First Place
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"UMPH! OUCH! What on Earth--" Charlie, as he was on a walk like a normal
14-year-old would be doing, tripped over a large dog. "Hey, come back wait, that's my wallet!" as the dog began to run away, with the wallet it had stolen from Charlie, Charlie chased after it. He ran until the dog had lead him to a dead-end. "Ha! I've got you! Now give me my wallet!" Charlie dived at the dog, and used all his might to get his wallet from its giant, slobbery mouth. After loads of effort, Charlie finally got back his wallet, along with a shirt soaked in slobber. He stood up, brushed himself off, and turned on his heel to go back home then--SMACK! Charlie looked up to see that he had bumped into a strange looking, thin, very tall man with long, untidy, jet black hair and teeth unusually yellow. "Oh, uh, excuse me, I uh, didn't know you were there.. ." Charlie said, trying not to pay to much attention to the man's condition. "Come with me, Charlie." The man had a deep, oily voice that sounded unusual. "I-I-How did you know m-my name? D-Do I know you?" Charlie tried to sound calm, but he was too frightened and disturbed to think. "No, but still, you need to come with me." The man grabbed Charlie by the arm, and began to take him away. Charlie was too frightened to move, or speak, or do anything. His life had taken an unexpected turn, all because a large dog stole his wallet. He had never been so shocked in his life. He was so shocked, in fact, that he fainted. When Charlie awoke, he had no idea where he was. He seemed to be in a bed, in a place he had never seen before. The room he was in was a little untidy, and a bit small. Charlie peeked out the small window and couldn't believe his eyes. There were small shops everywhere and they were titled 'Cauldron Store' and 'Wand Shop'. He assumed that maybe he was dreaming, or he was at a huge magic convention. As Charlie was trying to process what was going on in his head, the strange man came through the door. "You're finally awake. I'm sorry if I startled you earlier, I had no choice. You see, in the wizard world you a very, very important person that will be the reason that this place doesn't become a dangerous, evil place. Oh right, I never introduced myself. I am Lewis." Lewis grins broadly and shows all of his yellow teeth. Charlie was still very confused. "So you kidnap me, and tell me that I am a 'very, very important person that will be the reason that this place doesn't become a dangerous, evil place', and you think I can handle all of that in one go? Are you crazy?" "Well, if that is your definition then yes, yes I am. Let me explain. There is a prophecy that I don't have enough time to explain all the details about. All I know is that you have until midnight on the third day from now to defeat the Organization." Lewis was now straining to speak, for it sounded like he was losing his voice. "And I assume that the Organization are the people that are going to make this place a dangerous, evil place?" Charlie was finally starting to catch on. "Yes. You are the only one who can do this because you are the only one worthy of receiving the Lion Stone." At the words 'Lion Stone' Charlie had finally found the strength and courage to go retrieve it. "So, where is the Lion Stone exactly?" "It won't be a problem reaching it now that we have found you. You are the only one who can touch and use it to it's full potential.' Charlie had gathered up all of his courage and said "Alright, let's go get that Lion Stone!" And on they went, down, down, and down. Lewis led them as they continued down more and more flights of stairs. Eventually, they reached a dungeon-like area. They continued through the twists and turns until they hit a dead-end. Lewis took out something that looked mostly just like a long stick and tapped the wall with it and muttered something. The wall separated in half and opened into a doorway. Inside the room was a stone that was the color of a sunset, and looked like it could fit right into Charlie's palm. It was atop a small pillar and covered by a glass case. It looked like something you would see in a museum. Charlie was mildly surprised. "That's it? Uh, I mean, uh, are you sure that's the right thing?" "I'm sure. I'm also sure that you are the only one who can use and touch it." Lewis seemed very confident in his statement. "Believe me, we have all tried at least once or twice” Lewis walked over to the Lion Stone and removed the glass case. "Well, Charlie, go on then.' Charlie approached what he thought was just some lousy old rock and picked it up, not expecting anything special to happen. But, Charlie was very mistaken. Right when he had touched it, it felt like the warmth of an everlasting hug wrapped around him. He felt safe, secured, powerful. After a few minutes, Lewis finally broke the silence. "And so, we have now finished step one. Don't worry, there is only three steps." Charlie was partly relieved by that statement. But the other part of him seemed to be afraid of what the other steps might be. After they had returned back up to the surface, Lewis took Charlie into another room, which was large and didn't have anything in it, not even a single window. Lewis immediately began to train Charlie. "Now remember Charlie, you only have until midnight three days from now to stop the Organization," Lewis said. Charlie found training extremely hard and wanted to give up at the start. Lewis, however, made it sound very easy. "Just focus all of you energy into the stone and imagine an enormous figure shaped as a lion