Ballin' with Jack by Zak G.

Jack was a former high school football star. He was easily the best running back in the state of Virginia. He had a lot of speed and he was a very strong back. He ran a 4.34 in the 40 yard dash. Jack had played for the McLean Highlanders. He brought his team to 3 state championships winning all` of them except for his senior year. He unfortunately had not been able to play in that game because he had pulled his groin in the last week of the season and he was devastated. That game his team had lost in a shut out to there rival. The score was 28 to 0.

Jack knew that he was going to play division 1 college but he didn’t know where. He had been offered a free ride to Michigan State, but he was not sure that he liked that school. The main reason why was because their team hadn’t been too great the last couple of years because all of there great players had been drafted into the NFL. He had turned down this school because of that reason. Jack had also been offered a full ride to some other colleges such as Ohio State, USC, LSU, and Miami University. Jack had been faced with many big decisions in his life and what college he was going to choose was going to be a big decision for Jack. He had been leading towards LSU because they had a good football program. Jack’s parents also wanted him to attend a college where it was also mainly about academics instead of just football. Jack had three weeks left to get back to Ohio State and LSU to tell them if he was going to go there. For USC and Miami he only had two weeks because the deadline for those two colleges was February 15^th.

About a week went by Jack had declined Miami and USC. His parents had helped him so much with his decision and he was very thankful to them both. The college process had been very stressful for Jacks parents and him. Another couple of days went by and he was still trying to decide between Ohio State and LSU. Jack only had a few weeks left in high school. His parents had both agreed that they think LSU would be the better fit instead of Ohio State.

It was February 12^th and Jack had finally made a decision. He got out his cell phone and he dialed the number. The phone rang a couple of times and the head coach of LSU picked up the phone.

“Hi, this is Jack from Mclean High School. I would like to let you know that I have made my decision and I’m going to play football for your team.”

The coach from LSU was very happy. He new that his team was going to be great this year. Jack and the coach had set up a day on a weekend that Jack would fly out to LSU and look at the college.

When Jack’s parents came home that day he told them the news. They were very happy with his decision. They celebrated that day by having his whole family come over and they had a party.

Jack’s first year a LSU was not as good as he expected. He realized that there was a few other very talented running backs at LSU. He basically did not play his whole freshman year and he was so frustrated that he was about ready to transfer to a different college. He really loved football and he did not know if he was going to be able to do this another year in a row. The running back that was starting over him was a sophomore and he was only a freshman. That meant that he was not going to be able to start until his senior year. At the end of the year he had a long discussion with the head coach of LSU. Jack told him that he was considering about transferring. The coach said it wouldn’t be a good idea because Jack could still get some playing time his next two years even though there was a running back better then him. Jack didn’t listen to the advice that the coach had given him and 1 week after their conversation Jack transferred to the University of Northern Colorado. At the start of his sophomore year Jack had the starting job easily. He knew he was going to play a lot but his team overall was not so good.

During training camp Jack heard some news that he could not believe. He had never been this angry at himself. The running back that was starting over him at LSU had injured his knee and his career was over. Jack remembered his conversation with the head coach of LSU and he new he should have waited for his opportunity to start. Jack new that there was no way the he could go back to LSU to play football so he just continued his career at the University of Northern Colorado. When Jack got older he always remembered the conversation that he had with the coach of LSU.

Hitting the Slopes by Zack T

It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Fred was just waking up to get ready to go snowboarding. It had snowed last night so the decided to go to a nearby mountain to go snowboarding for a few hours. Fred and his crew loved snowboarding more than anything. Just the energy of being awake at 630 A.M and being the only one on the roads, or riding down the mountain as fast as you can in a new layer of snow. When the got to the mountain at roughly 8:30 A.M, they out on their gear, bought a lift ticket, and hopped on the ski lift.

This early in the day, the lifts were quick considering that no one was here yet that was just learning to ski or snowboard. Usually around noon, a lot of people show up that haven’t gone skiing or snowboarding so the lifts stop every few minutes for the few people who fall off the lift when trying to get on. The first few runs down were great, and the snow was in pristine conditions. Fred and his friends were glad they went to the mountain today.

Soon after, they came to a trail with no sign. They looked everywhere until finally, they found it in the snow. They realized that it was a double black diamond, so they looked on the map to see where it would take them. After repeatedly looking over the map, they could not find it. Since it wasn’t on the map, and the sign was buried in snow, Fred figured that the maintenance patrol didn’t really keep up with that trail anymore, and it could be dangerous.

Fred and the gang were up for a challenge, and decided to try it out. In the beginning, it wasn’t too bad and there were a few trees. The trail was getting rapidly dense, and the branches of the trees started getting in the way of our trail. They started to slow down to avoid trees, and while doing so they saw a stream in the distance. They couldn’t go back now, it would be too long of a walk and there were a few hills they weren’t sure they could walk up. If the stream wasn’t so wide, they could have tried to jump it. They weren’t sure what to do, so they stopped for a minute.

Fred told them that they should just try hydroplaning across. They would need to have a lot of speed to do this though, which they didn’t have. The group of snowboarders finally came up with and idea, 1 person would go at a time, and the rest would give them a starting push. As long as they could hold their balance, they could make it across. Everyone had gone now, except for Fred and he had no one to push him. Fred looked around for another way over, but the only thing he found was a log over to the left. The log went right over the stream, and then, at the end of the log there would be a long drop.

“Yo Fred how you gonna get across?” Mike asked.

“Well,” Fred began, “I think I can, but I don’t have much speed.”

The crew had been filming throughout the day, and he saw this as a perfect opportunity to get some good footage. He told his buddy Mike to get out the video camera, and Fred strapped in. Mike was ready, and Fred pushed off. As he approached the log, he did a backside 180, landing on the log very smoothly. The log was icy, and he was losing balance, but he managed to stay on till the end, in which he leaned on his tail, and spun. He jumped off the log, still spinning and grabbed his board to do a Melon. He knew that it would be perfect for the video.

His friends slid over to him and congratulated him, and they slowly got out of this double black diamond trail. This was one of the best snowboarding days this season, and he was pumped. They went down to the lodge, grabbed some hot chocolate and some curly fries, and enjoyed the food. They went back for a run or two, and called it quits. It may have been cold that day, but they all new it was worth it.

Weapons of Mass Contrition by Wesley C

John and Kara were newly weds, and on their flight to their honey moon in Paraguay. Kara’s mom, who John didn’t particularly like, and she didn’t care for him, booked them a hotel somewhere in Ecuador. The anticipation of finally getting there made it seem like the plane ride took two days.

Arriving at the air port was their biggest feeling of relief. They had been crammed on the plane for six hours, with several crying babies. Now, they rushed up to their shuttle that was going to take them to their hotel. The driver seemed very mean and quiet, kind of like he wanted to kill everybody, which made the ride to the hotel very uncomfortable.

