My siblings and I have finally reached the end of the tunnel. It has been years since we entered. Years since we’ve seen the sun, seen anything outside this underground maze. A couple years ago, my parents told me that I had to babysit my siblings for a couple days. The youngest brought a flier home from school. It was about a fun underground maze nearby. We decided that it would be fun, so we went.
When we entered the maze, I was 16, the my sister was 12, and my brother was 5. When we finally saw the end of the tunnel, I was 21, my sister 17, my brother 9. We spent 4 years in this maze. We had given up trying to leave about a year in. We just started exploring, trying to find more food and water, which was placed randomly throughout the maze.
However, when we actually stepped foot outside the maze, we were still 16, 12, and 5. Our bodies were anyways, we still were older in our minds. Many people were outside the maze waiting for us, clapping and cheering.
It had only been a couple hours, so how did we spend four years in there? No one believed us and everyone just pushed us aside as the next group came out. We had never seen anyone else in that underground maze. This is the most confused I’ve ever been in my entire life. We decided to go home and called out parents to come home early. They didn’t listen to us either, they just thought I wasn’t responsible enough to take care of my siblings for a few days.
And yet, my parents were really surprised when we acted a lot more mature. We had seen some stuff in that maze. But what happened in the maze, stays in the maze.
My favorite spot is in the cave on top of the mountain in my city. I used to love climbing that mountain with my sister. We got our father to build us a swing right at the edge of the cave, the part that overlooks the city. Not sure why he did, it is really high up and extremely dangerous for a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old. Though I guess he trusted us enough to know that we already knew to be careful. We had been climbing that mountain and using the cave as our play-place since I was five, my sister was seven.
This swing at the edge of the cave was the best thing to ever have been built before. It led to so many heartfelt conversations. Some with me and my sister, maybe between me and my friends, or her with her friends. Any way, this was the spot where we talked the most, like actual heart to heart conversations, not just small talk.
The last talk my sister and I had there was when she told me she was moving to another city, really far away. She was 20, me 18, so she was old enough to leave on her own, and was definitely responsible enough. I never understood why she wanted to leave though, and she never gave me any specific details. Only two weeks after that talk, she was gone.
She didn’t give anyone a new address, or even the area she was going to. It’s like she just disappeared. I was really upset, I missed her a lot. I didn’t go to the cave on top of the mountain for a while, maybe three weeks. It was the both of ours, I think it would have made me miss her more.
When I finally did go, I noticed that there were a bunch of boxes there. The swing was different, the chains were painted on. They were now black instead of white. I then saw a bed, and someone sitting on a chair, looking directly at me.
“It’s about time you came up here, I’ve been here all alone for three weeks.”
As a little boy I used to go out and play in the backyard. I loved building little ‘forts’ for the animals, around the tree, by the fence, and in the middle of the yard. For my 9th birthday, I got a little wooden house that I could build myself. Once I built it, I put it on a tree branch and tied string around it to make sure it stayed. I put some grass and acorns that I found in the house. I sat inside looking out the window watching to see what animals would come. The first time the squirrel came was 2 days after I set it out. I was so happy and excited. I decided to stay inside and watch so I didn’t scare it off. After it left on its own I went outside and looked to see what it left, the acorns were gone and the grass was still there. I put more acorns in and went back inside happy. The next day, the squirrel came again, I assumed it was a different one. The same thing happened, it took the acorns and left, I went to put more in the tiny house. This went on for 2 weeks before my 9-year-old self came to a realization that it might be the same squirrel. After about 1 month, I ran out of the acorns that I put in the house I built. I sat outside under the tree and tried to think of ways to get more. None in the backyard, and I wasn’t allowed to go in the front yard either. Then the squirrel came and climbed down from the house right next to me. It just looked at me and left. The next day, I still had no acorns and the squirrel came then left. This cycle went on for 8 days. Then I finally convinced my mom to go out for a walk with me so I could collect a bunch. And now I’m 20, still live in the same house, same squirrel still comes every single day. I’ve named her Della. She loves the acorns and I’ve even painted the house, and added more houses nearby. Occasionally more squirrels will come to those houses but everyone seems to know which one is Della’s and no one but her goes to that one.
