! "#$!%&#'(#)*!+,-!.(#/01! 2%345!2534672! Murder in the Arctic By: Taylor Butterbaugh

“Um, excuse me, I asked you a question,” I was tired from traveling from France only a day ago, and now I was being interviewed by a big man with a short, stubby beard. “I’m sorry, what was the question?” I asked, still half asleep. “Where have you worked before?, was the question” the man said shortly. “At the NSSA,” I replied, uneasily. “Yes, that’s right. You are quite the traveler, aren’t you? France, Australia, Antarctica, Europe, South America, Asi–,” “Am I hired?” I quickly interrupted, without hesitation. “You have much experience, so I think you will make a great employee here at Inventors of Today! Allison, show Scott around.” I stared in amazement at the woman coming towards me who had blond waves bouncing up and down on top of a perfect figure. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, all perfect . . . If only she knew.

“Please get Mr. Bilanto a drink Allison,” said the man. Allison, the perfect name, beautiful. “Right away sir,” replied Allison. “What would you like Mr. Bilanto?” asked Allison. “Just a glass of Seltzer water, and please, Allison, call me Scott,” I replied. “Okay, er, Scott is it? I’ll be back in just a minute,” Gulp. The Seltzer water tingled on my tongue as the cool water tickled down my throat. I was hungry for a burger, so I checked the time on my watch, it was almost lunchtime, and looked at myself in the window. Man, did I look bad. Well, it was a Monday, so you couldn’t blame me. My black suit all wrinkled from being in my suitcase, my hair frizzy from the plane, and my black dress shoes still covered in mud from Africa. I was thinking about how long I may have been here, maybe two hours, when the man interrupted my thoughts. “Mr. Bilanto, you can get started tomorrow. I’ll see you then. Good night Scott,”

As I headed home I kept thinking about Allison–I shouldn't have, but I just couldn’t help it. That same night, she showed up in all my dreams, her eyes still.

“Allison, I wanted to know if you would be interested in taking Scott along with you on your study. He has a lot of experience, he might be helpful,” I heard the man say as I came in the next morning. I hid behind the open door listening to the conversation. I’m pretty good at this, considering my background. “Uh, well, I guess I could. . . .but it might be better for just me to go, if you don’t mind sir, you know, a solo study? It just might work better that way–you have to remember, we are dealing with wolves,” Allison answered. “Please Allison,” said the man. I couldn’t believe it! I thought Allison was as interested in me as I was in her. I thought I could tell by the look in her eyes. I would never go on any study with her! Or maybe it would be the perfect opportunity.

“Mr. Bilant–,” asked Allison as I was walking down the hall of the invention lab staring at all of the sparks flying and noises sounding. “Scott,” I interrupted “Yes, Scott, how would you like to join me on a study?” Allison asked unenthusiastically. “It’s about wolves. Well, here sit down while I explain,” said Allison as she pointed to a wing-back chair behind me. I plopped down onto the fluffy cushion and was curious about the study. Allison and the man had never really said anything about it in their talk this morning. “I am going to be in Antarctica for a few months studying how wolves react in the wild when the human species is around. It will be very cold, and I will be there for a long time. It will probably be very boring to you, and their are many dangers in this. Please do not think you have to go, because you really don’t. I just thought I might ask, and again you do not have to go,” explained Allison. “Hm, I would have to think about it. . . . ,” I said. I knew Allison thought I was going to say no. I could tell by the expression on her face. “You know what? I think it will be fun in Antarctica! Why shouldn’t I go?” I threw her off. She stared at me like she had just found out I was her long-lost brother, then gave me the evil eye. “Great. I’ll be going then. Meet me at the airport tomorrow at 4:30 in the morning. I already have everything set up,” Allison shot back like a snake. And with that she left me looking blankly in her direction. I couldn’t believe I was going to have to spend a few months with her. Or maybe not. I could make it shorter.

We got on the small plane to Antarctica, which had few people. The flight was pretty silent, considering what had happened yesterday with Allison and I. “What’s wrong?” I asked, not actually caring. I was just building her trust. “Look,” said Allison sharply, “I didn’t really want you to go on this trip anyways, so if you can just shut up and mind your own business, we won’t have a problem. Get it? Got it? Good.” She gave me the silent treatment the rest of the plane ride.

When we got to Antarctica, it was cold. I didn’t imagine how cold it would be, although it was winter. I could tell Allison was cold too, but I didn’t try to keep her warm. I went on a walk, by myself,(Allison was still upset) so I could think of what to do. I thought Allison might want some cool-down time. I wanted to do the thing I came here to do, but I thought maybe I should get her in a better mood. I decided to look for some dry wood, which was almost impossible, and shelter. In a big hole I found some dry wood. While I was pulling on the wood, I touched something warm, fuzzy, and breathing. I took the knife out of my pocket, carefully and slowly, and cut into the thing. I dragged it out, and was looking into the eyes of a beautiful doe. It was huge, and such I prize. I would use the skin for shelter, the meat for food for many nights, and the bones to make arrows for Allison and I. She would be proud. She would think of me as a hero.

“How could you kill the poor baby? The poor thing. He probably has a family to feed! I can’t believe you would do this!” Wow. I couldn’t believe it. Really? She was the hardest women to please. “I can’t believe you!”She screamed at me. I thought she must be a vegetarian. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I told her. “Sure you didn’t.” Allison didn’t talk to me for the rest of the night. I made a shelter, but Allison didn’t want to sleep in it. Especially with me. She slept outside at first, but I dragged her into the shelter and covered her in a bunch of blankets. She was shivering from head to toe, but she was a super heavy sleeper which made it easy. The next morning I warmed up some water from the frozen lake by the fire, and added the instant coffee I brought. I woke Allison up and handed her a cup of it. “Thank you,”said Allison hoarsely. “You are very welcome,” I replied. Allison sneezed straight after. “Here, take my jacket,” I told her reluctantly, “and bless you.” “Thanks, Scott,”she said smiling. “You know you can sleep in our shelter, right?” I told her. Allison got up, went to the shelter and said, “I’ll be back.” With that, she walked towards the woods.