coming out of it," he said. "It isn't that hard," "Says the person who says 'no one else can touch it, or use its powers' Charlie snapped back. "How would you know if you can't even touch it?" Lewis ignored him, and continued to train him. Lewis kept saying, "Not much longer, you almost had it," and things of that sort. Lewis and Charlie were training non-stop for the next three days before Lewis finally decided Charlie was as ready as possible. "Now Charlie, I believe you are ready." Lewis said. Yeah, like I'm going to defèat the Organization after trainingfor only three and a half days.... Charlie thought. Lewis guided Charlie out of the building and led him through dark alleyways and upon dirt roads until they ran into a town that seemed to be deserted. "Well that's funny," Charlie said. "The clock tower in this town still works.' They continued on until they reached the center of the town, where there was an old, very dirty and broken fountain-like structure. Lewis once again took out the stick(Charlie had now figured it must be a wand of some sort) and muttered something. Before their very eyes the fountain was restored and began to work. However, as water spewed out of the fountain, it began to take the form of a cloaked figure. The figure was about as tall as Charlie, and Charlie could not see any part of its body even if he tried. "There he is Charlie," Lewis said, a partly disturbed look on his face. "The Organization." That's it? Charlie thought The Organization is only one person'? Phew, I thought it was going to be at least ten! Charlie held the Lion's Stone in his hand, and focused on the picture of ginormous lion coming out of it. And so it did. A huge, magnificent, glorious lion burst out of the Lion's Stone. The Lion pounced at the Organization and they immediately went into battle. The lion seemed to be winning, but every now and then took a hit. "Uh oh," Lewis said. "This is not good." "What," asked Charlie. "What's the matter? Oh. oh no." Charlie had just realized what time it was. It was I I :58 and Charlie wasn't so sure that the lion would be able to defeat the Organization in two minutes. "There has got to be a way we can help, right Lewis? I mean, maybe the lion will make it in time." Charlie was having a hard time himself believing what he had just said. However, Charlie hadn't realized that Lewis had already started getting into the fight and throwing some punches here and there. And so, Charlie joined in also. The battle was monstrous, and Charlie was sure that he had a black eye and had at least broken one rib, but when the battle was over, the lion turned into vapor and poured back into the stone, where it belonged. The Organization was lying unconscious on the ground, now tied in plenty of ropes. "Well Charlie, you did good. I will send you home where your family is still waiting for you to come back from your 'walk' " "Farewell, Lewis. It was nice to meet you and save your world with you." Charlie let out a small chuckle. Charlie always hated good-byes. It always meant that the adventure was over. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Charlie." Lewis said. He pulled out his wand and once again muttered something under his breath, pointing his wand at Charlie. Before Charlie could even blink he was at his front door back at home. ] would do anything to be on another adventure like that. he thought. Finally, he stepped into his home and hoped that Lewis was right; that one day, they would meet again and once again go on a spectacular, unexpected adventure. |
Second Place
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Prologue This is my story. I am not a normal seventeen year old girl. My name is Chloe Monarant. I lost my mom before I was five. I love her dearly. I want you to know that what I going to tell you is sad ,scary, and a little rebellious. I have a dad named Jonathan, but his friends call him John. Chapter one The Start of It All My mother was the first to die because of the city named Parcrige I was to young to go to try to stop the madness that still keeps me awake even if it happened when I was five. She died like this charles our city's commander said " This day we come to silence a rebel that wants to destroy our way of life. What this criminal did is a despicable thing.She shot a man that was innocente". But the thing is mom never knew how to shoot a gun. We never had owned a gun until that day when dad went to the blacksmith's shop. "It is only for protection" my father says. I think it was his way of threatening Charles in his own twisted mind. I got two lessons on how to shoot for protection if they try to come get anyone of us again. Chapter two The Economy We never see the sun. It's always cloudy and stormy. I think it just makes our city even more gloomy. My capital is in a great depression, because know one can afford anything it's worse for us when we lost mom. We lost money even though it may seem very little to you it was a lot for us, half our income. She made seventy five cents an hour because she was a garment worker she never got fair hours and sometimes she would come home bruised even if mom accidentally pricked her finger and whimpered they would hit my mother with whatever they could get their hands on. It wasn't illegal because the people that run the factories are Charles' bodyguards, and they have no rules. Sure dad has a steady job it's required that everyone in the city must have one. The commander himself says "It's healthy for our gracious city" . Yeah but I think when I get a job I would like to work in the control room because that's the