Category: Short Stories

A slightly exaggerated, partially true story.

The phone is lying in the waterproof phone case.  The lid is open.  I glance up.  The phone’s going to get wet if I don’t close the phone case… I crawl onto the side of the yellow sailboat, barely wide enough for me to kneel on.  I edge my way to the front of the boat.  One hand at a time.  Right forward, then left, right, left… 

I peer into the waves.  Dark, muddy waves.  Don’t fall in.   I lift my right hand.  I’m reaching for the lid, my hand at its full extent, brushing the edge of the container.  Suddenly, my left hand slides off the side of the boat.  My fingers rake the little sailboat’s side before I plunge into the water.

I grip the front of my life jacket. My lungs are going to burst. As my bare feet touch the bottom of the lake, I see the earlier accounts of my day fly before me like a tape recorder unwinding.    

---

“Here, Jubi.  You can take the rudder.  Lay it where those big rocks are.”  Daddy deposited the bulky apparatus into my arms.  While I toted it to a large flat rock on the edge of Lake Ray Roberts, Daddy hauled the mast out of the truck bed.  I peered across the water.  Looks a little dark… I wonder what swims in the water? Great whites with rows of sharp teeth?  20 foot killer whales?  I’d never been sailing before, and was a little nervous… Okay, to be honest, I was terrified of falling in the water.  I shuddered and hurried back to Daddy to assist in unloading.

A few minutes later the various parts of the boat were leaning against the rocks. We assembled the boat and unfurled the sail.  Daddy beamed at me, his dimpled grin and dark eyebrows almost convincing me that sailing wasn’t so bad.   I cautiously stepped into the boat and sat down so my legs stopped wobbling.   

A light warm breeze blew from the south.  The air smelled like water and pecan trees.  The Texas summer sun beat on our backs, but we didn’t care.  In other words, Daddy didn’t care because he was enjoying himself; I didn’t notice because I was staring endlessly at the water and gripping the side of the boat.  Sprays of cool water splashed from the stern. It had rained a few days before, so the water was muddy brown, but the sky was bright blue.  Our boat made ripples behind it as we sped along.  It was indeed the perfect day for enjoying one’s self.  

After a while, I loosened my grip on the boat and listened while Daddy showcased various parts of the ship (two different parts, in fact; the rudder, and the boom). Daddy demonstrated steering the boat using the rudder.  When you turn the rudder, the boom swings over so the sail can catch the wind.  

“You just have to make sure to duck when the boom swings or you’ll get hit in the head,”  he warned me.

I grinned.  Sailing is effortless!  I decided to steer the rudder while Daddy worked the ropes that attached to the boom.  Soon, we were reclining in the boat, breathing in the beautiful day.

After a peaceful hour, we steered toward shore.  We had sailed only a few hundred yards from the rocky outcrop when Daddy snapped his fingers.

“Oh, shoot!  We forgot to take a picture!”  

“Huh?”

“We should have taken one back there when we were in the middle of the lake!”

“Oh. Well we can take one now.”

“Guess so.”  Daddy fumbled with the waterproof case that held the phone and keys.  I leaned over his shoulder.  He pulled out the phone and tapped the screen.  Large letters appeared across it: OVERHEATED.  

“What should we do?”  I asked.

“I’ll just leave it open so it can cool off before we get back.”

“But Daddy, you shouldn’t.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“It’ll get wet!”

“We’ll close it in just a minute.”  

I sighed.  I almost let it go… but what if it got water-logged and damaged?  How would we contact Mommy if something happened?  And if the key’s battery case was damaged, our vehicle wouldn’t unlock.  I didn’t want to be stranded!  I forgot my fear of deep water as I made up my mind.  I had to close the phone case!   

---

Back to the present, I bobbed to the surface.  The boat is already a few yards away.  I’m glad for my swimming lessons!  Daddy steers the boat towards me.  I scoop and kick with all my might.  He releases the rudder, extending his hand to help me up.  I scramble into the boat, dripping.  Whew!  I’m back on board!  

CRRREEEAAAKKK!  

Suddenly, the boom swings towards us.  Barely missing Daddy’s head, it flings the boat to one side.  We’re both hurled into the water.  I hit the waves and bob to the surface.  