She left me alone there for a while, and I tended to the fire. I didn’t know where she was going, most likely looking for wolves. That was the whole point of the trip. I began to get curious about the wolves myself, because we hadn’t seen any for the time we’d been there. Just at that moment, ironically, a few wolves came within 20 feet of our camp. I grabbed the journal out of Allison’s bag and jotted down a few notes. The sounds of Allison’s footsteps startled the wolves, but they still stayed close. Allison motioned me to get some food to sit out for the wolves. I had to giggle at her movements, which she even giggled at too. I had to be careful not to startle the wolves, and not to get too close to be in danger. I set the food out quietly and carefully. A few squirrels near the wolves ran loudly up a tree, and made the wolves run away. We were discouraged, but we kept the food out just in case.

I hadn’t time to think about what Allison had or was doing during the wolf incident, I was too distracted by the whole thing. But now she was carrying a huge buck. It was huge! The biggest one I had ever seen!–I was interrupted by my own thought. I thought Allison was a vegetarian. Why would she do this? “You like what I brought tom our home for dinner?” she asked me. “W-w-wait. I thought you were a vegetarian,” I said. “I play my jokes,” Allison laughed. “But why? I really thought I hurt your feelings,” I said, laughing too. “Common. Let’s eat,” said Allison, quickly changing the subject.

The buck was delicious, and Allison thought it was the best food in the whole world, because she hadn’t eaten my doe, and therefor hadn’t eaten in two days. We talked and talked about anything from work to animals, from Christmas to Hanukkah. We weren’t cold, we were both wrapped in a blanket, her in her pea coat, and me in my Columbia. We laughed and laughed all night long, and at one moment, when we were both staring into the fire, she lay her her perfect head on my shoulder with her sweet-smelling blond hair, and said, “I’m so glad you came.”

The next morning I awoke with a sweet face staring down at me. “Scott, look what I made!” I looked in amazement at the two pairs of deer hide skates Allison was holding. They were beautiful, and the blade was made out of the bone. “They’re beautiful!” I exclaimed. “Well come on silly! We have to go to the pond before the polar bears!” she said I jumped out of my suitcase and got dressed. We ran to the pond excitedly. “I used to always get out on the pond and skate for hours,”she told me. Allison was amazing. Her and I skated nicely together, which was really nice. It was very fun, too. We stopped for a break in the middle of the pond and Allison leaned in for a for a kiss. I was the best kiss I had ever had, but when I was coming out of it, I thought of something that I hadn’t in a while......

I remember reading the screen: Scott Bilanto, your mission is:kill Allison Sehr. Miss Sehr is a scientist for the Inventors of Today,IOT. We need to get the place out of business, and to do that, we need to kill all of the workers. Go to the Inventors of America headquarters, and get a job there. The research is done, and Allison will be going to Antarctica. Do everything you can to go with her, and this is when you will kill her. If you cannot complete this mission, you will no longer be part of the National Secret Spy Association, NSSA. Good luck. I couldn’t kill her now. Even if it meant no longer being a spy.

. . . . .

“Are you alright?” Allison asked me. “Yeah Ally,” that was my nickname for her, “What did you say?” “The wolves are over here sleeping!” she said. I couldn’t believe it! That was great news! The wolves were finally with us!` “Achoo! Cough, cough. Scotty, (that was her nickname for me)would you grab me a tissue?” asked Allison. “Bless you! Are you alright?” I asked Alison handing her a tissue, “Here, how about you lay down in our home. It sounds like you just have a cold. We don’t want you to get seriously sick though,” Allison agreed and got to sleep very fast, after I gave her some medicine and Vicks. I went out to the lake, broke of some ice, and started to fish. I was never going to kill Allison, and I knew it. She was special and different than I thought she would be. I got a decent sized fish to bring back to Allison. But when I got back to our home, I screamed in terror. The wolves had turned on us. Turned on Allison. I sobbed by her side and kissed her one last time, looked into her still eyes, and grabbed a knife. It was my last look at her. ,$P:DUQLQJ