best paying job. But itt s easy to get because know one wants to be near Charles and that's where his office is, but I can take care of myself if needed. Chapter Three The Time Has Come It's my eighteenth birthday, and it's the year I get the gift that mom was planning to give me herself. It's also the last day before I apply for the control room job that has the screens that show what the cameras see. Charles has them everywhere he wants to be. I seem sort of excited for the gift and nervous to apply for the job that I have to bite my tongue every time I see the commander.As I wonder and wait for my dad to wake, I hear a bang outside which isn't unusual sense we have a communist economy we hear gunshots every so often to symbolize another person goes to jail for a sin that threatens our way of life. I don't let that ruin the buzz of excitement I have. With adrenaline pumping through my body, he walked in with a little box. Dad set the box down in front of me and said "go ahead open it up" like he is even anxious to see what's inside I untie the twine that binds the paper together, and gentle unwrap it so we can reuse the paper. There sitting in front of me was a silver box, I open the box and sitting there is a leather braid bracelet, and a note from mom saying " happy eighteenth birthday darling I love you dearly and whatever you decide as your job remember you stay with it forever no changes". The notes message echoes in my head while I put the bracelet on it is smooth on the the top and bottom but rough on the edges. I love it, and I promised myself that day I would never forget to put it on before the day starts . I begin to start the paragraph entry required to enter in for the control room job. Later after I come home from capital of Parcrige from entering the paragraph dad stood in the dining room which is also the kitchen with a cloth that started to move and handed it to me I carefully untangle the mess and in my arms was a puppy a gray bulldog dad said that it "would eat our scraps and can do its business in the landfill at the end of our street and in the night in the small backyard". Later we named her scarlet I got tired and went to sleep and tomorrow I awaited my fate for the job of a lifetime. chapter four The First Day I woke up that morning and got ready to go to the list which is posted all around the city. I find out what job I was chosen for. Conveniently that year it was posted across the street. I wandered over and look for my name. It was at the middle of the page and next to it are the letters cr which stand for control room. I almost leaped out of my skin when I saw that. After Examining the page for others that got elected for that job and there was only one other and his name was Brandon. I have seen him only once and that was in the market and he ran into me and made me drop the bag of rationed food I was holding. He helped me pick it up it was an interesting moment I bet for both him and I. I wondered how much my family's lives will change when the steady income of money from my job and dads but I was only eighteen. An when you start a job you get low pay which would be more than average for regular jobs I would get two dollars an hour. Now I know you fancy pants rich people think huh two dollars I get that in a minute well I live poorly because our dumb commander thinks we should start small so we would appreciate our money more. So scenes I was chosen that day I started my job that day. I put my best outfit on and put my hair in a pony tail. I go into town and to the building that the control room is located and I go to the fifth floor and I see a man that has a clipboard and I told him " I was elected for this job and I don't know where to go." Then he snorted " what's your name" and I replied "Chloe my name is Chloe". He looked at his clipboard and took a pen and marked the page and walked me to a chair with my name on it and I sat down he showed me the basics and left I looked beside me to an empty chair with the name Brandon on it and I thought of the day in the market and it didn't happen to long ago either. I hope he will be kind and I will get along with him. Then I saw Charles walk in and the good buzz I was having was gone I just wanted to get up and slap him in the face but I would have gotten executed if I did such thing. So I planed to never report anything bad to Charles I would by pass it like I didn't even see it and do as little as I can for the scum of the earth being he was and still is. I just wanted to know why of all people that was killed for the shooting of the innocent man that it was my mother.Charles even knew her they went to school together and he killed her I planned to spy on him until I found out the reason for the pain I have felt for years and still do, the person who caused it was him.I watched the office door close behind the commander. Chapter Five Sabotage I have watched the screens that broadcast what was happening in the city it was like binge watching a reality show that is on cable which only the rich and wealthy can afford Charles on the other hand had been in his office eating like a pig having the ration food from the people of the city sent to him be a new invention a dumbwaiter and it smelled delicious then I hear kreg the first person who was the talk to me in a nice manner there says " Check ins will start Brandon your first". He shifted his tousled hair into a respectable pile and walked to the door of Charles's office several minutes later he walked out of the room all jolly and with a big grin and leans too me and said " the commander is pretty