Madiza
Mustn't think about it, no, don't think of it, don't want to remember. Not worth the pain, not worth it at all.
In the leafy tree-tops the birds sing good morning! Where did that come from? Don't really remember tree-tops. Or birds. Haven't seen them in so long. Wonder what they look like. Maybe ask Cara-cara orange. Do you think the bird man's friends will be okay?
He's nice! He wouldn't be with bad people, would he?
Can't be too sure. Have to keep an eye on him.
Well, we'll see, won't we?
We already can see.
I mean, we'll find out.
Oh. Yeah. Right.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Gettysburg
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's got Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, and a few other people whose names I don't remember. Regardless, it's about one of the most important times in the Civil War, and I love it. The music and the acting are both incredible.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Having a Party
Friday, October 22, 2010
Papa Stalin?
For those of you who have heard of the Smurfs, you may also know that some people consider them to be Communists. I myself have never watched them, so I can't judge, but it seems a little odd to me that little blue people could be victims of Joe McCarthy judgment. I know Papa Smurf supposedly looks like Lenin, Brainy Smurf resembles Trotsky supposedly, or something like that. And they do share everything alike. But Communism? Isn't that taking things a little too far?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Freegans part 31
Matt
Kestrel said, "We need to keep moving. The Junkmen will probably send out more robots."
"Where do they get all of them?" asked Cara.
"They were prototypes the government created. However, they turned out to be defective, so they were thrown down in the basement, like everything else the government fails at. The Junkmen found them, and decided to reprogram them for their own use."
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"I'll explain later. Come on."
I shot a glance at Lucy. She looked about to collapse...again. However, she caught me watching, and said, "I'm fine, Matt. Really." She gave a smile that didn't look very convincing. However, Ben gave me a note that said, "I'm helping her. It's no problem." As if reading my thoughts, Kestrel said, "We just need to go a little farther. There's a place where we can hide and rest."
Now reassured, we headed out.
As we crept down the tunnel, I noticed that Madiza was acting strange. Well, stranger. She was wringing her hands as she walked, rocking back and forth slightly. Her eyes didn't seem completely focused on anything, and she was muttering something under her breath. I cocked my head to the side, and managed to catch that she was saying, "...almost there. We're almost there."
"But what will we find?" she asked herself in a different voice. "They might try and take your soul again. In fact, I bet that's just what they'll do."
"Don't be ridiculous!" she said in her regular voice. "He's a good boy, isn't he? He won't hurt us!"
"HE won't. We don't know about the rest of them!"
"Do you think he'd be with trashy people?"
"You can't be too careful nowadays. Remember the Eiffel girl?"
I turned to Ben and raised an eyebrow. He grabbed out his pad and pencil, and scribbled for a long time. Then he handed me the pad.
'A few months before she went mad, a fellow inmate was placed in her cell with her. It was a consumerist girl named Paris, and they sort of became friends. She told Madiza that she wanted to escape and go to the Freegan hideout. However, it turned out that Paris was actually a spy trying to get information out of her. Madiza found out in time, and told her that she knew. Soon after they took Paris away. And a few months later, they did something that drove Madiza absolutely bonkers.'
"Were you there?" I asked. Ben shook his head no. He took back the paper, and wrote, 'She told me. In one of her more sane moments. It really shook her up. It's a wonder that she trusted me.'
Kestrel said, "We need to keep moving. The Junkmen will probably send out more robots."
"Where do they get all of them?" asked Cara.
"They were prototypes the government created. However, they turned out to be defective, so they were thrown down in the basement, like everything else the government fails at. The Junkmen found them, and decided to reprogram them for their own use."
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"I'll explain later. Come on."
I shot a glance at Lucy. She looked about to collapse...again. However, she caught me watching, and said, "I'm fine, Matt. Really." She gave a smile that didn't look very convincing. However, Ben gave me a note that said, "I'm helping her. It's no problem." As if reading my thoughts, Kestrel said, "We just need to go a little farther. There's a place where we can hide and rest."
Now reassured, we headed out.
As we crept down the tunnel, I noticed that Madiza was acting strange. Well, stranger. She was wringing her hands as she walked, rocking back and forth slightly. Her eyes didn't seem completely focused on anything, and she was muttering something under her breath. I cocked my head to the side, and managed to catch that she was saying, "...almost there. We're almost there."
"But what will we find?" she asked herself in a different voice. "They might try and take your soul again. In fact, I bet that's just what they'll do."
"Don't be ridiculous!" she said in her regular voice. "He's a good boy, isn't he? He won't hurt us!"
"HE won't. We don't know about the rest of them!"
"Do you think he'd be with trashy people?"
"You can't be too careful nowadays. Remember the Eiffel girl?"
I turned to Ben and raised an eyebrow. He grabbed out his pad and pencil, and scribbled for a long time. Then he handed me the pad.
'A few months before she went mad, a fellow inmate was placed in her cell with her. It was a consumerist girl named Paris, and they sort of became friends. She told Madiza that she wanted to escape and go to the Freegan hideout. However, it turned out that Paris was actually a spy trying to get information out of her. Madiza found out in time, and told her that she knew. Soon after they took Paris away. And a few months later, they did something that drove Madiza absolutely bonkers.'
"Were you there?" I asked. Ben shook his head no. He took back the paper, and wrote, 'She told me. In one of her more sane moments. It really shook her up. It's a wonder that she trusted me.'
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Freegans part 30
Cara
"Cara, what's going on?" asked Lucy. I watched Ben, Matt, and Kestrel as they attacked the robots. Matt turned to us, and mouthed the word, 'Run'. "I believe that they mean to have us escape while they get killed," I said.
"What?! No!" Lucy looked shocked.
"My feelings exactly. You and Madiza stay here, and I'll go help." I clicked my heels, re-igniting my levitation boots. Lucy didn't protest. She seemed perfectly content to stay there where it was safe. I was about to head over, when I noticed that Madiza was digging around in my knapsack, which I had completely forgotten about.
"Madiza, what are you doing?!" I asked. She looked up and smiled.
"MacGyver!" she said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but to my surprise she pulled out several odds and ends, which she quickly began putting together. There was a vial of some weird liquid, though not the poison from earlier, a round glass ball, and a water bottle, none of which I remembered being in the knapsack earlier. I half wondered if she hadn't slipped the items in when I wasn't looking.
She poured the liquid into the ball, which had a cork stopper in one side, and handed it up to me, along with the water.
"Fly over, pour in the water, then drop the ball on the metal people! It'll make sure the performance ends with a bang!"
I wasn't sure if this was such a good idea, but Madiza had been right before. So I grabbed both things, and ran through the air until I was over the heads of the robots, though as far away from our friends as possible. I pulled out the cork, poured in the water, and quickly replaced the cork. The mixture began to hiss and smoke, which made me nervous. Down below, Kestrel saw what I was doing, and his eyes went wide. Grabbing Matt and Ben, he ran like heck to the rope, and began swinging them over the pit. I dropped the ball. At the same moment, it felt like something wrapped around my foot.
The resulting explosion sent me flying through the air. I was temporarily deafened by the blast, and had no control. However, just before I could slam into the wall, I felt a sharp jerk on my leg, and was steered out of the way. I saw my friends running out of the cavern, and down a branching off tunnel. Madiza and the others were holding on to a long rope, the other end of which was wrapped around my ankle. That was the only thing keeping me safe. Thankfully, it was very sturdy. Looking down, I saw that there was a new hole in the ground, and most of the robots had either been blown to bits, or fallen down the new hole. Finally I was able to right myself, and I floated down towards the others. Almost as soon as I was back on solid ground, if not sooner, I was enveloped in rib-crushing hugs by my friends.
"That was INSANE, Cara!" said Matt. "How did you do that?!"
"Madiza made a bomb, and told me how to use it," I said. Speak of the devil, she smiled, and sang softly,
"All around the underground,
The robots chased the children!
The robots all fell down a deep well,
Oh, it was bewild'ren!"
"Cara, what's going on?" asked Lucy. I watched Ben, Matt, and Kestrel as they attacked the robots. Matt turned to us, and mouthed the word, 'Run'. "I believe that they mean to have us escape while they get killed," I said.
"What?! No!" Lucy looked shocked.
"My feelings exactly. You and Madiza stay here, and I'll go help." I clicked my heels, re-igniting my levitation boots. Lucy didn't protest. She seemed perfectly content to stay there where it was safe. I was about to head over, when I noticed that Madiza was digging around in my knapsack, which I had completely forgotten about.
"Madiza, what are you doing?!" I asked. She looked up and smiled.
"MacGyver!" she said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but to my surprise she pulled out several odds and ends, which she quickly began putting together. There was a vial of some weird liquid, though not the poison from earlier, a round glass ball, and a water bottle, none of which I remembered being in the knapsack earlier. I half wondered if she hadn't slipped the items in when I wasn't looking.
She poured the liquid into the ball, which had a cork stopper in one side, and handed it up to me, along with the water.
"Fly over, pour in the water, then drop the ball on the metal people! It'll make sure the performance ends with a bang!"
I wasn't sure if this was such a good idea, but Madiza had been right before. So I grabbed both things, and ran through the air until I was over the heads of the robots, though as far away from our friends as possible. I pulled out the cork, poured in the water, and quickly replaced the cork. The mixture began to hiss and smoke, which made me nervous. Down below, Kestrel saw what I was doing, and his eyes went wide. Grabbing Matt and Ben, he ran like heck to the rope, and began swinging them over the pit. I dropped the ball. At the same moment, it felt like something wrapped around my foot.
The resulting explosion sent me flying through the air. I was temporarily deafened by the blast, and had no control. However, just before I could slam into the wall, I felt a sharp jerk on my leg, and was steered out of the way. I saw my friends running out of the cavern, and down a branching off tunnel. Madiza and the others were holding on to a long rope, the other end of which was wrapped around my ankle. That was the only thing keeping me safe. Thankfully, it was very sturdy. Looking down, I saw that there was a new hole in the ground, and most of the robots had either been blown to bits, or fallen down the new hole. Finally I was able to right myself, and I floated down towards the others. Almost as soon as I was back on solid ground, if not sooner, I was enveloped in rib-crushing hugs by my friends.
"That was INSANE, Cara!" said Matt. "How did you do that?!"
"Madiza made a bomb, and told me how to use it," I said. Speak of the devil, she smiled, and sang softly,
"All around the underground,
The robots chased the children!
The robots all fell down a deep well,
Oh, it was bewild'ren!"
Freegans part 29
Ben
Next I went to get Madiza. She wouldn't want to leave the fight, but what was important at the moment was that she be safe. Oh, and the others, too. She was zapping her tazer like a crazy person (Yes, I know she is), hitting a robot with every shot. However, more and more kept coming. I hoped Kestrel had a lot of plasma shots. I grabbed her arm. She turned to me.
"Hi, Ben-ben! Isn't this fun?!" she asked delightedly. I pointed to the rope swinging over the pit, which Lucy had now been freed from, then to Madiza. She got the hint almost immediately.
"But Ben, I'm having fun!" she protested. I paused quickly to kick the legs out from under one of the robots, then smashed the dome open with my hand, and pulled out some of the circuits. I pointed to it in a way that said, "It's too dangerous."
"Tell that to him!" Madiza pointed to Kestrel. I looked at her firmly, determined to make her go where it was safe. She glared stubbornly back. Suddenly I got an idea. I made big Bambi eyes, and made my best pleading look at her. Sighing, Madiza nodded. Turning away, she suddenly ran to the edge of the pit, grabbed the rope, and swung across with a loud Tarzan yell. She jumped off at exactly the right moment, and landed just behind Lucy, who was curled up in a fetal position, and Cara, who was trying to calm her down without actually touching her. I whistled to Matt, and waved him over to me. Now we would need to give Kestrel backup. Hopefully we would give the girls a chance to get away, even if it meant losing our own lives.
By now Kestrel had run out of plasma shots, and was instead smashing the robots with his rifle and other fighting skills. We went to join him. This looked like the end. However, I planned to use all my strength to the last.
Next I went to get Madiza. She wouldn't want to leave the fight, but what was important at the moment was that she be safe. Oh, and the others, too. She was zapping her tazer like a crazy person (Yes, I know she is), hitting a robot with every shot. However, more and more kept coming. I hoped Kestrel had a lot of plasma shots. I grabbed her arm. She turned to me.
"Hi, Ben-ben! Isn't this fun?!" she asked delightedly. I pointed to the rope swinging over the pit, which Lucy had now been freed from, then to Madiza. She got the hint almost immediately.
"But Ben, I'm having fun!" she protested. I paused quickly to kick the legs out from under one of the robots, then smashed the dome open with my hand, and pulled out some of the circuits. I pointed to it in a way that said, "It's too dangerous."
"Tell that to him!" Madiza pointed to Kestrel. I looked at her firmly, determined to make her go where it was safe. She glared stubbornly back. Suddenly I got an idea. I made big Bambi eyes, and made my best pleading look at her. Sighing, Madiza nodded. Turning away, she suddenly ran to the edge of the pit, grabbed the rope, and swung across with a loud Tarzan yell. She jumped off at exactly the right moment, and landed just behind Lucy, who was curled up in a fetal position, and Cara, who was trying to calm her down without actually touching her. I whistled to Matt, and waved him over to me. Now we would need to give Kestrel backup. Hopefully we would give the girls a chance to get away, even if it meant losing our own lives.
By now Kestrel had run out of plasma shots, and was instead smashing the robots with his rifle and other fighting skills. We went to join him. This looked like the end. However, I planned to use all my strength to the last.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Freegans part 28
Lucy
I felt a little nervous, but figured anyone was better than the Junkmen or the Vice President. Our new friend said, "It's best if we take this way out, so there will be less bloodshed. Come on." We were about to follow, when Madiza walked right up to him, a slightly suspicious look on her face, and stared him right in the eyes. She stood like that for several seconds, as if she were looking for something. Suddenly she smiled and said, "You're a good boy." Then she stood up on tiptoe and patted him on the head.
The man, who quickly introduced himself as Kestrel, led us down a tunnel, his plasma rifle cocked and ready. Madiza skipped along, a wide grin plastered on her face, as if we were going on a picnic. Cara and Matt were slinking as quietly as you please. Seeing how well they could adjust to the situation made me feel loud and clumsy, and as stealthy as a water buffalo. Which, in fact, I probably was. And Ben? Thankfully, he stayed by me, to help me along. I felt a wave of gratitude towards him. He was so nice all the time.
Of course, our escape was slightly ruined by the fact that somehow the Junkmen found out we had escaped, and sent out robots after us. Thankfully, we now had Kestrel, so we had better chances. Instantly he fired off another round of plasma, blasting most of them into pulp. He waved us behind him, so that he wouldn't accidentally hit any of us. However, more and more robots just kept coming. We backed up slowly, moving down the tunnel. Suddenly, we couldn't go any farther. With a touch of deja vu, I saw that we had another giant pit behind us. Without wasting time, Cara clicked her heels and blasted into the air. Then she got one of the grappling hooks out of her pack, and attached it to a pipe in the ceiling.
"Come on, guys! You can swing over!" she called. While she was saying this, she walked on the air to the other side. Instantly I got a wave of vertigo. The idea of swinging over what looked like a bottomless pit made my legs go weak. However, the next thing I knew, Ben had grabbed the rope and was tying it around my waist.
"What are you doing?! I'll die! Or fall! Or something!" I shrilled, feeling terrified out of my wits.
"Relax, Luce," said Matt. "Cara will catch you. There's nothing to be afraid of." Ben reached out a hand and pushed my eyelids closed, which I interpreted as telling me to do that. I nodded, squeezing them shut. The next thing I knew, I was whooshing through the air, and suddenly Cara had me, and was untying the rope.
"See, silly?" she asked. "I knew you could do it."
I felt a little nervous, but figured anyone was better than the Junkmen or the Vice President. Our new friend said, "It's best if we take this way out, so there will be less bloodshed. Come on." We were about to follow, when Madiza walked right up to him, a slightly suspicious look on her face, and stared him right in the eyes. She stood like that for several seconds, as if she were looking for something. Suddenly she smiled and said, "You're a good boy." Then she stood up on tiptoe and patted him on the head.
The man, who quickly introduced himself as Kestrel, led us down a tunnel, his plasma rifle cocked and ready. Madiza skipped along, a wide grin plastered on her face, as if we were going on a picnic. Cara and Matt were slinking as quietly as you please. Seeing how well they could adjust to the situation made me feel loud and clumsy, and as stealthy as a water buffalo. Which, in fact, I probably was. And Ben? Thankfully, he stayed by me, to help me along. I felt a wave of gratitude towards him. He was so nice all the time.
Of course, our escape was slightly ruined by the fact that somehow the Junkmen found out we had escaped, and sent out robots after us. Thankfully, we now had Kestrel, so we had better chances. Instantly he fired off another round of plasma, blasting most of them into pulp. He waved us behind him, so that he wouldn't accidentally hit any of us. However, more and more robots just kept coming. We backed up slowly, moving down the tunnel. Suddenly, we couldn't go any farther. With a touch of deja vu, I saw that we had another giant pit behind us. Without wasting time, Cara clicked her heels and blasted into the air. Then she got one of the grappling hooks out of her pack, and attached it to a pipe in the ceiling.
