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euclaise
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WritingPrompts_binarized

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Split (1)

train · 353k rows

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	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	Mint Juleps. Your flashlight catches glimpses of dust floating aimlessly in the airspace of the stairwell. The voices ofyour friends grow more distant as you contemplate climbing further. You had found a door towards the back of the master bedroom, one would assume it was just a closet, but it had led you here. Kat, Tasha, and Adin had convinced you to bring them along on this escapade. Your parents had left taking care of grandmas things up to you, and they thought it would be fun to make a game out of it. After all you weren't very close when she was alive. You weren't even very close when she remembered you. Their laughter bounces off the walls as they rummage through boxes of knickknacks and telemarketed items. But it fades as you creep up the steps. The smell of old books, aged fabric, and dampness wrap around you as you open the door at the top of the stairs. &#x200B; "Oh, it's just an attic." &#x200B; You speak out loud, almost startling yourself with how contrasting your voice feels in the quiet of the room. Glancing around its hard to see with just your torch, but you notice a chord hanging in the center of the room. When you pull it the room is touched with a soft glow, but a trunk seems illuminated among the various boxed and draped chairs. It creaks when you open it, a small shriek. There are various quilts and blankets, all seemingly handmade. But among fabric folds lies a glistening glass box with bubble flowers in the lid. You pull out the box and admire the work, you'd recently been intrigued by glass work. Funny, maybe your grandma made this? You'll ask dad later. &#x200B; You notice an attractive pink showing through the glass, adding a light blush to the roses. Opening the box the blush turns to rouge as rows of small candies identify themselves. They smell like strawberries and mint, and are shaped in small rounds, imperfect as if each had been hand crafted. You pick one up with your forefinger and thumb, and move it towards the light. Looking through there seems to be specks inside. You squint to get a closer look, bringing it almost to your eye. There's something there. You swear there's something more there. You just can't quite see it. &#x200B; "Whatchya looking at?" &#x200B; You startle, standing in the doorway is Kat, glancing curiously at you. &#x200B; "Oh, nothing just looking around, I found this cool box." &#x200B; You respond. Quickly stashing the candy into your pocket. You don't know why but you feel the need to hide it. She walks over and looks at the box holding the candies. Admiring it as you had a minute ago. She opens the box, mesmerized by the candy. Your heart rate picks up. You don't want her looking at them. &#x200B; "Where's everyone else?" You ask. &#x200B; Pulling her out of her trance, you take the box and place it back in the trunk with the blankets. Whatever it is, the others don't need to see it. &#x200B; "They're just downstairs, we found some cool old VHS tapes, we were hoping you knew where a player was." &#x200B; The two of you walk downstairs and you all spend the rest of the night watching home videos of your mom when she was a child. You swear you saw the box in that video. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; By 3 am you still can't sleep. Something about the attic, that box, those candies has gotten a hold of you. You feel like the beginning of a movie. The music is starting and the horns are swelling, you feel a call to something bigger than you. To your adventure. You need to investigate, you need to see them one more time. You feel deep in your gut that you need to eat one. The shoes across the room are suddenly on your feet, and your jacket swung around your arms. You were dressed and out the door. Riding your moped at night sketched you out, but this seemed important enough. The wind sobers you up a little. Why was it so important? Why did you want to know the candies were okay? Was is a good idea to try one? When you pull up to your grandmothers house Kats car is already in the driveway. &#x200B; Your stomach drops. &#x200B; In a rush you slam your peg down, throw off your helmet, and run inside. Breath heavy, the sound of your heartbeat fills your ears, bounding the steps you reach the top of the staircase. The master bedroom has Kat's bag in it. &#x200B; "Kat! Kat, why are you here!?" You shout up the stairs as you enter the door frame. Your voice is filled with anger. Or was it dread? &#x200B; When you walk into the attic the light isn't on, but the moon sits in a small window across the room, barely illuminating a figure you believe to be Kat. She looks at you and the light spills on her face, streams of tears glisten. You don't know how but she looks as if she's aged. She seems sunken. The box is nearbye, strewn on the floor and completely empty. Your stomach bubbles with a stew of emotions. They're interconnected and confusing, almost impossible to identify. Mainly you feel stolen from. You snap back to reality when you hear a small sob come from Kat. &#x200B; Everything washes away as you see her there, so broken. You walk over and sit with her, and gather her in your arms. She is your best friend; your love for her overshadows any other thoughts. &#x200B; "What happened?" you ask. &#x200B; "They're's gone, I can't see them anymore. They're just gone." Kat lets out in a whisper. &#x200B; "Who's gone Kat?" you coo. &#x200B; "River, they're out there, and I'm here, and there are no more candies." she lets out in a sob. &#x200B; "Who are they? How do you know them?" &#x200B; "I've loved them for three months over there. The candies took me there. And I knew they would run out but I got so caught up, so excited. I hadn't realized our time was up until there wasn't anymore. And I miss them so much." &#x200B; You're perplexed by her story, but you feel your heart reach out. You remember the candy in your pocket. For a second you want to keep it to yourself, but you're revolted at the thought. &#x200B; "Here." Her head lulls to you as you prod her to open her eyes. &#x200B; You hold out the last candy with an open palm, her eyes brighten, she lifts up like a balloon man being filled. Tentatively she reaches out for the candy. Her mouth opening and closing, contemplating the possibilities. &#x200B; The pain. &#x200B; "Do you want me here for after?" you ask. You don't know why but her approval seems important. It feels like you need her to want you there. &#x200B; "No, I think I'll want to be alone." Kat lets out. &#x200B; She looks at you, so grateful. You can't say no to the look on her face. You feel as if leaving is the only thing to do. The best thing to do by her. You get up to leave, turning back at the door frame, watching her settle into a laying position on the floor, holding the candy up to the moon, staring at something inside. Just before placing it into her mouth. &#x200B; Walking down the stairs you hear her start to call out to River, but halfway through her voice falls away, as if taken. &#x200B; You wonder if you are truly doing the right thing. &#x200B; The ride home is brisk. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; The next day your mom knocks on your door, waking you up. &#x200B; Apparently it's 1:30 pm, you've slept in. It was one of the best sleeps you've had in a while. &#x200B; Your mom has a funny face on, almost like the one she wore when you were nine and your 'dog had gone to a farm far away'. Sitting up in bed a lump gathers in your throat, you try to swallow it down but it sinks into your stomach. She sits on the edge of your bed next to you, placing a hand over yours. &#x200B; "Honey, something really bad happened. I don't want you to blame yourself, you couldn't have known she was depressed. None of us knew... Kat is gone. She died very early this morning."	When I walked into the room and saw the dour, serious looks on the faces of my cousins and brother, I wanted to walk right back out. I paused just long enough for the door to be shut behind me and my sister pushed past rudely with only a muffled sorry that could be misconstrued for an insult. "What's this about?" I asked although I didn't need to since I knew precisely why they were here. My brother sighed and the others looked to him and then just before he spoke, my sister hissed, "We know you were her favourite, but that doesn't give you the right to live in her house for free." My brother, always the go-between, said, "What Jasmine is trying to say is that the market is as high as it's likely to get, according to Paul." They all looked at my cousin with his bright white veneers, tanned skin, and real estate agent plastic sheen. He nodded. Then all eyes turned back. "We need to put it on the market. Soon." They all murmured in agreement. They had definitely practiced what they were going to say before they ambushed me in my grandmother's living room. They perched all over her brocade flowery sofas and chairs with predatory ownership. Paul then started to talk about the value of the house, the comps he had shown all of them, the images he took and the website url he had purchased to for the marketing of a quick sale. I stared at him as he droned on. There was no talk about me buying the house, we'd already had this discussion and I already was declined by the bank for the mortgage. I couldn't afford it. My heart plummeted as the fear grew. There were only 8 candies left. I was nowhere near to finding the recipe. I had rationed out the use of twenty-one candies during the previous six months and wasted one of them before I realised that the candies didn't work outside of the house. The house was the key and there had to be a recipe in here. Somewhere. "She's not listening," my sister snarled, interrupting Paul's recitation of some smarmy promise or another. "I am," I lied. "Then you understand why as executor of the will, you will have to do something about this soon. We already nearly missed a tax deadline." One of my cousins said, probably Bethany the accountant. She was still really pissed that I had been named executor instead of her. Mind you, they all were. If any of them had been executor of Gran's will then the house would have been sold and they wanted the sweet feel of inheritance money sliding into their bank account. But I wanted the recipe more. "I don't think we should sell until I've found her safe." "Safe!" Jasmine snarled and my brother talked over her in the voice he used whenever he wanted to end the arguments between us. "If there is a safe, the contractor that we've hired to run through the house with a metal detector will find it. He will be here on Saturday so you have 24 hours notice. The house goes on the market Monday or we will take you to court to contest the will." To this, they all nodded. Resolute. Fury and fear and white hot rage rushed through me, but I could do nothing. I could say nothing. All my cousins and my siblings stood as if someone had rung a bell and they left out the door, leaving me to stand alone in the musty living room, dust settling in their path. I had 24 hours. Or I would never see him again.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	(Cursing ahoy, ye be warned) If you’d have told me yesterday that I’d consider a lone piece of Chocolate an affront to god and man, I’d have told you where you could shove said chocolate. And yet, there it is. It’s practically taunting me, laughing spitefully from its little corner of the small box. Smug little shit. The funeral was 5 days ago. You’d think I’d be relieved somewhat - after all, I was 16 when Mom got sick, and it’d been 8 long years of hard work and borderline poverty. Surely I’d seen my duty through, and my freedom from my burden warranted celebration? ...Yeah, you’d think so. But I’d learned in that time just how fair weather most relationships were. My sister’s too busy with her husband on the East Coast to call, most of my friends drifted away after high school, and the one that’s left only calls to hang out when he’s weepy drunk or needs money. Truth is, Mom’s all I had. When she died, I felt...hollow, without purpose. Didn’t help that I’ve never been what you call socially capable. Dating apps for young curmudgeons aren’t exactly a booming market. So when the Will was read, and I found that that my family’s ancestral home had been left to me, I figured it was a fair enough deal. It’s a roof, at least. The house’s value did little to appreciate further when I found the old box of chocolates in the attic. Kevin Jones, home-and-chocolate-owner. Truly a model citizen and paragon of responsible adulthood. And my third grade teacher said I’d never amount to anything. Little had I known, at the time, how important those chocolates would become that I’d be one day staring at the last one with the gravitas of staring at the last swallow of water in the goddamn Sahara. No, no they AREN’T that good, for your information. They’re rotten and taste like shit. But still, I’d eat a thousand just to see her for 15 minutes more. Since I found out what those things do, I haven’t left the house in 5 days. I’m fairly certain the neighborhood kids have started circulating haunted house stories. As I hold the last chocolate in my hands, and ponder over what I’m about to do, what I’ve been preparing since yesterday for, I’m reminded of a story. When some guy went to the electric chair a while ago, his last words before they flipped the switch were “Let’s rock.” I wonder if a moment of existential, romantic doom warrants those words of defiance as much as ACTUAL doom. ...Nah. I guess not. I pop the chocolate into my mouth, and do my best to ignore the sour filling as the darkness envelops me. ———————— My vision clears and I find myself sitting against a wall, next to one of the large, cylindrical monstrosities that pass for dumpsters in this city. Jesus. 30 chocolates and not one of ‘em had had the decency to deposit me into a building. In this case though, it’s proven to my benefit. The area I’ve been dumped in is in fact the local Park, just outside the city proper, and an excellent place to acquire something special for this meeting, something I do with great haste before proceeding into the brightly lit city streets. I can’t help thinking about the first time I’d seen it, sprawling like it does. The bizarre, hovering vehicles. The large neon signs, with small golden specks of light dancing inside the tubes like glitter, beckoning passers-by inside for a drink, gambling, entertainment, and “Entertainment”. not that I’d been inside many. I don’t do well with crowds. I carefully eye the passing signs, finally settling on a bright sign, shaped in the image of a strange glass, closely approximate to an hourglass with an opened top, sitting next to a bottle of indescript alchohol with a red lipstick kiss on the front. ...Classy, I guess? I make my way inside, passing several booths before I finally set eyes on her. She sits alone at the bar, tossing her wild, swept-back mane of bright electric blue hair from her left shoulder, and tapping one heel-clad shoe impatiently as she struggles to keep her evening gown in place. Guess I called it right dressing up this time, I think, straightening my waistcoat as I sit. It’s the same outfit I wore to the funeral, but I’ll just keep that one to myself. “There you are!” She huffs, folding her arms and making a pouty face as she adjusts the white cloth choker around her neck. “You’re late, you know.” “I know, I know. I’m sorry. But I have a good reason.” I say, bringing out the small, wrapped bundle I’ve brought from the park. I unfurl it and hand her the four white flowers I picked from the park. “For you.” Her emerald eyes soften instantly, brimming with poorly disguised joy. “Aww...Angel Whiskers. My favorite...” She gives me a sweet little smile. The same one that penetrated my defenses the day we first met. “You remembered...but you’ve never even seen them before. How did you know?” I suddenly feel as if a sun lamp is focused on my cheeks. “C’mon, Feleene. You told me the day we met, remember? You kept going on and on about the little whiskers that grow from the center and how you like how they tickle your nose.” She giggles a bit, a little snort escaping before she tries to cover it up. I don’t know why she does that, really - I think it’s cute. “Right, the day my hove broke down and you carried my stuff to the club for me. I’m surprised you were paying attention. You were so mad and you just kept cursing, even when I showed you around afterwards...” She giggles a bit more. “You’ve come a long way from being such a grouch, you know.” “What can I say? Guess you bring out the best in me.” She smiles her disarming smile. “Or maybe we bring out the best in each other.” The heat lamps return. I opt to change the subject before I die of over-flushed face. “So...nice place.” “Oh, isn’t it?” She motions to the stage. “The manager’s really nice. He was so impressed he lets me sing every Friday. It’s not much, but he says he gets talent agents through once in a while, and I’ve even got fans already - a couple asked for my autograph last night. It’s so exciting!” She places a hand over mine. “...And I never would’ve had the courage to ask if you hadn’t pushed me to.” Steady breaths, Kev. “Y-Yeah...I mean, I’m sure you would’ve in time. You’re a great singer. You just need to be confident. ...So, does that mean you don’t have to dance at the club anymore?” She sighs. “Don’t I wish. But I’m living my dreams now, so I have something to look forward to every week...aside from you, that is.” Her own cheeks take on a rosy tinge as she peers sidewise at me. “By the way...the other girls still say they want me to introduce you sometime.” I clear my throat uncomfortably. “Yeah...about that.” She drops her gaze sadly, idly swirling her finger in her drink. “I know...you’re not going to be able to come back after the next two days, huh?” She doesn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, she reaches out and damn near pulls me off my stool, burying her face in my chest as she wraps her arms around me. Her voice come out muffled, and slightly on the verge of tears. “I’m...really going to miss this. I love you...y-you know that, right?” I do the best I can to reciprocate the hug with my own shaky hands, resting my chin in her fluffy hair. “Yeah. I love you too.” She raises her face from my chest, pausing to wipe away a tear. “H-hey, crazy idea. I know I pulled some strings to get you into the hotel, but maybe instead...you can stay with me tonight? I just-I want to make as many memories as we can, while we can, y’know?” Oh, crap. This is NOT part of the plan. “Uh...o-okay.”	When I walked into the room and saw the dour, serious looks on the faces of my cousins and brother, I wanted to walk right back out. I paused just long enough for the door to be shut behind me and my sister pushed past rudely with only a muffled sorry that could be misconstrued for an insult. "What's this about?" I asked although I didn't need to since I knew precisely why they were here. My brother sighed and the others looked to him and then just before he spoke, my sister hissed, "We know you were her favourite, but that doesn't give you the right to live in her house for free." My brother, always the go-between, said, "What Jasmine is trying to say is that the market is as high as it's likely to get, according to Paul." They all looked at my cousin with his bright white veneers, tanned skin, and real estate agent plastic sheen. He nodded. Then all eyes turned back. "We need to put it on the market. Soon." They all murmured in agreement. They had definitely practiced what they were going to say before they ambushed me in my grandmother's living room. They perched all over her brocade flowery sofas and chairs with predatory ownership. Paul then started to talk about the value of the house, the comps he had shown all of them, the images he took and the website url he had purchased to for the marketing of a quick sale. I stared at him as he droned on. There was no talk about me buying the house, we'd already had this discussion and I already was declined by the bank for the mortgage. I couldn't afford it. My heart plummeted as the fear grew. There were only 8 candies left. I was nowhere near to finding the recipe. I had rationed out the use of twenty-one candies during the previous six months and wasted one of them before I realised that the candies didn't work outside of the house. The house was the key and there had to be a recipe in here. Somewhere. "She's not listening," my sister snarled, interrupting Paul's recitation of some smarmy promise or another. "I am," I lied. "Then you understand why as executor of the will, you will have to do something about this soon. We already nearly missed a tax deadline." One of my cousins said, probably Bethany the accountant. She was still really pissed that I had been named executor instead of her. Mind you, they all were. If any of them had been executor of Gran's will then the house would have been sold and they wanted the sweet feel of inheritance money sliding into their bank account. But I wanted the recipe more. "I don't think we should sell until I've found her safe." "Safe!" Jasmine snarled and my brother talked over her in the voice he used whenever he wanted to end the arguments between us. "If there is a safe, the contractor that we've hired to run through the house with a metal detector will find it. He will be here on Saturday so you have 24 hours notice. The house goes on the market Monday or we will take you to court to contest the will." To this, they all nodded. Resolute. Fury and fear and white hot rage rushed through me, but I could do nothing. I could say nothing. All my cousins and my siblings stood as if someone had rung a bell and they left out the door, leaving me to stand alone in the musty living room, dust settling in their path. I had 24 hours. Or I would never see him again.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	Mint Juleps. Your flashlight catches glimpses of dust floating aimlessly in the airspace of the stairwell. The voices ofyour friends grow more distant as you contemplate climbing further. You had found a door towards the back of the master bedroom, one would assume it was just a closet, but it had led you here. Kat, Tasha, and Adin had convinced you to bring them along on this escapade. Your parents had left taking care of grandmas things up to you, and they thought it would be fun to make a game out of it. After all you weren't very close when she was alive. You weren't even very close when she remembered you. Their laughter bounces off the walls as they rummage through boxes of knickknacks and telemarketed items. But it fades as you creep up the steps. The smell of old books, aged fabric, and dampness wrap around you as you open the door at the top of the stairs. &#x200B; "Oh, it's just an attic." &#x200B; You speak out loud, almost startling yourself with how contrasting your voice feels in the quiet of the room. Glancing around its hard to see with just your torch, but you notice a chord hanging in the center of the room. When you pull it the room is touched with a soft glow, but a trunk seems illuminated among the various boxed and draped chairs. It creaks when you open it, a small shriek. There are various quilts and blankets, all seemingly handmade. But among fabric folds lies a glistening glass box with bubble flowers in the lid. You pull out the box and admire the work, you'd recently been intrigued by glass work. Funny, maybe your grandma made this? You'll ask dad later. &#x200B; You notice an attractive pink showing through the glass, adding a light blush to the roses. Opening the box the blush turns to rouge as rows of small candies identify themselves. They smell like strawberries and mint, and are shaped in small rounds, imperfect as if each had been hand crafted. You pick one up with your forefinger and thumb, and move it towards the light. Looking through there seems to be specks inside. You squint to get a closer look, bringing it almost to your eye. There's something there. You swear there's something more there. You just can't quite see it. &#x200B; "Whatchya looking at?" &#x200B; You startle, standing in the doorway is Kat, glancing curiously at you. &#x200B; "Oh, nothing just looking around, I found this cool box." &#x200B; You respond. Quickly stashing the candy into your pocket. You don't know why but you feel the need to hide it. She walks over and looks at the box holding the candies. Admiring it as you had a minute ago. She opens the box, mesmerized by the candy. Your heart rate picks up. You don't want her looking at them. &#x200B; "Where's everyone else?" You ask. &#x200B; Pulling her out of her trance, you take the box and place it back in the trunk with the blankets. Whatever it is, the others don't need to see it. &#x200B; "They're just downstairs, we found some cool old VHS tapes, we were hoping you knew where a player was." &#x200B; The two of you walk downstairs and you all spend the rest of the night watching home videos of your mom when she was a child. You swear you saw the box in that video. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; By 3 am you still can't sleep. Something about the attic, that box, those candies has gotten a hold of you. You feel like the beginning of a movie. The music is starting and the horns are swelling, you feel a call to something bigger than you. To your adventure. You need to investigate, you need to see them one more time. You feel deep in your gut that you need to eat one. The shoes across the room are suddenly on your feet, and your jacket swung around your arms. You were dressed and out the door. Riding your moped at night sketched you out, but this seemed important enough. The wind sobers you up a little. Why was it so important? Why did you want to know the candies were okay? Was is a good idea to try one? When you pull up to your grandmothers house Kats car is already in the driveway. &#x200B; Your stomach drops. &#x200B; In a rush you slam your peg down, throw off your helmet, and run inside. Breath heavy, the sound of your heartbeat fills your ears, bounding the steps you reach the top of the staircase. The master bedroom has Kat's bag in it. &#x200B; "Kat! Kat, why are you here!?" You shout up the stairs as you enter the door frame. Your voice is filled with anger. Or was it dread? &#x200B; When you walk into the attic the light isn't on, but the moon sits in a small window across the room, barely illuminating a figure you believe to be Kat. She looks at you and the light spills on her face, streams of tears glisten. You don't know how but she looks as if she's aged. She seems sunken. The box is nearbye, strewn on the floor and completely empty. Your stomach bubbles with a stew of emotions. They're interconnected and confusing, almost impossible to identify. Mainly you feel stolen from. You snap back to reality when you hear a small sob come from Kat. &#x200B; Everything washes away as you see her there, so broken. You walk over and sit with her, and gather her in your arms. She is your best friend; your love for her overshadows any other thoughts. &#x200B; "What happened?" you ask. &#x200B; "They're's gone, I can't see them anymore. They're just gone." Kat lets out in a whisper. &#x200B; "Who's gone Kat?" you coo. &#x200B; "River, they're out there, and I'm here, and there are no more candies." she lets out in a sob. &#x200B; "Who are they? How do you know them?" &#x200B; "I've loved them for three months over there. The candies took me there. And I knew they would run out but I got so caught up, so excited. I hadn't realized our time was up until there wasn't anymore. And I miss them so much." &#x200B; You're perplexed by her story, but you feel your heart reach out. You remember the candy in your pocket. For a second you want to keep it to yourself, but you're revolted at the thought. &#x200B; "Here." Her head lulls to you as you prod her to open her eyes. &#x200B; You hold out the last candy with an open palm, her eyes brighten, she lifts up like a balloon man being filled. Tentatively she reaches out for the candy. Her mouth opening and closing, contemplating the possibilities. &#x200B; The pain. &#x200B; "Do you want me here for after?" you ask. You don't know why but her approval seems important. It feels like you need her to want you there. &#x200B; "No, I think I'll want to be alone." Kat lets out. &#x200B; She looks at you, so grateful. You can't say no to the look on her face. You feel as if leaving is the only thing to do. The best thing to do by her. You get up to leave, turning back at the door frame, watching her settle into a laying position on the floor, holding the candy up to the moon, staring at something inside. Just before placing it into her mouth. &#x200B; Walking down the stairs you hear her start to call out to River, but halfway through her voice falls away, as if taken. &#x200B; You wonder if you are truly doing the right thing. &#x200B; The ride home is brisk. &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; &#x200B; The next day your mom knocks on your door, waking you up. &#x200B; Apparently it's 1:30 pm, you've slept in. It was one of the best sleeps you've had in a while. &#x200B; Your mom has a funny face on, almost like the one she wore when you were nine and your 'dog had gone to a farm far away'. Sitting up in bed a lump gathers in your throat, you try to swallow it down but it sinks into your stomach. She sits on the edge of your bed next to you, placing a hand over yours. &#x200B; "Honey, something really bad happened. I don't want you to blame yourself, you couldn't have known she was depressed. None of us knew... Kat is gone. She died very early this morning."	“Ow! You hit my eye!” “Whatever, you deserve it for making a pun like that.” “Oh whatever. Puns were great back in my day. Besides, you’re the one who set it up. I’m just the one who took the opportunity.” “I think you’re—“ My eyes shot open and my mouth erupted with vomit. The ‘CandyLand’ as I called it, was gone once more. The smell of fresh grass was replaced with the scent of old paper and my own puke. The sound of Selina’s laughter and animals was replaced with rain tapping on the attic window. For a few moments, I was distracted by the ceiling of the house. It had been a while since I stopped to look at it—and I noticed that it seemed a little more vintage than normal...It didn’t keep my attention for long. Ignoring the pile of puke right nearby, I looked to the candy right by me. It was the 5th one left and now only half of it was left. I might have to stop eating the candies like this. I grabbed the orange, chewy candy and yanked off a piece with my teeth. I started using this method of rationing a few days ago—and so far it’s efffective, but highly unpredictable. Sometimes it’s rather ineffective as it brings me back at the worst times. But I better get back before she’s alone again. I’ve been really wanting to make my move on her today and if I go this long without telling her the truth, I might never get to. So I laid back down and let my eyes close. When my eyes opened, I saw the clear blue sky and felt perfectly soft grass beneath my feet. Instead of a creaky, hard wood floor, I was now laying in the high grass next to Selina. “You puked, didn’t you?” “I dunno what you’re talking about,” I shrugged, then turned to her. We both made eye contact. She always looked so beautiful underneath the sun. Her blue eyes always looked so simply perfect with her ginger hair. She was the kind of beautiful who wore her looks with confidence and ease. Whenever I watched her move, I wondered what it’d be like to be that gorgeous. So when she threw her head back and laughed, I didn’t look away. “That’s the third one you’ve had today. I can’t imagine how your brain must feel right now.” “It feels happy—now that I’m with you.” I chuckled as I said it. I felt myself blush when I heard her giggle. “Oh Bo, I dunno what I’ll do when you can’t visit anymore....” she shook her head. But she was wearing a smile as she continued...”I’m honestly unsure of how you’re not out of candies already.” “Don’t worry. I’ve been rationing them,” “Rationing them?” she raised her head, “How so?” “I’ve been eating bites of them instead of the whole thing. It’s working out pretty well so far...” “Wait are you kidding?” she suddenly seemed very alarmed. She turned onto her side and stared down at me. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it...” My voice drifted off while I watched her react. She placed a hand over her mouth. Her eyes began to flicker in multiple directions. Still avoiding eye contact, she moved her fingers before speaking: “I’m worried that you could be dying,” I could feel my shoulder blades tense up. This wasn’t the first time I had watched her jump to the worst case scenario, yet I instantly trusted that this could be more serious. “Why would I be dying?” “Don’t you understand? I told you that this place wasn’t for anybody else yet. It’s just you and me so far...And with you coming in and out I mean...there could be something you’re not telling me.” “What is there to not tell you? I’m only gone for three minutes at a time there, so there’s not a lot else that can happen.” “I mean yeah when you binge like this but...all of the other times... “...Why would I be dying?” my words hung within dead air for at least a minute. She was avoiding my gaze, yet looked as if she was holding in laughter. As if she had some secret little thing I didn’t know about. She did that all of the time. So I tilted my head to the side before continuing, “You remind me of my grandma. You’re always too worried about my health. That’s probably why she kept all of that candy in her attic—probably to just stash it all for herself and hide it from her grandkids.” I chucked. When we locked eye contact at last, her eyes were bulging. “Bo, I am your grandma. Don’t you realize that?” I felt myself inhale to respond. Then I woke up again. This time, there was a distinct moment of quiet...and then my throat started to pump out more hot chunks of bile. With my whole body shaking, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and started to push myself off the ground. I pressed my fingers to my pulse and it wasn’t there anymore. I felt a hand on my shoulder— “Ah!” I yelped and turned to see Selina. She seemed horrified. “You really are dead,” “How am I dead?! How could I have died?!” “I don’t know! How did you not know that I’m your grandmother!?” her volume and apparent frustration started to increase. I had seen her like this before—but I had never been more horrified to adore it before. “Why didn’t you tell me when we first met?!” “WHY DIDN’T YOU RECOGNIZE ME?! HAVEN’T YOU SEEN THE PHOTOS OF ME IN THE ATTIC? DON’T YOU REALIZE WHAT MY FIRST NAME IS?!” she started to scream. “WE NEVER VISITED YOU!” I could finally feel how dry my throat was. It could’ve been hours since I had a drop of water. “SO THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE, HUH?! WHY ARE YOU HERE EATING MY CANDY, THROWING UP IN MY ATTIC, AND STINKING UP THE PLACE WITH Y-YOUR TEENAGE SWEAT?!” I turned away from her and laid back down on the ground. I grabbed another candy, a new one, and unwrapped it. “This isn’t the right place. Something’s wrong.” “YOU’RE WHAT’S WRONG! YOU MESSED ALL OF THIS UP! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A CHANCE FOR US TO HAVE CLOSURE BEFORE I PASSED ON BUT NOW THE REAL MOTIVE COMES OUT! YOU JUST WANTED TO KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH HIDING, DIDN’T YOU?!” “I’m not hiding,” I spoke in a calm tone before popping the candy into my mouth. “If you’re the one who set this up, it’s your fault.” She got down to her knees and grabbed onto my head. “I made the candies you idiot. They’re not meant to be rationed. Now you’re going with me.” She pushed her hand into my forehead; giving me the most excruitating agony in my brain. My eyes started to roll back into my head. “W-Where are we going?” “To hell.”
