Holly’s brother Hunter got into some serious trouble. Instinctively, he turned to his sister. “What are you doing?” Holly asked him aggressively as he tumbled into her house at 4 A.M. “I’m in trouble,” he responded out of breath. “I need your help.” Once Hunter sat Holly down and explained everything to her, they packed for a long trip. Neither of them knew where they were headed, they just knew they needed to get far away from their little hometown.
Hours later, the siblings crossed two states. They were now in Nebraska still going west. Hunter pulled Holly’s Honda Civic into the next gas station. “I’ll pump some gas. You go get some snacks,” he told her quite demanding. She scoffed at him and went inside. When Holly came out of the bathroom, she noticed her car was missing from pump number four. Her heart sped up as she rushed to the door, only to find Hunter had parked it in the front of the store. “You okay?” Hunter said sneaking up behind his sister and scaring her. Holly jumped and nodded once she caught her breath. They bought some more road snacks and started their drive again.
Just before they drove over the Nebraska-Wyoming state line, a fun shot was fired. Hunter lost control of the car, and they spun off the road. They weren’t injured but they were very scared, more so Holly than Hunter considering he was in the military. “What the hell was that?!” Holly screamed. Both exited the vehicle to see what was going on. Two black Cadillac suvs stopped in the middle of the road. Four big scruffy men exited one, then another four followed suit from the other. They began to close the 50 yards between them and Hunter. Hunter pulled out his bag from the backseat. He was searching for something. Holly had no idea what was going on. “Here, take this,” Hunter said shoving their mom’s three-pound ruby into Holly’s hands. “Guard this with your life, understand?” Still really confused, Holly nodded. Her brother gave her one last right hug and a kiss on the head. “I love you. Now run!” Holly took off without looking back. The men weren’t after her, they were after her brother. Holly’s adrenaline was pumping hard. She ran about 100 yards before the thought of turning around crossed her mind. She slowed down enough to see one of the huge men had picked up Hunter by his throat and held him against the car while another man constantly beat him. Holly began to cry but continued to run.
About an hour passed. Holly knew her brother was gone. She had so many unanswered questions but she had a feeling why he had their mother’s ruby and what those men wanted with it. Finally, Holly came across a small town with a small gas station and diner. Before she could approach either or, the suvs pulled in front of her. Out of fear, Holly fell to her knees. Two men exited the first suv. Holly was weak. She gave up and let the two men take her away.
Jennifer missed Emily everyday, even though they video called and texted everyday. She longed for her presence, so she did everything she could to find out where she was posted. Thankfully, working with the FBI gives her the freedom to do so. After nearly two months of planning, Jennifer arrived in Prague. She was surrounded by history and so much closer to her love. When Jennifer tried to get in a taxi, a random man pushed her to the ground and took her taxi. A nearby woman helped her to her feet, but couldn’t understand a word she said. Jennifer nodded, clutched the gun in her hidden holster, and decided to just walk to Emily’s apartment. Fifteen minutes later, she was walking up to the nicest apartment building she has ever seen. Considering the surrounding areas were heavily populated with homeless people, drug dealers, and prostitute, it was understandable why Emily chose this specific apartment complex. She took the elevator to the top floor (go figure), and found suite 786. It was 8:42 so Emily should be here. Jennifer knocked and Emily opened the door immediately. Emily was wearing a bathrobe, and Jennifer assumed nothing was underneath it. Without hesitation, Emily pulled her inside, started kissing her, and later her down on the bed.
There was never any consistency in Melanie’s life, so she always struggled with letting people in. During her sophomore year of high school, she became really close with her English teacher. They hung out everyday before the bell rang, during lunch, and before final dismissal at the end of the day. Melanie looked at her English teacher as another mom. She confided in her, told her all of her secrets and got the advice she needed but couldn’t receive from her actual mother. Their bond grew stronger everyday for two years until one day, the coronavirus struck the nation. Schools began to close due to the pandemic along with other businesses. Because the closure was so sudden, Melanie never got to say goodbye to her English teacher, her close friend. Nine months flew by and still no form of communication has been exchanged between them. Melanie has no idea where they stand. She has no idea if her English teacher feels the same way she does: depressed and longing for her. Melanie has absolutely no assumption of when they will be able to meet again, make up for lost time, and finally enjoy each other’s presence again.