"Come on, guys! You can swing over!" she called. While she was saying this, she walked on the air to the other side. Instantly I got a wave of vertigo. The idea of swinging over what looked like a bottomless pit made my legs go weak. However, the next thing I knew, Ben had grabbed the rope and was tying it around my waist.
"What are you doing?! I'll die! Or fall! Or something!" I shrilled, feeling terrified out of my wits.
"Relax, Luce," said Matt. "Cara will catch you. There's nothing to be afraid of." Ben reached out a hand and pushed my eyelids closed, which I interpreted as telling me to do that. I nodded, squeezing them shut. The next thing I knew, I was whooshing through the air, and suddenly Cara had me, and was untying the rope.
"See, silly?" she asked. "I knew you could do it."
Monday, August 16, 2010
Movie Review
I wanted to mention one of the best movies in the world- and one of the only ones that my dad doesn't think is stupid. It's called (insert drum-roll here) "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", and was produced by the Coen brothers. Basically, it's a Depression-era version of the Odyssey, in which three men who escape from a prison farm in Mississippi and attempt to return home. They are named Ulysses Everett MacGill (George Clooney), the suave, hair-obsessed leader, Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), who is very sweet and naive, sort of like Lenny from "The Grapes of Wrath", except not quite as dumb, and Pete (John Turturro), who constantly challenges Everett's authority, and is rather crabby. Though they are trying their best to get home, they encounter many problems, such as being pursued by a sheriff who just might be the devil, getting beat up by a one-eyed Bible salesman, and encountering a Ku Klux Klan group in the middle of a lynching, to name a few. Despite being rated PG-13, this film is really good, with many hilarious lines, and several good songs. I would recommend this for ages 13 and up, unless there is adult supervision.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Freegans part 27
Matt
As we ran, I kept my eyes and ears peeled. Suddenly I heard the sound of running footsteps behind us. Whoever it was was trying to be quiet, but they were still making noise.
"Hey Cara, do you-"
"I know, I can hear it too. Right. Ben, you, Lucy, and Matt take the left. Madiza and I will take the right. I'm not going to be captured a second time." She left no option for argument. We moved to our respective sides of the tunnel, and soon the owner of the footsteps came into view. It was a tall man.
He obviously wasn't one of the Junkmen, since he was about six feet tall, and dressed in black material. He had a beret cocked to the side of his head, and carried a big gun. "That's a plasma rifle," Madiza whispered. I barely heard the words. I'd heard that those were illegal, but obviously not. It was clear who this was: he was from the vice president's army, probably here to kill us. Or, failing that, to capture us. I didn't want to have either happen to any of us. So, when Cara gave a signal, we attacked.
I tackled his legs, knocking him to the ground. The others piled on top of him. However, he was shown to be a better fighter than we thought. He used several complicated judo moves, it seemed, knocking us every which way. "Don't let him point the gun at you!" yelled Madiza. She pulled out her tazer and fired at him, but he did something with the gun so it sort of absorbed the electricity.
"Wait!" he said above the commotion. "I'm not here to hurt you!"
"Like heck you're not!" snarled Cara.
"No, really! I'm a friend! I want to get you out of here!"
Cara raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Prove it."
At that instant, the man suddenly said, "Get down!" He lifted up the rifle. We ducked, just in time for him to blast the robot and Junkman sneaking up behind us into little tiny bits. We stared in shock at the smoldering mess.
"That proof enough for you?" he asked. After a second, I got up and said, "Works for me!"
As we ran, I kept my eyes and ears peeled. Suddenly I heard the sound of running footsteps behind us. Whoever it was was trying to be quiet, but they were still making noise.
"Hey Cara, do you-"
"I know, I can hear it too. Right. Ben, you, Lucy, and Matt take the left. Madiza and I will take the right. I'm not going to be captured a second time." She left no option for argument. We moved to our respective sides of the tunnel, and soon the owner of the footsteps came into view. It was a tall man.
He obviously wasn't one of the Junkmen, since he was about six feet tall, and dressed in black material. He had a beret cocked to the side of his head, and carried a big gun. "That's a plasma rifle," Madiza whispered. I barely heard the words. I'd heard that those were illegal, but obviously not. It was clear who this was: he was from the vice president's army, probably here to kill us. Or, failing that, to capture us. I didn't want to have either happen to any of us. So, when Cara gave a signal, we attacked.
I tackled his legs, knocking him to the ground. The others piled on top of him. However, he was shown to be a better fighter than we thought. He used several complicated judo moves, it seemed, knocking us every which way. "Don't let him point the gun at you!" yelled Madiza. She pulled out her tazer and fired at him, but he did something with the gun so it sort of absorbed the electricity.
"Wait!" he said above the commotion. "I'm not here to hurt you!"
"Like heck you're not!" snarled Cara.
"No, really! I'm a friend! I want to get you out of here!"
Cara raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Prove it."
At that instant, the man suddenly said, "Get down!" He lifted up the rifle. We ducked, just in time for him to blast the robot and Junkman sneaking up behind us into little tiny bits. We stared in shock at the smoldering mess.
"That proof enough for you?" he asked. After a second, I got up and said, "Works for me!"
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Freegans part 26
Cara again
I lay on the ground, trembling as the last wisps of the terrible cloud left my brain. I saw the others around me, looking as white and shaky as I was. Lucy seemed to be the worst off, but even she was coming around. Slowly I managed to sit up. It was then that I noticed Madiza. She was standing up, with her back against the door of the room, almost like she was trying to keep something from coming out.
"What are you doing?" I asked. My voice came out sounding like a croak.
"Got to hold it in. Can't let it out, or it'll hurt you again!" said Madiza.
"What, the smoke?"
"Yes! Radix pedis diaboli!" Madiza dragged her chalk out of her pocket and drew a picture on the door. It looked like a combination of a foot and a hoof.
"That's what it looks like before it's ground up. When burned, the stuff stimulates the part of the brain which controls fear. Whoever is exposed to it for too long either goes cuckoo like me, or kicks the towel!" I assumed by that last phrase that she was using a combination of 'kick the bucket' and 'toss in the towel', but decided to let it go.
"So how come it didn't effect you?"
"I don't know. Maybe because I've already lost my marbles. And it couldn't have; I wouldn't have been able to get you out otherwise." Madiza grinned at me.
"You saved us?"
"Of course I did, silly! You're my friends! I didn't want you to become Looney Tunes, or get rattled!"
"Rattled?" asked Matt, who had by now recovered.
"Death-rattled. Hee hee!"
I suddenly felt a wave of affection for her. "Thank you, Madiza," I said softly. Then I got up, and helped Matt.
"We need to go. The Junkmen are probably going to come back soon. Ben, Lucy, can you walk?" Ben stood up, and Lucy staggered to her feet, but she looked unsteady. Without warning, Ben picked her up and slung her, piggy-back style, onto his back. Well, that worked.
"Right, let's go." I started to head to the left, but Madiza said, "No, no! Not that way! The camp of the trashy people is over there! We need to go right!"
"How do you know?"
"I can smell them! We need to go this way! Trust me!" She headed down the right branch. I looked at Matt and Ben, who shrugged.
"Who are we to argue with a nutcase who knows more than we do?" asked Matt.
"Good point," I said. So, we went after her. I just hoped she knew what she was doing.
I lay on the ground, trembling as the last wisps of the terrible cloud left my brain. I saw the others around me, looking as white and shaky as I was. Lucy seemed to be the worst off, but even she was coming around. Slowly I managed to sit up. It was then that I noticed Madiza. She was standing up, with her back against the door of the room, almost like she was trying to keep something from coming out.
"What are you doing?" I asked. My voice came out sounding like a croak.
"Got to hold it in. Can't let it out, or it'll hurt you again!" said Madiza.
"What, the smoke?"
"Yes! Radix pedis diaboli!" Madiza dragged her chalk out of her pocket and drew a picture on the door. It looked like a combination of a foot and a hoof.
"That's what it looks like before it's ground up. When burned, the stuff stimulates the part of the brain which controls fear. Whoever is exposed to it for too long either goes cuckoo like me, or kicks the towel!" I assumed by that last phrase that she was using a combination of 'kick the bucket' and 'toss in the towel', but decided to let it go.
"So how come it didn't effect you?"
"I don't know. Maybe because I've already lost my marbles. And it couldn't have; I wouldn't have been able to get you out otherwise." Madiza grinned at me.
"You saved us?"
"Of course I did, silly! You're my friends! I didn't want you to become Looney Tunes, or get rattled!"
"Rattled?" asked Matt, who had by now recovered.
"Death-rattled. Hee hee!"
I suddenly felt a wave of affection for her. "Thank you, Madiza," I said softly. Then I got up, and helped Matt.
"We need to go. The Junkmen are probably going to come back soon. Ben, Lucy, can you walk?" Ben stood up, and Lucy staggered to her feet, but she looked unsteady. Without warning, Ben picked her up and slung her, piggy-back style, onto his back. Well, that worked.
"Right, let's go." I started to head to the left, but Madiza said, "No, no! Not that way! The camp of the trashy people is over there! We need to go right!"
"How do you know?"
"I can smell them! We need to go this way! Trust me!" She headed down the right branch. I looked at Matt and Ben, who shrugged.
"Who are we to argue with a nutcase who knows more than we do?" asked Matt.
"Good point," I said. So, we went after her. I just hoped she knew what she was doing.
Freegans part 25
The Kestrel
Kestrel walked slowly down the tunnel, his senses alert. He had changed out of his uniform soon after getting away from the rest of the scouting party; it was now folded up in his backpack. His plasma rifle, toned to debilitation, hung from its shoulder strap by his arm; he was the best shot in his platoon, an irony that wasn't lost on him. He was dressed all in black, with his black beret still on (he rather liked how it looked on him). He was moving as swiftly as he could while still maintaining silence; it would be terrible either to be trapped by the Junkmen or be caught by his own patrol. Still, he needed to get to the children. He hadn't found any message from the Ox, who would have left some sign if he had found them. From the signs he had already seen, it seemed like the Junkmen were making a push in this area. Suddenly, he came upon what must have been a battle scene- broken robots, a junk tunnel, and no sign of anyone. Kestrel kicked himself inwardly for not preparing for that possibility. She was counting on him, and he should have foreseen the problem.
A few minutes later, he had followed the tunnel to the Junkmen transit camp. They had to be in there somewhere, probably already under the affect of the drugs the Junkmen used. He had to get them out of there. He slipped quietly around a corner and into one of the buildings.
Kestrel walked slowly down the tunnel, his senses alert. He had changed out of his uniform soon after getting away from the rest of the scouting party; it was now folded up in his backpack. His plasma rifle, toned to debilitation, hung from its shoulder strap by his arm; he was the best shot in his platoon, an irony that wasn't lost on him. He was dressed all in black, with his black beret still on (he rather liked how it looked on him). He was moving as swiftly as he could while still maintaining silence; it would be terrible either to be trapped by the Junkmen or be caught by his own patrol. Still, he needed to get to the children. He hadn't found any message from the Ox, who would have left some sign if he had found them. From the signs he had already seen, it seemed like the Junkmen were making a push in this area. Suddenly, he came upon what must have been a battle scene- broken robots, a junk tunnel, and no sign of anyone. Kestrel kicked himself inwardly for not preparing for that possibility. She was counting on him, and he should have foreseen the problem.
A few minutes later, he had followed the tunnel to the Junkmen transit camp. They had to be in there somewhere, probably already under the affect of the drugs the Junkmen used. He had to get them out of there. He slipped quietly around a corner and into one of the buildings.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Freegans part 24
Madiza
What what why leave door unlocked? Don't know, don't know. Light light lamp funny funny smell bad bad not good no no NO! Trouble bad Radix pedis diaboli! Help help help my- friends- need- help. Must help them. Got- to-get-out. Door, door, who's got the door? There there there good good good now help friends.
Find Lucy, she's weakest. There she is, there she is. Come on, out out out door's not locked take her out. Should clear senses. Now find Ben-ben, where's Ben-ben? Oof, what was that? What what what oh, Matt. Better take him out. Get to the door. Put him out. Now find Ben-ben and Cara Cara orange. Found Ben-ben. Looks scared, face gone white, not good not good. Here, up he goes, get out with others. Yes, now Cara Cara. Cara, where are you? Come out wherever you are. Yoohoo? Cara! Got to get out, before you toss the bucket or go my way. Fear's not good, not good at all. Come on, little old Madiza's got you. Each who bears his cross. Ha. Bearing my Cara instead. Hee hee hee hee! The door! Where's the door? Bad, bad, bad no no no not want to have Cara die...there! Out out out...and it came to pass that the lunatic did rise up and move her friends before the terror got to them. Now- got-to-close-this-DOOR!
What what why leave door unlocked? Don't know, don't know. Light light lamp funny funny smell bad bad not good no no NO! Trouble bad Radix pedis diaboli! Help help help my- friends- need- help. Must help them. Got- to-get-out. Door, door, who's got the door? There there there good good good now help friends.
Find Lucy, she's weakest. There she is, there she is. Come on, out out out door's not locked take her out. Should clear senses. Now find Ben-ben, where's Ben-ben? Oof, what was that? What what what oh, Matt. Better take him out. Get to the door. Put him out. Now find Ben-ben and Cara Cara orange. Found Ben-ben. Looks scared, face gone white, not good not good. Here, up he goes, get out with others. Yes, now Cara Cara. Cara, where are you? Come out wherever you are. Yoohoo? Cara! Got to get out, before you toss the bucket or go my way. Fear's not good, not good at all. Come on, little old Madiza's got you. Each who bears his cross. Ha. Bearing my Cara instead. Hee hee hee hee! The door! Where's the door? Bad, bad, bad no no no not want to have Cara die...there! Out out out...and it came to pass that the lunatic did rise up and move her friends before the terror got to them. Now- got-to-close-this-DOOR!
Freegans part 23
Cara
Unfortunately, we had forgotten about the robots. While we had been talking to the Junkmen, about a dozen more had joined them, so now they attacked us. Of course, we fought back. Ben used his marshal arts skills to smash in several metallic skulls, and Madiza was zapping them with her tazer, and us normal humans did the best we could. I had on my levitation boots, which made it a bit easier. I could zip up out of their reach, and suddenly crash down on them, or kick them. Matt had found a piece of piping, and used it to hit. Suddenly, we heard a shrill scream. Lucy was trapped in a net growing out of one robots arm, and another one was pointing his drill arm at her head. The meaning was clear. Madiza clearly wanted to shock them, but didn't want to risk hurting her. So we surrendered.
In three blinks of an eye we were surrounded and tied up, then slung over our captor's shoulders. Lucy was crying quietly. I could tell she was upset at being captured so easily, but there was really nothing we could have done. The Junkmen awoke, and glared at us maliciously. "Take them to the Room of Horrors," said their leader to the head robot. With that we were marched off. I felt a shiver run down my back. I wondered what the Room of Horrors was. Something told me, probably the name, that it would not be pleasant. The robots went down a long, dark pipe. On the way, I saw another car with a drill on the end, which had more Junkmen in it. The robots stopped and waited for it to go by before continuing. The Junkmen spat at us and called us 'filthy topsiders'. 'Sheesh,' I thought.
Suddenly we came to a door. It was a simple one, made of wood, with no lock on it. That was strange to me. Why not bother locking the door, if it was supposed to be so horrible? The robot carrying me opened the door, and dumped me inside. The others got the same treatment. Once all of us were in the room, a robot walked over to a small lamp in the center of the room. It lit the lamp, and then all of them left, slamming the door. Madiza and Ben managed to wriggle out of their ropes, and then they untied us. "This room doesn't look that scary," said Matt, rubbing his wrists. "I wonder why-" He stopped. His face suddenly twisted in a look of pure terror. I was confused, until a peculiar smell hit my nose. It was sweet, yet at the same time musky. Instantly a dark cloud swam before my eyes. Strange shapes and twisted visions loomed out of it. I didn't know what had happened to the others, and was too terrified to care. Unknown horrors would soon appear from that cloud, and when they did, I would be done for!
Unfortunately, we had forgotten about the robots. While we had been talking to the Junkmen, about a dozen more had joined them, so now they attacked us. Of course, we fought back. Ben used his marshal arts skills to smash in several metallic skulls, and Madiza was zapping them with her tazer, and us normal humans did the best we could. I had on my levitation boots, which made it a bit easier. I could zip up out of their reach, and suddenly crash down on them, or kick them. Matt had found a piece of piping, and used it to hit. Suddenly, we heard a shrill scream. Lucy was trapped in a net growing out of one robots arm, and another one was pointing his drill arm at her head. The meaning was clear. Madiza clearly wanted to shock them, but didn't want to risk hurting her. So we surrendered.