Anything being said about Emily, burned at Kyla’s insides like a fire scorching a tree’s broad leaves. Emily had often gone looking for trouble when Kyla had told her not to. That’s one reason why people thought Emily disappeared. The muggy and humid waves of wind were slapping at Kyla’s face like a whip as she walked out into the storm. She hurried through the town that was cast in fog. She briskly walked past the closed, dreary shop windows. Kyla broke into an almost run when she passed the old, creaky, library. Nobody ever went inside except the old, and equally creaky, librarian. She passed the market that had hardly anybody in it. She took a quick glance at the tea shop, and the candle shop next door. Kyla started thinking where Emily might have gone. Emily always loved the pond on the other side of town. Kyla thought to look there first, before it got dark. There were shadows, cast across the bank from the willow trees, swaying in the breeze. Early afternoon fog set into the air. Kyla walked along the sandy bank and looked into the distance of the pond. It wasn’t very big, or deep, but just deep enough to have someone drown. Kyla could only imagine Emily swimming out to the middle. Emily would have started splashing around and she would have started sinking like a rock. Kyla brushed away the tears that started to fall from her eyes, as she thought about, poor, lost Emily. Kyla sat down on the cold ground and didn’t worry about getting sand on her clothes. Sheets of rain pounded at her face. It was starting to get dark outside and Kyla definitely did not want to be out in the rain, near this pond, after dark. How would she find her way home? She hadn’t thought to bring a candle with her for she thought she would be home before then. Kyla stood up abruptly, when she saw a small flickering light coming towards her. She started backing up to the nearest tree. The rain fell harder and her dark hair was growing heavier from being wet. She climbed up onto the smallest branch and she tucked her knees underneath her. The light was growing brighter, until Kyla could make out a hand and face holding it. The old man slowly walked towards her, carrying the lantern high above his head. He was very old and weary. The lantern started shaking in the wind, but the light did not blow out. He was at the bottom of the tree now and Kyla was not frightened anymore. She recognized him as the librarian. He was old and weathered up close. “Hello,” she said to the man. “Hello to you, Miss” he sighed. “Are you looking for something?” Kyla wasn’t sure to tell the old man or not. Maybe he could help her. But, perhaps he wanted to hurt her. Kyla decided to tell him. “Yes, sir. My best friend Emily disappeared and I want to find her. I thought she might have drowned, sir,” Kyla stuttered. The old man nodded. “And, what is your name?” he asked kindly. “Kyla, sir.” she sighed. His eyes looked distant and faraway. “Kyla, what a beautiful name,” he said in a trance. He snapped out of it and replied in a pleasant enough voice, “I am Chester Drewly, the librarian. But, you already knew that.” Kyla nodded. “I’m really upset, sir. I want to find her. I know I can,” Kyla whispered. “Do you want help finding her?” Chester Drewly asked. Lightning flashed over the pond and thunder boomed like a bomb dropping onto the land. Kyla didn’t even think about it. She wanted an adult helping that did not think Emily was dead. “Yes, sir. Please, sir.” Chester Drewly nodded. “Come, child. Let me take you home.” Kyla nodded and followed him into the descending darkness. Chester Drewly led Kyla past all of the dreary, little shops. Kyla stopped when they were in front of the library. She thought she heard someone whispering to her, and her alone. “Come and find us. Come and join us. Come closer. Come inside.” “Sir, do you hear those whispers?” “What whispers child? All I can hear is the rain pounding the street, and the distant sound of a horse carriage.” Kyla’s face fell. She followed Mr. Drewly to her house. He bade her good night and she ran up to her room. Her little brother was already asleep as she climbed up to the window to look out. The street was dark and empty. Chester Drewly seemed to have vanished into thin air. Kyla barely slept. She woke up at sunrise to a knock on the door. She raced downstairs to where her parents were sitting in the dining room. Another inpatient knock sounded through the house. “Are you going to get it?” Kyla asked her parents. They stared at her. “Get what?” Kyla’s mother asked as she threaded a new needle. “The door of course.” “Kyla, nobody is at the door.” Her father said. “Yes, there is!” she insisted. She ran out and flung open the wooden door. Mr. Chester Drewly stood there in his flannel shirt. “Hello, sir. Please, I will be right down after I put on my outdoor clothes.” He nodded and Kyla closed the door. “I told you,” Kyla said as she fled up the stairs to put on her clothes. “There isn’t a stranger child in all of Great Britain.” Kyla’s mother sighed. Her father nodded in agreement. Kyla pulled a puffy shirt over her head, and yanked matching trousers on. They used to be Emily’s but, Emily was normal sized. Kyla was very small. She glanced out of the window at Mr. Drewly standing on the front stairs before tearing down the stairs. Kyla and Mr. Chester Drewly walked around all day, and found no signs. It was nearly midnight when they decided to head back. The closer they got to the library, the louder the whispers became. “Sir, do you think we could stop into the library for a minute?” Kyla asked into the darkness of night. “Sure, child.” And he walked up to the door and unlocked it with his set of keys. Kyla stepped clumsily, into the musty smelling darkness. The floorboards creaked as Kyla stepped across them. She heard the whispers turning into shouts. They called to her. “Mr. Drewly?” No response. “Emily?” No response either. Kyla felt along the wall until she found a door. She opened it and walked inside. The ceiling was very low so, Kyla got down on her hands and knees. She crawled until she hit her head on the opposite wall. She felt and found a door. “Emily’s behind this last door,” Kyla said to herself. She took a sharp breath in and out. She raised her shaking hand to the frosty doorknob. The knob wasn’t a perfect circle. It was more of a skull shape in the middle of Kyla’s sweaty, palm. She held on tightly and turned until she heard a faint click over the sea of voices, screaming at her. She counted to ten. Kyla creaked the door open and uttered a faint cry, unheard by anyone, anywhere. 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 The Dream by Ryan Maholtz

Jack was tired but he knew that if he stopped running the creature would try destroy him like his wife. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind. His wife was running and then for no apparent reason she stopped. The evil creature gained on her and ripped her apart and Jack himself stood there motionless not even attempting to help. He approached his house and ran inside. He slammed the door shut with a loud slam and he woke. Jack laid in his bed, sweat rolling down his face, but covered in chills. He wondered if his nightmare would ever end. He didn’t even want to try to back to sleep knowing that when he did his dream would continue. He continued the routine that he did at least once every night. He went downstairs slowly into the darkness of the kitchen, fearing something would jump out. He heated a glass of milk and sat on the couch and cuddled up with his cat until he felt that it was time to go back up with his wife and sleep. He slowly put his glass in the dishwasher and made his way upstairs putting two feet on each step making his way as slowly as possible to delay the appearance of the dream. He slowly opened the door no to wake his wife who was so used to his nightly episodes that she was able to sleep through them. He said goodnight again and reluctantly went to sleep again.

_____

He panted heavily the zombie had called for back in the time he was hiding in his house. They surrounded him from all sides there was no way out except, up. He began climbing in the attic looking for the hatch to get on the roof. And then finally he found the bump on the ceiling. He climbed up but just as he got his head up he saw the zombies were on his roof to the truly made in so he couldn’t escape. He ran back to the living room to see something so unbelievable. He saw his wife. She was alive and well. She just stood there motionless watching TV she almost look like a statue. She was completely still and he nightgown didn’t move either. He called her name and she turned ever so slowly but didn’t respond with he normal “Yes, Honey” either. It was all very peculiar until he saw her dark green non-living face. And he awoke. “Honey, I had another dream. This was the worst yet” he shuddered as he turned in his bed to wake his wife. But she wasn’t there. He panicked. He didn’t know what to do. Should he go back to sleep and just expect her to come back or should he go looking for her. She is his true love so it would be wrong not to look for her. So, he grabbed a flashlight and got out of bed. Here we go again he thought. As he made his way down the hallway it seemed longer almost taunting him, making him feel scared like anything could happen. Just as he thought that his batteries in his flashlight died. Great, he thought, the bad dreams and my wife gone now this! Could this night get any worse? He entered the kitchen but his wife wasn’t there. He tried to find the light-switch and when he did he found it did nothing. “Of course the power’s out,” he muttered. He continued his search to the living room. He felt cornered. He felt like everything around him was leaning in towards him making him feel small. He was the king in a game of chess. He was in check moving on the board but with the same result, another check. The TV was on (which he didn’t understand considering the power was out) and she was lying on the couch. It seemed to out of the ordinary to him to see his wife watching T.V. in the living-room, at 12:00 midnight. Who does that? Then again he has been doing that every night for at least two months. Maybe she just had a bad dream too. “Hey honey,” He said softly, more scared than he intended,”What yaa do’in up so early?” She sat up and turned her head. But just her head it looked even more weird. Just as he caught her crazy red eyes she jump over the couch and almost knocked him to the floor.

