A Short Story: A Hidden King

My name is Ruby. I am sixteen and from the Fifth Realm out of six that are surrounded by un-ending wilderness. People tell tales of a Seventh Realm, but none decide to search for such a thing. Once a month, the six kings have a gathering where they make plans and policies. At one of those meetings, they made a choice that would change my life forever. 

“My people are suffering!” said James, the king of the Sixth Realm. “There is not enough livestock for them to eat!”  

“My people are dying too! Is there anything we can do?” asked Thomas, the king of the Fifth Realm. 

Everyone was silent, lost in thought of what must be done. Seth, the king of the first and most wealthy realm said, “I know what we shall do.” He waited for all eyes to look at him. “There are too many people in this land. Let us change that by randomly selecting two young people from each realm and sending them into the wilderness to meet their doom.”  

James objected, “How can the death of twelve people help? Killing our people will not save us or make a difference in the population!” 

Seth had a slight smile on his face, “We won’t do it just once but two or even three times a year.” 

“This is outrageous!” James yelled. 

“Let us vote,” said Thomas, doing his best to break up the argument. “All in favor of King Seth’s idea, raise your hand.”  

The kings of the First, Second, Third and Fourth raised their hands, the Fifth and Sixth did not. 

“There we have it,” said Seth. “We shall have a gathering in one month. All children between the ages of 14 and 20 will enter their names into a box, and we will allow fate to choose the unfortunate children who will set out into the wilderness, never to be seen again.”   

That is the decision they made to lower the population of our land. Two weeks after that, they had a large gathering of people between the ages of 14 and 20. We all wrote our names on a piece of paper and put them in a box, depending on our realm. We waited and waited until they came with the results. 

I was chosen. I went home with tears in my eyes. In the morning, I said goodbye to my parents, saddled my horse, and set out to the entrance of the wilderness. Everyone was waiting for me. A solider led us into the woods for a while until we were under a shadow of a mountain. Then he said, “This is where I leave you. Survive long, but remember, we don’t want you back. May your death be swift and painless.” He quickly trotted off on his horse and left us alone. I looked at everyone, six girls and six boys: Amber and Joshua of the Sixth Realm, Jacob and I of the Fifth Realm, Jade and Peter of the Fourth, Crystal and Amos of the Third, Pearl and Nathan of the Second, and Diamond and Daniel of the First.  

“What do we do now?” asked Jacob, who was from Fifth, “Anyone have any ideas?” 

I looked around. No one said anything until Joshua broke the silence. “Let’s get closer to the mountain. I know a path there that might keep us safe.” It was hard to notice Joshua, even when he spoke. He was very plain and his voice was quiet. “There is something different about this boy,” I thought. 

So, we all followed him toward the mountain. As we got closer, the horses became uneasy and kept trying to go off in the wrong direction. We arrived at the foot of the mountain and found a winding path. We followed it and came to a door carved into the stone. Strange runes glowed in the fading sunlight. 

“What does that say?” I asked. 

Joshua answered right away. “It says ‘you may pass, but perils lay ahead.’” Suddenly, I trusted in Joshua that he would lead us to safety. It seemed that everybody did too as we all followed him without question.   

We entered. The horses started to jerk back and forth until we all fell onto hard stone floor. The horses fled. We wandered in the dark for what seemed like ages. Joshua was surprisingly resourceful during our long journey through the darkness, but he was absent some nights while we were sleeping. He helped find food and water when it seemed impossible and was a light in the dark. 

On the fourth day in the mountain, we were walking slowly through the dim tunnels. The tunnel became smaller and smaller. Before we knew it, we were walking in single file, and then we were forced to crawl. 

“Let’s turn back now,” said Jacob. 

Joshua stopped and turned to Jacob, “We cannot turn back now. I know this path, and I promise you will come out of this.”  

After that, we kept going until we were able to crawl out of the small tunnel and into a large hall. Clearly, it had been crafted by the great kings of old. At the end of the hall, there was a door that led out of the mountain, but a large chasm lay between us and the door. The only way to get across was a small foot bridge with no railing. 

All of a sudden, the whole room was lit up by fire. I grabbed the hunting knife from my belt and turned around. There was a dragon, big as a castle, with talons of fire. My fellow tributes and I ran to the bridge, except Joshua, who walked towards the dragon. He drew a sword that we had never seen before. I wanted to go back to him, but just kept running with everyone else. We started to cross the bridge, but it was so small that we had to slowly walk single file as we tried to escape.  