In three blinks of an eye we were surrounded and tied up, then slung over our captor's shoulders. Lucy was crying quietly. I could tell she was upset at being captured so easily, but there was really nothing we could have done. The Junkmen awoke, and glared at us maliciously. "Take them to the Room of Horrors," said their leader to the head robot. With that we were marched off. I felt a shiver run down my back. I wondered what the Room of Horrors was. Something told me, probably the name, that it would not be pleasant. The robots went down a long, dark pipe. On the way, I saw another car with a drill on the end, which had more Junkmen in it. The robots stopped and waited for it to go by before continuing. The Junkmen spat at us and called us 'filthy topsiders'. 'Sheesh,' I thought.
Suddenly we came to a door. It was a simple one, made of wood, with no lock on it. That was strange to me. Why not bother locking the door, if it was supposed to be so horrible? The robot carrying me opened the door, and dumped me inside. The others got the same treatment. Once all of us were in the room, a robot walked over to a small lamp in the center of the room. It lit the lamp, and then all of them left, slamming the door. Madiza and Ben managed to wriggle out of their ropes, and then they untied us. "This room doesn't look that scary," said Matt, rubbing his wrists. "I wonder why-" He stopped. His face suddenly twisted in a look of pure terror. I was confused, until a peculiar smell hit my nose. It was sweet, yet at the same time musky. Instantly a dark cloud swam before my eyes. Strange shapes and twisted visions loomed out of it. I didn't know what had happened to the others, and was too terrified to care. Unknown horrors would soon appear from that cloud, and when they did, I would be done for!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Freegans part 22
Ben
The three men were all very short, probably about as tall as Lucy, if not shorter. They all had on big goggles covering their eyes, and leathery clothes. I thought they looked a little bit like leather moles. The one in front, who appeared to be the leader, stepped out of the car and demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"That's none of your business,"Cara replied. She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. I could tell this would not end well. The man who had spoken walked forward and looked Cara in the face, which wasn't all that impressive, since he was so much shorter.
"We are the Junkmen. EVERYTHING underground is our business," he said. "This is our world."
"Funny, I don't see your name on it anywhere," said Cara. Lucy and Matt both winced slightly.
For a moment the head Junkman looked about to explode. Then suddenly his face relaxed, and he smiled.
"I apologize for acting so rough. You see, we're not that used to having topsiders down here." He held out his leather-gloved hand, and just as Cara was about to take it, Madiza suddenly turned her tazer on him and his two buddies! The leader was knocked off his feet!
"Madiza!" Cara yelled. "What were you thinking?!" I was rather annoyed myself. I always knew Madiza was crazy, but didn't think she had an itchy trigger finger.
"I only stunned them," she replied mildly.
"That's no excuse! He was just trying to shake my hand!"
"No he wasn't," said Madiza. To our surprise, she walked over, and took something out of the Junkman's hand. It was a small glass vial, with some liquid inside.
"Poison," she said softly. "Mostly cyanide, but there is also some strychnine, and a few drops of a newly invented poison known by anti-consumerists as 'Gwilliam's Venom', due to the vice-president's maladjusted antisocial tendencies and slightly murderous nature." Her voice was different, sounding a little bit like a scientist. “Upon shaking your hand, the vial would shatter, and the glass shards cut open your hand, leaving the poison free entry into your bloodstream.” All four of us gaped at her, before Matt finally managed to find his voice.
"How-how did you know that?!" Madiza looked at him for a second, then said in her normal voice, "I don't know." She blinked a few times, then slipped the vial of poison into her pocket, along with the tazer. She then started down the tunnel. After a second, we followed her. I was thinking to myself, "Will wonders never cease?"
The three men were all very short, probably about as tall as Lucy, if not shorter. They all had on big goggles covering their eyes, and leathery clothes. I thought they looked a little bit like leather moles. The one in front, who appeared to be the leader, stepped out of the car and demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"That's none of your business,"Cara replied. She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. I could tell this would not end well. The man who had spoken walked forward and looked Cara in the face, which wasn't all that impressive, since he was so much shorter.
"We are the Junkmen. EVERYTHING underground is our business," he said. "This is our world."
"Funny, I don't see your name on it anywhere," said Cara. Lucy and Matt both winced slightly.
For a moment the head Junkman looked about to explode. Then suddenly his face relaxed, and he smiled.
"I apologize for acting so rough. You see, we're not that used to having topsiders down here." He held out his leather-gloved hand, and just as Cara was about to take it, Madiza suddenly turned her tazer on him and his two buddies! The leader was knocked off his feet!
"Madiza!" Cara yelled. "What were you thinking?!" I was rather annoyed myself. I always knew Madiza was crazy, but didn't think she had an itchy trigger finger.
"I only stunned them," she replied mildly.
"That's no excuse! He was just trying to shake my hand!"
"No he wasn't," said Madiza. To our surprise, she walked over, and took something out of the Junkman's hand. It was a small glass vial, with some liquid inside.
"Poison," she said softly. "Mostly cyanide, but there is also some strychnine, and a few drops of a newly invented poison known by anti-consumerists as 'Gwilliam's Venom', due to the vice-president's maladjusted antisocial tendencies and slightly murderous nature." Her voice was different, sounding a little bit like a scientist. “Upon shaking your hand, the vial would shatter, and the glass shards cut open your hand, leaving the poison free entry into your bloodstream.” All four of us gaped at her, before Matt finally managed to find his voice.
"How-how did you know that?!" Madiza looked at him for a second, then said in her normal voice, "I don't know." She blinked a few times, then slipped the vial of poison into her pocket, along with the tazer. She then started down the tunnel. After a second, we followed her. I was thinking to myself, "Will wonders never cease?"
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Freegans part 21
Lucy
I was frozen with terror, which wasn't that surprising, considering the robot. Actually, there was more than one. I counted at least twelve. They all had what looked like primitive deep-sea diving gear on the tops of their bodies. Some of them had large drills for arms, or nets, or other weird contraptions. However, their legs were different. Some had eight giant spider legs, some had four dog legs, and even a few had human legs. My heart was seized with terror.
Suddenly, they attacked us! I was grabbed by one of the robots in front, and hoisted into the air. I was too frightened even to cry out. I couldn't even move. Suddenly, there was a loud crunching noise, and the robot dropped me. I looked up, just in time to see Ben give the thing another roundhouse kick to the dome, crunching it in. Sparks leaped from broken wires as it fell in a rusty heap.
"How did you do that?!" I gasped. Ben grabbed a pen, and wrote quickly, 'Consumerists are always kept physically fit, and have to learn some kind of sport. I took martial arts.'
The others seemed to be getting on all right. Cara and Matt had found some pipes in the pack, and were now swinging them at the other robots, whacking everywhere they could reach. Ben ran to the pack and grabbed a pipe of his own. He seemed to be everywhere at once, fighting like a maniac. He was so brave.
Suddenly I noticed Madiza. She was holding a weird gun thing in her hand. Suddenly she pointed it at one of the robots, and pulled the trigger. A blast of electricity shot out of the end, shooting it straight backwards and into the big hole! Madiza stared at the gun in shock for a second, then her face split into the widest grin I had ever seen. The next instant she started shooting at top speed, several times nearly missing us. The good news was that the robots felt she was the greatest threat, and so concentrated their attacks on her.
I could tell that Cara wanted to help, but there didn't seem like anything to be done. Secretly I felt relieved. Madiza could probably handle herself, and if she couldn't, well, then at least we could take this opportunity to escape. I ran to Cara. "Do you think you could fly us across the hole?" I asked.
"There's a limit to how much weight these boots can take. And besides, we're not leaving Madiza," she replied.
"Why not? She's just a loony. She's slowing us down!" Cara stared at me in shock. I was a bit surprised myself. I didn't usually talk like that about anybody.
"Well, we have a rope. Cara could fly across the hole, then attach that rope to the ceiling or something, and we could get away like that," said Matt.
"Whatever we do, we need to do it now!" I screamed. Cara stood up, and had just lifted off, when a voice yelled, "Stop!" Madiza instantly quit shocking the robots, who had frozen in place. We looked past them, and saw a strange car. It was a very small one, with a big drill on the front. Inside were the oddest people I had ever seen.
I was frozen with terror, which wasn't that surprising, considering the robot. Actually, there was more than one. I counted at least twelve. They all had what looked like primitive deep-sea diving gear on the tops of their bodies. Some of them had large drills for arms, or nets, or other weird contraptions. However, their legs were different. Some had eight giant spider legs, some had four dog legs, and even a few had human legs. My heart was seized with terror.
Suddenly, they attacked us! I was grabbed by one of the robots in front, and hoisted into the air. I was too frightened even to cry out. I couldn't even move. Suddenly, there was a loud crunching noise, and the robot dropped me. I looked up, just in time to see Ben give the thing another roundhouse kick to the dome, crunching it in. Sparks leaped from broken wires as it fell in a rusty heap.
"How did you do that?!" I gasped. Ben grabbed a pen, and wrote quickly, 'Consumerists are always kept physically fit, and have to learn some kind of sport. I took martial arts.'
The others seemed to be getting on all right. Cara and Matt had found some pipes in the pack, and were now swinging them at the other robots, whacking everywhere they could reach. Ben ran to the pack and grabbed a pipe of his own. He seemed to be everywhere at once, fighting like a maniac. He was so brave.
Suddenly I noticed Madiza. She was holding a weird gun thing in her hand. Suddenly she pointed it at one of the robots, and pulled the trigger. A blast of electricity shot out of the end, shooting it straight backwards and into the big hole! Madiza stared at the gun in shock for a second, then her face split into the widest grin I had ever seen. The next instant she started shooting at top speed, several times nearly missing us. The good news was that the robots felt she was the greatest threat, and so concentrated their attacks on her.
I could tell that Cara wanted to help, but there didn't seem like anything to be done. Secretly I felt relieved. Madiza could probably handle herself, and if she couldn't, well, then at least we could take this opportunity to escape. I ran to Cara. "Do you think you could fly us across the hole?" I asked.
"There's a limit to how much weight these boots can take. And besides, we're not leaving Madiza," she replied.
"Why not? She's just a loony. She's slowing us down!" Cara stared at me in shock. I was a bit surprised myself. I didn't usually talk like that about anybody.
"Well, we have a rope. Cara could fly across the hole, then attach that rope to the ceiling or something, and we could get away like that," said Matt.
"Whatever we do, we need to do it now!" I screamed. Cara stood up, and had just lifted off, when a voice yelled, "Stop!" Madiza instantly quit shocking the robots, who had frozen in place. We looked past them, and saw a strange car. It was a very small one, with a big drill on the front. Inside were the oddest people I had ever seen.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Freegans part 20
Matt
We couldn't afford to waste time. At a nod from Cara I woke up Lucy and Ben. They sat up sleepily. "Whassamatta?" Lucy muttered. Then they both heard the clanking noise too, and looked into the tunnel. We still couldn't see what it was; not a single ray of light shone.
"Wh-what do you think it is?" Cara asked, unable to hold back a stammer.
"Big Sister's coming, and she's bringing some friends!" Madiza cackled, stuffing the chalk into her shirt pocket.
"That sounds ominous," I said. "We should get out of here."
"Really, Matt? I would never have thought of that!" said Cara sarcastically.
"Why do we need to go? They might be friendly!" said Lucy.
"Luce, does that clanking noise sound friendly? No, it does not. We're going." Without another word, Cara grabbed the pack and slung it over her shoulders. She then pulled Madiza up off the floor, and we were off. I couldn't help worrying about Lucy, since she has this tendency to lag behind during anything athletic, but I saw that Ben was helping her to keep up. As we ran, I heard Madiza talking loudly.
"And they're off! The bossy leader and Madiza Hatter are taking the lead, with Matt right behind, and Ben-ben and whatshername bringing up the rear! Oh, excuse me folks, I should say that the unknown clanking thing is bringing up the rear! However, whatever it is seems to be gaining on us! If you listen, you can hear the clanks speeding up!" True to her words, the noise was speeding up to match us.
Madiza continued. "...Laaaadies and gentlemen, they have just completed the first lap! Now they're rounding the corner, and oh! Looks like we're in for a holdup, folks! There's been damage done to the track!"
It was sheer luck that she and Cara had not gone over the edge of the huge hole in the ground. All of us managed to brake just in time, or else we would probably have been dead. Slowly we turned around. We got our first look at our pursuer, and Lucy had to stifle a scream. It was a robot.
We couldn't afford to waste time. At a nod from Cara I woke up Lucy and Ben. They sat up sleepily. "Whassamatta?" Lucy muttered. Then they both heard the clanking noise too, and looked into the tunnel. We still couldn't see what it was; not a single ray of light shone.
"Wh-what do you think it is?" Cara asked, unable to hold back a stammer.
"Big Sister's coming, and she's bringing some friends!" Madiza cackled, stuffing the chalk into her shirt pocket.
"That sounds ominous," I said. "We should get out of here."
"Really, Matt? I would never have thought of that!" said Cara sarcastically.
"Why do we need to go? They might be friendly!" said Lucy.
"Luce, does that clanking noise sound friendly? No, it does not. We're going." Without another word, Cara grabbed the pack and slung it over her shoulders. She then pulled Madiza up off the floor, and we were off. I couldn't help worrying about Lucy, since she has this tendency to lag behind during anything athletic, but I saw that Ben was helping her to keep up. As we ran, I heard Madiza talking loudly.
"And they're off! The bossy leader and Madiza Hatter are taking the lead, with Matt right behind, and Ben-ben and whatshername bringing up the rear! Oh, excuse me folks, I should say that the unknown clanking thing is bringing up the rear! However, whatever it is seems to be gaining on us! If you listen, you can hear the clanks speeding up!" True to her words, the noise was speeding up to match us.
Madiza continued. "...Laaaadies and gentlemen, they have just completed the first lap! Now they're rounding the corner, and oh! Looks like we're in for a holdup, folks! There's been damage done to the track!"
It was sheer luck that she and Cara had not gone over the edge of the huge hole in the ground. All of us managed to brake just in time, or else we would probably have been dead. Slowly we turned around. We got our first look at our pursuer, and Lucy had to stifle a scream. It was a robot.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Freegans part 19
Cara
I didn't want to admit it, but my eyelids were growing heavy, and it was all I could do to keep from dozing off. But as the (rather self-appointed) leader, I had to try and keep a good profile. I was doing my best, but I could tell Matt wasn't fooled.
"You should go to sleep, Cara. I can take the first watch," he said aloud.
"Don't be silly. I'm fine," I said indignantly, pinching myself quickly. Matt gave me a skeptical glance.
"Cara, you are tired. If you don't go to sleep this instant, I will make you."
"How?"
"By physical force, if necessary."
I glared at him, and then betrayed myself by yawning. Matt grinned triumphantly. "Fine," I muttered. Lucy and Ben were already down and out, and Madiza was just sitting by herself, muttering and drawing using one of the pieces of chalk that had been in the pack. I barely stopped to wonder what she was drawing before I was asleep too.
My dreams were mainly nightmares. I was chased by a giant, fanged helicopter, which kept trying to stab me in the back with its blades. No matter how fast I ran, the helicopter was always right on my tail. Then I stumbled, and was falling, into a giant mouth. The mouth began closing. I screamed in pain as one of the fangs stabbed me in the ribs.
I awoke with a start, and realized that Matt was poking me. "Whassup?" I mumbled, sitting up.
"Cara, I think you should see what Madiza's doing," he said. Giving me a hand up, he pulled me over. Madiza's chalk had been halfway used up by now, and what its purpose had been surprised me. She appeared to have drawn first the cross-section of an eyeball, with all the parts labeled and everything. Then she had scrawled some kind of complicated calculus equation, followed by a couple more mathematical formulas. Now she was writing a set of instructions for something. I read it quietly.
"To put together your computer, insert-" I stopped. Madiza had frozen, and was looking down one of the corridors. If she had been a dog, her ears would have been pricked.
"Madiza, what is it?" asked Matt. Madiza only cackled softly, before saying in a singsong tone, "Mr. B, Mr. B, Big Sister doesn't like you playing with me!" She snickered. I grabbed her shoulder and looked straight into her glassy eyes. "What are you talking about, Madiza?!" She didn't have to answer. Suddenly we all could hear a loud, creaking noise, heading straight for us.
I didn't want to admit it, but my eyelids were growing heavy, and it was all I could do to keep from dozing off. But as the (rather self-appointed) leader, I had to try and keep a good profile. I was doing my best, but I could tell Matt wasn't fooled.
"You should go to sleep, Cara. I can take the first watch," he said aloud.
"Don't be silly. I'm fine," I said indignantly, pinching myself quickly. Matt gave me a skeptical glance.
"Cara, you are tired. If you don't go to sleep this instant, I will make you."
"How?"
"By physical force, if necessary."
I glared at him, and then betrayed myself by yawning. Matt grinned triumphantly. "Fine," I muttered. Lucy and Ben were already down and out, and Madiza was just sitting by herself, muttering and drawing using one of the pieces of chalk that had been in the pack. I barely stopped to wonder what she was drawing before I was asleep too.