The boat has rolled over on its side.  Daddy reaches up and hangs on the wooden keel.  The top side of the boat lowers, then levels with a splash!  Daddy and I grip the side of the boat, ready to climb on.  And then we remember…

“The phone.  And the keys.” Daddy searches the murky waters.

“I told you to close the case!” 

“Should I dive for them?”

“No way!”  I pause and look up timidly. “Are… are there sharks in the water?”   Daddy eyebrows furrow.

“You never know.”  He gazes into the distance.  “Pretend you’re in a boat and a shark is about to gobble you up.  How do you survive?”  

I stare blankly at him. “Daddy, stop pretending,”  I whimper.  

“Exactly!”   He laughs.  Huh?  How does that make…  Suddenly I burst out laughing.  Relief fills me as I realize: of course, there are no sharks in a lake! 

---

We returned to shore and loaded everything into the truck bed.  Then we strolled down the paved country road, laughing about our adventure.  

We spotted two ladies swimming in a large blue pool behind a tall black fence.  Daddy explained our situation to them, and they gladly allowed our entrance.  He borrowed their phone and dialed Mommy’s number to ask her to come pick us up and bring the spare truck key.  While he called, I listened to the conversation between the women.  

“Did they ever find out what happened to that poor man swimming in the lake?” asked one lady.

“Yeah, they found his body at the bottom.  They say the only thing that could have made those bite marks is a shark.” The second lady waded to the edge of the pool.

“My friend told me that her friend said she saw it.  She said her friend said it’s nearly fifty feet and it comes out every night!”  

The second lady smirked. “What an exaggeration! But then again, more than one person’s gone missing since that man.”

“Boy, I’m glad we have a pool!”

The two ladies laughed.

10-Year-Old-Me Writing Comparison

Hello readers! I thought it would be fun to compare a story I wrote when I was 10 to the edited version. Enjoy!

* * * * *

EDITED

Technically, no one was supposed to swim in the river.  There were signs all along the path leading to it, but when you can jump the back fence and land on the river side…

 Besides, nothing bad ever really happened in that tiny cottage home.  The scariest moments were probably when the beans burned on the stove and the smoke detector went off, or when the neighbors’ huge bulldog chased the cousins around the yard.  So today, today, the cousins had finally convinced their parents to let them go down to the river!

Anda and Philip lived in the last two cottages on Wind River Ln. with their parents and Philp’s little sister, Ella.  Though every house on Wind River Ln. was small, the backyards were huge!  A gnarled hollow oak hobbled in the gale just outside the back door.  In the grass waved poppies and bluebonnets, so that when one stepped onto it, a strong, sweet, outside smell came up.  Plum and peach trees dotted the yard in front of the porch, but farther back all kinds of rough-barked oaks, and vines twisted into a jumble.   For a hundred yards this mass kept up, until it cleared to reveal a smooth, black, metal-railed fence.  There, the wind blew spray from the river, splashing the children on their freckled faces, as if inviting them to play.

 And how they wished they could swim in it!  The water looked so cool when the sun was egg-frying hot, but their mothers were skeptical.  For all 11 years of her life, all Anda had been allowed to do was look.

ORIGINAL

The front of the yard was dotted with fruit trees, but the back was mostly an overgrown mass.  There was one hollow, odd-shaped sort of tree in front of the mass that was dead.  But the best part was being able to feel the wind-blown water splash on their faces from the river behind the fence.  The cousins wished they could swim in it.  The water looked so cool on hot summer days, but their mothers thought they weren’t old enough to go in such dangerous water.

EDITED

It all began on a Saturday.  Anda and Philip slouched on the couch, tapping their fingers on the table, barely speaking a word.

“Why don’t y’all go outside?” Anda’s dad asked.

“Don’t feel like it.”

“Wanna…read a book?” Philip’s dad suggested.

“Nope.”

“How about helping me fold clothes?” Anda’s mother motioned to the laundry basket piled high.

“Mmmm”  Anda groaned.  That was the voice her mother used that meant, “Chore time!  Everyone, come help out!”  She slowly rose from the chair.  Uhhhh!  Long day!

**********

After what seemed like hours of folding to Anda, the clothes were all put away neatly in the drawers and closets.  Sighing, Anda seated herself back on the recliner.  The dads were whispering in the corner.  The moms were chatting about some club meeting that evening.  Anda and Philip stared at nothing in particular.

