7, 8, 9 and 10!!!

I finally finished the challenges. :)

7. Cold

James slowly stepped out of the water and onto the shore. Staring blankly, he took another step forward. A lone tear dripped onto the sand. His feet shuffled as he made his way across the land- away from the bodies. He entered a cave, which he had found when he was seven. It was dark. Slowly, he walked along the wall, feeling his way towards his favorite place. His hand reached a hole. He stepped inside and felt for his lighter. After bumping into a few boxes, he finally found it. Carefully, he flicked on a flashlight at the entrance to the hideout.

He looked around and sighed. This was his favorite place. He had prepared a small bed in the corner, where he would hide and sleep often. He curled into a ball and shivered from the cold. He cried.

8. Shift

James woke up and blinked tiredly. The sun was shining into the cave, brightening the small space. As he sat up, a bright light in the corner of the room almost blinded him. His eyebrow furrowed as he searched for the source of the light. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found a small, golden watch, which the sun was reflecting off of. He studied the peculiar watch and rubbed his finger on it. A flash of light blinded him for a split second, and then disappeared.

Time flashed back. There were no fires. There were no tears. Everything was back to the way it was to begin with.

*******

“I love you, Caroline…will you-will you marry me?”

A tear shimmered in her eye. She looked down upon him, smiling intently.

“I love you too.”

He slipped the ring on her finger and they embraced.

*******

James walked through town, a small golden watch in his pocket. He grinned to himself, for he knew he now could control time completely.

9. Burdens

After much persuading, Carlos decided to withdrawal from his duties and raise a family with his wife after their marriage. Carlos and Caroline became happily married a few months later. After a year, James’ mind became quite troublesome. He had constantly been rewinding time to fix his errors and the mistakes of others. It seemed to him like everyone was happy, except for him. No one but him remembered the hideous and horrifying events of that day, they burdened his heart. He was confused and didn’t like always relying on a watch to fix everything he did wrong. He soon sought out guidance and help.

He struggled on deciding who to confide in, but finally set his mind on telling Carlos everything. Once he had told Carlos everything, there would be no taking it back. James tried extremely hard to not make it sound to extravagant and exaggerated, but his efforts were to no avail. Carlos didn’t believe him and neither did Caroline. James was hurting and didn’t have anyone to support him.

10. Love

James felt like he had told everyone in town of his troubles. No one had believed him. Most just laughed at what they thought were childish ramblings. As James was standing along the seashore one day, a girl walked up behind him and stated quietly, “I believe you.”

James turned around slowly and looked the girl in the eyes. “Do you really?” James answered incredulously.

The girl nodded. James smiled and felt the burden lift.

“What’s your name?” James asked kindly.

“Julie. I’m eleven years old. What’s your name?”

“James and I’m eleven years old,” he responded happily.

A spark lit in Julie’s eyes. She smiled and held out her hand.

“Friends?”

James grinned and whispered, “Friends.”

I tried to wrap the story together and end on a good note. :)

3, 4, 5 and 6

3. Home

I was the first one to discover that she was gone. She hadn’t answered my calls in days. I was starting to get worried, so I called a taxi to take me to her house. I knocked four times, but there was no answer. I knew she hadn’t gone on vacation, her job didn’t allow it. She wasn’t sick, or she would’ve called. There were only two solutions: death and kidnapping. I doubted that she was kidnapped, because she always carries a knife on her belt and a gun in her shirt. Death was the only other answer. It was possible.

I knelt down on the steps and lifted the “Home, Sweet Home” mat. Underneath was a small key, which I used to unlock the door. My fingers fumbled on the knob. Finally, I turned it and rushed in. The lights were off. I dashed through the house, screaming, “Caroline! Caroline!”

After searching the main floor and finding nothing, I scurried up the stairs, still shouting. I threw open each door, but there was no Caroline. I ran to the nearest phone and quickly dialed 911.

Caroline was gone. She was dead, most likely.

4. Fire

I could hear the sirens. I jumped from the chair and started running down the stairs. As I was running along the foyer, I tripped over a cord from a lamp. The lamp tumbled to the ground. I scooped myself up and threw myself onto the door. I pulled the handle as quickly as I could and ran out to meet the cops. One got out of the car and stared at the house like a blithering idiot. The others followed in suit. I was confused. I turned around to see what all the staring was about. A stream of smoke was coming out of the windows. I let out a gasp. The house was on fire!