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	(Cursing ahoy, ye be warned) If you’d have told me yesterday that I’d consider a lone piece of Chocolate an affront to god and man, I’d have told you where you could shove said chocolate. And yet, there it is. It’s practically taunting me, laughing spitefully from its little corner of the small box. Smug little shit. The funeral was 5 days ago. You’d think I’d be relieved somewhat - after all, I was 16 when Mom got sick, and it’d been 8 long years of hard work and borderline poverty. Surely I’d seen my duty through, and my freedom from my burden warranted celebration? ...Yeah, you’d think so. But I’d learned in that time just how fair weather most relationships were. My sister’s too busy with her husband on the East Coast to call, most of my friends drifted away after high school, and the one that’s left only calls to hang out when he’s weepy drunk or needs money. Truth is, Mom’s all I had. When she died, I felt...hollow, without purpose. Didn’t help that I’ve never been what you call socially capable. Dating apps for young curmudgeons aren’t exactly a booming market. So when the Will was read, and I found that that my family’s ancestral home had been left to me, I figured it was a fair enough deal. It’s a roof, at least. The house’s value did little to appreciate further when I found the old box of chocolates in the attic. Kevin Jones, home-and-chocolate-owner. Truly a model citizen and paragon of responsible adulthood. And my third grade teacher said I’d never amount to anything. Little had I known, at the time, how important those chocolates would become that I’d be one day staring at the last one with the gravitas of staring at the last swallow of water in the goddamn Sahara. No, no they AREN’T that good, for your information. They’re rotten and taste like shit. But still, I’d eat a thousand just to see her for 15 minutes more. Since I found out what those things do, I haven’t left the house in 5 days. I’m fairly certain the neighborhood kids have started circulating haunted house stories. As I hold the last chocolate in my hands, and ponder over what I’m about to do, what I’ve been preparing since yesterday for, I’m reminded of a story. When some guy went to the electric chair a while ago, his last words before they flipped the switch were “Let’s rock.” I wonder if a moment of existential, romantic doom warrants those words of defiance as much as ACTUAL doom. ...Nah. I guess not. I pop the chocolate into my mouth, and do my best to ignore the sour filling as the darkness envelops me. ———————— My vision clears and I find myself sitting against a wall, next to one of the large, cylindrical monstrosities that pass for dumpsters in this city. Jesus. 30 chocolates and not one of ‘em had had the decency to deposit me into a building. In this case though, it’s proven to my benefit. The area I’ve been dumped in is in fact the local Park, just outside the city proper, and an excellent place to acquire something special for this meeting, something I do with great haste before proceeding into the brightly lit city streets. I can’t help thinking about the first time I’d seen it, sprawling like it does. The bizarre, hovering vehicles. The large neon signs, with small golden specks of light dancing inside the tubes like glitter, beckoning passers-by inside for a drink, gambling, entertainment, and “Entertainment”. not that I’d been inside many. I don’t do well with crowds. I carefully eye the passing signs, finally settling on a bright sign, shaped in the image of a strange glass, closely approximate to an hourglass with an opened top, sitting next to a bottle of indescript alchohol with a red lipstick kiss on the front. ...Classy, I guess? I make my way inside, passing several booths before I finally set eyes on her. She sits alone at the bar, tossing her wild, swept-back mane of bright electric blue hair from her left shoulder, and tapping one heel-clad shoe impatiently as she struggles to keep her evening gown in place. Guess I called it right dressing up this time, I think, straightening my waistcoat as I sit. It’s the same outfit I wore to the funeral, but I’ll just keep that one to myself. “There you are!” She huffs, folding her arms and making a pouty face as she adjusts the white cloth choker around her neck. “You’re late, you know.” “I know, I know. I’m sorry. But I have a good reason.” I say, bringing out the small, wrapped bundle I’ve brought from the park. I unfurl it and hand her the four white flowers I picked from the park. “For you.” Her emerald eyes soften instantly, brimming with poorly disguised joy. “Aww...Angel Whiskers. My favorite...” She gives me a sweet little smile. The same one that penetrated my defenses the day we first met. “You remembered...but you’ve never even seen them before. How did you know?” I suddenly feel as if a sun lamp is focused on my cheeks. “C’mon, Feleene. You told me the day we met, remember? You kept going on and on about the little whiskers that grow from the center and how you like how they tickle your nose.” She giggles a bit, a little snort escaping before she tries to cover it up. I don’t know why she does that, really - I think it’s cute. “Right, the day my hove broke down and you carried my stuff to the club for me. I’m surprised you were paying attention. You were so mad and you just kept cursing, even when I showed you around afterwards...” She giggles a bit more. “You’ve come a long way from being such a grouch, you know.” “What can I say? Guess you bring out the best in me.” She smiles her disarming smile. “Or maybe we bring out the best in each other.” The heat lamps return. I opt to change the subject before I die of over-flushed face. “So...nice place.” “Oh, isn’t it?” She motions to the stage. “The manager’s really nice. He was so impressed he lets me sing every Friday. It’s not much, but he says he gets talent agents through once in a while, and I’ve even got fans already - a couple asked for my autograph last night. It’s so exciting!” She places a hand over mine. “...And I never would’ve had the courage to ask if you hadn’t pushed me to.” Steady breaths, Kev. “Y-Yeah...I mean, I’m sure you would’ve in time. You’re a great singer. You just need to be confident. ...So, does that mean you don’t have to dance at the club anymore?” She sighs. “Don’t I wish. But I’m living my dreams now, so I have something to look forward to every week...aside from you, that is.” Her own cheeks take on a rosy tinge as she peers sidewise at me. “By the way...the other girls still say they want me to introduce you sometime.” I clear my throat uncomfortably. “Yeah...about that.” She drops her gaze sadly, idly swirling her finger in her drink. “I know...you’re not going to be able to come back after the next two days, huh?” She doesn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, she reaches out and damn near pulls me off my stool, burying her face in my chest as she wraps her arms around me. Her voice come out muffled, and slightly on the verge of tears. “I’m...really going to miss this. I love you...y-you know that, right?” I do the best I can to reciprocate the hug with my own shaky hands, resting my chin in her fluffy hair. “Yeah. I love you too.” She raises her face from my chest, pausing to wipe away a tear. “H-hey, crazy idea. I know I pulled some strings to get you into the hotel, but maybe instead...you can stay with me tonight? I just-I want to make as many memories as we can, while we can, y’know?” Oh, crap. This is NOT part of the plan. “Uh...o-okay.”	“Ow! You hit my eye!” “Whatever, you deserve it for making a pun like that.” “Oh whatever. Puns were great back in my day. Besides, you’re the one who set it up. I’m just the one who took the opportunity.” “I think you’re—“ My eyes shot open and my mouth erupted with vomit. The ‘CandyLand’ as I called it, was gone once more. The smell of fresh grass was replaced with the scent of old paper and my own puke. The sound of Selina’s laughter and animals was replaced with rain tapping on the attic window. For a few moments, I was distracted by the ceiling of the house. It had been a while since I stopped to look at it—and I noticed that it seemed a little more vintage than normal...It didn’t keep my attention for long. Ignoring the pile of puke right nearby, I looked to the candy right by me. It was the 5th one left and now only half of it was left. I might have to stop eating the candies like this. I grabbed the orange, chewy candy and yanked off a piece with my teeth. I started using this method of rationing a few days ago—and so far it’s efffective, but highly unpredictable. Sometimes it’s rather ineffective as it brings me back at the worst times. But I better get back before she’s alone again. I’ve been really wanting to make my move on her today and if I go this long without telling her the truth, I might never get to. So I laid back down and let my eyes close. When my eyes opened, I saw the clear blue sky and felt perfectly soft grass beneath my feet. Instead of a creaky, hard wood floor, I was now laying in the high grass next to Selina. “You puked, didn’t you?” “I dunno what you’re talking about,” I shrugged, then turned to her. We both made eye contact. She always looked so beautiful underneath the sun. Her blue eyes always looked so simply perfect with her ginger hair. She was the kind of beautiful who wore her looks with confidence and ease. Whenever I watched her move, I wondered what it’d be like to be that gorgeous. So when she threw her head back and laughed, I didn’t look away. “That’s the third one you’ve had today. I can’t imagine how your brain must feel right now.” “It feels happy—now that I’m with you.” I chuckled as I said it. I felt myself blush when I heard her giggle. “Oh Bo, I dunno what I’ll do when you can’t visit anymore....” she shook her head. But she was wearing a smile as she continued...”I’m honestly unsure of how you’re not out of candies already.” “Don’t worry. I’ve been rationing them,” “Rationing them?” she raised her head, “How so?” “I’ve been eating bites of them instead of the whole thing. It’s working out pretty well so far...” “Wait are you kidding?” she suddenly seemed very alarmed. She turned onto her side and stared down at me. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it...” My voice drifted off while I watched her react. She placed a hand over her mouth. Her eyes began to flicker in multiple directions. Still avoiding eye contact, she moved her fingers before speaking: “I’m worried that you could be dying,” I could feel my shoulder blades tense up. This wasn’t the first time I had watched her jump to the worst case scenario, yet I instantly trusted that this could be more serious. “Why would I be dying?” “Don’t you understand? I told you that this place wasn’t for anybody else yet. It’s just you and me so far...And with you coming in and out I mean...there could be something you’re not telling me.” “What is there to not tell you? I’m only gone for three minutes at a time there, so there’s not a lot else that can happen.” “I mean yeah when you binge like this but...all of the other times... “...Why would I be dying?” my words hung within dead air for at least a minute. She was avoiding my gaze, yet looked as if she was holding in laughter. As if she had some secret little thing I didn’t know about. She did that all of the time. So I tilted my head to the side before continuing, “You remind me of my grandma. You’re always too worried about my health. That’s probably why she kept all of that candy in her attic—probably to just stash it all for herself and hide it from her grandkids.” I chucked. When we locked eye contact at last, her eyes were bulging. “Bo, I am your grandma. Don’t you realize that?” I felt myself inhale to respond. Then I woke up again. This time, there was a distinct moment of quiet...and then my throat started to pump out more hot chunks of bile. With my whole body shaking, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and started to push myself off the ground. I pressed my fingers to my pulse and it wasn’t there anymore. I felt a hand on my shoulder— “Ah!” I yelped and turned to see Selina. She seemed horrified. “You really are dead,” “How am I dead?! How could I have died?!” “I don’t know! How did you not know that I’m your grandmother!?” her volume and apparent frustration started to increase. I had seen her like this before—but I had never been more horrified to adore it before. “Why didn’t you tell me when we first met?!” “WHY DIDN’T YOU RECOGNIZE ME?! HAVEN’T YOU SEEN THE PHOTOS OF ME IN THE ATTIC? DON’T YOU REALIZE WHAT MY FIRST NAME IS?!” she started to scream. “WE NEVER VISITED YOU!” I could finally feel how dry my throat was. It could’ve been hours since I had a drop of water. “SO THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE, HUH?! WHY ARE YOU HERE EATING MY CANDY, THROWING UP IN MY ATTIC, AND STINKING UP THE PLACE WITH Y-YOUR TEENAGE SWEAT?!” I turned away from her and laid back down on the ground. I grabbed another candy, a new one, and unwrapped it. “This isn’t the right place. Something’s wrong.” “YOU’RE WHAT’S WRONG! YOU MESSED ALL OF THIS UP! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A CHANCE FOR US TO HAVE CLOSURE BEFORE I PASSED ON BUT NOW THE REAL MOTIVE COMES OUT! YOU JUST WANTED TO KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH HIDING, DIDN’T YOU?!” “I’m not hiding,” I spoke in a calm tone before popping the candy into my mouth. “If you’re the one who set this up, it’s your fault.” She got down to her knees and grabbed onto my head. “I made the candies you idiot. They’re not meant to be rationed. Now you’re going with me.” She pushed her hand into my forehead; giving me the most excruitating agony in my brain. My eyes started to roll back into my head. “W-Where are we going?” “To hell.”
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I walked up the flight of stairs to the third floor. There are stacks of paperbacks, magazines and comic books that cover the landing. To the left is the room my sister and I grew up in. It had two beds, a window and a closet. It's an old house and there have always been rumors of a hidden second closet in this room. I entered the bedroom to the right. This is the room my Mom used. It has a window and a queen size bed with an old quilt. I don't know who made the quilt. My mom made quilts but she liked a modern design. My grandmother made quilts, but she stuck to old mennonite patterns. This quilt had a design like I'd never seen anywhere else. My Mom loved that quilt. Quilts have always been a part of my life, but that quilt is special. I remember the night my Dad left and we moved in with my grandparents. It must have been a cold night. We all slept in this room, in my Mom's bed. When we went to sleep we were under a sheet and a thin blanket. Sometime in the night this quilt had been spread over us. It felt like love. It's corny, but I don't know how else to explain it. My Mom's room does not have a closet. It does have a door that was always locked. It's my house now and I have the key. I open the door. This room is filled with dime store fantasy novels from many generations. They're stacked on the floor. They're placed on bookshelves with two rows per level and more stuffed on top of those. There's a reading chair and a box of candies. The reading chair has a quilt with similar design as the one on the bed. It's a small quilt like one you might wear to keep your legs warm while reading on a cold winter's night. I love it. I sit in the chair like my Mom must have done so many times. I miss her so much. I wrap the blanket around my legs. I open the box of candies. They were old german chocolates. There's 1 of the original 30 left. The chocolate has turned a white dusty color. I pick up a novel that is sitting conveniently close to the desk. It's Andre Norton's fantasy novel Merlin's Mirror. There's a receipt marking my Mom's place. I look to the chocolate. This is as close as I've felt to my Mom since she died. It feels like she's here urging me to read the book and to eat the last chocolate. I give in. "Ok Mom, I hope this is really you." My watch says 11:20 as I eat the chocolate. I pass out immediately. I wake up near a strange, tiny house. It is centuries old and it has fallen into disrepair. There's a grave. Carefully placed around the grave are rocks forming a heart. True love. It's sweet, but it's not anything I can imagine in my life. I walk in the house. It's unlocked. It's spartan. On a table are twenty nine books. Each one has the year printed on the side. The oldest is from the year we moved in with my grandparents, the year my Mom's marriage ended. The last is from the year my Mom died. There's a quilting frame and piles of rotting fabric in the corner. I sit in a chair. I grab the top book and open it. It is a diary. I recognize the handwriting as my Mom's immediately. I start to read and I start crying. She's written about every aspect of her life. I read and I cry for three days. I make it through five books. This is my only chance to know these things. She left these books here for me to find. There's a reason. If I can just stay here long enough I can find it. On the third day I fall asleep. I wake up sitting in the chair with the quilt still tight around my legs. It's 11:23. I get up and explore the room. I find the passage that leads to the hidden closet in my room. I walk to that room twenty-nine times with a book in my hands. I go back to my old bedroom to sleep.	I still remember finding the candies, the curse still bares its mark on me, a traveler of two worlds; forever hungering, longing for the love on the other side. I can't dream anymore, I don't know what has happened to me, those closest to me began to say I'm distant, cold, and bitter. They are right, I don't belong here anymore. Now that I have experienced that magical place, my soul is now tethered to that land. &#x200B; Rolling the confection once more in my fingers, holding back tears as I come to term that this is the last candy in the dish. This has become religious, I come up several times a day to hold the candy, tempted to press it against my lips, to taste the warm sweet cherry that I welcome fondly every time. I long for my love across realms, I can't come to grips with seeing her for the last time, with tears rolling down my face I put the tiny red bead back into the lock box I found it in. I now understand why my grandma had never been married. I turned my back and closed the attic. It has been 2 months since I went up there, and I had pushed those thoughts to the back of my head, wishing they were only dreams, but that has changed. It began to press hard on me, where did the candies come from? If they existed they could be remade. Contemplating, and trying to find any evidence on what these candies are, it hit me. The candies are not from this world! They are from the world beyond! I know I have 3 days to find out how to bring more back with me to ensure I am able to see my sweet love again. I rush into the attic my heart pounding with glee, excited to tell her of my discovery. I open the chest and slam the candy in my mouth. Once more the euphoric feeling took over, bringing me to the home my soul longed for. I wake up in the bedroom that I shared with the girl of my dreams, I open my eyes, and dread hits me. It is musty, and dark. Something has changed, I force my stiff and achy limbs to move and pull myself out of bed. To my horror, the house has become dilapidated, the surroundings a dark echo of what use to be a beautiful garden, where I often sat, with her laying in my lap as I stroked her hair. A pang of fear hit me. My love was dead, hundreds of hears have passed, time doesn't stop when I leave, it kept going. In the empty room, I see visions of the past, of my love begging, and crying for me to wake up. The days turned into months, months turned into years, but she never moved on, or left my side. She passed away brokenhearted with the knowledge that she would never see me again. Trying to hold back tears, I decide to spend the last time here making sure no one else dares to enter this damned realm. This once blessing has turned into a curse, knowing that everything I loved and cherished is now a memory of the past. I am now distant, no one knows why. The real world has turned bleak, but I have no intention of returning to the land I once loved. I feel myself starting to lose the grasp of reality, dreaming and longing to see her, and apologize for my selfishness. My will is now gone, I can feel myself slipping away... I will see you soon my love. I'm coming. I'm sorry.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at nine in the morning. Sunlight filled one side of the room while she sat in shadow. She took vacation time and cleared her schedule for the next week. After wasting too many pieces she realized the time difference. She only needed two and a half hours to go through the last pieces, but she expected to be heartbroken at the end. "This is my special candy," Stella's grandma explained when the girl was only seven. "You can try a piece, but you won't like it. It's magical...," her grandma giggled and tapped Stella's nose. "...just like you. But it's like two magnets that push each other away." Alice was determined to prove her grandmother wrong and shoved the black candy into her mouth. Stella made a sour face, then the shiny, black, wet piece of candy was stuck to the carpet within two seconds. "Give your magic some time to mature," her grandmother said with a wink. "You'll like it when you're older." Her grandma never answered questions about the magical nature of the confection. She only ever saw the older woman eat it in the evening when she disappeared into her room for the night. Stella found the hidden stockpile of sweets in her grandmother's attic and pocketed them all. She still didn't like licorice, but she was older now. She knew how to power through unpleasantness. By 22 she stopped believing in magic; then, that first sharp tartness prodded her tongue. She almost spit it out, but Stella clamped her teeth shut and imprisoned the candy. She was determined to keep it in her mouth no matter how much she wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. She imagined her grandmother laughing at her; then something black appeared. The first time she was in her living room. A tall, black hole floated in front of her couch. She believed in magic again and jumped through the hole. On the other side, she found herself on a hill over-looking small village. She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, she dashed down to the town eager to explore. It wasn't until the third day that she began to wonder how to get home. She knew her grandmother always got home just fine, but she did not know how. Then, she was home. Stella did not waste any time and ate another piece of candy. She ate four pieces in a row before she started wondering about the world she was leaving behind. That's when she found out about the time difference. On her fifth trip, she met Ulysses and spent her next 20 pieces falling in love with him. Stella unwrapped the 26th piece, popped it in her mouth, and laid back with her eyes closed. "Hey, when did you get here?" Ulysses said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the doorway to his room. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you again." "I need to tell you something," Stella said. She sat up in his bed. Ulysses moved closer and sat next to her. "Something wrong?" He asked. "I have something to tell you. It's really weird and you probably won't believe me," she looked into his eyes. Golden starbursts surrounded his pupils. "But it's all true. I'm not crazy." Ulysses nodded. "Okay, you're not crazy," he smiled. "What's the big secret?" "I'm not from here," she tried starting broad. If he had problems with her being an outsider she would not have to elaborate. Ulysses nodded. "I know. Is that it?" he wrapped his hand around hers. Stella shook her head. "I don't mean this village or even this continent. I'm not from this Earth," she explained. Ulysses chuckled and nodded his head again. "I know," he repeated with a squeeze of her hand. "It's not a big deal." "Not a big deal!? I'm from an alternate universe! How is that not a big deal?" Ulysses' eyes opened wide. The golden stars disappeared leaving boring, brown irises. “How do you know?” "You don't know what you are?" he asked with a hushed tone. Stella felt like he was trying hard not to offend her. "What do you mean?" she asked him. "How have you been traveling here?" he asked. Stella remembered why they were having the conversation at all. She got distracted by his easy acceptance of her story. "My grandma had some magic candies.. but I only have four left after this trip. It lasts for three days, so... starting today I only have 15 days here." Stella hung her head. Ulysses doubled over and burst into laughter; his jovialness shook the bed under her. "Hey...," Stella said softly. She wanted to let him know he hurt her feelings. He quickly shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You know, I always wondered why you didn't have a tattoo," he pointed to the star on his bicep with the number 35 on it. "And I looked all over," he winked. "C'mon, let's go get you one." "Why do I need a tattoo?" she asked. Ulysses smiled and wiggled his hand at the air beside the bed. A black portal, like the one that formed when Stella ate a piece of candy, appeared. "Because if you have a tattoo...," Ulysses smiled and led her off the bed. "...you can make a portal without the candy." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year two, day #121. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse)) or my [blog](https://hugoverse.info/). If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the [Guidebook](https://hugoverse.info/2017/11/25/hugoverse-guidebook/) to see what's what and who's who, or the [Timeline](https://hugoverse.info/2017/10/23/hugoverse-timeline/) to find the stories in order.	I still remember finding the candies, the curse still bares its mark on me, a traveler of two worlds; forever hungering, longing for the love on the other side. I can't dream anymore, I don't know what has happened to me, those closest to me began to say I'm distant, cold, and bitter. They are right, I don't belong here anymore. Now that I have experienced that magical place, my soul is now tethered to that land. &#x200B; Rolling the confection once more in my fingers, holding back tears as I come to term that this is the last candy in the dish. This has become religious, I come up several times a day to hold the candy, tempted to press it against my lips, to taste the warm sweet cherry that I welcome fondly every time. I long for my love across realms, I can't come to grips with seeing her for the last time, with tears rolling down my face I put the tiny red bead back into the lock box I found it in. I now understand why my grandma had never been married. I turned my back and closed the attic. It has been 2 months since I went up there, and I had pushed those thoughts to the back of my head, wishing they were only dreams, but that has changed. It began to press hard on me, where did the candies come from? If they existed they could be remade. Contemplating, and trying to find any evidence on what these candies are, it hit me. The candies are not from this world! They are from the world beyond! I know I have 3 days to find out how to bring more back with me to ensure I am able to see my sweet love again. I rush into the attic my heart pounding with glee, excited to tell her of my discovery. I open the chest and slam the candy in my mouth. Once more the euphoric feeling took over, bringing me to the home my soul longed for. I wake up in the bedroom that I shared with the girl of my dreams, I open my eyes, and dread hits me. It is musty, and dark. Something has changed, I force my stiff and achy limbs to move and pull myself out of bed. To my horror, the house has become dilapidated, the surroundings a dark echo of what use to be a beautiful garden, where I often sat, with her laying in my lap as I stroked her hair. A pang of fear hit me. My love was dead, hundreds of hears have passed, time doesn't stop when I leave, it kept going. In the empty room, I see visions of the past, of my love begging, and crying for me to wake up. The days turned into months, months turned into years, but she never moved on, or left my side. She passed away brokenhearted with the knowledge that she would never see me again. Trying to hold back tears, I decide to spend the last time here making sure no one else dares to enter this damned realm. This once blessing has turned into a curse, knowing that everything I loved and cherished is now a memory of the past. I am now distant, no one knows why. The real world has turned bleak, but I have no intention of returning to the land I once loved. I feel myself starting to lose the grasp of reality, dreaming and longing to see her, and apologize for my selfishness. My will is now gone, I can feel myself slipping away... I will see you soon my love. I'm coming. I'm sorry.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	I still remember finding the candies, the curse still bares its mark on me, a traveler of two worlds; forever hungering, longing for the love on the other side. I can't dream anymore, I don't know what has happened to me, those closest to me began to say I'm distant, cold, and bitter. They are right, I don't belong here anymore. Now that I have experienced that magical place, my soul is now tethered to that land. &#x200B; Rolling the confection once more in my fingers, holding back tears as I come to term that this is the last candy in the dish. This has become religious, I come up several times a day to hold the candy, tempted to press it against my lips, to taste the warm sweet cherry that I welcome fondly every time. I long for my love across realms, I can't come to grips with seeing her for the last time, with tears rolling down my face I put the tiny red bead back into the lock box I found it in. I now understand why my grandma had never been married. I turned my back and closed the attic. It has been 2 months since I went up there, and I had pushed those thoughts to the back of my head, wishing they were only dreams, but that has changed. It began to press hard on me, where did the candies come from? If they existed they could be remade. Contemplating, and trying to find any evidence on what these candies are, it hit me. The candies are not from this world! They are from the world beyond! I know I have 3 days to find out how to bring more back with me to ensure I am able to see my sweet love again. I rush into the attic my heart pounding with glee, excited to tell her of my discovery. I open the chest and slam the candy in my mouth. Once more the euphoric feeling took over, bringing me to the home my soul longed for. I wake up in the bedroom that I shared with the girl of my dreams, I open my eyes, and dread hits me. It is musty, and dark. Something has changed, I force my stiff and achy limbs to move and pull myself out of bed. To my horror, the house has become dilapidated, the surroundings a dark echo of what use to be a beautiful garden, where I often sat, with her laying in my lap as I stroked her hair. A pang of fear hit me. My love was dead, hundreds of hears have passed, time doesn't stop when I leave, it kept going. In the empty room, I see visions of the past, of my love begging, and crying for me to wake up. The days turned into months, months turned into years, but she never moved on, or left my side. She passed away brokenhearted with the knowledge that she would never see me again. Trying to hold back tears, I decide to spend the last time here making sure no one else dares to enter this damned realm. This once blessing has turned into a curse, knowing that everything I loved and cherished is now a memory of the past. I am now distant, no one knows why. The real world has turned bleak, but I have no intention of returning to the land I once loved. I feel myself starting to lose the grasp of reality, dreaming and longing to see her, and apologize for my selfishness. My will is now gone, I can feel myself slipping away... I will see you soon my love. I'm coming. I'm sorry.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at nine in the morning. Sunlight filled one side of the room while she sat in shadow. She took vacation time and cleared her schedule for the next week. After wasting too many pieces she realized the time difference. She only needed two and a half hours to go through the last pieces, but she expected to be heartbroken at the end. "This is my special candy," Stella's grandma explained when the girl was only seven. "You can try a piece, but you won't like it. It's magical...," her grandma giggled and tapped Stella's nose. "...just like you. But it's like two magnets that push each other away." Alice was determined to prove her grandmother wrong and shoved the black candy into her mouth. Stella made a sour face, then the shiny, black, wet piece of candy was stuck to the carpet within two seconds. "Give your magic some time to mature," her grandmother said with a wink. "You'll like it when you're older." Her grandma never answered questions about the magical nature of the confection. She only ever saw the older woman eat it in the evening when she disappeared into her room for the night. Stella found the hidden stockpile of sweets in her grandmother's attic and pocketed them all. She still didn't like licorice, but she was older now. She knew how to power through unpleasantness. By 22 she stopped believing in magic; then, that first sharp tartness prodded her tongue. She almost spit it out, but Stella clamped her teeth shut and imprisoned the candy. She was determined to keep it in her mouth no matter how much she wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. She imagined her grandmother laughing at her; then something black appeared. The first time she was in her living room. A tall, black hole floated in front of her couch. She believed in magic again and jumped through the hole. On the other side, she found herself on a hill over-looking small village. She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, she dashed down to the town eager to explore. It wasn't until the third day that she began to wonder how to get home. She knew her grandmother always got home just fine, but she did not know how. Then, she was home. Stella did not waste any time and ate another piece of candy. She ate four pieces in a row before she started wondering about the world she was leaving behind. That's when she found out about the time difference. On her fifth trip, she met Ulysses and spent her next 20 pieces falling in love with him. Stella unwrapped the 26th piece, popped it in her mouth, and laid back with her eyes closed. "Hey, when did you get here?" Ulysses said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the doorway to his room. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you again." "I need to tell you something," Stella said. She sat up in his bed. Ulysses moved closer and sat next to her. "Something wrong?" He asked. "I have something to tell you. It's really weird and you probably won't believe me," she looked into his eyes. Golden starbursts surrounded his pupils. "But it's all true. I'm not crazy." Ulysses nodded. "Okay, you're not crazy," he smiled. "What's the big secret?" "I'm not from here," she tried starting broad. If he had problems with her being an outsider she would not have to elaborate. Ulysses nodded. "I know. Is that it?" he wrapped his hand around hers. Stella shook her head. "I don't mean this village or even this continent. I'm not from this Earth," she explained. Ulysses chuckled and nodded his head again. "I know," he repeated with a squeeze of her hand. "It's not a big deal." "Not a big deal!? I'm from an alternate universe! How is that not a big deal?" Ulysses' eyes opened wide. The golden stars disappeared leaving boring, brown irises. “How do you know?” "You don't know what you are?" he asked with a hushed tone. Stella felt like he was trying hard not to offend her. "What do you mean?" she asked him. "How have you been traveling here?" he asked. Stella remembered why they were having the conversation at all. She got distracted by his easy acceptance of her story. "My grandma had some magic candies.. but I only have four left after this trip. It lasts for three days, so... starting today I only have 15 days here." Stella hung her head. Ulysses doubled over and burst into laughter; his jovialness shook the bed under her. "Hey...," Stella said softly. She wanted to let him know he hurt her feelings. He quickly shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You know, I always wondered why you didn't have a tattoo," he pointed to the star on his bicep with the number 35 on it. "And I looked all over," he winked. "C'mon, let's go get you one." "Why do I need a tattoo?" she asked. Ulysses smiled and wiggled his hand at the air beside the bed. A black portal, like the one that formed when Stella ate a piece of candy, appeared. "Because if you have a tattoo...," Ulysses smiled and led her off the bed. "...you can make a portal without the candy." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year two, day #121. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse)) or my [blog](https://hugoverse.info/). If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the [Guidebook](https://hugoverse.info/2017/11/25/hugoverse-guidebook/) to see what's what and who's who, or the [Timeline](https://hugoverse.info/2017/10/23/hugoverse-timeline/) to find the stories in order.	Coming out of my cage, the attic, where I'd locked myself away for so long. Well, it seemed so long. Was only an hour and a half, but I spent 3 months with the love of my life. I only had 1 candy left. The ticket back. The question lingered. Was it like the stories, where the last one is permanent? Or was it just like the others. It had to be, right? Or I could have come across it at any time? Not like I'd know. I failed physics so many times. "I'm doing fine" I told myself. I had to. It was just so painful to think about. It started with a kiss. Only a kiss. Now I'm falling asleep, because temporal dilation is a fucking nightmare. Like jetlag, but far worse. I had to find a way to make these candies, to recreate the effects. I called my buddy, a chemist, and he agreed to run an analysis. He came back to me, one day. Had a ring on his finger. "What's with the ring, dude?" I asked, somehow knowing the answer. "I'm sorry, I... I made a synthetic, but I tested it on me, and... she was so perfect dude. So pretty." he said, as he downed a tube of a solution, and collapsed. I picked up the tube. On it, written in masking tape, was a formula: C20H25N3O
