Good."
Three Months Later: Citizen 1010370 stood in line for mandatory sustenance rations. No one talked, and no one grew impatient. Citizen 1010370 wore a polite smile, looking five inches to either side and no more. There were no windows in the building, but the citizens didn't care. Citizen 1010370 was to receive extra rations for his good work amputating three terrorist who were trying to emigrate out of Metropolis. His scalp itched were they had operated the bad citizen out of his head. He would not be afflicted by the virus again. A piece of writing paper fluttered by, and Citizen 1010370 felt something, something different—but no, the voice in his head told him. It was probably another piece of ash that escaped the factories. Yes, that had to be it. After all, no one wrote anymore. It was illegal. Good citizens obeyed the law, and Citizen 1010370 was a good citizen. He would obey whatever he was told, because the voice would never make him do anything wrong.
Citizen 1010370
"Attention all autonomous units: entering phase four: mandatory compliance. Level One sector sweep. Judgment wavier in effect. Capital prosecution authorized. Shield. Inoculate. Contain. Surgical strike units: cauterize, pacify."
The muffled words of the City Protection Dispatcher and the sirens of the Terror Police helicopters thudded through Richard Armstrong's groggy ears. He didn't want to wake.
"No, five more minutes—No, I really don't want to—Aww,—"
Richard swore reactively as consciousness grabbed him by the head and wrested him from his drunken stupor. With a groan, he swayed to his knees. Bright lights—too bright—swum in his blurry vision. Ah, ah ha, ohh…. Flashes of his surroundings. A tunnel, stretching into infinity. Coldness, wetness, and a million pieces of broken glass. Too much, it was much too much. Richard rolled over and vomited over the side of the small ledge he was on.
As there were no apparent duties for him, as far as he could see, anyways, Richard allowed himself to think and talk freely.
"Wow," he said to the tunnel at large, getting up shakily. "What a doozy."
Staggering to his feet, he looked down and saw an empty bottle in his hand. He dropped it, and wished he hadn't, as it crashed with the echoing sound of a ball-peen hammer striking a church bell. It added to all the glass around him, and Richard slowly began to piece together why he was hung-over. That, at least, was obvious.
"Notice, free-radical terrorist still at large. Extra units injected to assist sanitization." the dispatcher said, echoing dimly from corroded tunnel speakers.
Poor guy don't stand a chance, Richard thought morosely. The Terror Police would find everyone they were looking for, and they would pay in the end. But there was no reason Richard should feel anything. Under the New Constitution, Richard wasn't required to think anything at all. He was a good citizen. But how'd I end up here?
He looked around. From the left to the right, the tunnel stretched on into pinpoints. Sheet metal bolted to the walls had rust smeared down its sides. Fluorescent lights buzzed dimly at irregular intervals. The tunnel looked derelict.
Richard saw a piece of paper on the ground, looking like something ripped from a phone book. Richard picked it up, and recognition flickered dimly in his brain.
"Level two, singularity imprint negative. A note to all citizens: inactivity is conspiracy or coercion. Antiperson Number One must be sterilized. Vaporization vehicles dispatched. Seal arteries. Inoculate, pacify. Ongoing sector sweep. Stand by."
The voice of the dispatcher was female, clinical, and cold as iron. Richard knew on the surface that the voice was his friend, and the friend of all good citizens, but deep down he wasn't so sure. Richard read a bit of the paper he picked up. It looked like a piece of a diary. There shouldn't be any diaries! Writing was illegal! The discovery shocked Richard, but on the inside he felt strange. His conflicting sides were getting worse, and their divergence made him feel nauseous. He didn't even know what the side was.
Richard slumped against the wall of the tunnel. He still didn't know what he was doing here. He was getting the feeling that he may have been kidnapped. But what kidnappers—who were terrorists, as were bank robbers and people who refused to recycle their garbage—would bother to supply him with more than ample drink? His unease grew.
The Dispatcher had started another monologue: "Level Three Sector Sweep, engaged. Attention populace: Antiperson One Physical Attributes: Male, brown optical pigmentation, brown hair—"
That registered a little in Richard's brain, as he smoothed back his russet widow's peak.
"—unshaven, unwashed, clothed in unremarkable, unkept garments, mechanical vision enhancements—"
A growing sense of restlessness came over Richard as he straightened his glasses, which were slanting over his nose.
"—hooked nose, highly athletic. Assumed combat efficiency: level ten. Alert: May be armed and is highly dangerous. Has rejected identification number 1010370, has reassumed born name Richard Armstrong.
Richard jumped a foot into the air, hitting his head on the curvature of the wall. Vertigo taking him thoughts swirled around and around in his head like a tornado. He had a lot to deal with, and he wasn't good at dealing with even little things. And it was all hitting him at once like a twenty-pound sledgehammer. He had kept a diary, he remembered. He had wrote and edited and published an uncensored news pamphlet, he remembered. He had rejected the new totalitarian doctrine from the start of the ghastly, titanic empire. He had run an underground railroad once Metropolis had announced its sovereignty from the United States and flew the standard of the Iron Crown. He had killed the Terror Policemen that came to amputate him from the populace. He had found his way down here, and he had tried to forget, and in failing that, tried to die.
He was not a good citizen. He wasn't even a thought trespasser, which could be forgiven. He was a law breaker, a terrorist.
"No. No, no, no no, no, no NO!" Bending and feeling positively awful, Richard straightened up screamed at the tunnel, shaking and perspiring in the echoes of his shout as five years of indoctrination fought for a commanding place in his mind.
From far away, the Dispatcher was beginning again: "Level Four sector sweep. Attention, all autonomous units: echoreceptor devices detect vocal patterns of the Malignant, sterilization units: engage on sight. Repeat: Permanently amputate Anitperson Armstrong from the Organism Metropolis."
Richard could hear the throbbing engines and alien sirens of the Terror Police Evisceration Engines sounding down the tunnel. Hearing them, his brain, his programming, told him to stay, told him to lie down on the ground to accept capital justice. It would bleed adrenaline from his own body to prevent escape from prosecution. His motor system would collapse, and his brain would shut itself down last, pending escape. His own body would become his enemy.
He ran. He knew that would be the right thing to do. He was fed up and going crazy with his city, the oppression, and the endless voice of the Dispatcher in his head even when the public speakers were off. He had been thrust from the brink of death into a place he couldn't understand, and it wasn't fair. He was being torn apart by his thoughts and memories and chemicals in him that he never even knew about. Right there he made the decision to die in the open air as a free man, and not as a number and citizen propaganda tattooed on the inside of his skull.
He took off.
Luckily, he was a great runner, a superb athlete. Astonishing amounts of alcohol wasn't enough to erase that. He ran past a hundred subsidiary tunnels as the Dispatcher said, "Antiperson Armstrong, compliance is subsumed in beneficial citizen conduct. Comply, submit, comply, submit, comply, submit…."
That voice drove him up the wall. Voices should have emotion; Richard always thought that when he heard it before. Voices should belong to people, people with faces and thoughts and feelings, who's purpose was not to uncover and destroy. Richard felt this very strongly.
He ran on and on. On and on through the endless tunnel. Onwards into the pinprick of light in the distance, pounding the narrow concrete miles that stretched on and on into freedom. He made it to the end, eventually, somehow, amazingly. He turned the bend in the tunnel and burst through into the night air. He was dismayed to find himself inside the city limits. The smokestacks and refineries of Metropolis spat fire into the air behind him, poisoning the green world. In five-foot neon letters the New Constitution was written, suspended above Metropolis by rusting cables:
All Citizens Shall Have Freedom From Thought, Freedom From Speech, Freedom From The Written Word, And Freedom From God.
He hated the words and everything they stood for. Richard felt awful knowing he wouldn't be able to bring them down in his lifetime. He wanted to be on the other side of the fifty-thousand volt fence surrounding the city. He could see a sheep grazing in the distance.
He liked animals, he remembered that. He liked how they were curious, how he could gain their trust by standing still. There were no animals in Metropolis. He heard the Eviscerators behind him, and this time he didn't run. He was exhausted in every way possible to be exhausted, and he had nothing left.
The last thing he saw before they took him was the half moon, hanging over the green hills like a watchful lantern.
"Check him," said the Terror Officer, looking down behind a black facemask from the cockpit of an Eviscerator.
"NW-001—gone."
"Good."
Three Months Later: Citizen 1010370 stood in line for mandatory sustenance rations. No one talked, and no one grew impatient. Citizen 1010370 wore a polite smile, looking five inches to either side and no more. There were no windows in the building, but the citizens didn't care. Citizen 1010370 was to receive extra rations for his good work amputating three terrorist who were trying to emigrate out of Metropolis. His scalp itched were they had operated the bad citizen out of his head. He would not be afflicted by the virus again. A piece of writing paper fluttered by, and Citizen 1010370 felt something, something different—but no, the voice in his head told him. It was probably another piece of ash that escaped the factories. Yes, that had to be it. After all, no one wrote anymore. It was illegal. Good citizens obeyed the law, and Citizen 1010370 was a good citizen. He would obey whatever he was told, because the voice would never make him do anything wrong.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Silvia:
What's the point of this blog: http://honestyandwriting.blogspot.com/? Matthias and Eversio never blog anymore, so I doubt they'll look at your story. If you want them to I would advise printing it out onto paper and giving them a real copy of it. Then they might read it since they can whenever they have it. Just copy all your posts and paste it into Word and print.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Storm and Fire Part 18
NOTICE: The part olf Chapter 17 there was is all there is and it will be continued in either chapter 19 or chapter 20.
Silvia woke up fairly late. She expected to see Paul, but he still wasn't there. This worried Silvia, but she had to leave soon. She left a note for Paul in the room saying that she was going south to train for about two weeks and not to worry about her. It was a fairly long time, but she would be allowed to rest in Wenatchee a bit before going to work after training. She dressed in her uniform and collected he belongings in a bag. She hurried to the military camp that was just outside of town to the south.
It took about half an hour to get there, and she ran the whole way. It wouldn't be good to be late on the first day! As she expected, Nathan was already there. There were over one thousand people there, all set up in their own tents. It was dry here, just like in the hills with the bandits, the ground was dry and sandy. And warm. It felt like it was radiating heat.
There were even a few tanks in the camp. They had solar panels on them, so they must have been converted from gasoline to electricity. Why did they need tanks for training? How far would they go south? It was only supposed to be two weeks until they got back to Wenatchee, so probably not too far. Hopeful not to the small war going on near Ellensburg.
Silvia decided to go talk to Nathan since he was there. He hadn't seen her yet, so she walked up to him.
"Hi, Nathan," she said.
"Silvia? Did you just get here?"
"Yeah, I didn't get up early."
"The explained some of the training to us. Apperently they want us to be trained near Ellensburg were we can see what kind of work we will be doing. It sounds like it will take a few days to get there. They are short on water, I hope you brought some. It's not too much of a problem if you haven't, they do have some, and there is more once we get to Ellensburg. I've heard that there's actually quite a large battle there.
"What they have told us," he continued, "Is that there are a few people that still believe there is a federal government and that we are rebels that have our rebel states that must be crushed." Seeing Silvia's look of confusion, he said, "I know it's strange, and there is no federal government, but these are very strong believers in the US government who say it will never fall. There's also some in the east that have been causing problems for East Wenatchee. Aparently they are employing bandits to help them, and that's our problem in Ellensburg. You could say Ellensburg is sort of the crossroads of Washington, or the center of a cross. At the top and bottom of it are Wenatchee and Yakima, and on the sides are the unknown locations of these Federalists in the east and west. They could have taken over the former capital as a symbol of their connection to the Federal government. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Ellensburg is were our two orginizations' areas cross: if the Federalists want a connection to their friends in the east, they want Ellensburg. Same with Yakima and us. As long as we can control Ellensburg when the real Federalist forces attack, they will be weak and disunified. That's just a summary of what they said, though, I would be better if you ask someone who knows more about it."
"No, I think I understand it well enough. Thanks for explaining it," Silvia said.
"Well, that's good. The only other major thing they said is that Yakima could betray us, though. It's not for certain. Well, look, it looks like we have to start marching. I'll try and explain more on the way."
They walked for days. It was sometimes hard keeping up with the pace, and it was hot and dry. A few people collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration, but the majority were fine. The terrain varied, sometimes they were going through desert with only a few grey, dead-looking shrubs around, other times going up ridges, across plains, even through a few streams. Every once in a while one of the leaders up in the front would shout for them to pick up the pace, that they needed to go this way or that, or a number of other things. Eventually they were crossing the last stretch, a desert with a bit of greenery here and there from irrigations. The town was somewhat visible ahead. Even closer was a large camp with several tanks, a vast array of tents, and even a few permanant buildings. Silvia guessed that was were she would be staying.
She was right. She set up a tent on the desert ground and unloaded her supplies. She would be staying there for the next week and a half. Nathan had a tent close to hers, only a about twenty meters away. She was told where things were, like the mess hall, the washrooms, the armories, the training areas. They were told that if they couldn't remember where to go for things they would never understand a battle plan, so the directions were intentionally rather confusing. She got it down quickly, though, she had been tracking things for the bandits for years. She even had to help Nathan, who hadn't understood the directions at all.
The next few days were training. They were worked hard, and had to work on their strength; their stamina, often having them run for nearly an hour; their aim, much of it was training with guns, and Nathan excelled at this and was able to help Silvia learn how to operate some of the guns that she hadn't seen in the NC. Some of these things really were from another age, and some of the technology they were using was so advanced even Nathan couldn't get her to understand it.
But agian, her training as a bandit let her excell and was often congradulated by her superiors about her great aim and skill with a gun, and her general understanding of warfare. Nathan did well too; his aim was even better than Silvia's and he understood some of the more advanced technology from his exposure to it. Nathan met several of his old friends there, many of them related to friends of his family. Silvia gathered that Nathan's family was even more influential than she had previously thought.
Nathan introduced her to some of them, his friends. There were Anthony, Ian, and James. They seemed to come from fairly influential families as well. On the fourth night Silvia went into the mess hall and saw all four of them sitting at a table, talking. Silvia grabbed some food, that didn't look very tasty or nutritious, and sat down at their table.
"Oh, hi, Silvia," said Nathan, "We were just talking about how well you were doing during the training. You never told me you had such good aim!"
"The officers have taken notice," commented Ian, "I overheard two of them talking about promoting you!"
"Yeah, promoting some one before they've even finished training is nearly unheard of," commented Anthony, "I've actually never heard of it being done."
"That could be a problem, though," said James, "It is odd enough that people could talk about the possiblity of you bribing them. Personally, I wouldn't accept a promotion until I've been in the guard forces for a few months, just do aviod suspicion."
"You think they would suspect her?" said Anthony, "I've only heard of people from wealthy families using bribes. She doesn't even have much money and has no relatives from Wenathchee, right? I doubt they would be suspicious."
"They could still suspect a bribe. It's not hard for some people to get their way, and there's some bais toward Wenatchee people in the guard forces. A few months isn't long, and could provide you with some extra time to get used to normal guard life. I think even if they wouldn't be suspicious, it's still best to wait." James replied.
"You could be right," said Nathan, "I don't think I'd be quite ready."
"What do you think, Silvia?" Ian asked.
"I really don't know. I'll just wait and see what happens."
"Well, that's just as good an answer as any. Waiting will help with a better decision," Anthony said.
They all agreed to that. They put their used plates in a rack and left the mess hall. They walked back to their tents together, talking about the weather. James was saying that it was getting colder and not that it was fairly late into fall the nights were getting cold. Nathan was telling them about his suit and they laughed at how ridicoused he look in all situations wearing it. Just as they got near their tents, an alarm went off.
A voice cried out into the night, "Bandits coming! Estimated force: five thousand. Prepare for armed conflict."
Silvia woke up fairly late. She expected to see Paul, but he still wasn't there. This worried Silvia, but she had to leave soon. She left a note for Paul in the room saying that she was going south to train for about two weeks and not to worry about her. It was a fairly long time, but she would be allowed to rest in Wenatchee a bit before going to work after training. She dressed in her uniform and collected he belongings in a bag. She hurried to the military camp that was just outside of town to the south.
It took about half an hour to get there, and she ran the whole way. It wouldn't be good to be late on the first day! As she expected, Nathan was already there. There were over one thousand people there, all set up in their own tents. It was dry here, just like in the hills with the bandits, the ground was dry and sandy. And warm. It felt like it was radiating heat.
There were even a few tanks in the camp. They had solar panels on them, so they must have been converted from gasoline to electricity. Why did they need tanks for training? How far would they go south? It was only supposed to be two weeks until they got back to Wenatchee, so probably not too far. Hopeful not to the small war going on near Ellensburg.
Silvia decided to go talk to Nathan since he was there. He hadn't seen her yet, so she walked up to him.
"Hi, Nathan," she said.
"Silvia? Did you just get here?"
"Yeah, I didn't get up early."