“AAAHHH!!!!!!! CALL 911!!!!!”

I started running in circles and waving my arms, which probably wasn’t the best thing to do. A policeman called in on his radio. By the time the firemen had gotten there, the house was already a blazing inferno. As the firemen started spraying it with water, the neighboring house caught on fire too. It was spreading! By noon, the whole town was on fire. By two, the whole town had burned down.

5. Fear

Those who survived the fire gathered together and shared hugs. Many had lost loved ones. Others just lost prized possessions. Everyone lost their homes, their cars, their money; it was all gone and it was my fault. I sat on a rock and watched my friends sobbing over their losses. Fear clenched at my heart. I couldn’t let anyone find out it was me. I felt like I had to hide, but there was nowhere to hide, since I burned all the hiding spots down. A tear slid down my cheek and dropped to the ground.

Someone laid a hand on my shoulder. I jumped into the air and screamed, “Fine! You got me! I did it! I did it! I started the fire! I’m sorry!”

I sobbed and sobbed. My next door neighbor stood up and stated angrily, “What?! You?! How could you?! I lost my wife and my little baby girl! You murderer!!!!”

6. Death

I turned to him and cried, “It was an accident! I didn’t mean to! I’m so sorry…..”

He pounced on me and stuck a knife right into my gut. I screamed in pain, then died.

My best friend, who had first come to me and placed his hand on my shoulder attacked the man that had killed me. He thrust a knife into the man’s back. The man died. The grandfather of the man attacked my best friend, and killed him. Our friendly little town turned into a killing frenzy. In minutes, everyone was stabbing each other for stabbing someone else. What was wrong with the town?

Everyone died that day, except for one child. James Roder, an eleven year old boy. He was hiding in the only place there was to hide; in the water along the shore. He was confused and scared.

Angela

A Shakespearean Adaption of the Frog and the Mouse

Frog: (to mouse) Oh mouse! Oh beloved mouse! Come to my home!

Mouse: How silly ye fool, I cannot swim!

Frog: Thou knave! Why hast thou denied the beloved kingship of the pond?

Mouse: Knave? I am no knave! Tie thou twine to thy leg! Take me with thee to thy kingdom!

Frog: Come! Thy twine hath been twined between us! Come now! Now that thou be so foolish, I shall drown thee in my pond!

Mouse: Barbarian! Squeak! Squeak! Thou hath drowned me! Thou hath killed my beloved nature! (eyelids close)

Stork: (flying overhead) Ahk! Thou insolent amphibian! Ye shall pay for thy evil Deed! (dives down)

Frog: Knave! How dare ye?

Stork: How dare ye murder an innocent mouse such as he was? Thou shall die by my skewering beak!!

Frog: I hath died from thou savage beak!

Stork: Thy blood stings my tongue! (eats mouse next) Sweet, beloved mouse, thou blood soothes! Now our feuds are over. I’ll return to my kingdom if the air, whilst thou rule thy kingdom of eternal darkness however thou pleases. (frog eyes slide shut)

2. Sea

Tears slid down Caroline’s face as she waved to Carlos. The boat was pulling out. Carlos was leaving for eight months at the most. Carlos waved back. A slight smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

Watching the boat until it was too far out to discern anything, she prayed silently that Carlos would stay safe while overseas. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she turned around and went home.

***

Carlos stared at his feet and his feet stared back. All of a sudden his feet jumped off of his legs and over the side of the boat. Carlos screamed in agony, tears pouring down his face. He fell to the ground instantly, rolling. He used his arm and stomach strength to propel his body over the edge of the boat to catch his feet.

Once he got in the water, he realized that since he had no feet, he could not swim. He screamed out his last word, “CAROLINE!”

He let his body sink into the water. He drowned.

A cry rang out, “Man overboard!!!!!”

***

Three days passed. Caroline walked down to the shore each day and remembered Carlos’ smiling face as he sailed off. She longed for the day that Carlos would come home and marry her.

She stared out at the waves, catching a slight glimpse of what looked like a body. Craning her neck, she watched the waves intently, searching for the body. In a quick second, she spotted it, out of the corner of her eye. Immediately, out of instinct, she dove into the water and swam as fast as she could to the last place she saw it. As she neared the body, fear clenched her heart. What if the person was dead? She stopped swimming, looking around. When she was about to give up on seeing the body again, it came crashing on top of her, along with the wave.