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	Coming out of my cage, the attic, where I'd locked myself away for so long. Well, it seemed so long. Was only an hour and a half, but I spent 3 months with the love of my life. I only had 1 candy left. The ticket back. The question lingered. Was it like the stories, where the last one is permanent? Or was it just like the others. It had to be, right? Or I could have come across it at any time? Not like I'd know. I failed physics so many times. "I'm doing fine" I told myself. I had to. It was just so painful to think about. It started with a kiss. Only a kiss. Now I'm falling asleep, because temporal dilation is a fucking nightmare. Like jetlag, but far worse. I had to find a way to make these candies, to recreate the effects. I called my buddy, a chemist, and he agreed to run an analysis. He came back to me, one day. Had a ring on his finger. "What's with the ring, dude?" I asked, somehow knowing the answer. "I'm sorry, I... I made a synthetic, but I tested it on me, and... she was so perfect dude. So pretty." he said, as he downed a tube of a solution, and collapsed. I picked up the tube. On it, written in masking tape, was a formula: C20H25N3O
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at nine in the morning. Sunlight filled one side of the room while she sat in shadow. She took vacation time and cleared her schedule for the next week. After wasting too many pieces she realized the time difference. She only needed two and a half hours to go through the last pieces, but she expected to be heartbroken at the end. "This is my special candy," Stella's grandma explained when the girl was only seven. "You can try a piece, but you won't like it. It's magical...," her grandma giggled and tapped Stella's nose. "...just like you. But it's like two magnets that push each other away." Alice was determined to prove her grandmother wrong and shoved the black candy into her mouth. Stella made a sour face, then the shiny, black, wet piece of candy was stuck to the carpet within two seconds. "Give your magic some time to mature," her grandmother said with a wink. "You'll like it when you're older." Her grandma never answered questions about the magical nature of the confection. She only ever saw the older woman eat it in the evening when she disappeared into her room for the night. Stella found the hidden stockpile of sweets in her grandmother's attic and pocketed them all. She still didn't like licorice, but she was older now. She knew how to power through unpleasantness. By 22 she stopped believing in magic; then, that first sharp tartness prodded her tongue. She almost spit it out, but Stella clamped her teeth shut and imprisoned the candy. She was determined to keep it in her mouth no matter how much she wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. She imagined her grandmother laughing at her; then something black appeared. The first time she was in her living room. A tall, black hole floated in front of her couch. She believed in magic again and jumped through the hole. On the other side, she found herself on a hill over-looking small village. She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, she dashed down to the town eager to explore. It wasn't until the third day that she began to wonder how to get home. She knew her grandmother always got home just fine, but she did not know how. Then, she was home. Stella did not waste any time and ate another piece of candy. She ate four pieces in a row before she started wondering about the world she was leaving behind. That's when she found out about the time difference. On her fifth trip, she met Ulysses and spent her next 20 pieces falling in love with him. Stella unwrapped the 26th piece, popped it in her mouth, and laid back with her eyes closed. "Hey, when did you get here?" Ulysses said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the doorway to his room. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you again." "I need to tell you something," Stella said. She sat up in his bed. Ulysses moved closer and sat next to her. "Something wrong?" He asked. "I have something to tell you. It's really weird and you probably won't believe me," she looked into his eyes. Golden starbursts surrounded his pupils. "But it's all true. I'm not crazy." Ulysses nodded. "Okay, you're not crazy," he smiled. "What's the big secret?" "I'm not from here," she tried starting broad. If he had problems with her being an outsider she would not have to elaborate. Ulysses nodded. "I know. Is that it?" he wrapped his hand around hers. Stella shook her head. "I don't mean this village or even this continent. I'm not from this Earth," she explained. Ulysses chuckled and nodded his head again. "I know," he repeated with a squeeze of her hand. "It's not a big deal." "Not a big deal!? I'm from an alternate universe! How is that not a big deal?" Ulysses' eyes opened wide. The golden stars disappeared leaving boring, brown irises. “How do you know?” "You don't know what you are?" he asked with a hushed tone. Stella felt like he was trying hard not to offend her. "What do you mean?" she asked him. "How have you been traveling here?" he asked. Stella remembered why they were having the conversation at all. She got distracted by his easy acceptance of her story. "My grandma had some magic candies.. but I only have four left after this trip. It lasts for three days, so... starting today I only have 15 days here." Stella hung her head. Ulysses doubled over and burst into laughter; his jovialness shook the bed under her. "Hey...," Stella said softly. She wanted to let him know he hurt her feelings. He quickly shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You know, I always wondered why you didn't have a tattoo," he pointed to the star on his bicep with the number 35 on it. "And I looked all over," he winked. "C'mon, let's go get you one." "Why do I need a tattoo?" she asked. Ulysses smiled and wiggled his hand at the air beside the bed. A black portal, like the one that formed when Stella ate a piece of candy, appeared. "Because if you have a tattoo...," Ulysses smiled and led her off the bed. "...you can make a portal without the candy." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year two, day #121. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse)) or my [blog](https://hugoverse.info/). If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the [Guidebook](https://hugoverse.info/2017/11/25/hugoverse-guidebook/) to see what's what and who's who, or the [Timeline](https://hugoverse.info/2017/10/23/hugoverse-timeline/) to find the stories in order.	I walked up the flight of stairs to the third floor. There are stacks of paperbacks, magazines and comic books that cover the landing. To the left is the room my sister and I grew up in. It had two beds, a window and a closet. It's an old house and there have always been rumors of a hidden second closet in this room. I entered the bedroom to the right. This is the room my Mom used. It has a window and a queen size bed with an old quilt. I don't know who made the quilt. My mom made quilts but she liked a modern design. My grandmother made quilts, but she stuck to old mennonite patterns. This quilt had a design like I'd never seen anywhere else. My Mom loved that quilt. Quilts have always been a part of my life, but that quilt is special. I remember the night my Dad left and we moved in with my grandparents. It must have been a cold night. We all slept in this room, in my Mom's bed. When we went to sleep we were under a sheet and a thin blanket. Sometime in the night this quilt had been spread over us. It felt like love. It's corny, but I don't know how else to explain it. My Mom's room does not have a closet. It does have a door that was always locked. It's my house now and I have the key. I open the door. This room is filled with dime store fantasy novels from many generations. They're stacked on the floor. They're placed on bookshelves with two rows per level and more stuffed on top of those. There's a reading chair and a box of candies. The reading chair has a quilt with similar design as the one on the bed. It's a small quilt like one you might wear to keep your legs warm while reading on a cold winter's night. I love it. I sit in the chair like my Mom must have done so many times. I miss her so much. I wrap the blanket around my legs. I open the box of candies. They were old german chocolates. There's 1 of the original 30 left. The chocolate has turned a white dusty color. I pick up a novel that is sitting conveniently close to the desk. It's Andre Norton's fantasy novel Merlin's Mirror. There's a receipt marking my Mom's place. I look to the chocolate. This is as close as I've felt to my Mom since she died. It feels like she's here urging me to read the book and to eat the last chocolate. I give in. "Ok Mom, I hope this is really you." My watch says 11:20 as I eat the chocolate. I pass out immediately. I wake up near a strange, tiny house. It is centuries old and it has fallen into disrepair. There's a grave. Carefully placed around the grave are rocks forming a heart. True love. It's sweet, but it's not anything I can imagine in my life. I walk in the house. It's unlocked. It's spartan. On a table are twenty nine books. Each one has the year printed on the side. The oldest is from the year we moved in with my grandparents, the year my Mom's marriage ended. The last is from the year my Mom died. There's a quilting frame and piles of rotting fabric in the corner. I sit in a chair. I grab the top book and open it. It is a diary. I recognize the handwriting as my Mom's immediately. I start to read and I start crying. She's written about every aspect of her life. I read and I cry for three days. I make it through five books. This is my only chance to know these things. She left these books here for me to find. There's a reason. If I can just stay here long enough I can find it. On the third day I fall asleep. I wake up sitting in the chair with the quilt still tight around my legs. It's 11:23. I get up and explore the room. I find the passage that leads to the hidden closet in my room. I walk to that room twenty-nine times with a book in my hands. I go back to my old bedroom to sleep.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	I walked up the flight of stairs to the third floor. There are stacks of paperbacks, magazines and comic books that cover the landing. To the left is the room my sister and I grew up in. It had two beds, a window and a closet. It's an old house and there have always been rumors of a hidden second closet in this room. I entered the bedroom to the right. This is the room my Mom used. It has a window and a queen size bed with an old quilt. I don't know who made the quilt. My mom made quilts but she liked a modern design. My grandmother made quilts, but she stuck to old mennonite patterns. This quilt had a design like I'd never seen anywhere else. My Mom loved that quilt. Quilts have always been a part of my life, but that quilt is special. I remember the night my Dad left and we moved in with my grandparents. It must have been a cold night. We all slept in this room, in my Mom's bed. When we went to sleep we were under a sheet and a thin blanket. Sometime in the night this quilt had been spread over us. It felt like love. It's corny, but I don't know how else to explain it. My Mom's room does not have a closet. It does have a door that was always locked. It's my house now and I have the key. I open the door. This room is filled with dime store fantasy novels from many generations. They're stacked on the floor. They're placed on bookshelves with two rows per level and more stuffed on top of those. There's a reading chair and a box of candies. The reading chair has a quilt with similar design as the one on the bed. It's a small quilt like one you might wear to keep your legs warm while reading on a cold winter's night. I love it. I sit in the chair like my Mom must have done so many times. I miss her so much. I wrap the blanket around my legs. I open the box of candies. They were old german chocolates. There's 1 of the original 30 left. The chocolate has turned a white dusty color. I pick up a novel that is sitting conveniently close to the desk. It's Andre Norton's fantasy novel Merlin's Mirror. There's a receipt marking my Mom's place. I look to the chocolate. This is as close as I've felt to my Mom since she died. It feels like she's here urging me to read the book and to eat the last chocolate. I give in. "Ok Mom, I hope this is really you." My watch says 11:20 as I eat the chocolate. I pass out immediately. I wake up near a strange, tiny house. It is centuries old and it has fallen into disrepair. There's a grave. Carefully placed around the grave are rocks forming a heart. True love. It's sweet, but it's not anything I can imagine in my life. I walk in the house. It's unlocked. It's spartan. On a table are twenty nine books. Each one has the year printed on the side. The oldest is from the year we moved in with my grandparents, the year my Mom's marriage ended. The last is from the year my Mom died. There's a quilting frame and piles of rotting fabric in the corner. I sit in a chair. I grab the top book and open it. It is a diary. I recognize the handwriting as my Mom's immediately. I start to read and I start crying. She's written about every aspect of her life. I read and I cry for three days. I make it through five books. This is my only chance to know these things. She left these books here for me to find. There's a reason. If I can just stay here long enough I can find it. On the third day I fall asleep. I wake up sitting in the chair with the quilt still tight around my legs. It's 11:23. I get up and explore the room. I find the passage that leads to the hidden closet in my room. I walk to that room twenty-nine times with a book in my hands. I go back to my old bedroom to sleep.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at nine in the morning. Sunlight filled one side of the room while she sat in shadow. She took vacation time and cleared her schedule for the next week. After wasting too many pieces she realized the time difference. She only needed two and a half hours to go through the last pieces, but she expected to be heartbroken at the end. "This is my special candy," Stella's grandma explained when the girl was only seven. "You can try a piece, but you won't like it. It's magical...," her grandma giggled and tapped Stella's nose. "...just like you. But it's like two magnets that push each other away." Alice was determined to prove her grandmother wrong and shoved the black candy into her mouth. Stella made a sour face, then the shiny, black, wet piece of candy was stuck to the carpet within two seconds. "Give your magic some time to mature," her grandmother said with a wink. "You'll like it when you're older." Her grandma never answered questions about the magical nature of the confection. She only ever saw the older woman eat it in the evening when she disappeared into her room for the night. Stella found the hidden stockpile of sweets in her grandmother's attic and pocketed them all. She still didn't like licorice, but she was older now. She knew how to power through unpleasantness. By 22 she stopped believing in magic; then, that first sharp tartness prodded her tongue. She almost spit it out, but Stella clamped her teeth shut and imprisoned the candy. She was determined to keep it in her mouth no matter how much she wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. She imagined her grandmother laughing at her; then something black appeared. The first time she was in her living room. A tall, black hole floated in front of her couch. She believed in magic again and jumped through the hole. On the other side, she found herself on a hill over-looking small village. She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, she dashed down to the town eager to explore. It wasn't until the third day that she began to wonder how to get home. She knew her grandmother always got home just fine, but she did not know how. Then, she was home. Stella did not waste any time and ate another piece of candy. She ate four pieces in a row before she started wondering about the world she was leaving behind. That's when she found out about the time difference. On her fifth trip, she met Ulysses and spent her next 20 pieces falling in love with him. Stella unwrapped the 26th piece, popped it in her mouth, and laid back with her eyes closed. "Hey, when did you get here?" Ulysses said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the doorway to his room. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you again." "I need to tell you something," Stella said. She sat up in his bed. Ulysses moved closer and sat next to her. "Something wrong?" He asked. "I have something to tell you. It's really weird and you probably won't believe me," she looked into his eyes. Golden starbursts surrounded his pupils. "But it's all true. I'm not crazy." Ulysses nodded. "Okay, you're not crazy," he smiled. "What's the big secret?" "I'm not from here," she tried starting broad. If he had problems with her being an outsider she would not have to elaborate. Ulysses nodded. "I know. Is that it?" he wrapped his hand around hers. Stella shook her head. "I don't mean this village or even this continent. I'm not from this Earth," she explained. Ulysses chuckled and nodded his head again. "I know," he repeated with a squeeze of her hand. "It's not a big deal." "Not a big deal!? I'm from an alternate universe! How is that not a big deal?" Ulysses' eyes opened wide. The golden stars disappeared leaving boring, brown irises. “How do you know?” "You don't know what you are?" he asked with a hushed tone. Stella felt like he was trying hard not to offend her. "What do you mean?" she asked him. "How have you been traveling here?" he asked. Stella remembered why they were having the conversation at all. She got distracted by his easy acceptance of her story. "My grandma had some magic candies.. but I only have four left after this trip. It lasts for three days, so... starting today I only have 15 days here." Stella hung her head. Ulysses doubled over and burst into laughter; his jovialness shook the bed under her. "Hey...," Stella said softly. She wanted to let him know he hurt her feelings. He quickly shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You know, I always wondered why you didn't have a tattoo," he pointed to the star on his bicep with the number 35 on it. "And I looked all over," he winked. "C'mon, let's go get you one." "Why do I need a tattoo?" she asked. Ulysses smiled and wiggled his hand at the air beside the bed. A black portal, like the one that formed when Stella ate a piece of candy, appeared. "Because if you have a tattoo...," Ulysses smiled and led her off the bed. "...you can make a portal without the candy." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year two, day #121. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse)) or my [blog](https://hugoverse.info/). If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the [Guidebook](https://hugoverse.info/2017/11/25/hugoverse-guidebook/) to see what's what and who's who, or the [Timeline](https://hugoverse.info/2017/10/23/hugoverse-timeline/) to find the stories in order.	The dish was still in his hand when he awoke. “Empty!” Had he spilled it when he fell? Still on the ground he was surprised that the dish was not broken. At 6’ tall a blackout from the height would fracture a jaw on a hard surface. However, the surface beneath him was soft. The dusty subfloor hard wood of the attic had been replaced by moss. A soft loam that if any thicker would have swallowed him up. It was spongy and…moving! The soft breeze he felt over the stubble a two day growth of beard wasnt from the wind it was from movement. The undergrowth was a shifting and changing moss on which he propped himself up on his elbows. His eyes began to focus and the nail riddled underside of the roof he expected to see was replaced by the dappled sky of a thousand stars and the forest canopy of trees of unknown height. He laid back down and closed his eyes. “You really whacked your head good this time!” “No, everyone has the same reaction as you, Traveler.” Her voice soothed his spinning head and he could only say, “Thank you.” and then realized someone had spoken. “Where am I?” the traveler asked. “No names. Location is understood. Here is where we are.” Her voice was so feminine and familiar. “Don’t you want to know where I came from, or even my name? What are you..called?” the puzzlement in his voice was clear. Laughing she said, “Labels are not found here, that’s for the others, travelers like you that don’t feel safe unless everything has a name.” “Language is necessary for communicating. I understand you and your language. Are you just mocking me by simulating my speech patterns? You have a beautiful voice but I haven’t seen you yet. Do you have a body? Are you different from the trees and moss and sky?” The traveler’s adamant tone was pleading with a hint of frustration. “I apologize. You are my first traveller and while it is true that ‘traveller’ is a label, it is the only one necessary in this place.” The voice was so soothing it was difficult to continue arguing or even feel frustration. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. What should a traveler address you as?” Still with his eyes closed and half expecting to be talking to the dead space in the attic, he waiting for a reply. “You may call me whatever you like. I am here and I will remain here with you until the end of your time” Though only her first traveler her confidence was strong. “Well, “Here” is a silly thing to call you, though it is close to “her,” but your voice is so soothing I want to call you that. Can I call you “Soothy?” “I will answer to Soothy, Traveller. Will you open your eyes and look upon me now?” Now Soothy was pleading. “It sounds like we a schedule to keep.” Traveller opened his eyes and noticed that the moss had stopped moving and the forest was now illuminated. The light and the voice seemed to be all around him. Soothy was the light. “Are you the light, I see?” I’m sorry, I need to finish.” As Traveller watched he could see a form appear from the edge of the brightness. The nerve endings on his scalp tingled from front to back and back to front again. The form was becoming less translucent and more defined. The light around what was creating “Soothy” glowed less and less as the form became solid. Soothy was nude and traveller thought that he may have been too quick in naming her. Her beauty was undefinable - it was soul fulfilling, it was making his heart race, it was almost too much. Though the brilliance of the light dimmed he still felt the need to shield his eyes. “Can you not see me?” Soothy begged. “It’s It’s too much! I’m overwhelmed. You are the most precious thing I have ever seen. How did you do that?” Traveller was incredulous. “In this place, everything is nothing and nothing is everything. The form I take is combination of your existence and mine. I perceive my own appearance and then drew upon yours to complete the form.” I can only perceive that the form was successful. I have bonded with it and I can now walk with you as complete. “Oh my God, I’m Adam!” Traveller was shocked with this realization. “What is Adam? What is God? Are they friends of yours?” Soothy asked. “No. If this is real, which is still suspect. I came from a place where labels or names became real once they were repeated over and over. A consensus among others like me created our reality. This place, so far, with its lack of labels is challenging my ability to confirm that it is real.” The traveller tried to explain. “If you do not have this consensus, then you do not accept my existence? Can you exist to yourself without someone telling you so?” Soothy contemplated the dilemma “I just came from a place where this is/was how we existed - there were/are billions of others like me and I was raised to believe what I was told until a time when I could see and understand things for myself. You seem to exist as an intelligent light and can form yourself with the cooperation of other sources of energy or matter. Were you ever anything other that the light, or the form in cooperation with another?” “I have no concept of your perception of time. There is only now, there is only here.” Soothy said. “I think I am starting to understand. You are light, energy. You don’t have a sense of time because you are now. Measuring light and time where I came from you would find laughable. I’ll show you a sundial sometime.” He hoped Soothy would understand. He was so full of emotion for this beautiful solid energy before him that he was torn between consuming it somehow and bowing down before it. He was sure of one thing - he was in love with Soothy, the way someone falls in love with a sunny day in grassy field without a care in the world. His final thought was how to stay in this place. A crack of light slowly made its way across the dusty attic floor and when it touched the corner of his left eye. He sat up with a start. With light speed he reached for the next candy, this dish was gone, but where was the candy?
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I was never good at lying. That must have been why I was always honest. "We must meet each other again," said the girl. "Soon, my love," I replied, a smile on my face. "Very soon." They shared a kiss. A prolonged kiss. Their hands connected and intertwined. Even after she's gone, her warmth remained in his palms. Even after he's back, he can still see her beautiful, wondrous, fantastic face. Her amazing aroma hung in the air. Her morbid mark on his lips... It was a dream. A fleeting moment, a brief period of time, and a fantasy only I know and no one will believe in. It only took a day, but if felt like a year. Each passing hour chained onto the next without my knowing. Soon, I'm alone. "What do you want to do?" asked the boy. "Spend more time with you," answered the girl. Hand-in-hand, stride by stride, they made their way towards their home. There, the couple had everything they needed. Each other. I resumed my daily life afterwards. Only a day has passed, but I missed a lot of my responsibilities. I went to work, ate and rested, paid my bills, and dropped to my bed. Just another day. Uneventful, and with no one waiting for me once I got back. "Why do you love me?" asked the boy. "Because you are honest," answered the girl. It was not a unique trait to be truthful. Yet it was uncommon that such an eccentric girl found it sufficient of her love. Perhaps, in her perspective, it was more than enough. Today was a nuisance. I had to go to my grandmother's house. I never liked her. She had strict rules whenever I stayed and she always catches me breaking her rules. She's quite fond of my name. Probably because she forced my parents to give it to me. I went to the attic and saw these candies... "Why do you love me?" asked the girl. ".. Because it's not unrequited," answered the boy. They travelled far and wide, taking a glimpse of every attraction that catches their eyes. But their gaze lingered most on each other. I was never a good liar. Even at our final moments, I never made a good lie. Her mark, her face, her aroma, her tears... All lingered in my memory. I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough. Nor was I strong enough. But... I do have an apology gift... ".. How did you know my name?" asked the boy. The girl smiled her widest smile. "A prophecy," she answered. "From my ancestors. Saying you're the one." The couple only first met, but they knew that there's something more to this meeting. Sorry for the crappy writing.	The dish was still in his hand when he awoke. “Empty!” Had he spilled it when he fell? Still on the ground he was surprised that the dish was not broken. At 6’ tall a blackout from the height would fracture a jaw on a hard surface. However, the surface beneath him was soft. The dusty subfloor hard wood of the attic had been replaced by moss. A soft loam that if any thicker would have swallowed him up. It was spongy and…moving! The soft breeze he felt over the stubble a two day growth of beard wasnt from the wind it was from movement. The undergrowth was a shifting and changing moss on which he propped himself up on his elbows. His eyes began to focus and the nail riddled underside of the roof he expected to see was replaced by the dappled sky of a thousand stars and the forest canopy of trees of unknown height. He laid back down and closed his eyes. “You really whacked your head good this time!” “No, everyone has the same reaction as you, Traveler.” Her voice soothed his spinning head and he could only say, “Thank you.” and then realized someone had spoken. “Where am I?” the traveler asked. “No names. Location is understood. Here is where we are.” Her voice was so feminine and familiar. “Don’t you want to know where I came from, or even my name? What are you..called?” the puzzlement in his voice was clear. Laughing she said, “Labels are not found here, that’s for the others, travelers like you that don’t feel safe unless everything has a name.” “Language is necessary for communicating. I understand you and your language. Are you just mocking me by simulating my speech patterns? You have a beautiful voice but I haven’t seen you yet. Do you have a body? Are you different from the trees and moss and sky?” The traveler’s adamant tone was pleading with a hint of frustration. “I apologize. You are my first traveller and while it is true that ‘traveller’ is a label, it is the only one necessary in this place.” The voice was so soothing it was difficult to continue arguing or even feel frustration. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. What should a traveler address you as?” Still with his eyes closed and half expecting to be talking to the dead space in the attic, he waiting for a reply. “You may call me whatever you like. I am here and I will remain here with you until the end of your time” Though only her first traveler her confidence was strong. “Well, “Here” is a silly thing to call you, though it is close to “her,” but your voice is so soothing I want to call you that. Can I call you “Soothy?” “I will answer to Soothy, Traveller. Will you open your eyes and look upon me now?” Now Soothy was pleading. “It sounds like we a schedule to keep.” Traveller opened his eyes and noticed that the moss had stopped moving and the forest was now illuminated. The light and the voice seemed to be all around him. Soothy was the light. “Are you the light, I see?” I’m sorry, I need to finish.” As Traveller watched he could see a form appear from the edge of the brightness. The nerve endings on his scalp tingled from front to back and back to front again. The form was becoming less translucent and more defined. The light around what was creating “Soothy” glowed less and less as the form became solid. Soothy was nude and traveller thought that he may have been too quick in naming her. Her beauty was undefinable - it was soul fulfilling, it was making his heart race, it was almost too much. Though the brilliance of the light dimmed he still felt the need to shield his eyes. “Can you not see me?” Soothy begged. “It’s It’s too much! I’m overwhelmed. You are the most precious thing I have ever seen. How did you do that?” Traveller was incredulous. “In this place, everything is nothing and nothing is everything. The form I take is combination of your existence and mine. I perceive my own appearance and then drew upon yours to complete the form.” I can only perceive that the form was successful. I have bonded with it and I can now walk with you as complete. “Oh my God, I’m Adam!” Traveller was shocked with this realization. “What is Adam? What is God? Are they friends of yours?” Soothy asked. “No. If this is real, which is still suspect. I came from a place where labels or names became real once they were repeated over and over. A consensus among others like me created our reality. This place, so far, with its lack of labels is challenging my ability to confirm that it is real.” The traveller tried to explain. “If you do not have this consensus, then you do not accept my existence? Can you exist to yourself without someone telling you so?” Soothy contemplated the dilemma “I just came from a place where this is/was how we existed - there were/are billions of others like me and I was raised to believe what I was told until a time when I could see and understand things for myself. You seem to exist as an intelligent light and can form yourself with the cooperation of other sources of energy or matter. Were you ever anything other that the light, or the form in cooperation with another?” “I have no concept of your perception of time. There is only now, there is only here.” Soothy said. “I think I am starting to understand. You are light, energy. You don’t have a sense of time because you are now. Measuring light and time where I came from you would find laughable. I’ll show you a sundial sometime.” He hoped Soothy would understand. He was so full of emotion for this beautiful solid energy before him that he was torn between consuming it somehow and bowing down before it. He was sure of one thing - he was in love with Soothy, the way someone falls in love with a sunny day in grassy field without a care in the world. His final thought was how to stay in this place. A crack of light slowly made its way across the dusty attic floor and when it touched the corner of his left eye. He sat up with a start. With light speed he reached for the next candy, this dish was gone, but where was the candy?
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	The dish was still in his hand when he awoke. “Empty!” Had he spilled it when he fell? Still on the ground he was surprised that the dish was not broken. At 6’ tall a blackout from the height would fracture a jaw on a hard surface. However, the surface beneath him was soft. The dusty subfloor hard wood of the attic had been replaced by moss. A soft loam that if any thicker would have swallowed him up. It was spongy and…moving! The soft breeze he felt over the stubble a two day growth of beard wasnt from the wind it was from movement. The undergrowth was a shifting and changing moss on which he propped himself up on his elbows. His eyes began to focus and the nail riddled underside of the roof he expected to see was replaced by the dappled sky of a thousand stars and the forest canopy of trees of unknown height. He laid back down and closed his eyes. “You really whacked your head good this time!” “No, everyone has the same reaction as you, Traveler.” Her voice soothed his spinning head and he could only say, “Thank you.” and then realized someone had spoken. “Where am I?” the traveler asked. “No names. Location is understood. Here is where we are.” Her voice was so feminine and familiar. “Don’t you want to know where I came from, or even my name? What are you..called?” the puzzlement in his voice was clear. Laughing she said, “Labels are not found here, that’s for the others, travelers like you that don’t feel safe unless everything has a name.” “Language is necessary for communicating. I understand you and your language. Are you just mocking me by simulating my speech patterns? You have a beautiful voice but I haven’t seen you yet. Do you have a body? Are you different from the trees and moss and sky?” The traveler’s adamant tone was pleading with a hint of frustration. “I apologize. You are my first traveller and while it is true that ‘traveller’ is a label, it is the only one necessary in this place.” The voice was so soothing it was difficult to continue arguing or even feel frustration. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. What should a traveler address you as?” Still with his eyes closed and half expecting to be talking to the dead space in the attic, he waiting for a reply. “You may call me whatever you like. I am here and I will remain here with you until the end of your time” Though only her first traveler her confidence was strong. “Well, “Here” is a silly thing to call you, though it is close to “her,” but your voice is so soothing I want to call you that. Can I call you “Soothy?” “I will answer to Soothy, Traveller. Will you open your eyes and look upon me now?” Now Soothy was pleading. “It sounds like we a schedule to keep.” Traveller opened his eyes and noticed that the moss had stopped moving and the forest was now illuminated. The light and the voice seemed to be all around him. Soothy was the light. “Are you the light, I see?” I’m sorry, I need to finish.” As Traveller watched he could see a form appear from the edge of the brightness. The nerve endings on his scalp tingled from front to back and back to front again. The form was becoming less translucent and more defined. The light around what was creating “Soothy” glowed less and less as the form became solid. Soothy was nude and traveller thought that he may have been too quick in naming her. Her beauty was undefinable - it was soul fulfilling, it was making his heart race, it was almost too much. Though the brilliance of the light dimmed he still felt the need to shield his eyes. “Can you not see me?” Soothy begged. “It’s It’s too much! I’m overwhelmed. You are the most precious thing I have ever seen. How did you do that?” Traveller was incredulous. “In this place, everything is nothing and nothing is everything. The form I take is combination of your existence and mine. I perceive my own appearance and then drew upon yours to complete the form.” I can only perceive that the form was successful. I have bonded with it and I can now walk with you as complete. “Oh my God, I’m Adam!” Traveller was shocked with this realization. “What is Adam? What is God? Are they friends of yours?” Soothy asked. “No. If this is real, which is still suspect. I came from a place where labels or names became real once they were repeated over and over. A consensus among others like me created our reality. This place, so far, with its lack of labels is challenging my ability to confirm that it is real.” The traveller tried to explain. “If you do not have this consensus, then you do not accept my existence? Can you exist to yourself without someone telling you so?” Soothy contemplated the dilemma “I just came from a place where this is/was how we existed - there were/are billions of others like me and I was raised to believe what I was told until a time when I could see and understand things for myself. You seem to exist as an intelligent light and can form yourself with the cooperation of other sources of energy or matter. Were you ever anything other that the light, or the form in cooperation with another?” “I have no concept of your perception of time. There is only now, there is only here.” Soothy said. “I think I am starting to understand. You are light, energy. You don’t have a sense of time because you are now. Measuring light and time where I came from you would find laughable. I’ll show you a sundial sometime.” He hoped Soothy would understand. He was so full of emotion for this beautiful solid energy before him that he was torn between consuming it somehow and bowing down before it. He was sure of one thing - he was in love with Soothy, the way someone falls in love with a sunny day in grassy field without a care in the world. His final thought was how to stay in this place. A crack of light slowly made its way across the dusty attic floor and when it touched the corner of his left eye. He sat up with a start. With light speed he reached for the next candy, this dish was gone, but where was the candy?