"The explained some of the training to us. Apperently they want us to be trained near Ellensburg were we can see what kind of work we will be doing. It sounds like it will take a few days to get there. They are short on water, I hope you brought some. It's not too much of a problem if you haven't, they do have some, and there is more once we get to Ellensburg. I've heard that there's actually quite a large battle there.
"What they have told us," he continued, "Is that there are a few people that still believe there is a federal government and that we are rebels that have our rebel states that must be crushed." Seeing Silvia's look of confusion, he said, "I know it's strange, and there is no federal government, but these are very strong believers in the US government who say it will never fall. There's also some in the east that have been causing problems for East Wenatchee. Aparently they are employing bandits to help them, and that's our problem in Ellensburg. You could say Ellensburg is sort of the crossroads of Washington, or the center of a cross. At the top and bottom of it are Wenatchee and Yakima, and on the sides are the unknown locations of these Federalists in the east and west. They could have taken over the former capital as a symbol of their connection to the Federal government. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Ellensburg is were our two orginizations' areas cross: if the Federalists want a connection to their friends in the east, they want Ellensburg. Same with Yakima and us. As long as we can control Ellensburg when the real Federalist forces attack, they will be weak and disunified. That's just a summary of what they said, though, I would be better if you ask someone who knows more about it."
"No, I think I understand it well enough. Thanks for explaining it," Silvia said.
"Well, that's good. The only other major thing they said is that Yakima could betray us, though. It's not for certain. Well, look, it looks like we have to start marching. I'll try and explain more on the way."
They walked for days. It was sometimes hard keeping up with the pace, and it was hot and dry. A few people collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration, but the majority were fine. The terrain varied, sometimes they were going through desert with only a few grey, dead-looking shrubs around, other times going up ridges, across plains, even through a few streams. Every once in a while one of the leaders up in the front would shout for them to pick up the pace, that they needed to go this way or that, or a number of other things. Eventually they were crossing the last stretch, a desert with a bit of greenery here and there from irrigations. The town was somewhat visible ahead. Even closer was a large camp with several tanks, a vast array of tents, and even a few permanant buildings. Silvia guessed that was were she would be staying.
She was right. She set up a tent on the desert ground and unloaded her supplies. She would be staying there for the next week and a half. Nathan had a tent close to hers, only a about twenty meters away. She was told where things were, like the mess hall, the washrooms, the armories, the training areas. They were told that if they couldn't remember where to go for things they would never understand a battle plan, so the directions were intentionally rather confusing. She got it down quickly, though, she had been tracking things for the bandits for years. She even had to help Nathan, who hadn't understood the directions at all.
The next few days were training. They were worked hard, and had to work on their strength; their stamina, often having them run for nearly an hour; their aim, much of it was training with guns, and Nathan excelled at this and was able to help Silvia learn how to operate some of the guns that she hadn't seen in the NC. Some of these things really were from another age, and some of the technology they were using was so advanced even Nathan couldn't get her to understand it.
But agian, her training as a bandit let her excell and was often congradulated by her superiors about her great aim and skill with a gun, and her general understanding of warfare. Nathan did well too; his aim was even better than Silvia's and he understood some of the more advanced technology from his exposure to it. Nathan met several of his old friends there, many of them related to friends of his family. Silvia gathered that Nathan's family was even more influential than she had previously thought.
Nathan introduced her to some of them, his friends. There were Anthony, Ian, and James. They seemed to come from fairly influential families as well. On the fourth night Silvia went into the mess hall and saw all four of them sitting at a table, talking. Silvia grabbed some food, that didn't look very tasty or nutritious, and sat down at their table.
"Oh, hi, Silvia," said Nathan, "We were just talking about how well you were doing during the training. You never told me you had such good aim!"
"The officers have taken notice," commented Ian, "I overheard two of them talking about promoting you!"
"Yeah, promoting some one before they've even finished training is nearly unheard of," commented Anthony, "I've actually never heard of it being done."
"That could be a problem, though," said James, "It is odd enough that people could talk about the possiblity of you bribing them. Personally, I wouldn't accept a promotion until I've been in the guard forces for a few months, just do aviod suspicion."
"You think they would suspect her?" said Anthony, "I've only heard of people from wealthy families using bribes. She doesn't even have much money and has no relatives from Wenathchee, right? I doubt they would be suspicious."
"They could still suspect a bribe. It's not hard for some people to get their way, and there's some bais toward Wenatchee people in the guard forces. A few months isn't long, and could provide you with some extra time to get used to normal guard life. I think even if they wouldn't be suspicious, it's still best to wait." James replied.
"You could be right," said Nathan, "I don't think I'd be quite ready."
"What do you think, Silvia?" Ian asked.
"I really don't know. I'll just wait and see what happens."
"Well, that's just as good an answer as any. Waiting will help with a better decision," Anthony said.
They all agreed to that. They put their used plates in a rack and left the mess hall. They walked back to their tents together, talking about the weather. James was saying that it was getting colder and not that it was fairly late into fall the nights were getting cold. Nathan was telling them about his suit and they laughed at how ridicoused he look in all situations wearing it. Just as they got near their tents, an alarm went off.
A voice cried out into the night, "Bandits coming! Estimated force: five thousand. Prepare for armed conflict."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
In Responce to Layouts:
I don't think so. I think the background is much more distracting than the black. It's like reading a book with bizarre pages. I just couldn't read with that.
Short Strory
I'm going to try my touch at a gruesome horror story. Why? Because I feel like it!
Adreniline raced through his body as Rin ran through the forest. Each step was treachorous with a root sticking out, or a rock jutting out a awkward angle. It was inevtible that we would eventually trip, and so he did. Smashing his into into the cold dirt blood enveloped his eyes,nose, and mouth. Scrambling up again he continued running blood pouring from his face and gashes along his arms. He wanted to stop, to cough, to clear his lkungs of blood and so to properly breath again. Then a fire hit his back, dead center and spread. Blood filled the air and he felt his calfs be ripped open. Trying to cry out blood rushed up his thoat and out his mouth.Ripping, and burning his body writhed falling to the ground soaking it with the blood of adam. Then at the peak of pin it ended. The cool mertal slid along his throat and up. severing the organ that made him feel, and ending the pain.
Adreniline raced through his body as Rin ran through the forest. Each step was treachorous with a root sticking out, or a rock jutting out a awkward angle. It was inevtible that we would eventually trip, and so he did. Smashing his into into the cold dirt blood enveloped his eyes,nose, and mouth. Scrambling up again he continued running blood pouring from his face and gashes along his arms. He wanted to stop, to cough, to clear his lkungs of blood and so to properly breath again. Then a fire hit his back, dead center and spread. Blood filled the air and he felt his calfs be ripped open. Trying to cry out blood rushed up his thoat and out his mouth.Ripping, and burning his body writhed falling to the ground soaking it with the blood of adam. Then at the peak of pin it ended. The cool mertal slid along his throat and up. severing the organ that made him feel, and ending the pain.
Eternal Feather
"Hirono, wake up! It's another beautiful day"
"Dad, shut up. You don't have to try to act like a father since you were gone most of the time."
"How cruel, anyways I started eating breakfest without you I hope you don't mind. That girl left some food on the counter just for you, and even though she is so nice and is a friend from junior high I still don't want you dating!"
"Do you have to tell me that every living moment i'm with you, I understand already!"
"Well anyways I heated breakfest for you so come on down."
Finally the door shut and Hirono crawled out of bed. Going over to his closet he quickly doned his school uniform. "I'm going now" said Hirono as he walked down the stairs into the living room. "Aren't you going to eat the breakfest carefully heated for you?"
"No I'll eat it on the run or else I'll be late, bye"
"Bye son."
"Dad, shut up. You don't have to try to act like a father since you were gone most of the time."
"How cruel, anyways I started eating breakfest without you I hope you don't mind. That girl left some food on the counter just for you, and even though she is so nice and is a friend from junior high I still don't want you dating!"
"Do you have to tell me that every living moment i'm with you, I understand already!"
"Well anyways I heated breakfest for you so come on down."
Finally the door shut and Hirono crawled out of bed. Going over to his closet he quickly doned his school uniform. "I'm going now" said Hirono as he walked down the stairs into the living room. "Aren't you going to eat the breakfest carefully heated for you?"
"No I'll eat it on the run or else I'll be late, bye"
"Bye son."
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Storm and Fire: Chapter 17 (Halfway Completed)
I'll post the rest today, probably.
Chapter 17
Paul at Yakima
Paul was taken to the Yakima-Wenatchee Air Transport offices. It was commonly known by the acronym YWAT. The offices were not very large, but a reasonable size. Paul was given a form to fill out. It was nothing special, just name, age, ect.
“You know how to read, don’t you?”
“Yes, answered Paul. It was not uncommon for people born after the war to be uneducated, especially if they lived in rural areas. Even some of the people born before the war had forgotten. It was not an unreasonable question to ask.
Paul filled out the form and was handed a badge, a license, and a uniform. They all bore the symbols of Yakima and the YWAT. He was shown to his room by an employee. It was a small room in the basement of the building. Even so, it was comfortable and had running water. Paul was told that he could spend his time there until he was given his first task. He asked what his task would be, curious about the guns on the airship last time.
“Oh, just taking supplies and mail to Wenatchee. Nothing special, no passengers,” the employee told him.
“What are these supplies? Last time I saw that there were guns in the cargo area,” Paul questioned.
“Yes, mainly ammunition and some guns will be taken. Though it tries to hide it, and you even may not have heard, Wenatchee is fighting a war on two fronts, from the south in Ellensburg and across the Columbia River in the east. I hope you don’t have to get involved. It hasn’t become a threat so far, but I’ve heard rumors of these bandits being members of the US Federal Army still following the last orders from the Federal government, given to them twenty-something years ago.”
“The Last Orders? You mean the October Laws?”
“Yeah, those. There are some that still believe the Federal Government will return, and it’s their duty to hold things together and preserve the union until the president comes out of hiding and helps them ‘defeat the Chinese.’ ”
“They still think we’re at war?!” Paul said, confused by that.
“Yeah, even after nearly thirty years, they believe that without a treaty made the war is still going on. They think that the robbing they do is only taxing to support the Federal Army, and that anyone who does not pay their ‘tax’ is a rebel and a traitor. Don’t worry; these are only a few extremists. Most of the army has gotten that the Chinese are in just as bad a condition as we are and there is no Federal government. Don’t let it bother you. The Yakima government is more supportive of this ‘taxing’ than Wenatchee, but it is only a minor issue. You only have to help, not fight,” the employee assured him.
“I see. There’s a friend of mine that’s a guard in Wenatchee…”
“Again, it’s only a minor issue. The bandits are for the most part under control and their numbers are small. It should be no trouble.”
“Good. I had been a bit worried since they said they needed guards close to Wenatchee. That’s comforting.”
“I have to go now. Enjoy your stay,” the employee said getting up and walking down the hall.
The next few days were uneventful. He decided to look around town. The YWAT had given him some Yakima money, copper-looking coins with the word “Yakima” stamped into them and an apple on the back. The apple had been on quite a few of the Wenatchee coins as well. Not all of the coins looked the same, it looked as if they just found whatever metal there was, melted it, and stamped the design into it. Well, at least there was a currency.
Paul decided to go shopping. They had made him leave his clothes in Wenatchee, so he went into town to buy some new clothes. There wasn’t much else he needed: most of what he needed was provided for by the YWAT. He decided to buy lunch in town, though. It wasn’t much, just a steak. He decided to get an apple pie for desert, the town seemed to have a thing for apples, and it was much better. Well, maybe it was best to order what a town was proud of over just any dish.
He did get to meet some of the other pilots. They had plenty of advice for him. According to them, the test was actually pretty hard compared to a normal flight. The pilot intentionally flew poorly and went into the mountains as a test. They assured him this would be much easier. Even so, he was still nervous. This time if something happened there wouldn’t be someone watching him.
Finally the day of his mission came. He dressed in his uniform and put on his badge. He didn’t like the uniform much. It was a white, bleached color. There was a white hat with “Yakima” and “YWAT” written in red letters. It had gold trimming. What was he, and army commander?! Why couldn’t he just wear whatever he wanted! Did he have to look good for the guns or something?! There weren’t even any passengers. Wasn’t a badge enough?
He walked from the offices to the airport. He was quite nervous after last time. Did he really want this job? If he failed, there was no one to help him! He decided that he should go anyway. What better way to get involved in matters than to be the transporter of weapons? He reached the airport and saw the airship waiting for him. It was larger than the last one he piloted, but not by much. He walked into and was going to wait for the signal for takeoff, but a woman was sitting in the chair next to the pilot’s.
“Um, is this not my airship? I thought I was going at this time, and this is the only airship…”
“Of course you’re going. I’m your co-pilot!”
Chapter 17
Paul at Yakima
Paul was taken to the Yakima-Wenatchee Air Transport offices. It was commonly known by the acronym YWAT. The offices were not very large, but a reasonable size. Paul was given a form to fill out. It was nothing special, just name, age, ect.
“You know how to read, don’t you?”
“Yes, answered Paul. It was not uncommon for people born after the war to be uneducated, especially if they lived in rural areas. Even some of the people born before the war had forgotten. It was not an unreasonable question to ask.
Paul filled out the form and was handed a badge, a license, and a uniform. They all bore the symbols of Yakima and the YWAT. He was shown to his room by an employee. It was a small room in the basement of the building. Even so, it was comfortable and had running water. Paul was told that he could spend his time there until he was given his first task. He asked what his task would be, curious about the guns on the airship last time.
“Oh, just taking supplies and mail to Wenatchee. Nothing special, no passengers,” the employee told him.
“What are these supplies? Last time I saw that there were guns in the cargo area,” Paul questioned.
“Yes, mainly ammunition and some guns will be taken. Though it tries to hide it, and you even may not have heard, Wenatchee is fighting a war on two fronts, from the south in Ellensburg and across the Columbia River in the east. I hope you don’t have to get involved. It hasn’t become a threat so far, but I’ve heard rumors of these bandits being members of the US Federal Army still following the last orders from the Federal government, given to them twenty-something years ago.”
“The Last Orders? You mean the October Laws?”
“Yeah, those. There are some that still believe the Federal Government will return, and it’s their duty to hold things together and preserve the union until the president comes out of hiding and helps them ‘defeat the Chinese.’ ”
“They still think we’re at war?!” Paul said, confused by that.
“Yeah, even after nearly thirty years, they believe that without a treaty made the war is still going on. They think that the robbing they do is only taxing to support the Federal Army, and that anyone who does not pay their ‘tax’ is a rebel and a traitor. Don’t worry; these are only a few extremists. Most of the army has gotten that the Chinese are in just as bad a condition as we are and there is no Federal government. Don’t let it bother you. The Yakima government is more supportive of this ‘taxing’ than Wenatchee, but it is only a minor issue. You only have to help, not fight,” the employee assured him.
“I see. There’s a friend of mine that’s a guard in Wenatchee…”
“Again, it’s only a minor issue. The bandits are for the most part under control and their numbers are small. It should be no trouble.”
“Good. I had been a bit worried since they said they needed guards close to Wenatchee. That’s comforting.”
“I have to go now. Enjoy your stay,” the employee said getting up and walking down the hall.
The next few days were uneventful. He decided to look around town. The YWAT had given him some Yakima money, copper-looking coins with the word “Yakima” stamped into them and an apple on the back. The apple had been on quite a few of the Wenatchee coins as well. Not all of the coins looked the same, it looked as if they just found whatever metal there was, melted it, and stamped the design into it. Well, at least there was a currency.
Paul decided to go shopping. They had made him leave his clothes in Wenatchee, so he went into town to buy some new clothes. There wasn’t much else he needed: most of what he needed was provided for by the YWAT. He decided to buy lunch in town, though. It wasn’t much, just a steak. He decided to get an apple pie for desert, the town seemed to have a thing for apples, and it was much better. Well, maybe it was best to order what a town was proud of over just any dish.
He did get to meet some of the other pilots. They had plenty of advice for him. According to them, the test was actually pretty hard compared to a normal flight. The pilot intentionally flew poorly and went into the mountains as a test. They assured him this would be much easier. Even so, he was still nervous. This time if something happened there wouldn’t be someone watching him.
Finally the day of his mission came. He dressed in his uniform and put on his badge. He didn’t like the uniform much. It was a white, bleached color. There was a white hat with “Yakima” and “YWAT” written in red letters. It had gold trimming. What was he, and army commander?! Why couldn’t he just wear whatever he wanted! Did he have to look good for the guns or something?! There weren’t even any passengers. Wasn’t a badge enough?
He walked from the offices to the airport. He was quite nervous after last time. Did he really want this job? If he failed, there was no one to help him! He decided that he should go anyway. What better way to get involved in matters than to be the transporter of weapons? He reached the airport and saw the airship waiting for him. It was larger than the last one he piloted, but not by much. He walked into and was going to wait for the signal for takeoff, but a woman was sitting in the chair next to the pilot’s.
“Um, is this not my airship? I thought I was going at this time, and this is the only airship…”
“Of course you’re going. I’m your co-pilot!”