She let out a shriek. She pushed the body off of her and looked at the face.

“CARLOS!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!”

She hugged the body. Drastically, she swam as hard as she could to the shore. Before she could reach the shore though, she saw a fin sticking out above the water. Not any fin, but a fin that looked fairly like a shark fin. Her life flashed before her eyes as the shark leapt into the air and snatched up Carlos’ body. She screamed his name and dove underwater, searching for the shark and the body.

She felt a sharp pain in her leg, and then was pulled down deep into the water. She was gobbled by the shark.

Can you tell I'm not much of a "romantic?"

Angela

Secrets

Carlos bent his knee and looked up. Caroline returned his gaze.

“I love you, Caroline…will you-will you marry me?”

A tear shimmered in her eye. She looked down upon him, smiling intently.

“I love you too.”

Slowly sliding the ring on her finger, he stood. He reached her arms around her and held her tightly. He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered quietly, “I have something to tell you.”

Gently pulling away from him, she looked into his eyes. A lone tear slid down his face.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I’m leaving. I’m heading across seas.”

Caroline squeezed his hand.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ve joined the Navy…I’m leaving…next week….I-I meant to tell you, but I was afraid you wouldn’t love me anymore.”

“Why would you think that? I’ll always love you…”

Caroline buried her face into his shoulder and cried. Carlos held her until her eyes were dry. He grabbed her hand and led her out of the garden in silence.

This was a writing challenge for a friend in a series of ten challenges, so this story will be finished. I know, it was pretty poor writing on my part, but I just needed something written this summer...

God Bless,

Angela

Growing Up

5 years old-

It’s not fair! My family can see out of the stupid window and I can’t! All I can see is a wall. A wall! My brother can see all the whole world through that window. I can’t see any world through the wall. Only cracks and my fingerprints. I can also see the bottom of the thingy my momma calls a windowsill. Who comes up with a silly name like sill? What does that mean anyway? Dirty wall and sill. That’s all I see.

6 years old-

I can finally see out of this stupid window. Or at least part of it. I can see the sky when I look up and the bottoms of my mommy’s flowers. I got to pick the colors. But I can’t see them, so I don’t even know if I picked the right colors! I sat for hours looking at the stems and leaves of my momma’s flowers. I cleaned the part of the window that I could reach so that I could see better. A bird ran into it! I laughed.

7 years old-

I can see out the window! I see bright colors. Pink. Green. Blue. I see pretty butterflies with bright colored flapping wings and bees flying around stealing stuff from flowers. I never liked bees. I can see the pretty dragonflies flying around and hovering and being pretty. I can see a bird that my brother told me is called a humming bird. Why is it called a humming bird? They don’t even hum. They just fly and steal stuff out of flowers, like bees! I don’t think I like humming birds. They don’t do anything. This morning I cleaned the window and my brother flew into it while playing Superman! I laughed.

12 years old-

I looked out my window today and wonder why I thought it so amazing when I was young. I see a tree. Exciting? No. I see a bush. Wonderful? No. I see a butterfly. Amazing? Sort of. I see children playing. Do I care? No. I see a flower. Pretty? Yes, but not something to watch for hours. The sky is blue. Skies are normally blue. I don’t even care now if I see clouds that are white. Why did I want to see this so much when I was younger? I don’t understand some things about little kids.

21 years old-

Today I spent two hours looking out the window. I saw trees and bushes and beautiful flowers. God’s creation is amazing! I see the clouds, which are white and billowing. The bright blue sky with birds flying across. The smiles on small children’s faces as they play and run around. Sprinkler systems watering the lush, green grass. When I open the window I smell the sweet, fragrant smell of the roses and petunias. I can now hear the laughter of the children and the buzz of the cars as father’s drive to work. Looking out this window makes my heart beat quickly because of the amazing creations. I love the wonders of God’s creation!

This is something I wrote not too long ago. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be posting some more soon. :D

Angela

Tasty Head to Foot

“When is he coming?” she whispered quietly.

“Be quiet!” her brother hissed.

“Where are you?” the young girl whispered again.

“Shush up, Lucy!” the boy practically spoke this time.

“I’m scared. It’s too dark up here,” Lucy moaned.