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	"Five pieces left," Stella sighed at the handful of candy. Five pieces of black licorice hard candy rested in her palms. Each one wrapped in translucent purple cellophane. The young woman sat cross-legged on her bed at nine in the morning. Sunlight filled one side of the room while she sat in shadow. She took vacation time and cleared her schedule for the next week. After wasting too many pieces she realized the time difference. She only needed two and a half hours to go through the last pieces, but she expected to be heartbroken at the end. "This is my special candy," Stella's grandma explained when the girl was only seven. "You can try a piece, but you won't like it. It's magical...," her grandma giggled and tapped Stella's nose. "...just like you. But it's like two magnets that push each other away." Alice was determined to prove her grandmother wrong and shoved the black candy into her mouth. Stella made a sour face, then the shiny, black, wet piece of candy was stuck to the carpet within two seconds. "Give your magic some time to mature," her grandmother said with a wink. "You'll like it when you're older." Her grandma never answered questions about the magical nature of the confection. She only ever saw the older woman eat it in the evening when she disappeared into her room for the night. Stella found the hidden stockpile of sweets in her grandmother's attic and pocketed them all. She still didn't like licorice, but she was older now. She knew how to power through unpleasantness. By 22 she stopped believing in magic; then, that first sharp tartness prodded her tongue. She almost spit it out, but Stella clamped her teeth shut and imprisoned the candy. She was determined to keep it in her mouth no matter how much she wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. She imagined her grandmother laughing at her; then something black appeared. The first time she was in her living room. A tall, black hole floated in front of her couch. She believed in magic again and jumped through the hole. On the other side, she found herself on a hill over-looking small village. She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, she dashed down to the town eager to explore. It wasn't until the third day that she began to wonder how to get home. She knew her grandmother always got home just fine, but she did not know how. Then, she was home. Stella did not waste any time and ate another piece of candy. She ate four pieces in a row before she started wondering about the world she was leaving behind. That's when she found out about the time difference. On her fifth trip, she met Ulysses and spent her next 20 pieces falling in love with him. Stella unwrapped the 26th piece, popped it in her mouth, and laid back with her eyes closed. "Hey, when did you get here?" Ulysses said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing at the doorway to his room. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you again." "I need to tell you something," Stella said. She sat up in his bed. Ulysses moved closer and sat next to her. "Something wrong?" He asked. "I have something to tell you. It's really weird and you probably won't believe me," she looked into his eyes. Golden starbursts surrounded his pupils. "But it's all true. I'm not crazy." Ulysses nodded. "Okay, you're not crazy," he smiled. "What's the big secret?" "I'm not from here," she tried starting broad. If he had problems with her being an outsider she would not have to elaborate. Ulysses nodded. "I know. Is that it?" he wrapped his hand around hers. Stella shook her head. "I don't mean this village or even this continent. I'm not from this Earth," she explained. Ulysses chuckled and nodded his head again. "I know," he repeated with a squeeze of her hand. "It's not a big deal." "Not a big deal!? I'm from an alternate universe! How is that not a big deal?" Ulysses' eyes opened wide. The golden stars disappeared leaving boring, brown irises. “How do you know?” "You don't know what you are?" he asked with a hushed tone. Stella felt like he was trying hard not to offend her. "What do you mean?" she asked him. "How have you been traveling here?" he asked. Stella remembered why they were having the conversation at all. She got distracted by his easy acceptance of her story. "My grandma had some magic candies.. but I only have four left after this trip. It lasts for three days, so... starting today I only have 15 days here." Stella hung her head. Ulysses doubled over and burst into laughter; his jovialness shook the bed under her. "Hey...," Stella said softly. She wanted to let him know he hurt her feelings. He quickly shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You know, I always wondered why you didn't have a tattoo," he pointed to the star on his bicep with the number 35 on it. "And I looked all over," he winked. "C'mon, let's go get you one." "Why do I need a tattoo?" she asked. Ulysses smiled and wiggled his hand at the air beside the bed. A black portal, like the one that formed when Stella ate a piece of candy, appeared. "Because if you have a tattoo...," Ulysses smiled and led her off the bed. "...you can make a portal without the candy." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year two, day #121. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse)) or my [blog](https://hugoverse.info/). If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the [Guidebook](https://hugoverse.info/2017/11/25/hugoverse-guidebook/) to see what's what and who's who, or the [Timeline](https://hugoverse.info/2017/10/23/hugoverse-timeline/) to find the stories in order.	Day 12 in this other world: I've explored almost this entire city, where the world is full of color. The sky is a deep purple, the wind is more silent than ours but replaced by the echoes of creatures I've never seen before, and mountains of vibrant orange land and complex structures float all around the sky. There are 5 moons each with it's own deep color. It was beautiful. I was in the middle of a large city, filled with bright lights of greens, blues, purples, and pinks. And a large crowd rushed all over me heading towards a crowded stage. That's when I met her, her name was Aranea. She bumped into me as she was trying to pass through. "Sorry! I didn't see you. Are you okay?" the girl asked. "Yeah I'm fine. I've got no idea what's going on to be honest. What's your name?" I said. "Aranea", she stated. I smiled at her. "My name's Jason," I said while trying not to look too worried, "could you show me around by any chance? I'm not from here, and I wanna make a new friend." She laughed and said, "Yeah sure, just come with me. I was headed over there!" She pointed to the stage where everyone was gathered, then we walked to the stage. We made small-talk but I couldn't hide how shocked I was about everything. Just being in this world... I don't know why, but the only way I could describe it is... magical. "...and today ladies and gentlemen, the new restaurant right in the middle of our city opens! We welcome you, to Al Capore!" said the spokesperson. The huge crowd dispersed, and a good chunk of it went straight into the restaurant. "That was our mayor. I guess the big announcement this afternoon is that that restaurant is opening up." Aranea said. "Right, um, you want to check out that restaurant? It looks popular." I asked. She let out a small smile. "Sure, let's go," she said happily We talked and talked for hours, then when I thought it was a good time, I finally dropped the big news. "You know, I'm not from here. Like... I'm from this other world. And I found these candies in my grandma's attic, and whenever I eat them, I come back to this world. Time seems to not have skipped when I come back, in this world AND in my own world, but I love it here. I'm literally escaping reality, my old reality, and coming to this place that's just... it's just really magical. And I like spending time with you. Sorry, I know this all sounds weird, but I'm not lying. Do you believe what I'm saying?" I asked. "Yeah, it all sounds crazy. But you don't seem like your lying... This is all just too much for me... I just want to think about it. Are you sure you're not lying? ...Are you feeling okay?" she said worryingly. "Yeah I promise. I feel totally fine. But I just want someone that I can talk to in here, someone that believes me. It's like, when I'm in this world, it's amazing, but nobody knows that I'm not from here. I'm from somewhere that's not here. I just appeared in this universe when I ate one piece of candy." I explained. I decided to leave the conversation at that, and walk her home so she could digest everything that happened. I spent the next day in this world applying for a job at a grocery store. The produce looked incredible, it was like I was high on something walking inside of a grocery store back in my own world. All of the food looked so foreign, but some had resemblances to "our" food. Getting a job was way easier than getting a job in my own world. The application process took only a few minutes, and I was hired on the spot. I used the money to pay for my rent in this old couple's house, and I also spent it wandering around this world and eating the good food it had to offer. The steaks in this world were amazing, but they don't call it steaks, they call it "HOOBRAS", but it tasted way better than steak. It tasted more rich, as if the flavor was magnified, and it was so savory. Then one day while working, I saw her again. "Hey can I help you?", I asked before laughing. Then I asked more seriously, "How are you doing?" "Fine," she said. "I thought about what you said, and I don't care. If you're being honest with me, then I'll try to understand you, and we can take things slowly." I invited her out on a date after work and she agreed. I'm glad she was still trying. We visited a waterfall I discovered walking alone. It was a light walk, but I knew I could get to know her better. "So how do you like this waterfall? Beautiful right?" She laughed, "Yeah it's beautiful. I've been here before, but with you, I don't know... It feels different, it feels funner." "I'm glad you like it," I said as I smiled. I took her hand and we walked to the top of the waterfall, and crossed a river using a beautiful old bridge that went across the water. The water was glistening purple and green, from the sky and rays of light above us. We looked at a bunch of fishes, each with their own colors and features. One of them looked like a koi and a fighting fish had a baby, a blue and violet fish that looked like a long koi. "Hmm, what do you think fish think about?" I joked. She laughed, "WHAT? What do you mean what do fish think about? I don't think they think about anything. They just... feel." I gave a cheeky smile and asked, "Oh yeah, and how do you feel right now?" She seemed to have blushed and said gently, "I feel like I really like you." We just looked at each other and couldn't stop smiling. I grabbed her hand tightly and continued our walk around the flowing river. Time flew by so slowly with her, it was like... I'm right where I'm supposed to be when I'm with her. I felt happy, and like I wanted to see her more and more. "So, tomorrow I pick you up at 6?" I asked. She smiled, "Sure. Maybe next time we grab something to eat. I know a good place where we could get some QUALITY hoobras. They've also got a nice pair of shankalanks served with salt and vepper that we could get. And I WANT you to try cupukekki for dessert, you'll love it. Trust me." "Sure, let's go," I responded. We went out on many dates after that. I found out her favorite dessert is cupukekki with stwaberry frosting, and she can do this weird trick with her eyebrows dancing with it from left to right. I also found out that like my parents, her parents were separated when she was younger. What are the odds. I guess we were able to relate to each other that much better because of it, but I was sad when I found out.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	Day 12 in this other world: I've explored almost this entire city, where the world is full of color. The sky is a deep purple, the wind is more silent than ours but replaced by the echoes of creatures I've never seen before, and mountains of vibrant orange land and complex structures float all around the sky. There are 5 moons each with it's own deep color. It was beautiful. I was in the middle of a large city, filled with bright lights of greens, blues, purples, and pinks. And a large crowd rushed all over me heading towards a crowded stage. That's when I met her, her name was Aranea. She bumped into me as she was trying to pass through. "Sorry! I didn't see you. Are you okay?" the girl asked. "Yeah I'm fine. I've got no idea what's going on to be honest. What's your name?" I said. "Aranea", she stated. I smiled at her. "My name's Jason," I said while trying not to look too worried, "could you show me around by any chance? I'm not from here, and I wanna make a new friend." She laughed and said, "Yeah sure, just come with me. I was headed over there!" She pointed to the stage where everyone was gathered, then we walked to the stage. We made small-talk but I couldn't hide how shocked I was about everything. Just being in this world... I don't know why, but the only way I could describe it is... magical. "...and today ladies and gentlemen, the new restaurant right in the middle of our city opens! We welcome you, to Al Capore!" said the spokesperson. The huge crowd dispersed, and a good chunk of it went straight into the restaurant. "That was our mayor. I guess the big announcement this afternoon is that that restaurant is opening up." Aranea said. "Right, um, you want to check out that restaurant? It looks popular." I asked. She let out a small smile. "Sure, let's go," she said happily We talked and talked for hours, then when I thought it was a good time, I finally dropped the big news. "You know, I'm not from here. Like... I'm from this other world. And I found these candies in my grandma's attic, and whenever I eat them, I come back to this world. Time seems to not have skipped when I come back, in this world AND in my own world, but I love it here. I'm literally escaping reality, my old reality, and coming to this place that's just... it's just really magical. And I like spending time with you. Sorry, I know this all sounds weird, but I'm not lying. Do you believe what I'm saying?" I asked. "Yeah, it all sounds crazy. But you don't seem like your lying... This is all just too much for me... I just want to think about it. Are you sure you're not lying? ...Are you feeling okay?" she said worryingly. "Yeah I promise. I feel totally fine. But I just want someone that I can talk to in here, someone that believes me. It's like, when I'm in this world, it's amazing, but nobody knows that I'm not from here. I'm from somewhere that's not here. I just appeared in this universe when I ate one piece of candy." I explained. I decided to leave the conversation at that, and walk her home so she could digest everything that happened. I spent the next day in this world applying for a job at a grocery store. The produce looked incredible, it was like I was high on something walking inside of a grocery store back in my own world. All of the food looked so foreign, but some had resemblances to "our" food. Getting a job was way easier than getting a job in my own world. The application process took only a few minutes, and I was hired on the spot. I used the money to pay for my rent in this old couple's house, and I also spent it wandering around this world and eating the good food it had to offer. The steaks in this world were amazing, but they don't call it steaks, they call it "HOOBRAS", but it tasted way better than steak. It tasted more rich, as if the flavor was magnified, and it was so savory. Then one day while working, I saw her again. "Hey can I help you?", I asked before laughing. Then I asked more seriously, "How are you doing?" "Fine," she said. "I thought about what you said, and I don't care. If you're being honest with me, then I'll try to understand you, and we can take things slowly." I invited her out on a date after work and she agreed. I'm glad she was still trying. We visited a waterfall I discovered walking alone. It was a light walk, but I knew I could get to know her better. "So how do you like this waterfall? Beautiful right?" She laughed, "Yeah it's beautiful. I've been here before, but with you, I don't know... It feels different, it feels funner." "I'm glad you like it," I said as I smiled. I took her hand and we walked to the top of the waterfall, and crossed a river using a beautiful old bridge that went across the water. The water was glistening purple and green, from the sky and rays of light above us. We looked at a bunch of fishes, each with their own colors and features. One of them looked like a koi and a fighting fish had a baby, a blue and violet fish that looked like a long koi. "Hmm, what do you think fish think about?" I joked. She laughed, "WHAT? What do you mean what do fish think about? I don't think they think about anything. They just... feel." I gave a cheeky smile and asked, "Oh yeah, and how do you feel right now?" She seemed to have blushed and said gently, "I feel like I really like you." We just looked at each other and couldn't stop smiling. I grabbed her hand tightly and continued our walk around the flowing river. Time flew by so slowly with her, it was like... I'm right where I'm supposed to be when I'm with her. I felt happy, and like I wanted to see her more and more. "So, tomorrow I pick you up at 6?" I asked. She smiled, "Sure. Maybe next time we grab something to eat. I know a good place where we could get some QUALITY hoobras. They've also got a nice pair of shankalanks served with salt and vepper that we could get. And I WANT you to try cupukekki for dessert, you'll love it. Trust me." "Sure, let's go," I responded. We went out on many dates after that. I found out her favorite dessert is cupukekki with stwaberry frosting, and she can do this weird trick with her eyebrows dancing with it from left to right. I also found out that like my parents, her parents were separated when she was younger. What are the odds. I guess we were able to relate to each other that much better because of it, but I was sad when I found out.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	I was never good at lying. That must have been why I was always honest. "We must meet each other again," said the girl. "Soon, my love," I replied, a smile on my face. "Very soon." They shared a kiss. A prolonged kiss. Their hands connected and intertwined. Even after she's gone, her warmth remained in his palms. Even after he's back, he can still see her beautiful, wondrous, fantastic face. Her amazing aroma hung in the air. Her morbid mark on his lips... It was a dream. A fleeting moment, a brief period of time, and a fantasy only I know and no one will believe in. It only took a day, but if felt like a year. Each passing hour chained onto the next without my knowing. Soon, I'm alone. "What do you want to do?" asked the boy. "Spend more time with you," answered the girl. Hand-in-hand, stride by stride, they made their way towards their home. There, the couple had everything they needed. Each other. I resumed my daily life afterwards. Only a day has passed, but I missed a lot of my responsibilities. I went to work, ate and rested, paid my bills, and dropped to my bed. Just another day. Uneventful, and with no one waiting for me once I got back. "Why do you love me?" asked the boy. "Because you are honest," answered the girl. It was not a unique trait to be truthful. Yet it was uncommon that such an eccentric girl found it sufficient of her love. Perhaps, in her perspective, it was more than enough. Today was a nuisance. I had to go to my grandmother's house. I never liked her. She had strict rules whenever I stayed and she always catches me breaking her rules. She's quite fond of my name. Probably because she forced my parents to give it to me. I went to the attic and saw these candies... "Why do you love me?" asked the girl. ".. Because it's not unrequited," answered the boy. They travelled far and wide, taking a glimpse of every attraction that catches their eyes. But their gaze lingered most on each other. I was never a good liar. Even at our final moments, I never made a good lie. Her mark, her face, her aroma, her tears... All lingered in my memory. I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough. Nor was I strong enough. But... I do have an apology gift... ".. How did you know my name?" asked the boy. The girl smiled her widest smile. "A prophecy," she answered. "From my ancestors. Saying you're the one." The couple only first met, but they knew that there's something more to this meeting. Sorry for the crappy writing.
	[WP] Exploring the attic of your dead grandmother's old house, you find 30 pieces of candy that when eaten, transports your conciousness to another, magical world (for 3 days in theirs and 3 minutes in ours). You find the love of your life in this world, but the candies are running out...	I never told her our time together was finite. Our love was real, and true, but we were from different worlds. Or universes? I never really understood. I only knew that when I ate one of the little blue candies from my late Grandma's small jeweled tin, I was transported to a world containing Sera. I only had one candy left. When the effects wore off, how would I ever see Sera again? I had planned a beautiful last date together. Wine, a picnic overlooking our favorite lake, and our song playing. And my Grandmother's ring. I'm not even certain that engagement rings are a thing in Sera's world, but I wanted her to have something of me after I was gone. And of course I also brought her my notebook. From the moment I returned after the first candy wore off, I kept a diary. All my hopes and dreams, all my history and plans. My best jokes and worst puns. My love for her. I wrote it all down. The notebook was over 4 inches thick now - really several notebooks bound together with string. And in it I explained the candy, the two worlds, and where to find me if ever she found a way to visit mine. This was my last chance. I made sure to leave nothing out. Just in case. Our last date went perfectly. She cried happy tears when I gave her the ring. She said she would marry me! For that one shining moment, I pretended as hard as I could that this was real and I could stay forever. I kissed her one last time, and gave her the notebook. I never warned her that this would be the last time I saw her. I didn't want to ruin even a moment of our precious time. I got up to leave. "Already?" she asked, glancing at her watch. "I hoped we could stay longer this time. especially since..." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my grandmother's ring on her finger, the sapphire catching the light of the setting sun. "I know," I said, trying desperately to hold it together. "Until next time, please read the notebook. I love you!" And with that I was back in my Grandmother's attic again. Alone, I allowed myself to break down. Not that I could have stopped it if I tried. The next week passed in a haze of tears and depression. I barely slept or ate. I scoured the attic for the 50th time looking for more candies. The doorbell rang. I couldn't be asked to answer. It rang again, followed by an insistent knocking. Another annoying neighbor with a casserole? Whoever it was wouldn't go away. I stumbled to the door and opened it, prepared to grump at the rude person interrupting my grief. As I opened the door I saw was a hand. With a sapphire ring. The world went black. I awoke on the floor. I had passed out. "Are you ok?" "Sera..." I muttered. Had I only imagined her? A fresh wave of grief washed over me. "Yes." I sat bolt upright. There was Sera. Or at least someone who looked exactly like Sera. But dressed in clothing of this world. I reached out for her. She couldn't be MY Sera? She reached back. On her hand was Grandma's ring. "How...?" I couldn't manage a more coherent question. My mind was muddled by grief and a lack of food or sleep. Sera pulled a small box out of her purse. She opened it. It was full of little blue wrappers, identical to the ones on the candies I had used to reach her. "I never told you," she began. "I didn't want to spoil things. I thought you were from there. It never occurred to me we were BOTH just visiting."	I remember feeling my heart beating to the rhythm of the rain, pounding, trickling down the zinc roof of our cottage, filling the world with harsh coldness, and yet there I was, blanketed in warmth by her embrace. I took a glimpse at the wooden clock across the room. It was almost time. I let my gaze fall into her dark, emerald eyes, and with a heavy sigh, I opened my mouth to tell her it was time to go. And as if she knew what I was about to say, she asked; “See you later?”, with her eyes pleading, For a little while, I was unsure of what to say. Then I told her; “Yes, of course”, I said as I force a wry smile. I saw her rosebud lips turning into a smile before my world swirled Into the darkness. And there I was, back in the Attic. It was almost dusk. I saw rays of light beaming through the window, with its warmth seeping through my bones. My eyes felt heavy. I took a daring look into the small chest where all the candy was kept, and I felt my heart pounding a million times faster. One was left. My breaths became uneven, I felt panic started to fill me. My hands shivered as I tried to reach for the candy, I never thought this moment would come. It felt unreal. And yet here I was, choking back my tears. The world just suddenly went dull, filling me nothing with despair. As I sat down against the wall, I felt tears running down my cheeks. And for a while, I looked at the piece of glossy red candy in my hand.
[deleted]	[WP] WELCOME TO PURGATORY ISLAND! The rules are simple. You are all between life and death but only 1 of you can go back living. There are weapons hidden all around. Be the last one left and you win your life back . You all have 5 minutes to go search for weapons before we begin. GOOD LUCK!	Everything felt fuzzy. The last thing I could remember was being shot, that I should be dead. But I wasn't, instead I was on some beach. It felt familiar. Then I heard the voice, grand and booming, announce the rules. Last man standing, fight to the death. Then the sound of running. I didn't realize how many other people were here, but in an instant, I was alone again. Slowly I lifted myself up, and headed down the beach. The footprints all seemed to go inland, so I felt safe-ish here. Luck was on my side, as I came across something jutting from the sand, a pistol. I gave it a quick check, and was confident it worked. I'm not sure why, or how. I must have been good with guns in life. My thoughts were interrupted as gun shots start to echo out of the hills. Gun shots and screams. Something primal kicked in, and I started running into the woods. Before I could fully process everything, I was grabbing branches and snapping them free. With crude yet efficient skill, I sharpened them, and laid them into traps. Once confident, I fired a shot into the air. Everything went still for a moment, then the sounds of movement returned. They were quiet, but I recognized them against the background. Careful and quietly, someone snuck through the brush. Not carefully enough though, as they stumbled into my trap. I emerged from my hiding to watch as the man lay in the spikes, gasping and gagging through his own blood. I slid down into the pit with him, to take his guns from him. I didn't see the other, only heard his gun too late. It punched through my chest. Everything felt fuzzy. The last thing I could remember was being shot, that I should be dead. But I wasn't, instead I was on some beach. It felt familiar.	A fight to the death between those closest to theirs wouldn’t look fun. Who would win, the grandpa suffering an heart attack or the little girl bleeding as we speak ? Each participants, 100 in total, were given a body matching their karma rating. After all, the purgatory is supposed to be a way of sorting those who are worthy. One guy was a cop, who amongst countless good deeds, shielded a bystander from an explosion. Even our word top athletes couldn’t compete with him. The girl who detonated the bomb is now an elderly woman plagued by arthritis. Me, the bystander in question, was an ordinary guy. I’m somewhat a little stronger than I used to be (granted, I hated sports). I woke up in a forest, no one in sight. I thanked God for being away from any potential murderer, until I remembered that He was the one to put him in that situation. I politely wished Him to get fucked. I searched my surroundings and found a few items: a knife and some arrows. No bow, though.Were we locked to a low technology or am I just unlucky ? An explosion across the island answered my thoughts. Shit, how am I supposed to fight this ? You may call me a coward, but I found a relative safety by hiding in a tree. I waited patiently. I told myself I waited for a chance to strike, but deep down I knew I just wanted to elongate my life. An hour passed, maybe two. Four person walked just under my tree, but no one saw me. One even died a few meters away from me. Gunshots became scarcer, when the anouncer spoke once more : « Well, well, things are getting stall. We’re down to twenty, and some of you are still hiding. To spice things up I’ll randomly make three magic items appear. Those who find them will have an huge increase in their survival chances ! Go get them, their spawning position will be indicated by a pillar of light ! » As if I was falling for that trap. It’s obviously a trap meant to gather us in order to increase the fighting. And thenI was struck by a pillar of light in my face. The irony was palpable. I almost forgot to cry in despair as I laughed. Is it because I sweared ? My survival instinct kicking up once again, I grabbed the spear in front of me, and darted out of here. I once again climbed a tree and waited. Luckily no one saw me. I waited, once again. Ten minutes, maybe less, and I was once again running. The whole forest was burning. An other magic item ? Probably. While running, I stumbled upon someone. It was a child, which mean their karma was pretty low. I was the first to react, and my spear had more reach. My first kill. Knowing they’re probably a criminal does not make killing a child feel less sickening. The spear glowed an ominous red. I continued running, and then I met the cop who tried to save my life. We stopped, torn between killing each other and our brief connection resulting from him shielding the blast. He assured me he was trying to get me to win. I trusted him, as someone couldn’t be evil with a body like that (in purgatory island, don’t juge people based on their look irl), and even if he betrays me, it would be a great guy who’ll survive. We found ourselves trapped by a cliffside, and had to face an elder woman armed with a book controlling flames. Ironic how the three victim of that attack met once again. She launched a wave of fire at us while the cop shot her. I was the first to die, despite the cop trying once again to shield me Then, I woke up once again, spear in hand, in the fully healed body of the child I killed. The spear crumbled in ashes, having used its magical power. I walked back to the cliffside, and saw the two agonizing. I mercy killed them by my knife, and then dropped uncouncious. I woke up in an hospital bed, the doctors were happy to have saved me. I was...okay ? Physically great, morally bad. I killed three people, indirectly ninety nine. 37 people were sorted to heaven, 52 in hell. Depending on if and how they killed. You see, even with a slim chance to live, the purgatory purpose is to stimulate people, see how they’ll react in an extreme situation and then sort them in between heaven and hell.
	[WP] Your Significant other finds out that you have a magical power that lets you enter the world of the book you are reading. Now he/she wants to go along with your magic to enter the world of you favorite book.	“Jane, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to explain.” Her dark eyes avoid yours and are fixed on your shaking left hand. Her face is set in her usual, quaint, expressionless form, but the way her lips are pursed is telling another truth. “Please. You have to trust me.” You see her inhale deeply and look outside the small window of her room. The moor wind is creeping through the glass, and yet you feel another uncomfortable drop of sweat falling down your back. “Jane... we have to leave.” She folds her hands on the grey apron. Oh, how stubborn she is, every single time! “I am afraid I have no reason to trust your words, Sir.” You sigh and pass a hand on your eyebrow. Your fingers can’t seem to stop shaking. You know, you know... why would she trust you, now? It’s too soon, too soon... “Too soon for what, Sir?” You raise your eyes and meet hers. That gaze. The fire she cannot hide, that urge to feel, and then bury it. It’s soon gone, and she takes out her sewing kit from under the chair. Maybe it’s not too soon. “Jane.” You lean forward, then put some space between the two of you. “I met you before.” “You were here yesterday, following the invitation from my...” “No, Jane.” Your mouth feels dry and uncomplying. “I met you before. In another cha-situation. Where you and Rochester-” The sewing basket is carefully put down. “I would ask you to refrain from disrespecting his...” and she stops. “There was no conjunction between me and my master either than...” “But it will happen!” And you can’t help to raise your voice. Her cheeks turn a brighter color. “Sir, If Mr Rochester wasn’t suffering from a horse accident of 3 days ago, I would ask him to-.” You feel a sharp pain in your stomach, the same you felt for the past hours of your life. Because it is all your fault. “I know Jane. Because...” you close your eyes, feeling dizzy and sick. “My girlfriend did it.” “Your what?” she lost all her composure at once. “And she’s coming for you, Jane Eyre.” “Why! What? Explain!” Her little chest is irregularly lifting and falling down. Her knuckles are white on the wooden chair. It’s time for truth. “Because you are a character in my favourite book, Jane. And I often came here to look for advice and speak to you and to Mr Ro-. No, please. Let me go on. Yesterday, yes, yesterday, I was so naive to share my secret with my girlfriend, and she...” you stare at your knees. “She wants to kill you.” “But why?” “Because...” and you finally raise your head and hold her terrible, passionate gaze. “Because I love this book so much I...” And all the memories of walking with Jane and Rochester, discussing life, discussing ethics, listening to Edward’s incredible stories while guiding him through the gardens, amazed by how their journeys took them so apart and yet there, in front of me... “Why can’t she understand this book is my life?” She puts a hand on my knee. I realise only now that I have tears falling from my chin. “Your life, if I understand, is outside here. This is not where you belong.” “But she will kill you if we don’t leave now!” “If we are just... stories. Then my story will end next to my beloved master’s one.” And she laughs her little, rare laugh. “And yours will be to find your lover and talk to her.” She folds again her hands in her lap. “I need to go now. My master awaits me.” You nod. She’s right. She’s always right. —- Edit: typos. Comments are very welcome!	“Please, just the once, something a little more exciting!”, she relentlessly pleaded. I suppose, “Catcher in the Rye” was a bit dull, but it was her favorite book and I made the rules for a reason, to keep her, and myself safe. 1) No world-ending threats. 2) No side characters murdered or maimed. 3) No interfering with the plot. (I learned the hard way that getting by is a lot easier when you know the plot). But, I suppose that if not broken, rules can be bent. And so it was, full of caution and hope that I flipped through the pages and my the room began to spin.” As I opened my eyes and saw Cindy beside me, I was sure I’d made the right choice. Filled with wonder, her eyes flew from her robes, to the castle, to the whomping willow’s flailing limbs.” And then, my responsible wife, whom I admired for her sensibility, broke my third, most important rule. “Harry, Ron, are you okay? Don’t worry about the car, it’ll come back!”
	[WP] When you delete a saved game, that world still goes on, wondering why their hero has forsaken them and never returned.	Amazing how the right person in the wrong place can cause such impact. Even more when suddenly that person disappears. &#x200B; Word had spread that the Savior had fallen into deep slumber and sadly, it was true. There they lay, the same person who had saved the realm not so long ago was now irresponsive and looking almost as if dead. Perhaps their purpose on that reality had been fulfilled? No one could tell for sure. The village was fairing all that well. Without their hero, they had been left defensless to the enormous waves of monsters that plagued their crops, livestock and sometimes even their people. Nevertheless people kept on trying to survive, under the motive that one day their beloved Savior would finally wake up and things would take a turn for the better. &#x200B; Years and years passed and the people's hope was slowly diminishing. Some would even say that on a foggy day, their hero would return, but that was hopeless. A silly belief people held on to, in order to make themselves feel better about it. &#x200B; "The Savior isn't coming back-- you know?" - Said this rugged looking old man. "You never know! How can you possibly?" - Returned someone from the middle of the crowd. &#x200B; People finally gave up on the idea of being saved by this all powerful being and even if some still believed, slowly they would change their mind. &#x200B; "We got lazy." - Resumed the old man. - "We leaned back and watched as the Hero did all the work and now.. now what? Look at our town--" &#x200B; He pointed around, noting how their crops were gone and most of their animals had either been killed or stolen by some low level grunts. It was finally time to take action. The very next day, during a foggy, cloudy morning, the villagers took their action. &#x200B; Ater all, the Savior had never left, no. Every single one of those inhabitants had a little bit of the Hero inside their body. All it took was a little spark. Nothing more, nothing less.	“Where is that Amamiya kid?” said Justine. “I honestly don’t really know Justine.” replied Caroline. The two twins wondered where the leader of the Phantom Thieves went off to. It just seemed sudden for them to leave. “Looking back, I really wish I had treated Makoto better.” said Sae. The disappearance of her sister really hit her hard. To find out her sister is missing was something that no sister would want to endure. “It just came out of left field. She just disappeared.” she said in depression. “The damn brat I was looking after went missing, same with.... Futaba.... Wakaba san would never forgive me for this.” Sojiro said, he was horrified to not be able to find Futaba and the kid he was looking after. “People are proposing that it had something to do with Shido and he just decided to get rid of the kid entirely. But what did that Takamaki girl, the Sakamoto boy, the daughter of a CEO, Futaba and that Kitagawa kid have to do with it?” As Sae came home, she sighed to herself and tearfully wished for Makoto to come back.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	At the reception desk I had to ask for someone to check the database for me, no tech skills you see. "Good mornin' Ma'am. Could ya'll check my name in that here database thing. The folks in town are looking at me funny?" I give her my name. The look of sheer horror comes over her face. She turns the screen to me. "Sorry Ma'am, I did never learn to read at the ranch. Could you read it out for me?" The lady gulps. She said what it was but from years of working heavy machinery at the ranch I'm a bit hard of hearing. "Could ya say that a little louder Ma'am, my ears don't work so good." She looks left and right and tried again. Still nothing. "Seriously Ma'am I can't hear ya. You're gonna have to yell it" The woman takes a deep breath and screams: "YOU HAVE FUCKED MORE FARMYARD ANIMALS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN HISTORY!" I stood there dumbfounded. The woman looked disturbed from having to yell the sentence. "WOOOOOWEEEEEE! Number 1 baby!!! I told ma grandaddy I'd beat him! HOTDAMN!" And with a mighty thigh slap, I turned and walked out triumphant. "Me and Dasiy are gonna celebrate tonight!"	I have lived in an abandoned ranch for most of my life without technology (how could I own any) and I decided to check the records in town. Once I reached the library at the city I came across a sign that said {The rankings are a ranking you receive for your Rank (which is a super power) which is separated into categories and levels,for example Lilith Alice Rank Cupid #1 category NEW manipulating empath},After reading the sign I walked into the library i noticed how everyone was looking at me and I wondered why until I checked the library computer and searcher my last name Nistrider <results> Jack Nighstrider Rank Revenant #1 category NEW Undead
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	I have lived in an abandoned ranch for most of my life without technology (how could I own any) and I decided to check the records in town. Once I reached the library at the city I came across a sign that said {The rankings are a ranking you receive for your Rank (which is a super power) which is separated into categories and levels,for example Lilith Alice Rank Cupid #1 category NEW manipulating empath},After reading the sign I walked into the library i noticed how everyone was looking at me and I wondered why until I checked the library computer and searcher my last name Nistrider <results> Jack Nighstrider Rank Revenant #1 category NEW Undead
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	At the reception desk I had to ask for someone to check the database for me, no tech skills you see. "Good mornin' Ma'am. Could ya'll check my name in that here database thing. The folks in town are looking at me funny?" I give her my name. The look of sheer horror comes over her face. She turns the screen to me. "Sorry Ma'am, I did never learn to read at the ranch. Could you read it out for me?" The lady gulps. She said what it was but from years of working heavy machinery at the ranch I'm a bit hard of hearing. "Could ya say that a little louder Ma'am, my ears don't work so good." She looks left and right and tried again. Still nothing. "Seriously Ma'am I can't hear ya. You're gonna have to yell it" The woman takes a deep breath and screams: "YOU HAVE FUCKED MORE FARMYARD ANIMALS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN HISTORY!" I stood there dumbfounded. The woman looked disturbed from having to yell the sentence. "WOOOOOWEEEEEE! Number 1 baby!!! I told ma grandaddy I'd beat him! HOTDAMN!" And with a mighty thigh slap, I turned and walked out triumphant. "Me and Dasiy are gonna celebrate tonight!"	"The year is 2042, it has been 30 years since the world was supposed to end. Well 2012 might have not seen the end of the world but it certainly did mark the begenning of the end. Since that infamous day "12/12/12" natural disasters have now become a normality.With raging tornados and storms that torment the seas came chaos. Now there just two type of people left on this earth, the ones who were scared and the ones who had nothing to lose. In 2028 the human population had already been halved. Humanity was bleeding and everyone alive knew something had to change. This is where Tracksmart Corp, A company that started way back 1998 decided to do something about this. They believed that with now half the population gone natural order would prevail and with time slowly but surely mother Earth would heal. But the entire human race collectively must be responsible and make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Now they believed the first thing that had to be done was to re-establish order. They also believed that those who burden the mother Earth must be held responsible and be punished. Their solution to this was simple they devoloped a simple an implantable chip that would connect everyone to a huge data base, this database ranked everyone on everything it can track the number of bugs you squashed to the amount of water you have consumed, it would also know if you killed someone. This was a huge milestone. Everyone got the chip implanted. Furthermore it was made mandatory for everyone to be chipped when they turn 18. By 2035 every single adult on this earth was chipped. And order had been regained. What will come of this? Only time will tell." Huh that was an interesting read I said to myself as I put the newspaper away. I lived in one of the smaller towns. We had been lucky enough to survive. As I was keeping my newspaper away my father burst into the hall singing the happy birthday song. My father was now a rather frail old man the agony and misery of the past had beared it's fangs. But I could see it in his eyes. He was not sad, not anymore he was hopeful, hopeful that my future will be better than his past." "Okay son I want you to go to the city now that you are 18 you have to go get that chip implanted" he said tilting his neck sideways showing a small mark. "Oh yeah, I know dad I'll leave after I eat this cake you got for me" I chuckled. After gobbling down almost half of my favourite blueberry cake I left for the city. The city was just a 15 minute drive from the village, I had never been to the city before I was excited but all that excitement turned into horror about 5 minutes into the journey. The path had been cleared but the debries were only pushed to the sides of the road. To my shock I saw numerous cars turned over fallen lampposts and it was also clear to me that this wreckage marked hundreds of graves. I knew I had to keep on driving. Soon the scenery changed the abysmal wreckage changed into huge sky scrappers that touched the sky. I went into the chipping station I was nervous but it was over before I even knew it. I thought I'd feel something but it was nothing. "Huh that was something" I said and decided to drive back. I got on my tractor and started driving back as I was about to exit the city my tractor stopped, I had not realized that I had not re charged it after plowing the field last evening. So I got down to look for a nearby charging station. As I wandered the streets looking I noticed I was being followed. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I decided to make a run for it. I began to dash only to trip over and fall. As I tried to pick my self up I saw three men looking over me. "Mr Green you need to come with us" one of them said He was holding a badge but he put it back in before I could get a good look" I knew I had no choice so I followed them. "Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?" I couldn't breath and I was feeling light headed. i could hear someone yelling, my head was still hurting and I couldn't make out what the commotion was about. "Jeez kid finally you decide to wake up, you were out cold for six hours." As I woke up in a dazed I noticed I was in a room with the three men I remember I was running away from. I was scared petrified even. My head started to spin and I felt as though I was about to pass out again. "No you don't one" one of them exclaimed and threw a bucket of water in my face. "Look kid I know you are scared but we are not your enemies we don't want to harm you. Just calm down Jesus I can't believe we have to .." "Wait, Simon stop" the other guy who was brooding over by the wall on the other side of the room interjected. "Come out for a minute". "Simon I don't think we should tell the kid that the database entry." "But griff look it states clearly here "The one who will save most lives" 1 Kasi Green 5289869 Honestly how can I believe that kid is gonna save the entire human race. " "Exactly Simon if you can't believe it how do you think the kid will believe it". After a short while they came back in If I say I was ready for what was coming up next I would be lying. What happened next is still a blur but by the time they came back in I was done running, I could feel the adrenaline rushing. "Stay away from me" I yelled with a chair in my hand and my voice cracking but the third suit had had enough he started walking towards me I did not know what to do but something inside me snapped and I swung the chair at him with all my might. As the chair met his head blood came pouring out and to my horror he was dead. His body went back flying and he collapsed with a thud I had killed a man. When his body hit the ground a small thumb drive fell out from his coat. The other two men looked surprised but they were not surprised by what had just happened they were more shocked looking at the thumb drive "The kid might have just actually saved humanity, Simon" on them said before coming towards me and sticking a needle into my arm I was shocked from what had just happened. I woke up the next day in my bed with no memory of the past day. And continued my life as usual. What was in that thumb drive? I guess I'll never know.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	"The year is 2042, it has been 30 years since the world was supposed to end. Well 2012 might have not seen the end of the world but it certainly did mark the begenning of the end. Since that infamous day "12/12/12" natural disasters have now become a normality.With raging tornados and storms that torment the seas came chaos. Now there just two type of people left on this earth, the ones who were scared and the ones who had nothing to lose. In 2028 the human population had already been halved. Humanity was bleeding and everyone alive knew something had to change. This is where Tracksmart Corp, A company that started way back 1998 decided to do something about this. They believed that with now half the population gone natural order would prevail and with time slowly but surely mother Earth would heal. But the entire human race collectively must be responsible and make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Now they believed the first thing that had to be done was to re-establish order. They also believed that those who burden the mother Earth must be held responsible and be punished. Their solution to this was simple they devoloped a simple an implantable chip that would connect everyone to a huge data base, this database ranked everyone on everything it can track the number of bugs you squashed to the amount of water you have consumed, it would also know if you killed someone. This was a huge milestone. Everyone got the chip implanted. Furthermore it was made mandatory for everyone to be chipped when they turn 18. By 2035 every single adult on this earth was chipped. And order had been regained. What will come of this? Only time will tell." Huh that was an interesting read I said to myself as I put the newspaper away. I lived in one of the smaller towns. We had been lucky enough to survive. As I was keeping my newspaper away my father burst into the hall singing the happy birthday song. My father was now a rather frail old man the agony and misery of the past had beared it's fangs. But I could see it in his eyes. He was not sad, not anymore he was hopeful, hopeful that my future will be better than his past." "Okay son I want you to go to the city now that you are 18 you have to go get that chip implanted" he said tilting his neck sideways showing a small mark. "Oh yeah, I know dad I'll leave after I eat this cake you got for me" I chuckled. After gobbling down almost half of my favourite blueberry cake I left for the city. The city was just a 15 minute drive from the village, I had never been to the city before I was excited but all that excitement turned into horror about 5 minutes into the journey. The path had been cleared but the debries were only pushed to the sides of the road. To my shock I saw numerous cars turned over fallen lampposts and it was also clear to me that this wreckage marked hundreds of graves. I knew I had to keep on driving. Soon the scenery changed the abysmal wreckage changed into huge sky scrappers that touched the sky. I went into the chipping station I was nervous but it was over before I even knew it. I thought I'd feel something but it was nothing. "Huh that was something" I said and decided to drive back. I got on my tractor and started driving back as I was about to exit the city my tractor stopped, I had not realized that I had not re charged it after plowing the field last evening. So I got down to look for a nearby charging station. As I wandered the streets looking I noticed I was being followed. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I decided to make a run for it. I began to dash only to trip over and fall. As I tried to pick my self up I saw three men looking over me. "Mr Green you need to come with us" one of them said He was holding a badge but he put it back in before I could get a good look" I knew I had no choice so I followed them. "Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?" I couldn't breath and I was feeling light headed. i could hear someone yelling, my head was still hurting and I couldn't make out what the commotion was about. "Jeez kid finally you decide to wake up, you were out cold for six hours." As I woke up in a dazed I noticed I was in a room with the three men I remember I was running away from. I was scared petrified even. My head started to spin and I felt as though I was about to pass out again. "No you don't one" one of them exclaimed and threw a bucket of water in my face. "Look kid I know you are scared but we are not your enemies we don't want to harm you. Just calm down Jesus I can't believe we have to .." "Wait, Simon stop" the other guy who was brooding over by the wall on the other side of the room interjected. "Come out for a minute". "Simon I don't think we should tell the kid that the database entry." "But griff look it states clearly here "The one who will save most lives" 1 Kasi Green 5289869 Honestly how can I believe that kid is gonna save the entire human race. " "Exactly Simon if you can't believe it how do you think the kid will believe it". After a short while they came back in If I say I was ready for what was coming up next I would be lying. What happened next is still a blur but by the time they came back in I was done running, I could feel the adrenaline rushing. "Stay away from me" I yelled with a chair in my hand and my voice cracking but the third suit had had enough he started walking towards me I did not know what to do but something inside me snapped and I swung the chair at him with all my might. As the chair met his head blood came pouring out and to my horror he was dead. His body went back flying and he collapsed with a thud I had killed a man. When his body hit the ground a small thumb drive fell out from his coat. The other two men looked surprised but they were not surprised by what had just happened they were more shocked looking at the thumb drive "The kid might have just actually saved humanity, Simon" on them said before coming towards me and sticking a needle into my arm I was shocked from what had just happened. I woke up the next day in my bed with no memory of the past day. And continued my life as usual. What was in that thumb drive? I guess I'll never know.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	At the reception desk I had to ask for someone to check the database for me, no tech skills you see. "Good mornin' Ma'am. Could ya'll check my name in that here database thing. The folks in town are looking at me funny?" I give her my name. The look of sheer horror comes over her face. She turns the screen to me. "Sorry Ma'am, I did never learn to read at the ranch. Could you read it out for me?" The lady gulps. She said what it was but from years of working heavy machinery at the ranch I'm a bit hard of hearing. "Could ya say that a little louder Ma'am, my ears don't work so good." She looks left and right and tried again. Still nothing. "Seriously Ma'am I can't hear ya. You're gonna have to yell it" The woman takes a deep breath and screams: "YOU HAVE FUCKED MORE FARMYARD ANIMALS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN HISTORY!" I stood there dumbfounded. The woman looked disturbed from having to yell the sentence. "WOOOOOWEEEEEE! Number 1 baby!!! I told ma grandaddy I'd beat him! HOTDAMN!" And with a mighty thigh slap, I turned and walked out triumphant. "Me and Dasiy are gonna celebrate tonight!"	*"KKRRRACCK!"* Lightning struck in a vicious reminder of Nature's fury. Black skies and grey landscapes lit by blinding flashes of light from the sky. Groggily waking up from sleep, I remember the thought that ran through my head. Angry, upset and depressed on the eve of my birthday, the weather outside was perhaps the most closest representation of what was going on inside my head. Rain poured in torrents, gushing and splattering about in random drops of chaos, obscuring my view through the window. Turning the other side, I hugged the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. Tomorrow was my 18th birthday. I had to put on a happy face tomorrow, else Grandma would be sad. How was she know that I hated this town, this slow sleepy town where nothing ever happened and the biggest news was one of the cows missing from Uncle Joe's ranch next door. How was she to know I longed to get out of here, especially after the deaths of my parents in an accident. How was she to know, bless her soul, that I felt cooped up like a royal Bengal tiger in a cage, forced to live out my life in the dreary unfulfilling surrounds of a gray house in a dull green ranch surrounded by poor gray skies. Even the flowers were gray. I couldn't blame Grandma, she did what she could for me, and I should be grateful. But I too, had dreams, didn't I? I wanted to feel alive ,not just live. The first tear rolled down, and the storm increased its rage, turning the grays into black as I fell asleep. I woke up with a start. Bad dreams last night. Swinging my feet off the bed, I searched for my slippers. Atleast it stopped raining. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweetheart!", exclaimed my Grandma, her lined old face framing a pair of innocent eyes, gray as the sky and occasionally mischievous as she watched me coming down the staircase. I smiled in return, nothing could sap the spirit of this old hag. The sight outside the long French windows wiped away that smile, though. Destruction and ruin, all from the storm last night. Uprooted trees and cables, cars lying on their side and torn up lawns were visible as far as the eye could see. "It was a bad one, dear. Worst ever. Don't you worry though, we haven't faced any damage at all. The house is fine, as far as I can tell. Could you go to the store and get groceries? I don't think they'll be able to deliver any today. oh, and my meds too, dear." Driving to town, some 15 minutes away, I couldn't hide my surprise. Grandma's house was untouched, even the temporary shed we built by the side of the house seemed perfectly alright! Uncle Joe next door had his windows all blown in, and a considerable chunk of his left wall dented by his truck. Gripping the wheel tighter, I passed the Sheriff and his crew clearing the road of trees and debris, and smiled when he acknowledged my presence. Reaching town, I parked by the post office, and stared. It was worse here. The buildings were built much closer to each other and the damage was extensive. The grocery store had collapsed, and there were ambulances and fire trucks adding to the chaos. I walked into the town hall since there seemed to be a crowd there. "There she is. That's Jean." The deputy sheriff points at me. Sensing my heartbeat quicken, I look around in shock as time stops, and everything comes to a standstill. EVERYTHING HAS STOPPED. The deputy sheriff, his raised finger still pointing at me, and everyone around him, like statues. Even the ambulances have gone quiet. I sense movement. A guy, probably more than 6 feet tall comes walking towards me from within the crowd of statues, wearing a brown leather jacket. "Calm down, Jean, we're friends. We noticed a surge in energy levels in our database which records all human activity. The highest we’ve ever seen. Scared us a bit actually heh." Stranger though he was, I felt a slight sense of security in his voice. "Who...who are you? What's happening to me?" "I'll explain." I look beyond leather jacket, for the source of this new voice. A bald headed gentleman, there was no other way to describe him, came rolling across on a wheelchair. Well, it wasn't a wheelchair per se. More like a very futuristic looking mobile transportation device? It seemed so out of place here. The last thing I noticed about it, which I found mildly interesting, was the fact that both the wheels on that thing had spokes on it that resembled a giant "X".