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Storm and Fire Chapter 16
Chapter 16
I Can’t Think of a Name for this Chapter so I Won’t
Nathan stood still, confused that Silvia was crying after they had just succeeded in getting their job. Still, he didn’t want to seem uncaring. “What’s wrong?” he asked. She didn’t respond. “I know killing people is hard. I’m sorry if you felt forced,” Nathan said, “But if it’s any help, they were bandits and kill and steal for a living. You didn’t do anything wrong.” This didn’t help either. Nathan thought about what could be troubling her. She didn’t seem to show any hesitation until she got there, he thought. It doesn’t seem like killing would trouble her. How would that bandit know her name? Is that related? Then Nathan came to a conclusion.
“That person was your friend, right?” he asked, feeling guilty. “I know it’s not uncommon for a person who is desperate to join the bandits. I’m terribly sorry I forced you into that situation. I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have asked to come along… I’ve only been a nuisance. …I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault,” sobbed Silvia, “It’s my fault for not realize the plan could go wrong.” She looked back at Nathan, tears running down her face. “I should have listened to you! You were right… the plan had too many flaws. But I didn’t listen, I thought I was right, and so I have paid the price. Don’t think it’s your fault! It’s mine.” This made her cry even harder.
“No!” said Nathan, “Don’t think like that! You could never have known that! It was beyond your control! No amount of planning could have accounted for that.”
“Maybe you’re right. That still doesn’t change the fact that I killed someone that was close to me. I killed them! It can only be my fault. I… I don’t know what to do…”
“You don’t need to do anything! I know it can be hard for someone you’re close to joining the bandits, but it was their choice. They chose the life to live, and they chose to kill and to steal. It cannot be your fault if it was their choice to live the way of a bandit.”
Silvia sighed, “I guess you’re right…” Maybe he was. Even if he had been kind to her, he still killed for a living. Could being kind to a single person redeem a life of horrible deeds? Maybe not. She felt relieved at the support Nathan gave. He was just as kind to her as the bandit she had killed was, and he lived an honest life. “Let’s return to Wenatchee,” she said.
INTERMISSION THING
You may not remember Chapter 8; I should have had more references to the goings-on in Olympia. Now we present to you some people that seem to have nothing to do with the main story!
The people around sat, looking intently at the man behind the podium. Their looks were a mix of respect and fear. Nearly 100 representatives of various cities from the surrounding area had gathered here. From near the border of Canada to the Columbia River, various cities that still held the Federal government as the government of Washington. They wondered who this person was. Apparently, he was a prominent Senator from before the war that the Federal government chose to lead Washington in case of collapse of government. However, was he really getting the orders from the president?
The man behind the podium began to speak. “Good day to all of you, who come from every corner of our state to meet here in the Washington Capitol of Olympia. The Federal Government has recently sent orders, and I shall give them to you shortly. As you all know, the Federal Government still exists. There is still a president of the United States, and he is in the mountains of Maryland right now. Congress still goes on as we speak. Nothing has changed, even in these most desperate times. Anyone who says otherwise is a rebel.
The recent orders from the President are to make sure that all land is secured. We are still at war with the Chinese, and though they have not attacked us for thirty years, they may attack at any time. The Federal government has not kept a close enough watch on these rebels. The order is to kill anyone who is anti-American or is one of these “bandits” that wander the countryside.
Our biggest threat is some cities to the east that have succeeded. The reason many eastern delegates are not here is because of this. The US government demands that these two cities, Wenatchee and Yakima, be eliminated immediately. It is our job to preserve the Union. These must be crushed before they expand. Gather an army here. By next summer, we must launch an attack, or else face one from these rebel foes.”
END INTERMISSION
Silvia and Nathan arrived at Wenatchee by twilight. Rather than sleeping and taking the badges to the recruiting offices in the morning, they decided to get it over with. Walking through the still lit streets and past people walking and shopping, they reached the central area of the city where the government buildings were. They soon got to the recruitment center and walked in.
Walking up to the front desks, they showed the badges. “You two were fast. Go to room 334 for further instruction. It’s right down the hall and to the left.” They went to room 334 and knocked. “Please enter.”
They walked in. There were a few people there. “Ah, the first people. Do you have the badges?”
They showed the badges. “Oh, good. So, will you take the job? Good, now sign this contract… You’ll receive free rooms at the government hotel, and free breakfast. You’ll start training next week. It will be work to the south, I believe… They need help with a bandit problem. It’s been real trouble with the Ellensburg bandits coming up here. Even more of a problem with Yakima not helping us! I even have heard rumors that Yakima is helping these bandits. I sure don’t hope it leads to war…”
Nathan left to go to his hotel, and Silvia started off to hers. She wondered if she would work with Nathan anymore. She hoped so; it would be good to have someone she knew in the guards. What were they saying about sending them to the south to fight bandits for training, Silvia thought. Did they count war as training?
She got back to the government’s inn. She walked into her room. Paul wasn’t back? Where was he? That was confusing, but she decided he would probably get back later, so she decided to just go to bed then, and see if he showed up later. She was tired from walking, and fell asleep before even night. Paul still wasn’t back…
I Can’t Think of a Name for this Chapter so I Won’t
Nathan stood still, confused that Silvia was crying after they had just succeeded in getting their job. Still, he didn’t want to seem uncaring. “What’s wrong?” he asked. She didn’t respond. “I know killing people is hard. I’m sorry if you felt forced,” Nathan said, “But if it’s any help, they were bandits and kill and steal for a living. You didn’t do anything wrong.” This didn’t help either. Nathan thought about what could be troubling her. She didn’t seem to show any hesitation until she got there, he thought. It doesn’t seem like killing would trouble her. How would that bandit know her name? Is that related? Then Nathan came to a conclusion.
“That person was your friend, right?” he asked, feeling guilty. “I know it’s not uncommon for a person who is desperate to join the bandits. I’m terribly sorry I forced you into that situation. I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have asked to come along… I’ve only been a nuisance. …I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault,” sobbed Silvia, “It’s my fault for not realize the plan could go wrong.” She looked back at Nathan, tears running down her face. “I should have listened to you! You were right… the plan had too many flaws. But I didn’t listen, I thought I was right, and so I have paid the price. Don’t think it’s your fault! It’s mine.” This made her cry even harder.
“No!” said Nathan, “Don’t think like that! You could never have known that! It was beyond your control! No amount of planning could have accounted for that.”
“Maybe you’re right. That still doesn’t change the fact that I killed someone that was close to me. I killed them! It can only be my fault. I… I don’t know what to do…”
“You don’t need to do anything! I know it can be hard for someone you’re close to joining the bandits, but it was their choice. They chose the life to live, and they chose to kill and to steal. It cannot be your fault if it was their choice to live the way of a bandit.”
Silvia sighed, “I guess you’re right…” Maybe he was. Even if he had been kind to her, he still killed for a living. Could being kind to a single person redeem a life of horrible deeds? Maybe not. She felt relieved at the support Nathan gave. He was just as kind to her as the bandit she had killed was, and he lived an honest life. “Let’s return to Wenatchee,” she said.
INTERMISSION THING
You may not remember Chapter 8; I should have had more references to the goings-on in Olympia. Now we present to you some people that seem to have nothing to do with the main story!
The people around sat, looking intently at the man behind the podium. Their looks were a mix of respect and fear. Nearly 100 representatives of various cities from the surrounding area had gathered here. From near the border of Canada to the Columbia River, various cities that still held the Federal government as the government of Washington. They wondered who this person was. Apparently, he was a prominent Senator from before the war that the Federal government chose to lead Washington in case of collapse of government. However, was he really getting the orders from the president?
The man behind the podium began to speak. “Good day to all of you, who come from every corner of our state to meet here in the Washington Capitol of Olympia. The Federal Government has recently sent orders, and I shall give them to you shortly. As you all know, the Federal Government still exists. There is still a president of the United States, and he is in the mountains of Maryland right now. Congress still goes on as we speak. Nothing has changed, even in these most desperate times. Anyone who says otherwise is a rebel.
The recent orders from the President are to make sure that all land is secured. We are still at war with the Chinese, and though they have not attacked us for thirty years, they may attack at any time. The Federal government has not kept a close enough watch on these rebels. The order is to kill anyone who is anti-American or is one of these “bandits” that wander the countryside.
Our biggest threat is some cities to the east that have succeeded. The reason many eastern delegates are not here is because of this. The US government demands that these two cities, Wenatchee and Yakima, be eliminated immediately. It is our job to preserve the Union. These must be crushed before they expand. Gather an army here. By next summer, we must launch an attack, or else face one from these rebel foes.”
END INTERMISSION
Silvia and Nathan arrived at Wenatchee by twilight. Rather than sleeping and taking the badges to the recruiting offices in the morning, they decided to get it over with. Walking through the still lit streets and past people walking and shopping, they reached the central area of the city where the government buildings were. They soon got to the recruitment center and walked in.
Walking up to the front desks, they showed the badges. “You two were fast. Go to room 334 for further instruction. It’s right down the hall and to the left.” They went to room 334 and knocked. “Please enter.”
They walked in. There were a few people there. “Ah, the first people. Do you have the badges?”
They showed the badges. “Oh, good. So, will you take the job? Good, now sign this contract… You’ll receive free rooms at the government hotel, and free breakfast. You’ll start training next week. It will be work to the south, I believe… They need help with a bandit problem. It’s been real trouble with the Ellensburg bandits coming up here. Even more of a problem with Yakima not helping us! I even have heard rumors that Yakima is helping these bandits. I sure don’t hope it leads to war…”
Nathan left to go to his hotel, and Silvia started off to hers. She wondered if she would work with Nathan anymore. She hoped so; it would be good to have someone she knew in the guards. What were they saying about sending them to the south to fight bandits for training, Silvia thought. Did they count war as training?
She got back to the government’s inn. She walked into her room. Paul wasn’t back? Where was he? That was confusing, but she decided he would probably get back later, so she decided to just go to bed then, and see if he showed up later. She was tired from walking, and fell asleep before even night. Paul still wasn’t back…
Monday, April 6, 2009
writer's world
try a layout.
and THANK YOU for the feedback. i replied again w/ some questions so um yeah. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.
and THANK YOU for the feedback. i replied again w/ some questions so um yeah. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.
Eternal Feather
Sorry about the rough quality and the mid section edit (you'll see what I mean when I get there).Any way... The plot thickens and I am over using the ... thing. "What's that?" Came a voice from behind Hirono and suddenly his cell phone was taken from his hand. "Aah wait dad, there's something really important I need to do with that." "Well you can communicate with your friends after your dad has left, and that counts for dates as well!" "Dad look I know that you don't want me dating because of what happened with you and mom so you joke about to remind me, but come on, I'm in high school!" "Just when your mom got pregnant too! No buts, now help get my stuff inside, you don't want to you leave your old man stranded do you?""...Yes..." Hirono muttered under his breath, as he shouldered some more bags and trudged towards the door. Throwing the bags on the floor, Hirono made for the stove to cook dinner, usually it was a simple meal of ramen-in-a-cup, but since his dad was cooking Hirono thought he should at least make a effort. (Note: The next part includes actions that will have accord after I edit the begining, including that the girl who he "stole" her perse, actually is that he sees a guy stealing it and the guy shoots him in the shoulder. Then later when he returns the purse he finds out it was a childhood friend who he met in middle school. They become friends and inbetween Hirono and Chihiro's first date, she comes over and occaisionally cooks him dinner. I promise to revise this before Spring Break is over.)Suddenly front door burst open hitting Hirono in the shoulder."Ouch,that hurt." Hirono cried out turning towards the door. Instead he came face to face with Asa, "Asa, What are you doing!" "Here to cook you dinner again silly, we can't have you eating unhealthy every night.""Look not tonight, um...I have plans.""Oh, are you going on a date with Chihiro? Don't you too make a nice couple." "it's nothing like that! Look my dads here and well... HE doesn't approve of, how do I put this, female friends. HE may think that we are...you know...we..." "Oh... You mean were doing things behind closed doors? Tee Hee!""Not it off! Sheesh, don't you have any shame!""Oh come on, I am around a man. Can't I at least flirt with you, or you already snuggling up with Chihiro.""Thats not the point! Any way... o-oh dad, what are you doing th-there." Trying to get up off the ground Hirono felt his dad's eyes peircing into him."Why are you laying on the ground with a woman on top of you!" "She just came to cook dinner, right Asa!" "YEs, How do you do Mr. Suichimi." "Well enough with you not flashing your underwear around in that small skirt, if your here to cook dinner, then get in the kitchen and off my son. Is there any other visitors I should know about before this evenings over?" "N-no sir." "Good."
Sunday, April 5, 2009
from the mind of jennifer
i need a title. so, i'm going to give you a story summary. please remember i don't write sci-fi. please please please remember. this is a teen novel. i know you might (probably) think this is stupid, but my friend thought it was amazing. just random notes.
there's this girl and guy who are in love but the guy finds out he has to move. he breaks up with her and breaks her heart. he forgets about the girl. in college, he's about to get married to his new girlfriend (engaged) when he remembers the girl whose heart he broke. he tries to find out about her and eventually realizes he's not in love with his fiance and goes back to find his high school sweetheart.
omg, lame. right?
there's this girl and guy who are in love but the guy finds out he has to move. he breaks up with her and breaks her heart. he forgets about the girl. in college, he's about to get married to his new girlfriend (engaged) when he remembers the girl whose heart he broke. he tries to find out about her and eventually realizes he's not in love with his fiance and goes back to find his high school sweetheart.
omg, lame. right?
Storm and Fire Chapter Fifteen
Chapter 15
Point A to Point B
Paul stared at the unconscious body of the pilot. He looked like he hit his head hard; he wouldn’t be awake for hours. Paul tried to shake him awake anyway, in this weather the airship would crash if it wasn’t steered. This was really weird weather for around this area! Paul decided to wait around and see if the pilot woke up. The area around was dry, and it looked like there would be no town for miles. Paul made sure the refrigerator that was in the cabin had supplies in it. It didn’t.
Paul looked around a bit more. In the upper levels there were a few packages and mail. Was this airship mainly used to deliver mail? There were also very long ropes. Strangely enough, there were quite a few weapons around. It looked like there were hundreds, maybe thousands of guns. There was even more ammunition. Paul wondered why it was taking all that to Yakima.
He decided to stockpile supplies for when the airship crashed. Guns could defend against any bandits and possibly hunt. He grabbed a few knifes for the meat and gutting the animals, and even attacking bandits. He found the captain had a hidden stash of candy, which Paul decided to take. It was food, after all! There was even a bit of bread.
The ground loomed even closer. Even with floating, it seemed like the decent was fast. The ridge ahead looked like it would not be good to crash into; while crashing with an airship wouldn’t be too bad, crashing and then falling down a cliff would. Paul started becoming more and more afraid.
It looked like he would crash into the ridge after all. There wasn’t anything but to hope for the best. However, in these moments of despair Paul got an idea. He had been watching the pilot steer the craft, he even remembered some of the controls. He went up to pilot’s seat and pushed the pilot a bit away.
He gritted his teeth and grabbed the steering wheel, which was several feet in diameter, similar to a ship’s. It seemed to control only direction, and a throttle seemed to control speed, and another control stick controlled height. There was a valley between the ridge in front of him and another. He tried turning the large wheel in that direction. It worked and the airship began to turn toward the valley. Paul was overjoyed.
After a while of going through the valley, Paul noticed the ship was still descending at an alarming rate. Paul decided to try the elevation control stick, and hoped it did what he thought it did. The pilot seemed to use it whenever the airship was getting to low. He hoped that connection was right, and it didn’t do something like releasing air from the air cells. Paul gripped the control stick, worried that it wouldn’t work, and pushed up to its top setting.
Instantly there was the roaring of engines burning. The airship began to rise steadily. The roaring was loud, and it seemed to be putting stress on the airship. There was the sound of metal creaking, and the airship seemed to be tilting forward. Oh, great, Paul thought, now the propellers will just be pushing the whole craft downwards!
Paul pulled the altitude control stick back to rest position. The roaring sound immediately stopped. This didn’t seem to do much to the tilting; the craft was still tipping forward. Even worse, the whole craft was about to crash into the valley wall. Paul thought that if he turned away from it, the back end of the craft would crash into it. Then he realized that when he tried to make the airship go upward, the back end went up!
Paul pushed the altitude control stick to full. The roaring sound came back and the craft tilted forward. Now Paul turned away while moving forward. The back end of the craft was tilted up enough to miss the top of the valley wall by a few meters. The airship pulled out of the valley into a flat plain. At the far end was a river, and behind that were several hills. The entire land around was shades of brown, orange, and yellow. By the river was a bit of green, but not much.
As Paul’s airship got closer to the river he saw there was a town on it. It was, large, too! Paul thought it was Yakima. However, on a closer look, the buildings looked burned and no one was living there. It looked like the bandits were stronger in this area than he thought. If the bandits could destroy a city the size of Yakima, it meant they were a real threat. Paul was surprised he hadn’t heard of any conflicts with them yet. He was sure in the future the two sides would clash, civilization and anarchy. He hoped to be a help to civilization when that time came.
