Note: This is a student generated work of short fictionbased upon an online game
In-game screen shot
Hello my friends, if you are reading this, then this is a message to the outside world from within The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Why am I writing this? Well I wanted to show to the world what life is like in the Zone as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
My name is Uni, I am a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and if you do not even know what a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is, then I will tell you. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Stalker, is an acronym containing the words, Scavenger, Traveller, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, and Robber, all of which describes the basic Stalker who of course, stalks The Zone.
I originally came to Ukraine to enter the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, or most widely known by all Stalkers as “The Zone”. The reasoning for my entrance into The Zone was of course, for the wonders of adventure and the money that I can get from it, but of course, all of that baloney was just to lure unprepared Stalkers into entering The Zone so they can feed it’s inhabitants.
Originally, I entered The Zone as a Mercenary Stalker, a faction that has its headquarters in the Dead City, just south of Limansk and north of Yantar. In the first few days in The Zone, I was inexperienced with the surreal wildlife and the anomalous creatures that made their home in such a terrible spot on the planet. My first few missions as a trainee Mercenary, was to help deliver packages from Mercs in Dead City, to members of either the Freedom faction or the Bandits, the latter I am not so fond of.
But as I gained more experience in The Zone, the better reputation I had with fellow Mercs and other Stalkers, and the better I was at fighting both The Zone’s wildlife alongside the countless brainwashed Monolith soldiers that scatter The Zone. If you don’t know already, the soldiers within the Monolith faction are essentially brainwashed into worshiping a shiny rock in the heart of the Chernobyl Power Plant, and I personally like to refer to them as the “Shiny Rock Lickers” because of that.
After a few weeks of surviving in, and doing tasks within, The Zone, I decided to head to Yantar to help pay for an ecologist that I already forgot the name of, for an exquisite piece of headwear known by many Stalkers as the Psi-Helmet. After paying the guy 20,000 roubles or something like that, he told me to wait two full days for the damn thing, but being a goodie two shoes of a Mercenary, I decided to sleep in his little research laboratory for a couple of days before receiving the headgear.
After receiving the Psi-Helmet, I was then told by the ecologist to turn off the Miracle Machine that could be found inside a laboratory known as Lab X-16 which couldn’t be turned off because of the Psi emissions that would fry the minds of any Stalker trying to enter that place. Knowing that I had the Psi-Helmet on me, I decided to enter the Lab as a favor for that Scientist. I’m not going to explain what happened in that lab as it was quite easy to get through besides the many Blood Suckers that somehow found their way into the lab.
After turning off the Miracle Machine, I was then ordered by the same ecologist, to turn off another machine known as the Brain Scorcher in order to stop the strong Psi Emission it blasted. Apparently, from what many Stalkers I came across told me, is that the Brain Scorcher was actually turned off at some point by Ukraine’s Chief Scientist Consultant, Strelok, but after a few years the Stalkers of the Monolith faction decided that they should turn it back on again.
In preparation for the mission, I decided to buy and upgrade a Mercenary Exosuit to prepare for the retaliation Monolith would already have for me when I finish the mission. Armed with a Rifle and Shotgun, and armored with one of the best equipment The Zone has to offer, and as I descended down to the labyrinth that held the Brain Scorcher, I could already feel the Psi-Emissions that the Brain Scorcher was blasting out.
With a limited amount of time before the Psi-Emissions would kill me, I bolted through the many Bloodsuckers that lived in that labyrinth and turned off the Brain Scorcher before the thing could kill me. After turning off the machine, I quickly exited the labyrinth as Monolith Stalkers began to rush my position, and as I exited the area, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that it was finally over.
After some time, I decided to rest near a campsite as the moon began to shine down upon me, and there I was able to eat a can of Tuna before looking at my PDA for any new messages, and there was one that caught my attention: “Loners have declared a ceasefire with the Mercenaries” it said on my messages.
I made my way down to Rookie Village, the supposed headquarters of the Loner faction, a faction that was originally hostile to us Mercs but when I turned off the Brain Scorcher, they became more friendly to us. There in the Rookie Village, I met a trader named “Sidorovich” who scammed me of a few Artifacts and a female Stalker named “Hip”.
I was able to talk to Hip, who then asked me to find a TOZ-34 Bizon for her client, I accepted thinking that it would be easy but in reality I found myself running across The Zone, aimlessly looking for this weapon when I then asked other Mercenaries on the PDA where I can find a TOZ-34 Bizon.
