By the time I stepped outside of my house, the leaves were on fire. Literally. It was so, super hot. The whole reason I even had to step outside was to get a break from that stupid party of my sister’s. She got into Oxford. So what? It doesn’t mean that you should get a whole party! (Alright fine, maybe she does deserve it, but still!) Mark my words, I’m going to be even better than her. I’m going to be one of the first astronauts to get into The Skeld, the first spaceship to Mars. Humanity has been so careless of their surroundings. I remembered something my history teacher had taught me in class, about the ice caps. They melted thirty years ago, which made Earth so hot. I blame it all on my dad and grandfather. It’s their generations’ fault that this even happened! I ran into Candlewood Forest, thinking it would help me cool down. Weak twigs snapped with each step of mine, and the wind whistled in my ears. I reached a spot in the woods looking up to the night sky. I could see the moon playing hide-and-seek, hiding within the cottony clouds. A shooting star shot through the night, casting a long, fiery tail behind it as it entered the atmosphere. Wait for what. Shooting stars didn’t enter the atmosphere. This meant that thing was something else. It came closer and closer towards me, before crashing into a place a few hundred meters ahead of me. The first sounds I heard after that was the sound of trees creaking and breaking down. Then the extraterrestrial object crashed and bounced towards me. I heaved myself out of the way at the last second. The object stopped a few seconds later, leaving a flaming mess behind it. It looked like a futuristic shoe, with a black background and purple highlights. It was giving off smoke at the rear, where I thought the engines would be. My brain told me to go closer and explore it, while my instincts told me to hide. I chose my instincts. I ran, keeping about fifty feet between me and the ship, before hiding behind a tree. A hatch started to open at the top of the rocket. Out climbed a scary looking ... thing. An alien It had horns running from the forehead, curving and twisting until reaching an end at the top. Its mouth was bared, showing fangs as long as my hand. It ran on four legs like a monkey, mainly using its hind ones for pushing and front ones for support. Four more aliens trailed after it, one looking even more menacing than the first. They gathered around the hatch and “communicated” by which I mean they growled at each other for about five minutes. Suddenly, a figure stumbled through the woods and straight into the clearing the aliens were in. It was a man, from what the silhouette looked like. He took one glance at the creatures and shrieked. He turned around and ran through the forest, occasionally tripping over the roots of trees. One of the aliens tore through the woods, in search of the man who had intruded the scene. It came back nearly two minutes later, clutching the corpse of the man. He presented it to its friends and threw it on the ground. The biggest alien, the Alpha, as I call it, crawled towards it. It studied the body closely, and abruptly tore off the head. I’m glad it was night time, it would’ve been horrible to witness all this.

The alien stared into those lifeless eyes and promptly gulped it down. A strange change happened inside the Alpha’s body. It seemed as if it was vibrating. A ripping sound came, and the alien split into two halves. Out came the body of the dead man. Or was it the dead man? The corpse was still lying upon the ground. The “man” must be something else. Maybe it was the alien itself!

They’re shapeshifters! I stepped back, and in doing so, the aliens’ heads shot towards my direction. But before they could do anything, a loud “BEEP!” sounded, and the creatures ran pell-mell into the woods. Perhaps it just came from a car nearby. I waited for five whole minutes to make sure they were gone. Then I ran. Ran for my life, my future, and my dreams. 5 years later Finally. I’m aboard the Skeld. The spaceship of your dreams. Not really though, because ever since the alien threat, every mission has been dangerous. They could morph into humans and act as Skeld crewmates. That’s why the trips are so dangerous. No one knows who’s an impostor or a crewmate. Anyone can kill you. As Mad-Eye Moody says, we need, “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” As for the ventilation system, it’s useless. Scientists have figured out that the alien, or Covens as we now call them, give off toxic chemicals from their body. Since there have been eyewitness accounts, we know the Covens have been in the vents. So it’s a no-go. Of course, other Covens can enter the vents, since the chemical isn’t lethal to them. I put on my helmet and walked into the docking ship. It would take us to the Skeld, which was too big to be launched from the ground. As I waited, others began to enter the ship. I don’t know their names, just their colors. I’m Cyan, by the way. In came Red, Black, White, Yellow, Pink, and Green. I didn’t talk to any of them, because I didn’t know who I could trust. We each had a task upon the Skeld, and we could only start the journey to Mars after each of us has completed it.  Why? Because every time the Skeld comes back, it needs servicing. The hatch closed behind us and off we went. It took us ten minutes to reach, and once we were there, everyone left without a word. I checked my tablet to see what my tasks were. Okay, I have to go to Electrical and fix up the wiring. No big deal. Just the threat of death lurking over your life every time you see someone. I went there and saw Red and White doing their “tasks.” I stayed far from both of them, doing my job silently, It was simple, just attaching color-coded wires. Soon after, I decided to go to Admin to check the cameras. Unfortunately, they only show black and white, so I can’t differentiate between colors. I checked each and every one. No suspicious behavior. I turned them off and left the room, checking my tablet for my next task: Divert Power to O2. Sounds easy enough. But it is also dangerous. I decided to take a shortcut through the cafeteria, doing my other task which was to empty the garbage. Suddenly, as I was walking towards it, the cafeteria doors shut with a bang. I was startled out of my wits and looked around quickly and cautiously to see if there was anyone else with me. There was. Yellow. Standing right in front of me, banging on the door, was Yellow. He looked at me and backed away, his body shaking in fear. I didn’t go near him, just in case, he thought I was a Coven/Impostor. I just quietly waited for the doors to open. During the elapsed time I finished taking out the garbage AKA throwing it away into space.

Once the gates finally opened, I was back on my way to Electrical. Once I reached, I saw Red coming out and going towards the right engine. He hadn’t seen me. Only that prepared me for the sight I was about to see inside. It was Yellow’s body, cut cleanly in half, only leaving a single bone in the middle. Blood oozed out in all directions. I gaped at her body for a long moment, before pulling out my tablet and hitting “Report Body.” A chat box popped into view. It was meant to discuss who the Coven was. There was also a voting window beneath it. I saw that particular window and skimmed it. None were dead but Yellow, who had a large, red “X” on top of her. I went back to the discussion: Red: Where? Me: In electrical. I saw you coming out of it. Red: I swear I did not do it! White: I was in the cafeteria. Green was there with me. Green: I was. Me: VOTE RED EVERYONE! HE KILLED YELLOW! Cyan has voted White has voted Red: I didn’t do it! Green has voted Pink has voted Black has voted I glanced back into the voting window. Yup. Red’s had the most votes. That means he gets ejected. The Skeld has special trap doors that open to space. They can detect the color that was voted out, and eject them. Well, hopefully, Red was an Impostor. And hopefully, we’ll all just be safe.

I spent the rest of my time finishing off my tasks, and when I had nothing to do, I just checked the security cameras every now and then. I was walking around near O2, checking for any more suspicious activity when I saw White following me closely. I took one glance at her and ran for my life. Everything went past me in a blur, and I soon found myself face to face with a door. The door that led to the cafeteria. I turned my head around to see White standing in front of me. She walked closer, and I was leaning and pounding on the door. Suddenly, it opened, and I fell flat on my face, maybe even breaking my nose. I got up and sprinted over to the middle table. It had a red button on it, and I clicked it. That called for an emergency meeting. Green: What happened? Me: White was acting suspiciously. Kept on following me. White: I was just following you to see if you were acting sus! Me: It looked pretty shady to me though. I think she was ghosting me to kill me. She could be a Coven. Green: Yeah, you’re right. White: I am not a Coven! I think you’re an impostor Cyan. Me: She’s turning the tables on me! More proof! Vote White! Cyan has voted White has voted Black has voted Green has voted Pink has voted I looked at the voting window to see the results. White had four votes. I had one. White had voted for me, probably trying to frame me. So now White, Red, and Yellow are gone. There’s a big chance one of them was a Coven. Hopefully. I was scouting the remaining people, searching for suspicious activity, when the reactor had a meltdown. Everyone rushed to it to fix it, but one arrived late. Green. I regarded this as suspicious behavior and proceeded to stalk him. I followed him everywhere, into Admin, into Navigations, and even O2. He was trying hard to shake me off his tail, but I managed to stay on him. But when we entered Admin, he suddenly turned on his heel and ran off at top speed. I decided that publicly following Green was unwise, and I searched for him again. In about five to ten minutes, I found him back into Admin. I peered around the door and saw him standing on top of the vent. He looked around and pulled out the screws. He lifted the hatch and slid inside. He’s the Impostor among us! This fact made me happy, and sad at the same time. Happy, because I could finally save the survivors. Sad, because of the two innocent lives that were taken away by me. I gathered my wits and ran silently to the cafeteria. I pressed the red button once more. Before looking at the discussion page, I scanned the one which listed all the people on board. The system is connected with a special badge that is on everyone’s spacesuit. It read their vital signs and told the computer who’s dead and who’s not. Pink was dead. The only other crewmate left was Black. I quickly went back to the discussion. Black: Pink’s dead. Green: Yeah Me: You should know Green, after all, you killed him. Black: Really? Green: No! I think you or Black did it, Cyan. Me: I saw Green run into Admin and vent. I was following him and I saw him slither into it. Black: I’m not sure who to trust … Green: Trust me. Cyan is framing me. Look how many innocent crewmates he voted off. He must be the Coven. Me: Black, ignore Green. Listen, this can be one of the most important moments of your whole life. If we let Green get into the Mars colony, a whole bunch of people will die. Trust me, please. Black: Green’s got a point Cyan, you did vote off a bunch of people. Me: I made mistakes. I was paranoid. People make mistakes all the time. But do you want those people to die in vain? Pink, Red, and White? Black: No … Me: Then vote Green. Please trust me, just this once. Black: Okay. But if Green’s innocent, you’ll have me to answer to. Cyan has voted Green: Look, Black. You gotta trust me, ‘kay? I did not kill those people. Cyan did. Black: I trust Cyan. Die, you filthy Coven! Black has voted Green has voted Green was ejected Finally. The impostor was gone. All was well.


Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. Live Wire The noise was unbearable. The sounds of massive cogs clanking as they moved together as one was deafening but you could still hear the engine struggling, straining, and screaming as it used all it’s might to get this machine to move. The heat was exhausting, the engine was producing copious amounts of steam, which was a good sign but for ten people stood in essentially a metal chamber it made the heat almost intolerable. That metal chamber was the command room and inside the whole team of researchers were stood waiting, watching and some were praying. “Oh god please let this work” shouted one of the research assistants. I barely heard her shout it and I was standing right next to her. I looked at her and noticed that the heat had started to make her makeup run. I looked around and realized that the heat was affecting us all. Everyone was sweating profusely and people’s glasses had started to steam up. Someone else shouted something, I thought it may have been some other research assistant saying the same but I have no idea. Everyone in the command room was anxious but excited, they needed their machine to move. They had been told they only had one more chance before the entire project was scrapped. Everyone knew that scrapping the project would be a mistake but they also knew that the funding required was slowly draining away all of the available resources. A lot of us had come from nothing to become a part of something bigger than all of us, something we could say we made and that we were proud of. The sacrifices that had been made for us to get this far was too much for the project to get scrapped but that didn’t matter to the people above us. They only cared about results and how much it cost them. They weren’t the ones that watched their colleagues, their friends get dragged away because they were being a so called “detriment” to the project. I lost some good friends along the way, but when this works it’ll all be worth it. At least, that’s what I tell myself to get through it. If I stop to think about it, I’ll become a “detriment” and I haven’t worked here all my life just to get thrown out in our moment of greatness. This is everything I’ve worked for, everything we’ve worked for. I’m not about to let some armed thug ruin that for me. I had worked on the circuitry of the behemoth; I was responsible for making sure that when it turned on it could do anything it wanted or needed to. At that moment everything changed. We heard a noise that we hadn’t heard before. The first creak. The first sign of life. We did it, we had done it, we had created a behemoth of an Automaton and it was showing signs of life. We watched on in glee and watched as it used its massive hulking arms to hold itself steady while it took its first step with its colossal foot. It looked around almost as if it was trying to figure out where it was. And then it saw us. We were all still in awe that we had done it but as we watched on, it started to crouch down. The colossal body creaked as it moved closer to the ground and closer to us. The ground beneath us shook as its knee hit the ground. It was there now, just staring at us. It had no mouth so it couldn’t speak to us, but the light we had used for its eyes just burned a bright blue and it was mesmerizing. Everyone was just staring at it, it was amazing, it was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. It was my life’s work, our life’s work. And like that it was taken away from us. The door was kicked in so hard it nearly came off its hinges. Armed with rifles 5 guards aimed at us all but we just continued to stare straight into the light. Then the head of R&D walked in. He started to talk but I didn’t pay attention to him. I was to busy staring at the colossal automaton’s eyes. I probably should have listened to him because he said “ This is now my project now, all of your work belongs to me. Open fire, I want none of them left alive but save the research make sure its all transported to my office.” And that was the end of my life, as I lay there on the floor, staring up at the massive blue light looking in at the murder and chaos that had just ensued. I was bleeding out, my vision was growing darker and darker, until it finally went black.


“Going to be another hot one folks. Temperatures over one hundred degrees again today. No showers predicted for the next ten days. Prepare for extreme heat and rolling power outages. Take extra precautions if your area is under a red flag warning. Be mindful of the…” Kyle flicked off the radio. Great, another sweltering day.

In the West, forest fires blazed leaving the air tainted with smoke for hundreds of miles. What had been three separate fires along the front range of Colorado recently merged into one gigantic mass of heat. The occasional fire-nado would whizz up and sound like a furnace running sideways. Most people in the area evacuated as per the official evacuation order. A couple die-hards held out to fight the fire on their own. Defending their property from an elemental force. They were going to fight fire. Maybe they were wizards. Kyle imagined them conjuring up spells and dousing flames with their wands. In a world of infinite possibilities….his thoughts trailed off. He was almost to his destination. He had mapped out a trail to get the best perspective of the massive fire. He just needed to turn off on an unmarked road, follow that due North up to the crest and make a sharp left. Easy-peasy.

Smoke billowed above the mountains. The scene looked like one from an apocalyptic volcano movie. The air was thick and warm. A thin layer of ash and soot coated the landscape. It was difficult to see even a few yards ahead. He clumsily stumbled forward. Her silhouette slid into his line of sight. He stopped breathing momentarily. Magic reentered his thoughts. She cast a spell on him and he lost all of his natural ability to simply Inhale and exhale. Witchcraft, he thought and he passed out. Katrina grew up here. She knew these mountains better than most. Better than most, yes. Better than her father, no. She lost her dad a few years back and had managed the homestead and acreage quite well since. Katrina had a special connection to this place. Her father had always told her, this land was an extension of them and must be preserved and protected. It was their duty and honor. As the last of her line, it was a duty she took great pride in. Her connection to this land was deep. It was her birthright; a generational blessing. It was the last bit of their homeland and she intended to protect and preserve it. They had lived through fire and flood and made preparations and plans for each. Katrina knew what to do and when. She had courage from her sense of honor. Her confidence borne of her training- not to mention her sixth sense. Her guides spoke to her.

Katrina was a force. She loved each of the trees and knew every rock. They were her comrades, her friends, her relatives. The rocks; the elders, her advisors. The river; her way between worlds. She was part of this place and this place was absolutely part of her. They existed in a symbiotic entanglement of harmony and understanding. She had asked for someone to share it all with so many times. Katrina was reveling in this very thought when she saw the stranger approaching. He hadn’t noticed her yet and she was still getting a read on him. He didn’t seem threatening and was actually kind of cute. He stumbled forward. She decided to catch his attention. She did more than that. She took his breath away . Quite literally. She stepped into sight and he fell directly to the ground. Thud.

Katrina wasn’t expecting company. She certainly wasn’t expecting such a gorgeous man to damn near fall in her lap. She looked up to the expanse with questioning wonder. She rushed over to Kyle. He coughed and snorted as he came to. “Hi there. You ok?”, Katrina offered him water. Kyle sat up slowly and attempted to get his bearings. He took a sip of the cool water and coughed some more. The last thing he remembered was driving toward the fire to get some pics. He was a photo journalist. He covered climate change and natural disasters; usually with no problems. Apparently the turns he had taken planted him smack dab on Kat’s place. The road had ended with a decent view of the flames. He snapped some really good pics when suddenly the wind shifted and smoke obscured his way. Kyle couldn’t see his truck. Somehow he managed to find a trail and followed it out of the smoke. However, the smoke and altitude gain seemed to have gotten the better of him and he passed out right there in Kat’s driveway. Lucky for Kyle, Katrina kept supplies for such emergencies, in fact she was ready for most emergencies. She located the oxygen bottles and ordered Kyle to take a slow deep breath and inhale the good good. Nothing quite like pure oxygen in the lungs. He had no objections. This wasn’t his first rodeo so to speak, but never had he been caught so off guard. He was a safe distance from the flames. What he hadn’t considered was the effect of the smoke. The wind combined with the terrain created pockets of smoke and heat that churned and boiled. The wind shifted and created an obstacle Kyle hadn’t prepared for. He was lucky to have found his way out. He was even luckier to have found his way out to her. She was an absolute vision. Katrina was as up here mostly alone on the side of her mountain. Wildfires approaching and her attitude was that of utter serenity, everything will be fine. She knew what to do and when. Not her first rodeo either; and the universe had delivered her a cowboy. Things were certainly looking up. Who was this beautiful enchantress? How did he possibly find her? This year his job had sent him across the country on various assignments. Blizzard in New York. Hurricanes in Florida. Flooding in Minnesota. Wildfires in the West. The storms and disasters were more intense and lasting longer. He never had a chance to meet anyone. Well at least not anyone available for a date. The ones he did meet were usually in various stages of distress. Not Katrina. She was, um she was unique. And this was why he was a photo journalist. Words escaped him, but a picture, need he say more? Katrina was a vision. His vision in fact. He had seen her before. He dreamed her. At first he thought maybe it was jet lag or wishful thinking. The more he studied her face, the more real he knew she had been in his dream. The more real he now understood she was, and holy shit IS! Is now, currently present tense right beside him. Kyle took another sip of water. He managed a “Thank you, ma’am.” No chance he could hide his smile. Katrina smiled back. She knew just what to do.