The city was probably Ellensburg. It was between Yakima and Wenatchee, and was about this large. It wasn’t quite as big, probably explaining why it wasn’t around now. Paul had been there once. The sight of it the way it was now brought tears to his eyes in a way that hadn’t happened since he first saw the world destroyed at the start of the war. Yakima must be beyond the hills.
Going over the hills, Paul saw a massive expanse of green. It was like the last plain except that this one was covered with farms and had a much larger river. This must be Yakima! The town looked thriving. There were people and even a large amount of cars crowding the streets. There were even taller buildings than in Wenatchee. Yakima must have its own government.
Paul soon spotted the landing area, which was located in the center of the city. He began guiding the airship to the landing area and saw that there were people ready to help with the landing. They seemed to be confused by something. Then Paul realized they probably needed to pull the airship down by ropes. He knew where they were! Quickly he rushed to the upper room and threw the ropes down. It was hard to lift them because they were heavy, and he had to frequently make adjustments in the control room, but soon the airship was coming down fast and before Paul even had a chance to realize he had succeeded, the airship had hit the ground.
The door swung open and he was greeted by a few people who wore the same uniforms as the pilot and the people who took him to the airport in Wenatchee. They had smiles on their faces, even though the unconscious body of the pilot was in their view.
“Congratulations! You have passed the exam!” said a person who seemed to be the boss.
“What?” said Paul, “What did I do?”
“You haven’t realized yet? The exam was to fly the airship to here, Yakima.”
“But how?! The pilot went unconscious, it couldn’t have been faked! And what if I did crash and die? You don’t care about losing an airship?!”
A woman stepped up from behind Paul. “That’s why I was here,” she said, “I was in a hidden compartment in the airship, observing your piloting skills. I was ready in case anything went wrong.”
“Fine, but what about the pilot? He was unconscious!”
“That was faked too. We gave him a pill that would make him unconscious partway through the flight. He timed it so that he took the airship through turbulence just as it was taking effect. It was to cause panic in you that is regularly experienced by airship pilots and a good pilot needs to be able to handle stress. Don’t worry about him, he should wake up soon.”
Paul nodded, a bit angry to be tricked, but also very glad to have passed the exam. The boss said, “Well then, you have passed the exam. Do you want the job?”
Paul thought for a second, and realized that piloting the airship was actually rather fun. “Yes,” he said, “I’ll take the job.”
Point A to Point B
Paul stared at the unconscious body of the pilot. He looked like he hit his head hard; he wouldn’t be awake for hours. Paul tried to shake him awake anyway, in this weather the airship would crash if it wasn’t steered. This was really weird weather for around this area! Paul decided to wait around and see if the pilot woke up. The area around was dry, and it looked like there would be no town for miles. Paul made sure the refrigerator that was in the cabin had supplies in it. It didn’t.
Paul looked around a bit more. In the upper levels there were a few packages and mail. Was this airship mainly used to deliver mail? There were also very long ropes. Strangely enough, there were quite a few weapons around. It looked like there were hundreds, maybe thousands of guns. There was even more ammunition. Paul wondered why it was taking all that to Yakima.
He decided to stockpile supplies for when the airship crashed. Guns could defend against any bandits and possibly hunt. He grabbed a few knifes for the meat and gutting the animals, and even attacking bandits. He found the captain had a hidden stash of candy, which Paul decided to take. It was food, after all! There was even a bit of bread.
The ground loomed even closer. Even with floating, it seemed like the decent was fast. The ridge ahead looked like it would not be good to crash into; while crashing with an airship wouldn’t be too bad, crashing and then falling down a cliff would. Paul started becoming more and more afraid.
It looked like he would crash into the ridge after all. There wasn’t anything but to hope for the best. However, in these moments of despair Paul got an idea. He had been watching the pilot steer the craft, he even remembered some of the controls. He went up to pilot’s seat and pushed the pilot a bit away.
He gritted his teeth and grabbed the steering wheel, which was several feet in diameter, similar to a ship’s. It seemed to control only direction, and a throttle seemed to control speed, and another control stick controlled height. There was a valley between the ridge in front of him and another. He tried turning the large wheel in that direction. It worked and the airship began to turn toward the valley. Paul was overjoyed.
After a while of going through the valley, Paul noticed the ship was still descending at an alarming rate. Paul decided to try the elevation control stick, and hoped it did what he thought it did. The pilot seemed to use it whenever the airship was getting to low. He hoped that connection was right, and it didn’t do something like releasing air from the air cells. Paul gripped the control stick, worried that it wouldn’t work, and pushed up to its top setting.
Instantly there was the roaring of engines burning. The airship began to rise steadily. The roaring was loud, and it seemed to be putting stress on the airship. There was the sound of metal creaking, and the airship seemed to be tilting forward. Oh, great, Paul thought, now the propellers will just be pushing the whole craft downwards!
Paul pulled the altitude control stick back to rest position. The roaring sound immediately stopped. This didn’t seem to do much to the tilting; the craft was still tipping forward. Even worse, the whole craft was about to crash into the valley wall. Paul thought that if he turned away from it, the back end of the craft would crash into it. Then he realized that when he tried to make the airship go upward, the back end went up!
Paul pushed the altitude control stick to full. The roaring sound came back and the craft tilted forward. Now Paul turned away while moving forward. The back end of the craft was tilted up enough to miss the top of the valley wall by a few meters. The airship pulled out of the valley into a flat plain. At the far end was a river, and behind that were several hills. The entire land around was shades of brown, orange, and yellow. By the river was a bit of green, but not much.
As Paul’s airship got closer to the river he saw there was a town on it. It was, large, too! Paul thought it was Yakima. However, on a closer look, the buildings looked burned and no one was living there. It looked like the bandits were stronger in this area than he thought. If the bandits could destroy a city the size of Yakima, it meant they were a real threat. Paul was surprised he hadn’t heard of any conflicts with them yet. He was sure in the future the two sides would clash, civilization and anarchy. He hoped to be a help to civilization when that time came.
The city was probably Ellensburg. It was between Yakima and Wenatchee, and was about this large. It wasn’t quite as big, probably explaining why it wasn’t around now. Paul had been there once. The sight of it the way it was now brought tears to his eyes in a way that hadn’t happened since he first saw the world destroyed at the start of the war. Yakima must be beyond the hills.
Going over the hills, Paul saw a massive expanse of green. It was like the last plain except that this one was covered with farms and had a much larger river. This must be Yakima! The town looked thriving. There were people and even a large amount of cars crowding the streets. There were even taller buildings than in Wenatchee. Yakima must have its own government.
Paul soon spotted the landing area, which was located in the center of the city. He began guiding the airship to the landing area and saw that there were people ready to help with the landing. They seemed to be confused by something. Then Paul realized they probably needed to pull the airship down by ropes. He knew where they were! Quickly he rushed to the upper room and threw the ropes down. It was hard to lift them because they were heavy, and he had to frequently make adjustments in the control room, but soon the airship was coming down fast and before Paul even had a chance to realize he had succeeded, the airship had hit the ground.
The door swung open and he was greeted by a few people who wore the same uniforms as the pilot and the people who took him to the airport in Wenatchee. They had smiles on their faces, even though the unconscious body of the pilot was in their view.
“Congratulations! You have passed the exam!” said a person who seemed to be the boss.
“What?” said Paul, “What did I do?”
“You haven’t realized yet? The exam was to fly the airship to here, Yakima.”
“But how?! The pilot went unconscious, it couldn’t have been faked! And what if I did crash and die? You don’t care about losing an airship?!”
A woman stepped up from behind Paul. “That’s why I was here,” she said, “I was in a hidden compartment in the airship, observing your piloting skills. I was ready in case anything went wrong.”
“Fine, but what about the pilot? He was unconscious!”
“That was faked too. We gave him a pill that would make him unconscious partway through the flight. He timed it so that he took the airship through turbulence just as it was taking effect. It was to cause panic in you that is regularly experienced by airship pilots and a good pilot needs to be able to handle stress. Don’t worry about him, he should wake up soon.”
Paul nodded, a bit angry to be tricked, but also very glad to have passed the exam. The boss said, “Well then, you have passed the exam. Do you want the job?”
Paul thought for a second, and realized that piloting the airship was actually rather fun. “Yes,” he said, “I’ll take the job.”
Storm and Fire Chapter Fourteen
Chapter 14
The Value of Life
Silvia and Nathan got up early the next morning. They were at the top of a mesa, with a cliff below them, and Wenatchee beyond that. The cliff was very steep, sometimes nearly vertical, and a whole kilometer tall in places. The bandit hideout was in the side of the cliff. It was built into a cave structure already existing. They made it very secretive, but it could still be easily caught by Silvia.
The bandits would likely send out several groups of people to raid the nearby farms. They weren’t guards yet and didn’t know about nearby threats, but if guards could be located in Wenatchee and the goal for the exam was to kill a bandit, the bandits must raid frequently. If the camp had as many people as Silvia suspected, the amount of food they needed would be rather large. Finding a small group of bandits wouldn’t be very hard. Killing them without letting them alert the rest or without the other bandits in their group finding out would be the hard part.
It was hard, and they spent several hours the previous night working it out. The plan was simple, but anything going wrong could lead to disaster. Nathan expressed great concern in that, but Silvia told him that the entire reason for the exam was to find out if they could complete missions, and if he couldn’t do it he should go back to Wenatchee. He relented.
The plan they had so far was to wait until a small group of bandits headed their way. They would be hiding near the top of the cliff in some of the dried shrubs that covered the hill, as to not be seen by the bandits. Nathan would shoot a poison blow-dart at one of them. He had good enough aim so that he could hit a spot where they would feel little pain by the impact, and the speed caused by the falling downward would allow the poison to get to the bloodstream faster. Finding their companion collapsing, they would be distracted enough for Silvia to get close enough to hit both of them with throwing-knives.
Nathan felt he wouldn’t be able to aim well enough, though. He worried the other two might not even care enough about their companion to try and see what the problem was. Silvia reassured him that they would.
“I sure hope so,” Nathan said, “But what do we do if we miss?”
“Shoot them and then get away as fast as we can.”
“What about the badges?”
“Just don’t miss, okay?”
“Fine, fine,” Nathan sighed, “I’m sure there will be harder tasks as a guard.”
“So how do you know how to use poison darts anyway?”
“My parents used to take me hunting…”
“Can’t you think of a better excuse than that?”
“You really knew? I thought it wasn’t obvious.”
“I just can tell.”
“And how’d you learn to do that?”
“My parents taught me,” Silvia snickered.
Nathan laughed. Silvia’s plan went as she hoped. With just a bit of talking, he seemed much more relaxed. Hopefully that would make him be able to aim better. She hoped so, but if “his parents used to take him hunting,” he must have had good enough training to aim well. Hopefully.
They soon found a good spot to hide. They brought lunch, and that passed the time. Few bandits left the hideaway, and those that did were in large groups. Silvia decided to try calming Nathan again. He seemed nervous still. Maybe he was just always that way.
“So, have you lived in Wenatchee long?”
“I’ve only lived here a few years. I live with my older cousins.”
Silvia decided talking about his parents’ death or whatever happened to them would not help calm Nathan, so she decided to talk about something else. “So do you like living in Wenatchee?”
“Well, it’s nice some of the time. I’m used to living on a farm, so it can be a bit loud at times. The summer heat really bothers me too. I wish it was cooler here. It may not seem like a large nuisance, but even in this suit it still can get irritating, dealing with it for months.”
“Really? I actually sort of like it, the summers in the west are too cool for me, even though it’s summer.”
“Maybe a balance would be good. I heard back before the war, people went to distant places just to experience a different climate. I don’t know how they did it. It takes so long to get from place to place; I don’t think it would be worth it. There are these vehicles called airships that can travel a long way in a short time, but I still think it wouldn’t be worth it. It could crash! I sure wouldn’t want to risk my life to go to somewhere just because it had different weather!”
“People’s customs before the war sure were weird,” Silvia laughed. “Maybe you could ask Paul about that, I think he was born before the war.”
“Really, he’s that old? He sure looked younger to me.”
“I think he’s over forty.”
“Oh, wow! I thought he was only in his late twenties!”
Silvia laughed. “That’s exaggerating.”
“No, really, I did!”
This made Silvia laugh even louder. Nathan quieted her, “Come on, it’s not that funny!” he said, though he was nearly laughing too, “You’re going to give away our location to the bandits!”
“Oh, fine. When are they going to get here, anyway?”
“You think I would know? Actually, I see a small group coming here now.”
Silvia looked down the slope. At the bottom was a group of four bandits. It would be easy to take just that many out. Nathan got his blow-darts ready. Silvia was both surprised he brought those and that he knew how to use them so well. Only five minutes later and the plan was set into action. Nathan took out the blowgun, a long, narrow tube made of wood; put the poison on the dart; and put the dart in the blowgun.
“Nathan, fire.” Nathan blew on the blowgun and the dart shot out of it. It hit the bandit right in the shoulder. In less than a second, the bandit was down. The others stared at their fallen companion intently, trying to see what was wrong. Nathan and Silvia started to run down the slope in the least steep part, partially hid by brush. They soon got to the level of the bandits. Though the bandits were looking for the location of their attacker, they did not try to get help from others. The plan was going as expected.
That’s when something happened that was not expected. Silvia getting her knives ready, looked over at the bandits. They were members of the North Columbia bandits. One of them was kind to her while she was in the NC, nearly a friend to her. Why was he here? How could she kill him?
“Hurry!” whispered Nathan in a panic. What was she supposed to do? How could she kill the other two while letting him live? He would tell the other bandits! He would kill them!
That made Silvia think. Though he had always been kind, he was very loyal to the NC. She doubted he would even let her live if he saw her. He certainly wouldn’t if she killed the other two. It would be best to just kill him without letting him see her.
She threw the knives. They went right through the chests of the three bandits. But she was seen. The person she knew turned and saw her. His eyes grew wide in shock and recognition. “Silvia!” he shouted, though the knife had already pierced his heart. She nearly tried to help him or apologize, but doing that would let Nathan know she was a bandit. She just lowered her head in sorrow.
All three bandits dropped to the ground. “Silvia, it worked! But why did he shout your name? Did you run into him before? Anyway, let’s get these badges and leave!”
Silvia did pick a badge, though she left her old acquaintance alone. She started walking back to Wenatchee, her head drooped. She couldn’t believe what she just did. She didn’t care whether Nathan followed or not, or what he thought about her lack of celebration. She didn’t care if Nathan knew she was once part of the NC; she began to cry anyway.
The Value of Life
Silvia and Nathan got up early the next morning. They were at the top of a mesa, with a cliff below them, and Wenatchee beyond that. The cliff was very steep, sometimes nearly vertical, and a whole kilometer tall in places. The bandit hideout was in the side of the cliff. It was built into a cave structure already existing. They made it very secretive, but it could still be easily caught by Silvia.
The bandits would likely send out several groups of people to raid the nearby farms. They weren’t guards yet and didn’t know about nearby threats, but if guards could be located in Wenatchee and the goal for the exam was to kill a bandit, the bandits must raid frequently. If the camp had as many people as Silvia suspected, the amount of food they needed would be rather large. Finding a small group of bandits wouldn’t be very hard. Killing them without letting them alert the rest or without the other bandits in their group finding out would be the hard part.
It was hard, and they spent several hours the previous night working it out. The plan was simple, but anything going wrong could lead to disaster. Nathan expressed great concern in that, but Silvia told him that the entire reason for the exam was to find out if they could complete missions, and if he couldn’t do it he should go back to Wenatchee. He relented.
The plan they had so far was to wait until a small group of bandits headed their way. They would be hiding near the top of the cliff in some of the dried shrubs that covered the hill, as to not be seen by the bandits. Nathan would shoot a poison blow-dart at one of them. He had good enough aim so that he could hit a spot where they would feel little pain by the impact, and the speed caused by the falling downward would allow the poison to get to the bloodstream faster. Finding their companion collapsing, they would be distracted enough for Silvia to get close enough to hit both of them with throwing-knives.
Nathan felt he wouldn’t be able to aim well enough, though. He worried the other two might not even care enough about their companion to try and see what the problem was. Silvia reassured him that they would.
“I sure hope so,” Nathan said, “But what do we do if we miss?”
“Shoot them and then get away as fast as we can.”
“What about the badges?”
“Just don’t miss, okay?”
“Fine, fine,” Nathan sighed, “I’m sure there will be harder tasks as a guard.”
“So how do you know how to use poison darts anyway?”
“My parents used to take me hunting…”
“Can’t you think of a better excuse than that?”
“You really knew? I thought it wasn’t obvious.”
“I just can tell.”
“And how’d you learn to do that?”
“My parents taught me,” Silvia snickered.
Nathan laughed. Silvia’s plan went as she hoped. With just a bit of talking, he seemed much more relaxed. Hopefully that would make him be able to aim better. She hoped so, but if “his parents used to take him hunting,” he must have had good enough training to aim well. Hopefully.
