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Now that my vacation is over I am really busy, my posts won't be as frequent. sorry

Unit Jumper

Unit Jumper

A shiver ran through Marcus as he crouched in the middle of a barren, corn field.  The looming, black, storm clouds drew closer and the wind began to pick up, ruffling his shaggy blond hair.  No other living being was outside of some sort of shelter; none, except him.  They had good reasons too; the storm that was approaching was supposed to be the biggest in thirteen years.  Yes, anyone in their right minds would not be waiting there for the forty mile an hour winds or dare to brave the deadly tornadoes that would be sure to touch down.  But they didn’t know the secret he did; he knew he would not be harmed in the storm, she wouldn’t allow it.  ‘She’ was the unnatural being that had appeared in every deadly storm that hit where Marcus was.  He never noticed her until the past year, however, he believed she was there because he realized how many near death storm moments had come his way, yet he was still alive.

The first time Marcus saw her she seemed to be floating down on a wave of leaves; Marcus was sure she was riding the wind rather than leaves.  He had been walking back to his farmhouse when the sudden storm hit and thing quickly grew ugly from there.  The tornado had formed in the field to his left and its path was heading straight at him; he knew there would be no escape from the deadly winds.  Then, she rode down on the wave of leaves; her hair was jet black and her eyes were a piercing light blue color.  Her skin was paler than any other Marcus had seen before, almost whiter than snow.  She landed about a hundred yards away from him and turned to look at him for a moment; in that moment Marcus experienced calm in the storm.  He couldn’t explain it, he should have felt fear or regret, after all he was seconds away from death.

 The girl looked away and walked towards the tornado, Marcus wanted to scream but nothing came out; he thought she must have been suicidal.  She entered the tornado and instead of seeing a body fling out, Marcus saw her rise in the tornado with her long hair flying in every direction as she raised her arms.  To Marcuse’s surprise the tornado began shrinking, and by the time it would have reached him, it was just a small swirl of wind in the girl’s hand.  She stood in front of him and blew away the swirl in her hand as if it was no more than a birthday candle, smiled at him, then ascended on the wave of leaves once more.

When Marcus had reached home he could hardly believe what had happened to him, and his mom could hardly believe that he was alive.  That was a year ago when he was fifteen, today, on his sixteenth birthday he felt an adrenaline rush as the lightning began, followed by the sound of thunder.  He wouldn’t stand now that the lightning started, not until she showed up.  The girl would never speak with him, but the mystery made her that much more intriguing.  The storm was upon him now, the wind whipping around him, and the rain pouring bucketful’s of frigid water on him.

Thirty minutes into the storm and Marcus had begun to lose hope, maybe she wouldn’t come today, he thought about running back to the house where his mother would wait with a worried expression on his face.  After his father had died in a tornado Marcuse’s mom was very protectant of all the kids during storms.  There were seven of them, Andrew was the oldest, then Marcus, next Jason and Jamie the twins, Jamie was the only girl in the family.  After the twins came Henry, and last was David.  Marcus was thinking about his family when a sudden, and very close flash of lightning jerk him back to his surroundings.

The storm was getting extremely dangerous; Marcus would have kicked himself if he had not been crouching on the ground.  Why was he so daring?  His need for an adrenaline rush would be the death of him.  Lightning was circling all around him when she appeared; this was the first time she rode no wind.  She descended from the sky on the steps of the lighting, and for the first time Marcus saw her as a radiant and very powerful creature.  Her feet touched the ground and the storm around them calmed, it was like they were in the eye of a storm.

“You like near death experiences, don’t you?”  She asked.  Her voice surprised Marcus, it wasn’t soft as he imagined it, or strong and powerful.  It was the most dangerous type of voice in the world, the kind that could manipulate you into doing anything.  Marcus knew he shouldn’t trust her, that he should have stopped looking for her in storms since the first time they met.

 “We have been watching you,” she continued, “You’re different, as are we.” She smiled and Marcus knew she was either drawing him into a trap or offering him a once in a lifetime opportunity; yet again his need for adrenaline and adventure won over.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, “And who are you?”

“Come with us and all will be explained,” She said in a singsong voice and Marcus struggled to keep control of himself.  She brought down another lightning ladder and extended her hand for him to take.

“Come with us, we can fill the void that haunts you every day.”  Marcus began to reach out and a smile started forming on the girls face, then all the sudden Marcus snapped out of it and jerked his hand back.