Because of the uncomfortable mood, it also made the feeling of arriving to their hotel seem a lot better. It was one of the most beautiful places they’d ever seen, and were anxious to see their room and the rest of the resort.

After unpacking, they took a swim in the pool. All of the hotel workers were very happy all the time, smiling continuously. But every vacationer they talked to never smiled, once. Most of them also had injuries and were stuck in a wheelchair or on crutches. They made John and Kara think about why there were so many injured, angry people here.

Later that night, the hotel was throwing a party for their wedding. Almost every one who was vacationing there went, yet no one smiled. John and Kara weren’t going to let this ruin their fun, so they just totally let loose.

Around midnight, they were so messed up that they got lost in a patch of woods next to the hotel. They stumbled along for hours, not even sure what country they were in. Something that the bartender gave them must have made them feel like this, because there was no way any amount of alcohol could ever have done this.

Eventually, they stumbled upon a run down shed. “I think it would be best if we stayed in there tonight. It will be a little bit of protection from the animals and bugs,” John said, the feeling just barely starting to wear off. They walked in and layed down on the floor, passing out almost immediately.

John woke from the eerie scream which sounded like a human being. Screams that could turn blood cold, and only could have been made from death. He looked around and it was still dark, the sun hadn’t risen yet. Kara got up too, confused just as he was.

They noticed that on the walls were things that didn’t look very pleasing. Things like maces and chains and tools that might be used to torture someone. And, they were all covered in blood. They tried to figure it out, but were more scared than anything. They came to the conclusion that this was someone’s shed, and these were someone’s tools, and they were used for the obvious reason.

For some protection, they took the mace and sword, still covered in blood, incase they were to need them. As they stepped outside, the sun was just above the tree line. John noticed their footprints from last night, and thought that their best bet to get back to the hotel was to follow their footprints back and then contact someone from there.

After a few hundred yards, the footprints lead them to the beach, and they could no longer follow them. John and Kara now became overwhelmed with concern because they had no idea where they were and how to get to civilization, never mind the psychopathic serial killers who were probably somewhere nearby.

John noticed a river flowing into the ocean a few hundred meters down the beach. If they could follow that up, he might eventually find some town or city. Kara was a little reluctant to go because of how she knew there were fresh water crocodiles in this country.

After about 2 hours of following the river, John and Kara stumbled upon a trail that went along side the river. They thought it would be best to use it since they could travel much faster, and hopefully make it to the city before sun down.

John noticed a low humming sound and dove into the bushes with his wife, fearing for their lives. It got louder and louder until they saw it. It was an ATV, and it was towing a trailer. On this trailer were two people, and both of them were tied up, back to back, screaming for help.

John and Kara wanted to help these people so bad, but knew that they could not do anything to help without losing their lives, too. Once the ATV had passed by and was well out of sight, they continued to push on.

A few hours after noon, they came upon a clearing up ahead. In this clearing, there was a .45 Magnum, lying in a pool of blood. Both John and Kara could only imagine what had made this pool of blood. John had never felt safe with just the weapon he had, so he took the Magnum, too.

Just before sun down, John stopped, abruptly. Kara looked at him in confusion.

“What is it?” she asked.

“SHHH!” he replied. Kara thought he was going insane from dehydration or something.

A few seconds later, John started to sprint ahead. Kara followed him as fast as she could, and watched him disappear behind the bend. As she came around this bend, he realized what John was listening to. It was a road, and there were few cars driving on it.

John figured he had about an hour left of daylight, so they decided to follow the road. Luckily, they were lead into the town center, and found a police station. They rushed inside, immediately explaining what was happening. The police didn’t know any English, and saw these people practically screaming at them, holding a .45 Magnum and a lance and sword. Their reaction was to hand-cuff the two, and put them in a temporary jail cell.

John and Kara were really confused now, trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually, the police came in and moved them to a real prison. Here, someone who knew how to speak English came to them, explaining.

“John, you are here today for suspicion of murder. The weapons you were carrying had the blood of several people who were missing for 2 weeks now. And, the Magnum you had was used to kill a man whose body was found yesterday. You shall be sentenced to 45 years in prison.”

John looked at Kara then, and said, “What a great honey moon, right?”

Nothing Left to Lose by Tessa H

The day my mother died was the hardest day of my life. I can still remember how hard it was for me to face the facts that I was all alone, with no money, no family, and without happiness. I fell into a bottomless depression that I didn’t want to come out of. I thought it was the only way to keep me safe, from myself and the world. I tried so hard to continue my life. I was still living at our loft in New York City, where I was born and raised. That was, until our landlord kicked me out for not paying the rent. Where would I go? I had no one, and nothing left.

I ended up staying with my friend Tansy in Manhattan. She let me live with her while I was trying to get my life back to normal. I got a job at a local diner busting tables. It was not my first choice for a job, but it would do for now. I had never had a job before so most people could probably tell it was my first time. A boy who worked at the diner, named Sheen helped me out on taking orders and bringing the customers their food for a few days while I got the hang of it. It was very hard for me to be around people. I could tell I was acting unpleasant, and I knew I had a sorrowful and gloomy look on my face. I kept thinking about my mother, and how successful she was at her work. I could hear her now…

“Tatum, pick yourself up and continue to live. 4I know life shouldn’t have turned out this way but you need to continue living. You only live once, so make the most out of it.”

Weeks went by, and I continued to work at the diner. I was only making minimum wage, and it wasn’t enough to live off of. Tansy notified me that she would be transferring to Colorado for her new job in a few months. I started to look for apartments, but I couldn’t find any that suited me and were also in my price range. Now I was really alone, with nothing else to live for.

I kept wondering why I was meant to be in this world. All I had, was a job, that barely let me get by, and myself. Actually I’m lying, I didn’t have myself either. I was lost and trapped and I felt that I couldn’t get out. I had began to get these horrific flashbacks from the day my mother was murdered.

I think it was around 6:30 when I came home from the grocery store. Mom and I were planning to have a girl’s night, since we hadn’t seen much of each other lately. She was so busy latley trying close a deal at work with one of her clients. I remember walking in through the front door, and seeing her there, covered in blood. I just froze. I thought,

“Could that really be my mom, and why am I not going to help her?”

I knew why, but I didn’t want to admit to myself she was dead. I exploded into tears, and ran to the phone to call 911. The rest of the night had become a blur to me.

The cops and investigators never found out who had murdered my mother, and he was still out there. One thing I do remember very well was my mother always telling me to do the right thing, even if I was in a slump; and I was, but I knew I had to do something about it.

A few months passed by. Tansy left last week, so I was now living at Sheens house until I found an apartment. I was feeling better, and not as freaked out as I had been lately thinking about my mother. I wanted to do something for her to let her know in someway I was looking after her. Later that week I decided to go to the town hall and talk to the mayor. I asked him if I could start a group called W.A.C.A.M. It was women against crime and murder in New York City.