They soon found a good spot to hide. They brought lunch, and that passed the time. Few bandits left the hideaway, and those that did were in large groups. Silvia decided to try calming Nathan again. He seemed nervous still. Maybe he was just always that way.
“So, have you lived in Wenatchee long?”
“I’ve only lived here a few years. I live with my older cousins.”
Silvia decided talking about his parents’ death or whatever happened to them would not help calm Nathan, so she decided to talk about something else. “So do you like living in Wenatchee?”
“Well, it’s nice some of the time. I’m used to living on a farm, so it can be a bit loud at times. The summer heat really bothers me too. I wish it was cooler here. It may not seem like a large nuisance, but even in this suit it still can get irritating, dealing with it for months.”
“Really? I actually sort of like it, the summers in the west are too cool for me, even though it’s summer.”
“Maybe a balance would be good. I heard back before the war, people went to distant places just to experience a different climate. I don’t know how they did it. It takes so long to get from place to place; I don’t think it would be worth it. There are these vehicles called airships that can travel a long way in a short time, but I still think it wouldn’t be worth it. It could crash! I sure wouldn’t want to risk my life to go to somewhere just because it had different weather!”
“People’s customs before the war sure were weird,” Silvia laughed. “Maybe you could ask Paul about that, I think he was born before the war.”
“Really, he’s that old? He sure looked younger to me.”
“I think he’s over forty.”
“Oh, wow! I thought he was only in his late twenties!”
Silvia laughed. “That’s exaggerating.”
“No, really, I did!”
This made Silvia laugh even louder. Nathan quieted her, “Come on, it’s not that funny!” he said, though he was nearly laughing too, “You’re going to give away our location to the bandits!”
“Oh, fine. When are they going to get here, anyway?”
“You think I would know? Actually, I see a small group coming here now.”
Silvia looked down the slope. At the bottom was a group of four bandits. It would be easy to take just that many out. Nathan got his blow-darts ready. Silvia was both surprised he brought those and that he knew how to use them so well. Only five minutes later and the plan was set into action. Nathan took out the blowgun, a long, narrow tube made of wood; put the poison on the dart; and put the dart in the blowgun.
“Nathan, fire.” Nathan blew on the blowgun and the dart shot out of it. It hit the bandit right in the shoulder. In less than a second, the bandit was down. The others stared at their fallen companion intently, trying to see what was wrong. Nathan and Silvia started to run down the slope in the least steep part, partially hid by brush. They soon got to the level of the bandits. Though the bandits were looking for the location of their attacker, they did not try to get help from others. The plan was going as expected.
That’s when something happened that was not expected. Silvia getting her knives ready, looked over at the bandits. They were members of the North Columbia bandits. One of them was kind to her while she was in the NC, nearly a friend to her. Why was he here? How could she kill him?
“Hurry!” whispered Nathan in a panic. What was she supposed to do? How could she kill the other two while letting him live? He would tell the other bandits! He would kill them!
That made Silvia think. Though he had always been kind, he was very loyal to the NC. She doubted he would even let her live if he saw her. He certainly wouldn’t if she killed the other two. It would be best to just kill him without letting him see her.
She threw the knives. They went right through the chests of the three bandits. But she was seen. The person she knew turned and saw her. His eyes grew wide in shock and recognition. “Silvia!” he shouted, though the knife had already pierced his heart. She nearly tried to help him or apologize, but doing that would let Nathan know she was a bandit. She just lowered her head in sorrow.
All three bandits dropped to the ground. “Silvia, it worked! But why did he shout your name? Did you run into him before? Anyway, let’s get these badges and leave!”
Silvia did pick a badge, though she left her old acquaintance alone. She started walking back to Wenatchee, her head drooped. She couldn’t believe what she just did. She didn’t care whether Nathan followed or not, or what he thought about her lack of celebration. She didn’t care if Nathan knew she was once part of the NC; she began to cry anyway.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Whispers of Voice
In the morning Lizzy and I got up early, as we would all week. Weekends too sometimes, I thought, With a lot of homework we'll be getting up early every day. I hope Animals is fun. Maybe they'll take us out for field work! My brain continued as I got dressed.
Max, Tilly, Lizzy, and I walked down the grand staircase and into the dining hall. After we got our food we sat down and examined our schedules while the boys walked up with their dogs. "First is Countries of the World. I don't like that class." I sighed. "Then languages. I can pass that. I'll help you Liz, don't worry. Oh! Third is PE! I love Protection Education! We get to hit people!" I smiled at the thought. "Animals is fourth and etiquette is last. That's a full schedule!" I commented.
"I have the same schedule as you. Odd, but nice." Matthew said.
"I have PE and Animals with you guys. COW (countries of the world) second, etiquette first and languages last." Evan said, jealously looking at Matthew.
Matt and Lizzy talked about how Saturday had gone after Evan and I had left, while Evan and I listened. Finally we had to leave for first period and went our separate ways. In COW we reviewed from previous years learning and got a world map to fill in. The bell rang and we trouped to languages. On the door was a sign saying "Farsi". We began to talk in Farsi then. This was my hardest class because I had to talk in front of the class sometimes. I picked up languages fast and could speak them well and the teacher knew that. She called on me as little as possible because she knew I could do what she was asking. We have to write a page in Farsi about what we did over the summer. At least we don't have to read it to the class. Lizzy will need help with that. I thought to myself. Note to self: work tonight. Help her.
"PE is next! Fun!" I said. We walked to the double story barn that served as our gym.
"Alright." The PE teacher said. "Find a partner and we'll see how much you remember from the last years."
Max, Tilly, Lizzy, and I walked down the grand staircase and into the dining hall. After we got our food we sat down and examined our schedules while the boys walked up with their dogs. "First is Countries of the World. I don't like that class." I sighed. "Then languages. I can pass that. I'll help you Liz, don't worry. Oh! Third is PE! I love Protection Education! We get to hit people!" I smiled at the thought. "Animals is fourth and etiquette is last. That's a full schedule!" I commented.
"I have the same schedule as you. Odd, but nice." Matthew said.
"I have PE and Animals with you guys. COW (countries of the world) second, etiquette first and languages last." Evan said, jealously looking at Matthew.
Matt and Lizzy talked about how Saturday had gone after Evan and I had left, while Evan and I listened. Finally we had to leave for first period and went our separate ways. In COW we reviewed from previous years learning and got a world map to fill in. The bell rang and we trouped to languages. On the door was a sign saying "Farsi". We began to talk in Farsi then. This was my hardest class because I had to talk in front of the class sometimes. I picked up languages fast and could speak them well and the teacher knew that. She called on me as little as possible because she knew I could do what she was asking. We have to write a page in Farsi about what we did over the summer. At least we don't have to read it to the class. Lizzy will need help with that. I thought to myself. Note to self: work tonight. Help her.
"PE is next! Fun!" I said. We walked to the double story barn that served as our gym.
"Alright." The PE teacher said. "Find a partner and we'll see how much you remember from the last years."
Friday, April 3, 2009
Chapter 13 Full
Chapter 13
To the Sky
After meeting Silvia and her co-worker Nathan, Paul continued across the bridge to East Wenatchee. Even over the river the air was hot. How could Nathan stand it in that suit of his?! Paul was glad when he got into the shade some taller buildings provided in East Wenatchee.
Strangely enough, East Wenatchee was not as built-up as Wenatchee. It looked like several buildings had burned or collapsed. The entire area seemed rather in disrepair. This was on the main street. The side streets Paul took were much worse. He wondered if a fire had burned the buildings.
He soon made it to the building. It looked small and unimportant, but Paul expected as much. It would be impossible to find a job with his skill level. He walked up to it and went in. The air seemed slightly cooler, but not too much so. A few people were standing around. They looked like businessmen, but it was hard to tell as they were in casual attire. Paul guessed it was only because it was impossible to be comfortable in a suit with the high temperature.
There was a person sitting behind a desk, and it looked like he was sweating quite heavily. Paul walked up to him, not attracting the attention of anyone around. He took the flier out of his pocket and showed it to the man. “I’d like to take the job,” Paul said.
“Great. Can you come back at five?”
“Excuse me, what even is the job?”
“Come back at five and there will be people here to tell you.”
“Ok, fine, I’ll come back at five,” said Paul, irritated at the lack of willingness to tell him.
He turned his back and walked out. He would have liked to not come back because of the unhelpful person at the desk. He decided better of it. He didn’t find any other jobs. Maybe there was a reason for it to be a secret. He cooled his anger down and decided to go to the river. At least it would be quiet there.
A few hours later, Paul heard the town clock strike five times. He was late. He decided to go anyway; at least he might be able to be interviewed. He ran as fast as he could, bursting through the door. This time he did get quite a few stares. He ignored them and walked back up.
“Hello, I’ve come back. Now, what is the job?”
A few people in uniforms walked up to him. “We can tell you,” they said.
“Well, than what is the job?”
“I’m sorry, but that can’t be explained here. There are too many already, we can’t let any more know. It would put strain on our company. You’ll have to go to the Yakima headquarters to get training,” one of the people said. They wore a emblem with a picture of clouds and the earth below them.
“What about the interview?”
“There is no interview; the only interview is how well you do on the test. The test is at the Yakima headquarters. The latest you can be there is the day after tomorrow.”
“But it will take days to get there!” protested Paul, “How can I make it in time?”
“We’ll show you. You’ll have to walk for nearly an hour to get there, though.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Paul followed them out through a back way from the building. They talked between themselves and only looked back occasionally to make sure he hadn’t snuck away. It went on for nearly an hour. The people in uniforms seemed to be nearing their destination, which would be his too, or his destination needed to get to his final destination, Yakima. He wasn’t at all surprised it was there too; if Wenatchee could form its own government, there’s no reason Yakima couldn’t.
They went over sort of a ridge, and then Paul saw what they were heading for. It was amazing. His mouth hung open. The people guiding him looked at him, wondering if he didn’t know what he was seeing, if he was born after the war. Paul saw, lying on pavement strips, airships.
“Those… those are real airships, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. We’ll take one to the Yakima headquarters.”
Paul walked down the opposite side of the ridge to the mini-airport, still in shock of this technology. Would it be possible to reconnect the entire country with these? If so, why had no one done it yet? Oh well, all he had to do was train for the job in Yakima. He hoped Silvia wouldn’t be confused or worried when he wasn’t there. That would be the biggest problem, along with his problems of not bringing his pack, not wanting to get sidetracked from his goals, and various other irritations
He reached the airstrip. A few people with the same emblems welcomed them and guided Paul and his guides to one of the airships with an open door.
“This airship will take me to Yakima in time to take the test?” Paul asked, surprised that he could actually travel so far so quickly.
“Yes, it will, but you’d better hurry.”
He walked into the airship. The people behind him closed the door shut. Inside there was the cockpit and a staircase leading up above to a higher level. There were several seats bolted to the ground in the cockpit, but the only other person in the room was the pilot. He sat in front of a large metal control panel with a vast array of buttons, switches, and levers.
“Am I the only one going to Yakima? I heard others were coming,” said Paul, confused.
“They wanted to go on ahead and take the test. Don’t worry; this airship can make it in time.”
Paul nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. It probably wouldn’t be too long to get there. The airship began floating upwards, a feeling Paul hadn’t felt since his childhood when he took an airplane trip. He was fascinated at the controls, and the way the pilot could control every engine and propeller on the entire craft with just a button. He was also amazed by just how fast he was going. It had to be nearly 50 miles per hour! No one had gone that fast in Western Washington for years unless they had fallen off a cliff!
The airship continued for a while, Paul staring at everything with amazement, the view out the window, the machines around the room, the pilot using the controls, the speed at which they were travelling… everything was like when he first saw Wenatchee.
They continued going on, and the ride soon felt a bit rough. The floor seemed to be moving.
“Is everything alright?” he asked the pilot.
“Just a bit windy, that’s all.”
It seemed like more than just a bit windy. It didn’t even seem like they were going in the right direction. There was a ridge in front of them, it didn’t look as low as the ground before was. The wind probably knocked the airship down a bit. Paul didn’t think it looked alright as the pilot said, but thought he shouldn’t be lecturing the pilot on how to fly. The pilot’s face was slightly reddish, and he seemed to be sweating.
“We’re fine!” he said, but it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than Paul.
Paul looked out the window. It seemed fine. The ridge was passing below them. The pilot seemed relieved. And then there was a hideous scraping noise. It was like the sound of chalk scraping a blackboard except much, much worse. The entire airship shook. Things lying on the floor flew across the room. With a banging sound, the pilot’s head hit the dashboard.
The pilot hit the floor, unconscious.
To the Sky
After meeting Silvia and her co-worker Nathan, Paul continued across the bridge to East Wenatchee. Even over the river the air was hot. How could Nathan stand it in that suit of his?! Paul was glad when he got into the shade some taller buildings provided in East Wenatchee.
Strangely enough, East Wenatchee was not as built-up as Wenatchee. It looked like several buildings had burned or collapsed. The entire area seemed rather in disrepair. This was on the main street. The side streets Paul took were much worse. He wondered if a fire had burned the buildings.
He soon made it to the building. It looked small and unimportant, but Paul expected as much. It would be impossible to find a job with his skill level. He walked up to it and went in. The air seemed slightly cooler, but not too much so. A few people were standing around. They looked like businessmen, but it was hard to tell as they were in casual attire. Paul guessed it was only because it was impossible to be comfortable in a suit with the high temperature.
There was a person sitting behind a desk, and it looked like he was sweating quite heavily. Paul walked up to him, not attracting the attention of anyone around. He took the flier out of his pocket and showed it to the man. “I’d like to take the job,” Paul said.
“Great. Can you come back at five?”
“Excuse me, what even is the job?”
“Come back at five and there will be people here to tell you.”
“Ok, fine, I’ll come back at five,” said Paul, irritated at the lack of willingness to tell him.
He turned his back and walked out. He would have liked to not come back because of the unhelpful person at the desk. He decided better of it. He didn’t find any other jobs. Maybe there was a reason for it to be a secret. He cooled his anger down and decided to go to the river. At least it would be quiet there.
A few hours later, Paul heard the town clock strike five times. He was late. He decided to go anyway; at least he might be able to be interviewed. He ran as fast as he could, bursting through the door. This time he did get quite a few stares. He ignored them and walked back up.
“Hello, I’ve come back. Now, what is the job?”
A few people in uniforms walked up to him. “We can tell you,” they said.
“Well, than what is the job?”
“I’m sorry, but that can’t be explained here. There are too many already, we can’t let any more know. It would put strain on our company. You’ll have to go to the Yakima headquarters to get training,” one of the people said. They wore a emblem with a picture of clouds and the earth below them.
“What about the interview?”
“There is no interview; the only interview is how well you do on the test. The test is at the Yakima headquarters. The latest you can be there is the day after tomorrow.”
“But it will take days to get there!” protested Paul, “How can I make it in time?”
“We’ll show you. You’ll have to walk for nearly an hour to get there, though.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Paul followed them out through a back way from the building. They talked between themselves and only looked back occasionally to make sure he hadn’t snuck away. It went on for nearly an hour. The people in uniforms seemed to be nearing their destination, which would be his too, or his destination needed to get to his final destination, Yakima. He wasn’t at all surprised it was there too; if Wenatchee could form its own government, there’s no reason Yakima couldn’t.
They went over sort of a ridge, and then Paul saw what they were heading for. It was amazing. His mouth hung open. The people guiding him looked at him, wondering if he didn’t know what he was seeing, if he was born after the war. Paul saw, lying on pavement strips, airships.
“Those… those are real airships, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. We’ll take one to the Yakima headquarters.”
Paul walked down the opposite side of the ridge to the mini-airport, still in shock of this technology. Would it be possible to reconnect the entire country with these? If so, why had no one done it yet? Oh well, all he had to do was train for the job in Yakima. He hoped Silvia wouldn’t be confused or worried when he wasn’t there. That would be the biggest problem, along with his problems of not bringing his pack, not wanting to get sidetracked from his goals, and various other irritations
He reached the airstrip. A few people with the same emblems welcomed them and guided Paul and his guides to one of the airships with an open door.
“This airship will take me to Yakima in time to take the test?” Paul asked, surprised that he could actually travel so far so quickly.
“Yes, it will, but you’d better hurry.”
He walked into the airship. The people behind him closed the door shut. Inside there was the cockpit and a staircase leading up above to a higher level. There were several seats bolted to the ground in the cockpit, but the only other person in the room was the pilot. He sat in front of a large metal control panel with a vast array of buttons, switches, and levers.
“Am I the only one going to Yakima? I heard others were coming,” said Paul, confused.
“They wanted to go on ahead and take the test. Don’t worry; this airship can make it in time.”
Paul nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. It probably wouldn’t be too long to get there. The airship began floating upwards, a feeling Paul hadn’t felt since his childhood when he took an airplane trip. He was fascinated at the controls, and the way the pilot could control every engine and propeller on the entire craft with just a button. He was also amazed by just how fast he was going. It had to be nearly 50 miles per hour! No one had gone that fast in Western Washington for years unless they had fallen off a cliff!