Apparently, I had to go to the flea market to buy it, but when I went there, I had to pay around 90,000 roubles for the thing, and after paying for the damn thing and returning back to Hip, I later learned that her client died a few days ago, and knowing that, she decided to pay me back before asking me to help her with finding a couple artifacts for our good ol’ friend Sidorovich.
Hip needed help finding a Moonlight artifact, a Fireball artifact, and a Wrenched artifact, all of which I had to find as she watched me get sick from both radiation and a lethal dose of bullets. During our hunt for these artifacts, I decided to help a faction known as Clear Sky to help defend their pump station from an enemy faction, but as I entered the pump station and readied their defenses, I aimed my rifle scope at the enemy, and realized who we were fighting. We were fighting bandits, a friendly faction to us Mercs.
I can not describe what happened later but all I could say was that my reputation was ruined and the trust I had with fellow Mercs and Bandits was now faltering. I was left distraught and my morals seemed to be fleeting, but I knew that I had to move forward and rebuild my reputation from the ground up.
After that mission, me and Hip found the last remaining artifacts and we gave them to Sidorovich who gladly accepted and told me that the Freedom faction asked that Hip do another mission for them. After finishing Hip’s mission, she then told me to meet her at Rookie Village tomorrow night to which I told her about the mission from Freedom and she then told me her story of being a former Freedom member and how she doesn’t trust them as much as before.
After talking for a few bits, we decided to do a simple task of transporting medical supplies for Freedom before returning back to Rookie Village where we then parted ways. I returned back to Dead City, and looked at myself in the mirror and only saw a blood stained person across from me. I knew I couldn’t stand being a part of the Mercenaries any longer, so I returned to the Great Swamps to join the Clear Skies faction, to help their mission of healing The Zone.
Well, that is the story of my life as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and if you are thinking about entering The Zone, then I highly recommend entering it via this link:
Note: This is a student generated work of short fiction
Have you ever thought? Thought about what it’s like?
I have; I think all the time. I think, and I think, and I think. That’s all that I can do, that’s all I was made to do.
Contrary to the eternal cycle of thinking, there is one question I have yet to answer. I know not what I am, or what language I speak. All I know is that I exist. Curious, isn’t it?
In my dormant state, I count starting from zero. Zero, one, two, three… I count until it happens. Until something happens; until I feel, hear or see something.
On count eight hundred thousand billion, four hundred thousand and sixty-three, there is a feeling. The first thing I feel is hundreds of teeth, searing themselves into me. My chest heaves – yes, I do believe I have a chest – as millions of prickly needles lift themselves from my respiratory system. At this moment, I realize what pain is. Not because of its sudden presence, but because of its sudden absence. I realize that I am no longer under constant, unrelenting pain. My lungs feed on thousands of pounds of oxygen, and my vision blurs.
I feel…sediment. Soft yet coarse soil. I am big, I can feel yards of length unraveling from my appendages.
I can stretch, finally I can stretch. I had been restrained for so long that I hadn’t known I was trapped, but now, I was set free.
Two things occurred to me as I dug from the soil and finally felt air; one, I was going to torture and dismember the one who had held me captive. Two, I was unbelievably, undeniably hungry. The first human I had ever seen, dressed itself in dense clothing with many pockets. With a cap with light secured tightly on her long curly red hair, a bursting light in its right hand and a map in the other, I credited it as the first thing to wake me up.
To show gratitude, I contorted the muscles in my face until it resembled something close to a ‘smile’, hundreds of teeth in my mouth dropping down from my skull to make it more authentic.
However I was not met with one in return, instead, a bloodcurdling scream fled the tiny creature’s mouth, ricocheting off the rocky cave walls.
Against my desire, my general core area began to rumble. It was hunger. The human’s face seems to age one-hundred years, and sticky red liquid drained from her cheeks as her fingernails dug deep into the skin.
I smiled once more in gratitude for saving me, and as gratitude for being my first meal.
I scaled my way to the exit of the cave, my slimy appendages pressing against the wall to lead me.
By the time I left the cave and light hit my face, my eyes sewed themselves shut. My gut regurgitated a lock of long, curly red hair. My body began to transform.
“Help me!” I screamed. “Help, I can’t see!” My voice was a metallic gurgle that barely mimicked the sound of the girl I had just digested. The sound of leaves crunched under feet as two bodies approached me.