“Who are you?” He shouted and her smile quickly vanished, “What are you trying to do to me?  I am not as much of a fool as you might think.”

“If you were no fool then you would not reject our offer,” She hissed, her face inches away from his; he could smell the smell that only occurred after it rained.  “Come with us or our protection will leave you then what do you think your life would be like.  Your home lies in the path of our alley.” He knew she was talking about the tornado alley, and he realized for the first time that it was her who protected the family home through the years.

“Do you control the storms?” Marcus asked warily, she let out a long laugh that sounded like a sweet melody, and then replied with the former charm, all sting gone from her voice.

“We not only control storms but all elements; it is what we were appointed for just as you were appointed to care for the earth and the creatures that rely on it.”

“But if I am appointed to care for the land then why do you want me to go with you?”  Marcus challenged, he knew that if he pushed it to far then he and his family would pay. 

“Did you not hear me, I said you are different; every once and a while one of the land dwellers has a power surge flow through them and it can change their nature and they acquire a new trait so they may be approached to change their life.  Only a few people know about the different units and only they can approach new members.”

“So you want me to leave my family behind after what they have already been through, and following you into some unknown place, all because I am different,” It was more of an angry and confused rant than a question.  Marcus had no idea what to think about the whole thing; he wished they had never moved to that farm after his father died.  Everything was falling apart yet something in him wanted to go into the unknown; it couldn’t get any worse could it. The girls face had hardened once again.

“We are getting inpatient with you boy, we will be back at the next storm, then, you will have an answer.” Her voice that hissed out the words then, suddenly, she seemed to change her mind and her face softened then she spoke again, using the mesmerizing tone that was so dangerous.

“Just remember,” She said as she climbed the ladder of light staring down into his eyes, “Only two other land dwellers have changed their units; only two have ever had the privilege of being called a unit jumper.”  With those last words she disappeared into the clouds.  Rain once again poured down onto Marcus, but that was all that was left of the ferocious storm.

Marcus headed back to the farmhouse hoping to sneak inside, dry off, and pretend he’d been there the whole time however, his mom had other plans.  The instant he walked in the door she breathed a sigh of relief, but he had been warned too many time to receive any more gratitude of his return.

“How many times do I have to tell you to come home when a storm is coming, you know how dangerous they are.  You will not get out of this house again until I am sure you won’t go running off hoping to get ripped apart by a tornado……..”  Marcuse’s mom ranted on and on but he ignored the words to distracted by the choice he had been given.  He gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed up the stairs to get dried off not waiting for her to finish.

“This is the last straw,” she shouted up, “You hear me; I will ship you off if you don’t stop ignoring me.”

Marcus’s mom’s last words made it through his thick skull and bounced off the walls inside unable to escape.  She had been threatening that for the past three storms, Marcus was smart enough to know his mother would ship him hundreds of miles away, rather than see him die in a storm.  If he wanted to experience storms the same way he had for the past year he would have to become a unit jumper.  If he wanted to stay with his family he would have to give up storms, forever.  He thought about two words: family and storms.  He thought about which burned more, like a wild fire that couldn’t be contained, and which was icy freezing his skin.  He repeated the words aloud a few times to see his reaction to each of them.

Marcus stayed up almost all night thinking about the two choices; by three in the morning he had made a decision and drifted into a disturbing sleep.  When morning came he saw the skies were dark, promising another storm.  He headed downstairs to eat breakfast and his family was sitting there waiting for him.  While they ate the others carried an easy conversation; only Marcus and his mother remained silent.  He sneaked a peek out the window and smiled as he saw the clouds, big mistake.  For the rest of the day his mother frowned on him and made sure he never had a chance to exit the door; he had to get out, to leave.

 Marcus found his opportunity when his mother headed upstairs; he dropped the dishes he had been working on and darted to the door.  His mother saw him from the upstairs window and shrieked; she had lost him.  She knew he had been visited on his sixteenth birthday as had two of her children before him; one of them refused the offer but the first accepted it.  She now knew Marcus would follow his older sister into the clouds; He was heading out to meet her now, though he did not know.  Their eyes were the giveaway, the same light blue that mesmerized anyone who looked into them, just like their father’s.  She looked out and saw lightning flash, just one streak.  A shadow descended it waited at the bottom only for a moment, then, two shadows ascended the bolt and it disappeared into the other realm.