Don’t you just love exploring? It’s so fun, especially when you find abandoned overgrown houses in the middle of nowhere. This house specifically is the first one I’ve ever came across. It was in the woods near my house. No one in town knew it was there, so it must have been abandoned a really long time ago. All the plants here are so pretty, and they look really healthy, like they get just the right amount of water and sunlight. The stuff left behind is interesting too. There’s some cool old books, a few toys, pencils, and just the set up is awesome. If this place weren’t in the middle of the woods, I’d totally move in.
Just then, Jacky came inside telling me it was time to head back home, and this place was creeping him out. All the bugs and spiderwebs were scary and it was really overgrown and all that.
The next day, I went back. By myself so I could go further into the abandoned home. These types of plants don’t usually grow around here, I thought to myself. I noticed some of these plants were in pots. “So maybe this place isn’t as old and overgrown as I thought,” I said aloud. The person, or people, who lived here must have just liked plants. Collected them or something.
I got a text message, surprisingly cause I was in the middle of the woods, saying to come back home. So I did. And I couldn’t get the chance to go back for a couple days.
When I did, about 5 days later, the house was gone. I thought I got lost and went the wrong way. But I saw the mailbox. How could a house just disappear? And with absolutely no trace. I searched for about 2 hours before going home. It’s the biggest mystery of my life.
The best feeling ever is definitely when you’re out at sea with the wind in your hair and the salty smell of the ocean. It never gets old. And what makes it even better is my friends coming along for this one time. I’ve been asking the Captain for a while and she finally agreed. Captain June was like an older sister to me. She is always looking out for me and taking care of me. And not just me, the entire crew.
My friends Bree and Dracey have always wanted to come along on these missions. They finally get to come. Bree’s hair was long which made it super funny when the wind was blowing and messing it up. Dracey mostly stayed below deck and worked on studying, but the same thing happened to her when she came up above the deck.
This mission was a little special though, the prize money was $5,000,000. The mission was to capture a certain witch who attacked the Royal family. She was last seen the next continent over. So that’s where we are headed.
As we were getting close, another ship was heading towards us. The flag gave it away, it was the witch. Captain June had Bree and Dracey go below deck and stay hidden. While the rest of us got ready for a fight. But before we could even get close enough in range, the sea turned to sand. It was an ocean of red sand. It was dry. No endless water, no salty sea smell. No other ship.
Nothing was in sight, it was only sand. This was a problem…
Not for me though, as I am that witch. I could leave whenever I wanted. And I did. I disappeared in plain sight. Now I was back on my ship, in the endless ocean, with the salty sea smell. I have no idea where I had sent Captain June’s ship. And I was fine with that.
It had been fifteen years since the sun had last risen. That was so long ago… 15 years. We have been stuck in the glowing moonlight for so long. I’m sure if the sun suddenly decides to come back and shine in our faces, we would melt. Possibly literally melt. The kids would be so confused and scared. I’d be scared too. It’s been dark for so long, no one knows what happened. Scientists are starting to give up trying to solve this mystery. It’s been so long that kids don’t even believe there was a time that a glowing huge lightbulb was in the sky for 12 hours every day. They think it’s a myth. It might as well be. No point in telling kids about it, especially if it won’t happen again, and they don’t even believe it.
It’s finally that time of year again. The fog has returned and is beginning to hide the narrow stone pathway. Every year, same day, same time, same thing happens. This has happened ever since I could remember. July 18, 11:07am, the fog begins to appear around the pathways in town.
Most people who visit or pass through find it weird, not normal. But it is. It happens every year, since anyone can remember. There are even books in our library about how scientists get so confused about it. No one knows why this happens every year, especially in the middle of summer.