“Are you sure,doctor?” “Yes… your son has ADHD,” A woman sat in a white room with her son sitting beside her and the doctor in front of her behind his desk, telling her what can be done to help her son's disability. “Doctor, is there any alternative to the medication? I just don’t think we can afford it,” the mother said in her worried voice, which was becoming her normal voice. “There are different methods of treating ADHD like physical activities, I’ll have Regina at the front desk print out a list of methods,” the doctor said sympathetically. “Thank you, doctor” the mother stood up, grabbed her son’s hand and walked out of the office. Calvin was an eight year old boy who was going into the third grade. He used to love school, but after kindergarten, people found out he had autism and was a natural born. The kids who remained his friends were told by their parents not to be around Calvin. Soon, Calvin was alone. Calvin climbed into his mother’s old car, that’s practically falling apart. It wasn’t actually his mothers, it was his grandfathers, his mother had to sell her car to be able to get groceries. Calvin had pale skin, like his skin had never been introduced to sunlight before. He was skinny, boney, he almost seemed malnourished. He was very tall for his age, taller than everyone else in his grade. His mother looked very similar to him, pale, skinny, tall, she had lines on her face and a few grey hairs which is shocking for her age. They got home, Calvin and his mother lived with his grandfather in his house that was older than Calvin himself. The house was small and seemed to lack furniture, it was clean but old stains made it look in a permanent state of filth which prevented Calvin’s mother from ever wanting guests. Calvin’s grandpa was watching the news. “Today, a law was passed in 37 states that allows parents to sterilize their children when they reach sexual maturity in order to prevent teen pregnancies,” said the news anchor in her loud, yet calm voice. “Christ, I remember when having a child was one of the most important moments in anyone’s life, watching your child being born, being the first to hold them, now these test tube babies want to prevent everyone from having their own children,” said Calvin’s grandpa is his raspy voice. “It’s still their own child if it’s a synthetic child dad,” Calvin’s mother replied. “Nah, it can’t be the same, a test tube can’t replace the feeling of seeing yer baby being born, ya can’t have the same connection with something from a test tube,” Calvin’s grandpa was flustered, he usually got this way when talking about this topic. “There’s no way I’d be this close with ya if ya were a test tube baby, sweetheart,” he said as he grabbed Calvin’s mother’s hand. Calvin’s mom said nothing, she only looked off into nothingness, as if she could see beyond the walls. She left her father's hand behind as she went into the cabinets to get Calvin some food. Calvin’s mother was interrupted by a knock at the front door. Calvin’s mother stopped what she was doing and walked toward the door. The knock was persistent and loud, it scared Calvin. Calvin’s mother looked through the peephole of the door, her eyes widened in shock, she almost seemed fearful. “Who is it, sweetheart,” Calvin’s grandpa asked, concerned from his chair. “Calvin, go to your room,” Calvin’s mother ordered her son in a shaky voice. Calvin looked at her blankly. “Now, Calvin.” Calvin complied and went through the hallway and into his room. One wouldn’t imagine Calvin’s room to be that of a child’s at first glance. His room was empty except for a small bed and a desk that had a few drawings on it, all of them left unfinished. Calvin could hear the front door being open and someone stepping inside and he could hear the discussion starting through the thin walls. “Jacob?” Calvin heard his mom ask in a shaky voice as if she were about to cry. “Hi, Emily,” Calvin heard a deep voice that he didn’t recognize say in response. “You… You are not welcome here!” Calvin heard his grandpa shout. He had never heard his grandpa shout before. “Dad, please go to your room. I can handle this on my own,” Calvin’s mother told his grandpa. Calvin could hear his grandpa rise from his chair, muttering profanity under his breath. Instead of following his daughter’s command, he instead went to Calvin’s room. He entered to find him sitting at his desk, looking down on his half finished art. “How ya doing, son?” Calvin’s grandpa asked with genuine concern. Calvin just shrugged his shoulders, not looking away from his desk. “Who is that man?” Calvin asked in a whisper so quiet, most would think it was the wind. But not his grandpa, most would describe him as the best damn listener they’ve had the pleasure of talking to, and he was quite proud of that. “That man is Jacob, he’s yer father, son.” Calvin’s mind raced, hopping from one thought to the next, never stopping for even half a second. His face didn’t show this though, it rarely showed emotion at all. Calvin didn’t like his face and how emotionless it was, just another part of him to be made fun of. “I thought he died when I was in ma’s belly.” Calvin responded, somehow even quieter. Yet his grandpa listened still. “Yeah, I’m sorry, both me and yer ma. We didn’t want to lie to ya, it was just easier that way.” He sighed loudly as he sat down onto Calvin’s bed. “He was a lyin’ coward who abandoned ya and yer ma. Left ya guys with nothing to turn to but me and this damn shack.” Calvin’s thoughts kept going and going and going, with no sign of stopping. He felt angry, sad, confused, hurt, all at the same time, and yet his face still remained without expression. Why did he leave? Why did they lie? His grandpa had tried to explain, but Calvin was even more confused. Why is he back? The volume of Calvin’s parents talking in the living room increased ever so slightly. Calvin tried to listen, but he wasn’t as good as his grandpa. Their volume kept increasing. “Things seem to be heatin’ up out there… maybe I ought-” He was interrupted by the sudden explosion of yelling coming from the living room. Calvin jumped, his eyes widened. Calvin’s grandpa shot up, an angry scowl on his face. He stormed swiftly to the door, Calvin had never seen him move so fast. He swung the door open, and looked back at Calvin, a concerned look replaced his exasperated expression. His eyes met Calvin’s, the first time he had ever since he was born. “Ya stay here, ya hear me?” Calvin said nothing, just looked back at his drawings. Calvin’s grandpa closed the door behind him. Calvin could hear his grandpa’s voice join the screaming competition. “Who the hell do ya think yer talking to like that, ya prick!” Calvin’s grandpa’s voice easily overpowered Calvin’s parents, he could hear the yelling so easily, as if he were in the same room. “Dad! I told you to stay out of this!” “I ain’t gonna sit back there and let this test tube baby speak to ya like that!” “Look, I am just trying to help, I know you guys need it!” It was the first time Calvin really focused on his father’s voice. It was unlike any voice he had heard before. It was deep, aggressive, commanding. The way he spoke, it seemed like he demanded attention, and he definitely had Calvin’s. “You know it wasn’t hard to find you guys, I might’ve asked five people at most!” Calvin got up from his desk, abandoning his drawings for another time. He walked in front of his door, staring at the white paint peeling off of it. “I just asked if they knew any people with a natural born son, and they all made the same face!” “Yeah and what face was that?” Calvin’s mother sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. “Their smile disappears, pity fills their eyes. They tell me the same sob story I bet you told them.” “Who exactly did ya ask, huh?” “Dad, stop!” “A gas station clerk, a cashier at a McDonalds. They told me how you begged for a job, how you had to quit your old one because they didn’t offer maternity leave anymore. How your boy is troubled!” “No! You do not get to talk about him like that, I’m the one who raised him!” “Raised him? In this shithole? No! He deserves better!” “You don’t think I know that? He is so special, so talented, his drawings are so amazing and he doesn’t even know it!” “I’ve turned my life around, I’m not the same man from all those years ago. I can get him out of here, both of you out of here, just say yes, please!” “Just more lies! Don’t believe him sweetheart, don’t!” “Why did you come back Jacob, why are you doing this to us?” Calvin’s mother could no longer hold back her tears. “I had to make things right, I know what I did was wrong, but I wasn’t ready, I needed to get my life straight.” Calvin noticed his father’s voice begin to fault, he wasn’t used to yelling this much. “What about her, huh? You think she had her life straight? She did, but ya popped into her life and destroyed everything!” Calvin’s mother just continued to cry. “Look I’m sorry, I was barely out of my parents' place, I was scared!” “You don’t think I was too?” “Well I’m here now! I can help now, just please let me.” “We don’t need yer help-” “Like hell you don’t old man!” “Don’t you dare talk to my dad like that!” “Look, you can’t keep living like this!” “Calvin is more than I will ever need!” “That is such bullshit and you know it!” Calvin could hear disgust in his father’s voice. “That boy has taken everything from you!” “Fuck you!” It was the first time Calvin had ever heard his mother curse. “You could’ve been so much more, built an actual career, that’s what you were actually doing! Then this kid came, don’t blame me for leaving, blame yourself for keeping him!” “Shut yer mouth, of course she kept him, she’s no murderer!” “Yeah, old man? She was definitely considering it. What? You didn’t tell him about our talks about the abortion?” “What’s he talking about, sweetheart?” Calvin’s mother stayed quiet, apart from some sniffling. “Yeah we had it all planned out didn’t we? Neither of us wanted that shit on us so we were just gonna get rid of him, would’ve made both our lives so much easier.” It became quiet. Calvin could hear his own heartbeat. “Tell me it’s not true, sweetheart.” “I love my boy, more than anything in this world.” Her voice was shaky, yet clear. “Keep telling yourself that. You resent that kid, he destroyed you.” Calvin understood. “I love my boy!” The screaming match resumed. Calvin opened the door, none of them noticed over the yelling. Calvin’s mind was clear as he entered his grandpa’s room across the hall. He turned the light on and looked around, the arguing continued right outside. Calvin looked under the bed and found what he was searching for. He picked it up and went back to his room. He sat at his desk, staring at his art, still unfinished. He remembered what his mom had said, “He’s so talented,” a tear rolled down his face, “I love my boy,” he smiled to himself. The yelling was quickly stopped by a sharp, loud bang that came and went in an instant. The room was quiet, more quiet than it has ever been, or ever will be.