“Hey kids!  Wanna go down to Stonepool River?”  

The mom turned from their conversation to stare at the dads.  The cousins’ eyes were wide.  Even Ella, Philip’s little sister, stopped playing.

“Um, David!  Are you sure about this?

“Yeah, sure!  The signs are old. Remember when they were doing construction on the bike path?  They must’ve forgotten to pull down all the signs.  I’ve been down there, and it looks okay.  It’ll be fine, honey!”  The cousins danced around the living room.

“Hooray, Hooray!”  

Before the moms could change their minds, the children whizzed back into the room with their swimsuits, life jackets and toys.  Anda had gotten a new, beautiful teal life jacket, and she was excited to try it on.  It was a little too big, but Anda hardly noticed.  She didn’t want to wear her old life jacket which had a hole in it and a ketchup stain from the time she had her birthday party at the lake.  Soon, the cousins were lined up at the door.  Well!  What can a mom do?

“Alright!  But DON’T GO IN ABOVE YOUR WAIST.  And ALWAYS STAY IN SIGHT OF AN ADULT!  Understand?”

“Okay!  Let’s go!”  cried Anda.

“No horseplay!  Make sure you tighten your life jackets!  And don’t forget…”

ORIGINAL

So the day the cousins’ parents told them they were going to swim in Whirlpool River,  June 28th, they dressed so fast that the adults sent Philip’s dad, David, to watch Anda and Philip while the others dressed in their swimming gear.  

Anda had gotten a new, beautiful teal life jacket, and she was excited to try it on.  When she put it on though, it was too big, even at the smallest size.  But it was so pretty that Anda didn’t tell her parents.  She didn’t want to wear her old life jacket which had a hole in it and a ketchup stain from the time she had her birthday party at the lake.

EDITED

Philip sprinted ahead of Anda who skipped beside her Uncle David.  

“Don’t go in the water!” Philip’s dad shouted after him.  Philip arrived on the sandy cove long before the others.  He kicked off his sandals and immediately began searching for something interesting to add to his collection at home. Philip kept a pile of odd things in his house, which he claimed he was going to make inventions out of.  Each day, the pile grew larger one thing at a time.  Philip continued to scavenge.  He found a few snail shells, but they were common ones, so he threw them into the rushing water.  Soon, Philip found a sharp piece of blue glass, and a spool of old, white thread.

ORIGINAL

Philip ran ahead of Anda who walked with her Uncle David.  

“Don’t go in the water!” Philip’s dad shouted after him.  Philip arrived on the tree-covered sandy beach long before the others, and immediately began searching for something interesting for his collection at the house. Philip kept a pile of odd sorts of things in his house, which he claimed he was going to make inventions out of, but most of them were just sitting in his room.  He found a few snail shells, but they were common ones, so he threw them into the rushing water.  Soon, Philip found a sharp piece of blue glass, and a spool of old, white thread.

EDITED

Just then, his dad and Anda stepped onto the beach.  Anda was already slipping off her shoes. After Philip’s dad made sure Philip’s life jacket was secure (not Anda’s, who insisted hers was tight enough already), Anda wandered off to the far side of the beach.

“Kids!” Glass and thread in hand, Philip turned around.

“Yes?”

“You remember the rules, right?”

“Yes, Dad!” said Philip.  Anda didn’t answer.  She was gazing along the shore of the river, grinning.

“You may go play in the water now!”

“Hooray!” shouted the cousins.

ORIGINAL

Just then, his dad stepped onto the beach.  After he made sure Philip’s life jacket was secure (not Anda’s, who insisted hers was tight enough already), Anda wandered off to the far side of the beach.

“Philip!” Glass and thread in hand, he turned around.

“Yes?”

“Son, stay where you can see us. Do not go out of our sight!  If you cannot see us, you are too far!  Do you understand?”

“Yes Dad!”

“You may go play in the water now!”

“Hooray!” shouted the cousins.

EDITED

“Philip! Look at that rock!  It’s like a rock wall!  Come on!”  cried Anda

“Anda!  Wait!” But Anda had already taken off.  She giggled as cold water splashed at her feet.   Then she rushed into the water upstream and disappeared behind a pine tree. Philip stuffed glass and thread in his pocket and raced to follow her.  She was far ahead of him.  He ran faster.