______

His mind was racing, what was going on!? He didn’t understand at all! How is this even possible. This kind of stuff only happens in scary stories and his dreams. . .

His dreams! Could this just bee another dream. Just another nightmare of the night. As he tried to shake of the dream he realized he was on the floor now his wife on top of him. She was attacking him This couldn’t be a dream he realized he’s to easily scared. He would of woken up by now covered in sweat, just like normal. He new he would never wake from this dream because this time wasn’t asleep. “No, please, I love you! Don’t kill me!”

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It seemed as if the whole world was crying. Lightning struck the air and thunder shattered the air drowning out any other sound. Especially my mommy’s crying, I sat there in the big arm chair swallowed up by it’s cushions and blankets. Two lonely tears slid down my soft, round face as I stared out the window that was coated by droplets of rain making the outside world hazy. My mind wandered back to the day it happened. We were lying in front of the T.V. I was cuddled in my mommy’s arms feeling warm and safe. I didn’t understand why they all looked worried. Lines creased my fathers face and my brother was shaking. Suddenly it popped up. The numbers, my brother leaned forward staring at the T.V. intently. 2 That was the first number. My mother sucked in her breath, blue eyes blazing. My brother was shaking back and forth. I peered up at my daddy with curiosity burning in my gaze. But he did not glance down at me once, eyes glued to the screen. 0 Tears filled my mommy’s eyes and the warm comfortable room suddenly had a chill to it. The dark walls of our big house in the middle of Columbus, Ohio that usually gave me warmth now gave me nothing but coldness. My brother, Johnny was holding his breath dark hair hanging in his face the way he hated it. His cold blue eyes had fear shining through them. 4 My mom let out a small wail. 2-04. February 4th. My brother’s birthday. I looked at my dad, my eyes asking what it meant. But he was too busy hugging my brother, his face grave with eyes that showed no emotion. I knew it had to be bad since my daddy never looked this way. My brother held no tears in his eyes, only fear. My mommy wrapped her stiff arms around me and sobbed letting water gush down her cheeks. Her soft hands now aged with wrinkles stroked my light brown hair. I let myself remember that day sitting there in chair, no more than five years old. My daddy was off walking as he always does when things get bad. Yesterday my brother, Johnny Smith left. Away. To war. My brother and I always seemed like we had a connection despite our age difference. Him being 18 and my being only six years old. I was smart for my age, always seeming older. The weird thing is, I could always seem to tell what my brother was up to. I could feel his feelings, I’ve been trying to see him now, when he needs someone. But... nothing. New tears sprung up in my eyes and I buried my head into the cushions and closed my eyes letting the tears come. As I sat there staring into the old material the sun outside began to sink and the gloomy day turned into dusk. My daddy slid in the door quietly and headed upstairs without looking down to me and without dinner. In the past few days, I learned to care for myself up to the day when my brother actually left. It seemed like it was years ago when it was actually only days. It was estimated that he reached war tonight. My brother could die tonight. The idea filled my head and more water filled my eyes threatening to spill over the edge. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. “BOOM, Crash!” “Johnny, DUCK.” “Crash!” “Move Out!” The noises awoke me. There was still a faint glow of the sun on the horizon but it would soon be gone. Lights lit up the house in flashed, sounds filled the house, gunshots and shouts. And his voice, my brother’s voice calling out in the night. “Johnny,” I called out desperately. “Where are you, Johnny.” I got up and frantically searched the house as the sounds went on and on. Every room had them, echoing off the walls and seeping into my head. I sat in the corner curled in ball and cried. The lights blinded me and the sounds deafened me. I couldn’t stand it anymore and scrambled out the heavy front door into the black night. As I looked back at the house you could see the shadow of people. Lots of them. Fighting. The figure of Johnny came up big and tall with a gun aimed at another man. Without another glance, I ran down the dark street coldness biting at my back.