I felt a nudge on my back. The voice, which I recognized as my grandma's, stated again in her thick Arkansas drawl, "Get up and go kill that ole blue goat." Rubbing sleep from my eye, I half-sat up, rolling to face my Grandma and raising myself on one elbow. She was dressed in a plain black dress, the same dress she'd been wearing since Grandpa died almost 6 months ago. My parents had sent me to stay with Grandma "on the farm" for the summer, to help her out while they went on a cruise. "The farm" as they called it was really just kind of hodge podge collection of animals my grandpa had put together since he retired from the phone company. He hadn't grown anything really- they didn't even really live in the country, they just had a really big yard and didn't have any neighbors nearby. But that didn't slow them down. They'd started with a couple of chickens Grandpa got from a friend and built from there- a couple of peacocks, a few rabbits that kept becoming a lot of rabbits, a miniature horse, a smattering of other animals that often didn't live very long, and finally, the goat. The goat never had a name. They just called him "the old blue goat". He wasn't blue of course, that'd be ridiculous. He was, however, a sort of deep gray with some darker spots. He sported a wispy beard that, combined with the subtle glint in his eyes, gave him an unsettling look of almost human intelligence. Over the years, the goat had become known for its bad attitude and general distaste for everybody and everything. All this ran through my mind as I struggled to grasp exactly why it was that Grandma wanted me to kill this animal. "Um....why?" I muttered, still half-asleep. My eyes still half-closed could make out the gun tucked under my grandma's arm, an old single barrel pump-action shotgun with my grandpa's name engraved in the stock. I knew the gun well, I'd seen grandpa use it snakes and raccoons many times as a child. Grandma didn't say anything, just shoved the shotgun into my hands and grunted. "It's loaded" she growled as she turned on her heel and left the room, her battered old house shoes flopping as she walked. **** Shading my eyes from the early morning sun, I found the goat standing by the barn, hovering near the feed trough, apparently waiting for me to feed the animals. It eyed me blankly, the gun weighing heavy on my shoulder. It was hot already that morning, and I could feel sweat beginning to bead up on my head as I approached. It continued to stare, absently chewing at something as I readied my gun. "Come on Goat. Don't look at me like that" I grumbled. The goat almost seemed to shrug in response, its eyes never leaving mine. I tried not to think about it, raising the butt of the gun to my shoulder. The sweat was pouring down my face now. I tried to block out the poor dumb goat, staring at me, with no idea what was going to happen to it. I shut my eyes tight, as I slowly squeezed the trigger. A metallic clink sounded as the hammer on the gun came down. There wasn't a shell in the chamber. I'd forgotten to pump it. My eyes flung open. The goat still stood there, stupid as ever, still absently chewing whatever was in its mouth. I dropped the gun. "Grandma can kill you her damn self" I muttered, turning on my heel and stalking back to the house. **** A few hours later, I was plopped on the couch in Grandma's living room, drinking lemonade and watching her ancient console TV. She didn't have cable, but I always enjoyed "The Price is Right". A fat woman from Wisconsin had just guessed $50 when asked the retail price of a can of coffee when my Grandma walked into the room with a shovel. "Need to go bury that goat" she growled. Grandma was a smoker, had been since she was 8 years old she claimed, and her voice showed it. "Put him in the wheelbarrow and carry him out in the field" she instructed. She thrust the shovel into my hand and turned to go when I stopped her. "Uh... Grandma...." She stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn. "What?" "I uh... when I tried to kill the goat, it uh... the gun didn't go off, and the goat ran away." Her head turned sharply, In her gnarled old profile I saw a look I'd never seen on my grandma, The corner of her mouth drooped. Her eyes were wide. Her nostrils flared. It was... fear. "The goat... lives?" "Yea... um... " I rubbed the back of my head. "I don't know. It just ran away. It probably won't come back. I mean, it looked really scared..." Grandma crossed the room in three preternaturally quick strides and lifted me from the couch by my shirt collar. "Did it see you?" she asked, her face contorted in a savage snarl. "Uh, I, Uh..." I stammered, trying to find my feet and keep my balance. "THE GUN!" she yelled, shaking me. "Did it see the gun?" "Yes!" I shouted, struggling to maintain balance. "Yes! It just stared at me and looked all stupid and harmless and I was scared and I didn't want to kill it and-" Grandma released me, and I crashed back to the couch, landing on my back. "Fool!" she shouted, going to the gun cabinet. "Grandma I'm sorry, I just..." I watched as she flung open the cabinet door. Remembering the abandoned shotgun, my heart sank. Now she was *really* gonna be mad. "Um, Grandma, I uh..." I edged for the door. "I think I left it on the porch, I'll-" "DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR!" Grandma whirled around, stretching one bony hand toward me. "No no, it's uh... I think I leaned it up against... uh... " startled, I reached behind me to place a hand on the door handle, but just as I turned to leave, I was startled to see, standing on the porch, staring back in at me, was the goat. And Grandma saw it too. "GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!" she bellowed, dashing across the room. I was too surprised to move when she grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me away from it, slamming the curtain closed and turning the deadbolt. She threw her back against the door, bracing herself. Dumbfounded, I stood, staring at her. "WHERE IS THE GUN?" she demanded, gritting her dentures together. "I uh... left it outside when I ... " "YOU LEFT IT OUTSIDE? JUMPIN’ JESUS SON ARE YOU TRYIN’ TO GET US KILLED??" I didn't know what to say. I stood, flat footed, as my grandma hurried around the room, shutting windows and peeping out of blinds. She grabbed an iron fireplace poker and held it in both hands, her eyes darting this way and that. "Grandma, I'm sorry, I'll go get the gun. I'm sure it's still there." I started toward the door when she cut me off, wielding the poker like a club. "Boy, think" she snarled. "Did the goat see that gun? Did he know you came to kill him?" I shrugged. "Grandma, he's a goat. I don't think it had any idea what was going on." She slapped me across the face. "Idiot! Don't you know why I asked you to kill that damn goat? Don't you know what happened to your Grandpa?" My eyes widened. "M-mom said he had an accident..." Grandma smirked. "Oh it was an accident alright. That goat accidentally gutted him like a damn fish with its horns." My stomach knotted up. My Grandma glared at me. "And when a goat starts killin... it can't stop" Just then, the world exploded. The sounds of breaking glass filled my ears as a dark gray shape lunged through the living room window, showering us with bits of broken glass. I reflexively threw my arms up and covered my face, but still felt the sting of bits of glass lodging in my my exposed skin. "GET UPSTAIRS!" my grandma screamed as she turned to face the goat, who had climbed onto the couch, a menacing look in its eyes. Grandma whirled around and swung the fireplace poker at it, but the goat dodged deftly and leaped at her, issuing a threatening bleat as it did. I turned and ran for the stairs, taking them 3 at a time. Thinking quick, I pulled on the cord that released the ladder that gave access to the attic and scrambled up as quick as I could, pulling the ladder up behind me when I did. Once in the attic, I slammed the hatch shut behind me and tried hard to catch my breath. After long moments, I was calm enough to listen. All was quiet. I strained to listen, holding my ear to the trap door, hoping for any sign that grandma had prevailed. Finally, after what felt like a long time, I heard footsteps slowly mount the staircase. They came closer, trudging up the steps. Whispering a silent prayer, I risked cracking open the hatch. Peeking through, I cast about, hoping for some sign that Grandma had won. Then, suddenly, a gray head came into view. But not Grandma's. I tried to stifle a sharp intake of breath, but leaned too hard on the hatch, causing it to squeak. The goat's head turned sharply, immediately locking eyes with me through the crack. Too horrified to move, I stared back until it let out a plaintive "Naaahhhhhh". I slammed the hatch shut and backed away. The goat leaped up, slamming the hatch with its horns over and over again. Desperate, I began throwing boxes over the hatch till the goat could no longer move it. I heard its hooves clomping around on the floor for a couple of minutes, then they faded away, going back down the stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief as it left. The summer heat in the attic was sweltering, and after a few minutes I was drenched in sweat. I began to wonder how long I could hold out, when there was a sudden scraping noise. I started and looked around. Had I imagined it? Soon, I heard it again- A steady scraping, scratching sound. I cupped a hand around my ear to listen, trying to figure out where it was coming from, when suddenly little bits of dust began to filter down in front of me. It was coming from the roof. I barely had time to think when the hole burst open in the roof, the horrible leering face of the goat glaring down at me in a mad fury. It let loose a furious "Nyahhhhh" as it scrambled to widen the hole with its front hooves. Mad with terror, I flung the boxes away from the exit hatch, and I had just barely finished and dove out of the attic when the goat crashed through the hole in the ceiling and lowered its head to charge me. I hit the floor below with a jarring thud and heard a sickening crack in my ankle. I drug myself to my feet, knowing I was hurt too badly to run. I made my way to the stairs, thinking I could get myself to my grandma's car, but the goat was following close behind. I heard it crash down from the attic, bellowing a challenge as I limped my way down the steps. I glanced over my shoulder when I was halfway down and saw the goat rounding the corner, slowly, craning its neck at an almost unnatural angle to find me. A demonic furor burned in its eyes as it began to follow me. I turned back around, moving as fast as I could down the stairs, barely keeping myself up right. As I came into view of the now destroyed den, it was obvious the goat had destroyed the place. Blood was everywhere, and I knew my grandma must be dead. The sound of the goat's hooves slowly negotiating the stairs followed me, almost like it was too confident in the kill to hurry. I finally reached the bottom of the stairs and made for the front door, half hopping and half walking on my broken ankle. The goat continued calmly behind me, the steady clomp clomp of its hooves descending the stairs. I flung open the door and tried to get out and slam it shut behind me, but at the last second I lost my grip on the door handle and crashed to the ground, landing flat on my stomach. A satisfied bleat behind me told me the goat was about to close in for the kill. I knew this was the end, when out of nowhere, right in front of me was a battered old pair of house shoes. I looked up at my grandma, bloody and bruised, but clutching the shotgun in her gnarled old hands. "Goat, you're like a damn hemmorhoid- a pain in my ass that keeps comin' back" she said as she pumped the gun. I rolled to my side to see the goat rear back on its hind legs in fear, but it was too late. A resounding boom rang out, and the goat's blood spattered everybody and everything. My grandma spit blood and a couple of teeth at her feet, threw the gun over her shoulder and walked into the house, leaving me and the dead goat lying in the doorway. "Almost as bad as that God damn rooster a few years ago" she muttered as she slipped into the kitchen.