In the first few weeks 7 women had signed up for my new group. I had finally developed some courage to talk to these women about the tragic thing that had happened to me. I was ready to listen to what they had to say as well. It actually felt good to get it of my chest and to talk to people what I had to go through to become the strong person I am today. Each of these women had a different story then me, but in ways they were similar. It was heartbreaking but I needed to hear, I wasn’t alone, and other people had lost a loved one as well.

It has been over two years now, since the day my mother was murdered. To this day the group and I continue to get together. We worked together to become strong people. We haven’t forgotten about out the people we lost, but celebrate their life, and think about the good they did to this world. I know I will never forget my mother, and what an amazing and wonderful person she was.

The Dark Side by Rachael B

Everyone thought that I had the perfect life. My brother was an all-star shortstop for our school team, my dad loved his job, my mom stayed home to take care of us, and I was a straight A student. School was a fun for me because my classes were simple and homework was a breeze. I did have one friend named Sarah. We were best friends since second grade. She was much more outgoing and popular than me and she always tried to help me gain more confidence, but it never worked. Everything had been going smoothly for me.

The whole town had been in fright ever since there was an emergency announcement stating that someone had been murdered in the town. People were acting more paranoid than normal. They didn’t say who was killed, but when our phone rang I prayed that it wasn’t someone we knew. The word was out, my best friend Sarah was murdered. The police said that she was lying in her room with knife wounds. They said that they couldn’t find any trace of evidence on the body or in the bedroom. Everyone in school was in complete shock from the news. There was a moment of silence for her after the school announcements. On my way home I saw flowers in front of Sarah’s house for her parents out of respect.

Eli came home around five thirty from practice. He is very popular in school. As a result from that everyone calls me Eli’s sister. For dinner we had green bean casserole, which I never ate. My parents think that I love it, but I just slide the food into the flowerpot behind me. After dinner I went upstairs to lie on my bed. Something sharp had poked my leg when I sat down. I pulled out my sheets and I found a bloody knife.

My hand was trembling at the sight of it. When my mom knocked on the door, I had to act fast so I hid the knife in my drawer. All she just wanted to know was if I wanted any apple pie for desert, even though she knows that I hate apples. I said no thanks and she went back down stairs. The whole night I was contemplating on what to do with my situation. I was trying to think if someone were trying to frame me, or if they were giving me a sign that I would be the next victim.

I didn’t get any sleep that night because I was so paranoid. I thought that maybe it was all a dream and was imagining things, but when I opened my drawer I realized that it was reality. That morning when I walked down stairs something seemed wrong. I couldn’t hear my mother in the kitchen cooking breakfast, or my dad yelling at the TV about they’re being too many commercials. It was so quiet I could hear a church mouse. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw blood smeared on the wall. My legs went numb, but I had to find the courage inside of me to find out what was going on. As I walked into the kitchen I saw my mother lying on the floor dead.

My body went paralyzed. I panicked and ran back upstairs to my room. I was trying to think if someone broke into the house, but I couldn’t stop crying so I wasn’t thinking straight. I some how calmed down and began to walk to my dresser and held the knife. When I looked into my mirror I began to talk to myself. Then I saw myself moving in the mirror, but I wasn’t the one moving. “Do you really think someone broke into the house?” “What is going on?” “Like you don’t know, I’m you.” “How is that possible? I know who I am.” “Oh please, we are two different people living in one body.”

“What are you talking about?” “I mean that we share a body. See you lost control of your life, so you pretty much created me to help cope with everything.” “ I have a great life. I get straight A’s, my mom loves me unconditionally, my dad is supportive of me, and Eli is my best friend.” “Yeah right, nobody knows who you are in school, your mom doesn’t even recognize that you hate her food, your dad ignores you, and Eli is the golden child. Did I hit the nail on that one?” “Yes.” “You have always been jealous of Sarah too. She always got the attention and everyone loved her, but not you.” “That is why we killed your mother and Sarah.” I heard the front door close. It was Eli. “So you know what we have to do now to make it all right.” “Yup.”

I heard Eli scream since he saw our mother’s lifeless body. He ran upstairs to be surprised that I wasn’t there. The echo of his voice began to fill the house. “Anna? Ann? Where are you?” I stepped around the corner and starred at him with my black lifeless eyes. “I called the police and I checked the house, but nobody is here. Thank goodness you’re okay.” As he stepped toward me I pulled out the knife. “What are you doing with that?” I began to walk his way at a slow pace. “What’s wrong Anna?” “Nothing is wrong. I feel fantastic, and I’m not Anna. She’s gone. You know, she cared about you more than anyone.” His face turned white with fear. He darted for the door, but I caught up to him and hit him in the back of the head with a lamp. Eli fell unconscious, but when he woke up I was hovering over him holding the knife.

“What happened to you? What happened to my little sister?” he said in a weakening voice. “I told you that I am not Anna. My name is Natalie. She created me in her mind because of all of the crap in her life that she could barely handle. She was a ticking time bomb, but before she exploded I came along, and she had no idea. Oh and just so you know I am the one who killed your mother and Sarah. By the way say hi to them for me.”

Where am I now? I am in a mental institution where they treat me like I am in jail. Apparently one of the neighbors heard the ruckus and walked in after I killed Eli. The court decided that since I have a split personality disorder it was a difficult decision, so they decided to send me here. I lost my friends and my family. The only person that has not deserted me is Natalie.

The Rescue by Philip M

Once upon a time there lived a man named Arnold. He was wealthy and very hard working. He worked as an architect. He has built and designed many houses even his. The year was 2045 and in the middle of a war. This war had more casualties than the Civil War and World War 2. Arnold had a son named Jeff. He was 16 and had his permit. He was looking to enlist. Arnold thought he was crazy but Jeff didn’t care what his father thought. The only problem was there were strict laws against anyone under 18 enlisting. Jeff thought about a fake ID but they have a machine that you have to scan and it can detect a fake ID.

Two years later he still wanted to enlist and was counting down the days until he could. Two more days he kept telling himself. By this time the war had hit 100,000 casualties. The government knew they had to do something. And a week later they were going to have a draft. When Jeff heard about this he was incredibly happy. He waited out the week and ran down to the draft. He was picked. Jeff didn’t know what he was getting himself into, the worst war in history.

Jeff was sent to training camp and it was brutal. He drove himself insane trying to do all the push up and sit ups. But after a little while they felt easier to him. He wrote to his dad everyday. He told him about how everyone was so mean and how he wants to give up, but his father’s words of encouragement kept him going. He finally got through training and was being sent to war. He wrote this to his dad. Arnold, who was diagnosed with cancer and the doctors said he didn’t have long to live. Jeff had to go for six month so he hoped his father would hold out that long.