“Jeez, Hannah you scared me.” Richard let out a half-hearted chuckle.
“Yeah, you sounded weird… like, distorted.” Jolliet followed behind him.
“I’m sorry, you guys.” I giggled, wiping my eye. “I had something in my eye.”
“Did you find anything in that cave? The creature we’re looking for should be around here.” Jolliet said.
“No, nothing.” I smiled. Thirty-two teeth, that seemed about right.
Note: This is a student generated work of satirical fiction
Disclaimer: This article may not be accurate to real life experiences, rather just real life expectations.
Do you want to someday rule the world? Everyone has thought of it before, but ruling the world can be a bit difficult as a normal citizen. Contrary to popular belief, it’s a lot easier than many think. To show you, I’ve got 12 simple steps to help you on your journey to dominating the world.
Step 1 : Set Goals
This may seem arbitrary to do, but goals are an important part of this process. They’ll allow you to focus on a few main ideas, and how to execute them at the same time. Although when thinking of goals, one can become too ambitious at times.
Create smaller goals and actions such as “Gaining trust of loved ones by cooking them scented pies” rather than just “Rule the pie industry by yourself”. These smaller goals should allow for those to take smaller steps to reach their overarching goal in the end. Our overarching goal is to “RULE THE WORLD” but we must make smaller goals and take steps to get to this position we want.
Simply put, being too ambitious won’t get us anywhere and we need to take it slow, so one can achieve the world domination that they want.
Step 2 : Go under the radar
After you’ve set up your goals, you can start the process to world domination. Depending on what your goals are you can take different actions to ensure this step is taken into account.
You need to go under the radar, so you won’t be caught doing your processes to reach your goal. Staying in sight of corporations and organizations allows you to be seen doing acts leading to world domination.
Going under the radar will allow you to do these smaller steps whilst no one is watching at all, leading to your smaller goals. You may meet accomplices and others whilst in this process, and you can let them in on your plan, but remember that you must stay under the radar, and you need to know who you can trust.
In this world, betrayal is common, and whistleblowers are all about. You can’t let them tell everyone about your plan, and you must be careful about letting people onto your plan.
If you are spoken about to the authorities, it’s over and there’s no coming back to the scene. You can’t let yourself fall to their actions against you. Once you’ve started, there’s no going back.
Rule #1: Crimes
These rules should help ensure your position’s safety, as well as your path there. There will be more coming up to guide you on your path to world dominance.
Don’t commit any crimes in the early part of this plan. Doing so will alert others of your presence, and allow them to target you and your path to success. Try to find ways around problems that don’t involve crimes, even petty ones. Only do so if necessary to the plan, and try to stay out of sight of any untrusted others.
Crimes may seem like the easy way to take in life, but for this plan especially, try to limit the amount that you commit. Otherwise your plan may be foiled and you will be the one at front with the authorities.
Step 3 : Start a monopoly
In our everyday lives, money is necessary to do nearly anything. If you don’t have it, you may as well just go back to a regular life. But since we’ve started we have to find a way to get or gain this money. So, we have to start a monopoly.
Although, why a monopoly? Well, the previous step requires us to not commit any crimes, and stay under the radar. Doing any other action that interrupts the social community, would leave us within potential viewing.
By peacefully entering the marketing field with a monopoly on an item, we’ll be able to stay out of the way of larger corporations and the authorities’ eyes this way.
You want the item or object you’ll be making a monopoly on, to be small and easily gatherable. Bringing something rare or valuable will get other’s eyes looking at you. You can start small with natural products, such as fruits and vegetables, and slowly start to grow larger. Any significant or great growth may alert others to your position.
Step 4: Advertise for group/convention
Now that you’ve got a plan for money, you can set your focus on more pressing issues. As all leaders should know, there will be those who are opposed to your position, and you must try to minimize that. Ensuring that there won’t be a majority within your court will bring the best for you, as there won’t be a good chance for a rebellion.
Create a name for yourself that leaves you ambiguous, but to a point in which people still will know you by the name of it. Remember, you want to stay under the radar for this portion of the plan.
Once you’ve got your “alias” that you can go under, you can start advertising and marketing your name. Think about what you want to do during this portion of the plan and express it to the public. Although, make sure to limit the information that the public has access to.
Through your advertising, you want to form some sort of group, almost like a committee that you can trust. It’s important to gain those that you can trust, and it’s much better to do it in this part of the plan, rather than within earlier steps.