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	*"KKRRRACCK!"* Lightning struck in a vicious reminder of Nature's fury. Black skies and grey landscapes lit by blinding flashes of light from the sky. Groggily waking up from sleep, I remember the thought that ran through my head. Angry, upset and depressed on the eve of my birthday, the weather outside was perhaps the most closest representation of what was going on inside my head. Rain poured in torrents, gushing and splattering about in random drops of chaos, obscuring my view through the window. Turning the other side, I hugged the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. Tomorrow was my 18th birthday. I had to put on a happy face tomorrow, else Grandma would be sad. How was she know that I hated this town, this slow sleepy town where nothing ever happened and the biggest news was one of the cows missing from Uncle Joe's ranch next door. How was she to know I longed to get out of here, especially after the deaths of my parents in an accident. How was she to know, bless her soul, that I felt cooped up like a royal Bengal tiger in a cage, forced to live out my life in the dreary unfulfilling surrounds of a gray house in a dull green ranch surrounded by poor gray skies. Even the flowers were gray. I couldn't blame Grandma, she did what she could for me, and I should be grateful. But I too, had dreams, didn't I? I wanted to feel alive ,not just live. The first tear rolled down, and the storm increased its rage, turning the grays into black as I fell asleep. I woke up with a start. Bad dreams last night. Swinging my feet off the bed, I searched for my slippers. Atleast it stopped raining. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweetheart!", exclaimed my Grandma, her lined old face framing a pair of innocent eyes, gray as the sky and occasionally mischievous as she watched me coming down the staircase. I smiled in return, nothing could sap the spirit of this old hag. The sight outside the long French windows wiped away that smile, though. Destruction and ruin, all from the storm last night. Uprooted trees and cables, cars lying on their side and torn up lawns were visible as far as the eye could see. "It was a bad one, dear. Worst ever. Don't you worry though, we haven't faced any damage at all. The house is fine, as far as I can tell. Could you go to the store and get groceries? I don't think they'll be able to deliver any today. oh, and my meds too, dear." Driving to town, some 15 minutes away, I couldn't hide my surprise. Grandma's house was untouched, even the temporary shed we built by the side of the house seemed perfectly alright! Uncle Joe next door had his windows all blown in, and a considerable chunk of his left wall dented by his truck. Gripping the wheel tighter, I passed the Sheriff and his crew clearing the road of trees and debris, and smiled when he acknowledged my presence. Reaching town, I parked by the post office, and stared. It was worse here. The buildings were built much closer to each other and the damage was extensive. The grocery store had collapsed, and there were ambulances and fire trucks adding to the chaos. I walked into the town hall since there seemed to be a crowd there. "There she is. That's Jean." The deputy sheriff points at me. Sensing my heartbeat quicken, I look around in shock as time stops, and everything comes to a standstill. EVERYTHING HAS STOPPED. The deputy sheriff, his raised finger still pointing at me, and everyone around him, like statues. Even the ambulances have gone quiet. I sense movement. A guy, probably more than 6 feet tall comes walking towards me from within the crowd of statues, wearing a brown leather jacket. "Calm down, Jean, we're friends. We noticed a surge in energy levels in our database which records all human activity. The highest we’ve ever seen. Scared us a bit actually heh." Stranger though he was, I felt a slight sense of security in his voice. "Who...who are you? What's happening to me?" "I'll explain." I look beyond leather jacket, for the source of this new voice. A bald headed gentleman, there was no other way to describe him, came rolling across on a wheelchair. Well, it wasn't a wheelchair per se. More like a very futuristic looking mobile transportation device? It seemed so out of place here. The last thing I noticed about it, which I found mildly interesting, was the fact that both the wheels on that thing had spokes on it that resembled a giant "X".
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	At the reception desk I had to ask for someone to check the database for me, no tech skills you see. "Good mornin' Ma'am. Could ya'll check my name in that here database thing. The folks in town are looking at me funny?" I give her my name. The look of sheer horror comes over her face. She turns the screen to me. "Sorry Ma'am, I did never learn to read at the ranch. Could you read it out for me?" The lady gulps. She said what it was but from years of working heavy machinery at the ranch I'm a bit hard of hearing. "Could ya say that a little louder Ma'am, my ears don't work so good." She looks left and right and tried again. Still nothing. "Seriously Ma'am I can't hear ya. You're gonna have to yell it" The woman takes a deep breath and screams: "YOU HAVE FUCKED MORE FARMYARD ANIMALS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN HISTORY!" I stood there dumbfounded. The woman looked disturbed from having to yell the sentence. "WOOOOOWEEEEEE! Number 1 baby!!! I told ma grandaddy I'd beat him! HOTDAMN!" And with a mighty thigh slap, I turned and walked out triumphant. "Me and Dasiy are gonna celebrate tonight!"
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It was two days since the impromptu visit from my boyfriend’s family, and the house was free of crumbs again. Sun was shining bright. I was in the kitchen, about to finish making a cup of macchiato latte. I had carefully layered in the espresso and was ready to froth milk into thick foam. Rich smell of dark roast coffee, mixed with hints of powdered chocolate rose in the air and filled my lungs. Zack was at work and would not return till 5 PM. That meant I could finally start the season two of Wachowski’s Sense8 and that made me smile inside. It was a perfect day and I felt like my old self again - composed and calm. And then the power went out. &#x200B; Ding Dong “Oh, no.” I said. &#x200B; Dreading to open the door and wondering why the doorbell still worked, I entered the living room. “Mrs. Tess Smith” a muffled female voice coming from the outside said “open the door! Police!” A single, slightly overweight female police officer in full riot gear, including the shield and Armorsource AS-600 Rifle-Resistant High Protection Assault Helmet stood outside. Her face looked serious, more serious than that of the Night King, excluding the episode in which he died. I promptly opened the door. “Hello. How can I help you?” I said. “Mrs. Tess Smith, you are under arrest for committing the acts of domestic terrorism“ the police officer said, her voice cold. “I think you got the wrong house. “ I replied in shock “I’m not married. My last name is -” “You ranked #1 in BLIPSON’S category ‘People who are not ranked first in any category’. Subcategory, ‘Not ranked first in any category’ ” “I think you are telling me that I am not special. I agree. But what does that have to do with terrorism?” “M’am, your ranking in that particular category and subcategory caused the catastrophic segmentation fault error which knocked down power and telecommunication connections throughout the city. According to the Freedom Act, section 1, subsection 2, paragraph 3, line 4, destroying power and/or telecommunication infrastructure counts as Type 5 grand felony terrorist act.” police officer said Noticing my arms slightly spreading palms opening, she continued. “Ma’m. You broke all the phones and electric in the city. You will be arrested, tried and if needed, executed for your act. Tess, you are in trouble.” Still digesting her words, I said “What?!” “Ma’m, please do not resist the arrest”. My mind was racing. By the time it settled down, it had decided that it was still utterly confused, but it recalled a few words. “What is BLIPSON?” I said “BLIPSON is the universal ranking program. It ranks everything and everyone and then prints it on a screen for you to see. It's similar to bing.” “I use google. " I said "Ms. police officer, I don’t use BLIMP thing. I lived on a ranch before moving in here!” “Please, Mrs, let’s not make a scene. Everyone is staring at you” “No, that was last week, when this place was crawling with aunts and I lost it. Currently, only you are staring at me.” I said “Trust me Mrs, everyone is staring at you. It’s in the title.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I’m so confused right now. I don’t know what is going on and I’m not the Tess you are looking for. Also, can you please call me Tess? ” “Please, stop resisting the arrest. Last warning” police officer said. “I am not!” I raised my hands, trying to surrender, but that was a mistake. All I felt next was a sudden jolt of pain, originated at my torso, spreading over the rest of my body, my muscles twitching in agony and heart saying bye-bye to the rhythm of its beat. Bzzzzzz I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I found myself curled up in a fetal position on the floor of the the back of the police van, going somewhere. My head hurt like hell. “Hi Tess” Nick said. Nick was fat, stupid and Metallica fan. Nick had multiple problems. “Nick... What are you doing here?” “They found picts Jill posted on facebook” Nick said, his voice shaking “What picts?” “Jill posted my nudes on facebook” “Jesus Christ, Nick! Jill, as in Z’s aunt Jill?” “Yes” “She’s in high school, you moron. I told you that. Why did you share your dic-” “I’ll call my dad when we get to police station.” “You can’t. All phones are out.” Nick had at least two additional problems. Police van raced down the highway, away from the city and police station. It was getting late and dark clouds swarmed the evening sky. In the van was Nick, humming to the tune of “Fade To Black” and Tess, wondering why bad things happen to people like her.	It seemed fortuitous that prom was on Will's 18th birthday. He'd been busy helping his family on the ranch for years, no time for a social life. Will didn't care. He was going stag, hanging with some school friends. On the day of, he wandered into town to pick up his rented tux. The shopkeeper gave him his tux, a knowing smile, and a jovial “Y'all stay out of trouble tonight!” Will didn't think much of it, but he walked out of the shop and noticed something… all the women seemed to bear huge grins and were eyeing him hungrily.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Cyrus Darroch couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, no matter what he did. He finally got his suspicion confirmed after he turned a corner and was face to face with a crowd as thick as a heard of cattle. They all went silent when they noticed he was standing there. Cyrus found this weird, but then again when are the city folks not weird? Without much hesitation, he continued toward his aunts house to celebrate the fall harvest with his cousins. As he walked closer to the house for the small gathering that was bound to occur when he saw his aunt and cousins, the cottage would explode with excitement. But on his way, he was stopped by an old woman who started to trace her hand through the air as to cast a spell, as the intricate runes were finished fire flew from her finger tip and directly at Cyrus. With a flick of his wrist, the fire strayed from their course and hit nearby trees. Catching the hint that he wasn't well liked by her, he took off at a sprint dodging more attacks as he closed on the dwelling. As he entered the door, he was meet with terrified looks. "What have you done? You are all the town is talking about.", Said one of his cousins. "You are the first on the list!", Another shouted excitedly. "What is this list you are talkin' bout?", Cyrus inquired. "The List.", A third cousin chimed in while pushing forward a tablet with a list of names on it. Sure enough at the very top was "CYRUS DARROCH: Rank 1: Most Deadly Curse Weaver" "It worked, it Actually worked!", Cyrus Exclaimed. "What Worked?", inquired the Aunt with an air of concern. Cyrus turned around a raised his shirt to reveal runes that read "Que tous ceux qui nuisent à ces enfants se retournent dans le vide"	It seemed fortuitous that prom was on Will's 18th birthday. He'd been busy helping his family on the ranch for years, no time for a social life. Will didn't care. He was going stag, hanging with some school friends. On the day of, he wandered into town to pick up his rented tux. The shopkeeper gave him his tux, a knowing smile, and a jovial “Y'all stay out of trouble tonight!” Will didn't think much of it, but he walked out of the shop and noticed something… all the women seemed to bear huge grins and were eyeing him hungrily.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	It seemed fortuitous that prom was on Will's 18th birthday. He'd been busy helping his family on the ranch for years, no time for a social life. Will didn't care. He was going stag, hanging with some school friends. On the day of, he wandered into town to pick up his rented tux. The shopkeeper gave him his tux, a knowing smile, and a jovial “Y'all stay out of trouble tonight!” Will didn't think much of it, but he walked out of the shop and noticed something… all the women seemed to bear huge grins and were eyeing him hungrily.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	It seemed fortuitous that prom was on Will's 18th birthday. He'd been busy helping his family on the ranch for years, no time for a social life. Will didn't care. He was going stag, hanging with some school friends. On the day of, he wandered into town to pick up his rented tux. The shopkeeper gave him his tux, a knowing smile, and a jovial “Y'all stay out of trouble tonight!” Will didn't think much of it, but he walked out of the shop and noticed something… all the women seemed to bear huge grins and were eyeing him hungrily.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	It was two days since the impromptu visit from my boyfriend’s family, and the house was free of crumbs again. Sun was shining bright. I was in the kitchen, about to finish making a cup of macchiato latte. I had carefully layered in the espresso and was ready to froth milk into thick foam. Rich smell of dark roast coffee, mixed with hints of powdered chocolate rose in the air and filled my lungs. Zack was at work and would not return till 5 PM. That meant I could finally start the season two of Wachowski’s Sense8 and that made me smile inside. It was a perfect day and I felt like my old self again - composed and calm. And then the power went out. &#x200B; Ding Dong “Oh, no.” I said. &#x200B; Dreading to open the door and wondering why the doorbell still worked, I entered the living room. “Mrs. Tess Smith” a muffled female voice coming from the outside said “open the door! Police!” A single, slightly overweight female police officer in full riot gear, including the shield and Armorsource AS-600 Rifle-Resistant High Protection Assault Helmet stood outside. Her face looked serious, more serious than that of the Night King, excluding the episode in which he died. I promptly opened the door. “Hello. How can I help you?” I said. “Mrs. Tess Smith, you are under arrest for committing the acts of domestic terrorism“ the police officer said, her voice cold. “I think you got the wrong house. “ I replied in shock “I’m not married. My last name is -” “You ranked #1 in BLIPSON’S category ‘People who are not ranked first in any category’. Subcategory, ‘Not ranked first in any category’ ” “I think you are telling me that I am not special. I agree. But what does that have to do with terrorism?” “M’am, your ranking in that particular category and subcategory caused the catastrophic segmentation fault error which knocked down power and telecommunication connections throughout the city. According to the Freedom Act, section 1, subsection 2, paragraph 3, line 4, destroying power and/or telecommunication infrastructure counts as Type 5 grand felony terrorist act.” police officer said Noticing my arms slightly spreading palms opening, she continued. “Ma’m. You broke all the phones and electric in the city. You will be arrested, tried and if needed, executed for your act. Tess, you are in trouble.” Still digesting her words, I said “What?!” “Ma’m, please do not resist the arrest”. My mind was racing. By the time it settled down, it had decided that it was still utterly confused, but it recalled a few words. “What is BLIPSON?” I said “BLIPSON is the universal ranking program. It ranks everything and everyone and then prints it on a screen for you to see. It's similar to bing.” “I use google. " I said "Ms. police officer, I don’t use BLIMP thing. I lived on a ranch before moving in here!” “Please, Mrs, let’s not make a scene. Everyone is staring at you” “No, that was last week, when this place was crawling with aunts and I lost it. Currently, only you are staring at me.” I said “Trust me Mrs, everyone is staring at you. It’s in the title.” I shook my head. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I’m so confused right now. I don’t know what is going on and I’m not the Tess you are looking for. Also, can you please call me Tess? ” “Please, stop resisting the arrest. Last warning” police officer said. “I am not!” I raised my hands, trying to surrender, but that was a mistake. All I felt next was a sudden jolt of pain, originated at my torso, spreading over the rest of my body, my muscles twitching in agony and heart saying bye-bye to the rhythm of its beat. Bzzzzzz I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I found myself curled up in a fetal position on the floor of the the back of the police van, going somewhere. My head hurt like hell. “Hi Tess” Nick said. Nick was fat, stupid and Metallica fan. Nick had multiple problems. “Nick... What are you doing here?” “They found picts Jill posted on facebook” Nick said, his voice shaking “What picts?” “Jill posted my nudes on facebook” “Jesus Christ, Nick! Jill, as in Z’s aunt Jill?” “Yes” “She’s in high school, you moron. I told you that. Why did you share your dic-” “I’ll call my dad when we get to police station.” “You can’t. All phones are out.” Nick had at least two additional problems. Police van raced down the highway, away from the city and police station. It was getting late and dark clouds swarmed the evening sky. In the van was Nick, humming to the tune of “Fade To Black” and Tess, wondering why bad things happen to people like her.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	My alarm beeped once before it was slapped into silence. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed that fast before. 5 minutes later I've showered, tiptoed out of the house, tripped over a rock in the dark (so much for trying to be quiet) and already gunning it for the road. It was Ranking Day, and to hell if I was going to wait longer than I had to. The nearest ranking center was in Clarkdale, a bloody 3 hour drive away. But with the early start I should make it there just as they open. I turn on the radio naively expecting to get some quiet music, but of course they are already running talk shows. Everything starts early on Ranking Day. The voice blabs on about young celebrities being ranked this year, most coming back for their full rankings at 21. Having never really followed this stuff (not even using much tech at all) I quickly zoned out. My thoughts drifted to my future, which really was going to start today. My ranking would determine my life, and I was constantly going back and forth on what I hoped my ranking would be. By far the most likely outcome would be farming related, my parents pushing me that way most of my life. That's the main reason we didn't use much tech, makes sure your back breaking work gets counted properly against you. Part of me wanted a nice obvious score, confirm my future and give me a strong standing in convincing my parents to let me take over the farm. My eagerness to get ranked wasn't so I could leave, just so I could know my future. Although I sometimes imagined getting a high enough score to get invested in and start out on my own straight away. Another part of me wanted something different, nothing to do with farming. Maybe just a half decent score based on my academics. It would be a change, but I could go into further studies and have a career in a city. Still not convinced about living in a big city, but it would be interesting. The only thing I was really dreading (which of course all 18yr olds do) was being a non-rank. At my ranking I was only to get my top rank across all the crazy number of categories. This means there was a bigger chance than I would like of being a non-rank, having your top rank in something completely useless or arbitrary. Which was another reason we were a low tech house, to reduce the odds of getting high rankings in any useless online activities. Being a non-rank would mean waiting until I was 21 to get my full rankings. It might not sound like much, but that's 3 years of low employment and study opportunities. Or more realistically, 3 years of working my parents farm with disappointment and lack of trust raining down on me. And that lovely thought stuck with me for most of my drive. I was tragically optimistic about how long it would take to get there. The traffic was crazy, the busy city was crazy, the parking was crazy and the lines were insane. It took me 4 hours to get to Clarkdale, another hour to park and make it to the centre, where I got into a 2 hour line. I'd only been into the city a few times and never on Ranking Day, which I stupidly forgot to take into consideration. Once I finally made through the line and entered the centre it was midday and I was dripping with sweat. I couldn't tell how much was the heat of the sun while slowly moving through the line, or my nerves which were progressively getting worse. Once inside the line sped up dramatically, splitting into many lines. I was shortly at the front of mine, staring at the box I would shortly be entering for ranking. I'd thought about this moment so often and it was finally here. I got a bit transfixed and didn't even notice being scanned for identification. "I said, get out of here, stop wasting my time" someone growled at me. I spun, confused and saw one of the centres officials. "Sorry" I spluttered, "I just go into the box?" "No, I said get out of this line. You can't go through twice" My first thought was I'd blanked through the ranking and not noticed it, but I was definately still on the entrance side. "I haven't been through yet" I finally managed to say. "Look" the official said, "I'm sure your disappointed in your ranking, but it's not possible to be re-ranked." "No, I haven't been ranked yet." "I don't have time for this" they muttered and called a security guard over, "I've got a non-rank here holding up the line try to re-ranked" I was roughly pulled aside despite my complaints, taken out of the line. It was obvious that security couldn't be bothered dealing with me either, and they quickly deposited me in a new line marked "Assistance". Quickly I noticed most in the line were already holding their ranking packets and complaining loudly. I didn't understand how a mistake could have been made. The identification scanners were never wrong, and someone couldn't have faked or triggered my ranking before I got there. I could only surmise that the records somehow got messed up. Well once I finally got to talk to someone who would listen it should be quickly resolved. It would be obvious when there was no actual ranking for me that I hadn't been ranked yet. The line moved slower than I could have thought, but I was finally called into a room. "So what can I do for you?" asked the official behind the desk, obvious wanting nothing to do with me. "I think there has been a mistake, I haven't been ranked, but was told I already have been" "Look mate" the official sighed like they'd heard this before, "The system shows you as taken the test, so you've taken the test. You're not the first who's tried this tale to be re-ranked. I mean, even if I believed you you'd just get the same rank anyway." I started to protest, but they looked away, my words falling on deaf ears. But then they seemed to notice something on their screen. "Oh. It says here you just haven't collected your ranking packet. Wait here" They walked out the door muttering "idiot". 2 minutes they were back, a black envelope under one hand. "Here" they said, passing it to me "I'll give you a moment's privacy, then I want you gone" and left the room again. This made even less sense, how did they have a packet for me if I hadn't been ranked. I decided to open it anyway, may as well see what the hell it says. Ranking: - #1 (of 1 eligible) - number of times time traveled	Cyrus Darroch couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, no matter what he did. He finally got his suspicion confirmed after he turned a corner and was face to face with a crowd as thick as a heard of cattle. They all went silent when they noticed he was standing there. Cyrus found this weird, but then again when are the city folks not weird? Without much hesitation, he continued toward his aunts house to celebrate the fall harvest with his cousins. As he walked closer to the house for the small gathering that was bound to occur when he saw his aunt and cousins, the cottage would explode with excitement. But on his way, he was stopped by an old woman who started to trace her hand through the air as to cast a spell, as the intricate runes were finished fire flew from her finger tip and directly at Cyrus. With a flick of his wrist, the fire strayed from their course and hit nearby trees. Catching the hint that he wasn't well liked by her, he took off at a sprint dodging more attacks as he closed on the dwelling. As he entered the door, he was meet with terrified looks. "What have you done? You are all the town is talking about.", Said one of his cousins. "You are the first on the list!", Another shouted excitedly. "What is this list you are talkin' bout?", Cyrus inquired. "The List.", A third cousin chimed in while pushing forward a tablet with a list of names on it. Sure enough at the very top was "CYRUS DARROCH: Rank 1: Most Deadly Curse Weaver" "It worked, it Actually worked!", Cyrus Exclaimed. "What Worked?", inquired the Aunt with an air of concern. Cyrus turned around a raised his shirt to reveal runes that read "Que tous ceux qui nuisent à ces enfants se retournent dans le vide"
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	After turning off the Stereo I headed to town &#x200B; little was known of me. &#x200B; I dropped out of High school and lived at my parents Farm ever since. &#x200B; They complained but at the end they understood. i tried so hard and got so far, but at the end none of it really mattered. School was not for me. &#x200B; I did not realized that i turned 18 when i headed in to town that day, but it was the day that changed my life forever. &#x200B; on the main square in town the Ranking system showed my name 1: Jack Spencer - listened "Linkin park - in the end" 164.302 times. &#x200B; that was the day i decided to end my life.	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I walked into my uncle's laboratory. He was one of the top tech engineers on Mars, but I'd never been able to visit as a child. My parents had never let me near a tech lab, much less have anything installed. Now that I was eighteen I got my mandatory categorization done and got the surprising result of being the number one augment in the solar system. I didn't care what my parents thought now. How was I number one? I had no augmentations and it's impossible to augment someone before they are done growing, or so I thought. "Uncle," I said. He spun his chair around, looked at me, and sighed. "I suppose you're here for the truth, James." I had so many questions to ask him and suddenly they were all gone, with a new one in their place. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts and I asked, "How do you know why I'm here?" "It might be easier if I show you, " he said as he motioned towards his right where some sort of medical scanner stood. "Show me what?" I asked. "Just sit here, and I'll show you everything." I sat down, and he moved several scanning arms and a monitor into place. How could I possible have augments, I've spent my life at my family's terraforming ranch. I love being in nature and loathed anytime my parents would take me into the city. I'd heard of teenagers sneaking off to get black market augments before, but I had no opportunities, much less the desire to do such. But there they were, as the screen began glowing with the scan of my body. Not a single unaltered organ or system in my body. Thanks for reading, this is my first finished creative writing piece and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Henry stared blankly at the blinking console. What did the words mean? "67th Percentile in INTELLIGENCE" flashed on the screen then danced away as "51st Percentile in STRENGTH" followed. "Looks like you're here to be ranked." Henry turned to see a woman with blonde hair smile at him. She stretched her smile wider as she grasped his arm. "You're not from around here are you?" she asked. Henry nodded, and felt his ears grow hot as the blood rushed to his head. No woman had ever touched his arm before. With her shiny red lips she cooed, "You must be one of the farmers. Welcome." Henry felt her soft body press against him. Henry replied "Thank you ma'am. I -er I'm not sure what's exactly happening." The console flashed “42nd Percentile in WEIGHT.” "You'll find out soon enough" she said. Henry could see she had light blue eyes. She wrinkled her nose and said “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had a decent percentage?” Henry smiled back and felt another hand at his back. “He looks promising.” A wide-eyed girl traced his shoulders and took Henry’s arm and placed it around her waist. She examined his face and said “Such beautiful skin. My god—those eyes!” “77th Percentile in HEIGHT” flashed in front of them. “Ooo that’s pretty high!” Henry looked around, another woman with tan skin walked towards him. Behind her, a woman with blonde hair motioned others to join her. Henry was dumbfounded. It had been all of 2 minutes when he entered town and suddenly he was surrounded by women. “90th Percentile in RESILIENCY” flashed on the screen. The women applauded. “What was that?” Henry said. “It means—“ “Eighteen is—“ “Once a year—“ All the women clamored at once. Before Henry could get a coherent answer, another message flashed on the console. “95th Percentile in GENETIC DEFICIENCY” Henry could hear “Ooos” and “Ahhs” from the crowd. He could hear excited laughter and the occasional cheers. He looked around to see more women flocking towards him. He had never seen so many at once. Henry’s ears were on fire. He knew they were excited about him, excited about the messages, but he could not understand why. He tried to glean meaning from their responses. Henry felt the blonde woman grip his hand tight. The wide-eyed girl started to say something when he heard someone exclaim, “Look!” “99th Percentile in FERTILITY” flashed on the console. All voices were silenced. Henry could feel the crowd of women turn towards him. He saw what looked like hunger in their eyes.	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	Year 5 was my earliest memory. I remember the cry of the roosters early in the morning while father worked in the slaughterhouse. Mother would clean the dishes and cook my sister and I breakfast. Every day around noon, father would come and take us into the field and have us help him work. By year 9, I was up at dawn with father tending to the gardens and crops. He was able to focus more on the livestock which gave us great product for town. Father wouldn't let us go to town. Sister began to tend to the horses at age 13. I was nearly 18. At this point, Father was in pain and I took on most of the farming. He would still go to town alone. We didn't attend school, but mother would teach us cooking and finances so we could be prepared. Father taught us business and people skills, but I never expected them to be so wrong. I turned 18 today. I woke up, knowing what was ahead of me today. Father has been sick. Too sick. He can't walk anymore and mother passed 2 months back from a bad bout of pneumonia. Today is the day I have to go into town for the first time. I give Father the morphine. I say goodbye to Sister. As I work my way down the three miles to the city gates, it's clear to me that this world is different than the farm. There are electronic signs giving statistics on all the businesses, with reviews going across the screens. Everyone stares ahead, barely avoiding each other like rats in a maze. They slip past me, barely noticing someone is there as their eyes dart around. I had seen cars drive by the farm, but never in such abundance. As I stroll through the town, people's focus begins to divert to me. More and more stares Pierce through me until someone whispers "did you see what his scores are?" And "I didn't know that was still possible." My body turns on a hell almost like instinct. "What are you talking about?" I ask, a bit concerned by the sudden attention. "Of course he doesn't know, look at the numbers." They continued talking as if I wasn't there "My God, I never though..." And still mocked me as if I couldnt hear. "What numbers?" Their attention diverts again, back staring straight ahead, eyes darting side to side. I reach out and grab on of their shoulders. "What numbers, sir?" And in a flash, there is a wailing. Blue and red lights blind me as I feel a sting through my shoulder. The welt grows quickly as my chest hits the ground, 200 pounds on top of me. Then black. Then bright, white light. Then a voice "This can't be right. These numbers are too low. He won't be able to survive here." What were they talking about? I try to speak but my throat is dry as my eyes slowly open. "Oh good, you're awake." He says, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where am I?" I'm nervous and I can feel cold sweat dripping down my cheeks. "You go and assault a man, and you have the audacity to ask where you are?" Assault? I didn't understand. "I didn't hurt anyone. I was just trying to grab his attention." "This your first time in town bud?" The second voice was gruff like father's, as if his throat were full of pine needles. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to cause a disturbance. I just turned 18 and my father is ill. I came to sell at the market for him." I looked at them, pleading for understanding. "Well, son." The gruff man again, "you probably shouldn't be here. Haven't you seen your numbers?" Again, I was flustered and confused. "What numbers? That's what I was trying to ask when you attacked me." The first voice started again, "we didn't attack you, Boy. We stopped a degenerate farmer from hurting an actual member of society." And I began to shiver. "And as for the numbers, you're in last place in everything. You're the worst ranked human on the planet. The amount of plants killed alone makes me sick. That farm of yours is the last place on Earth people are still relying on nature and your father should have been dead years ago. You folk simply can't keep up." And then I fell asleep.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	After turning off the Stereo I headed to town &#x200B; little was known of me. &#x200B; I dropped out of High school and lived at my parents Farm ever since. &#x200B; They complained but at the end they understood. i tried so hard and got so far, but at the end none of it really mattered. School was not for me. &#x200B; I did not realized that i turned 18 when i headed in to town that day, but it was the day that changed my life forever. &#x200B; on the main square in town the Ranking system showed my name 1: Jack Spencer - listened "Linkin park - in the end" 164.302 times. &#x200B; that was the day i decided to end my life.	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I walked into my uncle's laboratory. He was one of the top tech engineers on Mars, but I'd never been able to visit as a child. My parents had never let me near a tech lab, much less have anything installed. Now that I was eighteen I got my mandatory categorization done and got the surprising result of being the number one augment in the solar system. I didn't care what my parents thought now. How was I number one? I had no augmentations and it's impossible to augment someone before they are done growing, or so I thought. "Uncle," I said. He spun his chair around, looked at me, and sighed. "I suppose you're here for the truth, James." I had so many questions to ask him and suddenly they were all gone, with a new one in their place. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts and I asked, "How do you know why I'm here?" "It might be easier if I show you, " he said as he motioned towards his right where some sort of medical scanner stood. "Show me what?" I asked. "Just sit here, and I'll show you everything." I sat down, and he moved several scanning arms and a monitor into place. How could I possible have augments, I've spent my life at my family's terraforming ranch. I love being in nature and loathed anytime my parents would take me into the city. I'd heard of teenagers sneaking off to get black market augments before, but I had no opportunities, much less the desire to do such. But there they were, as the screen began glowing with the scan of my body. Not a single unaltered organ or system in my body. Thanks for reading, this is my first finished creative writing piece and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Henry stared blankly at the blinking console. What did the words mean? "67th Percentile in INTELLIGENCE" flashed on the screen then danced away as "51st Percentile in STRENGTH" followed. "Looks like you're here to be ranked." Henry turned to see a woman with blonde hair smile at him. She stretched her smile wider as she grasped his arm. "You're not from around here are you?" she asked. Henry nodded, and felt his ears grow hot as the blood rushed to his head. No woman had ever touched his arm before. With her shiny red lips she cooed, "You must be one of the farmers. Welcome." Henry felt her soft body press against him. Henry replied "Thank you ma'am. I -er I'm not sure what's exactly happening." The console flashed “42nd Percentile in WEIGHT.” "You'll find out soon enough" she said. Henry could see she had light blue eyes. She wrinkled her nose and said “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had a decent percentage?” Henry smiled back and felt another hand at his back. “He looks promising.” A wide-eyed girl traced his shoulders and took Henry’s arm and placed it around her waist. She examined his face and said “Such beautiful skin. My god—those eyes!” “77th Percentile in HEIGHT” flashed in front of them. “Ooo that’s pretty high!” Henry looked around, another woman with tan skin walked towards him. Behind her, a woman with blonde hair motioned others to join her. Henry was dumbfounded. It had been all of 2 minutes when he entered town and suddenly he was surrounded by women. “90th Percentile in RESILIENCY” flashed on the screen. The women applauded. “What was that?” Henry said. “It means—“ “Eighteen is—“ “Once a year—“ All the women clamored at once. Before Henry could get a coherent answer, another message flashed on the console. “95th Percentile in GENETIC DEFICIENCY” Henry could hear “Ooos” and “Ahhs” from the crowd. He could hear excited laughter and the occasional cheers. He looked around to see more women flocking towards him. He had never seen so many at once. Henry’s ears were on fire. He knew they were excited about him, excited about the messages, but he could not understand why. He tried to glean meaning from their responses. Henry felt the blonde woman grip his hand tight. The wide-eyed girl started to say something when he heard someone exclaim, “Look!” “99th Percentile in FERTILITY” flashed on the console. All voices were silenced. Henry could feel the crowd of women turn towards him. He saw what looked like hunger in their eyes.	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	When I jumped out my truck to enter the lan house, I kept my eyes ahead as my face burned. There were a few people around, staring at me with a strange smile. Usually those stares did not bother me. One gets used to being stared at, having the big scar that I had crossing half of my left cheek. But today people were smiling a tense smile, and it was a bit creepy. Walking faster, I finally reached the door. Sitting at a table there was a stern young man. He was very focused on the machine that the city folks called computer. I waited for what seemed hours, but he did not take notice of me. So, I coughed. With a sigh, he looked in my direction. At first, the shock. I shrugged. \- Hey, it's only a scar. No big deal. Can you help me out with checking my rankings? I turn 18 today and I have never used...these. - I said, gesturing in the direction of the computer. The man then smiled, standing up from his chair. \- Sure. Sure...So, first timer huh? Time passed and we finally managed to enter the rankings. The guy left me alone, going back to whatever he was doing previously. \- Don't forget to pay me after you finish there. OK? \- Of course. - I replied. After a lot of entering list after list, I finally discovered a place inside the site that said "Your Best Rankings". As I checked that out...oh boy. \#5 Most Out of Touch with Technology Probably the rest of the top ones was my family. I chuckled. \#8 Most Days Without a Shower This is...embarassing. \#1 Most in Debt Huh? Well, this explains why the guy told me to not forget to pay...
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	After turning off the Stereo I headed to town &#x200B; little was known of me. &#x200B; I dropped out of High school and lived at my parents Farm ever since. &#x200B; They complained but at the end they understood. i tried so hard and got so far, but at the end none of it really mattered. School was not for me. &#x200B; I did not realized that i turned 18 when i headed in to town that day, but it was the day that changed my life forever. &#x200B; on the main square in town the Ranking system showed my name 1: Jack Spencer - listened "Linkin park - in the end" 164.302 times. &#x200B; that was the day i decided to end my life.	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I walked into my uncle's laboratory. He was one of the top tech engineers on Mars, but I'd never been able to visit as a child. My parents had never let me near a tech lab, much less have anything installed. Now that I was eighteen I got my mandatory categorization done and got the surprising result of being the number one augment in the solar system. I didn't care what my parents thought now. How was I number one? I had no augmentations and it's impossible to augment someone before they are done growing, or so I thought. "Uncle," I said. He spun his chair around, looked at me, and sighed. "I suppose you're here for the truth, James." I had so many questions to ask him and suddenly they were all gone, with a new one in their place. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts and I asked, "How do you know why I'm here?" "It might be easier if I show you, " he said as he motioned towards his right where some sort of medical scanner stood. "Show me what?" I asked. "Just sit here, and I'll show you everything." I sat down, and he moved several scanning arms and a monitor into place. How could I possible have augments, I've spent my life at my family's terraforming ranch. I love being in nature and loathed anytime my parents would take me into the city. I'd heard of teenagers sneaking off to get black market augments before, but I had no opportunities, much less the desire to do such. But there they were, as the screen began glowing with the scan of my body. Not a single unaltered organ or system in my body. Thanks for reading, this is my first finished creative writing piece and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Growing up on a ranch has its ups and downs. Usually my days consist of chores and fishing. There's not much to do when you live out in the country. I finally turned 18 and I was excited to start my adult life. It was finally time to get my own place. I went into town to start looking for an apartment. There was so many people out and about enjoying the day. I was trying to be friendly and would wave to people as I'd pass. I got a lot of chuckles and odd looks. It dawned on me that my wardrobe was a bit out of style. I finally reached the apartment complex and got a tour. The staff were very friendly throughout the entire intake process. They just needed a check and my ID to finish my application. They took my ID to scan it and their demeanour changed immediately. Suddenly they didn't have any vacancies even though she showed me 3 empty apartments. I decided I would just grab a bite to eat and head back to the ranch for the day. There was a pizza place that was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I waited in line and was getting the same weird looks as before. People were gesturing towards me and laughing under their breath. Then it dawned on me. The database! I ran back to the apartment complex and asked the staff why my application was rejected. They said that my name popped up as a state wide record holder and the category was less than desirable. My heart was racing. I asked what the category was and my heart sank as she nervously laughed and said "Beastiality".	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Henry stared blankly at the blinking console. What did the words mean? "67th Percentile in INTELLIGENCE" flashed on the screen then danced away as "51st Percentile in STRENGTH" followed. "Looks like you're here to be ranked." Henry turned to see a woman with blonde hair smile at him. She stretched her smile wider as she grasped his arm. "You're not from around here are you?" she asked. Henry nodded, and felt his ears grow hot as the blood rushed to his head. No woman had ever touched his arm before. With her shiny red lips she cooed, "You must be one of the farmers. Welcome." Henry felt her soft body press against him. Henry replied "Thank you ma'am. I -er I'm not sure what's exactly happening." The console flashed “42nd Percentile in WEIGHT.” "You'll find out soon enough" she said. Henry could see she had light blue eyes. She wrinkled her nose and said “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had a decent percentage?” Henry smiled back and felt another hand at his back. “He looks promising.” A wide-eyed girl traced his shoulders and took Henry’s arm and placed it around her waist. She examined his face and said “Such beautiful skin. My god—those eyes!” “77th Percentile in HEIGHT” flashed in front of them. “Ooo that’s pretty high!” Henry looked around, another woman with tan skin walked towards him. Behind her, a woman with blonde hair motioned others to join her. Henry was dumbfounded. It had been all of 2 minutes when he entered town and suddenly he was surrounded by women. “90th Percentile in RESILIENCY” flashed on the screen. The women applauded. “What was that?” Henry said. “It means—“ “Eighteen is—“ “Once a year—“ All the women clamored at once. Before Henry could get a coherent answer, another message flashed on the console. “95th Percentile in GENETIC DEFICIENCY” Henry could hear “Ooos” and “Ahhs” from the crowd. He could hear excited laughter and the occasional cheers. He looked around to see more women flocking towards him. He had never seen so many at once. Henry’s ears were on fire. He knew they were excited about him, excited about the messages, but he could not understand why. He tried to glean meaning from their responses. Henry felt the blonde woman grip his hand tight. The wide-eyed girl started to say something when he heard someone exclaim, “Look!” “99th Percentile in FERTILITY” flashed on the console. All voices were silenced. Henry could feel the crowd of women turn towards him. He saw what looked like hunger in their eyes.	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"The fucks a pokemon?" The kid's voices was thick with the kind of yolk that had to be at least three generations inbred. She was a tall reed of a girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail, the color almost matched her farmers tan. She probably spent more time outside in one day than I would all week. The system displayed people who were good at pokemon games? That seemed odd. Games like league and dota got clustered into one category - I myself was low on skill but high on salt - so shouldn't pokemon be with RPGs or something? And how was this girl the best? Her mother probably called every system a Nintendo. I looked at her again. She was unattractive by any means. But - wait. I saw the results for pokemon. There was only one name in the system. Misty Trainer. Curiosity drove me to click on her. Sure enough, it was her red hair and all and a half dozen rank ones sat next to her name. All of the pokemon related. All of them rank one of one. There was Master, Trainer, Breeder, and more. "Well, whatever. Come on Growlith let's go." Misty turned on her heel at her side was a dog-like creature with red fur and a mane. "Thing must be broken." What the fuck? A bing drew me back to the computer. I had a new rank. "#1 pokemon research 1/4" Fuck being #765876 in biology that was a title I needed to keep or my name isn't Oak!	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I had to check myself in the database a week later than I should've, but I was nervous and excited nonetheless. But it was all replaced with confusion and fear as soon as I entered. As I walked into the town hall surrounded by family and friends, everyone inside looked my way. They all had different expressions, some of which I couldn't even identify. I knew people coming from the country might be different, but I didn't expect this response. I ignored them, sat down, and tried to familiarize myself with the strange machine that sat on the desk in front of me. I typed my social security number in and clicked the "register" button. I didn't look that special at first. 7,130,819,307th in toe dexterity (?), 2,981,512,111th in number of plants watered overall, everything looked normal. But as I scrolled down, I kept seeing stranger statistics. #201st in liters of wine drank before intoxicated. I've never drunk in my life. I was also #1,039,112th for people seduced. I'd never once seen myself as handsome. I found a second tab labelled "top five" and clicked on it. To my surprise, there were multiple first place spots. #1 in fame. #1 in worlds saved. #1 in worlds visited. #1 in demons slain. #1 in fights won. #1 in demon kings slain. #1 in holy swords wielded. The one that set me off was #1 in magic. Somehow, I had slain demons, visited and saved another world, wielded a holy sword, won enough fights to be in first place, and used MAGIC! Then, the memories came flooding back.	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	I was driving down to Seattle to sell some of my produce. As I get out, I start to notice people staring at me. I know that I'm a farm boy and all, but this city is so big. I walk in to a small shop, and people start asking me for autographs. Did they think I was famous? I just go on, then someone comes up to me. They show me their tablet and what do you know, I'm first place in crops grown. I think that didn't really matter, but apparently it did! I got so popular that I started a small business at home. By this point my family started making more money than we could EVER imagine. It was great.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I walked into my uncle's laboratory. He was one of the top tech engineers on Mars, but I'd never been able to visit as a child. My parents had never let me near a tech lab, much less have anything installed. Now that I was eighteen I got my mandatory categorization done and got the surprising result of being the number one augment in the solar system. I didn't care what my parents thought now. How was I number one? I had no augmentations and it's impossible to augment someone before they are done growing, or so I thought. "Uncle," I said. He spun his chair around, looked at me, and sighed. "I suppose you're here for the truth, James." I had so many questions to ask him and suddenly they were all gone, with a new one in their place. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts and I asked, "How do you know why I'm here?" "It might be easier if I show you, " he said as he motioned towards his right where some sort of medical scanner stood. "Show me what?" I asked. "Just sit here, and I'll show you everything." I sat down, and he moved several scanning arms and a monitor into place. How could I possible have augments, I've spent my life at my family's terraforming ranch. I love being in nature and loathed anytime my parents would take me into the city. I'd heard of teenagers sneaking off to get black market augments before, but I had no opportunities, much less the desire to do such. But there they were, as the screen began glowing with the scan of my body. Not a single unaltered organ or system in my body. Thanks for reading, this is my first finished creative writing piece and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.	After turning off the Stereo I headed to town &#x200B; little was known of me. &#x200B; I dropped out of High school and lived at my parents Farm ever since. &#x200B; They complained but at the end they understood. i tried so hard and got so far, but at the end none of it really mattered. School was not for me. &#x200B; I did not realized that i turned 18 when i headed in to town that day, but it was the day that changed my life forever. &#x200B; on the main square in town the Ranking system showed my name 1: Jack Spencer - listened "Linkin park - in the end" 164.302 times. &#x200B; that was the day i decided to end my life.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	After turning off the Stereo I headed to town &#x200B; little was known of me. &#x200B; I dropped out of High school and lived at my parents Farm ever since. &#x200B; They complained but at the end they understood. i tried so hard and got so far, but at the end none of it really mattered. School was not for me. &#x200B; I did not realized that i turned 18 when i headed in to town that day, but it was the day that changed my life forever. &#x200B; on the main square in town the Ranking system showed my name 1: Jack Spencer - listened "Linkin park - in the end" 164.302 times. &#x200B; that was the day i decided to end my life.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Here's 20$, can I get my change back?" Silence "Helllllooooo, I waaaaannnnt myyyyyy chaaannnggee baaaackkkk." He didnt say anything just stared. "I dont believe it" Finally a sentence. But was didnt he believe "Believe what?" Silence "What's going on here, this cant be real" He dropped to the ground and stared in disbelief, staring at something above me "Dude, I just want my change, can you do that?" "You dont know, do you?" "Know what?" I said semi sarcastically. "Look above you" I humored him I dont believe "Can I just get my sandwich and go, looks like I need to keep up my position." In big red bold text it read above me #1 in most fillet-o-fish sandwiches eaten worldwide at a single McDonald's	I walked into my uncle's laboratory. He was one of the top tech engineers on Mars, but I'd never been able to visit as a child. My parents had never let me near a tech lab, much less have anything installed. Now that I was eighteen I got my mandatory categorization done and got the surprising result of being the number one augment in the solar system. I didn't care what my parents thought now. How was I number one? I had no augmentations and it's impossible to augment someone before they are done growing, or so I thought. "Uncle," I said. He spun his chair around, looked at me, and sighed. "I suppose you're here for the truth, James." I had so many questions to ask him and suddenly they were all gone, with a new one in their place. It took me a moment to regain my thoughts and I asked, "How do you know why I'm here?" "It might be easier if I show you, " he said as he motioned towards his right where some sort of medical scanner stood. "Show me what?" I asked. "Just sit here, and I'll show you everything." I sat down, and he moved several scanning arms and a monitor into place. How could I possible have augments, I've spent my life at my family's terraforming ranch. I love being in nature and loathed anytime my parents would take me into the city. I'd heard of teenagers sneaking off to get black market augments before, but I had no opportunities, much less the desire to do such. But there they were, as the screen began glowing with the scan of my body. Not a single unaltered organ or system in my body. Thanks for reading, this is my first finished creative writing piece and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	Henry stared blankly at the blinking console. What did the words mean? "67th Percentile in INTELLIGENCE" flashed on the screen then danced away as "51st Percentile in STRENGTH" followed. "Looks like you're here to be ranked." Henry turned to see a woman with blonde hair smile at him. She stretched her smile wider as she grasped his arm. "You're not from around here are you?" she asked. Henry nodded, and felt his ears grow hot as the blood rushed to his head. No woman had ever touched his arm before. With her shiny red lips she cooed, "You must be one of the farmers. Welcome." Henry felt her soft body press against him. Henry replied "Thank you ma'am. I -er I'm not sure what's exactly happening." The console flashed “42nd Percentile in WEIGHT.” "You'll find out soon enough" she said. Henry could see she had light blue eyes. She wrinkled her nose and said “Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had a decent percentage?” Henry smiled back and felt another hand at his back. “He looks promising.” A wide-eyed girl traced his shoulders and took Henry’s arm and placed it around her waist. She examined his face and said “Such beautiful skin. My god—those eyes!” “77th Percentile in HEIGHT” flashed in front of them. “Ooo that’s pretty high!” Henry looked around, another woman with tan skin walked towards him. Behind her, a woman with blonde hair motioned others to join her. Henry was dumbfounded. It had been all of 2 minutes when he entered town and suddenly he was surrounded by women. “90th Percentile in RESILIENCY” flashed on the screen. The women applauded. “What was that?” Henry said. “It means—“ “Eighteen is—“ “Once a year—“ All the women clamored at once. Before Henry could get a coherent answer, another message flashed on the console. “95th Percentile in GENETIC DEFICIENCY” Henry could hear “Ooos” and “Ahhs” from the crowd. He could hear excited laughter and the occasional cheers. He looked around to see more women flocking towards him. He had never seen so many at once. Henry’s ears were on fire. He knew they were excited about him, excited about the messages, but he could not understand why. He tried to glean meaning from their responses. Henry felt the blonde woman grip his hand tight. The wide-eyed girl started to say something when he heard someone exclaim, “Look!” “99th Percentile in FERTILITY” flashed on the console. All voices were silenced. Henry could feel the crowd of women turn towards him. He saw what looked like hunger in their eyes.	Growing up on a ranch has its ups and downs. Usually my days consist of chores and fishing. There's not much to do when you live out in the country. I finally turned 18 and I was excited to start my adult life. It was finally time to get my own place. I went into town to start looking for an apartment. There was so many people out and about enjoying the day. I was trying to be friendly and would wave to people as I'd pass. I got a lot of chuckles and odd looks. It dawned on me that my wardrobe was a bit out of style. I finally reached the apartment complex and got a tour. The staff were very friendly throughout the entire intake process. They just needed a check and my ID to finish my application. They took my ID to scan it and their demeanour changed immediately. Suddenly they didn't have any vacancies even though she showed me 3 empty apartments. I decided I would just grab a bite to eat and head back to the ranch for the day. There was a pizza place that was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I waited in line and was getting the same weird looks as before. People were gesturing towards me and laughing under their breath. Then it dawned on me. The database! I ran back to the apartment complex and asked the staff why my application was rejected. They said that my name popped up as a state wide record holder and the category was less than desirable. My heart was racing. I asked what the category was and my heart sank as she nervously laughed and said "Beastiality".
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?	Growing up on a ranch has its ups and downs. Usually my days consist of chores and fishing. There's not much to do when you live out in the country. I finally turned 18 and I was excited to start my adult life. It was finally time to get my own place. I went into town to start looking for an apartment. There was so many people out and about enjoying the day. I was trying to be friendly and would wave to people as I'd pass. I got a lot of chuckles and odd looks. It dawned on me that my wardrobe was a bit out of style. I finally reached the apartment complex and got a tour. The staff were very friendly throughout the entire intake process. They just needed a check and my ID to finish my application. They took my ID to scan it and their demeanour changed immediately. Suddenly they didn't have any vacancies even though she showed me 3 empty apartments. I decided I would just grab a bite to eat and head back to the ranch for the day. There was a pizza place that was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I waited in line and was getting the same weird looks as before. People were gesturing towards me and laughing under their breath. Then it dawned on me. The database! I ran back to the apartment complex and asked the staff why my application was rejected. They said that my name popped up as a state wide record holder and the category was less than desirable. My heart was racing. I asked what the category was and my heart sank as she nervously laughed and said "Beastiality".
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	Growing up on a ranch has its ups and downs. Usually my days consist of chores and fishing. There's not much to do when you live out in the country. I finally turned 18 and I was excited to start my adult life. It was finally time to get my own place. I went into town to start looking for an apartment. There was so many people out and about enjoying the day. I was trying to be friendly and would wave to people as I'd pass. I got a lot of chuckles and odd looks. It dawned on me that my wardrobe was a bit out of style. I finally reached the apartment complex and got a tour. The staff were very friendly throughout the entire intake process. They just needed a check and my ID to finish my application. They took my ID to scan it and their demeanour changed immediately. Suddenly they didn't have any vacancies even though she showed me 3 empty apartments. I decided I would just grab a bite to eat and head back to the ranch for the day. There was a pizza place that was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I waited in line and was getting the same weird looks as before. People were gesturing towards me and laughing under their breath. Then it dawned on me. The database! I ran back to the apartment complex and asked the staff why my application was rejected. They said that my name popped up as a state wide record holder and the category was less than desirable. My heart was racing. I asked what the category was and my heart sank as she nervously laughed and said "Beastiality".
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I had to check myself in the database a week later than I should've, but I was nervous and excited nonetheless. But it was all replaced with confusion and fear as soon as I entered. As I walked into the town hall surrounded by family and friends, everyone inside looked my way. They all had different expressions, some of which I couldn't even identify. I knew people coming from the country might be different, but I didn't expect this response. I ignored them, sat down, and tried to familiarize myself with the strange machine that sat on the desk in front of me. I typed my social security number in and clicked the "register" button. I didn't look that special at first. 7,130,819,307th in toe dexterity (?), 2,981,512,111th in number of plants watered overall, everything looked normal. But as I scrolled down, I kept seeing stranger statistics. #201st in liters of wine drank before intoxicated. I've never drunk in my life. I was also #1,039,112th for people seduced. I'd never once seen myself as handsome. I found a second tab labelled "top five" and clicked on it. To my surprise, there were multiple first place spots. #1 in fame. #1 in worlds saved. #1 in worlds visited. #1 in demons slain. #1 in fights won. #1 in demon kings slain. #1 in holy swords wielded. The one that set me off was #1 in magic. Somehow, I had slain demons, visited and saved another world, wielded a holy sword, won enough fights to be in first place, and used MAGIC! Then, the memories came flooding back.	"The fucks a pokemon?" The kid's voices was thick with the kind of yolk that had to be at least three generations inbred. She was a tall reed of a girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail, the color almost matched her farmers tan. She probably spent more time outside in one day than I would all week. The system displayed people who were good at pokemon games? That seemed odd. Games like league and dota got clustered into one category - I myself was low on skill but high on salt - so shouldn't pokemon be with RPGs or something? And how was this girl the best? Her mother probably called every system a Nintendo. I looked at her again. She was unattractive by any means. But - wait. I saw the results for pokemon. There was only one name in the system. Misty Trainer. Curiosity drove me to click on her. Sure enough, it was her red hair and all and a half dozen rank ones sat next to her name. All of the pokemon related. All of them rank one of one. There was Master, Trainer, Breeder, and more. "Well, whatever. Come on Growlith let's go." Misty turned on her heel at her side was a dog-like creature with red fur and a mane. "Thing must be broken." What the fuck? A bing drew me back to the computer. I had a new rank. "#1 pokemon research 1/4" Fuck being #765876 in biology that was a title I needed to keep or my name isn't Oak!
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?	"The fucks a pokemon?" The kid's voices was thick with the kind of yolk that had to be at least three generations inbred. She was a tall reed of a girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail, the color almost matched her farmers tan. She probably spent more time outside in one day than I would all week. The system displayed people who were good at pokemon games? That seemed odd. Games like league and dota got clustered into one category - I myself was low on skill but high on salt - so shouldn't pokemon be with RPGs or something? And how was this girl the best? Her mother probably called every system a Nintendo. I looked at her again. She was unattractive by any means. But - wait. I saw the results for pokemon. There was only one name in the system. Misty Trainer. Curiosity drove me to click on her. Sure enough, it was her red hair and all and a half dozen rank ones sat next to her name. All of the pokemon related. All of them rank one of one. There was Master, Trainer, Breeder, and more. "Well, whatever. Come on Growlith let's go." Misty turned on her heel at her side was a dog-like creature with red fur and a mane. "Thing must be broken." What the fuck? A bing drew me back to the computer. I had a new rank. "#1 pokemon research 1/4" Fuck being #765876 in biology that was a title I needed to keep or my name isn't Oak!
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	"The fucks a pokemon?" The kid's voices was thick with the kind of yolk that had to be at least three generations inbred. She was a tall reed of a girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail, the color almost matched her farmers tan. She probably spent more time outside in one day than I would all week. The system displayed people who were good at pokemon games? That seemed odd. Games like league and dota got clustered into one category - I myself was low on skill but high on salt - so shouldn't pokemon be with RPGs or something? And how was this girl the best? Her mother probably called every system a Nintendo. I looked at her again. She was unattractive by any means. But - wait. I saw the results for pokemon. There was only one name in the system. Misty Trainer. Curiosity drove me to click on her. Sure enough, it was her red hair and all and a half dozen rank ones sat next to her name. All of the pokemon related. All of them rank one of one. There was Master, Trainer, Breeder, and more. "Well, whatever. Come on Growlith let's go." Misty turned on her heel at her side was a dog-like creature with red fur and a mane. "Thing must be broken." What the fuck? A bing drew me back to the computer. I had a new rank. "#1 pokemon research 1/4" Fuck being #765876 in biology that was a title I needed to keep or my name isn't Oak!