Growing up, Blake did everything she could to fit in. She’s now in college and nothing has changed. The first two weeks were rough, but she found a group to stick with during her third week on the university campus. The only way the group would take her in would be if she dyed her hair black, so Blake followed suit. After classes, Blake would hang out with the other girls that were free. She barely studied because she noticed none of the other girls studied. When she confronted Emily, the groups leader, about needing time away from the group activities to study, Emily laughed and started to belittle her. Holding tears back, Blake zoned out. She interrupted Emily, “fine. I’ll do whatever you want if you’ll give me time to study.” Emily had a mischievous smile on her lips. What crossed her mind was nothing close to what was on Blake’s mind. “The tunnels. Tomorrow at 9. Don’t be late.” Emily sprang up and walked away with a pep in her step. The next day, Blake arrives to the tunnels around 8:45. No one is there. She scopes the area and realizes how creepy the tunnels are at night. She turns on her phone flashlight and begins to go into the main entrance. She smells sewage and hears dripping water and people struggling. Blake continues until she sees a young woman. Her hands and feet are tied with zip ties and her mouth is covered with duck tape. Emily and some of the other girls from the group emerge from the shadows. Blake tries to leave but the other girls are blocking the exit. “Hello Blake,” Emily said as she inched closer. “You said you would do anything to get your study time.” She was in Blake’s personal space now. Emily handed her a kitchen knife, and Blake’s breathing got heavier. “Kill her.” Tears started rolling down Blake’s cheek. She knew what she had to do. Blake approached the young girl who was also crying. Blake apologized to her and stabbed her in the neck. Something overcame her and suddenly she had no remorse. She wasn’t sorry. And she wanted to do it again. “Good girl,” said Emily. Blake turned around slowly with a smile on her face and the girl slowly bled out to death. Blake stood up and went after one of the girls behind Emily. She stabbed her in the neck too. A second of shock passed over Emily before she started stabbing the girls with Blake. After the last girl died, Emily and Blake locked eyes. They kissed each other passionately before heading out of the tunnels to kill more.
Inside of a five-foot-three body lies a heart and a brain. Although the body itself may be aging fast, the heart and the brain stay young. The heart has been hurt quite a lot, and the brain has learned from it. From what was a sweet, innocent girl became a fierce, grounded, and level-headed woman. Everything she has learned has come from experience. She had no one to pass knowledge down to her. This was her first lesson. As the years went on, she grew wiser, learning more and more every day. She once had a mentor that she looked up to, but that had went south quick due to health issues. This was not the first time she felt abandoned, so the feeling did not sting as much. Years treaded by and now she was in her forty’s, giving her knowledge to young women who turned to her for advice. Who knew so much knowledge could come from such a beautiful, petite human. She looked fresh but also like she had been through war. She had history and a lot of it. But sadly, she had no one to tell her war stories to. One day, a young girl, about fifteen, showed up at her doorstep knowing she was the woman to go to for help. This young girl had a list of questions. Before she could speak, the older and much wiser woman invited her inside. They sat down at the dining room table and went through the list. About an hour or two had passed by before they finished up their conversations. The wise woman showed the wiser young girl out and wished her luck. Now that the young girl had heard the war stories and gained knowledge she didn’t even know was possible, she was a young woman. The older woman was finally at peace with herself, considering her story was told. As the young woman walked the block to her home, she thought carefully about each word the older woman said. She had experienced so much throughout her lifetime. This woman was and IS history.
It was such a peaceful Tuesday morning. The sun was shining bright, the birds were chirping happily, and the radio station was playing all of my personal favorites. Today was my day off, so I decided to run a few errands early to leave the rest of the day for relaxing. Picking up a few items from the nearest Whole Foods was the first errand on my to-do list. There was a minor disruption in the Tuesday morning peace, but I did not let it bother me like it would have any other day. From Whole Foods, I travelled three miles to the mall where American Eagle resides. I ran in quickly to get a pair of jeans. On my way out of the front doors of the mall, someone nearly ran me over. With my heart racing rapidly, I practically sprinted to my car. After I got ahold of myself, I went to the bank; my last stop. My luck for today was running out. I had a bad feeling since I left the mall but this never came to my mind. So here I am, in the bank, being held hostage by Lady X. I’ve heard about her in the news but she was hitting banks in Europe. Why is she here in Ohio? She has my face to the floor. I can’t see anything. I can barely breathe. As I try to control my breathes, Lady X interrupts me by shooting the man to my right. I hear another gunshot but I can’t figure out where it was placed. Suddenly, a man grabs me and drags me behind the bank tellers’ desk. He begins stripping me starting with my shoes, then my socks, then my pants. I cry out as he gets closer to me only to be hushed by his gigantic, rough hands. My body goes limp. I give up. He gets closer to me and holds a gun to my head as he does what he feels is right. I see a child, maybe ten years of age, lying on the ground five feet away from me. She is naked and crying too. Lady X comes around the desk and shoots the child, then shoots the man inside of me. She gets kneels down to me, kisses me harshly, and takes the man’s gun. I lay there, motionless and empty as she shoots the rest of the hostages. There was a single mother and her six month old baby among them. Lady X showed no remorse to them, so why did she let me live? Once she finished killing the last hostage, she fled through a fresh-made hole near the back of the building that leads underground, never to be seen again.
Or so I thought…
The world will burn. Not because of me, but because of you. It has been nothing but cruel. There was nothing I did to deserve this. After all I have done for you, you treat me with pure disrespect. I gave you life. I gave you everything you needed. But here you go, using me every second of every day. Your factories are hurting me. Your disgusting cigarette butts soil the surface of my skin. My beautiful creations I made just for you are being harmed because of your careless shenanigans. We were supposed to live together in harmony. I guess I wanted it more than you did, truly. It’s obvious who was more devoted to this relationship, who was more serious. I am sick of your ungratefulness so yes, the world will burn.