I could hear the terrible ruckus from my linen closet. Pots and pans clattering about. My good dinner plates shattering on the floor. I cursed under my breath as I doubled my efforts to find those blasted extra-large towels. Both to dry my soaked person and to try and contain... Whatever that *thing* was. I rushed back into the chaos of my kitchen. The *beast* was in the same place where he had burst out of; except instead of in a pot, he was now curled up directly on top of the largest burner of my stove. His unintentional black incubator upside down, spilling its soup of broken eggshell and water all over the tile. Large shards of what was left of this creature's egg gleamed an iridescent greeting to me under the fluorescent lights as I returned. The remnants of what was supposed to be the rest of my dinner and the utensils I was using to make it scattered about on the counter. *Ostrich egg my ass,* I thought as I turned my attention to the scaly animal that had turned my relaxing night on its head. During the chaos that ensued in my absence from the kitchen, he must have accidentally flicked the burner controls to full, because my stovetop was now spewing flames. The... lizard? I suppose lizard would be most appropriate. The lizard sat unbothered amid the small inferno in my kitchen. Fire licking at his skin. It seemed almost as if he was drawing some sort of strength from the blaze. His pale scales drinking from the blue flames, turning iridescent for a bit just like the inside of his egg, before settling into a deep red. He must have sensed me staring because he lifted his head to stare back with piercing orange eyes. The gaze snapped me out of whatever trance watching his scales had put me in. Was this animal dangerous? Probably. But could I afford a huge gas bill this month? No, that was out of the question. "Up! Up, up, up!!! Get off of there you mongrel!" I shouted as I approached the stove, minding my broken plates, and banging a toe on one of the many pots on the floor. Using the towels I brought I, I grabbed the stove knobs one by one and shut off the fire. This did not please my unwanted guest at all, and he began to unfurl itself as he hissed in protest. Curled up he was maybe a meter across, but in his annoyance, I became frightfully aware of how large this creature was. Its body may have been only a meter, but the long powerful looking tail attached to him spilled onto the floor and easily doubled his size. As he rose, he stretched out a pair of leathery wings that were probably four meters from tip to pointed tip. A sharp tapping noise made me painfully aware of the nasty talons he had on all four feet. A snort returned my attention to his head which was adorned with horns and a mouth full of tiny daggers. He screeched. I yelped. And as he lunged at me, I slipped on the wet mess beneath me throwing up the towels I had brought. My fall probably saved me from a world of much worse pain as the lizard ran into the towels instead; tangling himself in them as his leap carried him across my kitchen island and into a wall. The impact shook more things loose, and my future self just got a much larger mess to clean up. Clawing my way back onto my feet, I turned to where the beast had landed. Thankfully, his frustration was no longer directed towards me as he now struggled with the towels that now ensnared him. He looked almost cute fighting with the garments like one of those cats walked into a plastic bag. My admiration of the fight was broken by a bowl that rolled across my island, spilling flour as it did. *If I don't stop him now, I'm going to spend the whole weekend renovating this place.* I thought. "Hey! Quit it!" I barked at the writhing mess of scale and towel. Much to my surprise, he appeared to listen and stopped his struggle. The lizard peered at me through a towel covering part of its snout, looking almost disappointed that I was angry with him. *If that was possible,* I thought. I made my way over to the creature, squatting down in front of him. He no longer appeared frustrated, and in an act that could have cost me my arm, I slowly reached towards his head. Luckily for me, all he did was watch as I removed the towel covering his snout. I met those piercing orange eyes again; their slits widened and shrank as the creature looked me over. "Well we can't have you on the floor, now can we?" I asked him. The lizard tilted its head almost as if it agreed with me. Carefully and slowly, I placed my hands around him in a manner that would grant me the proper leverage and began to rise. The creature was surprisingly light, and as I stood his arms hugged me back. Not wanting to risk trashing more of my abode, I set him on the already messy kitchen counter. Like a cat, he sat down on his haunches, tail curled politely over his feet. Once he left my embrace however he began to shiver. *Ah, you must be cold-blooded! Well, raising the temperature won't cost me anything this time of year." I thought as I turned to my thermostat and turned up the heat a little. The increased temperature didn't do much to quell the lizard's shivering though, and the clattering of his claws on the granite continued. "I'm sorry but turning my stove into a mini hellfire for you again is off the table," I told him. "However, we might be able to fix your problem another way," I said as I picked up one of the towels strewn about the room. After a few tense moments of faffing about with the lizard's tail and wings, I had managed to use what towels I had to wrap him up into a little burrito. "With how much you remind me of a cat, I'm tempted to call you a purrito," I informed him. And as if to confirm my comparisons the creature chuffed in response. "Well, you just stay put and out of trouble right here while I give the good Doctor a call and figure out this mess, ok?" I told the lizard. Instead of agreeing with me this time, the creature whined and started to struggle in his cocoon. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm sorry but you've demonstrated that you're not ready to be set loose yet. This is just a temporary arrangement, ok? You'll get plenty of room in no time whenever you get sent to whatever reserve you belong at," I assured him. This, however, did not seem to satisfy the lizard, and his struggle continued. *I can't have him getting free and making a mess again. Ok, ok. Think. He’s a baby, right? He probably wants something. Um... lizards don't drink milk, do they? No, they don't. Ok, so maybe he's hungry! That must be it!* "Hold on one second, I'll get you something," I told him as I searched through the wreck of my kitchen for the venison that I intended to prepare tonight. I found my main course on the floor near the pot that once contained what I thought was an ostrich egg. Returning to the bundled-up lizard, I dangled the meat above his mouth. He stretched his neck and snapped up the cut whole, narrowly missing my fingers. I yelped again and inspected my hand for any damage. The lizard trilled happily as if he was laughing after a joke he had played on me. "Ahaha, very funny. You're a real joker, aren't you?" I gently scolded. "Well, try not to take off my hand while I feed you the rest, ok?" After tossing him all my former dinner, the creature nestled into his swaddle and fell asleep. Gently the purrito rising and falling gently as he breathed. I took the welcome much welcome calm to grab a sandwich from my fridge and make my way to my living room to collapse on my couch. After some much-needed nourishment, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet; searching through its contents until I found the card I was looking for. Punched in in purple and gold lettering was, "Doctor Anthony Burmak, Professional appraiser, exotic items vendor, and..." I read the business card aloud and trailed off as I noticed a descriptor that I was sure wasn't there when I received it. "Alchemist..." I finished. *Of course, this guy is some sort of kook and sold me a weird lizard egg when I went in. Ugh, I should have known better than to buy an "ostrich egg," to try out. He’s probably some endangered species. No doubt I'll be put on a list or something for having bought it. Ugh.* I turned the card over where a phone number was punched in the same color scheme as the front. Beneath the number was a message encouraging customers to call at any hour. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the clock. *11:54 P.M. Doubt he'll be up, but it's worth a shot.* I dialed the number and anxiously hoped that he would pick up. Just as the seventh ring finished and I started to think I wouldn't get through, the phone on the other end clicked. "Hello? Is this Anthony Burmak?" I asked. "Yes, this is **Doctor** Anthony Burmak speaking. Mister Kareem, I presume," a staticky voice responded. "Right, Doctor. My Apologies. Listen, I know it's late and you must be getting ready to close up shop so-" "Oh no, it's not too late at all! I always pride myself on my customer service. Is this about the ostrich egg? I told you you'd want to buy more than one. They are quite delectable after all!" the Doctor interrupted. "No, it's not about the ostrich egg. Well, actually it is. Look, I think-" "I'm sorry to say I used whatever eggs I had left for my supper, but I can assure you that I'll have a fresh shipment on Monday! I'll make sure you get first pick!" the Doctor continued. "**Look!** I don't mean to be rude Doctor, but I've had one hell of a night. I think you sold me the wrong type of egg. It's... It's some sort of..." I had been hesitant to use the word, but now it only seemed appropriate. "I think you sold me a *dragon* egg. Err... Ok. That may be a tad bit crazy but he’s some sort of liz-" "Did you say *dragon*?" "Yeah, that sounds crazy now that I've said it aloud. He’s probably some sort of exotic lizard, could you just get this bef-" "Daegan, that buffoon! Mister Kareem, are you ok? Has it hatched? Where is it?" I was starting to get tired of the interruptions. "Yes Doc, I'm fine. He hatched maybe an hour ago when I was making dinner. Right now he’s on my kitchen island, I've fed him and swaddled him in a couple of towels to keep him warm. Listen, I really would appre-" "Has anyone else seen it? Have you told anyone else about it???" "No, it's just you and me who know about him, we're not in trouble with any authorities yet. Look, I would appreciate it if you could stop cut-" "I'll be there within an hour! Don't leave! Don't let anyone else see it! And don't let it out of your home!!!" "Doctor, you don't even know where I- *click* - Hello? Doctor? Burmak??? Oh great." I grumbled to myself sinking into my couch. I tried calling the number back to no avail. *Great, now my only hope at help is going to be running around the city and I have no way to get in touch with him. I glanced at the time on my phone again. *Midnight. Well, might as well get a head start on cleaning that kitchen.* I ducked into the kitchen again to make sure the one responsible for the mess was still asleep. Thankfully, their bundle rose and fell with the same rhythm assuring me they were still tuckered out. I didn’t want to risk waking him up while cleaning, so I picked gently up the… *The dragon.* I gently picked up the dragon. he stirred a bit in his swaddle but calmed down as I quickly began shushing. Carrying the dragon to the living room I gently placed him on the couch. Now that any I could safely begin cleaning, I walked back over to my sink and opened the basin drawer to fish for that box of cleaning supplies I kept. Forty-five minutes probably passed before I heard I light knocking on my front door. *Oh great! Who is it at this hour? Well, at least they didn’t use the bell* I passed by my couch to check on the dragon before making my way to the door. I unlocked it and cracked it open. “Hey… Dr. Burmak!” I exclaimed. Sure enough, the short, eccentric man was standing on my porch. He was shrouded in a brown cloak, no doubt wearing that weird tan tunic underneath, and carrying a carpetbag. His tanned, square face was slightly wrinkled with smile lines and crow’s feet. *He certainly smiled a lot at his emporium when I was there.* I couldn’t tell how old he was, but his head was surprisingly thick with fading brown hair. If he wore a toupee, he did a damn good job hiding it. “Hello Mister Kareem, I’m glad to see you’re doing alright. May I come in?” “Hmmm, oh! Yeah, yeah! Please come in,” I unfastened my chain lock and opened the door all the way. “How did you know where I-” the Doctor brushed past me, placing his bag down to remove his cloak before picking it up again and placing his cloak on my coat rack, turning to me. “Please, where is the dragon?” The annoyance of being cut off paled in comparison to how stumped I was by the Doctor’s arrival. “Right, he’s sleeping on the couch,” I motioned for him to follow me to the living room. Just as I left it, the dragon still slept peacefully on my old couch. The Doctor sharply took in some air, “It’s magnificent!” “Yeah, he was quite the sight. Hey, um... Doctor what kind of ‘dragon’ is he. I’ve never seen a lizard like this before. I know there are those Komodo Dragons or whatever, are they related?” I inquired, slightly surprised I hadn’t been interrupted. Dr. Burmak waved his hand dismissively. “No, no. This isn’t any ordinary lizard. This is an actual dragon. The kind that you would have heard about in stories and folk tales,” he responded. “But Doc, that’s crazy. Dragons… dragons aren’t real” I nervously laughed. Dr. Burmak glanced wryly towards me. Lying before us was a bona fide dragon. I had seen him sit atop flames like it was nothing, I saw his wings. For goodness sake, I had my hands all over him while wrapping him up in my towels. But still, it was like I needed someone else to say what I had been thinking the past few hours for it to truly register as true. “Oh boy. Oh boy!” I grabbed my temples. I searched for one of those foldable chairs I kept around so I could sit down and take it all in. “’ Oh boy,’ Indeed Mister Kareem,” responded the Doctor, placing his bag down and opening it. “There hasn’t been a dragon sighted in this world for almost three and a half centuries now. And for some strange reason, none of the eggs left would hatch either. I had always assumed that it was in part due to the strange energy flow over the past century. But clearly, there was also some sort of mana factor that I-” “This world? Centuries? Planet-mana whatchamacallit? Doc, what are you talking about?” This time it was my turn to cut him off. The Doctor stopped talking to himself and rummaging through his bag to look at me, “Ah yes, this must be all very, very overwhelming for you.” “Ya think?” He chuckled, “Yes, my bad. Now tell me, Mister Kareem, ha-“ “’ Mister,’ makes me feel old Doc, please just call me Kareem.” “Alright then. Kareem, has anyone else become aware of the dragon in the time it took me to get here?” “No… no. It’s still just you and me.” “Excellent, I’ll leave you to your thoughts while I perform a quick check-up on our little friend here.” I quietly observed as the Doctor pulled out a leather-bound notebook and flipped over to some pre-marked page. He then pulled out a variety of tools from the bag and organized them on the couch next to the sleeping dragon. He took what appeared to be a thermometer and stuck it gently into the dragon’s slightly ajar maw. He recorded measurement and went to remove the tool, but despite his deliberate movements, the baby awoke. Seeing a strange man leering over it, the baby began to wriggle and whine again. I quickly stood up to comfort it. “Shhhh. Shhhhh. It’s ok. He’s a friend, it’s ok. He won’t hurt you.” I comforted the dragon, patting its swaddle. Thankfully, the baby calmed down, and instead took an interest in the new room it was in. “Hah, it’s almost like he can understand me, Doctor. I think you should be able to get back to work on him. He doesn’t seem very aggressive. Nothing like the dragons I read about in stories as a kid.” The Doctor picked up another tool, “Yes well, stories and legends do tend to get a bit out of hand. Also, **she,** can understand you. Well, to an extent. Communication will improve later down the line.” “Back up a second Doc, how do you know what gender he… err… she, is? Also, what do you mean ‘later down the line,’ aren’t you taking hi-*her,* with you?” Dr. Burmak continued to work as he explained, “A dragon’s gender is determined by the temperature the egg is incubated at.” “Like an alligator?” “Exactly! Now, I doubt your stove can produce high enough temperatures necessary to hatch a male dragon, so she must be female.” The dragon trilled as if to approve of the Doctor’s statements. “Now, as for my statements about the long run, this dragon has imprinted on you. You are, as far as she is concerned, her guardian. Now, I would have much more preferred it if she had hatched closer to my emporium among other things, but for now, she will have to remain in your house. It’s too risky to try and transport her at this time.” “Now, here is a short manual I compiled for you before I left, it should cover everything you might immediately need to know about caring for your new charge,” the Doctor took out a small notebook and pressed it into my hands. “It is of utmost importance that you do not let anyone else know this creature exists, as well as make sure it stays out of sight and in your house until I can find an appropriate housing solution.” Dr. Burmak then reached into his bag to pull out a sack, “These are some supplies that I think you’ll need. The manual will explain what each item is and is used for, you should have enough in here to last you the weekend,” he said handing me the heavy sack. “Now then,” He stood up. “While I would love to stay and help you get acclimated to your new responsibilities, I’m afraid I have to rush back. There are many things I must prepare for given recent events, as well as a ward I must scold for being careless with handling merchandise. Best of luck Kareem, I will be in touch with you soon.” Before I could ask any more questions, Dr. Burmak had packed his belongings, retrieved his cloak, and started on his way back to his emporium. I sat down, trying to process the sudden torrent of information and turn of events. The dragon looked at me, still swaddled in her towel burrito she began to purr. I returned her orange gaze. *Well, it's not like I had anything exciting planned this weekend anyways.* Getting up, I plopped down on the couch next to her. Her purring became more intense. I scratched her muzzle, “You sure you’re not related to cats somehow?” I asked her. She chuffed in response. I wasn’t exactly sure if it was a chuff of agreement this time. “Well, I’ve got some reading to do, mind keeping me company?” She trilled, and I knew exactly what she meant this time.