The airship continued for a while, Paul staring at everything with amazement, the view out the window, the machines around the room, the pilot using the controls, the speed at which they were travelling… everything was like when he first saw Wenatchee.
They continued going on, and the ride soon felt a bit rough. The floor seemed to be moving.
“Is everything alright?” he asked the pilot.
“Just a bit windy, that’s all.”
It seemed like more than just a bit windy. It didn’t even seem like they were going in the right direction. There was a ridge in front of them, it didn’t look as low as the ground before was. The wind probably knocked the airship down a bit. Paul didn’t think it looked alright as the pilot said, but thought he shouldn’t be lecturing the pilot on how to fly. The pilot’s face was slightly reddish, and he seemed to be sweating.
“We’re fine!” he said, but it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than Paul.
Paul looked out the window. It seemed fine. The ridge was passing below them. The pilot seemed relieved. And then there was a hideous scraping noise. It was like the sound of chalk scraping a blackboard except much, much worse. The entire airship shook. Things lying on the floor flew across the room. With a banging sound, the pilot’s head hit the dashboard.
The pilot hit the floor, unconscious.
YET ANOTHER THING THAT ISN't MINE:
Silvia's Book Space story. Sorry if you don't want it on here, Silvia. I just thought it was interesting while reading through it. Also, sorry if the formatting is off. I copied and pasted it, so some things may not be right.
Silvia and Eversio’s Story
Chapter 1:
Silvia looked at the photo through bleary eyes. I might never see them again. she thought. It was a picture of her and her baby brother, Luke, and her 6 year old sister, Tiffany. They were so happy in the photo. Tiffany's eyes gleamed like stars. When she smiled she had the cutest dimples. Luke was joyful too. He was just happy in Silvia's arms. That all might change...I might not come home for them... The photo was from before. Before her life changed dramatically. Before she was picked as a contestant in the hardest game on earth, The Tournament. You had to get from one side of the U.S to the other. All you could bring had to fit in a wood frame pack on your back. She was worried about her siblings. If she didn't come back Tiffany would have to take care of herself and her brother most of the time. Their parents were always working. When they weren't working, they were partying. Silvia shouldered her pack and walked from her room, leaving the picture on the nightstand. As she got to the hall she saw Tiffany sitting on the floor pulling on her pink polka-dotted rain boots. "Whadda ya got that fo?" Tiffany asked scrunching her nose with the effort to pull boot. "I have to go away for a while, Tiff." Silvia replied smoothly. "How long will you be gone?" Tiffany asked, looking forlornly at her sister. "For a long time...maybe forever...I might not be able to come see you again, sweety." "Why not?!" shrieked Tiffany, her eyes growing huge. "Well...this is a very hard test. A test to see if I am worthy to be an adult. Like mom and dad." "But I don't want you to go!!!" sniffed Tiffany. Tears were building in her eyes, making them look sparkly. "I have to, sweety. They chose me. I can't say no. I am giving you a responsibility. You must look after Luke and tell him all about me. And that I love him. Can you do that?" "Y-yes-s" stammered Tiffany. Now she had tears running down her face, like liquid jewels on parchment. "I have to go now, love." Silvia said, kissing her little sister on the forehead. "I love you. Be a good girl now and take care of your brother." "I love you too." sniffled Tiffany, hugging Silvia tight. "Goodbye."Silvia walk to the edge of town where she would meet her team mates before getting on the plane that would take them to Florida. From there they would get in a helicopter and be taken inside the Tournament zone. When she arrived she saw Brittany and Rachel, two preppy, popular girls from her High School. "Ugh! You mean we have to travel with that scum?" Brittany asked. " EW! I hope not! She is so not cool!!" Blushing with anger, Silvia's quick retort startled them. "You won't make it out alive," She laughed. "and when you need help, don't look at me!" Now I won't survive either. she thought. Still flushed she got in the plane that would take them to Florida. She had a long flight ahead so she drifted into sleep. She was thinking about Tiffany and Luke. Also of wolvogs and eagles and other things that wanted to kill her, like her team mates, Brittany and Rachel.Silvia got out of the helicopter and took the glasses the crew handed her. The gave her position in the Tournament to people who monitored every one's whereabouts. The 3 of them had been dropped off inside the big wall the was the starting point for all participants. For the first day you had a truce. You didn't kill any of the other teams. Rachel and Brittany started forward without wating for Silvia. She walked behind them, not paying attention to what they were saying. She had more important things to listen to, like the birds fliting around and calling to one another, the creek off to the left gurgling over rocks. After 6 hours of trudging through the wilderness Silvia was a head of the other two. Suddenly Silvia stiffened, listening hard. "RUN!" she screamed, sprinting for the nearest tree. As she reached it a pack of wolves burst through some bushes and started racing towards her and her team mates. Silvia shimmed up the tree, quick as a cat. Rachel was not so lucky. The wolves reached her and pulled her down, tearing at her pack and clothes and skin. She screamed as they attacked her. Her screams died off when they ripped out her throat. Brittany panicked and ran but she wasn't fast enough. The another set of wolves ran at her and took her down as well. Silvia stared aghast. Only 6 hours into the Tournament and her team was dead. Well, except for her. Now how will I survive?! She thought exasperated. I have to go home for Tiffany and Luke! I can't make it across alone, but I have to try! Tiff needs me. I must make it! She sat in the tree for about 3 hours for nightfall to shroud her in darkness. She ate a piece of bread when she was hungry, but other than that she merely sat and listened to the world.When the moon had risen she remembered that tonight everyone was trying to eliminate the other teams. After about half an hour of listening hard she heard a snap in the undergrowth below her. Then a small click. When she heard the click she grabbed the tree and swung around it to the other side. With her right hand she felt the wind from the bullet that has been shot at her. Also a scorching pain in her hand. The bullet had grazed her hand because she hadn't moved it fast enough. She involuntarily gasped and grabbed at her hand. Looking down she saw 3 pairs of glowing eyes. She looked around one side of the tree and then hid for a moment. Then she looked around the other side, hoping to distract the shooter from the wolves stalking below. It worked, for a second later she heard a grunt followed be a thud. Then she heard the ripping of cloth and skin. The wolves began to drag the body because they knew Silvia was there. They didn't want her to take their kill.She dare not move in case more teams were out there, for now she was hidden in shadow. When the sun rose, she would move to the other side of the tree where she could sit. Her hand had started to bleed so she took some extra cloth out of her pack and cut a strip of it off. She tied it around her hand to stop the bleeding. It wasn't a deep wound so she wouldn't need to stitch it up but she would put rubbing alcohol on it later. It wasn't bleeding much so it wouldn't soak the cloth. She crouched down on the branch to wait for dawn to save her from this madness.When the first pale streaks of light arrived she moved from her crouched position to the other side of the tree where she could sit. She let the packs straps off her shoulders and leaned against it. She turned and got out her alcohol and undid the bandage. She poured some on her hand and rubbed it on the wound. It stung a little but it was not too terrible. She re wrapped it and then set about to untieing her bow. She balanced it on her lap, lest it fall, and undid her quiver too. Finally she laid her head against her pack and closed her eyes. Not letting herself drift off into dreams, but listening on the edge of every nerve for a snapping branch, a foot step, or a gun being cocked. Anything to let her know that someone was nearby.Finally her concise faded into oblivion. She couldn't stay coherent and longer. She had resisted sleep for over 21 hours straight, and on high alert the whole time too. She realized sleep was inevitable but dhe still tried to keep from drifting. The feat was as easy as swimming in an ocean with a boulder tied to her. It just couldn't be done.
Chapter 2:
Note: Tsubasa travels very lightly. He has only his pack and supplies. His weapons consist of a forearm mounted crossbow. It has a 10 shot clip in the form of a ring around the wrist. It can use normal bolts or the spines of a wolvog. Otherwise he has two katanas and a dagger. Yes he like to dual wield (just cause it looks cool).The night was dark, except for the fires of the poor fools who would not last the next night. They would not last this night, but for the fact that killing was forbidden till the next sun rise. Laughing could be heard, as they chatted and told jokes. Maybe they're telling tales of the horrors they have heard from their parents. Maybe they tell stories to assuage their fears. Tsubasa smiled. Wait till they see the zombies. All must pass through the ruins, and all but a few will die. Tsubasa pulled a dog whistle from his pack. Gotta love the loop holes. He ran into the forest and climbed the tallest tree he could find. Leaning out beyond the branches, he blew the whistle as hard as he could. He could imagine the sound ringing far and wide. He listened, and loud howling soon reached his ears. A few minutes later, screams rang among the trees. Most would survive, either being a competent fighter or from having a quick frame of mind, but this would at least clear out the riffraff. He glanced at his crossbow. And the dead wolvogs would get him more ammunition. A few minutes later he drew his katanas and headed for the forest floor.A few hours later.As the sun's rays began to climb over the horizon, Tsubasa had collected all the wolvog spines he could carry easily. He began his treck towards the west coast. A few minutes later he came across a girl with a blonde ponytail up in a tree. He searched the ground and saw that at least three bodies had been dragged away by wolves. He silently climbed up the tree, drew his katana and pressed it against her throat. "I have a riddle for you..."
Silvia stirred but did not wake. She had not slept well for a week or so before the Tournament and was now sleeping deeply.Seeing that the girl wasn't waking up, Tsubasa grabbed her shoulder and shook her, "It kinda ruins the effect if you don't wake up immediately you know." She sat straight forward with her back rigid. The shaking had woken her up, but had also made her slip a little on the branch. She began sliding side ways off and reached for something to steady herself. Tsubasa, still holding her shoulder, steadies her as she begins to slide of the branch.Silvia realized something on her shoulder was keeping her steady. She looked at it and saw a hand. She followed the arm and saw a face. Then it clicked. It wasn't a dream, someone had talked to her. She got pale and she gasped. Her eyes widened with fear. He'll kill me... she thought. He shook his head, "You really ruined the moment, I'm supposed to pin you with my sword and ask you the riddle. But you just had to keep sleeping. Such a killjoy""Sorry. Go find someone else who'll wake up then. I don't mind!" Silvia replied hopefully.Tsubasa laughs (not evilly), "No, I gotta stick with the routine. Anyway here's the deal, I ask you the riddle, and you answer it. Should you get it wrong, you die. Should you get it right, I walk away.""Um....o....k. Whats you riddle?""I always get that reaction. 'The man you build it doesn't need it, the man who buys it doesn't want it, the man who needs it doesn't know it.' what is it"?Silvia bit her lip, thinking hard. She was not going to take this lightly, it was her life. "Why must I answer it? If I get it wrong, you will kill me. If I get it right, you walk away. I cannot survive out here by myself so either way I die. What is the point to answering?""Most people either start shaking in their boots and start spouting random answers or they spend hours thinking and get it wrong anyway. Since you are the sole person to ask me this, the answer is because if you don't answer, I'll feed you to something nasty, like a vampire. I've ran through this place three different times, I know where they nasties live""But still I die either way. What would be the point? To die if right, to die if wrong. I see no happy ending for me." Silvia replied simply. "Let me go with you, if I answer right. I can be of help. I can shoot game and I am very skilled with a needle. I can help you hunt and cook. I can mend your clothes and wounds. I can keep you company and help you figure out what to do in times of need. I will help you if you only let me come with you.....Please?" She finished quietly. "If only I get it right..."
"You have nothing I would want, but it does get boring occasionally. If you get the riddle correct, then maybe you would be smart enough to make decent company." (riddle may change)"That is a fit enough answer I suppose. My answer is a coffin. Who wants one? The man can only buy it if he is alive, and then he wouldn't need it. The man who needs it would be dead, and therefore not know it. Am I correct?"Tsubasa sat back, slightly surprised, "Congratulations, you have been awarded the honor of teaming up with a re runner. I do hope I enjoy your company, though I doubt you'll enjoy mine"Silvia sat back and her shoulders relaxed. "A re runner? Why? And why might I not enjoy your company? You seem perfectly reasonable to me at this time. Aside from trying to kill me, but everyone here wants to kill everyone else.""I come back time and time again, simply because, I enjoy it. As for my company? Because I won't be here. I'll be off hunting. I won't stray far, especially once we get close to the ruins." Tsubasa takes a new dog whistle out of his pack. He takes a knife from his pack and widens the opening on the whistle. He blows it, and a long waling tone emanates through the forest. He hands it to her. "Should you need me blow this whistle.""Stray? What do you do? Ask the riddle to others I suppose. And what if you need me? What will you do? What shall I do when you stray. Keep walking? Stay put? Climb a tree? I'm sorry I ask so many questions. Just hit me or something if it bothers you."(note: Silvia flinches when you raise your hand or when something comes at her, on account of being hit for asking to many questions/talking to much.)Tsubasa throws his head back laughing, "Yes, I usually ask people riddles. But if I have you to take care of, asking riddles may take too much time, so I'll just kill them. You can do whatever you want, though I suggest moving westward and staying near the trees.""How will you know where I am when you're off on your roamings? When will you be back? When you leave, do you want me to cook for you? Why can't I come with you?" Silvia asked looking sorry for asking so many questions so soon."So what would a pretty young girl like you, be doing following me around, while I go kill people? The whistle is so I can find you. You cannot come with me, because I run very, very quickly.""Hey! I'm not that young. I'm 16. I'll be 17 November 17th. I have riddles too. If I need to I could kill, and everyone else wants to kill me, so I take that as a need. I might not be able to keep up with you but I can help.""But you kill people if you have to. I kill people because I can.""They want to kill you, yes?""Kinda, they would if they knew I was there, but I generally kill them before the turn around. Or while they sleep. Very rarely do I attack someone head on.""Exactly. It is a need. I don't have to kill, but I would rather stay with you. I can help if it is head on, or a group. I'm not helpless. I can use a sword. I just don't have one. I have a good sized knife though. Does that help?" Tsubasa looks at her quizzically, "You are a funny one, that's for certain. Are you any good with a bow?""Yes. I've had one for many years. I lived outside for most of my time. I needed something to do besides help my parents with the ranch. I decided on a bow. I can fletch too, if you're wondering.""OK, try to find some Wolvog spines to tip your arrows with, they work very nicely""Alright. So.....May I come with you?""You are really stubborn. Fine, but you must be sure to move quietly. I'm going for a record in numbers of kill this year" Tsubasa grinned evilly."Yup, I am stubborn." Silvia replied happily. "Uh.....I can be less so if you want...""That would be like asking you to become a different person. Come on, lets go see what the wolves left behind.""Ok. What are we looking for? Anything helpful or is there something you want?""Wolvog spines, or maybe guns, food, water canteens, etc. And we kill anyone we come across.""Ok. Let me tie my bow and quiver back on my pack first before we climb down." She tied her quiver and bow on the top on her pack. Then she shimmied down the tree and was on the ground in a couple seconds.Tsubasa jumped down the tree, "Most of the camps are that way," he points off to the left."New camps or old ones?" Silvia asked, tilting her head."The ones I just cleared out with the wolvogs, the ruins are a little ways off.""YOU sent them? I should have known. No wonder you have dog whistles!" she said fingering the whistle he had given her."Ya, it's a nice way to clear out the riffraff." Silvia put the chain over her head and tucked the whistle in her shirt. A few hours later, after gathering much supplies, Tsubasa and Silvia head on their way towards the ruins. "Dare I ask about the ruins?" Silvia laughed. "You seem to like them a lot, is that a good thing? Maybe not, considering you go around asking people riddles and killing them if they get them wrong for fun. Should I be scared?""The ruins are full of zombies. They are one of the only creatures that was originally human, before they became infected.""Infected?" Silvia asked, no longer laughing. "Infected with what?""And these aren't your slow moving 'brains" zombies. They run, climb, scream, jump, and there are six different varieties."(note: Eve is stealing this from Left 4 Dead)"Infected with a virus, most humans are immune, but theirs always the hundred thousand or so who aren't." "And if you're not and you pass through the ruins?" "Then you will slowly lose your motor skills, then you will have massive internal bleeding, and then your brain collapses, if you're lucky." "Lucky? I do not call that lucky!" "If you're not, then your brain gets hard wired into a certain mind set and you could turn into anything from a horde to a Tank" He looks at her, "Though I doubt you could become a tank." "Why? And how so? I mean how so could you become a "tank"?" "There are fives kinds of zombies. The horde is very weak, generally tries to eat you, and they have strength in numbers. The tanks are your zombie equivalent of the Hulk, only the Tank would win in a fight. Boomers are hugely fat, they throw barf at you, at they can explode. If either hits you, the smell will attract hundreds of horde zombies. Hunters will creep up on you, they climb buildings and can jump hundreds of feet. Smokers will grab you with their tongue and choke you to death, if you kill them, they explode into a noxious cloud. And lastly, there's the Witch. The look like a Horde, only they're always female, and they are very non aggressive. I have never seen a Witch. But it is best to run if you see one." "Why?" "If you wake them up, either by being loud, or by shining a light on them, they will kill you. They can move at over 200 MPH and they have claws. They have been known to chase they one who woke them up through steel doors." "Oh. That's why...I see. But can you tell whether or not you're immune before you bet there? Because I seriously do not want to be a zombie." "I've been through there 3 times, of course I'm immune I don't know about you though. We'll just have to chance it, because there's no way around the ruins." "Fine. I'm sorry in advance then if I turn into a zombie and kill you. No hard feelings?" Silvia said, laughing again. "It takes a while to turn. I'd know if you became one." "Still, better safe then sorry, right?" "True." "Now, how long will it take to get to the ruins from here?" "Only a few days." "Do you know any shortcuts to them? If we go before the rest of the teams, less zombies will be alerted and make it easier to get through." "If you want to, there is a short cut. But it's full of poisonous mushrooms and squirrels." "Is it safer than going through after or in the crowd of teams?" "I don't think it makes much difference either way But there is a fun tactic similar to the dog whistle." "Fun? I'm scared now..." "You climb to the top of the buildings and search for a group of people. They usually group together during the ruins. then you shoot a nearby car, setting off the alarm, then we run. Then we get to see the live feed after we get home." "Sounds like a plan. When do we stop? I'm just wondering whether I will have time to hunt tonight when we stop." "We stop about an hour before sundown, we can trade off every day, one of us will set up camp, the other will hunt." "Would you like me to hunt today? Or set up camp?" "Take your pick." "I'll hunt if you want. Do you want fowl or mammal? Bird or hare?" "Hunt whatever you prefer, I will stay here. Also, if you happen to find any shotguns, that would be nice. they work very well against zombies."(an hour later) Silvia came back with 2 rabbits. "I couldn't find any shotguns. How do you want these prepared?" She said, putting the rabbits on the ground. "Look, I'm not picky, prepare what you'd like. As long as it doesn't need a pot, I didn't bring any." Tsubasa replies. "Neither did I. We can roast them on a spit. I'll get them ready."(after dinner/getting ready to sleep) "Why are you rerunning this? Isn't it hard enough without doing it again? It gets easier with each time I suppose...But still, why?" "I find it fun, to see all the creatures, to see their abilities. Hunting people is a challenge, and I love challenges. Plus I get money from it." "Really?" "That's neat, but when do you use it? When do you get it?" "I get paid when I finish. I get bonus cash for every event I cause that's worth watching. Such as my car ploy with the zombies and the dog whistle. At the moment all my money is in a bank." "Hmmmm....That's very interesting...Do you want me to keep watch first, I slept earlier today, and I doubt you did." Silvia commented, getting out her sleeping bag.