A Sunset to Remember

Hey this is kind of a children's story, let me know how you like it.:)

I am a barrel cacti, I am fifty years old and still young.  I live in Casa Grande, Arizona where the weather gets very hot and is often sunny.  I always point to the southwest so that I don’t get burnt.  To my right sits a prickly pear cactus, to my left stands a saguaro cactus.  The saguaro stands tall and when the sun sets he blocks my view of the beautiful sunset.  I often complain to him but he just laughs and says I need to grow taller.  Well, I am ten feet tall, and for a barrel cactus that is an amazing feet; it was clear I wasn’t going to get any taller.

 The saguaro called himself Guapo, which meant handsome; but the barrel decided to take on a more modest name, Epico.  Guapo was sixteen feet tall and had many arms that reached out in all directions; he teased Epico, since Epico was a plain stalk.  Every evening Guapo would stand tall and exclaim over the beauty of the sunset, he would never describe it to Epico; he would only say that it was more beautiful than the last.  Epico resented Guapo for this and every once and a while he would yell at him for his audacity.  

Cosa Dulce, which meant sweet thing, would calm Epico down on these occasions.  She was the little prickly pear that dwelt beneath him; she would never be able to see the sunrise or sunset for she was too short.  A building blocked her way on the east and on the west both Epico and Guapo blocked her view.  Epico was always courteous enough to describe the sunrise down to the smallest detail.  Epico also noticed that she was never irritated with either him or Guapo for standing in her way; Cosa Dulce always seemed to be happy.  Epico decided he would try and acquire Cosa Dulce’s optimistic attitude and for years after he became less infuriated with Guapo.

It had been seven years since Epico had learned to be content, and he had still never seen a sunset.  Guapo was too proud to describe it to him and still teased him about his lack of limbs; but Epico’s temper never was raised.  Now Epico saw that Guapo had become sullen and the tall proud cactus he remembered was slowly disappearing.  One night Epico woke with a start to a loud thud, he glanced over and saw Guapo slouch down even more than he had been and heard a loud sigh.  He could never tell but he believed Guapo had lost one of his marvelous limbs.  The first frost came upon them and Epico toughened it out; he knew Cosa Dulce would be able to stand it, but Guapo had been getting worse and worse.  

It was now three months into the winter season and daylight broke; Epico and Cosa Dulce watched the sun rise, for the building which had hindered her view had been removed.  She loved watching the colors blend together in the crisp morning sky, and never grew tired of seeing the golden rays of sun come over the mountains.  The sun had risen and the daily show was over; Epico heard a sigh and turned his attention to Guapo.  The cactus that had once been tall and proud stood now slouched appearing that he would collapse at any moment.  Already there was a steady wind coming in and Clouds began to cover the sky; it would be a cold day.

 “Tonight,” said Guapo breathing deeply and heavily, “Tonight you will see a sunset.  I am sorry that in my prime I was too prideful to realize that it was a phenomenon meant to be shared with everyone.  I am sorry.”  He said and Epico didn’t even know how to respond.  The aging cactus needed no reply for he had drifted away preparing for the next gust of wind that would bring him to his knees.  It came towards the evening, and when it did Epico looked away; there was a loud crash then it was over.  Epico looked back and saw the mighty Cactus lying on the desert floor, then, it happened, a mighty sunset, far better than any Guapo had seen before.  There is no way to explain it; all you who saw it would understand, and when it was over Cosa Dulce asked for him to describe it.  “When I fall,” said Epico, “You will understand, for it is something far beyond explanation.  I will fall before you Cosa Dulce, and you will see the beauty and the splendor that is, a sunset.

Something Funny??????

The Queen of His World

It was well into the night when Nadia climbed out her bedroom window.  She had moved to the first floor after her parents died; the change brought fewer memories of them.  She quietly made her way to the back yard and followed it until the she arrived at the edge of the woods.  She stood now on the edge, pausing for a brief moment before slipping into her nightly dwelling place.  Swiftly she made her way to the little stream that flowed through the enchanted forest she called her kingdom.  She ascended upon her throne, which was no more than some tree roots with moss and woven grass mats to create a comfortable seat.  To Nadia, this was the most wonderful place in the world; a place where the worries of the lighted world vanished, where she could sit and think for hours without crumpling down sobbing.