As dawn approached, I crept back into the dark house. To my surprise my mommy was sitting at the table. “Lila,” she explained in astonishment. “You look dreadful. Come, take a bath, warm yourself by the fire.” I looked at her in confusion. “Mommy, you’re better.” “Oh, sweetie. I was fine the whole time, I just needed some time.” She laughed slightly, eyes sparkling but I could see the sadness behind them that she hid so well. The day passed normally without mention of Johnny and my mommy was back to normal but as dusk fell I grew scared again. What if the sounds came back? What if they were worse? And come they did. Not worse, but all the same, they were back. I couldn’t stand it, my head spun. How could Johnny stand it? The sounds of war, or the feeling. What if he died? What if it was too much for him like it was too much for me? And like the last night, I turned and ran. The sounds went on, night after night. Weeks passed and I never got a wink of sleep running every night. But I felt guilty. What if I was leaving Johnny every time I ran. Leaving him alone in war? A knock sounded on the door early one morning after one of my night adventures. My mother’s head shot up at the sound. I ran happily towards the door. Hoping for who? Johnny? My daddy held me back. And cautiously approached the door. When it swung open, the sun streamed in and revealed two soldiers. A thin yellow piece of paper held in one gruff hand. “No,” My mommy breathed shaking her head furiously. “No, you’re wrong.” But the soldier only nodded and look solemnly at my daddy’s face who slowly took the paper and read three words. “Missing in action.” Then he slammed the door in the soldier’s face and walked briskly away letting the paper fall at his side. Tears came again to my mommy’s face as she slid down the wall into a sitting position. I crawled over to her, “Gone.” She whispered. “Johnny?” I asked. Without an answer she buried herself in her arms and cried. “Missing. Not gone.” My daddy corrected my mommy bustling back into the hallway. “Not gone. He’s alive. We have to believe it.” That night there was no dinner as I huddled by the door ready to run out when the sounds started. But, it took a while. Longer than usual. And when they did come, it was almost muffled. There were no lights. Missing in Action. Was Johnny hidden? I stayed that night. Looking around watching the shadows of men on the walls. I fell asleep before long with the ringing booms echoing in my ears. The house was quiet at dawn and I never saw mommy once that day. And I was getting thin, almost too thin. These new sounds went on for weeks and got fainter and fainter as if Johnny was slipping away from the world an me. There was another knock on the door. I didn’t go to he door, scared of what I might fine. My daddy looked suspiciously at the door and briskly strode to it as I ducked behind a wall not wanting to see who it was. But I got the answer from my mommy’s scream. “Dead. He’s dead.” “No.” “There must be a mistake.” “My boy is alive.” My mommy and daddy’s voice drifted out to me. Dead. Johnny’s dead. I ran, anywhere but here. Past the soldiers and my parents. I had to get away. Cold air caught me off guard and stopped me. What felt like miles happened to only be a few feet and my daddy caught up quickly. He grabbed me and hugged. For one of the first times ever he cried. Big tears slid down his face as we sank to the ground in a big lump of sadness. There was no sounds that night. No lights. Just a big, quiet house. It seemed empty with no life in the narrow hallways and wide rooms. I never fell asleep though, not even a blink. The house was too alone, too abandoned. The next morning there was someone seated at out table for breakfast. Tall, long face with warm blue eyes. Johnny. He was back, my brother returned! “Johnny!” I cried and leaped up to him, sprinting as fast as my thin legs could carry me. But when I went for the hug, I found only air. He didn’t even look at me. Just sat there. Staring straight ahead. He walked too, around the house. Never making eye contact. Never speaking. My mommy and daddy never saw him and he never acknowledged them or me. But he was there, and that was enough. 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I lay still. Blood pumps back and forth through me causing me to breathe. I slowly want to open my eyes and wake up, but it’s too hard. I can hear the nurse on the phone saying fancy words about how serious my condition is, thinking I cannot understand her, but I can. Their call to my parents was brief but they summed it all up. I could hear a women’s worried voice on the other side, and I want to remember it so bad, but I just can’t. Ever since the incident, I can’t seem to recall my past, my present or seem to remember my plans for the future. The nurse waddles in and I can hear her mumbles clasped inside my ears. I can feel the tension in her mind. The tightness in her chest seems to solidify every time she looks at me. I can almost hear her think about my appearance to the rest of the world. Talking about my golden hair and how it once was long and luscious, but now shaved down to the skin. The thought of my green eyes being shut away from the world. Her mind slices mine just the thought of a possibility that my eyes are sealed forever. I hear her sob as another nurse comes in, “Some CAT scans can turn out positive, but some can not show any increase. I guess it’s not her time to shine today. I heard she was a real good one. Well I guess the best don’t always last.” Feet clunk along the bitter stiff tile. My skin is slowly invaded by the prodding and poking of spikes. Mumbles swipe across the room until everything goes immobile. I silence myself and lay still, hoping that when I wake tomorrow everything will go back to normal. I fall into a doze and drift off into dreams. “Ready? Okay!” My eyes light up as I am propelled into the sky. I crack into position ready to be returned safely to the ground. As my eyes dawdle down to the arms that I will soon float into, I notice one of my teammates slowly wander out of position. Right there and then I know that I wouldn’t land. As I reach impact to the ground, all goes gloomy, and I feel everyone flocked around me. One dreaded scream is belted down the field, and out of the tears in my eyes I see the last of the light drain out of my life. As I wake up I feel a sudden pain. So badly do I want to open my eyes, and run out. But for some reason I’m stuck. The pain is piercing. It was like no pain I had ever felt before. It wasn’t a physical pain, but an emotional pain. I could just feel the room becoming full. I felt in my heart the emptiness that had filled all of the memories and things to remember forever. It was gone, erased, and now all I felt was sorrow and sickness in my soul. I knew who it was, I knew who had entered my room, although I couldn’t see, I could feel it. Hatred poured all over me as I felt them sit around me. Of course to them I looked so sweet, but inside I was putting a gun to my head wishing this moment was over. One of them had snatched my hand, and I jerked away. This time they started to talk. Saying things about their sorrow and deep depression. I know that on the outside they may seem sad and all, but on the inside I know they think it was my fault. The moment I dreaded the most, was the time that she walked in. She had her head held high, and was pretending she had done nothing wrong, but we all know, she caused me to die. When the room was finally clear of all distress, I felt relieved. The room had once again became clear of sounds. Until I hear someone stumble in. I thought it was the nurse, but it wasn’t. It was my mom, my dad and my brothers. They came in with such sorrow. I could hear the silent sobs in their heart. But I didn’t get why they were so sad. I realized I had been in the hospital over a month, without them seeing me but I don’t get how they could be like this. Everyone crowded me, and said their goodbyes. The nurse came in, and as they all left, my mom whispered in my ear. “In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing.” I knew exactly what she meant. The nurse had reached the corner of the room, and suddenly I felt winded. And what I realized was, they were killing me. I could hear the machine turning off, and I could feel my skin turning to white. I felt so sick, I could throw up on the spot. I didn’t know why they were doing it, but for some reason they were. If only they gave me time. Time, and I could have healed. The last light of life was squeezed out of my body and torment took over. As I left the world my eyes flashed open for the last time, and a spine-chilling thought had killed me even more than the hospital just did.