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	"The fucks a pokemon?" The kid's voices was thick with the kind of yolk that had to be at least three generations inbred. She was a tall reed of a girl with long red hair tied into a ponytail, the color almost matched her farmers tan. She probably spent more time outside in one day than I would all week. The system displayed people who were good at pokemon games? That seemed odd. Games like league and dota got clustered into one category - I myself was low on skill but high on salt - so shouldn't pokemon be with RPGs or something? And how was this girl the best? Her mother probably called every system a Nintendo. I looked at her again. She was unattractive by any means. But - wait. I saw the results for pokemon. There was only one name in the system. Misty Trainer. Curiosity drove me to click on her. Sure enough, it was her red hair and all and a half dozen rank ones sat next to her name. All of the pokemon related. All of them rank one of one. There was Master, Trainer, Breeder, and more. "Well, whatever. Come on Growlith let's go." Misty turned on her heel at her side was a dog-like creature with red fur and a mane. "Thing must be broken." What the fuck? A bing drew me back to the computer. I had a new rank. "#1 pokemon research 1/4" Fuck being #765876 in biology that was a title I needed to keep or my name isn't Oak!
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?	From thousands of absolutely useless categories I reached rank #1 in only one of them. It was something, but some people still had their place on several lists. They were raised to lead. I was not. I found myself as a person who did the longest yawn of all time. I felt something weird. There was so many people trained to be a champion and I reached their goal accidentally. Amazing feeling to meet anybody who was even close to touch TOP 3 in anything, in this moment I realized. Those people, all of them, where looking at me not because I’ve done something special. They just could met somebody, who succeed in their pathetic rankings. For me it’s not life I want to live. It doesn’t really matter. I mean those rankings. Everything which has any value is on my ranch with my family, where I am not special because of my place in a table, but because of person I am. (I’m sorry for all mistakes. English is my second language I still improve, but I couldn’t resist to write it because theme is absolutely wonderful.)
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	"Oh god, please nothing with horses, I knew I would regret that night with Fred." That fear sitting at the back of my mind, I drag my feet towards the terminal and begin punching in my user ID. "Ah, shit, what was it..." "6-1-3...." The thought trails off trying to remember the number I've only used once or twice before. "6-1-3-5...? No... That can't be right." I think for a bit, and then it hits me, Ma had given me the number before I left! I fish around in my pockets and find the crumpled piece of paper I carelessly shoved in there. Unfolding it, it reads: 61394539. I hunt and peck on the keypad, entering the number as it reads on the paper, and watch the terminal come to life. All kinds of shades of blue flashing before my eyes, icons appearing and disappearing, I think I saw an animal in there? Can't be sure, it just goes way too fast. Finally, it finishes. Looking at my stats, things look relatively normal. As far as I can tell most of the stats have me at the average for most things, but severely lacking in others. Until I see one that catches my eye. "Most Planets Visited: Eric Harrison" the terminal read. "How... Is that even possible..." I thought to myself as I read this. "I've lived on Earth all this time, my family has been tending to this ranch for centuries..." I look around the room and all eyes are on me. Clearly everyone has seen this ranking. I continue scrolling, and that wasn't the only #1 rank I held, to my surprise. "Most civilizations destroyed: Eric Harrison" "Number of planetary annihilations: Eric Harrison" Finally, I reach the bottom of the list, and this if the others weren't bad enough of a joke, this one had to take the cake. "Number of inter-species relations: Eric Harrison" "Oh, come on, this is just sick!" I feel sick to my stomach reading the rankings I've received continuously labeling me as a freak, a total monster, someone who should be locked away, an intergalactic warmonger with a thirst for chaos and destruction. Finally, I decide I've had enough, and try to find the log out button so that others can have their turn. As I walk away, confused and sickened, a couple of guards approach me. "Excuse me sir, could you come with us?" the one on the right asks, as the one on the left has his hand to his holster. "Sure, I suppose... What's this about anyway?" I ask out of confusion, beginning to follow them. They don't reply, but instead I'm corralled into a room with a desk in the center, a bar for handcuffs, and what appears to be a mirror for one of the walls. "Hey, what's the meaning of this!? I've done nothing wrong!" I yell as they're now getting forceful and shove me into the room, as they slam the door behind me. I repeatedly bash on the door, hoping someone will free me, but minutes go by, and then hours, and eventually I lose motivation. Finally, the speaker comes on. "We've trapped you in a level 12 containment ward. You cannot escape any longer, Jenthar." a voice echoes through the room, "It's been 18 long years, but we finally found you. Thought you were clever hiding as the nobody on a ranch, huh?" the man on the other side cackles like a madman finally getting his drug fix after a withdrawal. The walls of the room suddenly melt away as I see nothing but a purple and black void around me. Almost like two different colors of paint being lazily mixed together, but not blending. Suddenly, I feel a huge headache, the memories flowing back. I see planets of all different sizes and compositions being blasted to smithereens, entire cities being uprooted and eaten by an unspeakable horror. Only... That horror was me... I'm seeing these despicable acts from the first person, tentacles grabbing large skyscrapers and shoveling them into my mouth. I remember being weakened by a counter-assault on RB-1345, a recently terraformed planet orbiting SC-16384, home to the relatively new space-faring species, humans. I retreated to RB-1344, home to the humans, and use the last of my energy to implant myself into the womb of a pregnant mother. "Ah.. Yes.." My facade of a personality washes away as the human boy, Eric Harrison, is replaced by Jenthar. "This is far from over, Commander Warwick, for I am Jenthar! Consumer of worlds, conqueror of galaxies, drinker of infant fluids!" The blue of my eyes turns to red, tentacles beginning to protrude out of the pores of my skin, tearing my flesh apart. "You were a fool to trust this lackadaisical confinement." I cackle as I begin warping the space-time around me, the colors of the dimension blending and fading and the light seeming to bend around me, sort of how a black hole contorts the light around it. Before they knew it, I was gone. Their puny "level 12 containment ward" was no match for the strength I had gained from going through the tedium that is human childhood. I feed on others' fear and suffering, and seeing all the suffering around Eric was enough to allow me to recover from my injuries and find new strength. "Who..." I hear a voice in my head, seeming to cut off their sentence in shock as the stars whip past me. "...Eric?" I ask, surprised the boy even lived past consumption. "Yeah... Who are you? Am I blind? Why can't I see?" I feel my left hand raise up to my face, sort of patting my face. "Would you stop that!?" Jenthar bats back with his right hand, their left hand falling back to Jenthar's side. "Look, kid, this ain't gonna be easy to explain to you... But unless you finally die off like I intended for you to, you're along for the long haul. Just, don't get in the way." I grimace as we approach our first fill-up of the week, I guess you could call it an Earth-like planet, known as RB-1390, and come in for the landing.	From thousands of absolutely useless categories I reached rank #1 in only one of them. It was something, but some people still had their place on several lists. They were raised to lead. I was not. I found myself as a person who did the longest yawn of all time. I felt something weird. There was so many people trained to be a champion and I reached their goal accidentally. Amazing feeling to meet anybody who was even close to touch TOP 3 in anything, in this moment I realized. Those people, all of them, where looking at me not because I’ve done something special. They just could met somebody, who succeed in their pathetic rankings. For me it’s not life I want to live. It doesn’t really matter. I mean those rankings. Everything which has any value is on my ranch with my family, where I am not special because of my place in a table, but because of person I am. (I’m sorry for all mistakes. English is my second language I still improve, but I couldn’t resist to write it because theme is absolutely wonderful.)
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	From thousands of absolutely useless categories I reached rank #1 in only one of them. It was something, but some people still had their place on several lists. They were raised to lead. I was not. I found myself as a person who did the longest yawn of all time. I felt something weird. There was so many people trained to be a champion and I reached their goal accidentally. Amazing feeling to meet anybody who was even close to touch TOP 3 in anything, in this moment I realized. Those people, all of them, where looking at me not because I’ve done something special. They just could met somebody, who succeed in their pathetic rankings. For me it’s not life I want to live. It doesn’t really matter. I mean those rankings. Everything which has any value is on my ranch with my family, where I am not special because of my place in a table, but because of person I am. (I’m sorry for all mistakes. English is my second language I still improve, but I couldn’t resist to write it because theme is absolutely wonderful.)
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I logged onto the website, after 3 failed attempts at my password. It took me the better part of an hour scrolling through the pages and pages of statistics, most pretty decent, some exceptional (top 100,000 at minesweeper felt pretty good). Finally I noticed the little menu bar at the top and found the "Outliers" search. So I clicked and waited. A few seconds later, my most unusual statistics popped up and there it was, just above my minesweeper score: >No. 7,536,783,248 at Golf out of a global database population of 7,536,783 248. I blinked. I'd never played golf, how.. how did it even know? How could anyone be the "worst at golf"? It didn't make sense. I stepped out of my room where my sister stood, a shit-eating grin on her face as she handed me a long metal golf club. "Well? Go on, I want to see what the WoRlD's AwFuLlEsT gOlFeR looks like." I took the club from her, then went to swing it threateningly, only to mash myself in the back of the head in a profoundly uncoordinated maneuver that left me unconscious for the next 15 minutes. --- Over the following few days of mild teasing from friends and family (and several failed attempts at holding a golf club) it became apparent that I had a preternatural ability to cause extreme misfortune to myself in any activity that even bore a passing resemblance to golf. The first few times I held a club resulted in bodily harm or property damage, my first contact with a golf ball lead to a trip to the ICU and surgical removal. I visited a golf course later in the week and had an inexplicable bout of syncope then had my arm run over by an unmanned, runaway, golf cart. In the end, I decided it best for my own continued survival to avoid golf whenever physically possible. My sister, of course, gave me no end of teasing about it and would occaisionally leave various golf related paraphernalia in my path just to film (and, invariably upload to youtube) the ensuing swathe of destruction. That was... until her 18th birthday when her own results revealed her to be the world's worst Yoga Instructor. Now I have a collection of yoga mats and a spotify playlist called "Dynamic Tracks to Relax and Stretch" and it's time for some petty revenge.	From thousands of absolutely useless categories I reached rank #1 in only one of them. It was something, but some people still had their place on several lists. They were raised to lead. I was not. I found myself as a person who did the longest yawn of all time. I felt something weird. There was so many people trained to be a champion and I reached their goal accidentally. Amazing feeling to meet anybody who was even close to touch TOP 3 in anything, in this moment I realized. Those people, all of them, where looking at me not because I’ve done something special. They just could met somebody, who succeed in their pathetic rankings. For me it’s not life I want to live. It doesn’t really matter. I mean those rankings. Everything which has any value is on my ranch with my family, where I am not special because of my place in a table, but because of person I am. (I’m sorry for all mistakes. English is my second language I still improve, but I couldn’t resist to write it because theme is absolutely wonderful.)
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	From thousands of absolutely useless categories I reached rank #1 in only one of them. It was something, but some people still had their place on several lists. They were raised to lead. I was not. I found myself as a person who did the longest yawn of all time. I felt something weird. There was so many people trained to be a champion and I reached their goal accidentally. Amazing feeling to meet anybody who was even close to touch TOP 3 in anything, in this moment I realized. Those people, all of them, where looking at me not because I’ve done something special. They just could met somebody, who succeed in their pathetic rankings. For me it’s not life I want to live. It doesn’t really matter. I mean those rankings. Everything which has any value is on my ranch with my family, where I am not special because of my place in a table, but because of person I am. (I’m sorry for all mistakes. English is my second language I still improve, but I couldn’t resist to write it because theme is absolutely wonderful.)
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?	I had to check myself in the database a week later than I should've, but I was nervous and excited nonetheless. But it was all replaced with confusion and fear as soon as I entered. As I walked into the town hall surrounded by family and friends, everyone inside looked my way. They all had different expressions, some of which I couldn't even identify. I knew people coming from the country might be different, but I didn't expect this response. I ignored them, sat down, and tried to familiarize myself with the strange machine that sat on the desk in front of me. I typed my social security number in and clicked the "register" button. I didn't look that special at first. 7,130,819,307th in toe dexterity (?), 2,981,512,111th in number of plants watered overall, everything looked normal. But as I scrolled down, I kept seeing stranger statistics. #201st in liters of wine drank before intoxicated. I've never drunk in my life. I was also #1,039,112th for people seduced. I'd never once seen myself as handsome. I found a second tab labelled "top five" and clicked on it. To my surprise, there were multiple first place spots. #1 in fame. #1 in worlds saved. #1 in worlds visited. #1 in demons slain. #1 in fights won. #1 in demon kings slain. #1 in holy swords wielded. The one that set me off was #1 in magic. Somehow, I had slain demons, visited and saved another world, wielded a holy sword, won enough fights to be in first place, and used MAGIC! Then, the memories came flooding back.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	I had to check myself in the database a week later than I should've, but I was nervous and excited nonetheless. But it was all replaced with confusion and fear as soon as I entered. As I walked into the town hall surrounded by family and friends, everyone inside looked my way. They all had different expressions, some of which I couldn't even identify. I knew people coming from the country might be different, but I didn't expect this response. I ignored them, sat down, and tried to familiarize myself with the strange machine that sat on the desk in front of me. I typed my social security number in and clicked the "register" button. I didn't look that special at first. 7,130,819,307th in toe dexterity (?), 2,981,512,111th in number of plants watered overall, everything looked normal. But as I scrolled down, I kept seeing stranger statistics. #201st in liters of wine drank before intoxicated. I've never drunk in my life. I was also #1,039,112th for people seduced. I'd never once seen myself as handsome. I found a second tab labelled "top five" and clicked on it. To my surprise, there were multiple first place spots. #1 in fame. #1 in worlds saved. #1 in worlds visited. #1 in demons slain. #1 in fights won. #1 in demon kings slain. #1 in holy swords wielded. The one that set me off was #1 in magic. Somehow, I had slain demons, visited and saved another world, wielded a holy sword, won enough fights to be in first place, and used MAGIC! Then, the memories came flooding back.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	I woke up in a white room. I was in a hospital bed with tubes going in and out of me. My skin was pale and all of my dark spots were far more noticeable than before... Before what exactly? What did I do? Why am I here? My mind drifted back to my dreams and what they were. So crystal clear like replaying a video, yet foggy like old memories. My dreams were of pure fantasy, like traveling in outer space and conquering planets, to being a warlord and taking over nations, then there were the peaceful dreams of growing old with someone or staying young forever. There was nightmares of demons and monsters alike, where killing was the only way out. Others where I flew around invisible and saw my family.... MY FAMILY!!!! Where are they? I frantically look for a button to call someone and begin yelling ut of confusion and fear. A few nurses come running in and begin. to calm me down until I can coherently talk. While being asked questions a nurse walks over to a nearby table and picks up a clipboard. She flips some pages before freezing and staring at the page. She then grabs her phone and scans the screen. She mumbles "How is that...wha...how..who are you? I stare at her in confusion before familiar faces enter the room. My parents! I begin to smile and tear up as I see them. As the walk towards me the nurse grabs them and holds them back. "Dont go near him!" she shouts and the rest of the nurses back away. My parents begin to shout and demand to know why. She then shows them her phone and as the screen lights up I can see their expressions drop. I nervously ask "What is it?" as the nurse frowns and slowly shows me her phone. There, was my name, surrounding it is a gold outline. I remember what it is and what the gold meant. It was the ranking database that updates everytime someone turns 18. But why is my name on there? Im only 16... Suddenly things start making more sense as I piece together why im in that hospital and how long i've been there. Ive been in a come for at least 2 years of my life, maybe more. but all I know now is that im ranked 1# in something and it must be pretty bad. I slowly scroll the screen up to see my rankings. I see hundreds of normal or strange ones like "Best at Basketball" or "How Many Melons Can Fit in Mouth" but then I begin to see a few gold ones outlined. "1# Civilizations Conquered" "1# Lifetimes Lived" "1# Extraterrestrial Enslaved" "1# Lives terminated" The list went on and each one had a memory for it. But all these memories...I thought they were my dreams?
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	"Oh god, please nothing with horses, I knew I would regret that night with Fred." That fear sitting at the back of my mind, I drag my feet towards the terminal and begin punching in my user ID. "Ah, shit, what was it..." "6-1-3...." The thought trails off trying to remember the number I've only used once or twice before. "6-1-3-5...? No... That can't be right." I think for a bit, and then it hits me, Ma had given me the number before I left! I fish around in my pockets and find the crumpled piece of paper I carelessly shoved in there. Unfolding it, it reads: 61394539. I hunt and peck on the keypad, entering the number as it reads on the paper, and watch the terminal come to life. All kinds of shades of blue flashing before my eyes, icons appearing and disappearing, I think I saw an animal in there? Can't be sure, it just goes way too fast. Finally, it finishes. Looking at my stats, things look relatively normal. As far as I can tell most of the stats have me at the average for most things, but severely lacking in others. Until I see one that catches my eye. "Most Planets Visited: Eric Harrison" the terminal read. "How... Is that even possible..." I thought to myself as I read this. "I've lived on Earth all this time, my family has been tending to this ranch for centuries..." I look around the room and all eyes are on me. Clearly everyone has seen this ranking. I continue scrolling, and that wasn't the only #1 rank I held, to my surprise. "Most civilizations destroyed: Eric Harrison" "Number of planetary annihilations: Eric Harrison" Finally, I reach the bottom of the list, and this if the others weren't bad enough of a joke, this one had to take the cake. "Number of inter-species relations: Eric Harrison" "Oh, come on, this is just sick!" I feel sick to my stomach reading the rankings I've received continuously labeling me as a freak, a total monster, someone who should be locked away, an intergalactic warmonger with a thirst for chaos and destruction. Finally, I decide I've had enough, and try to find the log out button so that others can have their turn. As I walk away, confused and sickened, a couple of guards approach me. "Excuse me sir, could you come with us?" the one on the right asks, as the one on the left has his hand to his holster. "Sure, I suppose... What's this about anyway?" I ask out of confusion, beginning to follow them. They don't reply, but instead I'm corralled into a room with a desk in the center, a bar for handcuffs, and what appears to be a mirror for one of the walls. "Hey, what's the meaning of this!? I've done nothing wrong!" I yell as they're now getting forceful and shove me into the room, as they slam the door behind me. I repeatedly bash on the door, hoping someone will free me, but minutes go by, and then hours, and eventually I lose motivation. Finally, the speaker comes on. "We've trapped you in a level 12 containment ward. You cannot escape any longer, Jenthar." a voice echoes through the room, "It's been 18 long years, but we finally found you. Thought you were clever hiding as the nobody on a ranch, huh?" the man on the other side cackles like a madman finally getting his drug fix after a withdrawal. The walls of the room suddenly melt away as I see nothing but a purple and black void around me. Almost like two different colors of paint being lazily mixed together, but not blending. Suddenly, I feel a huge headache, the memories flowing back. I see planets of all different sizes and compositions being blasted to smithereens, entire cities being uprooted and eaten by an unspeakable horror. Only... That horror was me... I'm seeing these despicable acts from the first person, tentacles grabbing large skyscrapers and shoveling them into my mouth. I remember being weakened by a counter-assault on RB-1345, a recently terraformed planet orbiting SC-16384, home to the relatively new space-faring species, humans. I retreated to RB-1344, home to the humans, and use the last of my energy to implant myself into the womb of a pregnant mother. "Ah.. Yes.." My facade of a personality washes away as the human boy, Eric Harrison, is replaced by Jenthar. "This is far from over, Commander Warwick, for I am Jenthar! Consumer of worlds, conqueror of galaxies, drinker of infant fluids!" The blue of my eyes turns to red, tentacles beginning to protrude out of the pores of my skin, tearing my flesh apart. "You were a fool to trust this lackadaisical confinement." I cackle as I begin warping the space-time around me, the colors of the dimension blending and fading and the light seeming to bend around me, sort of how a black hole contorts the light around it. Before they knew it, I was gone. Their puny "level 12 containment ward" was no match for the strength I had gained from going through the tedium that is human childhood. I feed on others' fear and suffering, and seeing all the suffering around Eric was enough to allow me to recover from my injuries and find new strength. "Who..." I hear a voice in my head, seeming to cut off their sentence in shock as the stars whip past me. "...Eric?" I ask, surprised the boy even lived past consumption. "Yeah... Who are you? Am I blind? Why can't I see?" I feel my left hand raise up to my face, sort of patting my face. "Would you stop that!?" Jenthar bats back with his right hand, their left hand falling back to Jenthar's side. "Look, kid, this ain't gonna be easy to explain to you... But unless you finally die off like I intended for you to, you're along for the long haul. Just, don't get in the way." I grimace as we approach our first fill-up of the week, I guess you could call it an Earth-like planet, known as RB-1390, and come in for the landing.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I logged onto the website, after 3 failed attempts at my password. It took me the better part of an hour scrolling through the pages and pages of statistics, most pretty decent, some exceptional (top 100,000 at minesweeper felt pretty good). Finally I noticed the little menu bar at the top and found the "Outliers" search. So I clicked and waited. A few seconds later, my most unusual statistics popped up and there it was, just above my minesweeper score: >No. 7,536,783,248 at Golf out of a global database population of 7,536,783 248. I blinked. I'd never played golf, how.. how did it even know? How could anyone be the "worst at golf"? It didn't make sense. I stepped out of my room where my sister stood, a shit-eating grin on her face as she handed me a long metal golf club. "Well? Go on, I want to see what the WoRlD's AwFuLlEsT gOlFeR looks like." I took the club from her, then went to swing it threateningly, only to mash myself in the back of the head in a profoundly uncoordinated maneuver that left me unconscious for the next 15 minutes. --- Over the following few days of mild teasing from friends and family (and several failed attempts at holding a golf club) it became apparent that I had a preternatural ability to cause extreme misfortune to myself in any activity that even bore a passing resemblance to golf. The first few times I held a club resulted in bodily harm or property damage, my first contact with a golf ball lead to a trip to the ICU and surgical removal. I visited a golf course later in the week and had an inexplicable bout of syncope then had my arm run over by an unmanned, runaway, golf cart. In the end, I decided it best for my own continued survival to avoid golf whenever physically possible. My sister, of course, gave me no end of teasing about it and would occaisionally leave various golf related paraphernalia in my path just to film (and, invariably upload to youtube) the ensuing swathe of destruction. That was... until her 18th birthday when her own results revealed her to be the world's worst Yoga Instructor. Now I have a collection of yoga mats and a spotify playlist called "Dynamic Tracks to Relax and Stretch" and it's time for some petty revenge.	"Oh god, please nothing with horses, I knew I would regret that night with Fred." That fear sitting at the back of my mind, I drag my feet towards the terminal and begin punching in my user ID. "Ah, shit, what was it..." "6-1-3...." The thought trails off trying to remember the number I've only used once or twice before. "6-1-3-5...? No... That can't be right." I think for a bit, and then it hits me, Ma had given me the number before I left! I fish around in my pockets and find the crumpled piece of paper I carelessly shoved in there. Unfolding it, it reads: 61394539. I hunt and peck on the keypad, entering the number as it reads on the paper, and watch the terminal come to life. All kinds of shades of blue flashing before my eyes, icons appearing and disappearing, I think I saw an animal in there? Can't be sure, it just goes way too fast. Finally, it finishes. Looking at my stats, things look relatively normal. As far as I can tell most of the stats have me at the average for most things, but severely lacking in others. Until I see one that catches my eye. "Most Planets Visited: Eric Harrison" the terminal read. "How... Is that even possible..." I thought to myself as I read this. "I've lived on Earth all this time, my family has been tending to this ranch for centuries..." I look around the room and all eyes are on me. Clearly everyone has seen this ranking. I continue scrolling, and that wasn't the only #1 rank I held, to my surprise. "Most civilizations destroyed: Eric Harrison" "Number of planetary annihilations: Eric Harrison" Finally, I reach the bottom of the list, and this if the others weren't bad enough of a joke, this one had to take the cake. "Number of inter-species relations: Eric Harrison" "Oh, come on, this is just sick!" I feel sick to my stomach reading the rankings I've received continuously labeling me as a freak, a total monster, someone who should be locked away, an intergalactic warmonger with a thirst for chaos and destruction. Finally, I decide I've had enough, and try to find the log out button so that others can have their turn. As I walk away, confused and sickened, a couple of guards approach me. "Excuse me sir, could you come with us?" the one on the right asks, as the one on the left has his hand to his holster. "Sure, I suppose... What's this about anyway?" I ask out of confusion, beginning to follow them. They don't reply, but instead I'm corralled into a room with a desk in the center, a bar for handcuffs, and what appears to be a mirror for one of the walls. "Hey, what's the meaning of this!? I've done nothing wrong!" I yell as they're now getting forceful and shove me into the room, as they slam the door behind me. I repeatedly bash on the door, hoping someone will free me, but minutes go by, and then hours, and eventually I lose motivation. Finally, the speaker comes on. "We've trapped you in a level 12 containment ward. You cannot escape any longer, Jenthar." a voice echoes through the room, "It's been 18 long years, but we finally found you. Thought you were clever hiding as the nobody on a ranch, huh?" the man on the other side cackles like a madman finally getting his drug fix after a withdrawal. The walls of the room suddenly melt away as I see nothing but a purple and black void around me. Almost like two different colors of paint being lazily mixed together, but not blending. Suddenly, I feel a huge headache, the memories flowing back. I see planets of all different sizes and compositions being blasted to smithereens, entire cities being uprooted and eaten by an unspeakable horror. Only... That horror was me... I'm seeing these despicable acts from the first person, tentacles grabbing large skyscrapers and shoveling them into my mouth. I remember being weakened by a counter-assault on RB-1345, a recently terraformed planet orbiting SC-16384, home to the relatively new space-faring species, humans. I retreated to RB-1344, home to the humans, and use the last of my energy to implant myself into the womb of a pregnant mother. "Ah.. Yes.." My facade of a personality washes away as the human boy, Eric Harrison, is replaced by Jenthar. "This is far from over, Commander Warwick, for I am Jenthar! Consumer of worlds, conqueror of galaxies, drinker of infant fluids!" The blue of my eyes turns to red, tentacles beginning to protrude out of the pores of my skin, tearing my flesh apart. "You were a fool to trust this lackadaisical confinement." I cackle as I begin warping the space-time around me, the colors of the dimension blending and fading and the light seeming to bend around me, sort of how a black hole contorts the light around it. Before they knew it, I was gone. Their puny "level 12 containment ward" was no match for the strength I had gained from going through the tedium that is human childhood. I feed on others' fear and suffering, and seeing all the suffering around Eric was enough to allow me to recover from my injuries and find new strength. "Who..." I hear a voice in my head, seeming to cut off their sentence in shock as the stars whip past me. "...Eric?" I ask, surprised the boy even lived past consumption. "Yeah... Who are you? Am I blind? Why can't I see?" I feel my left hand raise up to my face, sort of patting my face. "Would you stop that!?" Jenthar bats back with his right hand, their left hand falling back to Jenthar's side. "Look, kid, this ain't gonna be easy to explain to you... But unless you finally die off like I intended for you to, you're along for the long haul. Just, don't get in the way." I grimace as we approach our first fill-up of the week, I guess you could call it an Earth-like planet, known as RB-1390, and come in for the landing.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	"Oh god, please nothing with horses, I knew I would regret that night with Fred." That fear sitting at the back of my mind, I drag my feet towards the terminal and begin punching in my user ID. "Ah, shit, what was it..." "6-1-3...." The thought trails off trying to remember the number I've only used once or twice before. "6-1-3-5...? No... That can't be right." I think for a bit, and then it hits me, Ma had given me the number before I left! I fish around in my pockets and find the crumpled piece of paper I carelessly shoved in there. Unfolding it, it reads: 61394539. I hunt and peck on the keypad, entering the number as it reads on the paper, and watch the terminal come to life. All kinds of shades of blue flashing before my eyes, icons appearing and disappearing, I think I saw an animal in there? Can't be sure, it just goes way too fast. Finally, it finishes. Looking at my stats, things look relatively normal. As far as I can tell most of the stats have me at the average for most things, but severely lacking in others. Until I see one that catches my eye. "Most Planets Visited: Eric Harrison" the terminal read. "How... Is that even possible..." I thought to myself as I read this. "I've lived on Earth all this time, my family has been tending to this ranch for centuries..." I look around the room and all eyes are on me. Clearly everyone has seen this ranking. I continue scrolling, and that wasn't the only #1 rank I held, to my surprise. "Most civilizations destroyed: Eric Harrison" "Number of planetary annihilations: Eric Harrison" Finally, I reach the bottom of the list, and this if the others weren't bad enough of a joke, this one had to take the cake. "Number of inter-species relations: Eric Harrison" "Oh, come on, this is just sick!" I feel sick to my stomach reading the rankings I've received continuously labeling me as a freak, a total monster, someone who should be locked away, an intergalactic warmonger with a thirst for chaos and destruction. Finally, I decide I've had enough, and try to find the log out button so that others can have their turn. As I walk away, confused and sickened, a couple of guards approach me. "Excuse me sir, could you come with us?" the one on the right asks, as the one on the left has his hand to his holster. "Sure, I suppose... What's this about anyway?" I ask out of confusion, beginning to follow them. They don't reply, but instead I'm corralled into a room with a desk in the center, a bar for handcuffs, and what appears to be a mirror for one of the walls. "Hey, what's the meaning of this!? I've done nothing wrong!" I yell as they're now getting forceful and shove me into the room, as they slam the door behind me. I repeatedly bash on the door, hoping someone will free me, but minutes go by, and then hours, and eventually I lose motivation. Finally, the speaker comes on. "We've trapped you in a level 12 containment ward. You cannot escape any longer, Jenthar." a voice echoes through the room, "It's been 18 long years, but we finally found you. Thought you were clever hiding as the nobody on a ranch, huh?" the man on the other side cackles like a madman finally getting his drug fix after a withdrawal. The walls of the room suddenly melt away as I see nothing but a purple and black void around me. Almost like two different colors of paint being lazily mixed together, but not blending. Suddenly, I feel a huge headache, the memories flowing back. I see planets of all different sizes and compositions being blasted to smithereens, entire cities being uprooted and eaten by an unspeakable horror. Only... That horror was me... I'm seeing these despicable acts from the first person, tentacles grabbing large skyscrapers and shoveling them into my mouth. I remember being weakened by a counter-assault on RB-1345, a recently terraformed planet orbiting SC-16384, home to the relatively new space-faring species, humans. I retreated to RB-1344, home to the humans, and use the last of my energy to implant myself into the womb of a pregnant mother. "Ah.. Yes.." My facade of a personality washes away as the human boy, Eric Harrison, is replaced by Jenthar. "This is far from over, Commander Warwick, for I am Jenthar! Consumer of worlds, conqueror of galaxies, drinker of infant fluids!" The blue of my eyes turns to red, tentacles beginning to protrude out of the pores of my skin, tearing my flesh apart. "You were a fool to trust this lackadaisical confinement." I cackle as I begin warping the space-time around me, the colors of the dimension blending and fading and the light seeming to bend around me, sort of how a black hole contorts the light around it. Before they knew it, I was gone. Their puny "level 12 containment ward" was no match for the strength I had gained from going through the tedium that is human childhood. I feed on others' fear and suffering, and seeing all the suffering around Eric was enough to allow me to recover from my injuries and find new strength. "Who..." I hear a voice in my head, seeming to cut off their sentence in shock as the stars whip past me. "...Eric?" I ask, surprised the boy even lived past consumption. "Yeah... Who are you? Am I blind? Why can't I see?" I feel my left hand raise up to my face, sort of patting my face. "Would you stop that!?" Jenthar bats back with his right hand, their left hand falling back to Jenthar's side. "Look, kid, this ain't gonna be easy to explain to you... But unless you finally die off like I intended for you to, you're along for the long haul. Just, don't get in the way." I grimace as we approach our first fill-up of the week, I guess you could call it an Earth-like planet, known as RB-1390, and come in for the landing.