Joshua fought valiantly. He slashed at the dragon. It swiped Joshua off the edge and he disappeared into the chasm. His last word was simply, “Run!” 

We did. We ran for our lives out of the mountain and into a thick forest. We stopped and sat on the ground with tears rolling down our cheeks. We stayed there for I don’t know how long, until a small, narrow path appeared in front of us.  

“Let’s follow it,” I said. 

We got up and started walking. The path was crooked, with many bumps and steep hills along the way. After three days, we came to a sign that read, ‘You have now crossed the border into the Seventh Realm.’   

“It can’t be,” I mumbled to myself. I ran as fast as I could to the forest edge. What I saw made my jaw drop. The grass was covered with flowers of all colors and a small cheerful town was in the distance. A pure blue river was running through it. Tall mountains in the background touched the bright, clear sky. 

“Amazing, isn’t it?” said a familiar voice. I was stunned. It was him – Joshua. He was dressed in royal robes and had a circlet of gold on his head.  

The only words I could say were, “We thought you were dead!” 

He didn’t speak right away, but Joshua said, “I was dead, but I have risen and I am the king of the Seventh Realm. The sacrifice I made was for you. Now, we have work to do.”  

Our adventure had only just begun.

– By Shieldmaiden

A Poem: Snowflakes

They dance and twirl throughout the air,

as if they haven’t had a care.
They swirl and flurry all around,
and flutter softly to the ground.
They’re crystal clear and pure and white;
they glitter in the winter light.
Soon they all will melt away,
but then they’ll come another day.
They’ll swirl and flurry all around,
and flutter softly to the ground.

– By Clara May

A Short Story: Alissa in Wonderland

Alissa slammed her bedroom door. She couldn’t take it! Her mom was telling that stupid story about how she went to this place called “Wonderland” when she was little. Alissa sighed. Most of her friends’ parents didn’t going around telling crazy stories. But Alissa’s mom had never lost her imagination. She told that story over and over again.

Alissa went out of her house the next day to go pick some flowers. As Alissa was picking flowers, she saw a rabbit in suit. It was even more odd when the rabbit pulled out a stopwatch and started pointing at it like he was in a hurry to get somewhere. “No way,” Alissa gasped. It was just like the story her mom told over and over again.

The rabbit kept pointing at his watch and motioning to Alissa like he wanted her to follow him. Alissa took a small step toward him. As Alissa followed him, she looked around. Her surroundings had suddenly changed. She noticed that the grass wasn’t dry anymore. It was damp with dew. The once white roses were dripping with red paint. Suddenly Alissa felt the ground give way beneath her, and she began sliding down a dark, dirty hole at a frightening pace. Alissa grasped at the weeds and roots on the wall of the tunnel, but each time she caught a hold of one it slipped right through her fingers, and she continued to fall faster down the deep, dark pit. A scream caught in Alissa’s throat. It’s happening. I’m going crazy just like my mom. Just when Alissa thought the pit would never end, she unexpectedly landed with a thud on the bottom of the pit. In less than a minute, Alissa had dropped into a small room with a small door and a table upon which sat a bottle and a key.

Alissa walked over to the table with the bottle and key. She took both in her hand and drank the bottle. Then she went over to the little door and shoved the key in the keyhole. She walked through the door. Compared to the giant flowers and mushrooms around her, she felt tiny. She walked over to one of the mushrooms and found a note that read, “Find the Queen of Hearts, chop of her head, and then you can go home. ~THE Cheshire Cat.”

Alissa dropped the note. She was supposed to chop of someone’s head? “How am I supposed to find the Queen of Hearts?” Alissa whispered to herself.

“I can help you with that!” said a voice behind her. Alissa spun around. Standing there was the weirdest looking man she had ever seen. That must be the Mad Hatter, considering the way my mother describes him, Alissa thought.

“What?” She took a small step away from the Mad Hatter.

“I said I could help you,” the Mad Hatter replied.

“Fine,” Alissa said stubbornly. “Where is the Queen of Hearts?”

“Follow me.” The Mad Hatter started walking toward a giant mushroom. He pulled open a little door in the mushroom and said, “Here you go.”

Alissa walked over to the mushroom and stepped inside. The door sealed shut behind her. There was a dim light coming from the ceiling. Alissa looked around. The colorful flowers were gone, and now everything was black and white. She stepped on something and heard a crunch. Looking down, she saw numerous bones lying on the floor. They were everywhere. Some of the bones even had flesh left on them. It was as if some sort of monster had been here, ripping apart people. The room was very narrow and turned at the end.