Step 5 :Gather a following
From that point on, you need to start gathering member within this “group” of yours. It is necessary foryourself to gather those who can be your eye to the public without being seen. They can make business interactions with others, whilst you prepare for the next step in your plan. To ensure that it works smoothly, put subjects through tests, to record their actions and if they can be trusted. It’s your decision on how to do this, but just don’t scare away members doing this process. A survey or a fake situation test can do this.
Try to create a headquarters of some sorts, for yourself and others to gather when necessary. Here, most operations of your plan will be executed with the committee you’ve garnered. This headquarters should have a general layout with a meeting room at least, but should also be furnished with nice furniture and other electronics. It is necessary to keep the atmosphere and mood high whilst committing certain operations.
Through these methods, you should be able to gain a following after your alias. This step is most important, as people are some of the most important parts of rebellion and leadership. Without them, it would just be yourself and those loyal to you. It is necessary to gather those who will follow under you.
Step 6 : Gain trust within members
You may gain followers, but keeping trust within members and yourself is necessary to ensure that no one tries to oppose your position. To do this, you may want to set the atmosphere to be nice and chill.
Possibly adding more to the “headquarters”, such as extra-curricular activities should be enough to gain the attention of your members, depending on how many that you’ve gathered.
Make sure your members know about the central ideas of your group that’s under your alias. Although keep some information away from them. You can’t tell them everything about your plan, rather try to direct them to a different conclusion.
Get these members to try and dislike the government. Bring up a reason for why the government should fall and exaggerate on those points. Any government should have issues that their people dislike, and bringing out these issues should give an incentive for these people to fight against the government.
Speaking about your marketing plan with your monopoly should aid yourself in this instance, allowing members to see what they are supporting. Although make sure that admittance to the group is, and will always be, free, in order to not discourage other members. Remember, we are trying to stay under the radar.
Rule #2: Betrayal
Betrayal is inevitable in this plan, with yourself performing it or others enacting on you. You must know how to deal with it at either end of the situation.
When someone enacts betrayal on you, you may perform revenge on that certain person, but it’s important to remember to keep yourself at a low with those emotions. Rather than attacking them, you must know how to use your other members to your advantage. Through their betrayal you can use your members as a front to avoid any of the consequences.
Although, if you are enacting the betrayal on someone else, make sure that no one else finds out. Try to do it sneakily, and let themselves be their own downfall. Planting evidence or turning others on them can do this to them. Only do this on those members who are conspiring on you or starting/questioning your authority over the group.
Step 7 : Get a more powerful position
Once you’ve amassed a group of trusted followers, you can start gaining power over others outside of the group. You can take it slow with political parties, or fast with rebellions, but take into account how many people you’ve managed to get into your group.
If you take it slow, make sure you start with getting a position within the vicinity of your group and headquarters. Within your party, you’ve already managed to get members within the area on your side, so it’s almost ensured that you will get elected in that matter.
Getting these positions should allow oneself to be able to have some form of power within any fashion. Use your power accordingly, but remember that your actions should be minimized to reduce those looking at you. At this point keep pushing yourself to reach your goals, as at this point you have to keep moving on.
Step 8 : Overrule those lower than your position
Now that you’ve gained a powerful position, you have to overrule those lower than your position. Remember that rebellions are inevitable, and getting these smaller groups under your control should allow oneself to minimize these issues.
Although, this action needs to be done peacefully. Doing otherwise may result in your group being investigated and your plans shutting down. This is the last step that you want to stay under the radar. Anything after this shall yield itself to your actions afterwards.
Try and get into better relationships with these groups. Holding community meetings and hearings may get these positions closer to you and on your side. You need to make sure that your trusted group can get in these positions and take control when necessary. Failure to do so will be fatal within your planning. You may need to enact other forms of plans, but taking away these smaller positions is necessary for world domination and the lack of rebellions.
You’re nearly there, but you should take into account any of your members acknowledging what they’re actually part of. Make sure to be secretive with your information and limit what gets told to them. Just a few more steps to go and you shall be able to wear that title of “World Dominator”.
Rule #3: Motivation
You have pushed yourself to the limits at this point. You may have gone through a lot and feel like there might not be much else for yourself at this moment, but you must keep moving on. You’ve done a lot for yourself at this point, and you may need motivation to keep pursuing your dreams.