“Alright then! Leave! If you’re too scared to help me then get out!” he cried angrily.

Lucy, who was only eight, went silent. She didn’t want to be the one to mess up this prank. The plan was for David and Lucy to hide in the attic, near the whole in the wood, where you could see through to the porch. When their father came home from work, they were to dump a bucket full of water on him. Lucy’s older sister would then open the front door wide, and toss a sack of flour onto their father. Then, David’s older brother would come out from behind the bushes and start shooting paintballs at father. Once this happened, Lucy and David would leave the attic and prepare for the next stage of the plan. All in all, the children thought it would work out quite well.

As they waited patiently, a bell rang from the inside of the house, which was their signal that their father was coming. Excited, Lucy breathed heavily. David, edged the bucket closer to the hole.

“As soon as he steps on the duct tape….” he murmured under his breath.

Their father came into view, wearing a full business suit and carrying his favorite leather briefcase. Walking briskly to the front door, he stopped on the spot of tape and set his briefcase down, reaching up to knock on the door. Lucy let loose a giggle and their father glanced upwards. David took the chance and dumped the water from the hole. Their father screamed and gurgled. The front door flew open and the next thing they knew, their father was now completely white. David and Lucy quickly ran from the attic and to their next spot. As they ran, they could hear their father shouting as Thomas pummeled him with paintballs. Dashing into the kitchen, David threw open the fridge and pulled out four cans of spray Cool Whip. Handing two of them to Lucy, they ran out the back door and around the front. Their father was standing still on the porch. Thomas was nowhere to be seen, which meant he was getting ready for his next part. At the moment their sister came around the opposite corner of the house with a box a Cocoa Puffs, Lucy and David ran to the porch and squirted their dad head to foot with whipped cream, they then ran through the front door, slamming it behind them and locking it shut, so their father couldn’t escape. Susan then ripped open the box of cereal and poured it onto her father, the Cocoa Puffs all sticking to the whipped cream. A rustling sound came from the hole in the attic and a bag of Cheetos was poured, adding color to their father. Lucy and David threw open the front door again and started blowing bubbles. Susan ran to the driveway, threw open the garage and pulled out a leaf blower. Running back to the front porch, she flicked it on, aiming it at her father. Cool Whip, Cheetos and Cocoa Puffs flew this way and that. Thomas then ran from the house, in between Lucy and David and dumped a second bucket of water on their father. At this queue they then ran off into the house to hide.

They huddled behind a couch together, waiting for their father to come in screaming, but nothing happened. The door didn’t open and there was no shouting outside. Surprisingly, the only sound that they could hear was their own breathing. Thomas frowned and motioned for them to be quiet while he stood up and looked around. As he slowly made his way to the window to peep out at their father, a faint knock came from the door. Carefully, Thomas stepped to the door and cracked it open. Behind the whip cream, their father stated, “I’m here to interview Thomas Granger for Cambridge University.”

The children froze; the room completely silent. Thomas just stared. Susan jumped from behind the couch and cried, “Let me get you a towel!”

Thomas leaned back against his backboard in his dorm room at Cambridge University and remembered the time he met his favorite college professor, Alexander Green. He sighed happily and dozed off into a nap.

I don't really like this one, but I needed something else to post.

Pain

I feel it. A knife shoots into my heart, causing pain in my entire body. I am being teased and criticized again. I bite my lip, holding back my tears. I laugh along with the others who hear the man teasing me. It helps to mask the fact that it hurts. I’m standing in the line of fire in battle. Another remark slides from the man’s lips and the group laughs, releasing their arrows at me. I sigh and let loose a slightly hurtful retort. The teaser and his followers lift their heads and guffaw. I turn my back to them, showing that I “won.” I leave the room, not looking back. A swarm of tears fall from my eyes as I hide myself. I feel ashamed. I blow my nose and wash my face, relinquishing all tears and the fact that I had been crying. I re-enter the room, acting as if I wasn’t hurt, as if I am happy. I “laugh” and “smile” with others “cheerily.”

***

I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, while recalling the day’s events. Tears slide down my cheeks. I fall asleep, my face still damp from the fresh droplets of pain.

Okay, so I wasn't sure if I had posted this one before, but I thought that either way, I might as well put it up. :D I also figured it went with the Teen Week messages well.

Angela