The Battle (Alternate ending to Into the City)

“This is our city. You have stolen it, tortured  it, and destroyed it’s spirit. Now we have returned to make it whole again.” Emyr stood tall as he spoke, watching the armed men around the house, gauging their ability to fight. Everyone was silent, then Baldur stepped out of the house, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Well I guess we’ll have to settle this the old fashioned way since there is no way that I’m handing over my city to some kid who thinks that he can rule an entire city just because of some stories he’s read.” The soldiers on each side grasp their weapons tighter, waiting for the other side to attack, trying to hide their fear from each other. Of all the people standing in the rain, 6 had killed someone before. Everyone else questioned whether they would be able to actually do it when the time came. Thinking about pulling the trigger or thrusting the dagger, it seems easy. When the gun is ready, it’s a little different since the potential is immense but it’s not easy to take someone’s life when you’re fully aware of the consequences.

The Scream

Photo: NASA

I drop my bag on the floor as I kick my apartment door closed, wondering how in the world I am awake right now. I stumble through the room and barely manage to open my bedroom door as I ignore the bizarre feeling that there’s something going on outside, even though I know it’s completely silent tonight. I glance at my bed, ready to collapse, when I realize that she is lying there, just waking up from all the noise I made coming in. When she sees me standing there she jumps up and hugs me, only managing a few incoherent words. I hold her tightly, telling her how much I missed her and that I’m sorry I was gone for so long. She steps back, smiling, then looks concerned and anxious. 

Maurice’s Fence

Dear Diary,

I love going to school! I found the best spot on the fence where I can see both schools at the same time, but George is always trying to ruin it for me. I know he’s just jealous since I’m the most handsome guy out here, but why is he so annoying??? Anyway, I love this fence so much since I can just hang out here all day watching different classes and learning about everything they learn. For example, when I face West, I get a Grammar review, North is World History, East is Mathematics, and South is Dance. I used to go to a different school where I learned Science, Music, Latin, and Art History, but once they dissected a cat! I’m not a huge fan of cats, but I knew the guy on the table; his name was Mickey and he was a cool guy, for a cat, since he never chased me or anything. I spread the word about Mickey’s dissection and now we’ve all boycotted the school and put it on the toilet list.

Winter

Photo: Greg Younger

The best part of the cold is being warm, knowing how much worse it is outside the comfortable warmth. Everyone knows that comfort is something to strive for, although there are many variations and definitions of comfort. Some may describe it as a luxury where everything is expensive and rare. Others may say that it is all about temperature and softness. Or maybe it is about the feeling of safety and happiness. Wait, is this a definition of comfort or of happiness, maybe it is an examination of contentment, or still it could be an exploration of human goals and ideals, but it could never be a study of humanity itself.

Ghosts in the Closet

Photo: atzerok (Flickr)

I sometimes wish that there could be a place, a special place, a safe place, where we could just live. If that place existed, then I would just live there. I don’t like sitting in here, it’s too dark and cramped. But Mommy says I should stay here for a little while, I don’t know why. I was watching my TV show, the one about the flying squirrel who travels to different planets to help animals. I like that one, even though the girls at school said squirrels are just rats that like birdseed and annoy everybody. The next one is about a purple hippo who is trying to find the other purple hippos, with all her flamingo friends. I always watch those shows when I get home from school; I have my daily routine so that everything makes sense, or at least that’s what Ms. Aidons says.  

Rebels in Lost Tunnels

Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

The City is changing, buildings are destroyed and built every day as the Citizens work diligently to obey the orders of their new leaders. In their excitement they have forgotten that the City has more than one layer; the tunnels below wait in silence for their presence to be remembered. In one of these tunnels a group of people are listening to a sermon given by their leader, whose powerful voice echoes throughout the emptied tunnel.  

The New City

Photo: NASA

Morning arrives. The eerie silence of the night is vanquished by the sunlight as the people emerge from their hiding places; mothers hold back their children as they watch for lingering danger, soldiers trade in their weapons for tool kits for the new project. The crumbling city lights up with the hope of a new life, a new time filled with actual life instead of fear and worry. The terrible silence of the night is replaced by the joyful noise of change, the crumbling buildings are demolished as the ground is prepared for the new city. The people of the City leave, for now, as they watch their old lives torn down and feel the freedom and happiness that comes out of the destruction because of the knowledge that it is only temporary. The children play in the fields while their parents tear down the memories of the world they once knew, they laugh and run as they feel the joy of the life that is beginning. While the crumbling buildings are demolished, new homes are prepared for this new and better city. Temporary houses spring up on the outside of the city for the citizens to live while they rebuild their world.

Into the City

Emyr marches forward with one hand on his sword, one hand on his pistol, his eyes constantly searching the streets and buildings, his heart pounding against his rib cage in fear and anticipation. He reminds himself to breathe as he leads his army through the dark streets, he thinks about how filthy everything is and how they will have to have a citywide cleaning once the battle is finished. The buildings look as though they are falling apart, covered in dirt and bullet holes, their residents have long since escaped or died within their walls. Emyr wonders how many bodies are still inside these buildings that were once beautiful and at one time were filled with happy people who loved this city, who would take care of each other.

Theme and Format Changes

Hello! I just want to give a heads up that I am making some changes (primarily that I’m getting rid of the pages feature).  I am republishing the Short Stories page as individual posts, but I am keeping their original publication dates so that I can keep track of when they were written. All of this formatting has been driving me crazy, so I’ve decided to just stick to working with categories. This will probably be confusing, so I apologize, but hopefully I’ll find a way to organize everything smoothly!

Running to the End

Photo: D. Sharon Pruitt

I run out of the house, grabbing my backpack off the floor, grab my brother’s bicycle and get to the high school as fast as I can before staggering into class and sliding into a seat before the teacher starts the lesson. My body wants to shut down, all I want to do is curl up on the floor and sleep but I have to keep going. Listen to the teacher, answer questions, walk normally to the next classroom, and repeat until the day is over. Wait, today is the pep rally. Darn it! That means I have to not only socialize with the rest of the soccer team, but I have to be horrifyingly peppy for the whole school. This is going to be a super great day. I wonder what happened to Mark’s bike…I really should have out it somewhere safe, but I forgot to grab the lock. Oh well, at least I made it to school so everyone just thinks we had a breakfast emergency or something. Ow! Who invented the method of jabbing people with sharp pencils in order to get their attention??? Sheesh! At least it’s not her fault, she doesn’t know every part of my body covered in clothing is also covered in bruises.