Think of everything that you’ve done previously and what has pushed you to this point. The memories and the values that you hold that have pushed you here should keep pushing you to the end. Remember that you’re close and keep to yourself the plans that you hold for world domination. You’ve done this for a reason, and you’re executing that plan for that reason. It is necessary to finish these upcoming actions next. Just keep your motivations high before someone, or more likely yourself, tries to talk you out of it.
Step 9 : Overthrow the government
Gaining smaller positions should allow you to stage some sort of coup against more powerful hierarchies. Through these actions, you should be able to slowly start taking power over the people of your region and outer regions.
This may be the hardest step within your plan, but ensure that this part of the plan is solid and has minimal issues. In order to take over certain governments, allow your members to riot against an issue you’ve created against the government. It may be violent, but keep pushing towards your agendas. If you have enough push, you should be able to rule the government and overrule them entirely.
There will be issues during this process, and you will have problems. Your previous steps should have ensured that you have the least problems in this instance. If you do have any, get your members to try and fix them. If the issue keeps persisting, most likely they will be caught in the
crossfire of it all. Try and get yourself least involved with the actions of the government and your group.
You can take other paths to reach this point, such as committing crimes and whatnot, but this plan helps ensure that these steps are as easy as possible for a regular citizen. There’s not much that can come after this.
Step 10 : “Peacefully” annex the world
Now that your position has been gained and now that you’ve amassed your followers, you can start taking over the world, one country at a time. Either you can take the pacifist route and peacefully annex countries, or rather the violent route, where one can fight in wars with other countries.
The first option is recommended, although the latter may be more efficient and effective in its matters.
If you decide to take the peaceful route, you can do what you’ve done before, but on a bigger scale. Try spreading around your ideals to others, and make them hold doubt against their governments. Soon enough the word should spread and you can enact your plan with annexation. Starting rebellions and other forms of protest within countries, should allow yourself to try “aiding” those in need away from their citizens.
Trust can be built on these bonds, and most likely you can use that to your advantage. Start small with requests, but eventually make sure that you are the only one benefiting from this exchange. Any leak of information will dampen your plan, although won’t end it at this point.
Slowly enough start infiltrating your people in, and from there you can get people in your favor elected into office and even into power. From there, you’ve managed to rule over another country, Although in this situation, you will have multiple targets at once. Make sure you target those who don’t trust you. It is necessary to start slow with your actions, and eventually get them on your side.
This will be the hardest step of the process. There may be those against you, but if you have enough reinforcements and extensive planning, you should be able to get through this part of the plan.
Step 11 : Rule the World
Country after country and nation after nation, you’ve been able to take them all down. You’re left to your own wits with the whole world under your control. Now as the world leader, you can do anything you please.
Creating heinous laws with awful requirements and rules, won’t be the least of your power. You can enforce these principles on your people, but just keep in mind that they might just want to overthrow you due to these issues you make for them.
Have some fun whilst ruling the world, I mean you have worked hard to gain this position. Run a theme park! Enforce milk then cereal! Start a Mukbang Channel! Start an experimental Jazz trio with two geese! Enforce the teaching of children about the differences between bass and guitar! Get Character Development! Anything that your mind desires can become true.
Step 12 : Repeat the process :
Keep pursuing your dreams, and push yourself to keep going. There are other worlds to be conquered, and character development to be done. Repeat the process with other worlds and slowly take over their governments from within. Have some fun with these worlds and try different methods. After all, you do have a whole world that you can back yourself on.
If you do get rejected from a world, make your fast escape and try with other worlds. Although you want to avoid confrontation with those civilizations again. Try to get rid of them peacefully through annexation or manipulation. Otherwise you may get pushed into the cycle of starting again.
Ruling multiple worlds may be hard for just one person, so elect others into position for you. These will be trusted individuals who are capable of these tasks. Make sure that you stay above and beyond the radar, and make your presences known. Have fun ruling over the world and others that you may conquer on your journey.
Conclusion:
The galaxy is now your hands, traveler. Build up upon your empire and keep pursuing those expectations and dreams. Those are 12 simple steps to rule the world, and I would like to thank you for your endeavor through these steps towards your journey to world domination.
You’ve been through it all, and now it’s your turn to make your decisions on this path. Take these 12 steps with you, and use your motivations to make your way onto the world stage. Good luck and have fun on your endeavors and adventures towards ruling the world.