. . . . . I looked down from heaven as an angel, and I saw the world as I had never seen if before. I had realized that the Earth was only my temporary home, and that was not where I belong. And now I am with them where ever they go, and I thank God for letting me leave. Because if I stayed there forever, it would be more painful to hear the mourns of everyone else, and of my heart. It was my time to go, and I believe that everything happens for a purpose and I had a good purpose. And now I look down as a guardian angel. Helping the rest of the world calm down into peace. And no longer am I suffering in pain. But now I am together with my family, and ancestors making a new life. I realize that this is where I belong. No possessions or anything to brag about. Because this life is a new beginning. It is to be celebrated that for once all is happy, and no one cares about how you look. Everything is about how you feel, and how you want to be. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. And I felt that I had made all the experiments I could for living thirteen years. I now end each day living how I want to, instead of living in a world of dangers and cautions. For once I am finally happy. The last words that I had said before I left were, “I regret nothing in my life. I had said all I wanted, and have done all I needed. All my mistakes had been mistakes for a reason. And all had been erased just like they’ve been drawn.”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¶VKLV+HEHJXQZDONLQJWRZDUGKHUZKHQWKHODG\WXUQHG KHUEDFNFRYHULQJWKHQHFNODFH 7KHGHVLUHIRUWKDWJROGOHIWKLPDQGDOOKLVWKRXJKWVKDGUHWXUQHG)XQQ\ZK\ZDVKHWXUQHG DZD\IURPKRPH":DVQ¶WKHMXVWZDONLQJWKHUH"1HYHUPLQGWKDW,W¶VDOUHDG\JHWWLQJODWHDQGKH KDVQ¶WJRQHKRPH\HW+LVVRQLVVWLOOZRUNLQJDWWKHFRDOIDFWRU\+HZLVKHGKHGLGQ¶WKDYHWR ZRUNDWVXFKDGDQJHURXVSODFH+HNHSWRQZDONLQJZLWKDIHHOLQJRIVRPHWKLQJVKLIWLQJGHHSLQ KLVPLQG )LQDOO\KHKDGUHDFKHGKLVDSDUWPHQWDVPDOOURRPFUDPSHGURRPWKDWLVDOOWKHSDUWVRIWKH KRXVHH[FHSWWKHEDWKURRPZKLFKLVFUDPSHGHQRXJKVRWKDW\RXFDQRQO\VWDQGDQGQRWHYHQ VLW ³*RRG\RXJRWEDFNIURPZRUNKHOSPHFOHDQXS´KLVZLIHVDLGVWDQGLQJE\WKHVWRYHQRW WDNLQJKHUH\HVRIWKHIRRGVKHZDVFRRNLQJ$V-DFNIROORZHGKHURUGHUVVRPHERG\UDSSHGRQ WKHGRRU-DFNRSHQHGLWDQGIRXQGDSROLFHRIILFHUWKHUH ³,VWKLVWKH%URZQUHVLGHQFH"´+HDVNHG ³

“I heard that they were never found again,” James whispered to his two friends during lunch. “Apparently the couple had gone to the lake to go skating. They found their car in the parking lot days later...empty,” he finished. Everyone at the table looked at each other. “I know that lake is haunted, everyone does! Why do people still go skate there if they know that it is haunted?” Paul exclaimed pounding his fist on the table. “I think it’s because the average person that lives here does not believe in stupid haunted lakes and wants to prove to everyone that it isn’t haunted,” Julie said sitting down next to James. She shoveled a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. Everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at the girl. She had long, wavy red hair and freckles sprinkled all over her nose. She swallowed and questioned, “Well, no one has ever proven that something is haunted, so why do we just expect this lake is?” She shrugged her shoulders and kept eating as no one responded. Finally, “well why don’t you prove it then?” James said nudging Julie with his elbow. “What do you mean?” Julie said looking at James peculiarly. “I dare you to go skate at the lake to prove to us all that it is not haunted.” He said slyly. “Oh, I will do it, no doubt, but who is going to come with me?” She said this as her eyebrows raised and her mouth tightened. She knew that no one would want to come with her to the lake because they were too afraid. “That is what I thought,” she finished and kept on eating her salad. “Well, why don’t you just take a picture of yourself skating on it to show us later?” Someone had suggested. “Yeah, you can even borrow my Polaroid camera, so now you have to do it!” James said. Julie rolled her eyes and stood up with her empty tray. “I’ll do it after school,” she said as she went to dump her tray. She did not speak to James or her friends at lunch for the rest of the school day hoping that rumors would not spread around the high school of her going to ice skate on the haunted lake of Lac Hanté, Canada.