Even so, you can get some really cool experiences here, when it’s foggy like this. That’s the only thing that changes every year. When I was 7, there were a whole bunch of blue, pink, and gold butterflies. They were super pretty. When I was 12, Christmas presents appeared in front of everyone’s house. One per house, but they were some pretty cool toys. One year, about 70-80 years ago, there were actually flying pigs. That’s probably how that one saying came up, no one believed it.
I moved away a couple years ago for college, but I come back every single year just for this. I never bring any of my friends, they would just think I got a whole town in on this really big prank. They wouldn’t believe it was real. Unfortunately, this year is different. My friend Cece invited herself to come along. She wanted to see where I grew up and my hometown. She loves small towns so I’m not surprised she came. I couldn’t tell her no, so I told her about everything on the plane.
When we got there, July 17th, she was so excited to see everything. We walked around the whole town, the entire day. Everyone was talking about the possibilities for tomorrow. As I thought, she was having a hard time believing it.
We decided to go to the hotel and eat then go to bed early.
I woke her up at 10:30am so we can get ready. She was cranky, but got up and dressed. We got food to eat while walking to the front of the town. By the time we got there, it was 10:58am. Everyone was there already. She seemed shocked and looked like she was thinking. She was starting to believe me.
When it turned 11:07am, nothing happened. There was no fog. No fog? Cece was not impressed. The entire town was shocked. Everyone froze. It was quiet.
After 10 or so minutes of everyone just standing at the front of the town, no one speaking a word, Cece spoke. She was upset that I got her hopes up about something as crazy as presents appearing out of nowhere and pigs flying. As soon as she took a step towards the town, that’s when something happened.
The fog appears quickly. There was a lot more fog than usual. We couldn’t even see our feet. After 45 seconds, it calmed down, there was the normal amount of fog, we could see clearly again. The entire town was covered in Bright colors. There was carnival games, a Ferris wheel appeared in the back.
Cece was scared for her life. She stood in that same spot for 18 minutes before I dragged her to go play some games. She ended up having a lot of fun.
No one knows why it was late this year. That has never happened before. Very weird indeed.
Woah, so this is what’s on the other side of the wall. It’s so pretty, and there’s so many plants. It looks overgrown, but it’s definitely on purpose. For as long as I can remember, everyone has always been told they should never climb or go across the wall unless told to do so. Every 2 months, someone does. The government sends a paper to their house. The paper says the full name, what section to climb over, and the exact date and time you will do it. It’s usually 2 to 3 days after you get the letter. This time, it was me. My paper said: Nase (middle and last name), Section #3, January 27 at 11:57pm. Which meant I had to time it correctly so I was at the top at exactly 11:57pm. Now for a little more information about this whole thing. Every 2 months, the smartest person under the age of 19 gets chosen. They have to have straight A’s, never gotten into trouble, and most importantly, you can never have stood out, or been popular of any sorts. They always choose the least expected person. Also, you can’t tell anyone you got the letter, and you can’t say goodbye to anyone either. Once you leave, you make sure to put the letter on your bed and leave as quiet as you can. Since no one knows what’s on the other side of the wall, i was kinda scared. Guess everything will be okay though. Someone came to the top of the wall, where I was standing. Kassy? She was picked about a year ago. She told me she will show me around and what there is. This place looks really fun. So much studying and nice jobs. Mostly jobs you have to be really smart to be in. I think I’ll absolutely love it here.
The story I’m about to tell you is one that I had just lived. This happened not too long ago, this picture was the only thing that survived. If you ask anyone else from Spaceship R-937440, they will tell you completely different stories, everyone has their own perspective of what happened.
It started on day 294 on Spaceship R-937440, everyone was doing their chores like normal and going on with the usual routine. I was doing laundry at the time. The Captain told everyone that we had to have an emergency meeting in the cafeteria, but only a quarter of the people actually went. The Captain waited 10 minutes to make sure that no one else was coming before he told us, but no one else came. Weird, no one misses emergency meetings.