ORIGINAL

“Philip! Race you to that tree!”  Anda pointed to a tree, well hidden among the other trees, and not visible by the beach.

“Anda!  Wait!” But Anda had already taken off.  She giggled as cold water splashed at her feet.   Then she rushed into the water and disappeared behind a towering pine. Philip stuffed the glass and thread in his pocket and raced to follow her a hundred yards behind.

EDITED

Meanwhile, water swirled around Anda’s knees as she pushed her way through the water.  The water rose higher.  The current was strong, but Anda had confidence in her feet firmly planted on the bottom of the river.  Anda pushed her leg through the water.  She waded a little farther, putting her foot out to take a step, but without warning, the sandy bottom gave way.  Anda felt her foot sinking into water.  Surely the bottom’s not that far down!  Her head went under the water, and her life jacket slipped over her head.  The current immediately shoved Anda forward with a force that knocked her breath out.

“Anda!” Philip shouted.  He watched helplessly as his cousin was carried downstream.   “Dad!”  

But no one answered.  There was no time.  Anda, who had been farther upstream than he was, now came closer and closer.   She was in his reach.  He held out his hand to grab her arm, but in the same moment, something tugged his foot loose and he was jerked forward into the jaws of Stonepool River.  Only One could save them now.

ORIGINAL

“Anda! No! Dad said to stay…”  It was too late.  Anda slipped and was carried away down the rushing river towards Philip.

“Anda!” Philip glanced around.  His dad, who was supposed to be watching the cousins, was distracted finding snail shells on the sand.  Even if I do call him, he won’t hear me, thought Philip.  Suddenly, a few yards away, he saw Anda.  As she whooshed by him, he grabbed her arm, but Philip also lost his footing, and fell into the hands of the current.  The water was above their heads in the deepest parts, and stronger than a bull.  The current pushed Anda under so long she thought her lungs would burst, but before they did, she bobbed up to the surface. 

“Lord!  Save me!”  cried Anda.

* * * * *

You can make up the rest. XD

11-Year-Old-Me Edited Writing

Hey, ya’ll! I thought it would be fun to share some of my writing from when I was about 11 years old. It’s been slightly edited for easy read but it’s otherwise mostly the same. 🙂

Backstory: Two cousins who live next door to each other and are practically siblings are going on a road trip to see family for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

* * * * *

The car made its slow way around the bend in the road in the “wail of the gale”  as the cousins had joked a few hours before.  The wind wasn’t really that strong, but it still made a howling noise.  

Suddenly, the car lurched to a stop.  Ezra banged his hand on the steering wheel for the fiftieth time.

“Stuck again!  We’ll have to clear out that ice again!  Come on David.”  The two men opened the passenger door and both disappeared in the freezing wind.   When they finally stepped into the SUV again, they were covered in snow and ice, and their noses were red from the cold.  Ezra took the wheel again, and they drove off at a very slow pace.  

But it was only a few minutes before David cried,

“We’re stuck!”

“Yep!  We sure are.  Hey kids! Wanna help?”

“Really, Ezra!  Are you sure it’s safe?” asked Thea.

“Yeah, sure it is!  It’s just a snowstorm, anyway.  We’ll get the car moving the faster we get it unstuck.”

“Please, may we help!” pleaded Anda.  The mothers glanced at each other and gave in.

“Alright, but promise you’ll be very, very careful, and you must hold onto the car at all times!”  Aria warned the children.

“Yes, and obey your fathers.”  Thea added.  

“Get your coats!”

“Keep your gloves on the whole time!”  

So, amidst worries and warnings from their mothers, Anda and Philip slipped out of the van to help David and Ezra.  Anda took a deep breath and cold air rushed up her lungs.  Then she hobbled over to the other end of the SUV in her heavy jacket to assist her cousin.  The two chipped and pounded with their fists, but the snow kept melting into water and freezing the tire into a fixed place on the road.  

Anda began to notice the cold.  Her hands felt like pins and needles in her gloves.  The freezing snow streaked across her stinging face.  Not only did she feel the cold, but she also noticed that the wind had begun to pick up.  Quickly, quickly!  Find out how to detach this car from the ice!  thought Anda.  Suddenly, she had an idea. “Hey!  Maybe we can find a stick in that tree to use!”