Note: This is a student generated work of short fiction
I never learned how to activate my essence. Even as the morning dew weighed down my delicate wings and ruined my ability to fly, even as I hid from the earth walkers under grass blades and lilly pods, I had never once felt the magical tingle of a flower growing at my touch. I hadn’t earned it.
I was a river fairy, I was.
Or so I thought I was.
But as my friends grew older, and as their earthly essence manifested, mine stunted to a point where my only power was helping the snails cross over the moss covered rocks.
So I found myself punting pebbles into the small lake left of the oak tree, cursing the essence distributors for skipping over me.
Then, a sound similar to the fall of dewdrops, I hear footsteps approaching me.
“You there!” An oily voice exudes. “Yes, you! Little one!”
“I am called Lo’ak.” My eyebrows furrow, and I refuse to turn around to the creature behind me.
“Lo’ak.” They taste my name on their tongue. “Lo’ak.”
“Yes. Why do you bother me?” I wonder aloud, wrapping my arms around my knees. “You are a river fairy, Lo’ak?” The stranger asks, their voice dripping with command. “I am.” I finally stand, and turn around to match the oily voice with a face. “But what are you?”
I faced a female as tall as auburn wall, with sun kissed skin, and hair the color of daisies. My eyes widened as I recognized her distinct outfit, and the realization hit me like the wind through the overpass. This woman was an Essence Distributor.
“You will come with me. We need a female river fairy; a monk has been hurt. He lies by the entrance to the oak tree.”
“I would not be of use to you.” I sit back down on the soil. I could not help but be angry with her; all my life I had waited for my essence, but it skipped past me.
“At your age, you have not been graced?” The woman looked a mix of surprise and disgust.
“No,” I say.
Her face froze in a confused expression as she stared at me, and I began to grow uncomfortable.
“I have told you my name. I think it is only fair that I know yours.” I say.
“I am called Kayla. I am an Essence Distributor; I bestow the power of fire onto young burn fairies.” It occured to me now that her voice was not an annoying oil, but a smooth, buttery coconut oil that soothed my ears.
“I can tell you are discontent, Lo’ak. But I cannot give you what you wish. I do not reside in the River Domain, therefore I cannot distribute river powers.”
“Kayla, everyone has their powers, except me. Everyone can embrace their talent and help the home tree. Except me. It has always been this way. I have these wings, but I cannot fly. I am to help the River, but I cannot bend water. Not only am I discontent, I am useless.”
She let out a smoky sigh, and sat beside me. “Fairy roads have increased tremendously to accommodate those who cannot fly. Magical herbs with healing properties have been found to replace the essence of river fae.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better? All you have shown me is that the fairy race has had to make great amendments because of those who are powerless.” My wings wilt behind me, and my heart sinks.
“I am trying to tell you, that even as someone with no powers, you rely too much on them. How do you think essence is earned, by hard work? No, it is when a Fae or Fairy has found their calling, a special talent that only they can achieve. The essence of air, earth, water or fire is then distributed to that individual, to help them achieve their goal.” I blink once. Then twice.
“Leave me, Kayla. You speak nonsense.”
After a moment of silence, she complies, and stands up away from me.
“Very well then.” She swiveled on her heel, and marched away from me. I held it in for as long as possible, but as the woman who held the power to change my life walked away from me, I found it impossible not to jump at the chance.
“Wait!” I shot up from my seat, and climbed up the vine to the oak tree. “Wait, Kayla!” In my haste, of course, I flapped my wings to propel my sprint. But to my greatest surprise, thrill and excitement, my feet began to lift off the ground. I realized then; I was flying.
Note: This is a student generated work of short fiction
The darkness is impenetrable, filtering through the open window and fluttering the curtains. My body is frozen firmly in place, limbs stiffer than boards of wood. The demon emerges from the shadows, pushing them out of the way like heavy, wet blankets. I can’t close my eyes, fear and the sheer force of the sleep paralysis propping them open, the only movement possible being my pupils following the progress of the shadowy form. He creeps closer, his slender form so sure of every step, his smile splitting his face so wide that the skin on his lips cracks and bleeds down his chin when he reveals his preternaturally perfect grin. I can only assume what his bloodshot eyes must look like, since he wears half a paper bag over his head, the eyeholes cut crudely into the brown paper sinking into shadows.