"Hmmmm....That's very interesting...Do you want me to keep watch first, I slept earlier today, and I doubt you did." Silvia commented, getting out her sleeping bag. "You may sleep, I enjoy the dark." Tsubasa replied. "You haven't slept though. Will you fall asleep? You do need rest, humans cannot survive without it." Silvia replied simply. "I meditate. I sleep while aware of my surroundings." "Like a dolphin....You get more interesting by the minute." Silvia laughs. Tsubasa tilts his head and looks at her quizzically, "And you have a very strange mind, to liken me to a aquatic mammal." "Well it's true. Are there any villages on the other side of the ruins?" Silvia questions, resting her head in her arm. It wasn't too cool out she didn't need to zip her sleeping bag. "Most villages here are full of outcasts, those who were exiled from society. There are a few who you could trade with, but many revile those who live outside the boundary. I recommend staying away from them. The ruins were a large city of these outcasts, but they grew to powerful, and so they were struck with the virus." "Can we find one to trade with? You can run fast but I can ride. It'll speed up my traveling. Do you have any experience with horses?" "Horses tend to hate me for some reason." "Do you happen to know what gender and breed tend to hate you?" "You're kidding me. I've had both mares and stallions try to bite me, kick me, and I have no idea how many breeds there are here." "I have a simple solution." Tsubasa waited for her solution. "Gelding. Mares and stallions tend to hate everyone." "Does a castrated horse make that much difference?" "Hell yes! And it's gelded." "Which means it's been neutered, same thing as castrated." "I get bitten all the time. You need to make sure the horse knows you're the boss. If you don't, the horse will be scared of everything and try to escape you because it feels like you can't take care of it. Horses are needy, you must tell them not to be scared. They do listen." "How about I let you be the horse whisperer." "Do you want me to teach you how to ride?" "I can ride, I just prefer not to." "Do you want me to get you a horse, or just one for me?" "Just one for you. But what are you planning to trade for a horse?" "I will trade what I must. I have money too, though they may not want it." "Why on earth would you bring money? It's not like you can buy anything in here." "I did because I came per pared. They might want money. It's not likely but it's possible." Silvia said reaching for her dagger. She laid it next to her hand. "I won't sleep so deep this time, Tsubasa. I promise." Tsubasa laughs out loud, "You have such a serious look on your face when you said that." he looks at her kindly, "sleep as deep as you wish, I will not wake you." With that he sits cross legged and falls into a trance. "That's the problem" Silvia mutters. "If trouble comes then I'll sleep through it...Oh well." Silvia got out one of her blankets and wrapped it around Tsubasa. Now he won't get cold. Silvia thought, climbing back into her sleeping bag. "You just have to trust him...You need to trust him, hun. It's the only way. I suppose you're right. Goodnight..." Silvia mumbles, letting sleep overtake her once more.END CHAPTER 2
Chapter 3:
The forest was dark and silent, except for the crackling fire in a small clearing. By the fire sat a humanoid figure, apparently asleep, nearby lay another figure, this one with a long braid. Three figures walk through the forest. They are looters, following the trails of corpses in order to clean the bodies of whatever possessions were left behind. They spot a light through the trees, probably a campfire. They begin to head toward it, hoping to find more items that will help them. They know their will be people there, and walk softly. They come to the clearing and see two figures. Both are stationary, and asleep. The light dances around as the fire crackles and pops, making their vison a bit blurred. One of the figures sat, the other was laying down. The men moved into the camp a step at a time, being careful and looking for a trap or a scout. One man, the leader from his attitude, approaches the figure closest the fire. The figure is indeed asleep. A sword lies sheathed on his lap, it shape unknown to the looter. The looter pulls a dagger from his belt, and reaches to slit the sleeping man's throat. Another looter is creeping towards the two backpacks, when he hears a soft, wet thump, followed by a louder thump.Silvia opened her eyes, without moving. She flicked them all over the campsite, taking everything in. Men were walking around. One was near her, and another was going to the backpacks. A body was at Tsubasa's feet. She grabbed her dagger and kicked at the nearest man, sending him to his knees. She slit his throat with her dagger and lept up to stand next to Tsubasa, panting from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Tsubasa grabbed the dagger lying on the ground, and threw it through the neck of the last looter. He had done all that in one smooth motion.
"Wow. That was creepy..." Silvia mumbled. Tsubasa merely sits back down and heads off to sleep, and Silvia realized he didn't move more than an inch from where he had first fallen asleep. "You know, you're starting to scare me..." Silvia rolled her eyes and knelt down to wipe her dagger off. "How can you be so relaxed? You just killed a man!" Silvia didn't seem to notice that Tsubasa had already fallen asleep, either that or it made no difference whether anyone answered her. "I thought you were supposed to be aware of your surroundings?" Silvia muttered walking over to her sleeping bag. Silvia lay on her bag and waited for sleep to come. It did eventually and the night went by undisturbed.Note: Silvia can imitate most birds and some other animals.Silvia sat high in a tree. She was enjoying the light breeze that came up where she was. Suddenly a crow alighted on the branch right in front of her. She looked at him, wary if he would bite her. He simply hopped onto her leg and cocked his head at her. "You're not very scared, are you? You haven't been attacked by people, huh?" She reached her hand over to pet him, slowly, lest he nip her. He did not nip at her, he merely watched her intently. She pushed him back to the branch and climbed down to join Tsubasa at the foot of the tree. When she got down and was standing next to Tsubasa, the crow dove and alighted on her shoulder. "You like me? Will you stay for long, black one?" Silvia asked, stroking the crow. "If you're going to stay, you'll need a name. You don't object, do you T?" Silvia murmured, turning to face Tsubasa. Tsubasa, unmoving said, "Chances are, that's not a normal crow." "And? You do not object?" Silvia asked, looking innocent. "I do not object, but that crow may understand every word you say." Thank you!" Silvia replied, ecstatic. "I'll name you Kerwyn. Wyn for short. (means "little black one" in Gaelic) Do you like that T?" "Ask the crow if he likes it." "Do you like that name?" Silvia asked, turning to the crow. He bobbed his head, the crow equivalent of a human nod. "I guess so."
Because the book wasn’t finished, Silvia wrote the ending:
Silvia won the tournament, coming in first with Tsubasa as her guide. Matthias came in second with his team (all sporting alligator leather jackets). To celebrate, Silvia and Tsubasa were going to watch the rerun of what happened. Silvia's parents were too busy to come see so her little sister and brother were escorted to where she and Tsubasa were staying in a hotel suite. The kids hugged Silva for a long time in the airport. When the little ones had gone to bed, Silvia and Tsubasa watched some of the replay. They laughed and talked about stupid things they did and good things they did. Tsubasa actually enjoyed it.They all lived happily ever after.Until the world blew up.
THE END
Silvia and Eversio’s Story
Chapter 1:
Silvia looked at the photo through bleary eyes. I might never see them again. she thought. It was a picture of her and her baby brother, Luke, and her 6 year old sister, Tiffany. They were so happy in the photo. Tiffany's eyes gleamed like stars. When she smiled she had the cutest dimples. Luke was joyful too. He was just happy in Silvia's arms. That all might change...I might not come home for them... The photo was from before. Before her life changed dramatically. Before she was picked as a contestant in the hardest game on earth, The Tournament. You had to get from one side of the U.S to the other. All you could bring had to fit in a wood frame pack on your back. She was worried about her siblings. If she didn't come back Tiffany would have to take care of herself and her brother most of the time. Their parents were always working. When they weren't working, they were partying. Silvia shouldered her pack and walked from her room, leaving the picture on the nightstand. As she got to the hall she saw Tiffany sitting on the floor pulling on her pink polka-dotted rain boots. "Whadda ya got that fo?" Tiffany asked scrunching her nose with the effort to pull boot. "I have to go away for a while, Tiff." Silvia replied smoothly. "How long will you be gone?" Tiffany asked, looking forlornly at her sister. "For a long time...maybe forever...I might not be able to come see you again, sweety." "Why not?!" shrieked Tiffany, her eyes growing huge. "Well...this is a very hard test. A test to see if I am worthy to be an adult. Like mom and dad." "But I don't want you to go!!!" sniffed Tiffany. Tears were building in her eyes, making them look sparkly. "I have to, sweety. They chose me. I can't say no. I am giving you a responsibility. You must look after Luke and tell him all about me. And that I love him. Can you do that?" "Y-yes-s" stammered Tiffany. Now she had tears running down her face, like liquid jewels on parchment. "I have to go now, love." Silvia said, kissing her little sister on the forehead. "I love you. Be a good girl now and take care of your brother." "I love you too." sniffled Tiffany, hugging Silvia tight. "Goodbye."Silvia walk to the edge of town where she would meet her team mates before getting on the plane that would take them to Florida. From there they would get in a helicopter and be taken inside the Tournament zone. When she arrived she saw Brittany and Rachel, two preppy, popular girls from her High School. "Ugh! You mean we have to travel with that scum?" Brittany asked. " EW! I hope not! She is so not cool!!" Blushing with anger, Silvia's quick retort startled them. "You won't make it out alive," She laughed. "and when you need help, don't look at me!" Now I won't survive either. she thought. Still flushed she got in the plane that would take them to Florida. She had a long flight ahead so she drifted into sleep. She was thinking about Tiffany and Luke. Also of wolvogs and eagles and other things that wanted to kill her, like her team mates, Brittany and Rachel.Silvia got out of the helicopter and took the glasses the crew handed her. The gave her position in the Tournament to people who monitored every one's whereabouts. The 3 of them had been dropped off inside the big wall the was the starting point for all participants. For the first day you had a truce. You didn't kill any of the other teams. Rachel and Brittany started forward without wating for Silvia. She walked behind them, not paying attention to what they were saying. She had more important things to listen to, like the birds fliting around and calling to one another, the creek off to the left gurgling over rocks. After 6 hours of trudging through the wilderness Silvia was a head of the other two. Suddenly Silvia stiffened, listening hard. "RUN!" she screamed, sprinting for the nearest tree. As she reached it a pack of wolves burst through some bushes and started racing towards her and her team mates. Silvia shimmed up the tree, quick as a cat. Rachel was not so lucky. The wolves reached her and pulled her down, tearing at her pack and clothes and skin. She screamed as they attacked her. Her screams died off when they ripped out her throat. Brittany panicked and ran but she wasn't fast enough. The another set of wolves ran at her and took her down as well. Silvia stared aghast. Only 6 hours into the Tournament and her team was dead. Well, except for her. Now how will I survive?! She thought exasperated. I have to go home for Tiffany and Luke! I can't make it across alone, but I have to try! Tiff needs me. I must make it! She sat in the tree for about 3 hours for nightfall to shroud her in darkness. She ate a piece of bread when she was hungry, but other than that she merely sat and listened to the world.When the moon had risen she remembered that tonight everyone was trying to eliminate the other teams. After about half an hour of listening hard she heard a snap in the undergrowth below her. Then a small click. When she heard the click she grabbed the tree and swung around it to the other side. With her right hand she felt the wind from the bullet that has been shot at her. Also a scorching pain in her hand. The bullet had grazed her hand because she hadn't moved it fast enough. She involuntarily gasped and grabbed at her hand. Looking down she saw 3 pairs of glowing eyes. She looked around one side of the tree and then hid for a moment. Then she looked around the other side, hoping to distract the shooter from the wolves stalking below. It worked, for a second later she heard a grunt followed be a thud. Then she heard the ripping of cloth and skin. The wolves began to drag the body because they knew Silvia was there. They didn't want her to take their kill.She dare not move in case more teams were out there, for now she was hidden in shadow. When the sun rose, she would move to the other side of the tree where she could sit. Her hand had started to bleed so she took some extra cloth out of her pack and cut a strip of it off. She tied it around her hand to stop the bleeding. It wasn't a deep wound so she wouldn't need to stitch it up but she would put rubbing alcohol on it later. It wasn't bleeding much so it wouldn't soak the cloth. She crouched down on the branch to wait for dawn to save her from this madness.When the first pale streaks of light arrived she moved from her crouched position to the other side of the tree where she could sit. She let the packs straps off her shoulders and leaned against it. She turned and got out her alcohol and undid the bandage. She poured some on her hand and rubbed it on the wound. It stung a little but it was not too terrible. She re wrapped it and then set about to untieing her bow. She balanced it on her lap, lest it fall, and undid her quiver too. Finally she laid her head against her pack and closed her eyes. Not letting herself drift off into dreams, but listening on the edge of every nerve for a snapping branch, a foot step, or a gun being cocked. Anything to let her know that someone was nearby.Finally her concise faded into oblivion. She couldn't stay coherent and longer. She had resisted sleep for over 21 hours straight, and on high alert the whole time too. She realized sleep was inevitable but dhe still tried to keep from drifting. The feat was as easy as swimming in an ocean with a boulder tied to her. It just couldn't be done.
Chapter 2:
Note: Tsubasa travels very lightly. He has only his pack and supplies. His weapons consist of a forearm mounted crossbow. It has a 10 shot clip in the form of a ring around the wrist. It can use normal bolts or the spines of a wolvog. Otherwise he has two katanas and a dagger. Yes he like to dual wield (just cause it looks cool).The night was dark, except for the fires of the poor fools who would not last the next night. They would not last this night, but for the fact that killing was forbidden till the next sun rise. Laughing could be heard, as they chatted and told jokes. Maybe they're telling tales of the horrors they have heard from their parents. Maybe they tell stories to assuage their fears. Tsubasa smiled. Wait till they see the zombies. All must pass through the ruins, and all but a few will die. Tsubasa pulled a dog whistle from his pack. Gotta love the loop holes. He ran into the forest and climbed the tallest tree he could find. Leaning out beyond the branches, he blew the whistle as hard as he could. He could imagine the sound ringing far and wide. He listened, and loud howling soon reached his ears. A few minutes later, screams rang among the trees. Most would survive, either being a competent fighter or from having a quick frame of mind, but this would at least clear out the riffraff. He glanced at his crossbow. And the dead wolvogs would get him more ammunition. A few minutes later he drew his katanas and headed for the forest floor.A few hours later.As the sun's rays began to climb over the horizon, Tsubasa had collected all the wolvog spines he could carry easily. He began his treck towards the west coast. A few minutes later he came across a girl with a blonde ponytail up in a tree. He searched the ground and saw that at least three bodies had been dragged away by wolves. He silently climbed up the tree, drew his katana and pressed it against her throat. "I have a riddle for you..."