“But Anda!  Mom said…”  But Anda had already taken off.  Philip ran after her.  With every step, the wind gained strength.  Anda reached the tree and grabbed a strong limb firmly in her gloves.  Philip grasped the other side of the branch.

“Three, two, one, pull!”  Philip shouted over the storm.  The two children yanked with all their might, and though the branch did make a slight cracking sound, it didn’t budge.

“Oh great!  Now what?” wondered Anda.

“Well, don’t give up so easily!”  exclaimed Philip.  So the cousins heaved and yanked and pulled and puffed and gasped as the wind grew yet stronger.  

“You’re right!”  Philip huffed.

“Let’s go ask Dad what to do.”  The cousins turned toward the direction of the SUV, but the wind-carried snow made it increasingly difficult to find the van in the whiteness.  Anda had to squint to keep snow out of her eyes.  The car was nowhere in sight.  They walked until Anda was sure they had hit the road.

“If we dig, we can be sure we are standing on the gravel.”  Anda realized.  So her cousin stuck his hand into the whirling snow and pushed it aside until his hands ached from the freezing wetness.  But his fist hit twigs and dirt.  The two children peered into the distance.  A sound had caught their attention.  

“We must be very close to the road.  That sounded like a car!”  Anda and Philip proceed towards the sound. 

Just then, Philip shouted, “Anda!  Isn’t that our car?”  He pointed to a shadowy appearing object.  It was the car!  Anda and her cousin stumbled and slipped in the snow towards the shadow, but at that moment, the shadow began to move.  Slowly at first, but gradually faster and faster!  

“Oh no!  The SUV is leaving without us!  Run Anda!  Mom, Dad, Aunty Thea, Uncle Ezra, wait!”  screamed Philip.  But the van was long gone. 

Lord, I don’t understand, but help me to still trust you, Anda prayed.

* * * * *

You may never find out what happens next… *evil cackle*

Hey, friends! So excited to have my friend Ali on my blog! Enjoy reading this short story!

By Ali Timmer

Faithful stared out of her window, watching as the Servants Of The King Of Life, the ones who worked at His Palace, hummed merrily on their way to work. Faithful straightened her shoulders, and took a deep breath. Tomorrow, at this time, she would hopefully be joining those Servants. The King had done so much for her, by making this safe nation where she, a widow, could find her refuge. The King had often talked with her, as he tried to do with all of his newcomers. 

She hoped for a job as the Head Chef. Faithful was a righteous and kind woman, but when she came to apply for a job in the kitchen at the palace, the officials said 

“You must first prove yourself faithful in very little before we can put you in a higher poison.” 

So they put her to wash dishes and help clean in the kitchen. 

At this time there was also another woman named Dishonor who also applied for a kitchen job at the palace. But when the officials replied to her in the same way they replied to the first woman, she cried,

 “I can handle more than a few dishes! Let me be the Head Chef!”

The officials debated whether or not to let the woman even work there. Finally, they allowed Dishonor to be one of the Servants, but they did not give her the title of Head Chef. “Perhaps her attitude will change,” they muttered.

A few days later, Faithful was washing dishes with Dishonor, when Faithful said to Dishonor,  

“What a wonderful day!It’s a wonderful day, isn’t it?”

 “What’s so ‘wonderful’ about it, when we have to stand here, washing other people’s dishes?!” Dishonor snapped. 

“I’m sorry you’re not enjoying your day,” said Faithful gently.

“Washing dishes is easy.! It’s just boring! Why, I have the skills of the head of the Palace Kitchens. But no, they had to put me as a dishwasher!” Dishonor threw her soapy hands up in exasperation.  Faithful dried her hands on the towel and put a hand on Dishonor’s shoulder.

“You know, I’m sorry you feel that way, but whoever, ‘is faithful in very little, is faithful in very much, and whoever dishonors little, dishonors much.’ Don’t you know that wise saying? Jesus said it.” asked Faithful. 

“No. And I don’t care what this Jesus man has to do with anything!” screamed Dishonor. “It’s not fair!  I deserve the position more than anyone!  I should be Head Chef! Not standing here working!”

When the officials heard what had happened, they fired Dishonor. In time, Faithful was proven righteous before the officials. One week, they made her the Head Chef.

With God’s help, she ruled the kitchen wisely and lovingly. 