# Stueber Stueber - The Invisbility Cloak Experiment Kurzmann and Hanzel dragged the cloak over the rickety old car, although crumples could be perceived, the light was clearly being bent around the car as it vanished from sight. A few more adjustments and it was perfect. “Eureka! We did it! One hundred percent light masking,” said Kurzmann. Kurzmann was a strange amalgamation, he basically resembled Einstein in every way, however he was about thirty years too young to resemble the prime-time Einstein everyone thinks of, and his south west asian skin type further threw off his dreams of being basically Einstein. His colleagues would often tell him Einstein was revered for his work, but Kurzmann felt if he emulated the look, perhaps his work would soon reach similar heights. “If we can replicate this and upscale production, just think what we could achieve!” Hanzel nodded while checking off something or other on his clipboard. He was a rather plain man who exuded an aura of absolute, stoic focus. It was easy to tell that the cogs of his mind were turning rapidly, yet he was one of few words. “Next stage?” he postulated out loud. “You heard the man Stueber! Commence field testing!” The invisible car started up, the engine noise certainly wasn’t masked, that is something they would have to work on. The car moved but there was absolutely no sight of it from the outside, despite not being close fitting the cloak seemed to be doing miraculous work. All was going well until the first junction, a car turned the corner and collided with the invisible car, only instead of there being a monumental crash, this previously visible car disappeared! The two visible scientists’ jaws hit the floor and their eyes widened in unison. “That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Yelled Kurzmann. He ran over to where the collision occurred and called out for Stueber. The car’s engine was promptly turned off and the sheet shifted as Stueber opened the door and stepped out from under it. Stueber was a flamboyant looking man. Long black hair streaked with grey and a neat beard adorned his face. He looked like he would be perfectly at home at a photo shoot or hosting an interior design show on television. “Blimey that wasn’t what I expected,” said Stueber. Hanzel was already surveying the area. He poked all around at the sheet with his clipboard, mentally marking out the limits of it’s exterior. Despite a full circle of the car there appeared to be no signs of the missing collided car, he looked at Kurzmann with a shrug. “Stueber! This was your invention,” started Kurzmann, clearly trying to distance himself from a perceived failure.”It’s supposed to bend light, not reality!” “Calm your tits mate,” said Stueber. He himself poked at the point where the car had vanished. “Look, it’s not vanishing me when I touch it, it’s gotta be an effect that’s linked to relative velocities, right?” Hanzel finally interjected “Is anyone at all concerned that we may have in fact killed a person?” Stueber had already paced back quite a distance, he then proceeded to run at the car. “Stueber!” Kurzmann yelled in the background with a reprimanding tone as Stueber leapt towards the car at a full sprint. \*\*\* There was no collision, no crash, Stueber emerged alone, the car was gone, as were his colleagues. He looked up as he saw them emerging from the building. It was the car with the invisibility sheet all over again, only this time it was slightly visible. If it was only seen out of the corner of your eye you might miss it, but looking directly at it, it was clear \*something\* was there this time. Again, the car approached the turning, Stueber this time yelled out “Watch out for that car!” The collision still happened, but this time it was an actual crash, two cars colliding, albeit not at high speed. Stueber ran over, “You alright in there mates?” he said to both vehicles. By now Kurzmann and Hanzel had approached. “Wait, if you’re here, who is in the vehicle?” said Hanzel perplexedly. Out stepped Stueber from the vehicle. For clarity's sake, this one shall now be known as Car Stueber. “Alright mate,” said Stueber to Stueber in unison. Neither seemed particularly surprised at the fact they were staring at their dimensional duplicate, it was as if this was a regular day at the lab. Even Kurzmann was speechless this time, his and Hanzel’s eyes traced from one Stueber to the other for a good half a minute. Finally Hanzel broke the exchange and walked off to the second car, presumably to discuss insurance. Kurzmann finally spoke up: “What the hell have you two done?” Stueber explained how the first experiment had gone, and how he got here. Kurzmann nodded along at the tale, once done, he paced back and forth, postulating. “So.. it would seem that your cloak was more effective, and that must be why yours had this effect and not ours… but how can we possibly reverse the effect? Do we have to invert the light? Why did it even happen in the first place? This makes no sense.” Kurzmann stopped his pacing and looked towards the two Stuebers for their, even if limited, insights. Kurzman’s eyes widened and his brow furrowed “Would you two bloody well stop kissing!” A murmuring of agreement was heard, but they continued. “Stop kissing yourself god damnit!” Finally they stopped. Hanzel had returned just now. Neither Stueber showed any remorse at the matter, they looked quite pleased. Under Kurzmann’s incredulous glare Stueber finally felt pressured to say something: “Ah come on mate, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it? Besides, I just wanted to know if I was a good kisser.” Stueber smirked and looked to Car Stueber with a knowing smirk “It turns out I am.” Car Stueber spoke up: “Did hear what ya said though, maybe we just fix the shield using this handsome man’s help and send him through again, if it’s a two-way mirror it might just send him back to where he was.” Hanzel spoke up dryly: “And if it doesn’t, some other reality will have two Stuebers and we will only have one.” “See! Perfect,” said Stueber. “If it doesn’t work then we try something new, I’m sure whatever reality I end up in will still have you fine gents in it to get the job done.” This gentle massaging of his ego was enough for Kurzmann to nod his approval of the plan. Modifications were in due course made, and Stueber commenced his run again. \*\*\* Another tumble, and Stueber found himself in similar surroundings to his last jump. He glanced to his side, and cursed out loud. Stueber glanced at Stueber, presumably himself from earlier. Stueber sighed out loud, and then yelled his warning again about the incoming car. Soon the three Stuebers would be reunited as before, and their colleagues would arrive. “Right, let’s get this up to speed. Firstly, I’m Stueber, you’re Car Stueber, you’re Past Stueber. Secondly, because I know you two lads are thinking about it, we already kissed when I was Past Stueber, and you are a fucking great kisser.” Both alternate Stuebers smiled, nodded their heads and said “Nice…” “So right, the sheet seems to be some kinda reality shifting, time travelling shizmabob. This reality aint mine or Past Stuebers, I know this because Car Stueber’s sheet is shite. Also this is clearly taking me back in time because I’m now here twice. But I’ve got a plan, oi, Hanzel, give me your clipboard and pen please mate. “ Hanzel pulled his clipboard closer to himself and looked at Stueber as if he had just asked for his kidney. He glanced between the Stuebers and finally concluded that this situation was absurd enough to momentarily give up his beloved clipboard. “‘I’ll want it back - and only use blank sheets please”. “Won’t matter mate, at least if all goes to plan.” Stueber set about writing a note, and crafting the A4 piece of paper into a paper aeroplane. Then he set about fixing the sheet. Once done, he had Car Stueber drive the car at high speed, before he threw the paper aeroplane at the sheet. Kurzmann, who had been quite the muted version of himself due to the absurdity of the whole thing and Stueber’s surprising assertiveness finally spoke up. “So what did you do?” “Well I figure these realities are linked - I also figure the faster something goes through, the earlier it’ll arrive. Figurin’ that because I went ever so slightly faster the second time and got here a couple o’ seconds earlier. If I stop Car Stueber from finishing the sheet, stop the link, we all fade away to not ever happening.” Car Stueber and Past Stueber spoke up “But.. then the Remaining Stueber will never know..” “Oh.. he’ll know.. He’ll know.” Said Stueber with a smirk. \*\*\* It was the night before, Past Car Stueber was doing the finishing touches to his cloak design, when a paper aeroplane nicked at his ear. He opened it and the message read: *Dear Past Car Stueber.* *Please do not complete the invisibility cloak, it opens a pan dimensional time rift and causes all sorta trouble.* *P.S got to meet another Stueber, can confirm you are a damn fine kisser.* *Keep on being awesome* *Yours Sincerely.* *Stueber.* \*\*\* “How do we know it worked?” Said redundant timeline Kurzmann, “do we just fade away?” Stueber shrugged. \*Poof\* It turned out that was the sound of a timeline vanishing, who would have known.