The next week Jeff was shipped out to Japan. His task was hard and would take the whole six months. He was on a search and rescue mission. His team was supposed to find another team who went in a while ago. Jeff and his team had a dangerous mission, even though the commanders told them it wasn’t, they had to get through Japans main command post, and it was heavily guarded. His team was made up of two snipers, and machine guns. For the next two month they will be trying to find out where Japan’s post is located.

After about two months of searching they finally found it. The Japanese kept moving their post to different places so no one could find it. Jeff and his team were so happy they found it they feasted on nearly half their food. The team decided that they should send a scouting team out to see how well the place was armed. Jeff heard some gunshots and they all came back. The team had lost 1 person, their best gunman, Alfred, who got shot straight through the head. But then they mentioned a wall being unguarded. The entire team then went to the wall, got over it and jumped down inside.

Now it was time for the hardest part of the journey, they had to rescue another team who had been caught and had valuable information on them. Jeff spotted a palace in the center of the city. They managed to slip inside and caught a glimpse of the team they had to rescue. Soon as Jeff and his team found the other one, guards came walking around the corner. Guns were fired and the guards were dead. The team then took the bars off the jail cell and searched to find some guns. With all the new people they could walk right out the front door. But they didn’t so no one would know they were there. They went the same way out of the town. Once they got to the wall Japanese soldiers were standing there. Jeff, the team’s captain, decided that they should just shoot all of them. After doing that they climbed the wall with no problems. They called a helicopter to pick them up, and they all went home.

Jeff father died one day after he got home. Jeff and his team received a medal of honor. The war ended a few months after that because a US assassin killed the emperor. Years later he educated people on the war telling them about how it started and how it ended. The assassin was actually one of Jeff’s friends during their journey. Jeff is now 52 and still teaching kids about World War 3.

One More Day by Meghan M

Amanda looked out of her bedroom window. It was a lucid and snowy day. The snow was collecting on top of the roads and leaving no trace of cars driving by. The grass was lightly dusted with new fallen snow and the evergreen trees could barely be seen through the ghost white powder. Amanda wished she were outside. She dreaded being in this place and just wanted to be set free.

Amanda was one of the healthiest girls around. She never got the flu or a cold and seemed almost immune to disease, until terror struck. Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. Her and her family had no idea what to do. Amanda was terrified and her family did not think they could deal with it. So in order to save the family and keep Amanda in good health, they sent her off to a hospital where she has been ever since. She hasn’t seen her family in many years and no one had come to visit her until now.

After staring out the window for quite some time, Amanda decided to go have a little breakfast. She was not really in the mood to eat, but it would get her mind off of things. After breakfast was finished she retired back to her room. Once again she began to stare out the window. All of a sudden, there was a lady walking toward the hospital. Amanda thought she looked familiar, but she could not put her finger on how she knew her. Then a few minutes there was a knock on Amanda’s door.

“Hello, Amanda, there is someone here to see you. May we come in?” asked one of the nurse’s.

Amanda was so excited she ran toward the door. Having a visitor was the only thing she had wanted. The nurse slowly opened the door and Amanda found herself looking at her long time friend Kloe. Amanda began to cry. She was so happy to see her best friend she just could not hold back her emotions.

“Well, well, well look what we have here,” said Kloe.

“Why are you in this dump?”

Amanda did not know what to say should she make up a lie and tell her that she was just here on a checkup and not here with a life threatening disease. So many things were going through her mind. Amanda decided that she had to tell her. They had been friends for so long and she could not just lie to her like that.

“Well you see Kloe, I was diagnosed with cancer and my family decided to put me here for their sake,” explained Amanda.

Once again the tears started to come. Kloe came over and gave her a big hug.

“It is ok we will get through this, but I have one question. Do you want to get out of here?”

Now you see Amanda had never really thought about this idea. She was too busy staring out her window waiting for someone to come and visit her.

“Yes, I would love to get out of this place,” Amanda said.

There was no way Amanda was going to get any better so she decided to make the most out of the little time she had left. And what better to spend that time with her best friend Kloe.

They quickly ran out of the building, but not before packing all of Amanda’s clothes. They raced to Kloe’s car almost losing their balance on the newly fallen snow. They were going to take a road trip all the way to California. Since Amanda had spent most of her life in Vermont she wanted to make this trip special and go across the country.

They loaded up on gas and headed toward the highway. The girls occasionally stopped for food or gas but then quickly went back on their way. It took them about ten days to make it to California.

Amanda was slowly getting sicker and sicker. There was one last thing she wanted to see and that was the Hollywood hills. The girls made their way up the hills and reached the summit. Amanda was thrilled. This was the most beautiful spot she had ever been to. Then she collapsed. Amanda just lay there on the ground motionless.

Kloe took her straight to the hospital but it was too late. Amanda had passed away. It was a sad time for everyone but at least she was able to go across the country and finally get out of Vermont to see the Hollywood hills.

Our Family Story by Martha H

I remember it very clearly, February 2^nd. The day it was over. It was everything we worked for, everything we deserved, everything we thought about for sixty days straight. It never left our mind, not for a second. And the thought of that final victory teased and taunted us everyday. Every wall, every pushup, every lay up and sprint made our dream a small step closer to achieving. And in thirty-two minutes it ended. Thirty-two minutes of the hundreds of hours we worked. Barely a half hour time span and in a dramatic way, our lives had ended.

November 10^th, we began to experience hell. Excited and nervous, we were blindsided about what we were about to endure. Four hours seemed like a short enough time for us. Little did we know that with in those hours, we would push our bodies to a limit we didn’t know existed. The first two hours was straight conditioning, this was to be expected. I laugh now when I think of how naïve we players were. The few sprints we were expecting never occurred. And the reality of the fifty walls of consecutive sprints didn’t hit me until I was dry heaving on the side lines with every other guy in the gym.

From day one coach called us a family. And a family does everything together and finishes everything they start. Nine guys hadn’t completed the sprinting drill. So being the family that we were, we did the drill until every single person finished it. I ran over two hundred walls that day, and my assumable “excellent physical shape” didn’t give me an advantage. The last two hours were skill drills. Whether we were sprinting full court lay-ups or sprinting ball handling drills, our legs never stopped moving. After finishing up with a two mile run, day one of our five day try outs had ended.

It was hard to believe that our first day would be the easiest of the five but as we soon discovered, it seemed like a breeze compared to the others. Not only was each try out harder in skill and speed, but the more our mind told our muscles to give up, the harder it was to ignore. But soon enough our hell week was over, and practice began. Things were predicted to ease up since try outs were over but we learned very early to expect the unexpected. Practice had slowly become our daily rituals and occurred everyday until the games began.