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much….”

-Luke 16:10

Hey, ya’ll! I’m so excited to share a guest post with you today! Thank you so much for letting me share this, Bethany!

By Bethany Marland

Black walls with odd, multicolored sparkles embedded in it were the first and only thing the team of heroes could see when they woke up. Cuts and bruises marked the skin of the heroes that wasn’t covered by garishly colored costumes. There were three of them, all masked.

One stands, her white cape hanging limply off her shoulders. “Where are we?” Her young, fragile voice shakes.

Another hero puts his arm around her. His gray hair obscures his eyes. “I’m not sure, but it will be fine.”

The other man, standing at the girl’s shoulder, nods firmly, his blonde curls bouncing.

A harsh laugh bounces through the room, and the heroes all startle and look around.

A woman, dressed in all black, and with a hood pulled low over her face, stood apart from them.

The two male heroes jump into fighting positions.

The figure chuckles. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

The gray-haired hero frowns. “You are the villain who locked us up in here.”

“Am I the villain?” She places a hand on her hip and strikes a thinking pose, tapping her pointer finger against her barely visible chin. “Why, you might just be right! After all, I’ve imprisoned the city’s most beloved hero team!” She suddenly points to the girl. “Queen Lily, known also by her civilian name Jessica.”

Queen Lily’s eyes widen with horror. “How do you know my name?!”

The woman laughs. “I know everything about you.” She looks at the blond man. “Golden Cold, known as Leon. Your hero name is absolutely terrible, by the way.”

He bristles.

Finally, she turns to the gray-haired man. “And of course, how could I forget you. The man who led his team so poorly and is completely fine with abandoning young souls to be harmed.”

He blinks, lips pursing into a frown.

“Agent Hawk, otherwise known as Mark. A truly heartless man has never been known.” The woman’s voice has gone truly bitter.

Agent Hawk clenches his gloved hands into fists, making the fabric squeak. “Who are you?” He demands.

The woman stills. “Guess.”

He scowls. “Just get out with it!”

“Cassie.”

He freezes. The other two watch, Queen Lily’s dainty eyebrows scrunched together, and Golden Cold’s mouth pursed. “Hawk?” Jessica questions. “Do… do you know her?”

He runs a shaky hand through his hair. “You… you can’t be Cassie.”

She laughs, then pulls her hood down. Red hair spills down her shoulders, framing a young face marred only by a large scar that goes across her forehead, over the bridge of her nose, and down to the tip of her chin. “But I am.”

“But the villain-!”

“Is now dead, as you thought I was.” She laughs.

He takes a step back.

“Look at me, Hawk. See what has happened?” Her eyes that had been green a moment ago suddenly darkened black. As soon as Agent Hawk makes eye contact with her his eyes darken to the same color. His shoulders slump and he stands still. “That’s right.” She whispers and smirks. She then snaps her fingers, and Agent Hawk straightens.

His hands begin to glow a red, and he launches himself at Golden Cold. The man, caught unawares, lets out a pained yell as Agent Hawk begins to pummel him.

Queen Lily watches, her mouth open wide with shock. “No! Hawk, stop!” She grabs Agent Hawk’s arm and tries to pull him off, but he merely flings her away.

Cassie laughs. “Sorry girly, but he’s not your teammate right now.”

There’s a crunch and a scream, and Agent Hawk steps away from the motionless Golden Cold. He stares at Cassie blankly, eyes still dark.

Queen Lily runs towards Golden Cold, only for Cassie to gesture quickly, and Agent Hawk grabs Queen Lily and throws her down. The wind rushes from her lungs, and she gasps, inhaling painfully.

She stumbles onto her feet only to be shoved right back down and then pinned to the ground. There is silence for a moment as Queen Lily stares up at Agent Hawk in betrayal. Then Cassie begins to slowly walk towards them, the tap of her boots on the floor the only sounds besides the labored heroes’ breathing.

She pauses and looks down at Queen Lily, then smiles. “Poor thing. You don’t know what he’s done to get this far, do you?” She kneels and runs her finger along Queen Lily’s sweat streaked brow. “He’s murdered, cheated, killed, any who stood in his way to become the hero he is today. He betrayed one of his own team members who caught him.” She casually plucks the mask off Agent Hawk’s face.