nice" I wanted to scream at brandon and tell him he was wrong and that the commander is and always will be a life destroying backstabber that was an self serving freak.l started to speak and I got out "no he isn't he killed" Then a voice in the background yelled "Chloe you're up". I get out of my chair and slowly as I possibly could I walked to the office door all the anger I have I just want to to hit him and I reach for the cold metal door handle. The door creaks open as loudly as it could have possibly been. I guess he had that on purpose to tell if someone is coming in because he must have be sitting uneasy with all the guilt of killing people pulling the trigger and watched the light go out of their eyes and seeing their bodies go limp and lean towards the ground. Then his dark voice starts and I stopped it quickly, it ampoules him I wanted to start I said "my name is Chloe Monarant you knew my mother and then you killed her why did you kill her she didn't do what you said that she shoot an innocent man and I know she didn't I know she didn't we didn't own a gun then and she didn't know how to shoot so why did you kill her." I start towards him and he yelled " guards" they picked me up I scream and I thought no I can't go wherever they're taking me I got take care of dad. Chapter Six Strange Place I woke up in an old room in what looked like a dungeon. With a searing pain on my side. I still now have a scar it was a marking it was a number. It was two two three I guessed that it meant that you were the two hundredth and thirty third person in prison if that's where I was. Then I look over my shoulder, and there was two beds on the wall that was industrial looking. Then I heard a yawn and a voice of a raspy person they bent up, and spoke " hi I am Amber I was going to say that but you know you were unconscious. What is your name?" I responded too to her and said that I was " Chloe I am wondering if you know where I am, and what happened when they put me in here, and how can I get back to my dad." she told me "there is no known way out except for when your time is up and since I you are in for getting to close to the commander that had to be two years. Also what happened to you Chloe is that they tagged you the ink will come of but there will be a scare and they hit you in the head because you knocked three men out and sent two to the infirmary to heal for broken noses you did almost escaped but one of the gates closed to soon and that is all I am capel of telling you." I thanked her and she offered me the top bunk I took it. " Oh I almost forgot I got you some pajamas and clean cloths while I was out of the cell and there is fresh water bottles in the corner and you get all of the day out of the cell I wouldn't be too scared of the other inmates because they saw the guards that were injured and thought that you were a force not to be recend with. So you are the big shot here." I was stunned that I did that so I just said that I was grateful for your help to Amber and went straight to sleep.I woke up to the sound of clicking boots and then I see two men in prison outfits stop at our door and then started to whisper to each other. They said "hey Jasper you think we will meet the fighter or we just going to just see her sleep". Then I lift my head up and they started to snicker and I to get out of bed and then I realize that Amber is awake too and we both get out of bed and she said "hey jasper and Tai go away stop being such creeps and go to bed why are you even out of your cell you will get more years now you have anything to say to Chloe or you want to keep calling the fighter because she does like to be called by her real name because she has one." Then Tia says "sorry Amber and fight I mean Chloe we were just wondering so what you in for anyway Chloe." Respond with " getting to close to the commander while getting hot headed now I would like to get some sleep so move along before you miss some teeth or have to go to the infirmary like the others." They both quickly nodded and ran down the hall. I fall back asleep and dream more about my life come. To Be Continued |
Third Place
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Day 1 Dear journal, today our plane crashed I am one of the few survivors left. I've been wondering and finally stumbled upon a landmark saw when we were on the plane. The curved tree I'm now under is the only place f will be able to sleep; the only safe place I could sleep. I wonder, what could be out there, but for now, goodnight. The screeching of Macaws and Parrots wakes me. I check my watch and it says it's 4:09 AM, and I yawn and get up from under the tree. My stomach starts to growl, so I scavenge around for food. Nothing. While looking, I see tiny cat footprints similar to my cat's at home. I try to call for help on my phone, but the only person that answers is my sister, Managi. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here 16 hours ago!" she franticly says. "I'm stranded! In the Amazon." I say as my phone goes dead. I have saved my charger for my phone (that shows you how attached I am to my electronics... I'm stupid, I know). I learned in science about using potatoes, oranges 8 lemons as a battery to power a clock. I look everywhere but still no potatoes, oranges or lemons to be seen. I hear a growling and a meowing sound behind thick brush. I cut my way through and the creature behind the brush resembles a tiger with spots instead of stripes. It's an animal that looks like a leopard, but with different spots, and I soon figure out it's a mother and baby jaguar. I stare at the jaguars wondering if they are hostile, but they moan and groan. Still starving, I think about killing them for fur and food, but I got closer and see what's wrong. There is a pool of blood next to the paw of the mother jaguar. I race over and try to help, but she's already dead. I take the baby jaguar back to "camp," and I leave him in a hole not able to escape, go skin the mother jaguar and cook the meat under a small campfire. Without the jaguar knowing, I fed the jaguar its mom's meat trying to help the baby jaguar survive. After we ate, I went to sleep hoping this whole thing was a dream. Day 2 This whole thing wasn 't a dream. I'm stranded in the Amazon starving and going to die of thirst. It's just me and baby jaguar. I've decided to name him 311. Should I kill Ju? No. How about I teach him to hunt and defend my base? Yes! I've just gotta find a place to settle down and I prefer beside a river. I'm dying of thirst and hunger. 'We would have a water supply and a place to hunt fish. If find this, this is an actual dream come true! We wake up to more Macaws and other parrots screeching and diving beside a very slim stream. I say to Ju, “Today we are going hunting and searching for a real river to have our base beside until we can get rescued!" "Mmmrrrowww?" Whines Ju curiously. We start to travel and we find many amazing things; A bird nest, a group of dead piranhas, and even a big sculpture of a head with lots of gold around it! My backpack is getting very full and heavy. We look around for another three good hours and we hear drip, drip, and we look and I scream, "We're saved!" because we've just found a lake! I start directly drinking from the lake, and it tastes like rotten meat! "Don't do that dumbo, you'll get sick! Who are you?" , yells Sain, a man who looks like a native with brown eyes. "Who are you? My names Ci and I've been stranded for two days without water! "Oh! Come to my village I've built and live with us!" says Sain. "I'm starving having to eat raw piranha!" I scream. I finally go to sleep at the small village thanks to my new friend, Sain. Day 3 Dear journal, I've found a village and a new friend I didn't have to kill Ju, but the food in this village is scarce. I will take whatever I can and be on my way to a better place, with possibly some kind of city so I can sell the gold and get money to go home, although, I don 't want too. I've got 2 gold bars and 13 coins. Surely that will be enough to go to Texas. Maybe I can even bring Ju with me! I'm probably getting just high spirited. Goodnight. I wake up at 4:58 AM and hear the loudest BOOM ever! People are screaming outside and everyone was fighting another village trying to steal supplies. The BOOM was a gun the other village found. Our village wanted them out of our stuff, and we also wanted their animal skins and that shiny gun. After about four hours of fighting, I joined in and stupidly went for the person with the gun. I felt a sharp pain and saw blood running down my chest. I fell to the ground, and passed out in need of help. That afternoon, I woke up to almost everyone in the village staring at me with the small gun on top of me. "We defeated the person with the gun and the villagers fled away!" said one of the tribe members, "We want you to have this, in honor of your bravery." I fell asleep in need of rest once again, wounded with a leather patch on my chest. Day 4 Dear journal I don't feel so well and I’m aching in pain. It's not my chest, it's my head I've been having many spasms lately and I hope it isn't anything bad. With my luck, it's some kind of strange yellow fever. 'That wouldn't explain the spasms though. On the bright side, my chest is healing. I didn’t die, but I'm still wondering why. It seems like I had no control at all. When we wake up, it's 8:37 AM; really late compared to how early I've been waking up. Ju and I gather our things and I tell Sain that I'm heading to another place looking for a route to Texas. I leave with Ju and all the gold, food and containers my backpack can hold. I walk out of the village aching, but in hopes that I will at least reach Colombia, even though we don't know how to get there. Ju suddenly falls in a extremely deep hole. "Ju!", I scream, "It's a trap!" I start slipping about to fall down a deep hole. Someone sprints out and pulls us up. "Very sorry! This is how I catch food, since food is extremely scarce!" says a stranger. "It's alright! Thank you for saving me though, I would've been toast!" I say in kind of an angry tone. "Watch out for the traps, they are hard to notice but you can see them!" The stranger says running. It starts to rain and thunder heavily, and it causes all the traps to fall inward because of the rain. " I will! Thanks for the notice!" , I shout, confused and worried. Ju starts to wonder and he stumbles on a wire. A poison dart flies by his head as he starts sprinting out of the forest. "Ju! No! Stay! You could die!" Those words strike his attention. Ju runs back to me as quick as that dart flew past his head. I have to get out of the forest without any traps. We head out and settle beside another river with loads of birds near it. We practice hunting and eat our prizes. Afterward, we take a nap, travel for a few more hours and find another place to settle down for the night. Day 5 I don't ache anymore, and I want to really start looking for some form of civilization. Maybe a road, maybe a random small neighborhood, maybe a town! I'd really be happy if I found or crossed the Colombia border. A civilization means we can buy food instead of hunting with all the blood, guts and