My dreams were mainly nightmares. I was chased by a giant, fanged helicopter, which kept trying to stab me in the back with its blades. No matter how fast I ran, the helicopter was always right on my tail. Then I stumbled, and was falling, into a giant mouth. The mouth began closing. I screamed in pain as one of the fangs stabbed me in the ribs.
I awoke with a start, and realized that Matt was poking me. "Whassup?" I mumbled, sitting up.
"Cara, I think you should see what Madiza's doing," he said. Giving me a hand up, he pulled me over. Madiza's chalk had been halfway used up by now, and what its purpose had been surprised me. She appeared to have drawn first the cross-section of an eyeball, with all the parts labeled and everything. Then she had scrawled some kind of complicated calculus equation, followed by a couple more mathematical formulas. Now she was writing a set of instructions for something. I read it quietly.
"To put together your computer, insert-" I stopped. Madiza had frozen, and was looking down one of the corridors. If she had been a dog, her ears would have been pricked.
"Madiza, what is it?" asked Matt. Madiza only cackled softly, before saying in a singsong tone, "Mr. B, Mr. B, Big Sister doesn't like you playing with me!" She snickered. I grabbed her shoulder and looked straight into her glassy eyes. "What are you talking about, Madiza?!" She didn't have to answer. Suddenly we all could hear a loud, creaking noise, heading straight for us.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Freegans part 18
Lucy
After everyone had gotten something to eat, we headed off again, and didn't stop until I collapsed. To be honest, I'm not much of an athlete even at my best, and all of this running around was starting to take its toll on me. I couldn't go on another step, which meant that the others couldn't either. We just settled down in the pipe. I could tell Cara wanted to go on, but out of concern for me, she decided we needed to take a rest. Everyone sat really close. Nobody wanted to be in a position where they could get killed if we were found.
To my delight, Ben came and sat down by me. I knew it was pointless to notice, but he was honestly very cute. I especially thought his blue eyes, though out of place in his Indian features, were beautiful. I wanted to say something to him, but when I tried, nothing came to mind. Not wanting to embarrass myself, I finally decided to just stay quiet. Instead, I looked at the others, the walls, anywhere but at him.
Cara and Matt were over in a corner talking, and Madiza was rocking back and forth, chattering to herself. It was during this scene that I dropped off to sleep.
After everyone had gotten something to eat, we headed off again, and didn't stop until I collapsed. To be honest, I'm not much of an athlete even at my best, and all of this running around was starting to take its toll on me. I couldn't go on another step, which meant that the others couldn't either. We just settled down in the pipe. I could tell Cara wanted to go on, but out of concern for me, she decided we needed to take a rest. Everyone sat really close. Nobody wanted to be in a position where they could get killed if we were found.
To my delight, Ben came and sat down by me. I knew it was pointless to notice, but he was honestly very cute. I especially thought his blue eyes, though out of place in his Indian features, were beautiful. I wanted to say something to him, but when I tried, nothing came to mind. Not wanting to embarrass myself, I finally decided to just stay quiet. Instead, I looked at the others, the walls, anywhere but at him.
Cara and Matt were over in a corner talking, and Madiza was rocking back and forth, chattering to herself. It was during this scene that I dropped off to sleep.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Freegans part 17
Matt
"I wonder why these boots were thrown away," said Lucy, looking at them. "They seem to be in good condition to me."
Cara gestured to the right one, which had a splash of what looked like purple nail polish on the toe(Yes, we had nail polish back at the camp. Lucy's little sisters were always putting it on). She rolled her eyes in disgust. "These consumerist people are so wasteful! It's sickening!"
We headed in the opposite direction in the pipe, away from the drop off. Cara led the way, holding Madiza's candle. I went up by her in case of any more accidents, and Madiza came behind me. Lucy and Ben were in the back. I could tell that something was on Cara's mind, because she was muttering under her breath, and her forehead was puckered with deep thought.
"If you keep doing that you'll end up like Madiza," I said. Cara smiled. It was the first time I'd seen her do that since this adventure had started.
"Well, I see a potential problem in our escape plan. Namely, food and water. Where are we supposed to get any? We can't survive in this tunnel without them. And light would also be good. This candle isn't going to last forever."
"That's more than one potential problem," I said.
"You know what I mean!"
At that moment, I noticed something up ahead. "Hey, what's that?" I asked. Cara stopped short, and peered into the darkness. Because of the sudden halt, Madiza bumped into me from behind, and it was only by the grace of God that I didn't bump into Cara.
"It's a pack!" she said. Cautiously she walked forward. It seemed normal enough. She kicked it lightly with the toe of her boot. When nothing happened, she reached out and picked it up, carefully bringing it back to us.
"Be careful," I warned, "it might have a bomb or something."
" I know that," Cara replied. The others tried to get a look, but the lack of space in the tunnel made it difficult. Finally, we managed to form a circle of sorts, and looked at the pack. It was made of burlap, and had a clasp holding it shut. With trembling fingers, Cara undid the clasp. We could not believe what we saw inside.
"Food!" said Madiza in delight. Before anyone could stop her, she grabbed a piece of bread, a roll, from the pack and stuffed it into her mouth! "Madiza!" said Lucy in shock. Ignoring her, the crazy girl chewed vigorously, then gulped it down. She grinned, showing needle-sharp teeth.
"Well," wrote Ben on his paper, "it doesn't seem like she's about to keel over and die. I suppose we could try it."
"Let's wait a minute," said Cara. After the minute was up and Madiza still hadn't exploded or turned green, we each helped ourselves to some of the food. Most of it was pretty hardy stuff, cheeses and bread, and there was even a jar of honey and some water. The water was a little warm, but nobody cared. We hadn't tasted food in a long while, and hadn't even realized how hungry we were. Madiza and Ben ate as if they had been through a three-year famine, which they pretty much had. I sat by Cara as we ate, and helped her look more through the pack.
There was also a rope, grappling hooks, and some pieces of chalk. But there was something else more intriguing.
"Paper!" said Cara in surprise. "And several pencils! It's almost as if whoever left this pack knew we would have a mute person with us!" We looked at each other. This was strange.
"I wonder why these boots were thrown away," said Lucy, looking at them. "They seem to be in good condition to me."
Cara gestured to the right one, which had a splash of what looked like purple nail polish on the toe(Yes, we had nail polish back at the camp. Lucy's little sisters were always putting it on). She rolled her eyes in disgust. "These consumerist people are so wasteful! It's sickening!"
We headed in the opposite direction in the pipe, away from the drop off. Cara led the way, holding Madiza's candle. I went up by her in case of any more accidents, and Madiza came behind me. Lucy and Ben were in the back. I could tell that something was on Cara's mind, because she was muttering under her breath, and her forehead was puckered with deep thought.
"If you keep doing that you'll end up like Madiza," I said. Cara smiled. It was the first time I'd seen her do that since this adventure had started.
"Well, I see a potential problem in our escape plan. Namely, food and water. Where are we supposed to get any? We can't survive in this tunnel without them. And light would also be good. This candle isn't going to last forever."
"That's more than one potential problem," I said.
"You know what I mean!"
At that moment, I noticed something up ahead. "Hey, what's that?" I asked. Cara stopped short, and peered into the darkness. Because of the sudden halt, Madiza bumped into me from behind, and it was only by the grace of God that I didn't bump into Cara.
"It's a pack!" she said. Cautiously she walked forward. It seemed normal enough. She kicked it lightly with the toe of her boot. When nothing happened, she reached out and picked it up, carefully bringing it back to us.
"Be careful," I warned, "it might have a bomb or something."
" I know that," Cara replied. The others tried to get a look, but the lack of space in the tunnel made it difficult. Finally, we managed to form a circle of sorts, and looked at the pack. It was made of burlap, and had a clasp holding it shut. With trembling fingers, Cara undid the clasp. We could not believe what we saw inside.
"Food!" said Madiza in delight. Before anyone could stop her, she grabbed a piece of bread, a roll, from the pack and stuffed it into her mouth! "Madiza!" said Lucy in shock. Ignoring her, the crazy girl chewed vigorously, then gulped it down. She grinned, showing needle-sharp teeth.
"Well," wrote Ben on his paper, "it doesn't seem like she's about to keel over and die. I suppose we could try it."
"Let's wait a minute," said Cara. After the minute was up and Madiza still hadn't exploded or turned green, we each helped ourselves to some of the food. Most of it was pretty hardy stuff, cheeses and bread, and there was even a jar of honey and some water. The water was a little warm, but nobody cared. We hadn't tasted food in a long while, and hadn't even realized how hungry we were. Madiza and Ben ate as if they had been through a three-year famine, which they pretty much had. I sat by Cara as we ate, and helped her look more through the pack.
There was also a rope, grappling hooks, and some pieces of chalk. But there was something else more intriguing.
"Paper!" said Cara in surprise. "And several pencils! It's almost as if whoever left this pack knew we would have a mute person with us!" We looked at each other. This was strange.
Freegans part 16
You may have been wondering what was happening with my story. Well, just so you know, I have been waiting for a special guest writer to give his part, so here it is!
I carefully made my way around the corner, being sure not to hurry. My uniform was impeccable, as I knew, but I still had the desire to break and run every time I saw a fellow soldier, or even when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Max had been clear about this, had warned me beforehand how it would be, had made me practice walking calmly over and over again. I was more grateful then ever for her intelligence and foresight.
Two guards passed me, laughing about some holonet vid they had just seen. I gave them a bored glance, remembering to keep my stride even. One, two, one, two. I got to the stairs down and slowly opened the door to the basement. I closed the door behind me, turned, and slowly let out my breath. They were gone. They had found the tunnel, and they had taken Project 112 with them. I quickly ran to the cage, opened it with the key copy I had made, and did my best to hide all traces around the stone which hid the mouth of the tunnel. As I did so, I wondered how much time I could give them before reporting them missing... The guards had seen me on my way down, but they would be at break and the new guards wouldn't know how long I'd been down. I decided I could wait for another five minutes at the most. I quickly hid any tracks and relocked the cage, trying to get ahold of my excitement. I couldn't wait to tell my friends. "Run, kids, run," I whispered under my breath.
As I waited, I began to worry about the small group. As the Ox and I had been digging the tunnel earlier this month, he had almost fallen down a sudden dropoff. I hoped the children noticed the warnings we had put up around the pits and around the dead ends. Hopefully, they would also find the food and tool caches we had left. I got up and started up the stairs to sound the alarm, taking care to quicken my breathing and paste a look of surprise on my face.
Chalk one up for the Resistance.
I carefully made my way around the corner, being sure not to hurry. My uniform was impeccable, as I knew, but I still had the desire to break and run every time I saw a fellow soldier, or even when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Max had been clear about this, had warned me beforehand how it would be, had made me practice walking calmly over and over again. I was more grateful then ever for her intelligence and foresight.
Two guards passed me, laughing about some holonet vid they had just seen. I gave them a bored glance, remembering to keep my stride even. One, two, one, two. I got to the stairs down and slowly opened the door to the basement. I closed the door behind me, turned, and slowly let out my breath. They were gone. They had found the tunnel, and they had taken Project 112 with them. I quickly ran to the cage, opened it with the key copy I had made, and did my best to hide all traces around the stone which hid the mouth of the tunnel. As I did so, I wondered how much time I could give them before reporting them missing... The guards had seen me on my way down, but they would be at break and the new guards wouldn't know how long I'd been down. I decided I could wait for another five minutes at the most. I quickly hid any tracks and relocked the cage, trying to get ahold of my excitement. I couldn't wait to tell my friends. "Run, kids, run," I whispered under my breath.
As I waited, I began to worry about the small group. As the Ox and I had been digging the tunnel earlier this month, he had almost fallen down a sudden dropoff. I hoped the children noticed the warnings we had put up around the pits and around the dead ends. Hopefully, they would also find the food and tool caches we had left. I got up and started up the stairs to sound the alarm, taking care to quicken my breathing and paste a look of surprise on my face.
Chalk one up for the Resistance.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Survey
Out of idle curiosity, if one of you had the chance to take over the world, how would you go about doing it? Submit your replies when convinient.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Freegans part 15
Cara
Madiza lit a candle, and we took a look around. It appeared that we were in some kind of tunnel, maybe an old sewage pipe. There was an opening not far away. I decided to take a look, so I started to go that way. Matt grabbed my arm. "What?!" I demanded. "Be careful. You don't know what's back there," he said.
"That's why I'm going to look, bonehead," I said. Immediately I felt bad for the insult.
He insisted on coming with me. I didn't understand why Matt was so overprotective all of a sudden. However, I even sort of liked it. We went down the pipe, finally coming to the end. Cautiously I edged outward, craning my neck. There did not appear to be anything outside the pipe. Suddenly my feet slipped, and I found myself falling! I gave a small yell, scrabbling at the air. Matt ran forward and grabbed my hand, but he was just barely able to keep a hold on me. Soon he was on the ground, gripping my wrist with both hands, with me hanging outside. My arm felt like it was being wrenched from its socket.
"Click your heels!" yelled Madiza.
"What, and then say that there's no place like home?!" I demanded.
"If you like!"
Even though her advice seemed like nonsense, I didn't have much better options. I clicked my heels, and suddenly found myself being propelled upward.
"Whoa!" I yelled, managing to get a better grip on Matt so I wouldn't drop him.
"Now knock your toes together to brake!" Madiza yelled up to us. I did so, and instantly stopped, floating in midair. Matt and I looked at each other.
"Now what?" he called down.
"Just push your heels downwards, and you'll be propelled down!'
"I take it these are levitation boots," I said when Matt and I were safely back in the pipe. Ben wrote a message that said, "You ain't just whistling Dixie." Lucy ran forward and hugged both of us in what felt like a death grip. She knows I don't really like being hugged, but at that moment she didn't care.
"Okay, I vote we don't go that way," I said.
Madiza lit a candle, and we took a look around. It appeared that we were in some kind of tunnel, maybe an old sewage pipe. There was an opening not far away. I decided to take a look, so I started to go that way. Matt grabbed my arm. "What?!" I demanded. "Be careful. You don't know what's back there," he said.
"That's why I'm going to look, bonehead," I said. Immediately I felt bad for the insult.
He insisted on coming with me. I didn't understand why Matt was so overprotective all of a sudden. However, I even sort of liked it. We went down the pipe, finally coming to the end. Cautiously I edged outward, craning my neck. There did not appear to be anything outside the pipe. Suddenly my feet slipped, and I found myself falling! I gave a small yell, scrabbling at the air. Matt ran forward and grabbed my hand, but he was just barely able to keep a hold on me. Soon he was on the ground, gripping my wrist with both hands, with me hanging outside. My arm felt like it was being wrenched from its socket.
"Click your heels!" yelled Madiza.
"What, and then say that there's no place like home?!" I demanded.
"If you like!"
Even though her advice seemed like nonsense, I didn't have much better options. I clicked my heels, and suddenly found myself being propelled upward.
"Whoa!" I yelled, managing to get a better grip on Matt so I wouldn't drop him.
"Now knock your toes together to brake!" Madiza yelled up to us. I did so, and instantly stopped, floating in midair. Matt and I looked at each other.
"Now what?" he called down.
"Just push your heels downwards, and you'll be propelled down!'
"I take it these are levitation boots," I said when Matt and I were safely back in the pipe. Ben wrote a message that said, "You ain't just whistling Dixie." Lucy ran forward and hugged both of us in what felt like a death grip. She knows I don't really like being hugged, but at that moment she didn't care.
"Okay, I vote we don't go that way," I said.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
This survey is pretty nice
I know what Jane Austen character I am!
http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quizelinor.jpg According to this site, I'm Elinor Dashwood from "Sense and Sensibility". Those of you who know me very well, please do not laugh. I can be sensible on occasion.
http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quizelinor.jpg According to this site, I'm Elinor Dashwood from "Sense and Sensibility". Those of you who know me very well, please do not laugh. I can be sensible on occasion.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A civil question
Out of idle curiosity, am I the only person in the world who read "Ender's Game" and didn't like it? Seriously!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Freegans part 14
Matt
"I have a question, Madiza," I said. "Why didn't you use this to escape before, if you knew about it?"
"Um, hellooo?" she asked, holding up her wrists and rattling her chains.
"Oh. Yeah. Right." 'That should have been obvious,' I thought. The chains were affixed to the wall, and looked pretty tough. So Madiza probably couldn't have gotten free if she tried.
"Well, let's not waste time," said Lucy. "Let's get out of here! The vice president and his men will be down here any second!"
"But what about Madiza?" asked Cara. I was surprised that she cared. She looked over at Ben.
"Don't worry about me, my pretty," sang Madiza. "I'm completely mad. They won't hurt me." She began rocking back and forth, and singing, "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing, not at all. Hee hee!"
"Actually, Gwilliam will be so mad, he will probably kill you," said Lucy softly. Not even these words seemed to faze her. She only cackled softly.