She didn’t believe in the haunted lake but she could not help but be nervous. As she got ready to head over to the lake, she put on her great grandmother’s hat that had been passed down her from her mother who was gone on a business trip to America. She put on the hat and grabbed her figure skates and left the house. As she left the door she noticed how sad the day seemed. Everyone was walking around with their head hung low and the sky was grey and snowy. She arrived at the lake quicker than she had expected. She stood at the entrance. She took a breath in, took a breath out, and walked down the steep trail to the lake. Every step she felt as though her heart was sinking deeper and deeper into her stomach. Once she had the lake in sight she realized that there was nothing to be scared of. There was nothing frightening about the lake at all. It was actually beautiful. With all of the snow on the branches, it looked like a fairy tale land sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was almost like the lake was in a ditch. There was a few feet of ground surrounding her and the small lake. She sat down on a bench to take in the beautiful place that she had once been scared to skate on. As she walked to edge of the lake she grabbed James’ camera and started to take pictures of this beautiful place. How could anyone think that this place was haunted? How would any one make up such horrible stories about such a beautiful place? she thought to herself. As she took the pictures with the Polaroid camera she would neatly lay them out on the bench. Before she knew it she had over twenty pictures of the lake itself lined up on the old cracking bench. She had then remembered the dare from James and her friends. She grabbed into her bag and pulled out her pond skates. The skates were old and soft and had lost that awkward feeling of hard leather. The laces had yellowed with age too and all of the once-gold finishings had been scratched off. She hopped over to the ice on her toes so she would not ruin the blades even more by stepping on the snow. As she stepped on the ice she froze, hearing a sound like an animal. It sounded far away. She ignored it and placed her other foot onto the ice. As she took her first stride, she heard the animal again and it sounded even closer than before. Her stomach turned and her throat tightened. She knew that sound. It was a wolf. Julie took another deep breath and kept skating, trying to forget about the wolf. If Julie would have stopped then, took the pictures and left maybe things would have been different today then what happened. Julie did not stop then, she kept skating and the wolf kept howling. Julie took a picture of herself on the ice and set the picture on the bench with the others. She didn’t stop then, she kept taking more pictures of herself and the lake. It had almost drawn her in and she couldn’t stop, just like the stories had said. Almost two hours later she was as happy as could be, she smiled and turned around to find the wolf staring right at her. The wolfs’ eyes were crystal blue and almost exactly mirrored what the lake looked like. Its’ fur was even whiter than the snow and its nose was as grey as the sky. Julie started to get scared, but the wolf didn’t seem to be bothered by Julie. She took a picture of the wolf because she had never seen one in real life that close. As the picture rolled out of the camera she noticed the wolf was getting more and more annoyed with her. Once the picture was done developing she flipped over the picture to see it. The wolf was not in the picture, just a pretty background without the wolf. As Julie picked up the camera to try again the wolf leaped toward her. As it came for her she dropped the camera which was caught around her neck strap and she fell to the ice and screamed. For a minute all she could see was white and the eyes of the wolf staring right a her again. When she finally came to, she was lying on the ice with the camera still around her neck. Her eyes focused on a crack in the ice a few feet away from her. Once she had regained enough strength to sit up she looked around for the wolf. It was gone. She crawled over to the crack to observe it. It was a crack about as big as her leg and it was slowly starting to spread. She started to scramble away from the crack but kept slipping on the ice. The crack was starting to get louder and bigger and Julie kept crawling away. The sound of the crack was starting to scare her and she started crawling even faster. As she was scrambling, a low branch from a tree caught her hat and pulled it off so it was hanging right over the crack which had turned to a small hole of water. By the time Julie realized her hat was missing, she was already at the edge of the lake so she had to crawl all the way out to the middle to get it. She put the camera on the bench and slid back out onto the ice. As she was crawling out the ice seemed to get even louder and the hole of water was getting bigger. Julie had to get there quickly before the hole got too big and she would not be able to reach the hat. She was just a few feet away now and noticed that the lake really wasn’t all that beautiful, it was just the snow. The lake itself was quite lonely and quiet. She reached her hand out to get the hat. As she reached for it her fingertips brushed past the hat and she was shaken by the ice cracking even more. The hole was so big she could fall into it now. She reached even further and finally she got it the hat! It was in her hands and safe. Then all the sudden the ice cracked like lightning and sent her right towards the hole of freezing water. She threw the hat as hard as she could to the ground right next to the bench as she went falling into the water. The water felt like nothing she had ever felt before in her life. It was so cold it felt like a thousand pins has stuck into her body at the same time. She came up to the surface, but she was not near the hole anymore and came up to ice. She scratched and clawed at the ice and screamed. Nothing could break the ice and all of the air had started popping out of her mouth.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Julie woke up in a sweat in her room and looked at the alarm clock. It was 7:00 am, the day after she had gone to the lake. She sat up in her bed and took another deep breath. She was alive and breathing. Julie got out of bed and got dressed for school and packed everything up. “Was that a dream? I must have fallen asleep before I got to the lake,” she said to herself and laughed. She went downstairs and fed herself breakfast. She went to the closet to get her hat and backpack, only her backpack was there. Her body froze because she couldn’t find the family hat that was so important to her mom. She grabbed her backpack and headed out the door hoping that it was at the school from yesterday. As she was walking to school she passed the entrance to the haunted lake. She wondered if the lake actually looked the way it did in her dream. Small, beautiful, lonely and full of snow. She walked down the familiar path and sat down on the bench. It was exactly how she thought of it and it gave her the chills. The only thing that was different about the lake was that there was a Polaroid camera sitting right next to her and a bunch of pictures of the lake lined up on the bench. She then noticed her hat laying on the ground right next to the bench.

She screamed.

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I looked at William as he touch Rebecca's hand. The emotions inside me started to boil. I didn’t know why or how I could have done what I did to Rebecca. Thinking that we were so good together. How could it have just ended? I stared at my feet as the first tear hit my shoe. Them being together had to stop. My fists clenched. This was my chance. Everything in my arms fell as I looked straight up at William and took the first step forward. Rebecca's words thundered at me, “How could you do that Joseph! All you seem to do is mess up with everything! I can’t believe you... One day you were all I wanted. The next day I find out that you basically cheated on me? I’m sorry but I can’t be with you anymore...” All of my emotions were going to burst. I turned away quickly and started to walk. Walked away from her and walked away from the world. I never really experienced humility until the next day. I got hammered with questions about what happened. I felt nauseous by lunch. The sight of Rebecca with her friends made me bite my lip. She looked so happy, it reminded me of how we were when we were together. She was the type of girl who if you lost, you would do anything to get her back. But, if you didn’t get her back it felt like your life was over. The visions of us together brought back so many memories, but that thought shattered when I saw William walk up to her. I never really knew William; all I knew is that he looked at Rebecca with that disgusting facial expression mass murders must get when they find their next victim. I don’t even think he likes her. All I see in him is a guy who only wants a girlfriend just so he can get the status “In a Relationship” on Facebook. It’s pathetic. Their mouths were moving. Rebecca’s then Williams. Over and over again like they were best friends. I was thinking about marching right over there and knocking some sense into him. My foot was about to step forward until Rebecca got out of her chair. Took a step towards William. And hugged him. A bullet went through my chest as I saw that. My legs started to tremble. I darted towards English class. In English we are doing a lesson on quotes. Everyone had to read a quote. I took a step to the front of the class and picked my quote. The words of my quote started to come out of my mouth, “It’s true, we don’t know what we’ve got until its gone.” Those words came out slowly as my eyes started to water. Everything that day seemed staged. Like I was the main role in a drama movie. It seemed like eternity as I walked back to my seat. As I sat, I heard laughter from the back row as a note hit my head. I didn’t want to read the note but one part of me made me. I opened the note and read it in my head:

!"#$%&'"()%*#$+%,'-%($$.%/'%0'1)$/%23'-/%4$15%4$1%4$21/%"6%7"/4%8$%('7+

I could tell it was from William. I scanned the back row until I saw him, as I looked at him he gave me an evil wink. My face must have gone blood red from anger because Mr. Martin asked me what was wrong. I quickly said nothing and sat quietly for the rest of the period. My mind was rushing with questions to everything. Then one thought hit my head that I loved. That thought was to get to bed as soon as I could, and that’s just what I did. The next day I thought I was better. As I got dressed I made a mental note to keep calm and hold my anger in. The bus ride to school flew by. As First period passed I had only gotten one remark about yesterday. Otherwise it was behind us all. Well, most of us. Deep inside me I had this strong hate for William. I had to get it out before I lost my temper. Just forgetting about everything always seemed to help. My mind went blank. The next thing I noticed was the bell for lunch. Lunch had always been my favorite time of the day. I could sit, talk to friends and relax. Today all I wanted to do is relax. I got out my homework so I could forget about everything but, my head had different thoughts. I got the feeling that everyone was watching me. I looked around and everyone was doing their normal business but, that feeling kept of creeping towards me. Right after lunch I raced to my locker to get my materials for English. So far the day actually wasn’t bad. My goal was to keep it that way. As I turned the corner I saw Rebecca talking and laughing with William by his locker. I was about to just walk by them and act like nothing was wrong. I looked down and breathed and then started down the hall. I looked at William as he touch Rebecca's hand. The emotions inside me started to boil. I didn’t know what to do. I stared at my feet. The first tear hit my shoe as I remembered when I held her hand. The memories stormed my body. I had been so good to her. I wanted her back. I could not stand them being together any longer. My fists started to clench and everything in my arm fell to the floor. The school hallway looked as long as a football field. I looked up at William as I took the first step forward. Not thinking I started to run. Right at William. William was like a deer in the headlights until my fist blew threw William’s face. William remembered that “his girl” was right there so he got into his fighting stance. William threw a jab at me. Unfortunately, my reaction time isn’t the best so it clocked me right in the gut. I wanted to back down but I knew I couldn’t. There were just too many people watching. I attempted a right hook towards his ribs. He dodged it like my punch was thrown by a two-year-old. With everyone taunting and chanting things I had no focus. Before I knew it I was on the ground with a bloody lip and humiliation pouring over me. My body forced itself to go home early. I knew I would get detention for ditching school but I didn’t care. I had to get away from school, away from William, away from life. I couldn’t live like this anymore. Everyone hated me. I just got the crap knocked out of me. I know that teachers would ask questions about my swelled lip. I bet if I never went back to school no one would notice. I crept into my mom’s room. I looked through everything. My mom is a vet so I looked through her drugs. I finally found ketamine. It seemed quick and easy because it was a liquid. I could just chug it. I called my mom. I hit her answering machine. I didn’t know what to say so I said, “I’m sorry.” Then I chugged. I tried to get up but my body wouldn’t budge, my vision was blurry and I was numb. I tried to remember where I was but I couldn’t. My last memory was when William dropped me to the ground. I heard the beeping of a machine. It sounded like one of those things that you see in TV. I looked over and saw the heart beat monitor. Moving my head side to side I could see the blur of a wall moving. The wall was moving away from me fast. The sound of my mom crying awoke me. I couldn’t feel my hand. I looked down at it to see what was wrong. My mom had a death grip on it. As soon as she saw my eyes open she yelled to someone to get over to her. I realized what I saw. It was a doctor. I was really confused because I though the fight in the hall wasn’t that bad. Immediately the doctor bombarded me with questions. “What happened, whats the last thing you remember?” Just questions like that. I finally got four words out. “Why am I here?” “You OD-ed. We think you tried to commit suicide.” The doctor said to me. That’s the last thing I heard before I blocked everything out. I knew I had thoughts, but I never thought I actually did it. I guess I just didn’t remember actually DOING IT. Going through memories of my life. Going back as far as I remember. Thoughts of happiness, humor everything great seemed to pour through my mind. This was just one week of bull. I shouldn’t have tried to commit suicide. I just had to move on. Even though it was really hard I needed to do it. The next week I went back to school confident. First period felt great. Second period zoomed by. As I hit third period everyone seemed to be staring at me. Finding my seat I sat down showing little concern. I was ecstatic when I heard the lunch bell ring. I was starving. As I got my lunch I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. As I turned I looked straight at William. “How was the emergency room? I heard it was WONDERFUL! I mean it was the best time of my life when you were gone. I could be with Rebecca, all alone with you not here to bug me.” William said with that murderous look on his face. Thinking back to the good memories in life I didn’t want to get any more mad. So instead of causing a scene I simply said, “Good for you. Now go on and torture someone else with your presence.” “YOU KNOW I COULD COME RIGHT UP THEIR AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU AGAIN,” William bellowed as he walked away. After that, I just got my food and looked for some place where I could be alone. Even though I probably shouldn’t have said that to William I still decided to have fun. I took a note and in my best hand writing made a list of why I hated Rebecca. While I returned my tray to the dish room I “bumped” into William slipping the note into his pocket. He didn’t make it a big deal about it which surprised me. Everything seemed to be going MY WAY for once, Rebecca asked William about the piece of paper in his pocket. With a confused look on his face he handed it to her. She looked at it with a disgusted expression, raised her hand and slapped William in the face while saying something. While walking to fourth period I saw William in the hall. Surprisingly he was actually crying! Even though tears stormed out of his eyes he still managed to give me the finger. I didn’t really care though. Even though I didn’t get Rebecca back, William never returned to school. Thinking he was just embarrassed I was fine with it, until about three days later. I looked in the newspaper and saw something. William’s obituary. He committed suicide. Because of me.