The Last Planet (1,095 Words) -AR Mirabal We’re nearing the end now, or is it the beginning? We’ve been floating in the dead of space for so long now, it feels like the universe’s already come to a close. Our biggest folly has always been arrogance, but it’s also the driving force that’s gotten us this far. Starting as single-celled organisms swimming in primordial goo, we ascended to the height of heights; no nebula too far, no sun unconquered. Our unrelenting will to fight-on, to surpass the legacies left by our ancestors, has evolved us past the physical plane into a collective consciousness of energy. We’ve weathered countless super novas, seen what lies through a black hole, even mastered the looms of time; we’ve outlived everything else, we’re the last planet. Just as we’ve predicted in our infancy however, the end comes with a whimper not a bang. The light’s dying. Only a couple stars remain in all the cosmos, and soon those will die too. Dueling supermassive black holes and lingering asteroids are all that’s left in the starless void. The last chapter for life in the universe, after all our strife and resilience, is a long and dry death; but we won’t go gently. Projections of our energy-forms flood the fabrics of space, collecting data and piecing it all together in every possible variable combination till we crack the last secret this universe holds; there has to be a way to save the light. Our planet is the last beacon of hope, the final bastion against the darkness. Warmed by three artificial suns, each siphoning the remaining latent energies that still scarcely linger, the planet floats in frigid isolation. Like our physical flesh, the planets soil is made of nanite-rich organic bionetics; a living, breathing commutative intelligence. Long ago now, when the sky still had stars, we infected the infant planet like a plague; hollowed it out and corrupted it, formed it in our image. Now left with only the blackness of the void, we defiantly stand in unison and plot our survival. The problem is, we’ve exhausted this universe to its limit; we’ve manipulated the curvature of time, peered into higher dimensions, but still there’s no answers in sight. It’s seeming that this problem may not have a solution, this may be where life has to end. There is, however, one bell that’s yet to be rung. A last ditch effort resulted in the creation of another artificial moon, the largest satellite to date; named Umbra. It’s purpose is to simulate endless universes simultaneously. Broken up into clusters, each cluster is separated by slightly varying parameters; the clusters contain countless universes and each universe is accompanied by an infinite alternate copies. Studying all those simulations, we hope to find the missing piece of the puzzle that’s eluded us in reality. I’m hopefully this will at the very least be an interesting experiment. v.0.1 The pilot experiment was deemed a failure; the parameters were set too delicately, it was too perfect. It didn’t resemble the chaos of our own enough to give us any type of value information. This will be noted and improved in the second iteration. v.0.2 The experiment was a great success but some unforeseen circumstances caused the data to be corrupted. While we got the parameters right and the data was reflective of our own universe, it appears that something in the program became sentient and started talking to one of the projections that was operating the simulation. v.0.3 This...will be the last iteration. The experiment, in respect to our original goal, was a success; but it brought us no solace. This third version fixed all the flaws of its predecessors and got us the data we thought we wanted. What we didn’t foresee was that the same equations we derived for the salvation of light for a simulated reality, worked for our reality too. It’s possible we’re in a simulation ourselves. Obsessively reviewing the data we received, we’re been able to pinpoint structural similarities between space-fabric anomalies and realize that this isn’t the first time this has happened. It seems life truly is resilient to a fault; we’ve dealt with this problem in the past, the dying of the light. When we didn’t find the answer before, we projected the last of our dying essences into a fixed point in the bleak void; a maelstrom of our bitter resolve. In it, a fully new universe bloomed, existing (then dying again) in the finals breaths of the original universe. Within the copy, scattered remnants of the previous life survived; it was a place for them to reset and experience all of evolution once more before the light died. Whats more alarming is that it’s impossible to pinpoint the origin. Mathematically speaking the first universe, a four-dimensional object, was copied; creating a three-dimensional ‘shadow’. From the perceptive of lesser evolved entities, it’s similar to how a two-dimensional shadow is created from light casting onto a three-dimensional object. These ‘shadows’, however, aren’t few; they’re many. I’m reflective of my original passage into this journal as I inscribe this now. “Our biggest folly has always been arrogance,” I didn’t know then just how true those words rang. It seems that these copies are endless; when the initial copy’s time was done, and it’s light too started to die, another copy was created in the final moments of the previous. The line seems to go on forever too, all on borrowed time; all too reluctant to except that it’s over. I’m the last of my race to remain here; the rest have pooled the last of their energies to create yet another shadow and are projecting themselves into it now. Watching them in bitter contemplation, I see the last bits of light stretch across the black canvas of space as disípese into a fading dot. I’m now the last thing living, on the last planet; it’d be an interesting title if it weren’t so meaningless at the moment. I’ve decided to inscribe a portion of my energies with this journal entry and send that into the projection instead. Perhaps something can at least find some entertainment out of this. The frigid tendrils of the void now wrap around me. The artificial suns orbiting us have died a flickering death and the bitter chill of solitude is beginning to strangle me. Soon, so shall I parish like the stars, a relatively noble passing. It’s been a long time coming and I refuse to face my end with fear; I’ll take it in stride instead. We’ve lived long enough.


Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. “Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.” She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.” “Wow! That’s really nice of you!” I exclaimed. She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.” “But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked. “Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied. I scratched my head. “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?” The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.” Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?” Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple pounds. She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.” As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.” The moral: It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses and worries. No matter what happens during the day, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the night and into the next day with you. If you still feel the weight of yesterday’s stress, it’s a strong sign that it’s time to put the glass down.

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank. As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish. The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up. This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm. The moral: Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.

After spending nearly every waking minute with Angel for eight straight days, I knew that I had to tell her just one thing. So late at night, just before she fell asleep, I whispered it in her ear. She smiled – the kind of smile that makes me smile back –and she said, “When I’m seventy-five and I think about my life and what it was like to be young, I hope that I can remember this very moment.” A few seconds later she closed her eyes and fell asleep. The room was peaceful – almost silent. All I could hear was the soft purr of her breathing. I stayed awake thinking about the time we’d spent together and all the choices in our lives that made this moment possible. And at some point, I realized that it didn’t matter what we’d done or where we’d gone. Nor did the future hold any significance. All that mattered was the serenity of the moment. Just being with her and breathing with her.


Elisya Shuzuki hoisted her backpack higher on her shoulders. She walked down the streets of her hometown, San Francisco. It was afternoon, and she had just gotten out of school. Elli stopped at the crosswalk and hurried across. She strolled into her favorite hangout, Bella’s Bistro. She walked over to her usual booth in the corner and sat her bag on the seat, plopping down beside it. She opened up her bag and rummaged through the mess, looking for her homework. A waitress walked over to Elli, opening up her notepad.

“The usual?”

“Yes, please. Thank you Olivia” Elli pulled out her homework folder and opened it. A groan came out of her when she saw the huge pile of papers. Better get to work. She thought.

Olivia came over and set down her food. Elli thanked her and sipped her root beer float. Her eyes wandered out the window to the wall of the next building. She was surprised to find a strange mark there. “Olivia!” Elli called. The waitress made her way to the back.

“What can I do for you?” The tall brunette asked.

“When was that symbol put there? It wasn’t there yesterday.” “What symbol?” Olivia sounded confused. Elli pointed out the window to the building.

“That mark right there.” “There’s nothing there sweetie.” “You don’t see it?” Olivia shook her head. “Oh. Sorry for bothering you.” “You feeling okay?” Elli nodded. “Okay then. Enjoy your food.” She walked away. Elli stared out the window, wondering what the image of a shattered star was doing on the building.

While Elli walked back home, she paused to stare at an old abandoned apartment building in front of her. Drawn on the side of the building was the same image as earlier: the shattered star. And she was the only one who seemed to notice it. As she lay in bed that night, she thought about the strange sign she had seen in two different places today. Elli yawned. It had been a long day. As she continued to think, she drifted off to sleep.

Elli looked around. She was in a beautiful city. The buildings were all clean. The streets looked freshly paved. The city was covered in shimmering gold and pristine white. Confused and amazed, she slowly walked down the street. It was impossible to believe that this place was real. It simply couldn’t be. It seemed...magical. Elli took a deep breath. Even the air seemed too clean. A rumble sounded in the distance. She turned around to see...darkness. There was no other word to describe it. It was the blackest black she’d ever seen, darker than a raven against the night sky. It was a void of nothing. It seemed to be moving forward, moving towards her. She turned to run, but she was stuck in place.The darkness came at her, moving faster and faster. “HELP! Somebody help me!” Nobody came. It was just her, alone, against the darkness. It swooped over the city, consuming the pristine buildings. It swallowed up everything in its path. It barreled towards her and Elli braced herself. She waited to be swallowed up, and then...nothing. She opened her eyes. There was a burning symbol in front of her, holding it back. She gasped. It was the shattered star. She turned to go when she heard a smash. The burning star had disappeared. She tried to when the darkness came over her, consuming her until she was nothing. Elli jerked upwards. She sat in her bed, gasping for air. “It was just a nightmare. Nothing important.” She told herself. Still, she couldn’t help wondering about the shattered star. Why did it keep appearing everywhere? What was her dream about? Most importantly: What did it all mean? Later that day, in school, Elli was walking through the hallway. Her head was down, as usual, not looking at anyone or anything. She turned a corner and ran straight into someone. Her books fell everywhere, same as theirs. She picked up all her books and started to pick the other person’s books up. She gathered a few then stood up to hand them over. She paused. The person she had run into was a tall boy, with black hair that flopped over his midnight blue eyes.

“Hi, I’m Jack.” He said.

“I’m Elisya, but I go by Elli.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Elli. Where are you going?” Jack asked. “Algebra” Was her response. “I’m headed to Science. Not a huge fan. Unless we get to blow stuff up-that’s cool.” Jack smirked. Elli grinned. “I love blowing things up!” “You sound like a very intelligent person.” Jack looked at her book. “Sword of Crows? I love this book!”

“You’ve read Sword of Crows? Who’s your favorite character?” Elli was astonished. Jack was the only person she had ever met who read that book. “Blaze is definitely my favorite. Alvara is really cool, too.” “Alvara is my favorite. She is such a strong character.” Elli agreed. The warning bell rang. “We better get to class.” Elli said, disappointed.

“Yeah. It was great to meet you. We’ll have to get together some time. See you later, Elisya.” Jack headed down the hallway to his class. Elli did the same. She got to her desk just as the bell rang.

“How nice of you to join us, Miss Suzuki,” Her teacher, Mrs. Peters said. “We will be on page 394 in our textbooks.” Elli obediently sat down and opened her book to the correct page. She stifled a gasp. On the page was a small scrap of paper. On it was the shattered star, with the words Beware. We will be watching. Avoid the nothingness. Elli clutched her backpack tighter. She had skipped going to Bella’s today. Right now, she just wanted to get home as fast as she could. The shattered star had been on her mind all day.

She couldn’t figure out how she was the only one who could see it. And how it kept appearing everywhere. Or how it got in her Algebra textbook. The whole thing gave her a creepy and ominous feeling, like something bad was going to happen.

Elli turned down a street and there, on the side of a building, was the shattered star. Under it was an arrow and the words Come. There is danger. written on it. Elli hesitated, but her curiosity got the better of her.

She turned down the alley the arrow pointed to. She walked until there wasn’t much light left. She turned around, but she couldn’t see the way she had come in. Panic set in. How would she get out? What should she do? What was happening? Thoughts swarmed her brain, overwhelming her, when a bright light shoved them all away. There in front of her, was the burning image of the shattered star, hovering in midair.

“Welcome.” A deep voice said. “We are glad you are here.” Elli looked for the source of the voice, but found nothing.

“Yes.” A female voice this time. “Without you, we stand no chance.” “Who are you? Where are you? A chance against what?” Elli screamed. A flash of light. Then, in front of her, stood two cloaked figures. The male spoke again. “Why, a chance against the nothingness, of course.” “What?” Elli was confused. “Who are you?” The girl spoke again. “We are some of your only allies.” “Why would I need allies?” Elli asked. “Because,” spoke the man, “You are the only one who can defeat the nothingness.” “The only one who can save us all.” The girl said. “The only one who can save the world.” The man followed. “And the only one who can wield the shattered star, the one force that can stand against the nothingness.” The girl finished. “So come with us. Come, and save the world.” The man held out a hand, waiting for Elli to come.

“It is the only way.” The girl said. “You must come, or the world will be destroyed.”