Then Ben tapped me on the shoulder. He had written more on his paper. Cara and Lucy read over my shoulders.
"I don't care what you do, but I'm not leaving Madiza. She may be crazy, but she's my friend. I don't want to abandon her."
"You won't have to," said Cara. All of us looked at her questioningly. She rummaged around in her pocket, and suddenly pulled out what looked like a small knife.
"I found this lock pick a couple of days ago, but never thought I'd have any need for it." With that, Cara walked over and began freeing Madiza.
We didn't have anything to take with us, so all we needed to do was go down the tunnel, pull the rock back in place so we wouldn't be followed, and then we were free. The only question was, WHERE were we?
"I have a question, Madiza," I said. "Why didn't you use this to escape before, if you knew about it?"
"Um, hellooo?" she asked, holding up her wrists and rattling her chains.
"Oh. Yeah. Right." 'That should have been obvious,' I thought. The chains were affixed to the wall, and looked pretty tough. So Madiza probably couldn't have gotten free if she tried.
"Well, let's not waste time," said Lucy. "Let's get out of here! The vice president and his men will be down here any second!"
"But what about Madiza?" asked Cara. I was surprised that she cared. She looked over at Ben.
"Don't worry about me, my pretty," sang Madiza. "I'm completely mad. They won't hurt me." She began rocking back and forth, and singing, "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing, not at all. Hee hee!"
"Actually, Gwilliam will be so mad, he will probably kill you," said Lucy softly. Not even these words seemed to faze her. She only cackled softly.
Then Ben tapped me on the shoulder. He had written more on his paper. Cara and Lucy read over my shoulders.
"I don't care what you do, but I'm not leaving Madiza. She may be crazy, but she's my friend. I don't want to abandon her."
"You won't have to," said Cara. All of us looked at her questioningly. She rummaged around in her pocket, and suddenly pulled out what looked like a small knife.
"I found this lock pick a couple of days ago, but never thought I'd have any need for it." With that, Cara walked over and began freeing Madiza.
We didn't have anything to take with us, so all we needed to do was go down the tunnel, pull the rock back in place so we wouldn't be followed, and then we were free. The only question was, WHERE were we?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Freegans chapter 13
Lucy
My friends were both really glad to see me. Matt hugged me, and Cara patted my shoulder. She doesn't really like hugs, for some reason. Afterwards, I told them about what had happened. Ben came and sat by us and listened, while Madiza sat in her corner and cocked her head at us, which I assumed meant she was listening. Hearing about Gwilliam's threat really sobered the mood. Matt and Cara looked at each other, and then back at me.
"Are you sure that he'll do it?" asked Cara quietly.
"I know he will," I said. "I saw the toxin, and I know what he's capable of! He would probably like to kill us all!"
"He would," wrote Ben on his piece of paper. "President Sheldon won't let him."
Just then Madiza said aloud, "Take the tunnel to get away! Hee hee hee hee! Take the tunnel to get away, and you'll live another day!"
"What does she mean by that?" Matt asked Ben. He shrugged. "She likes to chant that a lot. It's probably just nonsense."
At that moment Cara stood up, her eyes flashing. "This really stinks!" she yelled, kicking one of the bars. "We're going to die, or be tortured, or stay here until we waste away, with only a crazy lunatic who likes to spout rubbish for company!" Suddenly Cara grabbed the bars and started shaking them wildly. I could see the symptoms of stir-craziness at work. Quickly the three of us grabbed her and pulled her loose, holding her down. After struggling for a few seconds, she said quietly, "Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel..." Without finishing her sentence, she put her head in her hands. Matt put his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right," he whispered.
"Take the tunnel! Get away! Try to live another day!" Madiza's voice came stealing out of the corner. I turned to her. "What do you MEAN by that?!" I demanded.
"Take the tunnel, silly," Madiza said.
"WHAT tunnel?" asked Cara, taking her head out of her hands.
"This one." With that, Madiza lifted up one of the stones in the floor, revealing a tunnel in the ground. None of us knew whether we wanted to hug her or strangle her.
"How long have you KNOWN about this?" Matt asked, coming towards her. The girl shrank back, her eyes getting bigger than they were already.
"Don't hurt me! I know, I know, I know..." she whimpered, holding her arms up protectively.
"We won't hurt you, Madiza. We're glad you've helped us escape," said Cara.
My friends were both really glad to see me. Matt hugged me, and Cara patted my shoulder. She doesn't really like hugs, for some reason. Afterwards, I told them about what had happened. Ben came and sat by us and listened, while Madiza sat in her corner and cocked her head at us, which I assumed meant she was listening. Hearing about Gwilliam's threat really sobered the mood. Matt and Cara looked at each other, and then back at me.
"Are you sure that he'll do it?" asked Cara quietly.
"I know he will," I said. "I saw the toxin, and I know what he's capable of! He would probably like to kill us all!"
"He would," wrote Ben on his piece of paper. "President Sheldon won't let him."
Just then Madiza said aloud, "Take the tunnel to get away! Hee hee hee hee! Take the tunnel to get away, and you'll live another day!"
"What does she mean by that?" Matt asked Ben. He shrugged. "She likes to chant that a lot. It's probably just nonsense."
At that moment Cara stood up, her eyes flashing. "This really stinks!" she yelled, kicking one of the bars. "We're going to die, or be tortured, or stay here until we waste away, with only a crazy lunatic who likes to spout rubbish for company!" Suddenly Cara grabbed the bars and started shaking them wildly. I could see the symptoms of stir-craziness at work. Quickly the three of us grabbed her and pulled her loose, holding her down. After struggling for a few seconds, she said quietly, "Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel..." Without finishing her sentence, she put her head in her hands. Matt put his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right," he whispered.
"Take the tunnel! Get away! Try to live another day!" Madiza's voice came stealing out of the corner. I turned to her. "What do you MEAN by that?!" I demanded.
"Take the tunnel, silly," Madiza said.
"WHAT tunnel?" asked Cara, taking her head out of her hands.
"This one." With that, Madiza lifted up one of the stones in the floor, revealing a tunnel in the ground. None of us knew whether we wanted to hug her or strangle her.
"How long have you KNOWN about this?" Matt asked, coming towards her. The girl shrank back, her eyes getting bigger than they were already.
"Don't hurt me! I know, I know, I know..." she whimpered, holding her arms up protectively.
"We won't hurt you, Madiza. We're glad you've helped us escape," said Cara.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Just so you know...
I am postponing the next episode of Freegans for two reasons: 1) I typically do not have time to work on it, and 2)I like holding you people in suspense. You can take your pick. It's not that I have no idea what to write next.
Just letting you know.
-The Looney Writer
Just letting you know.
-The Looney Writer
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Another query
Is it just me, or do other people think that the lead singer of Aerosmith kind of looks like Michael Jackson too? I'm serious! His face has the skin stretched tight across it, just like Michael Jackson! It's pretty weird.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Vocal Point
For those of you who have never heard of it, Vocal Point is this one Mormon singing group. I found this rather amusing video online, and thought you might like to see it. Thayne, if you read this, this song is right up your alley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZKnq9oihZw&feature=related
You have to go to this sight yourself, since I don't know how to open links or anything high-tech like that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZKnq9oihZw&feature=related
You have to go to this sight yourself, since I don't know how to open links or anything high-tech like that.
Are people reading this, or am I just writing to myself?!
I need to make sure that people are reading my serial. Does anyone have any comments, questions, or concerns about it? If you have any complaints, please keep them to yourself. Anything else is great.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Freegans part 12
Cara
When I woke up, I found myself curled into Matt's shoulder. He was still asleep, and I held still, so I wouldn't wake him up. Remembering what had happened earlier, I felt hot with embarrassment. I don't like crying in front of people, preferring to go somewhere else and do it in private, and now I had just made an emotional scene right in front of Matt! It was especially embarrassing, since I always try not to act emotional in front of my friends. Maybe it's because I don't have parents, but I always feel this need to act tough, and not to show weakness.
Out of the corner of my eye I surveyed our fellow inmates, noticing that my eyes seemed to have grown accustomed to the darkness. Madiza was curled up in a ball, whimpering and rattling her chains in her sleep. Ben was still meditating. Lucy wasn't back yet. Just then Matt stirred, and woke up. Looking at me, he asked, "Do you feel better?"
I nodded, blushing. However, there was no mockery in his eyes, only genuine concern. That made me feel a little better.
"Sorry about that," I said. "I acted silly, and-"
"Ssh. It's okay. Everyone loses control once in a while," Matt reassured me. I smiled weakly. Then my mood was improved a little more by the guards coming back and throwing Lucy into the cage. Though cut and bleeding on one side of her face, she was alive. That was all that mattered.
When I woke up, I found myself curled into Matt's shoulder. He was still asleep, and I held still, so I wouldn't wake him up. Remembering what had happened earlier, I felt hot with embarrassment. I don't like crying in front of people, preferring to go somewhere else and do it in private, and now I had just made an emotional scene right in front of Matt! It was especially embarrassing, since I always try not to act emotional in front of my friends. Maybe it's because I don't have parents, but I always feel this need to act tough, and not to show weakness.
Out of the corner of my eye I surveyed our fellow inmates, noticing that my eyes seemed to have grown accustomed to the darkness. Madiza was curled up in a ball, whimpering and rattling her chains in her sleep. Ben was still meditating. Lucy wasn't back yet. Just then Matt stirred, and woke up. Looking at me, he asked, "Do you feel better?"
I nodded, blushing. However, there was no mockery in his eyes, only genuine concern. That made me feel a little better.
"Sorry about that," I said. "I acted silly, and-"
"Ssh. It's okay. Everyone loses control once in a while," Matt reassured me. I smiled weakly. Then my mood was improved a little more by the guards coming back and throwing Lucy into the cage. Though cut and bleeding on one side of her face, she was alive. That was all that mattered.
Freegans part 11
Lucy
When they came back, it was with a hypodermic needle in Gwilliam's hand. I felt my heart leap into my mouth. He held it up to my face, and pressed a little on the syringe, letting some of the burgundy liquid inside drip out.
"Do you know what this is, Freegan?" he hissed. I shook my head wordlessly.
"It's a highly developed toxin. Just one drop of it in your system is enough to kill you. And I warn you, it would be a long, agonizing death. If I wanted, I could stick you with it right now. By the time it had done its work, you would be begging to tell me what I want to know."
I swallowed nervously. Then the vice president smiled, showing even white teeth.
"However, killing you would be too easy. So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to inject one of your friends instead. That is, if he or she doesn't give me the information instead. I would do it now, but to show you what a generous person I am, I'll let you have an hour to say goodbye to whichever one I choose." He nodded to the guards. "Take her away."
As the guards freed my wrists and got ready to take me away, I snarled, "We won't tell you anything, scum!" It came out very squeaky and weak-sounding, not like I'd intended. I'd been meaning to sound more like Cara would in my situation. She is probably the bravest person I know, and also the most impudent.
Despite not coming out all that impressive, it had the desired effect. Gwilliam turned red, and hit me in the face again.
"Oh, you're very brave, hitting someone who can't fight back! You disgust me!"
"Get...her...out...of...my...sight!" the vice president snarled through his teeth. Inside I felt a slight satisfaction at being able to get a rise out of him. It was instantly quenched by a feeling of dread. I had just given either Matt or Cara a death sentence!
When they came back, it was with a hypodermic needle in Gwilliam's hand. I felt my heart leap into my mouth. He held it up to my face, and pressed a little on the syringe, letting some of the burgundy liquid inside drip out.
"Do you know what this is, Freegan?" he hissed. I shook my head wordlessly.
"It's a highly developed toxin. Just one drop of it in your system is enough to kill you. And I warn you, it would be a long, agonizing death. If I wanted, I could stick you with it right now. By the time it had done its work, you would be begging to tell me what I want to know."
I swallowed nervously. Then the vice president smiled, showing even white teeth.
"However, killing you would be too easy. So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to inject one of your friends instead. That is, if he or she doesn't give me the information instead. I would do it now, but to show you what a generous person I am, I'll let you have an hour to say goodbye to whichever one I choose." He nodded to the guards. "Take her away."
As the guards freed my wrists and got ready to take me away, I snarled, "We won't tell you anything, scum!" It came out very squeaky and weak-sounding, not like I'd intended. I'd been meaning to sound more like Cara would in my situation. She is probably the bravest person I know, and also the most impudent.
Despite not coming out all that impressive, it had the desired effect. Gwilliam turned red, and hit me in the face again.
"Oh, you're very brave, hitting someone who can't fight back! You disgust me!"
"Get...her...out...of...my...sight!" the vice president snarled through his teeth. Inside I felt a slight satisfaction at being able to get a rise out of him. It was instantly quenched by a feeling of dread. I had just given either Matt or Cara a death sentence!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Greetings from the equator
Hey, everyone! For those of you curious as to my whereabouts, I am right now basking in the sun of Costa Rica! It's a gorgeous country, with its own set of volcanoes. In fact, just today I got to go and see one. Even now it is belching smoke and sitting in a vast lake that looks like pea soup that's been sitting in the fridge for a month. I love the weather, though Dad doesn't like the heat. Why he came on this trip is beyond me.
When I first got here on a red-eye flight, I had a serious case of jet lag, and had to take a nap before dinner. Even now I'm still not used to the time difference. In lighter news, I went to some cool museums, and got my picture taken a lot. Dad is under the misapprehension that any facial expression I have that is not a smile is a scowl. He can't seem to recognize a middle mood.
There are several other families here with us, including a Hindu family from Texas with two really whiny kids who don't like the food, which is why Mom never took me anywhere fun when I was little. Except Disney Land. The food at our hotel is absolutely exquisite, and I gorge myself at almost every meal. My eyes may be bigger than my stomach, but at least they appreciate a good meal. Well, my time is almost up. The internet here is limited to thirty minutes, so catch y'all later.
When I first got here on a red-eye flight, I had a serious case of jet lag, and had to take a nap before dinner. Even now I'm still not used to the time difference. In lighter news, I went to some cool museums, and got my picture taken a lot. Dad is under the misapprehension that any facial expression I have that is not a smile is a scowl. He can't seem to recognize a middle mood.
There are several other families here with us, including a Hindu family from Texas with two really whiny kids who don't like the food, which is why Mom never took me anywhere fun when I was little. Except Disney Land. The food at our hotel is absolutely exquisite, and I gorge myself at almost every meal. My eyes may be bigger than my stomach, but at least they appreciate a good meal. Well, my time is almost up. The internet here is limited to thirty minutes, so catch y'all later.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Freegans part 10
Matt
We watched as Lucy was taken away. I gripped the bars of the cage so hard that it hurt, as if that could somehow bring our friend back. When it was dark again, Madiza relit the candle. I hadn't even realized that it had gone out until she held a match to it again. I turned to her and Ben.
"What are they going to do to her?" I asked.
"They told you, silly. They'll question her, and question her, and question her, until she spills the nectarines!" Madiza said.
I assumed she meant beans, but decided not to try and pursue the case.
"What if she doesn't talk?"
"Then that would be real bad. She may make them angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry." That didn't sound good to me.
"What will they do?"
"They'll take her soul, so she'll never get to heaven. They nearly did that to me. They took my mind, but I was too clever for them, oh yes. They never got my soul. No, they didn't at all. Hee hee hee hee!"
I turned to give Cara a look. To my surprise, she wasn't there! For a moment I thought that she had somehow managed to escape. Then I realized that she was down by my feet, clutching at the bars of the cage, with her back to me. I noticed that her shoulders were shaking. Madiza had retreated back into her corner, and was singing a song to herself, with musical backup from her chains, and Ben was doing what looked like meditating.
I crouched down by Cara's side. "Hey, you okay?" I asked. Then I noticed that she was crying. Tears were pouring down her face, and running in two rivers. She was just barely suppressing loud sobs. When I asked the question, she couldn't help letting one sob loose. Gently I pried her hands from the bars, and turned her to face me.
"Hey, what is it?" I asked in a soft voice. Cara lifted a hand to wipe her eyes, then choked out, "I'm scared, Matt. I don't know how we're going to get out of here, or what they're doing to Lucy, or even if we're going to get out of here, or anything. I don't know what to do, and that scares me. I want to go home!"
With that she started crying again. She tried to stop the tears, and failed. I pulled her forward, and allowed her to cry into my shoulder. "It's all right," I whispered. "It's all right." We sat like that for a really long time, me holding Cara, and her crying. At one point she sat up and wiped her face, murmuring, "I must seem terrible to you right now."
"No. You're just fine," I said. Then Cara got more tears, and we went back to square one. Eventually she fell asleep like that, curled into my side like a little cat. I sat up for a while, watching our fellow inmates, before I fell asleep too, leaning my head on Cara's. Despite the circumstances, I felt pretty good.
We watched as Lucy was taken away. I gripped the bars of the cage so hard that it hurt, as if that could somehow bring our friend back. When it was dark again, Madiza relit the candle. I hadn't even realized that it had gone out until she held a match to it again. I turned to her and Ben.