Ever since her parents died Nadia slept little, ate less, and smiled even less; her bubbly personality vanished, and she believed that it would never return.  It had been three months, and everything in her life changed.  She was fourteen and was thinking about going to a public school, since she had been homeschooled, for the first time her freshman year.  Now, she didn’t even want to be around the people at her church.  Everyone just seemed to bring up her parents or ask how she was doing; she would mentally shout, “I was beginning to feel like today I wouldn’t be haunted by the memories of my parent’s faces but, thanks to you, I am thinking about them.”  Out loud she would simply mutter that she was doing better.

 It was partially the truth, every time she visited her kingdom she would return in the morning refreshed and ready to take on another empty day.  However, if she was unable to visit her hiding place, her face would be the dwelling place of a dark shadow.  It had gotten so bad that she believed she was awake and alive in her little world and every time she left it she drifted into a nightmarish slumber.  No one knew what was wrong with her because she never told anyone about it, the woods were her secret kingdom and she hoped that it would always be that way.

Nadia’s mind was so sick, that one day Devon, a boy who’s family had been friends with her family for years, found her crumpled on the edge of the woods sobbing.  He had started towards her when he heard her crying out in a soft voice, “Why do you leave me?  Why do my fair folk shut me out when the sun rises?  I belong in there let me in.  Open the gates so I may dwell among you forever.”  Worried, he carried her inside, and all the while she never even noticed that he was there.  Now, Nadia arose from her throne in the wilderness and began to leave, for she knew that her magical kingdom only lasted when the sun was hidden.

 Nadia slowly walked out of the trees as the sun arose from its hiding spot and she turned to face it, as she did every time she came out.  “Let the golden rays of the fire orb protect my fair place and all the folk that dwell in it.  Curse is anyone who enters without the fair folk’s consent.”  With that she turned away preparing herself for the nightmare she was entering.  Nadia walked over to the house, climbed into her window, and prepared herself for the day; she looked in the mirror and saw she had dark circles under her eyes and her face appeared hollow and ghastly.  She applied enough makeup to make herself look at least a little bit healthy and got dressed in fresh clothes.  It was summer, so she had no school to do but it also meant she had nothing to do, which she hated.

Nadia knew Devon would be over to try and take her with him to do something other than sit and mope, as he always did.  He was careful with her and tried to coax her to come out of her sickly state of mind; she could tell he worried about her, but convinced herself that he was just a dream and when the great golden key fell from the sky, he would go with it.  However, there were times when Devon and his brothers were able to bring back some of Nadia’s old spirit, and she would feel a flow of life shoot through her.  Those days were some of the best of her life, but in her state of mind she was determined to believe that the feeling was some sort of evil trickery, to lure her into the haunting world where she would never again rule over her fair people.

When Nadia entered the kitchen, she found Devon was already there with his younger brother, Gavin.  They had some pancakes that Nadia’s older sister probably made, before she went to work; Gavin was the first to notice her.  “Aidan,” he shouted with his mouth full of food, he always said her name backwards, which either made her smile or it made her mad, today she was feeling a little happier so it made her smile.  “We were told to make sure you ate something since you didn’t eat diner.”  Devon and Gavin lived four minutes away by driving and ten minutes by walking and at least someone in their family was always over.  “Sam is not here.”  Said Nadia referring to her sixteen year old brother who was Devon’s age; she would always say that, even though she knew Devon was there to keep an eye on her.  “I know,” Was always his reply.

 Gavin, who was ten, had already cleaned up a large helping of pancakes and was getting some more, he, always had room for food.  Nadia sat down and Devon slid a plate of pancakes, that had already been buttered and had syrup poured on them, across the table to her.  He would sit there as long as it took until she ate at least half of the food.  Nadia learned to go ahead and eat them before he started forcing her to, that way she made herself believe she chose to do it.  When Nadia finished with most of her food, she threw away the rest and started washing dishes.  When she was done she joined Devon on the porch while Gavin was climbing the front tree.