Silvia stirred but did not wake. She had not slept well for a week or so before the Tournament and was now sleeping deeply.Seeing that the girl wasn't waking up, Tsubasa grabbed her shoulder and shook her, "It kinda ruins the effect if you don't wake up immediately you know." She sat straight forward with her back rigid. The shaking had woken her up, but had also made her slip a little on the branch. She began sliding side ways off and reached for something to steady herself. Tsubasa, still holding her shoulder, steadies her as she begins to slide of the branch.Silvia realized something on her shoulder was keeping her steady. She looked at it and saw a hand. She followed the arm and saw a face. Then it clicked. It wasn't a dream, someone had talked to her. She got pale and she gasped. Her eyes widened with fear. He'll kill me... she thought. He shook his head, "You really ruined the moment, I'm supposed to pin you with my sword and ask you the riddle. But you just had to keep sleeping. Such a killjoy""Sorry. Go find someone else who'll wake up then. I don't mind!" Silvia replied hopefully.Tsubasa laughs (not evilly), "No, I gotta stick with the routine. Anyway here's the deal, I ask you the riddle, and you answer it. Should you get it wrong, you die. Should you get it right, I walk away.""Um....o....k. Whats you riddle?""I always get that reaction. 'The man you build it doesn't need it, the man who buys it doesn't want it, the man who needs it doesn't know it.' what is it"?Silvia bit her lip, thinking hard. She was not going to take this lightly, it was her life. "Why must I answer it? If I get it wrong, you will kill me. If I get it right, you walk away. I cannot survive out here by myself so either way I die. What is the point to answering?""Most people either start shaking in their boots and start spouting random answers or they spend hours thinking and get it wrong anyway. Since you are the sole person to ask me this, the answer is because if you don't answer, I'll feed you to something nasty, like a vampire. I've ran through this place three different times, I know where they nasties live""But still I die either way. What would be the point? To die if right, to die if wrong. I see no happy ending for me." Silvia replied simply. "Let me go with you, if I answer right. I can be of help. I can shoot game and I am very skilled with a needle. I can help you hunt and cook. I can mend your clothes and wounds. I can keep you company and help you figure out what to do in times of need. I will help you if you only let me come with you.....Please?" She finished quietly. "If only I get it right..."
"You have nothing I would want, but it does get boring occasionally. If you get the riddle correct, then maybe you would be smart enough to make decent company." (riddle may change)"That is a fit enough answer I suppose. My answer is a coffin. Who wants one? The man can only buy it if he is alive, and then he wouldn't need it. The man who needs it would be dead, and therefore not know it. Am I correct?"Tsubasa sat back, slightly surprised, "Congratulations, you have been awarded the honor of teaming up with a re runner. I do hope I enjoy your company, though I doubt you'll enjoy mine"Silvia sat back and her shoulders relaxed. "A re runner? Why? And why might I not enjoy your company? You seem perfectly reasonable to me at this time. Aside from trying to kill me, but everyone here wants to kill everyone else.""I come back time and time again, simply because, I enjoy it. As for my company? Because I won't be here. I'll be off hunting. I won't stray far, especially once we get close to the ruins." Tsubasa takes a new dog whistle out of his pack. He takes a knife from his pack and widens the opening on the whistle. He blows it, and a long waling tone emanates through the forest. He hands it to her. "Should you need me blow this whistle.""Stray? What do you do? Ask the riddle to others I suppose. And what if you need me? What will you do? What shall I do when you stray. Keep walking? Stay put? Climb a tree? I'm sorry I ask so many questions. Just hit me or something if it bothers you."(note: Silvia flinches when you raise your hand or when something comes at her, on account of being hit for asking to many questions/talking to much.)Tsubasa throws his head back laughing, "Yes, I usually ask people riddles. But if I have you to take care of, asking riddles may take too much time, so I'll just kill them. You can do whatever you want, though I suggest moving westward and staying near the trees.""How will you know where I am when you're off on your roamings? When will you be back? When you leave, do you want me to cook for you? Why can't I come with you?" Silvia asked looking sorry for asking so many questions so soon."So what would a pretty young girl like you, be doing following me around, while I go kill people? The whistle is so I can find you. You cannot come with me, because I run very, very quickly.""Hey! I'm not that young. I'm 16. I'll be 17 November 17th. I have riddles too. If I need to I could kill, and everyone else wants to kill me, so I take that as a need. I might not be able to keep up with you but I can help.""But you kill people if you have to. I kill people because I can.""They want to kill you, yes?""Kinda, they would if they knew I was there, but I generally kill them before the turn around. Or while they sleep. Very rarely do I attack someone head on.""Exactly. It is a need. I don't have to kill, but I would rather stay with you. I can help if it is head on, or a group. I'm not helpless. I can use a sword. I just don't have one. I have a good sized knife though. Does that help?" Tsubasa looks at her quizzically, "You are a funny one, that's for certain. Are you any good with a bow?""Yes. I've had one for many years. I lived outside for most of my time. I needed something to do besides help my parents with the ranch. I decided on a bow. I can fletch too, if you're wondering.""OK, try to find some Wolvog spines to tip your arrows with, they work very nicely""Alright. So.....May I come with you?""You are really stubborn. Fine, but you must be sure to move quietly. I'm going for a record in numbers of kill this year" Tsubasa grinned evilly."Yup, I am stubborn." Silvia replied happily. "Uh.....I can be less so if you want...""That would be like asking you to become a different person. Come on, lets go see what the wolves left behind.""Ok. What are we looking for? Anything helpful or is there something you want?""Wolvog spines, or maybe guns, food, water canteens, etc. And we kill anyone we come across.""Ok. Let me tie my bow and quiver back on my pack first before we climb down." She tied her quiver and bow on the top on her pack. Then she shimmied down the tree and was on the ground in a couple seconds.Tsubasa jumped down the tree, "Most of the camps are that way," he points off to the left."New camps or old ones?" Silvia asked, tilting her head."The ones I just cleared out with the wolvogs, the ruins are a little ways off.""YOU sent them? I should have known. No wonder you have dog whistles!" she said fingering the whistle he had given her."Ya, it's a nice way to clear out the riffraff." Silvia put the chain over her head and tucked the whistle in her shirt. A few hours later, after gathering much supplies, Tsubasa and Silvia head on their way towards the ruins. "Dare I ask about the ruins?" Silvia laughed. "You seem to like them a lot, is that a good thing? Maybe not, considering you go around asking people riddles and killing them if they get them wrong for fun. Should I be scared?""The ruins are full of zombies. They are one of the only creatures that was originally human, before they became infected.""Infected?" Silvia asked, no longer laughing. "Infected with what?""And these aren't your slow moving 'brains" zombies. They run, climb, scream, jump, and there are six different varieties."(note: Eve is stealing this from Left 4 Dead)"Infected with a virus, most humans are immune, but theirs always the hundred thousand or so who aren't." "And if you're not and you pass through the ruins?" "Then you will slowly lose your motor skills, then you will have massive internal bleeding, and then your brain collapses, if you're lucky." "Lucky? I do not call that lucky!" "If you're not, then your brain gets hard wired into a certain mind set and you could turn into anything from a horde to a Tank" He looks at her, "Though I doubt you could become a tank." "Why? And how so? I mean how so could you become a "tank"?" "There are fives kinds of zombies. The horde is very weak, generally tries to eat you, and they have strength in numbers. The tanks are your zombie equivalent of the Hulk, only the Tank would win in a fight. Boomers are hugely fat, they throw barf at you, at they can explode. If either hits you, the smell will attract hundreds of horde zombies. Hunters will creep up on you, they climb buildings and can jump hundreds of feet. Smokers will grab you with their tongue and choke you to death, if you kill them, they explode into a noxious cloud. And lastly, there's the Witch. The look like a Horde, only they're always female, and they are very non aggressive. I have never seen a Witch. But it is best to run if you see one." "Why?" "If you wake them up, either by being loud, or by shining a light on them, they will kill you. They can move at over 200 MPH and they have claws. They have been known to chase they one who woke them up through steel doors." "Oh. That's why...I see. But can you tell whether or not you're immune before you bet there? Because I seriously do not want to be a zombie." "I've been through there 3 times, of course I'm immune I don't know about you though. We'll just have to chance it, because there's no way around the ruins." "Fine. I'm sorry in advance then if I turn into a zombie and kill you. No hard feelings?" Silvia said, laughing again. "It takes a while to turn. I'd know if you became one." "Still, better safe then sorry, right?" "True." "Now, how long will it take to get to the ruins from here?" "Only a few days." "Do you know any shortcuts to them? If we go before the rest of the teams, less zombies will be alerted and make it easier to get through." "If you want to, there is a short cut. But it's full of poisonous mushrooms and squirrels." "Is it safer than going through after or in the crowd of teams?" "I don't think it makes much difference either way But there is a fun tactic similar to the dog whistle." "Fun? I'm scared now..." "You climb to the top of the buildings and search for a group of people. They usually group together during the ruins. then you shoot a nearby car, setting off the alarm, then we run. Then we get to see the live feed after we get home." "Sounds like a plan. When do we stop? I'm just wondering whether I will have time to hunt tonight when we stop." "We stop about an hour before sundown, we can trade off every day, one of us will set up camp, the other will hunt." "Would you like me to hunt today? Or set up camp?" "Take your pick." "I'll hunt if you want. Do you want fowl or mammal? Bird or hare?" "Hunt whatever you prefer, I will stay here. Also, if you happen to find any shotguns, that would be nice. they work very well against zombies."(an hour later) Silvia came back with 2 rabbits. "I couldn't find any shotguns. How do you want these prepared?" She said, putting the rabbits on the ground. "Look, I'm not picky, prepare what you'd like. As long as it doesn't need a pot, I didn't bring any." Tsubasa replies. "Neither did I. We can roast them on a spit. I'll get them ready."(after dinner/getting ready to sleep) "Why are you rerunning this? Isn't it hard enough without doing it again? It gets easier with each time I suppose...But still, why?" "I find it fun, to see all the creatures, to see their abilities. Hunting people is a challenge, and I love challenges. Plus I get money from it." "Really?" "That's neat, but when do you use it? When do you get it?" "I get paid when I finish. I get bonus cash for every event I cause that's worth watching. Such as my car ploy with the zombies and the dog whistle. At the moment all my money is in a bank." "Hmmmm....That's very interesting...Do you want me to keep watch first, I slept earlier today, and I doubt you did." Silvia commented, getting out her sleeping bag.
"Hmmmm....That's very interesting...Do you want me to keep watch first, I slept earlier today, and I doubt you did." Silvia commented, getting out her sleeping bag. "You may sleep, I enjoy the dark." Tsubasa replied. "You haven't slept though. Will you fall asleep? You do need rest, humans cannot survive without it." Silvia replied simply. "I meditate. I sleep while aware of my surroundings." "Like a dolphin....You get more interesting by the minute." Silvia laughs. Tsubasa tilts his head and looks at her quizzically, "And you have a very strange mind, to liken me to a aquatic mammal." "Well it's true. Are there any villages on the other side of the ruins?" Silvia questions, resting her head in her arm. It wasn't too cool out she didn't need to zip her sleeping bag. "Most villages here are full of outcasts, those who were exiled from society. There are a few who you could trade with, but many revile those who live outside the boundary. I recommend staying away from them. The ruins were a large city of these outcasts, but they grew to powerful, and so they were struck with the virus." "Can we find one to trade with? You can run fast but I can ride. It'll speed up my traveling. Do you have any experience with horses?" "Horses tend to hate me for some reason." "Do you happen to know what gender and breed tend to hate you?" "You're kidding me. I've had both mares and stallions try to bite me, kick me, and I have no idea how many breeds there are here." "I have a simple solution." Tsubasa waited for her solution. "Gelding. Mares and stallions tend to hate everyone." "Does a castrated horse make that much difference?" "Hell yes! And it's gelded." "Which means it's been neutered, same thing as castrated." "I get bitten all the time. You need to make sure the horse knows you're the boss. If you don't, the horse will be scared of everything and try to escape you because it feels like you can't take care of it. Horses are needy, you must tell them not to be scared. They do listen." "How about I let you be the horse whisperer." "Do you want me to teach you how to ride?" "I can ride, I just prefer not to." "Do you want me to get you a horse, or just one for me?" "Just one for you. But what are you planning to trade for a horse?" "I will trade what I must. I have money too, though they may not want it." "Why on earth would you bring money? It's not like you can buy anything in here." "I did because I came per pared. They might want money. It's not likely but it's possible." Silvia said reaching for her dagger. She laid it next to her hand. "I won't sleep so deep this time, Tsubasa. I promise." Tsubasa laughs out loud, "You have such a serious look on your face when you said that." he looks at her kindly, "sleep as deep as you wish, I will not wake you." With that he sits cross legged and falls into a trance. "That's the problem" Silvia mutters. "If trouble comes then I'll sleep through it...Oh well." Silvia got out one of her blankets and wrapped it around Tsubasa. Now he won't get cold. Silvia thought, climbing back into her sleeping bag. "You just have to trust him...You need to trust him, hun. It's the only way. I suppose you're right. Goodnight..." Silvia mumbles, letting sleep overtake her once more.END CHAPTER 2
Chapter 3:
The forest was dark and silent, except for the crackling fire in a small clearing. By the fire sat a humanoid figure, apparently asleep, nearby lay another figure, this one with a long braid. Three figures walk through the forest. They are looters, following the trails of corpses in order to clean the bodies of whatever possessions were left behind. They spot a light through the trees, probably a campfire. They begin to head toward it, hoping to find more items that will help them. They know their will be people there, and walk softly. They come to the clearing and see two figures. Both are stationary, and asleep. The light dances around as the fire crackles and pops, making their vison a bit blurred. One of the figures sat, the other was laying down. The men moved into the camp a step at a time, being careful and looking for a trap or a scout. One man, the leader from his attitude, approaches the figure closest the fire. The figure is indeed asleep. A sword lies sheathed on his lap, it shape unknown to the looter. The looter pulls a dagger from his belt, and reaches to slit the sleeping man's throat. Another looter is creeping towards the two backpacks, when he hears a soft, wet thump, followed by a louder thump.Silvia opened her eyes, without moving. She flicked them all over the campsite, taking everything in. Men were walking around. One was near her, and another was going to the backpacks. A body was at Tsubasa's feet. She grabbed her dagger and kicked at the nearest man, sending him to his knees. She slit his throat with her dagger and lept up to stand next to Tsubasa, panting from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Tsubasa grabbed the dagger lying on the ground, and threw it through the neck of the last looter. He had done all that in one smooth motion.
"Wow. That was creepy..." Silvia mumbled. Tsubasa merely sits back down and heads off to sleep, and Silvia realized he didn't move more than an inch from where he had first fallen asleep. "You know, you're starting to scare me..." Silvia rolled her eyes and knelt down to wipe her dagger off. "How can you be so relaxed? You just killed a man!" Silvia didn't seem to notice that Tsubasa had already fallen asleep, either that or it made no difference whether anyone answered her. "I thought you were supposed to be aware of your surroundings?" Silvia muttered walking over to her sleeping bag. Silvia lay on her bag and waited for sleep to come. It did eventually and the night went by undisturbed.Note: Silvia can imitate most birds and some other animals.Silvia sat high in a tree. She was enjoying the light breeze that came up where she was. Suddenly a crow alighted on the branch right in front of her. She looked at him, wary if he would bite her. He simply hopped onto her leg and cocked his head at her. "You're not very scared, are you? You haven't been attacked by people, huh?" She reached her hand over to pet him, slowly, lest he nip her. He did not nip at her, he merely watched her intently. She pushed him back to the branch and climbed down to join Tsubasa at the foot of the tree. When she got down and was standing next to Tsubasa, the crow dove and alighted on her shoulder. "You like me? Will you stay for long, black one?" Silvia asked, stroking the crow. "If you're going to stay, you'll need a name. You don't object, do you T?" Silvia murmured, turning to face Tsubasa. Tsubasa, unmoving said, "Chances are, that's not a normal crow." "And? You do not object?" Silvia asked, looking innocent. "I do not object, but that crow may understand every word you say." Thank you!" Silvia replied, ecstatic. "I'll name you Kerwyn. Wyn for short. (means "little black one" in Gaelic) Do you like that T?" "Ask the crow if he likes it." "Do you like that name?" Silvia asked, turning to the crow. He bobbed his head, the crow equivalent of a human nod. "I guess so."
Because the book wasn’t finished, Silvia wrote the ending:
Silvia won the tournament, coming in first with Tsubasa as her guide. Matthias came in second with his team (all sporting alligator leather jackets). To celebrate, Silvia and Tsubasa were going to watch the rerun of what happened. Silvia's parents were too busy to come see so her little sister and brother were escorted to where she and Tsubasa were staying in a hotel suite. The kids hugged Silva for a long time in the airport. When the little ones had gone to bed, Silvia and Tsubasa watched some of the replay. They laughed and talked about stupid things they did and good things they did. Tsubasa actually enjoyed it.They all lived happily ever after.Until the world blew up.
THE END
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