"What are they going to do to her?" I asked.
"They told you, silly. They'll question her, and question her, and question her, until she spills the nectarines!" Madiza said.
I assumed she meant beans, but decided not to try and pursue the case.
"What if she doesn't talk?"
"Then that would be real bad. She may make them angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry." That didn't sound good to me.
"What will they do?"
"They'll take her soul, so she'll never get to heaven. They nearly did that to me. They took my mind, but I was too clever for them, oh yes. They never got my soul. No, they didn't at all. Hee hee hee hee!"
I turned to give Cara a look. To my surprise, she wasn't there! For a moment I thought that she had somehow managed to escape. Then I realized that she was down by my feet, clutching at the bars of the cage, with her back to me. I noticed that her shoulders were shaking. Madiza had retreated back into her corner, and was singing a song to herself, with musical backup from her chains, and Ben was doing what looked like meditating.
I crouched down by Cara's side. "Hey, you okay?" I asked. Then I noticed that she was crying. Tears were pouring down her face, and running in two rivers. She was just barely suppressing loud sobs. When I asked the question, she couldn't help letting one sob loose. Gently I pried her hands from the bars, and turned her to face me.
"Hey, what is it?" I asked in a soft voice. Cara lifted a hand to wipe her eyes, then choked out, "I'm scared, Matt. I don't know how we're going to get out of here, or what they're doing to Lucy, or even if we're going to get out of here, or anything. I don't know what to do, and that scares me. I want to go home!"
With that she started crying again. She tried to stop the tears, and failed. I pulled her forward, and allowed her to cry into my shoulder. "It's all right," I whispered. "It's all right." We sat like that for a really long time, me holding Cara, and her crying. At one point she sat up and wiped her face, murmuring, "I must seem terrible to you right now."
"No. You're just fine," I said. Then Cara got more tears, and we went back to square one. Eventually she fell asleep like that, curled into my side like a little cat. I sat up for a while, watching our fellow inmates, before I fell asleep too, leaning my head on Cara's. Despite the circumstances, I felt pretty good.
Answer to the age-old question
I know why a raven is like a writing desk! The answer is this: if you throw them out a window, both will fly. The difference is that the desk's flight time is a lot less than the raven's and it's landing is a lot rougher as well.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Emily Dickinson
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us--don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us--don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
Freegans part 9
Lucy
I'm not afraid to admit it: I was scared stiff. The men had to drag me up the stairs, because my legs had gone limper than wet spaghetti noodles. What were they going to do? I wondered. Would they use some kind of brain probe, or force the truth from me? I feared the worst.
I ended up being taken into a big room, and sat in a wooden chair at one end of a table. My wrists were chained to the table, and then the men left for a while. When they came back, it was in the company of a new man. As soon as I recognized him, I gasped. I knew him very well.
"Michael Gwilliam?!" I gasped. I couldn't believe it. I was about to be interrogated by the vice president of the United States!
He gave a thin-lipped smile that didn't look really happy. "I'm glad you recognize me," he said in an oily voice. Its tones sent my skin crawling. Gwilliam was a tall, well-built man in a pinstripe suit and a black shirt. He sat down across from me, and drummed his perfectly-manicured fingers on the table top. I couldn't help noticing that his fingers probably had more muscles than I had in my entire body.
Gwilliam suddenly spoke. "So, this is a Freegan. From the poster descriptions, I had half been expecting a little rat-child, or something all ragged. Frankly, I'm surprised. But no matter. Tell me, girl, where is McTavish keeping you? The president and I would really like to get rid of you once and for all, and to do that we need to find you. So tell me, and I'll let you and your friends go."
I cleared my throat, and then said, "I don't know what you're talking about." I was rewarded by Gwilliam backhanding me across the face. The back of my head snapped back, hitting the chair.
The rest of the questioning went downhill from there. The vice president, and occasionally his bodyguards, took turns hitting me, and trying to wrestle the location of the Freegan hideout from my lips. However, I'm pleased to say that I didn't tell them anything. Of course, I couldn't hide the fact that they were hurting me, but even if I had, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They were mad, and rabid in their interrogation.
Finally, after about the sixtieth time of hitting me in the stomach, they stopped. One of the hired henchmen muttered, "This one is tougher than we thought."
"Should we terminate her, sir?" asked the other hood. Gwilliam was breathing hard through his mouth, and his teeth were bared in a horrible grimace. For a second I thought he was going to say yes, but instead he said, "No. Let's leave her here for a while, so she can think about it."
They left, probably to think up something worse to do to me. I made a weak attempt to free my wrists, and when that failed, I sat and wiped my face on my shoulder. It came away crimson. The pain hurt, but inside I felt good in knowing that I hadn't given in. It was partly the image of my family that had helped me. Right now I even missed Monica, and would never have lived with myself if she were hurt because of me. Partly it was because I remembered Matt and Cara, and how tough they were. But also, believe it or not, I was remembering my first glimpse of Ben. He was without a doubt the cutest boy I had ever seen, with those beautiful blue eyes. If Cara were reading this, she would be rolling her eyes in disgust. But it's true just the same. I had never seen eyes like those, or such a handsome face.
I'm not afraid to admit it: I was scared stiff. The men had to drag me up the stairs, because my legs had gone limper than wet spaghetti noodles. What were they going to do? I wondered. Would they use some kind of brain probe, or force the truth from me? I feared the worst.
I ended up being taken into a big room, and sat in a wooden chair at one end of a table. My wrists were chained to the table, and then the men left for a while. When they came back, it was in the company of a new man. As soon as I recognized him, I gasped. I knew him very well.
"Michael Gwilliam?!" I gasped. I couldn't believe it. I was about to be interrogated by the vice president of the United States!
He gave a thin-lipped smile that didn't look really happy. "I'm glad you recognize me," he said in an oily voice. Its tones sent my skin crawling. Gwilliam was a tall, well-built man in a pinstripe suit and a black shirt. He sat down across from me, and drummed his perfectly-manicured fingers on the table top. I couldn't help noticing that his fingers probably had more muscles than I had in my entire body.
Gwilliam suddenly spoke. "So, this is a Freegan. From the poster descriptions, I had half been expecting a little rat-child, or something all ragged. Frankly, I'm surprised. But no matter. Tell me, girl, where is McTavish keeping you? The president and I would really like to get rid of you once and for all, and to do that we need to find you. So tell me, and I'll let you and your friends go."
I cleared my throat, and then said, "I don't know what you're talking about." I was rewarded by Gwilliam backhanding me across the face. The back of my head snapped back, hitting the chair.
The rest of the questioning went downhill from there. The vice president, and occasionally his bodyguards, took turns hitting me, and trying to wrestle the location of the Freegan hideout from my lips. However, I'm pleased to say that I didn't tell them anything. Of course, I couldn't hide the fact that they were hurting me, but even if I had, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They were mad, and rabid in their interrogation.
Finally, after about the sixtieth time of hitting me in the stomach, they stopped. One of the hired henchmen muttered, "This one is tougher than we thought."
"Should we terminate her, sir?" asked the other hood. Gwilliam was breathing hard through his mouth, and his teeth were bared in a horrible grimace. For a second I thought he was going to say yes, but instead he said, "No. Let's leave her here for a while, so she can think about it."
They left, probably to think up something worse to do to me. I made a weak attempt to free my wrists, and when that failed, I sat and wiped my face on my shoulder. It came away crimson. The pain hurt, but inside I felt good in knowing that I hadn't given in. It was partly the image of my family that had helped me. Right now I even missed Monica, and would never have lived with myself if she were hurt because of me. Partly it was because I remembered Matt and Cara, and how tough they were. But also, believe it or not, I was remembering my first glimpse of Ben. He was without a doubt the cutest boy I had ever seen, with those beautiful blue eyes. If Cara were reading this, she would be rolling her eyes in disgust. But it's true just the same. I had never seen eyes like those, or such a handsome face.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A humble query
Hey, does anyone have any suggestions for my serial before it gets too weird? I'm starting to run out of ideas, and I need input. HELP!
Freegans part 8
Matt
I looked at Ben. He seemed sane, unlike his compatriot. Even if he was mute, there had to be some way to communicate with him.
"Can you understand me?" I asked. He nodded, then pulled out of his pocket a piece of paper and stub of pencil, then began scribbling furiously on it. Meanwhile, I turned to Madiza, and noticed that her wrists and ankles were in chains. Big, iron shackles that looked really uncomfortable. The ones around her ankles were attached to the wall in the far corner, which was why she had been staying in that area for most of the time. Cara and Lucy had seen them too, and cautiously walked over to her.
"Why do they chain you up?" asked Cara.
"It's so little old Madiza can't hurt anyone. They like to do that themselves," Madiza said. She snickered in a way that didn't sound really amused. She sat down, and rocked back and forth, singing in a haunting, high voice,
"See, saw, Margery Daw,
Jackie shall have a new mas-ter.
Jackie shall earn but a penny a day,
Because he can't work any fas-ter."
Ben, who had finished writing, handed me the paper, and I moved over into the candlelight to read it. It said, "I'm Ben. Pleased to meet you. This all may seem a little strange, but I will explain as best I can. Don't worry too much about Madiza: she's completely crazy. She was once a Freegan, who was captured and brought here long ago as an eight-year-old, I think. She was submitted to shock treatments and all other kinds of torture to try and get her to say where the Freegan hideout is, which eventually drove her around the bend. Now they just keep her here. I learned all of this from sitting for days and listening to her talk to herself, if you were wondering.
"I myself am here because I'm defective. I was born without a good singing voice, and the government brought me here to try and fix me, because they don't like the idea of anyone not being perfect. As a result of their experiments, I am now mute. They don't want to admit to failure, so they keep me here too. I don't know why they don't kill us, I just feel grateful to be alive. Are you Freegans too?"
"Yes," I said. "They'll probably try and torture us too, won't they?"
Ben nodded. He gestured for the paper, and began to write again.
At that moment Cara said from behind me, "I'm surprised you're not more like most consumerists. From what I've heard, there aren't any good ones left." I jumped about a foot, then turned to her.
"Cara, you know I hate it when you read over my shoulder like that," I said. She rolled her eyes. Then Ben handed me back the paper, and Cara and I both read it together.
"Living as a prisoner for several years kind of puts your life in perspective. I learned more by not being able to speak than I had in all the time I had gone to school. Of course, some of it was learned by listening to the ravings of a crazy lunatic, but it's amazing what you can learn from madness. In fact, there are times when she has brief bouts of sanity. Just wait."
At that moment, the door at the top of the stairs opened, and two big men came down the stairs. They came to the cage, opened it, and suddenly grabbed Lucy, dragging her out. We ran to the door, but before we could get there it was slammed and relocked.
"Where are you taking her?!" Cara screamed.
"For questioning," was the reply.
I looked at Ben. He seemed sane, unlike his compatriot. Even if he was mute, there had to be some way to communicate with him.
"Can you understand me?" I asked. He nodded, then pulled out of his pocket a piece of paper and stub of pencil, then began scribbling furiously on it. Meanwhile, I turned to Madiza, and noticed that her wrists and ankles were in chains. Big, iron shackles that looked really uncomfortable. The ones around her ankles were attached to the wall in the far corner, which was why she had been staying in that area for most of the time. Cara and Lucy had seen them too, and cautiously walked over to her.
"Why do they chain you up?" asked Cara.
"It's so little old Madiza can't hurt anyone. They like to do that themselves," Madiza said. She snickered in a way that didn't sound really amused. She sat down, and rocked back and forth, singing in a haunting, high voice,
"See, saw, Margery Daw,
Jackie shall have a new mas-ter.
Jackie shall earn but a penny a day,
Because he can't work any fas-ter."
Ben, who had finished writing, handed me the paper, and I moved over into the candlelight to read it. It said, "I'm Ben. Pleased to meet you. This all may seem a little strange, but I will explain as best I can. Don't worry too much about Madiza: she's completely crazy. She was once a Freegan, who was captured and brought here long ago as an eight-year-old, I think. She was submitted to shock treatments and all other kinds of torture to try and get her to say where the Freegan hideout is, which eventually drove her around the bend. Now they just keep her here. I learned all of this from sitting for days and listening to her talk to herself, if you were wondering.
"I myself am here because I'm defective. I was born without a good singing voice, and the government brought me here to try and fix me, because they don't like the idea of anyone not being perfect. As a result of their experiments, I am now mute. They don't want to admit to failure, so they keep me here too. I don't know why they don't kill us, I just feel grateful to be alive. Are you Freegans too?"
"Yes," I said. "They'll probably try and torture us too, won't they?"
Ben nodded. He gestured for the paper, and began to write again.
At that moment Cara said from behind me, "I'm surprised you're not more like most consumerists. From what I've heard, there aren't any good ones left." I jumped about a foot, then turned to her.
"Cara, you know I hate it when you read over my shoulder like that," I said. She rolled her eyes. Then Ben handed me back the paper, and Cara and I both read it together.
"Living as a prisoner for several years kind of puts your life in perspective. I learned more by not being able to speak than I had in all the time I had gone to school. Of course, some of it was learned by listening to the ravings of a crazy lunatic, but it's amazing what you can learn from madness. In fact, there are times when she has brief bouts of sanity. Just wait."
At that moment, the door at the top of the stairs opened, and two big men came down the stairs. They came to the cage, opened it, and suddenly grabbed Lucy, dragging her out. We ran to the door, but before we could get there it was slammed and relocked.
"Where are you taking her?!" Cara screamed.
"For questioning," was the reply.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Freegans part 7
Cara
I took a look at this girl. I kid you not, she was one of the scrawniest, most half-starved looking people I have ever seen. Her hair was white, and stood out in shocks all over her head. It looked like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket on a repeated basis. Her body type was tall and scrawny, as if instead of bones she had bits of wire covered by skin. She was also very pale, as if she had never seen the sun, or at least not in months. What interested me most was her eyes. They were a lot bigger than any eyes I had ever seen, and looked a bit like glass green marbles. On closer observation, as she gave a demented grin, I got the feeling that she didn't have many marbles up top.
"So, they finally decided to feed us! Hee hee hee hee, I've been starving down here!" she cackled, coming closer to us. She crouched down, looking Lucy in the face.
"Hmmm, you're a little scrawny, but you'll do." Then she looked at me and Matt. "Oh, I'm afraid you'd be impossible! We'd need to fatten you up! There's not enough meat to feed a mouse on you!" The girl stood up, and set the candle down on the ground by Lucy. Speak of the devil, I was really starting to feel concerned for her. She was getting the same facial expression as that of a rabbit in a trap.
"P-p-please don't hurt us," she squeaked. "We really don't taste very good."
At that moment the person who was apparently 'Ben-ben' stood up. He was of medium height, and looked slightly Native American, except for the fact that he had very intensely blue eyes. He put a hand on the girl's shoulder, in a matter that seemed to say 'Enough.' She gave him a hurt look, then said, "Oh, all right, Ben. You know best." Then she turned to us, and said, "Ben says no-no. Don't be afraid, we won't eat you."
"Then why-" Matt started to ask. I elbowed him, then whispered, "Isn't it obvious? She's not all there."
"Aren't I?" asked the girl, who evidently had really good hearing. She held out her arms. "See? I have all my arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes. How can you say I'm not all here?"
"I mean...forget it. Why are you here?" I changed the subject. Her eyes got wide, and she looked furtively from side to side. She leaned towards me, and whispered, "Promise you won't tell?"
"Yeah."
"The white coats know where I went," she said quietly.
"Where?"
"Down the rabbit hole. I've been down the rabbit hole, and now I know too much.They want to keep me quiet."
I tried to hide a smile as I asked, "Is your name by any chance Alice?" She blinked, looking puzzled.
"Alice?" Then comprehension dawned on her, and she laughed. "Oh, no. Not that famous. I'm Madiza."
"That's an interesting name," said Matt.
"Isn't it?" said Madiza with a smile. "Do you know where it comes from?" We, including Lucy, shook our heads.
"Because I'm as mad as a hatter!" she cackled, grinning again. We looked at each other. Our thoughts were clear: we had been placed in a cage with a nutcase.
"Why doesn't he say anything?" I asked, pointing to the boy. I heard a gasp, and saw Lucy staring at him almost like she had been hit by a truck. I didn't understand why.
"The white coats stole Ben's voice," said Madiza. "Boxed it up and shipped it away, along with my mind. Don't let them get you too. They'll take your mind, and your soul, so you'll never get to heaven." Her eyes went wide as she said the last phrase, and she stared at us with a fixed expression. I got the feeling that she was genuinely scared. I wondered if she had a right to be.
I took a look at this girl. I kid you not, she was one of the scrawniest, most half-starved looking people I have ever seen. Her hair was white, and stood out in shocks all over her head. It looked like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket on a repeated basis. Her body type was tall and scrawny, as if instead of bones she had bits of wire covered by skin. She was also very pale, as if she had never seen the sun, or at least not in months. What interested me most was her eyes. They were a lot bigger than any eyes I had ever seen, and looked a bit like glass green marbles. On closer observation, as she gave a demented grin, I got the feeling that she didn't have many marbles up top.