gore. We can buy actual clean bottles of water; we can stay inside a house or a building instead of sitting soaked in the rain; The possibilities are endless! With my luck though, we will die and not see the next day, sister, pet cat, or anything close to civilization. We wake up rather quickly, and today I have a really good feeling that I'm going to find home! We eat cooked fish from last night and head into a rather weird, flat, grassy area that looked like it has just been cut. I start to hear a mower with a nice young man driving it. He sees me and he starts to talk; "Good heavens! Come with me, off my lawn and we will get you taken care of! And your jaguar! So well trained and skinny! Let him come too and I will feed both of you!" "Thank you! We've been stranded in the amazon for five days eating parrot and piranha! Can you tell me how to get to get to Texas from here? You speak English. Are we already in the U.S.?" I say helplessly. "No, you are in Panama in Central America. You don't even know where you are?" says the generous man. "My phone went dead. You see, we're from the plane crash in Brazil. This is the first civilization we've found since! I want to know, what is your name?" I say. "The name's Jeff. I'm an airport manager. I can get you home! Do you have anything to trade for money to get a ticket?" , says Jeff. "I have tons of gold, but can't sell. Can we get a job?" I ask frantic and desperate. "Yes. Come inside and I will get you cleaned up." says Jeff in a very kind voice. I fall asleep inside Jeff's house wondering how I got to Panama so quickly. Did I sleep walk? Did I time warp? However I got here so fast, I'm extremely glad I did. I'm worried; should I said that I have gold? Day 6 Thanks to Jeff for helping me get back to Texas. I'm going to look for a Job in (Panama to earn money and not to trade in all this gold Since most people speak Spanish in (Panama, I will have to learn Spanish. I'm extremely lucky Jeff speaks both. I wake up in a soft bed not knowing how I got there, but on the bright side, I slept until 10:49 AM. I go down stairs and see what's happening, and Jeff is cooking lunch. "Wake up sleepy head!" Jeff jokes. "I'm cooking lunch! I'm making Sancocho, a stew with chicken, vegetables, tomatoes and coriander. Do you want some?" "Sure! It's way better than piranha cooked over a campfire!" I answer excitedly! We eat and I feed Ju some stew, but of course, he being a jaguar, he decides he likes Piranha better, so I feed him piranha. We go outside and play on his newly cut, bright green lawn and Jeff pulls out a frisbee for his Scottish Terrier, Molly. Ju and Molly plays until around 4:00 PM and we go inside for a snack and watch TV. Then, we eat leftovers for dinner and I go back to sleep. The best day ever since I got lost in the Amazon. Day 7 I want to get a job since I'm staying with Jeff now. My goal in this town though, is to earn money and fly back, to 'Texas. IL sounds easy, but I don 't know how to speak Spanish. It's especially weird when you have a baby jaguar by your side and most jobs won 't arrow animals. I don't want to leave Ju home, but I might have to. Happily, I wake up rested and ready for a work day. Here's an idea of what I want my week to look like: 1. Wake up 2. Eat breakfast 3. Get Jeff to translate the newspaper into English so I can find a job 4. Go get the job with Jeff translating for me 5. Earn enough money and fly to Texas! Here's an idea of what it's probably going to look like: 1. Stumble out of bed 2. Eat and make a mess 3. Go get a job that requires me to speak Spanish 4. Fail and get no job 5. Go "home" without any money and cry my heart out. I'm just saying! That's my luck right now with getting stranded with Ju and having NO MONEY! Ju and I wake up at 7:56 AM and run to the kitchen asking what's for breakfast. Bacon, waffles, pancakes, a biscuit, french toast? "Hojaldras, it's like a doughnut sprinkled with sugar; well, pretty much a doughnut!" , says Jeff cooking in the kitchen. "Ok! I'll try it! It sounds good!" I say happily. Finally, no piranhas or food I've never had! A doughnut! It sounds silly, but a doughnut! "Yep! Here you go! It's ready, be careful it's hot!" , warns Jeff. I pay no attention and I take my first bite. "Hot!" , I say, but paying no attention I take another bite. "It's so good!" I say. It feels like heaven with the Hojaldras. After a few hours of helping Jeff around the house, I say my last actual goodbyes and head on my way to a place that I can actually talk to people without someone right beside me having to translate. Now that's home! Unless I get there, my life is probably over. Bad part is that I found out that Jeff wasn't a real airport manager. "Grr?", says Ju. "Ju, you've bonded haven't you?" I say sadly. Ju and I walk away sadly, and I cry a few tears. After a while, I sit down on a stump, ready for lunch. Looking in my bag, I see all I've I got is two tiny hojadrias! I usually eat four for breakfast, so this isn't that much. Also, I've only got rotten piranha for Ju. No river in sight, and it's the only thing he's eaten his whole life; he was just born when I saved him! I look around and I see a market with fish, not my luck. They have no piranha, my luck! Also I have no money! The owner of the store understands my situation, but doesn't understand the situation about my jaguar! He doesn't ever offer a nibble! I walk away sad and depressed, with my stomach growling, and so is Ju's. "Ju," I say, "how I remember it, in this world, it isn't this cruel!" "Wrrrrroow!"whines Ju sadly, and hungry. "Hey!" a stranger says, "What makes