There was a very loud weeping sound. That must be the queen, Alissa thought. Alissa walked around the corner of the room and there was yet another sharp turn. She was in a maze, and the only way to get to the end was to find the way to the end. She walked over to a knife lying on the floor. “Just in case,” Alissa said to herself. Suddenly, she felt heat on her back like there was some sort of fire behind her.

Alissa slowly turned around and stood face to face with a large scaly dragon with seven heads. The last bit of light disappeared. Now it was just her and the dragon, one on one, in complete darkness. Alissa threw her knife at the dragon, but it just bounced off him and back onto the floor. She dove for her knife, but it was directly under the dragon. Grabbing her knife, Alissa looked up. She saw some sort of buckle. She reached up and unbuckled it. A layer of the dragons black slimy scales came off. 

Armor, Alissa thought. No wonder I couldn’t kill him. 

Alissa thrust her knife at the dragon, and it fell right over. Blood and guts spilled from it. Alissa stepped away from the dragon, but slipped on a puddle of blood.

Suddenly, a strange looking woman appeared and said, “Congratulations. You are the first to defeat Bonoface, the dragon. Many have tried, but you are the first to succeed. Now I will reward you by lighting up a path to direct you to the Queen of Hearts. Only an outsider can kill her.” The woman disappeared.

The maze started glowing. The weeping grew louder and the light grew brighter as Alissa ran through the maze. Finally, she came upon a woman sitting in a cell, weeping. Alissa opened the cell door and the Queen stood up. “I know what you’re here for. So, here, chop off my head,” the Queen said.

Alissa took her knife out of her belt and swung it across the queen’s neck. Instead of cutting off the queens head, the Cheshire cat appeared where the head should have been. “Goodie, Goodie,” the Cheshire cat said. “You received my note.”

“What do you want?” Alissa scowled at him.

“You completed my test! Just like your mother, Alice, you are very brave,”

“So you sent me down here to Wonderland just to complete a test?” Alissa snarled at him.

The Cheshire cat smiled slyly. “No, much more than that. We needed a human to kill Bonoface.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Alissa asked.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t agree.” The Cheshire cat said, “Now we both get our wishes granted! You get to go home, and I get to be free of Bonoface controlling me!”

Smoke swirled around Alissa. With a flick of the Cheshire cat’s paw, Alissa was back in the garden in England right where her adventure began. 

Standing up, Alissa jogged toward her house. “You will never guess where I was!” she yelled “I was in Wonderland!”

– By Leigh Collins

A Review and Biographical Sketch: Little Women

Today, a 36-year-old woman author writing a bestselling novel about growing up with her sisters would not be unusual. In 1868, when Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women, this was revolutionary. She lived in Concord and Boston, Massachusetts, and wrote her most famous novel about four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. These four sisters are a part of a poor but happy family. Their father is in the Civil War and their mother takes care of the family at home. They have a housemaid named Hannah and are friends with a neighbor boy, who is Jo’s age, named Laurie. The story begins around Christmas and takes places in a small New England town. 

The genre of the book is a coming of age and sentimental novel. Little Women reflects the life of Louisa May Alcott, who was born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth, and May, were educated by their father, Bronson Alcott, who was a philosopher and teacher. Louisa and her sisters also learned the importance of living out their Christian faith through serving from their mother, Abigail May Alcott. Like the character “Jo March,” Louisa was a tomboy. She had a rich imagination and often acted out her stories with her sisters. She always liked to act out as villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens. Louisa found out she liked to write when she was young. Sadly, Louisa also had a sister who died at young age, which obviously contributed to the story of Beth in Little Women. Louisa wrote poems, short stories, thrillers, and tales for young children to read. In all, she wrote 30 books and collections of stories.  

In the novel, the March family faces many troubles. For example, the girls’ father becomes ill while fighting in the war, and their mother must leave immediately to help him. While she is gone, Beth develops scarlet fever after visiting a poor German family. She becomes permanently weakened. As her life goes on, Beth’s scarlet fever gets worse. Beth realizes that she does not have much time left to live. She tells Jo that she is nearing the end and that she is not afraid of dying. She encourages Jo to carry on with her writing but to continue her career with a focus on loving and serving others. Beth says, “… remember that I don’t forget you, and that you’ll be happier in doing that than writing splendid books or seeing all the world, for love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.” Jo responds, saying, “I’ll try.” In fact, all of the sisters try and succeed. In time, Meg, Jo, and Amy are married and off on their own. 

I really enjoyed reading Little Women because of the moving trials that the March girls go through and the funny situations they fall into.