"So, they finally decided to feed us! Hee hee hee hee, I've been starving down here!" she cackled, coming closer to us. She crouched down, looking Lucy in the face.
"Hmmm, you're a little scrawny, but you'll do." Then she looked at me and Matt. "Oh, I'm afraid you'd be impossible! We'd need to fatten you up! There's not enough meat to feed a mouse on you!" The girl stood up, and set the candle down on the ground by Lucy. Speak of the devil, I was really starting to feel concerned for her. She was getting the same facial expression as that of a rabbit in a trap.
"P-p-please don't hurt us," she squeaked. "We really don't taste very good."
At that moment the person who was apparently 'Ben-ben' stood up. He was of medium height, and looked slightly Native American, except for the fact that he had very intensely blue eyes. He put a hand on the girl's shoulder, in a matter that seemed to say 'Enough.' She gave him a hurt look, then said, "Oh, all right, Ben. You know best." Then she turned to us, and said, "Ben says no-no. Don't be afraid, we won't eat you."
"Then why-" Matt started to ask. I elbowed him, then whispered, "Isn't it obvious? She's not all there."
"Aren't I?" asked the girl, who evidently had really good hearing. She held out her arms. "See? I have all my arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes. How can you say I'm not all here?"
"I mean...forget it. Why are you here?" I changed the subject. Her eyes got wide, and she looked furtively from side to side. She leaned towards me, and whispered, "Promise you won't tell?"
"Yeah."
"The white coats know where I went," she said quietly.
"Where?"
"Down the rabbit hole. I've been down the rabbit hole, and now I know too much.They want to keep me quiet."
I tried to hide a smile as I asked, "Is your name by any chance Alice?" She blinked, looking puzzled.
"Alice?" Then comprehension dawned on her, and she laughed. "Oh, no. Not that famous. I'm Madiza."
"That's an interesting name," said Matt.
"Isn't it?" said Madiza with a smile. "Do you know where it comes from?" We, including Lucy, shook our heads.
"Because I'm as mad as a hatter!" she cackled, grinning again. We looked at each other. Our thoughts were clear: we had been placed in a cage with a nutcase.
"Why doesn't he say anything?" I asked, pointing to the boy. I heard a gasp, and saw Lucy staring at him almost like she had been hit by a truck. I didn't understand why.
"The white coats stole Ben's voice," said Madiza. "Boxed it up and shipped it away, along with my mind. Don't let them get you too. They'll take your mind, and your soul, so you'll never get to heaven." Her eyes went wide as she said the last phrase, and she stared at us with a fixed expression. I got the feeling that she was genuinely scared. I wondered if she had a right to be.
Freegans part 6
Lucy continued
Just then we touched down on the top of a landing site by a tall building. The next thing I knew, we were being roughly dragged from the net by several big men, and dragged through a trap door and down a long flight of steps. My legs had fallen asleep during the flight, and I offered no resistance. Matt and Cara didn't do much either, probably too weak. They pulled us down, down, down, finally going through a door and into the basement. It was dark down there, and I could hear water dripping. One of the men clicked on a flashlight, and shone it in my face. I squinted, turning away from him.
"What do we do with them?" he asked. One of the others replied, "Let's put them in with the other two rats for a while. Maybe they'll finish them off and save us the trouble." They had a good chuckle over that. I was less than amused. Then one of the others got out a ring of keys, and walked over to a big cage in the corner. I hadn't noticed it before, mostly because I'd had a bright light shining in my face. He opened it, and then the guys holding us dragged us over, then threw us into the cage. I landed on my face, which really hurt, and then someone else landed on top of me.
There was a loud clang as the door slammed, and then the sound of our captors walking away, and a final slam as the door to the basement was closed. For a few seconds there was silence. Then I said aloud, "Would whoever is lying on me please get off? I'm finding it hard to breathe."
"Sorry," said Matt's voice, and then I felt the weight move. I sat up in the dark, and put out my hands, feeling around.
"Where are we?" I wanted to know. "We're in a cage, Luce," said Cara's voice sarcastically.
"I KNOW that, I just meant... forget it." It was then that I heard a sound coming from another part of the cage. It was a scraping, scratching sound, like something waking up that had been asleep for a while. There was a loud yawn, and then the sound of a match being struck. A light appeared, causing me to squint. When I could look at it, I saw that it was coming from a candle. The candle was held in a hand, attached to an arm, belonging to a person. This person was a girl. She looked at us in surprise, then suddenly gave a loud, cackling laugh.
"Wakey wakey, Ben-ben! We've got fresh meat tonight!"
Just then we touched down on the top of a landing site by a tall building. The next thing I knew, we were being roughly dragged from the net by several big men, and dragged through a trap door and down a long flight of steps. My legs had fallen asleep during the flight, and I offered no resistance. Matt and Cara didn't do much either, probably too weak. They pulled us down, down, down, finally going through a door and into the basement. It was dark down there, and I could hear water dripping. One of the men clicked on a flashlight, and shone it in my face. I squinted, turning away from him.
"What do we do with them?" he asked. One of the others replied, "Let's put them in with the other two rats for a while. Maybe they'll finish them off and save us the trouble." They had a good chuckle over that. I was less than amused. Then one of the others got out a ring of keys, and walked over to a big cage in the corner. I hadn't noticed it before, mostly because I'd had a bright light shining in my face. He opened it, and then the guys holding us dragged us over, then threw us into the cage. I landed on my face, which really hurt, and then someone else landed on top of me.
There was a loud clang as the door slammed, and then the sound of our captors walking away, and a final slam as the door to the basement was closed. For a few seconds there was silence. Then I said aloud, "Would whoever is lying on me please get off? I'm finding it hard to breathe."
"Sorry," said Matt's voice, and then I felt the weight move. I sat up in the dark, and put out my hands, feeling around.
"Where are we?" I wanted to know. "We're in a cage, Luce," said Cara's voice sarcastically.
"I KNOW that, I just meant... forget it." It was then that I heard a sound coming from another part of the cage. It was a scraping, scratching sound, like something waking up that had been asleep for a while. There was a loud yawn, and then the sound of a match being struck. A light appeared, causing me to squint. When I could look at it, I saw that it was coming from a candle. The candle was held in a hand, attached to an arm, belonging to a person. This person was a girl. She looked at us in surprise, then suddenly gave a loud, cackling laugh.
"Wakey wakey, Ben-ben! We've got fresh meat tonight!"
Friday, March 5, 2010
Freegans part 5
Lucy
I leaned down through the net and yelled, "Go home, Danielle! Go home!" Maybe it was sheer terror, maybe she was confused, but she did as I said. As I watched her run away, I was suddenly hit by a wave of vertigo. I've never been too good with heights, and this net was pretty high off the ground, though I couldn't see what it was attached too. Mostly that was because I now had my eyes squeezed shut, and was trying very hard not to puke.
I heard Cara say, "I think we can safely conclude this was a trap set by the consumerists."
"Brilliant deduction, Holmes," said Matt sarcastically, followed by an "Ow!" after she socked him. Then I suddenly heard a loud thrumming sound above us.
"What's that?" I asked. I opened my eyes, and saw. The net was swinging precariously through the air, and dangling by a rope from a big helicopter!
"How come we didn't hear that earlier?" Matt wanted to know.
"I presume it's because of the silent hovercraft hidden in the clouds that this helicopter was resting on," said Cara. Both of us looked at her.
"How do you know about that?" we asked at nearly the same time. She pointed up at the sky, and we saw the silent hovercraft following us. Instantly I felt kind of stupid. Then my feelings changed to ones of panic. We were prisoners! The consumerists had captured us, and were going to do who-knows-what! My chest began feeling tight.
The trip lasted for what seemed like hours, going past the city we knew, and during that time all we did was sit and think. I didn't understand how Cara and Matt were handling this so calmly. They sat, trying to make themselves comfortable on the mesh, and staring out at the landscape. As I watched, I suddenly noticed that Cara's hands were shaking, and looked kind of clammy. I glanced at Matt, and saw that his eyes held a slightly anxious look. I realized that they really WERE as afraid as I was, just better at controlling it. That made me feel kind of crummy, since I always wear my heart on my sleeve.
Anyway, we finally closed in on another city. "Which one is this?" I asked aloud.
"I think it's Washington D.C," said Cara. She's the history buff in the group, and knows that sort of thing. She pointed down at a tall, white building standing out on the ground. "That's the old Washington Monument. Dedicated to our first president." Looking down on it made me dizzy, so I looked away. It was a marvel that I had come this far without throwing up. Matt looked at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded.
I leaned down through the net and yelled, "Go home, Danielle! Go home!" Maybe it was sheer terror, maybe she was confused, but she did as I said. As I watched her run away, I was suddenly hit by a wave of vertigo. I've never been too good with heights, and this net was pretty high off the ground, though I couldn't see what it was attached too. Mostly that was because I now had my eyes squeezed shut, and was trying very hard not to puke.
I heard Cara say, "I think we can safely conclude this was a trap set by the consumerists."
"Brilliant deduction, Holmes," said Matt sarcastically, followed by an "Ow!" after she socked him. Then I suddenly heard a loud thrumming sound above us.
"What's that?" I asked. I opened my eyes, and saw. The net was swinging precariously through the air, and dangling by a rope from a big helicopter!
"How come we didn't hear that earlier?" Matt wanted to know.
"I presume it's because of the silent hovercraft hidden in the clouds that this helicopter was resting on," said Cara. Both of us looked at her.
"How do you know about that?" we asked at nearly the same time. She pointed up at the sky, and we saw the silent hovercraft following us. Instantly I felt kind of stupid. Then my feelings changed to ones of panic. We were prisoners! The consumerists had captured us, and were going to do who-knows-what! My chest began feeling tight.
The trip lasted for what seemed like hours, going past the city we knew, and during that time all we did was sit and think. I didn't understand how Cara and Matt were handling this so calmly. They sat, trying to make themselves comfortable on the mesh, and staring out at the landscape. As I watched, I suddenly noticed that Cara's hands were shaking, and looked kind of clammy. I glanced at Matt, and saw that his eyes held a slightly anxious look. I realized that they really WERE as afraid as I was, just better at controlling it. That made me feel kind of crummy, since I always wear my heart on my sleeve.
Anyway, we finally closed in on another city. "Which one is this?" I asked aloud.
"I think it's Washington D.C," said Cara. She's the history buff in the group, and knows that sort of thing. She pointed down at a tall, white building standing out on the ground. "That's the old Washington Monument. Dedicated to our first president." Looking down on it made me dizzy, so I looked away. It was a marvel that I had come this far without throwing up. Matt looked at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Freegans part 4
Matt
It's about time that I got my chance to speak. Girls always have this annoying habit of monopolizing the conversation, and not allowing you to get a word in edge-ways. The only one I've met yet who doesn't do that is Cara. In fact, she hardly ever says anything. That's probably why she's one of my best friends. She doesn't talk too much.
Regardless, I woke up the next morning raring to go. I left a note for Dad on the table, since he was still asleep with a bad hangover. He is without a doubt the worst Freegan, and the biggest drunk, I have ever met. It's a wonder that we're related. I went down to Cara and Lucy's house, and found them finishing breakfast. I thought of pulling my police trick again, but decided that I didn't want to have my nose broken. Even though they're tiny, Cara has some of the hardest fists in the world. Lucy's aren't too bad either.
We went off to the dump, with Danielle running ahead. She was seriously deluding herself thinking that she was going to find any red tap shoes, unless they had some sequins broken off, or something. Gas-guzzlers rarely throw stuff away unless a catastrophe like that happens. The three of us walked together like civilized people. We didn't have much to say, so I mostly just thought (believe it or not, I actually do think sometimes). I remembered what Lucy's parents had been talking about last night, about Mr. McTavish trying to get more gas-guzzlers to join us. It's not as impossible as it seems; once every few years there actually are a few kind, generous, intelligent city people born who care about the environment. But not very often. It's almost like President Sheldon brainwashes everyone into shopaholics and morons.
At the dump, we began to search around, looking for anything else useful or cool. I picked up some weird contraption that looked kind of like a multi-armed miniature windmill with paintbrushes on the ends. "What's this for?" I asked aloud.
"I think that's used to paint your nails," said Lucy. Both Cara and I made disgusted faces at the notion. For those of you who haven't noticed, Cara's not really a girly-girl. I chucked the nail-painter back on the pile, and picked up an old hairbrush with a few bristles moving. I was considering it, when I noticed Cara's newest find. She had lifted up out of the junk a pair of silvery boots. The outsides were made of metal, but the insides were apparently very soft. There were strange circles on the bottoms. Her green eyes were wide with awe.
"I'm keeping these," she abruptly announced. With that, she took off her old sneakers and slipped the boots on. They fit pretty good.
Just then Danielle called to us excitedly. "Hey, look at this!" We ran up, to see her pointing at the top of a particular heap of junk. There was a little toy dog sitting there, head cocked to the side, almost like a real dog. "Isn't it cute?" Danielle cooed. All three of us automatically rolled our eyes. Danielle started forward, scrambling up the heap. It was then that I noticed there was a lead attached to the dog. That instantly set my radar on alert. Why would anyone bother to tie up a toy dog? I could tell that Lucy was concerned too, because she started forward. "Um, Dani? I don't think you should-" She got no further. As soon as her sister lifted the dog, a loud twang was heard, and a big net appeared out of the sky. Acting on instinct, we ran up, pushing Danielle out of the way in time, only to get caught ourselves! We were trapped!
It's about time that I got my chance to speak. Girls always have this annoying habit of monopolizing the conversation, and not allowing you to get a word in edge-ways. The only one I've met yet who doesn't do that is Cara. In fact, she hardly ever says anything. That's probably why she's one of my best friends. She doesn't talk too much.
Regardless, I woke up the next morning raring to go. I left a note for Dad on the table, since he was still asleep with a bad hangover. He is without a doubt the worst Freegan, and the biggest drunk, I have ever met. It's a wonder that we're related. I went down to Cara and Lucy's house, and found them finishing breakfast. I thought of pulling my police trick again, but decided that I didn't want to have my nose broken. Even though they're tiny, Cara has some of the hardest fists in the world. Lucy's aren't too bad either.
We went off to the dump, with Danielle running ahead. She was seriously deluding herself thinking that she was going to find any red tap shoes, unless they had some sequins broken off, or something. Gas-guzzlers rarely throw stuff away unless a catastrophe like that happens. The three of us walked together like civilized people. We didn't have much to say, so I mostly just thought (believe it or not, I actually do think sometimes). I remembered what Lucy's parents had been talking about last night, about Mr. McTavish trying to get more gas-guzzlers to join us. It's not as impossible as it seems; once every few years there actually are a few kind, generous, intelligent city people born who care about the environment. But not very often. It's almost like President Sheldon brainwashes everyone into shopaholics and morons.
At the dump, we began to search around, looking for anything else useful or cool. I picked up some weird contraption that looked kind of like a multi-armed miniature windmill with paintbrushes on the ends. "What's this for?" I asked aloud.
"I think that's used to paint your nails," said Lucy. Both Cara and I made disgusted faces at the notion. For those of you who haven't noticed, Cara's not really a girly-girl. I chucked the nail-painter back on the pile, and picked up an old hairbrush with a few bristles moving. I was considering it, when I noticed Cara's newest find. She had lifted up out of the junk a pair of silvery boots. The outsides were made of metal, but the insides were apparently very soft. There were strange circles on the bottoms. Her green eyes were wide with awe.
"I'm keeping these," she abruptly announced. With that, she took off her old sneakers and slipped the boots on. They fit pretty good.
Just then Danielle called to us excitedly. "Hey, look at this!" We ran up, to see her pointing at the top of a particular heap of junk. There was a little toy dog sitting there, head cocked to the side, almost like a real dog. "Isn't it cute?" Danielle cooed. All three of us automatically rolled our eyes. Danielle started forward, scrambling up the heap. It was then that I noticed there was a lead attached to the dog. That instantly set my radar on alert. Why would anyone bother to tie up a toy dog? I could tell that Lucy was concerned too, because she started forward. "Um, Dani? I don't think you should-" She got no further. As soon as her sister lifted the dog, a loud twang was heard, and a big net appeared out of the sky. Acting on instinct, we ran up, pushing Danielle out of the way in time, only to get caught ourselves! We were trapped!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Freegans part 3
Cara
After a hesitant second, I slowly got up and looked through the peephole in the door. The next instant I jerked it open, to reveal Matt standing outside, laughing like crazy. "That was SO not funny, Matt!" I yelled. Lucy looked pretty steamed too. She stormed forward and poked him hard in the chest.
"HOW COULD YOU!" she screamed. "You scared me to death! I thought we were goners"
"Hey, it was just a joke!" Matt protested, holding his hands out defensively. I had to pull Lucy back before she did any serious damage. "Cool it, Luce. He's sorry. Aren't you?" I said, giving him a significant look. Matt nodded, but he still had an impudent look in his eyes.