you think we're cruel around here? Some are selfish, but most aren't!" "Sorry sir, I'm as poor as the soil in the outback! I was on a crashed airplane in the Amazon, and now I'm here! We have no food, no shelter, no money!" "How aren't you dead! I saw the plane crash on TV! They found everyone dead but you! They've been searching for about a week now, but no luck! I've got to report you to the news! Hey, how do you have new clothes and a backpack?" "Sir, I stopped by someone's house, or they found me. They helped me, but they haven't heard about the crash on the news yet, probably." "Come with me! I'll help you get home! The name's Harold." As he turns toward his home, he smiles and says something about getting money from me and stealing my gold. As soon as I get to his house I say, I want to sleep outside tonight, since I heard him. He says ok, but I hide my backpack and sleep directly besides Ju, so I have no risk. Day 8 Dear journal; Ju is missing! As I walk towards the house I hear a man screaming. "OWWWW! Get off of me you pest! Why does this boy even have you? All you are is a little brat"' "Hey! That's my jaguar! Give him back, or else!" I say. "Or else what? You'll call the police? Where did you get the jaguar? The Amazon?" the man jokes. "Yes, I did! I was in that plane crash a week ago! The only survivor left!" "Beat it kid, your jaguar too. He's done enough today! If you don't, I'll call the police! Why would I believe you anyway!' That's it! Get him to call the police! They can surely get me home to Texas. No matter how long it takes, I'll get him to call the police! "911, what's your emergency?”, answers the operator. "I need the police; address is 30153, there is a wild jaguar in my house along with a Jungle Boy who refuses to leave!" "The police are on their way sir, stay calm and did you catch the boy's name?" "No,but if he is the boy on TV, his name is John Cordy." "Sir, thank you for the information and the police will arrive as soon as they can, momentarily. " The police arrive and they ask what's wrong and I start to explain why I refuse to leave and proving that I am the survivor. "Kid, you do match up with the portrait. What's your real name?" The police ask for identity purposes. "Ci" I answer. "We've found him"' The officers say. Then, everything changes. |
Honorable Mention
Jonathan Aresenault "Treasure Island" |
The wind blew heavily in the storm as Donovan and his friends, Harry and Alex, sailed through the rough seas. Donovan tried to steer his boat steady as Harry and Alex hung on to the mast for dear life. The wind blew harder and the boat started to tilt over. Just then a wave crashed into the boat like an angry elephant stampeding. Harry who was hanging on to the side of the small boat tumbled off and into the wild ocean. Donovan screamed for him but he was already gone in the waves. Then without warning, lighting struck the mast which Alex was hanging on to. Alex was sent into the thrashing water along with the mast. Donovan has now completely taken his focus off of steering the beat-up boat and to his now gone friends. He is ready to jump in when another wave crashes into the boat. This was no ordinary wave either... this was a tidal wave. It was so tall it reached the top of the mast. It was so strong when it hit, Donovan felt as if his boat was being rammed by another one three times his boat's size. Donovan then felt himself being launched off the boat he was once standing on. The last thing he remembers is the upside down boat and then sinking into the ocean. He blacked out. As he opened his eyes he was back with his father on the beach. His father's strong but gentle hands were on his shoulders. "l trust you to be responsible on the "The Seashell". His dad said in his deep but kind voice. "Yes sir." Donovan had told him. The reason Donovan had gone out in the sea with his friends was because his father, a fisherman, was ill. Donovan's father needed him to go in the ocean on his boat, The Seashell. Now to sail a boat you need crew members. Donovan's father had him as the crew member, but now Donovan was the captain and he chose the only people he knew (besides his father) who knew somewhat about fishing... his friends, Alex and Harry. Donovan remembered how he and his friends got caught in the terrible storm and could not get out. Now he was here. . .alone and helpless as he sank to the bottom of the ocean. Just then his eyes popped open to see the clear skies. "What?" he thought to himself. Why was he seeing the clear blue skies if he had just plunged into the sea? Donovan struggled to move as he pushed himself up from a sandy surface. Pain shot through his thigh as he struggled to get on his feet. "Ack!" he yelped while touching his side. he looked at it, and it seemed to be cut. There was a wound on his left side with a few splinters emerging from it. He tore a small strip from his already ripped shirt to use as a tourniquet. Donovan tried to ignore the pain as he walked across the small island. He checked his curly black hair for sand, and sure enough there was plenty. Donovan was searching the island for food when he came upon a big cliff that led back to the beach if you jumped down. Then he looked up and found himself staring at a palm tree. Donovan almost shouted in delight but he stopped himself when he saw an incoming ship. . . "today just is getting better and better" he thought to himself. After grabbing a few coconuts, Donovan went back down the hill he had come from and back down to the beach. Once on the beach Donovan could see The Seashell (half of it at least) smashed up