The man’s face is lined with tension, his eyebrows scrunched together. A developing bruise just below his eye gave testament to the fight Golden Cold had given. Cassie looks back to the pinned hero. “He betrayed *me. *And now I’m going to make him hurt as much as I did.” She stands and steps back, then claps her hands.

Agent Hawk begins to attack Queen Lily. She screams helplessly, but soon she’s in the same condition as Golden Cold. Cassie calls him to stop. She directs him to stand in the middle of the room, where his beaten team members are visible to him, and releases him from her control.

His eyes fade back to a light blue, and he shakes his head, seeming to get his bearings. But then he sees what’s around him. Queen Lily and Golden Cold, motionless on the ground; Cassie, smirking triumphantly. His eyes go wide. He looks down at the blood on his gloved hands. His legs give out and he drops to his knees as sobs rise in his throat.

Cassie watches, a cold smile pulling at her lips. “What’s wrong, Agent Hawk?”

He looks up at her, his eyes filling with fury. He stands and charges at her. With only a few moves she has him on the ground, pinned and helpless. He starts sobbing again. “Just kill me!”

Her head tilts, and she frowns. “Kill you? Oh, Agent Hawk.” Her voice drops to a purr. “I’m not going to kill you. No, you need to atone for what you’ve done. This is all your fault, after all. You’re the one who did this to them, did all this to me. And everyone will know it.” Drawing a rope form a pocket in her cape, she yanks his hands behind his back and tightly tied him up, not bothering to make sure his hands would get circulation. “And I’m going to be the one who brings it to light.” 

She leaves the room through a door, only to come back a minute later and place a sticky note and a disk by Agent Hawk. She pats him on the head. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” She whispers, then exits again.

Moments later, police burst into the room, guns drawn and ready. They stare in shock at the sight of the heroes. Agent Hawk, trussed up like a common criminal, and the other two beyond help.

One of the men finds the disk and note. He glances over the note once before doing a double take and rereading it.

Dearest Police, this is your criminal. The disc this note is attached to is a video of Agent Hawk attacking his teammates. You will find all the other evidence of his other illegal activities over the past years on the disc. Thank you, from a concerned citizen.

The police take Agent Hawk down to the station and watch the disk. It showed him beating up Golden Cold and Queen Lily and did indeed hold evidence on some illegal things he had done several years ago.

Agent Hawk was pinned for the murders of the two heroes, and put into a prison for villains. The entire city mourned the loss of their beloved heroes. But when a new villain arose, they began to worry.

Until a black clad hero wearing a hood that always covered their face swooped in and saved them. The city happily accepted this new hero, exalting them and appointing them to be their new savior.

Cassie always laughed hard after every one of her staged villain battles. People were so gullible.

Thanks for Reading!

Jabarri placed his hands on his shaking knees.  His hood hung loosely around his shoulders and streams of water dripped from his dark hair.  He squinted through the sleet as the last strut holding the center of the bridge slid downwards with a creak.  

If he had been a second too late… His heart felt like a speeding train, hammering so fast it rattled his chest.  

A faint boom was heard as the strut shattered on the rocks below and the torrents of water washed the shards away.  The remainder of the bridge tried to cling to the sides of the cliffs, but cracks etched themselves in the rock.  Jabarri backed away a few feet.  

The bridge sagged and cracked in two.  Large chunks of the cliffs came loose and crashed into the water, sending tidal waves in every direction.  Jabarri’s knees felt as though they would not hold him anymore.  He sank to the rocky ground and stared down into the watery depths.

When the muddy foam had settled, Jabarri picked himself off the ground and turned away from the drop off.  He walked back to the gravel road on wobbly legs.  The sleet sloshed into the brown puddles and splattered on the road.  Jabarri’s old flooded boots crunched steadily on the gravel and the water in them sogged his socks.  

Jabarri stopped.  He heard the faint sound of feet on gravel and an odd scraping sound through the rain.  Another figure hobbled round the bend in the road.  Jabarri watched as the man moved the cane in his hand from side to side.  

His name was Anker.  He could often be seen hobbling about the outskirts of the village, but no-one looked his way.  The scraping from the cane on the gravel continued as the man neared Jabarri.  