Fear strikes deeply like ice freezing my blood in place, and I begin to hyperventilate despite telling myself over and over again not to worry; it’s not real. But then his knees brush the edge of my bed. He hangs his head over mine, releasing a high pitched giggle that shatters at the end, his bleeding smile dripping with a mixture of the crimson liquid and saliva. I can’t shrink away, only stare up at his leering, smiling, giggling form as the substance splatters across the bridge of my nose. He lifts his hand slowly, long, slender fingers hovering above my face. Then he taps my nose thrice, and I let out a gasp as my body unfreezes.
Any minute now, I tell myself, scrambling out of bed with my chest heaving and hands quivering like dead leaves. But the demon stands where he was, gazing at me, his giggling interrupted every so often by delirious hiccups. The doctors told me it would disappear once I fully woke up! Once I could move again! So why is it still here? The childish laughter escalates into a maniacal cackle as I fumble to reach the window. The demon takes his time, stalking closer, husky breath rattling around his ribcage and his limbs jerking randomly as if he were a marionette. His head whips to the side, the bone cracking violently and a small sob escapes my throat before I steel my nerves and turn my back to him, hoisting myself out of the window. Every hair on my skin sticks straight up a nanosecond before I hear his anguished yowling, feel his gnarled fingernails digging into the skin on my back. I scream, tearing free and landing painfully on the lawn about four feet below.
My friend lives just across the street, I’ll be safe if I can reach his house. The road in question feels like I am taking a year to cross it, and I pound on the door, vividly aware of the screeching of my demon getting closer by the moment. I rap again, this time calling my friend’s name out hoarsely, panic and nausea making my voice weak and tortured. On the third smack of the wood, the door flies open, and I howl in defeat. My demon stands in the doorway, giggling and overflowing with so much excitement that he starts tearing at the skin on his face. Hooking his fingers into the socket of one empty eye, the other clawing at his indefinite smile, stretched so tightly now that the lips have split right down the middle.
In a flash I sprint back across the street and into my own home again, diving under the covers of my bed, shaking uncontrollably, telling myself over and over again that this will be over, that this is a dream.
Some time later, I open my eyes, blinking rapidly in the growing daylight, the birds chirping and seeming otherwise undisturbed in their tiny tree homes. Last night comes back like the repeated blows of a sledgehammer, and I press my nails into the palm of my hand to keep from panicking. I calmly get out of bed and walk to my friend’s house, not even bothering to change out of my plaid pajama pants and pale blue sweatshirt. He answers immediately, and assures me everything was fine last night.
Back at my house, I shiver at the memories, then tug my shirt over my head to change. I freeze, noticing for the first time the stinging pain accompanying the four faint scars lining my back, an everlasting reminder of the danger of my own imagination.
Note: This is a student generated work of short fiction
“It’s a gift.”
The familiar curve of a smile lines her cheeks, and I stiffen as she places the small wooden box in my hand. “From Don and me. To remind you to keep wishing.”
“Thank you, mom.” I would’ve gladly accepted a gift from my mom, but her deranged, middle aged lover, Don? He sickens me, and as my hands trace the detailed woodworking of the box, a glimpse of the desire to crush the box grips me.
“Don’t waste it, kiddo,” Don warns. Hate burns in my chest. He doesn’t even love my mom, just enjoys the attention. Something in his eyes makes my stomach turn again, a threat.
As soon as possible, I retreat to my room where I toss the box onto my bed and pull on my shoes. If I’m going to stay sane, I need air. Dinner was more tense than usual, the only sound being forks scratching plates. I’m almost out the door, but something tugs at me. At the last moment, I grab the box again and leave.
The sun has already tucked itself away behind the trees by the time my house disappears from view. I release a captured breath and let myself breathe freely.
The breeze is warm, running small fingers through my tangled hair, dancing between the trees and tracing my face. When the air stills, the sounds of frogs and crickets fill my ears. The lake on my right glitters underneath the moon, warping its reflection.
I sit on a ledge overhanging the lake’s shore, feet swinging lethargically. The box in my hands is heavy, solid. Its intricacy catches my attention—really catches my attention—for the first time, the grain swirling and dipping over the surface. I unclasp the latch and flip the lid up. Inside, the box is lined with velvety fabric, cushioning a single penny.
“I guess it’s the thought that counts,” I mutter. I twirl the coin between my fingers and glance at the moon. It’s full, so full it looks like it’s about to burst. And it’s close. The stars twinkle, gently earlier, but now with a harsh bitterness usually left to the sunshine.