Coach had promised that we would be ready for our first game and he hadn’t been kidding. We read, visualized, and wrote our plays down ten times a day and with the penalty of running five suicides for every mistake, no one forgot what to do after the second day of reviewing. Our first game was a rigorous game but in the end we had won.

The congratulation came short and was completely forgotten the next day at practice, but the mistakes we had made throughout the game were not. We worked and perfected and soon enough, it was time for our next game.

The games continued as the season crept on and before we knew it, playoffs began. It was unheard of that our town team wouldn’t make playoffs and with a recent state champ’s record, we had a lot to live up to. Other teams should’ve been intimidated but since we lost eight seniors last year; they expected us to be rookies. We were reminded that everyday and we fed on it to reenergize us. Playoffs had begun and we were ready. Slowly but steadily we continued to win our games. Eventually we found ourselves in the division finals.

The game was against the team we had beat in our first game. They underestimated us and losing was infuriating for them. They were hyped up and ready to play, but so were we. The game was unbelievably even, we scored and they followed in suit. But with three minutes left, the two point game we had since the start had ended and we pulled away with the win. I’ve never felt so accomplished before that moment, but we knew that it wasn’t over yet.

State Championships, here we come. The two hour drive didn’t stop the town from coming to support us. We stepped on the court and the crowd went crazy. The crowd, the feelings, the excitement began to fad once tip off began. We were caught off guard like coach had expected. The excitements of our past wins were over and the only thing that mattered now was this one game. By halftime opposing team held the lead by eighteen. Fretting the yelling and infuriation of the coach, we ran into the locker room.

But he didn’t yell or scream. He didn’t throw his clip board or get in our faces. He asked us what had happened in that first half. Where are the heart had gone, and motivation and courage and strength and why had it left? We knew we hadn’t worked this hard to come in this gym and get dominated and we were ready to change that. Second half was different, we came out strong.

The fight was difficult but with thirty seconds left, we were down by two.

Sprinting down the court to try and get one last shot, we had the confidence we could do it. We weren’t fast enough. Time ran out, we had lost. But none of that mattered. What mattered was how we got there and what it took, what mattered was how our family pulled together and didn’t give up. We lost but in our own way, we won a lot more. We would be back next year and knew exactly what we’d needed to do. February 2^nd was over, but in a way it was just the start.

There’s always a Spot for You in My Heart by Madeline D

It was my 16^th birthday, May 27^th, probably one of the most important events in a teenage girl’s life, but was soon to be the worst. I was in the bathroom getting ready, when I heard my cell phone start ringing. I read the caller ID, Heather, home. I don’t remember the last time she had called me from her house phone. Ever since she got her own cell phone, she hasn’t come close to using her house phone. I already knew what she was going to say. She was going to start singing the happy birthday song. She has done it every year, since we were 5.

“Hello?” I answered trying to sound surprised.

“Kim?” A questioned voice answered back.

“Yeah.” I was confused. This isn’t Heather, what’s going on?

“Hi Hun. It’s Mrs. McMan I have to tell you something. Something happened to Heather.” She was talking in a quite voice, with a quiver.

I felt my stomach in my throat. My heart began to race faster and faster. What was going on? Where is my best friend and why she isn’t on the other line singing happy birthday to me like she always does? I then could here Mrs. McMan started to choke up and give the phone to her husband.

“Kim, are you still there?” It was now Mr. McMan on the phone.

“Mhm.” I said.

“Kim, this morning, Heather was killed. She was going on her morning run and was hit by a drunk driver. His voice soon began to fade and I could tell that he tried to hold back his tears. I’m so sorry dear; I know this must be hard, especially to find out on your birthday.” His voice was very quiet, and I could tell he was trying not to cry.

I hung up the phone, and collapsed on the floor. Everything in my mind went blank. I closed my eyes so I could see nothing. I blocked my ears with my hands so I could hear nothing, and I just laid there. I was thinking, is this real? Did my best friend just die on my birthday? How can I live another day without her? Why me, why me? I then started to hear the faded sound of our telephone ring and a few seconds later, a loud shriek from my mother. I heard her panicked foot steps running up the stairs. She came into my room and fell next to me on floor and held me in her arms.

“I’m so sorry Kim.” She said while kissing my fore head.

Days had past, and I hadn’t talked to any of my other friends. The funeral was tomorrow, and I was afraid I couldn’t handle it, but my mom had promised me that if I couldn’t take it that she would bring me home. Heather and I always said that wearing all black to a funeral was so weird. We said that if one of us died we wouldn’t wear black; we would wear bright, fun colors. Joking obviously, not one of us thought we would die before we turned 18.

I decided that I wouldn’t wear black, and wear crazy colors. I wore a hot pink short dress with black pumps, and a crazy multicolored head band. When I looked at my self in the mirror a tear streaked down my face, and then I started to giggle. Heather would have loved this. I looked ridiculous.

The funeral was at a beautiful cemetery in a small town where Heather lived before she moved. When I got there everyone was staring at me, but I didn’t care. I knew Heather would have done it for me. It was raining-classic. Heather always said that every funeral she had been to it was raining, and in a lot of the dramatic movies she’d seen.

When the priest started speaking, I tuned him out. I started thinking of a time when Heather and I went to the beach together. It was last summer. We went to the outer banks in North Carolina. We met these two really cute boys from France. They had the coolest accents. Heather was the more outgoing one. She never cared what people thought of her, or what they said behind her back. She always brought out the best in me. I felt I could only be my true self when I was around her. One hot night, Heather had convinced me to sneak out so we could meet the boys on the beach. On the way down to the beach Heather asked me if I wanted to play truth or dare.

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yes, right now. Okay, truth or dare?” She said.

“Um, truth.”

“You’re such a baby. Dare. I dare you to kiss one of the French boys tonight, but not the one with the long brown hair, he’s mine.

“No way!”

“Yes way, we are never are going to see them again and you still haven’t gotten your first kiss yet. So, you can just practice on some hottie that you’ll never speak to again.”

For some reason, she had convinced me just saying that. She usually has to go on for about 15 minutes before I give in. You can probably guess what happened. We had a great time and at the end of the night, I kissed the French boy. I’m also pretty sure that Heather had gotten to second base with the other French boy. That was one of many great memories Heather and I shared together.

“We love you and miss you so much. We’ll pray for you. Amen.” Heather’s uncle was finishing up his speech.

That was the last speech. Everyone put there flowers down, and said some last words. I waited until everyone got in there cars, so I could say something. I knelt down beside her grave, and started talking to her like she was right there in front of me and we were looking in each others eyes.

“Heather, you are what made me who I am. I was only comfortable with you, and I am going to miss you so much. I really don’t how I am going to live my life without you. No matter how far heaven might be, you’ll always be my best friend. I love you and I will never forget you. There’s always a spot for you in my heart. Goodbye for now.”

I started to cry and right then the sun came out. I knew Heather was listening and that made me feel so much better.