Jabarri’s mind instantly flashed back a few seconds before to the sound of the bridge breaking apart and crashing into the water.  Would Anker know the bridge had fallen?  Maybe blind men could tell when there was nothing before them to step on…  After all that’s what a cane was for. But what if he didn’t? 

No doubt Anker was heading for his home across the bridge.  Jabarri took a deep breath to call out to the blind ma—

What would Anker think of his voice?  

Jabarri’s tongue froze on the bottom of his mouth and he snapped his mouth shut.  People often commented on his voice.  It sounded…well, nasally and high-pitched.  It sounded like an annoying little kid.  A whining annoying little kid throwing a tantrum.  In other words, ridiculous, and it was no wonder that people noticed it.

It was, in fact, so ridiculous, that Jabarri avoided the public as often as possible.  Hence him being out on the bridge alone in the rain.

Anker scraped along with his cane.  A turtle could have beat him in a race.  Jabarri’s heart thumped.  He would tell the man about the bridge when he was a few feet away.  Anker plodded on.  The scraping noise on the gravel was becoming a nuisance.  

He was only ten feet away.

Now two yards.

Jabarri would begin to talk in a few seconds.  He would say, ‘Sir!  The bridge is out!’  A few more steps and then he would say it. 

Anker crept a few more steps until they were only three feet apart.  Now, now he must say the words!  Anker stopped so suddenly Jabarri jumped back, but he managed to hold his tongue.

“Hello?  Is anyone there?”  Anker wheezed in his spindly voice.

Any minute now the words would come out.  Jabarri was a frozen statue, with the sleet pouring onto his wet head and around his feet.  Now!  He should have warned the man long ago.  His tongue would not move.  

Anker took a few tiny steps toward Jaberri, his high-pitched gasps escaping the thin opening between his lips in a white cloud.  A lock of Anker’s gray hair fell over his glazed eyes.  Jabarri was motionless.  

“Hello?  Is someone here?”  

Jabarri held his breath.  Anker stretched his cane out and slid it across the ground.  It went a little too far and hit Jabarri on the side of his old soggy boot.  The old man stumbled and fell at Jabarri’s feet.  His cane toppled and one end landed over his boot.

Jabarri did not move.  What if the man had, instead of hitting Jabarri’s boot, hit a rock and went plummeting down the cliff?  Jabarri opened his mouth to say, ‘Sir!  Pray don’t go any farther!’ but only got as far as, “S–” before silencing his breath.  He thought the sound he made was like the buzzing of an insect.

Anker felt around for his cane.  His hand slid across the gravel, inches from Jaberri’s boot.  He could not feel the cane because it rested on the boot and was a few inches above where he was feeling.  

At last he lifted his arm slightly and the back of his hand brushed the handle of the cane.  He felt around the torn leather and wooden sole of Jabarri’s boot until he wrapped his fingers around the handle.  

“I could have sworn that it was a man’s boot I felt.  I must be getting old indeed.  Not even my fingers recognize what they touch.”

Anker placed his left hand on his knee and held his cane with his right.  He rose slowly until he was standing straight, only inches from touching the only other living soul on the road.  Jabarri did not move. 

The blind man wrinkled his brow.  “I could have sworn I heard someone else, but I suppose I am going deaf in this rain,” he muttered and turned away.  His cane scraped the gravel.  Scriiitch!  Scraaatch!  Back and forth.  Away he went down the path.  Jabarri turned his head.  He opened his mouth to speak one last time.  

And there it remained open until the man disappeared around the final bend before the bridge.  

He could still run up to the man and warn him before he fell.  Jabarri took a step in the direction of the bridge.  

Was it the sleet filling his worn boots that prevented him from moving?  Rainwater dripped down his nose and his breath came out before him in foggy puffs.  

If a blind man could tell that there was a person even when the person made no sound, then surely he could tell that the bridge was out even if no-one told him so!  Of course!  Why hadn’t Jabarri thought of that before?  

Jabarri nodded smartly to himself.  Then he turned on his heel.  He hurried away as fast as he could walk until he reached his hut.  He swung the door open and slammed it behind him.

Anker teetered on, swinging his cane before him.  His ears instantly caught the sound of the rushing water.  Ah yes!  He had made it to the bridge.  Only half a mile left and he would be home.  Suddenly, his cane hit a rock.  He gasped and stretched his hands out to catch himself, but behold!  The ground had disappeared!