against a rock. He wondered what he would tell his sick father. Donovan shook that thought out of his head. "What is most important is me getting home," he told himself. That thought led him back to Harry and Alex. What if they didn't survive the crash? What if they don't make it home? Again, Donovan had to shake the thought out of his head. Once he set his eyes back onto the ship it seemed different this time. The flag appeared to be a pirate flag. "Oh no. No no no no!" Donovan screamed. Pirates were not going to help him at all. In fact, they might try to kill him. Donovan ran and hid in a bush as he watched the pirate ship sail towards the island. They arrived by nightfall, only three got off the ship and into the rowboat. When they set foot on the island, Donovan ran as quietly as possible to the other side of it, as far away as possible. After a few hours of chowing down on a coconut, he worked up the courage to spy on them. Donovan sneaked into a bush next to their bright campfire. "We're finally here ca'pn Jack!" said one of the pirates. "indeed mates." said the one called Jack. "The map said this was the island with the treasure". said the other pirate. Donovan gasped (a little to loud) at the words of "treasure" and "this island". All three pirates then turned towards his direction in silence. "Someone's here listening!" Jack said in a shocked voice. Donovan took the hint to bolt, so he sprinted from the bushes. As soon as he emerged from the bush the three pirates jumped up and sprinted after him. "Get that boy!" yelled captain Jack. Donovan ran as fast as his long skinny legs would take him. While running Donovan spotted a nearby cave which he turned and ran into. Even in the cave Donovan didn't look back, he kept on running. The cave was surprisingly long... it went on and on, but that didn't stop Donovan. Eventually he tripped over something solid in the ground and went tumbling into a wall. Donovan groaned in pain as he got up to look at what he had tripped over. It seemed to be a wooden plank in the sand of the cave. Donovan pulled with all his might and lifted the wood from the sand. The plank had now turned into a chest, a treasure chest. Donovan almost yelled in excitement until he remembered thc pirates searching for him above. He grabbed the nearest rock and smashed the lock until it came loose. Donovan then pushed the chest open to reveal treasures and gold. Many precious gems and diamonds were placed with many solid gold items including two gold swords. Donovan then reached the surface being wary of the pirates. along with him he carried the chest and one golden sword. Suddenly out of nowhere two figures appeared in front of him... Harry and Alex. "It is good to see you again Donovan!" said Alex. "No way!" said Donovan,"you're alive?" "Barley," said Harry. Donovan then explained what had happened with the pirates while Harry and Alex were drifting ashore. "Wow." said Harry," That's something you don't do everyday". "Yeah, crazy." said Donovan, "So here's the plan" Donovan went over the plan with Harry and Alex. Harry and Alex both waited for the pirates to circle the island again so they could greet the pirates with their golden swords while Donovan got the rest of the pirates off the ship. The three pirates first arrived for Harry and Alex to fight. At first the two teenagers were being beaten by the experienced pirates until they got the hang of it and started to hold off the three. Donovan then swam towards the ship and climbed on. All the pirates then turned towards him, revealing all their gold teeth, eye patches, and peg legs. "Hey, come get me!" Donovan shouted at the pirates as he dove into the water. Donovan swam as fast as he could towards shore with two dozen angry pirates following close behind him. On shore, Harry and Alex struggled to hold off the three pirates. Donovan ran to shore then into the cave with a whole pirate crew on his tail. Donovan then cut a sharp corner and stopped. All of the pirates struggled to stop, but they all ended up stumbling over each other. Donovan then ran past all of the fallen pirates and out of the cave. Harry and Alex got the signal and threw their swords aside, which the greedy pirates chased after. Harry, Alex, and Donovan then all swam to the ship. Donovan was at the steering wheel while Harry and Alex set the sails. All three of the boys yelled with joy while sailing away from the island. "We did it!" Alex screamed. They went through the treasure pulling out anything interesting. They found many things that would get their families out of poverty. Life wasn't easy in the 16th century. Donovan had a big smile on his face, he almost forgot about the pain in his left side. Alex helped Donovan carefully pull out the splinters in his waist. Then without warning, a gigantic ship sailed next to theirs. Donovan had thought this pirate ship was big. . . but this was almost three times it's size. It was a massive ship decked out with more cannons than he could count. Next, a plank swooshed down from the ship making a bridge between the two ships. Several pirates loaded onto Donovan's ship. All of them normal, old pirates, except for one. He was tall and muscular with a black cloak that went with his dark beard, which seemed to have flames at the end of it. The man had a big, black hat with a big sword on his belt and several flintlocks strapped to his chest. Donovan would admit, he was scary. By the looks on his friends faces, they probably agreed. "Name's Blackbeard and me and me crew will be takin' you and everythin' you own, got it?!" the man said. TO BE CONTINUED |