Look Before You Leap by Maddie M

Once upon a time there lived the Carmichaels. They were your typical American family, except the father, Chris, was a top lawyer in California, so he and his family got to live like royalty. His wife, Lynette, was also very successful in her job by owning her own realtor business. Together they had two daughters named Larissa and Heidi. Larissa was two years older than Heidi and they were complete opposites. However, they were each other’s best friends. One Saturday morning, the girls got up and decided to go to the mall.

“Bye girls, have fun!” said Lynette as they walked out the door. And, believe me when I say the girls listened to their mother when she told them to have fun. Spending hundreds of dollars was something that the Carmichael sisters were very good at. Six hours, $3,000, and thirty-two shopping bags later was when the girls decided to head home, which was around four o’clock.

“Almost time for the party!” exclaimed Heidi.

“Heidi, I told you, in order to have the party, first, we have to get mom and dad out of the house.”

“Sorry, I forgot about that part.”

Now it was almost six o’clock and Larissa decided that it was time to talk mom and dad into going out for the night. Dinner and a movie always seemed to do the trick. After twenty minutes of persuading, they finally agreed to leave the house. And the best part was that they forgot to tell her she couldn’t throw a party.

Just before Lynette and Chris walked out the door around seven, they told the girls ‘the safety speech.’ “Don’t open the door for anyone, keep all of the windows locked, don’t answer the phone unless you know the phone number…”

“Mom, I’m sixteen years old. Don’t you think I’m a little old for that spiel? And if you don’t get a move on, you’re going to miss the movie. And remember, make sure you call twenty minutes before you come home, and please, take your time. Stay out as late as you want to!” yelled Larissa, but her parents were already stepping into their brand new fire red Cadillac.

“Alright Heidi, now we can have the party. Grab my cell phone and call everyone that we know. Have them here for like eight, and tell them to bring a friend. Just make sure that you don’t invite Chad Alby,” said Larissa.

“Okay, I got it. No Chad!”

The first people to come were Larissa’s best friend Katherine and her boyfriend, Nick. After they showed up, the rest of the school just started pouring in. It’s a good thing that the Carmichaels house was a mansion, because anything smaller than that wouldn’t have fit the forty people that were now dancing across their living room floor.

After several hours, Heidi just so happened to glance at the clock.

“Larissa, it’s already eleven thirty! Mom and Dad should be getting home soon!”

“Heidi, they just called me. They said that they were stuck in traffic, so they won’t be home for at least another hour!”

Little did Larissa know was that the phone call from her parents came in at ten forty-five, and now it was eleven thirty. She had fifteen minutes to get forty people out of her house and clean everything up. It’s a good thing she had Heidi to help out, because it wasn’t just Larissa’s mess. Some of Heidi’s friends were there too.

As soon as Larissa realized what time it actually was, she panicked.

“Everybody out!” she screamed. “I mean it, get out now!”

Nobody cared how loud Larissa was screaming, or that she had tears streaming down her face in frustration. Nobody cared that the music was off either. The guests had made up their minds; they weren’t going anywhere. However, there was one thing Larissa hadn’t tried yet, bribery.

It was eleven forty eight when Heidi saw the Cadillac headlights pour through the living room windows. Eleven fifty was when Larissa heard the clacking of her mom’s Jimmy Choo pumps coming up the porch and onto the steps of their mansion.

“Hi mom,” said Larissa and Heidi together. “We just finished watching a movie, but now we’re going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Okay girls. Goodnight.”

“I can’t believe that we got everyone out of the house in less than fifteen minutes,” said Heidi once they were upstairs in Larissa’s room.

“It’s amazing what a fifty dollar bill can do. I’ve never seen some of those people move so fast!”

“Well, I really am tired, so goodnight!” exclaimed Heidi.

Just before Heidi opened the door to exit Larissa’s room, Lynette beat her to it. Larissa and Heidi were shocked to see an unpleasant, familiar boy standing next to their mother with a look of confusion on his face.

“Chad Alby! What are you doing here?” screamed Larissa.

“I came for the party, but apparently I was a little late.”

“Haha. That’s funny. What party are you talking about? There was no party here,” said Larissa, praying that her mother would believe her.

“Larissa, enough. Chad told me everything, and I believe him. His story sounds exactly like something the two of you would try to pull off. Now, thanks to Chad here, you are both in big trouble,” said Lynette.

That night, neither of the Carmichael girls slept much. One part of them felt guilty about going behind their parents back, and the other part of them was proud and happy because if it weren’t for Chad, they wouldn’t have been caught. Neither one of their parents had any clue what had happened that night.

The next morning, the guilt over powered the joy and the girls wished that they had never thrown the party. They also remembered that it was the same day that their credit card bills were coming in the mail, and they knew that they had gone way over their limits.

Once the girls reached the dining room table, the first thing they heard was their dad yelling at them.

“You spent six hundred dollars on a purse?” screamed Chris.

“Well, Heidi and I are going to share it, so it’s like getting two three hundred dollar bags, which is a very reasonable price.” Larissa tried to sound as convincing as possible, but even she knew that she had dug her self a hole that was much too deep for her to get out of alone.

“Listen, Mom, Dad, we are really sorry about the party. We promise that we will never throw another one without your permission. And we’ll be sure to do all of the chores this week, and anything else you want,” said Larissa, trying to sound sincere while lying through her teeth. The only thing Larissa was promising was that she would never throw a party the night before her bills were coming in.

“You bet you’ll do everything we tell you to. Both of you are grounded for the next two weeks. I want your credit cards too until further notice. And I want that bag you just bought. It will go great with my new outfit,” said Lynette with a semi-smile on her face.

Heidi thought about protesting but she decided that once they were un- grounded, she would just go back and buy the same bag again .

So, in the end the Carmichael girls ended up staying grounded for the full two weeks, but they were each sick one week, so it didn’t matter about being grounded or not. Lynette waited on them hand and foot. However, they did learn one very important lesson. Never plan a party the night before your credit card bills are coming in.

Pirate Patricio by Lindsay B

As the ship rocked with the immense waves, Pirate Patricio didn’t even flinch. He was the bravest pirate in all the land and nothing frightened him. He had gone on countless journeys across the oceans, through the jungles, and over mountains far and wide. Pirate Patricio was very knowledgeable when it came to navigation but he was not a very kind man. Being a pirate and all, he took what he could get, even at the cost of others. In fact, once, he burned down a boat full of gifts to bring to a charity just so he could keep a thing or two for himself.

Pirate Patricio was setting out for his most challenging adventure yet. He planned to go to Cash Cay which was a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. No man had ever ventured all the way out to Cash Cay and made it back alive. Ancient legends say that there is a buried treasure hidden within Cash Cay’s deep bramble. Supposedly, the hidden treasure is guarded by an evil spell that won’t allow the jewels to leave the small, uncharted island. This didn’t bother Patricio one bit. In fact, he found it exciting that he would be the first one to advance all that way.