“My book came out; and people began to think that topsy-turvy

Louisa would amount to something after all.” -Louisa May Alcott

– By Shieldmaiden

A Short Story: The Odd Babysitting Job

On a cold January night in England, just after New Year’s day, a girl named Julia told her siblings about her experience on the last day of the year before.

“At about 10:00 p.m., I was asked to babysit. A very odd time to be asked, but it is true.” said Julia. “I didn’t know what I had agreed to at that time.”

“What was so bad about it?” asked Julia's little brother, Sam.

            

“Just wait and see,” Julia said as she smiled. “I will tell you in a moment.” She made the story sound like nothing odd at all had happened at this job, but it was completely different than she let on. “When I left for the job, I was wondering, ‘What could be so important that you would need a babysitter late at night?’ When I finally found out what it was, I was surprised.”

“Oh, won't you just tell us already?!” said Julia’s other little brother, Tom.

“Be patient! I will get to that part!” Julia scolded her brother. “So, when I got there, I rung the doorbell. But, nobody answered after about five minutes of ringing! Then, just when I was about to leave, the door flung open. There, standing, was a young man – I would say about 17 years old – looking at me from head to toe. Then he scowled. What a mean thing to do,” she said angrily.

“Well, then he ordered me to come in and remove my coat. Once I was done with that, he led me into a small bedroom. I asked him where the children were, and he replied, ‘I will go get them.’ I waited in the room for what seemed like an hour, then walked in two girls. They were exactly alike: same black, lifeless curls, same terribly white skin, same clothes, and same positions. The young man slammed the door without saying anything. I had no idea what to do. They just stared at me with their creepy blue eyes seeming to wait for me to do or say something.”

“Then I heard a loud crash from below me. The girls turned their heads toward the floor at exactly the same time. Then I heard a scream from above me. Again, the girls turned their heads together. I had a feeling that the young man had never left. I heard footsteps coming from outside the door, and I gasped.”

“Then, all of a sudden, there was a wicked laugh from outside the door. I almost screamed until the girls started to giggle along with each other and the creepy laugh. Then I was very suspicious. I pushed the girls aside and yanked open the door to find the young man with a tape recorder. He stared at me for a moment then hit the stop button on the recorder. The laughing stopped, but the girls were still giggling.” Julia stopped for a long breath.

“That is when I realized that it was Pete Longtide from school. Pete is very much a prankster. I yelled at him for scaring me, then grabbed my coat. I then ran out the door as fast as I could. I don't know if I will ever speak to him again,” Julia said as she finished her scary story. Everyone was wide-eyed and still.

– By Alexandria Adelle Mcbeth

A Short Story: The Great Escape

‘Are they leaving me again? Where are they going? Am I going with them?’ Those thoughts rushed through my head as I watched my family prepare to go on a trip. “Rosie!” I heard my two sisters, Nicole and Sadie, calling my name. “Come here!” I ran over to see what they wanted.

“Good girl.” Sadie said. She stroked my fur as I sat and waited patiently for Nicole to grab my leash from the cupboard and attached it to my collar. They grabbed their flip flops, and we headed out the door to go on a walk, one of my favorite activities! As we strolled around the neighborhood, on the third of July, I could not help but wonder where my family was going and why they were leaving.

When we arrived home from our walk, the car was packed and my family was ready to leave on vacation. I was making my way inside the house, but surprisingly, my mom called me over and told me to hop into the car! I gleefully ran over and hopped in the car. ‘Was I going with them?’ I thought. My dad started up the car and we were ready for vacation, but after about fifteen seconds of driving, we slowed down and pulled into a driveway. I did not know what was happening. Everybody was getting out of the car! Nicole even grabbed the leash, which was still attached to me, and picked me up, out of the car. I reluctantly let her carry me to the front door. My dad rang the doorbell and a woman with short, brown hair and kind eyes came to the door, opened it, greeted us, and gestured for us to come inside her house. I suddenly realized that I have stayed at this house on a different occasion. I squirmed free of Nicole’s tight grasp and got re-aquatinted with the smells of this house. After a few minutes of exploring, I went back to the front door to get back into the car with my family, to go on vacation with them, but they were not there! I ran around the house and searched for hours (or what seemed like hours), but they were nowhere to be found. That night, I went to sleep feeling alone, but ready to make the most of my vacation.