He told us that for the last 72 days, we were being followed by the SPD (Spaceship Police Department). The SPD only follow people for so long for one reason, we had something they wanted. If we didn’t, they would have arrested us 72 days before. The Captain told us he didn’t want to worry anyone when he first noticed them, but it’s been 10 weeks. That’s far too long, he waited two and a half months tell us.
Of course, everyone started panicking and asking what they wanted and why we haven’t given it to them. I knew exactly what they wanted, and why they haven’t arrested us yet. The SPD knew me and my brother were on board. I quickly left the cafeteria to go find him. He was sleeping, I immediately woke him up and told him what was happening. He t9ld me to pack anything essential and meet him in our usual hiding place. We knew of a secret room on the ship, so we made it our hideout.
Once I had gotten a couple things, I headed over there. He was already there waiting for me. He told me we had to make a run for it to the jump pod. We were half way there when the Spaceship R-937440 shook, and lost power. It felt like an earthquake, except on a spaceship. We had no time to get to the jump pod.
We were falling? There was no gravity in space. We shouldn’t be falling. Right?
We were in Earth’s gravitational pull. We were falling down to Earth.
We had a very rough landing. Luckily and unluckily, we landed in a desert. Good that no buildings or people were around. Bad that we were in the middle of no where and no help was around.
Now, here’s when it got really foggy, I don’t remember much else after that. Once we landed and went outside to find anything out, I must have passed out. I don’t remember anything after that besides waking up next to my brother in the SPD spaceship. We had gotten arrested. Neither of us know what happened to Spaceship R-937440 or anyone who was on it with us.
It was the day before what she thought the best day of her life was going to be. Kay-Kay was out with friends getting ready for a huge party tomorrow, everyone she knew, and didn’t know, was going to be there. The group of girls went to buy some new fancy clothes and shoes to match. Arti and Kay-Kay were the closest among the 3, Holly was usually with other friends or trying to meet new people. After a couple hours at the mall, Arti asks if the other two want to get their nails done to match either their outfits or each other’s nails. Kay-Kay says yes, Holly told them that she already had an appointment with some other friends, Cathy and Bea. So, Kay-Kay and Arti go get their nails done while Holly goes to eat in the food court, then head home. Arti and Kay-Kay decided to get matching nails with each other, just the white tips. Not very long nails either, very natural looking. After that, they both went home and waited for the next morning. Arti woke up and almost immediately texted Kay-Kay. She didn’t answer right away like she normally does so Arti thought she must still be asleep. About an hour later, probably around 9AM, she texted Kay-Kay again. Still no response. Another hour goes by, and still nothing. Arti calls her best friend, panicking because they only have 2 hours until the party. Arti must have called about 2 or maybe 8 times. Nothing. She decided to call Holly and ask if she can get a hold of Kay-Kay. Holly tried calling 3 times and no one picked up. The both of them get worried, they got ready for the party early and met up at Holly’s house. Holly lived a good 10 minute walk from Kay-Kay’s house. Once they were just down the street, they noticed that Kay-KY’s car wasn’t even in the driveway. No car was in the driveway. Arti called Kay-Kay’s mom, just to see if she was even home since yesterday. Her mom said Kay-Kay texted saying she was having a sleepover with Arti. They called the police and sent out many search parties. Nothing was ever found. They could call Kay-Kay’s phone, but it couldn’t be traced, the car couldn’t be traced either. Nothing on any camera on streets. A couple weeks later, some 10-13 year old kids go exploring in the forest behind their house. They found a girl, looked ready for a fancy party, hair wasn’t even messed up a little. They police found out that it was Kay-Kay. But the thing is, Kay-Kay lived 2 states over from where they found her. They couldn’t figure out what happened. Out of everything in this mystery, nothing has been solved.