Once Patricio’s ship was packed with supplies, a makeshift crew, and Patricio’s other treasures, they were off. Patricio had nothing but confidence in himself but don’t be mistaken, he was not cocky. He was a stern leader and nobody questioned his authority. His crew was made up of the men he took mercy on when robbing their houses, boats, or anything else with value.

The journey to Cash Cay was a harsh one. They lost five out of twenty men and three more were getting sicker by the minute. But once Patricio’s ship pulled into the rocky shore, he knew it would all be worth it.

“Stay here,” he commanded, “Nobody leave the ship. If I’m not back within a week, come looking for me. If that happens, and I emphasize the ‘if’ part, be very careful. Many dangers lurk around every corner and I don’t want to lose any more men than we already have. I’m sure I’ll see you all in a few days. Good bye!” And with that, Patricio was off.

It took a good thirty minutes to get from the ship to shore because he of course had to use the row boat in the shallow waters. But once he lugged himself onto the soft, white sand, Patricio didn’t hesitate and began his search right away.

High and low he looked but could find nothing but panthers, snakes, spiders, poisonous vegetation, and salt water. Patricio didn’t even know where he was going to set camp and the sun was already beginning to cast a hazy shadow over the island’s mysteries. But Patricio could not rest until he found a place to stay the night. At that very moment, he saw a flame in the distance. Puzzled, he followed it until he reached what resembled a village. Tiny mud huts lined up along side a dirt road. Animals kept inside of pens and children running around, playing some sort of game that involved a stick and a pebble. A beautiful, young woman with long black hair and a turquoise necklace on slowly sauntered up to Patricio. Patricio had never seen such a beautiful woman. She was so real looking compared to the women back home. Her flawless complexion matched her dark chestnut eyes beneath her dark eyebrows. Patricio couldn’t help but stare.

“Can I help you?” the nameless woman asked in a soft, pure voice.

“Yes, my ship is wrecked and I have no place to stay for the night. Is there any way you can help me?” Patricio asked while lying through his teeth.

“Oh yes of course, we always have room here. I’m Natika. Welcome to my village.” She said with a smile.

“Patricio. The pleasure is all mine.” Patricio answered and stuck out his hand for a shake. Natika just stared at it, bewildered, and then turned around to walk away.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know,” she called back over her shoulder.

That night, Patricio couldn’t stop thinking about Natika. She was so perfect in every way and he didn’t even know anything about her, yet.

Over the next few days, Patricio and Natika spent more and more time together. Patricio forgot about the treasure all together. All he wanted now was to spend 100% of his time with Natika because he didn’t know how long it would last.

Everything was going perfect until Patricio caught sight of the large white sail that barely stuck up above the towering trees. In a day or so, his men would come looking for him and then he might have to leave Natika. Instead of that happening, Patricio would have to come up with a plan to keep them on the ship and send them home.

In the dark of the night, Patricio crept away from Natika’s hut and wandered to the shore. Once he arrived, he took the torch he had with him and waved it furiously. After an hour of that, one of his ship mates, Marg, must have caught sight of it so he paddled the row boat to shore.

“What is it boss?” he asked; ready to fulfill any order Patricio had.

“I want you to take my ship back home. Actually, now it’s your ship. Take her home for me and take good care of her. Take all the men with you and leave me here. Don’t ask any questions.” Patricio commanded.

“Aye aye , sir. But, one last thing…did you find the treasure you were lookin’ for?” Marg asked.

“No, I’ve found one twice as great. Now go on and set sail right away. If the men ask where I’ve gone, tell them you were worried so you went looking for me and saw me in horrible conditions, dieing and I appointed you as captain right there and then. If anyone gives you trouble, then just let them know whose boss. Now, be off!” Patricio said back to Marg, ready to start his new life with Natika.

And with that, the big, white sails that hovered above the treetops were gone by morning and Natika nor her people never new anything about Patricio’s past. He lived happily with Natika from there on out.

Too Little To Late by Lida H

BOOM! Was all you heard coming from Travis’s basement. It was no surprise to Lily when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Travis had always been into experiments. He never really did well in school except for science class. Travis had been trying for a while now to come up with an invention to heal cuts quickly & without pain. He had yet to do so but kept trying anyways. Lily had always been a supporter of Travis. She was in love with him since freshman year when they met at a school fundraiser. Though Travis knew that, he had no feelings for her, he thought she was too clingy and always getting into his business and asking him too many questions. It made him feel bad but the thought of her made him cringe and he wouldn’t mind if she had stopped interrupting into his life. But Lily was not the main problem right now, now he needed to focus on his experiments.

Travis had been struggling for hours and hours. Nothing seemed to work and he was getting more frustrated than ever. And just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse he looked to the side and there was Lily’s face again. This was her third time in the same hour, Travis was getting extremely annoyed. “Lily why are you here AGAIN?! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IN JUST ONE HOUR! DON’T YOU GET HOW OBNOXIOUS YOU ARE, JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Travis screamed.

Lily was shocked and startled by how Travis had just yelled at her. She searched for words but nothing came out. They both stood there and looked at each other. Lily didn’t want to believe that those words just came out of him mouth, and Travis couldn’t believe he actually told her the sad awful truth. Lily didn’t know much at the point other than she needed to leave now and wasn’t going to return back to this basement anytime soon or maybe ever again. Travis was angry and went to go chase after Lily when he knocked over some chemicals and they spilt into one another all over his arm. By the time he could get to the stairs Lily was gone, long gone.

It wasn’t until the next day when Travis woke up to put medicine on his arm where he had cut himself from a knife. It bled and bled and now he had to wait for it to heal, but last time he checked on it, it wasn’t looking any better. He really hated going to hospitals so he was going to refrain from going as long as possible. As he got out some medicine and went to go put in on he realized something….it was gone! What had happened?! The cut was deep and hadn’t been treated properly for it to heal just over night and disappear, even if he had gone to the hospital and gotten it treated no cut like it could just vanish in a 24 hour time frame. That’s when it hit him, the chemicals! That must be it! When he went to chase after Lily and all those chemicals spilt into his arm. Had he really done it?! He finally figured out a solution! He rushed into the basement to figure out what the chemicals were. Travis knew that any good scientist wouldn’t just rely on one trial. So he gathered a few of his friends who had cuts here on there on them. He tried and to his surprise it had worked, on all four people. This was amazing! Travis couldn’t wait to share with everyone the great invention! He thought he would tell Lily first, she was the only one who believed in him and was there while everyone else told him to get a real job. Then he realized that Lily wasn’t there anymore. But he snapped out of it and Lily didn’t seem to be a concern anymore, she never really had been to him. Now it was time, he had to go inform everyone of this magnificent product.