Nadia felt alive today, and up for any adventure Devon would throw out at her.  “What are you going to try and drag me into today, Devon?”  She asked but she had no way of preparing for what he would say.  “Can we take a walk through the woods?”  He asked so softly that Nadia could almost believe the words never left his mouth; at least she hoped they didn’t.  “What did you say?”  She asked, every muscle in her body was beginning to tense up with anticipation.  “You know what I said Nadia,” He replied in a soft voice, “After dad comes to pick up Gavin I want to see the woods.”  “You can see the woods, unless you’re blind.”  Nadia nervously chuckled, no one, not even Devon would enter her woods.  “Nadia,” He said so kindly that she just wanted to cry, “You know what I mean, and if you ever want to get better, you have to show someone what you’re hiding in the woods.”

As Nadia stared at the ground Devon’s dad drove up, picked up Gavin, and waved as he drove away.  It was a long time before Nadia answered, “I can’t, because they won’t let me.”

“Who won’t?”

“My fair folk,” Nadia replied in a whisper, “They only let me in at night.  They wouldn’t accept you anyways, you are a dream and they believe you are trying to take me from them.  They need me to watch over them and their homes, so no one from the dream world will destroy them.”  Nadia looked up into Devon’s eyes and saw so much pain that she wondered if he was real instead, but why would there be so much pain in something real, who would ever want to live in this world.  She looked away, her good day had been ruined; she wished the golden key would fall and she could enter her kingdom once more.  “Nadia,” said Devon, his voice strained with emotion, “I am what’s real, not your people in the woods.”

“No, they said you would try to change me, they told me to stay away from you.  I thought that you were the only person in the dreams I could trust, now you have taken that from me.”

“Nadia think, think long before you ever saw the woods what do you remember?”

“All I remember is pain, there was a man and a woman in my dreams, I loved them dearly, and this cruel world decided to destroy them.”

“They were your parents, and it wasn’t a dream world that was the cause of their death, it was ice on a bridge.”

“The dream world created the ice it wanted me to feel pain so succumb to its wishes.”

“No the only dream you are living is in the woods, listen to me, please.”  Both of their voices were raising now, Devon’s in desperation, Nadia’s in frustration and confusion.  “My fair folk are no dream; they love me and treat me like their queen.”  Nadia said her voice had lowered and she was hugging herself and rocking back and forth on her seat, she was staring at no apparent thing.  “Nadia,” Devon said as he went over and knelt before her so she would have to look at him.  His voice too had lowered to its soft caring tone, “If you’re fair folk were real, then they would let you in the woods during the day.”  He took hold of her hands, trying to make her stop trembling.  “But they love me and I am their queen,” She said confused.  She had stopped rocking and her body went eerily limp; she slumped into the seat like she had lost all ability to move.  Her face took on a haunted and betrayed look and she stared off into the sky as though she was deep in thought.  “Hey sweetie,” Devon said so tenderly that it brought her out of her mesmerized state, “Let me take you into the woods and you can decide if you want to stay there forever or come back with me, please?”  It was a question that Nadia didn’t want to answer, but she absent mindedly nodded her head and Devon stood and picked up her frail body.  

Nadia clung to Devon’s neck as they neared the edge of the woods; he paused at the edge then followed her well-trodden path to the stream.  He saw her throne, set her upon it, and as he sat back, the bright rays of the sun shone through the trees and hit her golden locks making them shine.  To him she never looked so beautiful than that time when she was sitting peacefully on the bed of moss, with her eyes closed and her frail body folded up.  After a moment he noticed she was looking at him; there were tears showing in her eyes and all she said was, “They won’t answer will they.”  She needed no answer and he did not wish to give one, so he silently picked up his queen and carried her back home to the world where she chose to stay.  She entered it then and left it many years later with her head laying on his shoulders and her golden locks flowing down his back.

Ideas

Hey if anyone has any ideas about what I should write about feel free to let me know. Some of the stuff I post will be geared more towards younger kids because if you get a story line in your head it is impossible to get it out unless it is written(or typed) out. If anyone sees something that needs edited feel free to speak up; I am still a young writer and will make a lot of mistakes. Thanks all.

By the way

I am going to be in Arizona for a little while so if I don't post anything it is because I am visiting with relatives. Thanks for your patience with me. :)

Getting Started

Well, this is my first blog, ever,so bear with me. I decided to create a blog based on my interest in writing and will try to post some stories up as often as I can. I am working on a long book and, most likely, will not post any of that book however, I will try to put up some short stories. In addition to writing I also enjoy taking pictures so, I will, sometimes, put up some pictures to go along with my stories. Again, this is my first time doing a blog so we'll see how it turns out. Thank you. :)