Lucy's parents invited him to stay for dinner, and he readily accepted. Matt ate like it was back in the twenty-first century and we were about to run out of food from overpopulation and the gas-guzzlers wasting everything. While we ate, Mom and Dad talked about Mr. McTavish's new campaign to try and get more city people to join us, appealing to their hedonism.
"Apparently he thinks that if we can convince them that the more things they throw away, the sooner they are all going to die, they will want to listen more," said Dad, raising a bite of salad.
"Well, I don't know that it will work," said Mom. "Sheldon has got lots of propaganda going on that we're a bunch of dirty scavengers without any scruples or personal hygiene. It sounds like he's just grasping at straws."
I thought about that. The cities had propaganda about us? That meant that Sheldon thought we were a threat. Good! I hoped he did. Danielle interrupted my thoughts by asking, "Mom, can we go back to the dump quickly? I want to find some tap shoes. Can we, Mom? Pleeeaaaassseee?" She squinted up her eyes and made a puppy-dog face.
"Not tonight, Danielle," said Mom. "But you and Lucy can go in the morning." Lucy made a face, but she knew that arguing was out of the question.
"I'll go with you," said Matt and I at the same time. That's the way it is with us. We do everything together, without question. Matt's dad doesn't really care what he does, and of course my real parents don't. Or if they do, it doesn't matter, since they're dead. It's kind of sad, but it's my life.
After a hesitant second, I slowly got up and looked through the peephole in the door. The next instant I jerked it open, to reveal Matt standing outside, laughing like crazy. "That was SO not funny, Matt!" I yelled. Lucy looked pretty steamed too. She stormed forward and poked him hard in the chest.
"HOW COULD YOU!" she screamed. "You scared me to death! I thought we were goners"
"Hey, it was just a joke!" Matt protested, holding his hands out defensively. I had to pull Lucy back before she did any serious damage. "Cool it, Luce. He's sorry. Aren't you?" I said, giving him a significant look. Matt nodded, but he still had an impudent look in his eyes.
Lucy's parents invited him to stay for dinner, and he readily accepted. Matt ate like it was back in the twenty-first century and we were about to run out of food from overpopulation and the gas-guzzlers wasting everything. While we ate, Mom and Dad talked about Mr. McTavish's new campaign to try and get more city people to join us, appealing to their hedonism.
"Apparently he thinks that if we can convince them that the more things they throw away, the sooner they are all going to die, they will want to listen more," said Dad, raising a bite of salad.
"Well, I don't know that it will work," said Mom. "Sheldon has got lots of propaganda going on that we're a bunch of dirty scavengers without any scruples or personal hygiene. It sounds like he's just grasping at straws."
I thought about that. The cities had propaganda about us? That meant that Sheldon thought we were a threat. Good! I hoped he did. Danielle interrupted my thoughts by asking, "Mom, can we go back to the dump quickly? I want to find some tap shoes. Can we, Mom? Pleeeaaaassseee?" She squinted up her eyes and made a puppy-dog face.
"Not tonight, Danielle," said Mom. "But you and Lucy can go in the morning." Lucy made a face, but she knew that arguing was out of the question.
"I'll go with you," said Matt and I at the same time. That's the way it is with us. We do everything together, without question. Matt's dad doesn't really care what he does, and of course my real parents don't. Or if they do, it doesn't matter, since they're dead. It's kind of sad, but it's my life.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Meticulous analysis of a movie
I just recently saw the movie of Percy Jackson. I must say that I am rather disappointed. They left out major characters, put in scenes that didn't exist, and left out ones that did. The writer of the script is an incompetent nincompoop with no respect for appropriate plot lines. Mom will probably say I'm exaggerating, or being too critical. Ha!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Freegans part 2
Lucy
When we got back to camp, Matt went to where he lived with his dad, and Cara and I went to our camp. Since Cara doesn't have a family, she lives with me, and has even gotten into the habit of calling my parents Mom and Dad. It's kind of funny. She was shuffling her deck of cards, and I looked at the sweater. It really was kind of pretty.
"Uh-oh," I said suddenly. "What is it?" asked Cara. "I forgot to get something for Danielle. She's going to have a meltdown," I said, rolling my eyes. Danielle is my eleven-year-old sister, and she's prone to be very emotional about the silliest things. It's kind of annoying. Scratch that: it IS annoying.
"Hmmm," said Cara. "Do you think that she would like a pack of cards?"
"I doubt it. She has been wanting me to find her a nice pair of red tap shoes. I don't know why."
"Maybe she wants to learn how to tap dance."
I smiled. The idea of Danielle, who is almost as clumsy as I am, tap dancing, was so incredible that I couldn't possibly imagine it.
My other siblings are Andrew, age fourteen, Monica, age seven, and Ricky, age three. All of them seem to enjoy driving me absolutely crazy. There are times when I swear Monica is evil. No, I'm not kidding! She has attacked me with a baseball bat when I haven't given her her way!
Andrew, Danielle, and Ricky all have blond hair that most girls would give their own right arms to have, but I don't care that much. Even though I hate my hair, I wouldn't want it to be blond. Cara just doesn't care about hers. If it were up to her, she wouldn't even bother to brush it in the mornings. However, I usually make her.
Sure enough, Danielle was shocked and horrified when I didn't present her with a pair of lovely red tap shoes. She made big, artificial tears swell up in her eyes. My own rolled, as I turned and called for Mom to come help me. When she heard about the situation, she said, "Danielle, you know that you don't need tap shoes. They're ridiculously impractical, and besides, there's nowhere to dance in them here. They'd only sink in the mud."
"But-but-but I WANTED them!" Danielle wailed. "Ssh, you'll get them someday. Now please don't act like Ricky right now. Come and help me with dinner."
"Thanks, Mom," I said as she ushered the annoying debutante out. She smiled and winked slightly. When they had gone, I turned to Cara, who during the meltdown, was sitting on the ground playing solitaire with her new cards. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" she asked without even looking up.
"Just sit there patiently and play cards like that! We are in danger of being ratted out, and you act like nothing happened!"
"That's because nothing DID happen, Lucy," Cara said.
"But they saw us! They knew we were Freegans! They could get us captured by the police!"
"You're being all upset over nothing. There is no way they could find us-" Cara was interrupted by a pounding on the door. A voice yelled, "Open up! This is the police!"
When we got back to camp, Matt went to where he lived with his dad, and Cara and I went to our camp. Since Cara doesn't have a family, she lives with me, and has even gotten into the habit of calling my parents Mom and Dad. It's kind of funny. She was shuffling her deck of cards, and I looked at the sweater. It really was kind of pretty.
"Uh-oh," I said suddenly. "What is it?" asked Cara. "I forgot to get something for Danielle. She's going to have a meltdown," I said, rolling my eyes. Danielle is my eleven-year-old sister, and she's prone to be very emotional about the silliest things. It's kind of annoying. Scratch that: it IS annoying.
"Hmmm," said Cara. "Do you think that she would like a pack of cards?"
"I doubt it. She has been wanting me to find her a nice pair of red tap shoes. I don't know why."
"Maybe she wants to learn how to tap dance."
I smiled. The idea of Danielle, who is almost as clumsy as I am, tap dancing, was so incredible that I couldn't possibly imagine it.
My other siblings are Andrew, age fourteen, Monica, age seven, and Ricky, age three. All of them seem to enjoy driving me absolutely crazy. There are times when I swear Monica is evil. No, I'm not kidding! She has attacked me with a baseball bat when I haven't given her her way!
Andrew, Danielle, and Ricky all have blond hair that most girls would give their own right arms to have, but I don't care that much. Even though I hate my hair, I wouldn't want it to be blond. Cara just doesn't care about hers. If it were up to her, she wouldn't even bother to brush it in the mornings. However, I usually make her.
Sure enough, Danielle was shocked and horrified when I didn't present her with a pair of lovely red tap shoes. She made big, artificial tears swell up in her eyes. My own rolled, as I turned and called for Mom to come help me. When she heard about the situation, she said, "Danielle, you know that you don't need tap shoes. They're ridiculously impractical, and besides, there's nowhere to dance in them here. They'd only sink in the mud."
"But-but-but I WANTED them!" Danielle wailed. "Ssh, you'll get them someday. Now please don't act like Ricky right now. Come and help me with dinner."
"Thanks, Mom," I said as she ushered the annoying debutante out. She smiled and winked slightly. When they had gone, I turned to Cara, who during the meltdown, was sitting on the ground playing solitaire with her new cards. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" she asked without even looking up.
"Just sit there patiently and play cards like that! We are in danger of being ratted out, and you act like nothing happened!"
"That's because nothing DID happen, Lucy," Cara said.
"But they saw us! They knew we were Freegans! They could get us captured by the police!"
"You're being all upset over nothing. There is no way they could find us-" Cara was interrupted by a pounding on the door. A voice yelled, "Open up! This is the police!"
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Freegans are not free
Here is a serial. I think I'll write a chapter for each one. Let me know what you think of this.
Cara
"Trash diggers!" one of the boys yelled at us. I winced, pretending not to be hurt by his insult. Lucy and Matt did, too. "We prefer to be called garbage collectors!" I shot back. Just because these gas guzzlers lived in the city, and drove fancy cars, they thought they were better than us.
In response they began calling all kinds of unrepeatable names. One of them even threw a beer can at us. Matt nonchalantly reached out and caught it. "Thanks!" he called to the loudmouth who had thrown it. "Hey, Freak-ans! How is it living out in the dump?!" another loudmouth jibed, before breaking out into obnoxious laughter. It was then that we decided to leave. It wasn't fair. These stupid consumerists hated us, just because we were Freegans.
For those of you who have never heard of Freegans, let me clue you in. They were organized many years ago, before 2010, even. It was in the the really old ages, the '90s, I think. These people realized that society was wasting its time by making lots of money just to buy stuff that it didn't even need, and throwing away perfectly good things just because they were out of style, or bruised, or whatever. The Freegans decided to do something about it. They began 'dumpster diving' to retrieve all the things that consumerists had thrown away, and keep using them. We also believe that living in a house is a RIGHT, not a privilege, and that people shouldn't have jobs, because their purpose is to get more money to spend on things that you don't need, like big televisions, cars, and other types of technology. We're a bit like the old Amish people, before they were exterminated when we got Anthony Sheldon as our president.
The only reason why he didn't get rid of the Freegans too was that he couldn't FIND us, since our leader, Angus McTavish, led us underground, so to speak. Now the world has two groups: the gas guzzlers, who live in the cities and are all glamorous, and the Freegans, who live on honest work from growing gardens, and look after the earth. Basically, we're going to hopefully outlive the consumerists when they kill themselves. At least, that's what Dad says.
Back to me and my friends, a lot of people who see the three of us together think that we're related. We all have messy brown hair (Matt's is short, of course), light skin, and are really tall and scrawny. However, Matt has brown eyes, Lucy has blue eyes, and I have green eyes. I also have freckles, while Matt and Lucy are both kind of tanned. Other than that, we are pretty similar. We all like to read the same kind of books, and have similar interests. Oh, and we're all Freegans.
That day we had gone to the town dump to see if we could salvage anything. Lucy found an old tea kettle, and I managed to get a hold of a pack of playing cards that was in still in good condition. Matt had just grabbed an old rubber tire that still looked good (What he would need it for I had no idea, since Freegans don't drive), when those gas guzzlers drove up and began taunting us.
Lucy was frowning. "Do you guys think it was a good idea for them to see us? They might tell someone, and then we'd get in big trouble." Lucy is pretty much the worrywart in the group. She's always nervous about something. I shook my head. "I wouldn't be too concerned. They're just a bunch of consumerist punks with a sports car."
"But how can you be sure, Cara? They might come back," she whimpered. I snorted, and then picked up an old blue jacket that matched Lucy's eyes.
"This might fit you, Lucy-it just needs to be washed," I said.
As we headed back to our houses, I reflected on how we had become friends in the first place. I didn't have family, Matt just had his dad, and Lucy lived with her parents and four younger brothers and sisters. However, we were all relatively around the same age. We had gone to school together, and become friends when we had worked together on a project about the Civil War. That was when we were seven. Now we were sixteen, and closer than ever.
Cara
"Trash diggers!" one of the boys yelled at us. I winced, pretending not to be hurt by his insult. Lucy and Matt did, too. "We prefer to be called garbage collectors!" I shot back. Just because these gas guzzlers lived in the city, and drove fancy cars, they thought they were better than us.
In response they began calling all kinds of unrepeatable names. One of them even threw a beer can at us. Matt nonchalantly reached out and caught it. "Thanks!" he called to the loudmouth who had thrown it. "Hey, Freak-ans! How is it living out in the dump?!" another loudmouth jibed, before breaking out into obnoxious laughter. It was then that we decided to leave. It wasn't fair. These stupid consumerists hated us, just because we were Freegans.
For those of you who have never heard of Freegans, let me clue you in. They were organized many years ago, before 2010, even. It was in the the really old ages, the '90s, I think. These people realized that society was wasting its time by making lots of money just to buy stuff that it didn't even need, and throwing away perfectly good things just because they were out of style, or bruised, or whatever. The Freegans decided to do something about it. They began 'dumpster diving' to retrieve all the things that consumerists had thrown away, and keep using them. We also believe that living in a house is a RIGHT, not a privilege, and that people shouldn't have jobs, because their purpose is to get more money to spend on things that you don't need, like big televisions, cars, and other types of technology. We're a bit like the old Amish people, before they were exterminated when we got Anthony Sheldon as our president.
The only reason why he didn't get rid of the Freegans too was that he couldn't FIND us, since our leader, Angus McTavish, led us underground, so to speak. Now the world has two groups: the gas guzzlers, who live in the cities and are all glamorous, and the Freegans, who live on honest work from growing gardens, and look after the earth. Basically, we're going to hopefully outlive the consumerists when they kill themselves. At least, that's what Dad says.
Back to me and my friends, a lot of people who see the three of us together think that we're related. We all have messy brown hair (Matt's is short, of course), light skin, and are really tall and scrawny. However, Matt has brown eyes, Lucy has blue eyes, and I have green eyes. I also have freckles, while Matt and Lucy are both kind of tanned. Other than that, we are pretty similar. We all like to read the same kind of books, and have similar interests. Oh, and we're all Freegans.
That day we had gone to the town dump to see if we could salvage anything. Lucy found an old tea kettle, and I managed to get a hold of a pack of playing cards that was in still in good condition. Matt had just grabbed an old rubber tire that still looked good (What he would need it for I had no idea, since Freegans don't drive), when those gas guzzlers drove up and began taunting us.
Lucy was frowning. "Do you guys think it was a good idea for them to see us? They might tell someone, and then we'd get in big trouble." Lucy is pretty much the worrywart in the group. She's always nervous about something. I shook my head. "I wouldn't be too concerned. They're just a bunch of consumerist punks with a sports car."
"But how can you be sure, Cara? They might come back," she whimpered. I snorted, and then picked up an old blue jacket that matched Lucy's eyes.
"This might fit you, Lucy-it just needs to be washed," I said.
As we headed back to our houses, I reflected on how we had become friends in the first place. I didn't have family, Matt just had his dad, and Lucy lived with her parents and four younger brothers and sisters. However, we were all relatively around the same age. We had gone to school together, and become friends when we had worked together on a project about the Civil War. That was when we were seven. Now we were sixteen, and closer than ever.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Book review
Just recently I finished reading "Catching Fire", a book in the new Hunger Games series. It takes place in a futuristic society, where the United States has become a new country, with a Capital and twelve districts surrounding it. Every year or so, because of an old rebellion, each district has to send in a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to the Games, where they will then engage in a fight to the death. Is it just me, or is making teenagers kill each other until only one is left alive one of the sickest things in the world?
It also involves your typical sappy love story, with the boy and girl from District Twelve being in love, or supposed to be. Other than that, I rather like it.
It also involves your typical sappy love story, with the boy and girl from District Twelve being in love, or supposed to be. Other than that, I rather like it.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Is anybody out there?
He-lloo? Am I the only person who ever reads my own blog?! Come on, people! I only started up this thing because I thought it looked like fun, and it seemed like a good way to get in touch with other people! If nobody ever contacts me, then it's kind of pointless, you know! Read my blog! Pleeeaasssee!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
There is TOO an Arizona!
I am going on a trip to Arizona. While there, I plan to see the Grand Canyon and the O.K. Corral. I've read about the former, and first learned about it in an episode of Star Trek. It sounds kind of interesting, but it's also kind of sad that Tombstone's finest feature is that some gang members who didn't like each other got in a fight and shot one another to death.
The Grand Canyon also sounds very interesting. It's a giant red rift in the ground, and has probably the same amount of romantic value as Niagara Falls.
The Grand Canyon also sounds very interesting. It's a giant red rift in the ground, and has probably the same amount of romantic value as Niagara Falls.
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