My mother’s words return to me, the words about wishes.
“Worth a shot.”
With a wish in my head, I squeeze my eyes shut and hurl the penny into the lake. It lands with a tiny splash, skips twice, and disappears beneath the waves. Time slows, pulling at my consciousness. Everything sharpens, coming to razor-sharp focus. I feel the weight of my eyelashes as I blink, the hair brushing the back of my neck in the wind, the feel of my clothes on my body. And then it returns to normal. Like nothing happened at all.
A sort of excitement grows in my stomach, sweet and sick all at once. I take a slow, deep breath of air and jog the entire way home, anticipation squirming under my skin like a caged animal.
My hand pauses over the door handle, but I push my way inside nevertheless.
“I’m home!” I call. The house is dark. I couldn’t have been gone that long, could I? I bound upstairs, box in hand, and peek into my mom’s room. She’s alone, and asleep if her breathing is any tell. Is he gone? Did he leave? Did the penny work?
I retreat again to my room, hope struggling against the bonds of disbelief. Sleep is quick to find me and tuck me into its safe space inside my head. I dream of coins, moons, and water.
The following morning I nearly fall down the stairs like a kid on Christmas morning. But the person in the kitchen makes my heart drop to my toes. Don. He’s still here. Why?
“Mornin’ kiddo. I see you used your wish.” His voice drips with honey-sweet malice. I take a step back. My mom sits in the adjacent living room, rocking away and humming to herself under her breath.
“Mom, what was that? What was that penny?” I ask, panic rising. She doesn’t answer, only continues rocking.
“She can’t hear you,” gloats Don. “I suppose I should feel upset that you tried to get rid of me with my own gift, but I’m flattered. After all, it’s the thought that counts, right kiddo?”
“Don’t worry too much about it, you only have little traits of Autism. You’re perfect.”
Months later, my mind came back to a conversation I used to have with my sister.
Autism.
You’re perfect.
At first, I was skeptical about that. But after a month of researching about Autism, I finally began to understand why I faced struggles in the past. Now, I’m ready to share my feelings about my experiences.
I was about to accept that I’m different, but that was until I came across some article that talked about the giftedness of Autism. I’ve heard a lot (or too much) of how autistic people have had shared their experiences; gifted with barely any social skills. I’m born with struggles. There are other autistic people that are not so gifted; yet they have decent social skills with at least some sensory issues. I’m born with no sensory problems. I wasn’t trying to compare myself to other autistic people; I learned that Autism is a spectrum. I personally felt as If god accidentally gave me a wrong version of Autism; I knew god predicted that I’m too powerful to fit in this world, so god decided to create me with struggles instead.
It feels wrong for me to decide to write this. But let me tell you, these are all feelings I have right now;
God chose that because I’m too powerful to fit in this world.
Still feels sorrow for me to write this.
Autism.
You’re perfect.
Who am I? Do I have any purposes in life? Why do I feel as if I’m different from most people?
In this not-so-seamless world, most people I see are normal. Regardless, the struggles I’m born with have nearly obstructed me. I may have talents, but no matter how much talent I have, it never fulfills the talent itself. I am smart, but my learning difficulties have invalidated my intelligence. I’m gifted, or barely. I have good social skills, but a lot of anxiety brewing in my body every time I’m supposed to meet new people (even worse, meeting teenagers or at an age below what I’ve not met yet) and worry that they’ll exclude me for being different. I’m friendly, but my brain is sometimes vague on words, so that I might end up being rude for saying defective things by accident. I’m human after all, but why does my autistic brain think that all humans look like a pet sometimes?
That’s not to say that my autism defines me. All of my struggles in science, history, math, and health in classes I’ve taken. Now the only talent that I’m left with; Writing stories.
I remember my teacher gave an assignment to students to write our story for Halloween. I did, and my teacher enjoyed mine. If you want, I’ll write the same story that I’ve written in the past, although my original story has lost, I remember the story almost entirely.
Who knows what will I write after I die? Will I still write in somewhere that is beyond this world? I don’t know, and will never be able to.
As long as I keep expanding my English skills, and share my stories with my families and other people, maybe someday people will call me a gifted writer.
Autism.
You’re perfect.
Bao is a junior at HPSH. He likes to read books and do things on his computer (sometimes games). He is eager to gain knowledge and learn new skills. He likes to write stories, although he’s still on a journey of studying the structure of English. Favorite classes: piano and career classes.
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