It didn’t take long for the word to get out to everyone in the town and even beyond. Everyone was talking about this new product and couldn’t wait to get their hands on it. Soon the press and everyone were at Travis’s door step waiting and wanting to catch a glimpse of it. It wasn’t until a week or so after the unforgettable day in Travis’s life that he got all the products packaged and ready to be sold. His invention sold everywhere and he made millions and billions of dollars. Travis had made more money than he knew what to do with. Right after Travis was exposed to the public about his product he was soon overwhelmed by the companies and girls that wanted to meet with him. Travis could get used to this lifestyle, he now had everything, he had money, fame, and girls that weren’t obnoxious like Lily.

Five years had passed now and Travis loved his life, he couldn’t get enough of this. Then he realized he was missing something, he couldn’t figure it out right away but he knew something just wasn’t right. Travis decided to go back to his hometown for a visit. Everything was exactly how he remembered it, small and full of life. He visited old friends and family, he had really missed them, it was good to be home. It wasn’t until around dinner time when he decided to go to his favorite restaurant for dinner. He was enjoying his meal when he looked up and this beautiful girl graced on by. He couldn’t help but look at her and stop her to ask her, her name. He approached her and got nervous, this never happened to him before he was used to girls coming up to him. “Excuse me miss, what’s your name?”

“Oh my gosh, Travis, Is that you?!”

“Lily?!”

“Yes! Travis, long time, no see, how are you doing?! And why are you here?”

“I came home for a while to visit, see how things were here and stuff”

The two talked all night and much to Travis’s surprise they got along great. He realized that this is what he’s been missing, Lily.

       Two weeks had passed and the two were inseparable, they did everything and went everywhere. Finally Travis brought it up and openly said the two should date. Lily looked at him and said she couldn’t. Travis was so confused, what? Why?! Lily finally broke down and told him. “A year and a half after you left, I went for a regular check up, and then the doctors informed me that I had cancer, there is no cure or medicines that I can go on for the kind that I have. There are not much more the doctors or I could do except live the rest of my life as a normal person.” Travis was shocked and didn’t know what to do or say next. He was so scared for her, how could she act like it was okay? All Travis knew was that he wanted to spend every day with her; he had missed out on her for too many years to go back home and just leave her.

               Travis was now standing at the funeral, listening to people giving him sympathy. He couldn’t believe she was gone less than a couple of weeks after she informed him of her illness. They money, fame, and other girls didn’t matter to him anymore; Lily had taught him one of the most important lessons he’ll learn in his life. He was sorry for being too many years too late. Travis regretted the fact he didn’t have as much time with Lily like he’d like. He was glad he decided to come back home for a bit a visit though; it’s never too late to try to make things right. 

A Purpose to Fight For by Kyle L

March 12, 2444

When I think back to my childhood, my brain only racks up complete and utter darkness. I have no recollection of anything before I was about six years old. It’s an odd feeling, as if every single memory before then has been completely wiped from the depths of my mind. My name is John Sierra or as I am tagged in the military, number 117. Today, all I know and live for is following the orders of my commanding officer. Every day I carry out mission after mission, without as much as a whine of disapproval. I’ve constantly wondered what my purpose in life was, if there really is anything else to life than fighting and following orders. I don’t know what it is, but I will find my true purpose.

March 22, 2444

Today I have been informed that a race other than Humanity exist. The United Nations Military Program (UNMP) has not yet learned enough about this species to even give it a name. Our best scientists and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software have been working tediously, day and night to learn all they can about his new species. So far, all they have to work with is the knowledge that this unknown species is imminently violent. At the first sight of one of our frigates, more specifically, the Enterprise, the alien species turned and attacked with what seemed more force than necessary. Two torpedoes, composed of what we now know is a high concentration of plasma, liquefied her. They also have a fragment of the alien ship’s armor that was suspected to have broken off during the firing phase pf the torpedoes. Before we are to openly approach these newcomers again, we must learn more about them and their culture.

May 17, 2444

I was recently told to gather the rest of my squad as we are to be embarking on a very important mission. Our scientists have gotten almost nowhere since my last entry, and Chief Mendallas has briefed us on our mission objectives. The alien species has sent us an encrypted message, which has been decoded and thought to say We are the Sangheili, Humanity is coming to and end. Our objectives were to scavenge what we could of the so called Sangheili technology while fending the alien race off of a human controlled planet in the neighboring solar system.

On another note, I’ve asked Chief Mendallas about where I came from, and why I was here, protecting Humanity. The only he could tell me was that I was part of the UNMP’s program in military defense because I was ‘special’, unlike other children of my time. The rest, he told me, was classified.

May 30, 2444

Our recent mission was a success, as always, it seems that we succeed at everything, which is good, right? I’ve been told many times we always win. With the new data my squad and I were able to gather, the scientists and AI’s working on learning about the Sangheili culture has made a huge leap forward. We have almost been able to fully replicate the alien’s energy shields that surround their ships using small scale shields found during our mission that they often carry. But all of these discoveries do not matter. We have not been able to apply them to any of our ships or combat armor, so it’s not of much use at the moment. At this very moment, the Sangheili are attacking. They’ve destroyed over half of the UNMP fleet we have sent out to defend while we’ve only been able to destroy a few of their ships.

August 2, 2444

The Sangheili have been relentlessly attacking for months now, depleting our defensive ships to almost nothing. We tried to fall back to a far away planet called Xanus, but it seems as if the Sangheili have planned for this. As we were departing to Xanus, they somehow placed a tracking probe onto our frigate. They located us within days and wiped out nearly three-fourths of the planets twelve million people. Things don’t seem to be going very well at all. Almost every military personnel in the UNMP are not showing the slightest bit of optimism. For now all we can do is defend and try to muster a plan to gain a victory, which should help build morale among everyone.

September 13, 2444

Planning for the next big mission had been underway for little over a month. Chief Mendallas has informed me that I will be leading this mission, but the costs could be significant. He has not yet told me what I am to do. He tells me this may just be the most deadly mission yet, but if successful, the most beneficial. I have also been told I am the man to do it.

October 1, 2444

Well, this is it; the mission planning has been completed. I have just come from the briefing room and this mission does not in any way sound easy, but hey, haven’t I always loved a challenge? My squad and I are to capture, not destroy an enemy ship in the Eridanus Solar System, where a huge battle is raging at this moment. We then have to eliminate the crew and find a way to have the ship take us back to their home planet. We are then to find their leader and bring it back alive to our scientists so they can try to negotiate some peace treaty or alliance. It seems that that is our only hope right now.

Is this what I am meant to be? A tool, a soldier? Throughout my life, I have been told countless times to follow orders, kill first and ask questions later.

I have to leave now, this is where my journal ends, I may not come back from this mission alive, but I think I finally know what my purpose in life is: I am meant to serve and protect Humanity.