The next day I woke up with so much energy! My vacation was off to a great start. My day consisted of mainly sleeping, playing outside, and even going on a walk! Since the people I was staying with saw how much I loved the outdoors, they decided to keep me in their fenced-in backyard when they left to go someplace for the evening. I was having a great time playing in their yard, but suddenly, partway through the evening, just as it was starting to get dark, I heard loud noises, sounding like something was blowing up, and colorful flashes appeared in the sky. I did not know what to do, and I admit, was a little scared. Different scenarios raced through my mind as I thought about what the loud noises and colorful flashes represented. ‘Maybe it’s evil cats taking over earth, or maybe it’s the dog food factory blowing up, or maybe it’s–’ another loud noise and colorful flash interrupted my thought. Now, I was really scared and looking for an escape hatch or tunnel of some sort. Then, I thought of a brilliant idea: I could jump over the fence! I looked it over, then took a step back from the fence, which was about 5 feet tall in human measurements, and braced myself for my great escape. I lunged forward, unsure if this was legal or not, jumped, and sailed through the air. The next thing I knew, I was on the other side of the fence. I made sure I was still alive, then rushed to my home, which was just around the corner, raced up to the steps, sat, and waited for my family to come home. After a few hours, a car pulled up the driveway. It was the other people I stayed with while my family was on vacation! They called my name a few times, but I refused to go with them. I was determined to stay where I was and wait for my family. Then again, I did not know how long they were going to be gone and what might happen if I was to stay out here by myself, so I reluctantly got into the car with them and let them take me to their house, where I could stay until my family came back from vacation.

The next day of waiting for my family seemed to drag along so slowly, I probably could have ran around the world five times! The doorbell rang a couple times, and each time I got up and ran to the door to see if it was my family, but it was only the mailman with a package and Girl Scouts selling cookies. No activity excited me, so I decided to lie down and take a nap.

My nap must have gone longer than I thought because when I woke up I heard “Good morning!” “How did you sleep?” and other typical morning greetings. I ran over, jumped on the couch, and looked out the window to see if it was really morning. It was indeed morning and hopefully the day my family comes home. A few hours into the day, the doorbell rang. I did not think it was my family, so I stayed where I was to save myself a trip to and from the front door. Then I heard a familiar voice. It was my mom! I bolted over as fast as I could and leaped up into my mom’s arms and smothered her with kisses. “Rosie!” Nicole and Sadie pried me out of Mom’s arms and hugged me really tight. I could not describe how great is was to be reunited with my family. They gathered my bone, bed, and leftover food and we all piled into the car to go home.  

I was so happy when we all arrived home, safe and sound. I listened to all their stories about the vacation and it sounded like they had a great time. Even though I do not like to be separated from my family, I know they will always come back for me no matter what happens.

 – By Kate Wetherall

A Biography: The Life of Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson is a Christian, although she might not seem that way when she writes. Since Katherine was born in China, she based the setting of her first novel in China. Her writing style, marked by a sense of longing and remorse in her books, is beloved by many readers of all ages. Although Katherine is a Christian, she writes from the perspectives of her characters instead of herself. Therefore, she often does not portray her own Christian worldview in her writing. 

Katherine was born in an unexpected place. She was born in Qingjiang, China in 1932. In China, her parents were Christian missionaries. When Katherine was five, there was an epic invasion by the Japanese. Because of the Japanese invasion of 1937, Katherine and her family fled to America. Surprisingly, Katherine and her family moved thirteen times in thirteen years, from 1937 to 1950. Although Katherine was born in China, she had the ambitions of an American.

Although Katherine started writing in Japan, in 1966 she moved back to America. While in America, Katherine received a master’s degree in Christian education. Katherine’s friend from church who came from Japan kindly told her she should become a missionary in Japan, and she did. Katherine wrote her first stunning novel, The Sign of a Chrysanthemum, in 1976 while in Japan. Her extensive studies in Japan frequently fused with her writing to form some of her best-selling novels.

Many of Katherine’s highly action packed books reflected her childhood. Her characters are often faced with dire situations. While she writes of sadness and joy, she also writes with empathy. Her inspiration for her best-selling novel Bridge to Terabithia came from a disastrous event in the life of her son David. David’s best friend, Lisa Hill, was struck by lighting and died. Katherine wanted to show his deep sorrow by writing a book for him. She dedicated the book to Lisa Hill. She knows her characters and feels every word she writes. 

Writing was the source of Katherine’s strength during her life. Katherine’s characters portray the hardships of her own youth. Having to move a lot in her youth, she must have longed for a real home. Since her writing takes place in both China and America, she must have arranged herself in two places during her life and her books. In dealing with her problems in her home and in her family, Katherine seems to give her characters hope through her own experience.

– By Victoria Scarlett Doman