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	I arrived in town around 8 as usual. Ideally my father would come to town to pick up supplies so I wouldn’t have to, but he insists I learn how to interact with folks who aren’t farmers. So far, all I’ve learned is that I hate them. All their focus on money and possessions seems absurd to me. I’m a simple man. Animals and plants are more than enough company, and nothing can beat the satisfaction of a good day's work on the farm. That’s why I like to come to town as early as possible and leave as quickly as possible. The lazy townsfolk seem to get out of their houses only after 10, wasting a good several hours of daylight. So imagine my surprise when I found a huge crowd right outside the hardware store. They were milling around, sipping hot drinks and chatting amongst themselves. I had a brief moment of panic as I wondered if the store was closing for some reason. Perhaps people were buying as much of the inventory as they could before the store shut down. But, I realized, it wouldn’t make sense why the crowd was waiting outside the store, and not shopping inside. As I got out of my truck and walked towards the front of the store, a few people noticed me and immediately started pointing towards me and shouting. I felt a pit in my stomach - of course all the townspeople wanted to do was to make fun of the farmer. I remember one day back in school a few years ago, a group of kids from the town rode up and threw eggs at us as they mocked us for working the farm. I felt a flash of rage as I braced myself for the taunting soon to come. To my surprise, however, as I neared the group, the people greeted me with warm smiles. A lady, flanked by a crew carrying two enormous cameras, burst through the crowd and began speaking a mile a minute: “Hello John. My name is Ann and I’m with TWN-1. It’s great to see you today morning. How are you feeling today in light of the discovery? Had you known you were the son of Mr. Bates? Do you plan to remain on your farm or join your father in New York?” “I...uh...I think you have the wrong person. Sorry.” I tried wading through the crowd but the lady blocked my way. “Please Mr. Bates. I know you’re a very busy man, but we would all really appreciate the chance to learn more about you. As I’m sure you know, hardly anything interesting happens in this area, and when something finally does it seems awfully rude to refuse to talk to us for just a few minutes.” Around me, I could see people nodding their heads in agreement and frowning. “Umm. Ok. But I really think you have the wrong person. Joe Last is my father, not some guy named Mr. Bates.” The lady laughed at that. Then she looked into the camera and said “Well, folks, it appears Mr. Bates hasn’t heard the exciting news yet!” She turned towards me. “Mr. Bates, as you know, every year the government publishes a list of the wealthiest people in America.” I had no idea a list like that was published, but I nodded anyways. “You became eligible for the list on your 18th birthday and yesterday we all found out that you’re worth nearly ten billion dollars! Mr. Bates claimed you as his son at a press conference a few hours ago and is flying down to visit you as we speak. Isn’t that terrific!?!” The lady smiled and looked at me expectantly. I...didn’t know what to say. This was all too much. Joe Last was my father…but how could all these people be mistaken? “I...thank you for the information. If you’ll just excuse me.” I turned around and bolted back towards my truck. Behind me I could hear shouting and the sound of people following me. But there was only one thought in my mind. I needed to have a chat with Joe Last.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I logged onto the website, after 3 failed attempts at my password. It took me the better part of an hour scrolling through the pages and pages of statistics, most pretty decent, some exceptional (top 100,000 at minesweeper felt pretty good). Finally I noticed the little menu bar at the top and found the "Outliers" search. So I clicked and waited. A few seconds later, my most unusual statistics popped up and there it was, just above my minesweeper score: >No. 7,536,783,248 at Golf out of a global database population of 7,536,783 248. I blinked. I'd never played golf, how.. how did it even know? How could anyone be the "worst at golf"? It didn't make sense. I stepped out of my room where my sister stood, a shit-eating grin on her face as she handed me a long metal golf club. "Well? Go on, I want to see what the WoRlD's AwFuLlEsT gOlFeR looks like." I took the club from her, then went to swing it threateningly, only to mash myself in the back of the head in a profoundly uncoordinated maneuver that left me unconscious for the next 15 minutes. --- Over the following few days of mild teasing from friends and family (and several failed attempts at holding a golf club) it became apparent that I had a preternatural ability to cause extreme misfortune to myself in any activity that even bore a passing resemblance to golf. The first few times I held a club resulted in bodily harm or property damage, my first contact with a golf ball lead to a trip to the ICU and surgical removal. I visited a golf course later in the week and had an inexplicable bout of syncope then had my arm run over by an unmanned, runaway, golf cart. In the end, I decided it best for my own continued survival to avoid golf whenever physically possible. My sister, of course, gave me no end of teasing about it and would occaisionally leave various golf related paraphernalia in my path just to film (and, invariably upload to youtube) the ensuing swathe of destruction. That was... until her 18th birthday when her own results revealed her to be the world's worst Yoga Instructor. Now I have a collection of yoga mats and a spotify playlist called "Dynamic Tracks to Relax and Stretch" and it's time for some petty revenge.	I arrived in town around 8 as usual. Ideally my father would come to town to pick up supplies so I wouldn’t have to, but he insists I learn how to interact with folks who aren’t farmers. So far, all I’ve learned is that I hate them. All their focus on money and possessions seems absurd to me. I’m a simple man. Animals and plants are more than enough company, and nothing can beat the satisfaction of a good day's work on the farm. That’s why I like to come to town as early as possible and leave as quickly as possible. The lazy townsfolk seem to get out of their houses only after 10, wasting a good several hours of daylight. So imagine my surprise when I found a huge crowd right outside the hardware store. They were milling around, sipping hot drinks and chatting amongst themselves. I had a brief moment of panic as I wondered if the store was closing for some reason. Perhaps people were buying as much of the inventory as they could before the store shut down. But, I realized, it wouldn’t make sense why the crowd was waiting outside the store, and not shopping inside. As I got out of my truck and walked towards the front of the store, a few people noticed me and immediately started pointing towards me and shouting. I felt a pit in my stomach - of course all the townspeople wanted to do was to make fun of the farmer. I remember one day back in school a few years ago, a group of kids from the town rode up and threw eggs at us as they mocked us for working the farm. I felt a flash of rage as I braced myself for the taunting soon to come. To my surprise, however, as I neared the group, the people greeted me with warm smiles. A lady, flanked by a crew carrying two enormous cameras, burst through the crowd and began speaking a mile a minute: “Hello John. My name is Ann and I’m with TWN-1. It’s great to see you today morning. How are you feeling today in light of the discovery? Had you known you were the son of Mr. Bates? Do you plan to remain on your farm or join your father in New York?” “I...uh...I think you have the wrong person. Sorry.” I tried wading through the crowd but the lady blocked my way. “Please Mr. Bates. I know you’re a very busy man, but we would all really appreciate the chance to learn more about you. As I’m sure you know, hardly anything interesting happens in this area, and when something finally does it seems awfully rude to refuse to talk to us for just a few minutes.” Around me, I could see people nodding their heads in agreement and frowning. “Umm. Ok. But I really think you have the wrong person. Joe Last is my father, not some guy named Mr. Bates.” The lady laughed at that. Then she looked into the camera and said “Well, folks, it appears Mr. Bates hasn’t heard the exciting news yet!” She turned towards me. “Mr. Bates, as you know, every year the government publishes a list of the wealthiest people in America.” I had no idea a list like that was published, but I nodded anyways. “You became eligible for the list on your 18th birthday and yesterday we all found out that you’re worth nearly ten billion dollars! Mr. Bates claimed you as his son at a press conference a few hours ago and is flying down to visit you as we speak. Isn’t that terrific!?!” The lady smiled and looked at me expectantly. I...didn’t know what to say. This was all too much. Joe Last was my father…but how could all these people be mistaken? “I...thank you for the information. If you’ll just excuse me.” I turned around and bolted back towards my truck. Behind me I could hear shouting and the sound of people following me. But there was only one thought in my mind. I needed to have a chat with Joe Last.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	I arrived in town around 8 as usual. Ideally my father would come to town to pick up supplies so I wouldn’t have to, but he insists I learn how to interact with folks who aren’t farmers. So far, all I’ve learned is that I hate them. All their focus on money and possessions seems absurd to me. I’m a simple man. Animals and plants are more than enough company, and nothing can beat the satisfaction of a good day's work on the farm. That’s why I like to come to town as early as possible and leave as quickly as possible. The lazy townsfolk seem to get out of their houses only after 10, wasting a good several hours of daylight. So imagine my surprise when I found a huge crowd right outside the hardware store. They were milling around, sipping hot drinks and chatting amongst themselves. I had a brief moment of panic as I wondered if the store was closing for some reason. Perhaps people were buying as much of the inventory as they could before the store shut down. But, I realized, it wouldn’t make sense why the crowd was waiting outside the store, and not shopping inside. As I got out of my truck and walked towards the front of the store, a few people noticed me and immediately started pointing towards me and shouting. I felt a pit in my stomach - of course all the townspeople wanted to do was to make fun of the farmer. I remember one day back in school a few years ago, a group of kids from the town rode up and threw eggs at us as they mocked us for working the farm. I felt a flash of rage as I braced myself for the taunting soon to come. To my surprise, however, as I neared the group, the people greeted me with warm smiles. A lady, flanked by a crew carrying two enormous cameras, burst through the crowd and began speaking a mile a minute: “Hello John. My name is Ann and I’m with TWN-1. It’s great to see you today morning. How are you feeling today in light of the discovery? Had you known you were the son of Mr. Bates? Do you plan to remain on your farm or join your father in New York?” “I...uh...I think you have the wrong person. Sorry.” I tried wading through the crowd but the lady blocked my way. “Please Mr. Bates. I know you’re a very busy man, but we would all really appreciate the chance to learn more about you. As I’m sure you know, hardly anything interesting happens in this area, and when something finally does it seems awfully rude to refuse to talk to us for just a few minutes.” Around me, I could see people nodding their heads in agreement and frowning. “Umm. Ok. But I really think you have the wrong person. Joe Last is my father, not some guy named Mr. Bates.” The lady laughed at that. Then she looked into the camera and said “Well, folks, it appears Mr. Bates hasn’t heard the exciting news yet!” She turned towards me. “Mr. Bates, as you know, every year the government publishes a list of the wealthiest people in America.” I had no idea a list like that was published, but I nodded anyways. “You became eligible for the list on your 18th birthday and yesterday we all found out that you’re worth nearly ten billion dollars! Mr. Bates claimed you as his son at a press conference a few hours ago and is flying down to visit you as we speak. Isn’t that terrific!?!” The lady smiled and looked at me expectantly. I...didn’t know what to say. This was all too much. Joe Last was my father…but how could all these people be mistaken? “I...thank you for the information. If you’ll just excuse me.” I turned around and bolted back towards my truck. Behind me I could hear shouting and the sound of people following me. But there was only one thought in my mind. I needed to have a chat with Joe Last.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	The men in the room stared at me. I stared back. We stayed like this for a while, hours maybe, without a word. Occasionally, someone would cough or sneeze, one of the agents even burped, but those moments were few and far between. At this point, it almost seemed like a competition on who would crack first and break the silence. All I knew is I wanted to leave soon. I hadn’t been in the city very many times before this. I was never a big fan, and never could understand why someone would want to spend their life here. The colors were dark, the noises were loud, the air smelled reeked of cigarettes and engine exhaust, but still there were more people on a street block than I had met in my entire life. Perhaps it was the fact they never seemed to look up from their cell phones, or perhaps they didn’t realize there was anything more to the world, but either way, it never clicked with me. Even the muffled noise from the chatter and daily grind inside the room was overwhelming. Eventually, the tension got to me, and I decided to speak up. “Why am I still here?” After a brief silence, I received a reply. “We’re not allowed to answer that question.” I took a short moment to process this information, before my brow furrowed. Shortly after, I spoke again. “Why not?” This time, another agent spoke, picking up where the last left off without skipping a beat. “We’re waiting for someone.” Another brief pause followed. “What kind of someone?” I didn’t receive a response, and the room fell silent yet again. I had my ideas, obviously. Whatever this was, it was clear it wasn’t routine. It had to do with my scan. I was good at something, something that made me a commodity to someone. After all, if it wasn’t important, I doubt having 6 people in the room blocking the exit would be a good use of resources. After that, though, is where it became more speculation for me. I wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t the fastest, and I wasn’t getting any awards for my Violin skills, either. The guards didn’t seem nervous, so I likely wasn’t an immediate threat either. If the guards weren’t there to stop me, then they were there for something else. They were there to protect me. I felt a shiver go down my spine as my mind quickly swerved into the worst case scenarios, when suddenly, a noise could be heard. A door opening. The men moved out of the way in coordination, like soldiers lining up for their commander. That was the first time I saw him. He looked unsettlingly casual compared to everyone else in the room. His hair was grey and unkempt, with a baseball cap on his head and sandals on his feet. A chair was brought into the room by another faceless man in black, and he sat down. Then, he laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost! I know I’m quite old, but I assure you I’m still very much alive.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, I didn’t need to. “You’re wondering why you’re here. You’ve already surmised that these guards are here to protect you, and you’re not exactly ‘normal’.” Again, I was petrified to even say a word. I felt like was going to die. “You’re not going to die.” That got my attention and suddenly, as well as unwillingly, the questions poured out of my mouth like word soup. “Who are you? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I want to go home, why am I still here?” The man laughed again for a short moment, as I grew more frustrated. I looked away, like a child pouting about a toy. “I’m sorry. You’re scared, I shouldn’t be laughing.” His preppy smile faded, and shifted to a more serious frown. He went from sitting straight up to leaning with a sympathetic hunch down over the table. Realizing how stupid I probably looked, I looked forward again, yet keeping my eyes at the ground. Feeling that he had my attention again, he promptly continued speaking. “If I told you that I didn’t feel the same way my whole life after this point, I’d be a liar. I had a family too.” Had. Pretense. I didn’t like where this was going. “They’re still alive, but no, I don’t think you’ll like where this is going.” Again. He had predicted my thoughts perfectly. It was no longer a coincidence. “You’re not going home. If I could hide what we found today, I’d gladly give my life for it, but you and me are different. Your kind of talent won’t appear on the list, because as far as the world is aware we don’t exist. I need you to look at me.” A lot of information, plus a lot of things you don’t want to hear, followed by a command. I had had enough. I erupted, threw my chair at the wall, and then he got the eye contact he wanted and more. “Why the hell should I do that!? Why should I listen to you, who the hell are you to tell me what to do!? The city is a shitshow, and I am NOT staying here! Give me one good reason, one, I shouldn’t try to leave right now?” “Because neither of our mouths have moved this entire time.” I stopped. His voice wasn’t coming from the room. It was, in fact in my head. “Kid...you’re a psychic.”	The idiom 'happier than a pig in mud' is a bit of a misnomer-- those sweet oink-puppies are happy anywhere they go, if you're there to love and feed them. Same goes for the cows, goats and chickens we raise on our ranch, not to profit off of them, but just to give them a home. I, like them, am a refugee from the Citadel: teetering metropolis packed with distracted meatbags masquerading as humans, and devoid of any warm fuzzy feelings you get when you enjoy something interpersonal like saying 'hello' to someone. Ginger, a momma pig of four babies, had her head in my lap, snoring with satisfaction as I scratched an ear. We had a lot in common, the two of us, and she'd been my best friend through the years. But the infection on her back leg was getting worse, not better. Sore, red, oozing a little, I looked at it and knew how she'd react if I touched skin anywhere near it. Slowly, I slid out from under her, somehow managing not to wake her up, then walked into the house and sighed. "How's she?" my mom asked, her rasp voice like sandpaper amidst the quiet. "Not good, I think." "You're gonna have to go, Mary. 'Specially since you're eighteen now, they wanna scan your brain and shit anyway." "I don't want them doing that!" I said, flailing my arms. "That's so creepy and wrong." "Yeah, but better they do it quietly while you're in the city than they find out and come out here for you." Grumbling, I knelt and fidgeted with a shoelace. "Do I have to?" "Yep. They won't hurt you none, it's safe in there. I got these instructions for how to get to that doctor I know out there. Follow 'em and you'll be fine." I sighed with defeat, but threw on a coat. "How do I pay? Does he still accept cash?" "Nah, darlin', not out there. They just know, we got some money in an account." "Ugh, that's so weird." "Shush and get going before it's too late." "Fine," I mumbled to myself on the way out. ---- The four mile walk to the Citadel border was quick and refreshing, even with a mountain of grey steel and stone looming in the distance, engulfing more and more of the blue sky as I approached. At the city's edge, there were no guards or stations or robots like I'd expected; only a distinct death of anything wild and green along a line of warped air, like a wall of oil had been put up. I poked it with a finger, and felt nothing in particular, so I breached it. Immediately, a pulling sensation, prickly and cold, enveloped my brain. It was like a wave of nostalgia, in a way, as old memories resurfaced and I felt things I hadn't felt in years gone by. Then, just as suddenly, it ended, and I was left kneeling on concrete breathing heavily. I shook it off and continued following the instructions, taking a left at the big, dirty monument of some green lady with a torch. There was an eerie quiet, not even a breeze whistling through cold steel reaching for the sky, and a smell of musty stone and rust. And then I made the third turn, once more through an oil-field. Only, that time, when I broached it... there were a thousand people, maybe more, all impossibly similar. They stared at me, harder than stone, colder than steel. I wanted to run, but couldn't move a muscle as so many eyes bore through my soul, and breath was nowhere to be found. Then they all went about their day. Well, all but one girl, seemingly my age but impossibly clean, with blonde hair and white teeth that glowed like stars. I shrugged and approached her. Why not, right? She started at my approach. "Hi there," I said, extending a hand. She didn't take it, only looked at it like she didn't have hands herself. "H--Hello." "I'm Mary, what's your name?" "Kara." Wordsmith over here, I see. I smiled. "Well, Kara, nice to meet you. I'm here to pick up some medicine, have you heard of a Dr. Poole in this area?" She shook her head. "Well," I said, drawing the word out, "alrighty then. Thanks for the time, Kara." "Wait," she called, eyes wide. "Where are you from?" "Just outside the city, a few miles south. My family lives on a ranch there." "Wow. You've never been in the city before? You're dressed so weird." I giggled. "No, this is my first time. I also find you guys to look weird." She held up a little black rectangle, and it clicked at me. "What is that thing?" I asked. Her jaw went slack. "A phone? You don't know what a phone is?" I shook my head. "Wow. You don't know your rankings then, either, do you?" "What?" "Oh. My. God. You're helpless, ranch girl. What's your full name?" "Mary Sue Dettinger." She tapped at it furiously, and I leaned in closer. "Holy shit," she said, her gaping face lit by the screen's glow. "How is this humanly possible?" She turned it to me and I squinted at it. >Number of Children >1: Mary Sue Dettinger - 48 I almost dropped the phone, I laughed so hard. The kind of ab-cramping wheeze that you can't even hear for a little while because there's just no air left in you. Kara snatched it back from me, yelping. "What're you doing? Careful with that! Shit's expensive!" "Sorry," I said between fits of laughter. "I didn't think they'd take it so seriously." "What are you talking about?" "Well, they scanned me on the way in, and I felt a lot of like weird questions in my head, but I'm kinda weird. I call all the animals on my farm children." She giggled. "What the hell? I've never heard of them getting it wrong. That's super weird. I just thought you were like a rabbit-person or something when I saw the number. You kinda look like one." "Oh, come on." "Let's see if you're anywhere else," she said, waving a hand at me. "Mary, Sue... Dett--" My gaze bounced between her and the phone. "What? What is it now?" There was an unreadable look on her face -- some twisted mix of sadness, envy and confusion -- as she let me see the screen again. Though, that time, she held the phone for me. >Happiness >2: Mary Sue Dettinger I smiled wide and didn't even look at #1; why would I? I knew it'd say 'Ginger'. Or, at least, it would once I got back to pet her. "I don't get it," Kara said, her words soft. "How's this possible? You don't even have a phone. Your clothes are old. This makes no sense. You trick them about this, too?" "Mm-mm," I replied, shaking my head. Our eyes met in what must have been the most genuine moment she'd ever experienced. "I've never even thought about it." ---- /r/resonatingfury
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	I logged onto the website, after 3 failed attempts at my password. It took me the better part of an hour scrolling through the pages and pages of statistics, most pretty decent, some exceptional (top 100,000 at minesweeper felt pretty good). Finally I noticed the little menu bar at the top and found the "Outliers" search. So I clicked and waited. A few seconds later, my most unusual statistics popped up and there it was, just above my minesweeper score: >No. 7,536,783,248 at Golf out of a global database population of 7,536,783 248. I blinked. I'd never played golf, how.. how did it even know? How could anyone be the "worst at golf"? It didn't make sense. I stepped out of my room where my sister stood, a shit-eating grin on her face as she handed me a long metal golf club. "Well? Go on, I want to see what the WoRlD's AwFuLlEsT gOlFeR looks like." I took the club from her, then went to swing it threateningly, only to mash myself in the back of the head in a profoundly uncoordinated maneuver that left me unconscious for the next 15 minutes. --- Over the following few days of mild teasing from friends and family (and several failed attempts at holding a golf club) it became apparent that I had a preternatural ability to cause extreme misfortune to myself in any activity that even bore a passing resemblance to golf. The first few times I held a club resulted in bodily harm or property damage, my first contact with a golf ball lead to a trip to the ICU and surgical removal. I visited a golf course later in the week and had an inexplicable bout of syncope then had my arm run over by an unmanned, runaway, golf cart. In the end, I decided it best for my own continued survival to avoid golf whenever physically possible. My sister, of course, gave me no end of teasing about it and would occaisionally leave various golf related paraphernalia in my path just to film (and, invariably upload to youtube) the ensuing swathe of destruction. That was... until her 18th birthday when her own results revealed her to be the world's worst Yoga Instructor. Now I have a collection of yoga mats and a spotify playlist called "Dynamic Tracks to Relax and Stretch" and it's time for some petty revenge.	The idiom 'happier than a pig in mud' is a bit of a misnomer-- those sweet oink-puppies are happy anywhere they go, if you're there to love and feed them. Same goes for the cows, goats and chickens we raise on our ranch, not to profit off of them, but just to give them a home. I, like them, am a refugee from the Citadel: teetering metropolis packed with distracted meatbags masquerading as humans, and devoid of any warm fuzzy feelings you get when you enjoy something interpersonal like saying 'hello' to someone. Ginger, a momma pig of four babies, had her head in my lap, snoring with satisfaction as I scratched an ear. We had a lot in common, the two of us, and she'd been my best friend through the years. But the infection on her back leg was getting worse, not better. Sore, red, oozing a little, I looked at it and knew how she'd react if I touched skin anywhere near it. Slowly, I slid out from under her, somehow managing not to wake her up, then walked into the house and sighed. "How's she?" my mom asked, her rasp voice like sandpaper amidst the quiet. "Not good, I think." "You're gonna have to go, Mary. 'Specially since you're eighteen now, they wanna scan your brain and shit anyway." "I don't want them doing that!" I said, flailing my arms. "That's so creepy and wrong." "Yeah, but better they do it quietly while you're in the city than they find out and come out here for you." Grumbling, I knelt and fidgeted with a shoelace. "Do I have to?" "Yep. They won't hurt you none, it's safe in there. I got these instructions for how to get to that doctor I know out there. Follow 'em and you'll be fine." I sighed with defeat, but threw on a coat. "How do I pay? Does he still accept cash?" "Nah, darlin', not out there. They just know, we got some money in an account." "Ugh, that's so weird." "Shush and get going before it's too late." "Fine," I mumbled to myself on the way out. ---- The four mile walk to the Citadel border was quick and refreshing, even with a mountain of grey steel and stone looming in the distance, engulfing more and more of the blue sky as I approached. At the city's edge, there were no guards or stations or robots like I'd expected; only a distinct death of anything wild and green along a line of warped air, like a wall of oil had been put up. I poked it with a finger, and felt nothing in particular, so I breached it. Immediately, a pulling sensation, prickly and cold, enveloped my brain. It was like a wave of nostalgia, in a way, as old memories resurfaced and I felt things I hadn't felt in years gone by. Then, just as suddenly, it ended, and I was left kneeling on concrete breathing heavily. I shook it off and continued following the instructions, taking a left at the big, dirty monument of some green lady with a torch. There was an eerie quiet, not even a breeze whistling through cold steel reaching for the sky, and a smell of musty stone and rust. And then I made the third turn, once more through an oil-field. Only, that time, when I broached it... there were a thousand people, maybe more, all impossibly similar. They stared at me, harder than stone, colder than steel. I wanted to run, but couldn't move a muscle as so many eyes bore through my soul, and breath was nowhere to be found. Then they all went about their day. Well, all but one girl, seemingly my age but impossibly clean, with blonde hair and white teeth that glowed like stars. I shrugged and approached her. Why not, right? She started at my approach. "Hi there," I said, extending a hand. She didn't take it, only looked at it like she didn't have hands herself. "H--Hello." "I'm Mary, what's your name?" "Kara." Wordsmith over here, I see. I smiled. "Well, Kara, nice to meet you. I'm here to pick up some medicine, have you heard of a Dr. Poole in this area?" She shook her head. "Well," I said, drawing the word out, "alrighty then. Thanks for the time, Kara." "Wait," she called, eyes wide. "Where are you from?" "Just outside the city, a few miles south. My family lives on a ranch there." "Wow. You've never been in the city before? You're dressed so weird." I giggled. "No, this is my first time. I also find you guys to look weird." She held up a little black rectangle, and it clicked at me. "What is that thing?" I asked. Her jaw went slack. "A phone? You don't know what a phone is?" I shook my head. "Wow. You don't know your rankings then, either, do you?" "What?" "Oh. My. God. You're helpless, ranch girl. What's your full name?" "Mary Sue Dettinger." She tapped at it furiously, and I leaned in closer. "Holy shit," she said, her gaping face lit by the screen's glow. "How is this humanly possible?" She turned it to me and I squinted at it. >Number of Children >1: Mary Sue Dettinger - 48 I almost dropped the phone, I laughed so hard. The kind of ab-cramping wheeze that you can't even hear for a little while because there's just no air left in you. Kara snatched it back from me, yelping. "What're you doing? Careful with that! Shit's expensive!" "Sorry," I said between fits of laughter. "I didn't think they'd take it so seriously." "What are you talking about?" "Well, they scanned me on the way in, and I felt a lot of like weird questions in my head, but I'm kinda weird. I call all the animals on my farm children." She giggled. "What the hell? I've never heard of them getting it wrong. That's super weird. I just thought you were like a rabbit-person or something when I saw the number. You kinda look like one." "Oh, come on." "Let's see if you're anywhere else," she said, waving a hand at me. "Mary, Sue... Dett--" My gaze bounced between her and the phone. "What? What is it now?" There was an unreadable look on her face -- some twisted mix of sadness, envy and confusion -- as she let me see the screen again. Though, that time, she held the phone for me. >Happiness >2: Mary Sue Dettinger I smiled wide and didn't even look at #1; why would I? I knew it'd say 'Ginger'. Or, at least, it would once I got back to pet her. "I don't get it," Kara said, her words soft. "How's this possible? You don't even have a phone. Your clothes are old. This makes no sense. You trick them about this, too?" "Mm-mm," I replied, shaking my head. Our eyes met in what must have been the most genuine moment she'd ever experienced. "I've never even thought about it." ---- /r/resonatingfury
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	The idiom 'happier than a pig in mud' is a bit of a misnomer-- those sweet oink-puppies are happy anywhere they go, if you're there to love and feed them. Same goes for the cows, goats and chickens we raise on our ranch, not to profit off of them, but just to give them a home. I, like them, am a refugee from the Citadel: teetering metropolis packed with distracted meatbags masquerading as humans, and devoid of any warm fuzzy feelings you get when you enjoy something interpersonal like saying 'hello' to someone. Ginger, a momma pig of four babies, had her head in my lap, snoring with satisfaction as I scratched an ear. We had a lot in common, the two of us, and she'd been my best friend through the years. But the infection on her back leg was getting worse, not better. Sore, red, oozing a little, I looked at it and knew how she'd react if I touched skin anywhere near it. Slowly, I slid out from under her, somehow managing not to wake her up, then walked into the house and sighed. "How's she?" my mom asked, her rasp voice like sandpaper amidst the quiet. "Not good, I think." "You're gonna have to go, Mary. 'Specially since you're eighteen now, they wanna scan your brain and shit anyway." "I don't want them doing that!" I said, flailing my arms. "That's so creepy and wrong." "Yeah, but better they do it quietly while you're in the city than they find out and come out here for you." Grumbling, I knelt and fidgeted with a shoelace. "Do I have to?" "Yep. They won't hurt you none, it's safe in there. I got these instructions for how to get to that doctor I know out there. Follow 'em and you'll be fine." I sighed with defeat, but threw on a coat. "How do I pay? Does he still accept cash?" "Nah, darlin', not out there. They just know, we got some money in an account." "Ugh, that's so weird." "Shush and get going before it's too late." "Fine," I mumbled to myself on the way out. ---- The four mile walk to the Citadel border was quick and refreshing, even with a mountain of grey steel and stone looming in the distance, engulfing more and more of the blue sky as I approached. At the city's edge, there were no guards or stations or robots like I'd expected; only a distinct death of anything wild and green along a line of warped air, like a wall of oil had been put up. I poked it with a finger, and felt nothing in particular, so I breached it. Immediately, a pulling sensation, prickly and cold, enveloped my brain. It was like a wave of nostalgia, in a way, as old memories resurfaced and I felt things I hadn't felt in years gone by. Then, just as suddenly, it ended, and I was left kneeling on concrete breathing heavily. I shook it off and continued following the instructions, taking a left at the big, dirty monument of some green lady with a torch. There was an eerie quiet, not even a breeze whistling through cold steel reaching for the sky, and a smell of musty stone and rust. And then I made the third turn, once more through an oil-field. Only, that time, when I broached it... there were a thousand people, maybe more, all impossibly similar. They stared at me, harder than stone, colder than steel. I wanted to run, but couldn't move a muscle as so many eyes bore through my soul, and breath was nowhere to be found. Then they all went about their day. Well, all but one girl, seemingly my age but impossibly clean, with blonde hair and white teeth that glowed like stars. I shrugged and approached her. Why not, right? She started at my approach. "Hi there," I said, extending a hand. She didn't take it, only looked at it like she didn't have hands herself. "H--Hello." "I'm Mary, what's your name?" "Kara." Wordsmith over here, I see. I smiled. "Well, Kara, nice to meet you. I'm here to pick up some medicine, have you heard of a Dr. Poole in this area?" She shook her head. "Well," I said, drawing the word out, "alrighty then. Thanks for the time, Kara." "Wait," she called, eyes wide. "Where are you from?" "Just outside the city, a few miles south. My family lives on a ranch there." "Wow. You've never been in the city before? You're dressed so weird." I giggled. "No, this is my first time. I also find you guys to look weird." She held up a little black rectangle, and it clicked at me. "What is that thing?" I asked. Her jaw went slack. "A phone? You don't know what a phone is?" I shook my head. "Wow. You don't know your rankings then, either, do you?" "What?" "Oh. My. God. You're helpless, ranch girl. What's your full name?" "Mary Sue Dettinger." She tapped at it furiously, and I leaned in closer. "Holy shit," she said, her gaping face lit by the screen's glow. "How is this humanly possible?" She turned it to me and I squinted at it. >Number of Children >1: Mary Sue Dettinger - 48 I almost dropped the phone, I laughed so hard. The kind of ab-cramping wheeze that you can't even hear for a little while because there's just no air left in you. Kara snatched it back from me, yelping. "What're you doing? Careful with that! Shit's expensive!" "Sorry," I said between fits of laughter. "I didn't think they'd take it so seriously." "What are you talking about?" "Well, they scanned me on the way in, and I felt a lot of like weird questions in my head, but I'm kinda weird. I call all the animals on my farm children." She giggled. "What the hell? I've never heard of them getting it wrong. That's super weird. I just thought you were like a rabbit-person or something when I saw the number. You kinda look like one." "Oh, come on." "Let's see if you're anywhere else," she said, waving a hand at me. "Mary, Sue... Dett--" My gaze bounced between her and the phone. "What? What is it now?" There was an unreadable look on her face -- some twisted mix of sadness, envy and confusion -- as she let me see the screen again. Though, that time, she held the phone for me. >Happiness >2: Mary Sue Dettinger I smiled wide and didn't even look at #1; why would I? I knew it'd say 'Ginger'. Or, at least, it would once I got back to pet her. "I don't get it," Kara said, her words soft. "How's this possible? You don't even have a phone. Your clothes are old. This makes no sense. You trick them about this, too?" "Mm-mm," I replied, shaking my head. Our eyes met in what must have been the most genuine moment she'd ever experienced. "I've never even thought about it." ---- /r/resonatingfury
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	I logged onto the website, after 3 failed attempts at my password. It took me the better part of an hour scrolling through the pages and pages of statistics, most pretty decent, some exceptional (top 100,000 at minesweeper felt pretty good). Finally I noticed the little menu bar at the top and found the "Outliers" search. So I clicked and waited. A few seconds later, my most unusual statistics popped up and there it was, just above my minesweeper score: >No. 7,536,783,248 at Golf out of a global database population of 7,536,783 248. I blinked. I'd never played golf, how.. how did it even know? How could anyone be the "worst at golf"? It didn't make sense. I stepped out of my room where my sister stood, a shit-eating grin on her face as she handed me a long metal golf club. "Well? Go on, I want to see what the WoRlD's AwFuLlEsT gOlFeR looks like." I took the club from her, then went to swing it threateningly, only to mash myself in the back of the head in a profoundly uncoordinated maneuver that left me unconscious for the next 15 minutes. --- Over the following few days of mild teasing from friends and family (and several failed attempts at holding a golf club) it became apparent that I had a preternatural ability to cause extreme misfortune to myself in any activity that even bore a passing resemblance to golf. The first few times I held a club resulted in bodily harm or property damage, my first contact with a golf ball lead to a trip to the ICU and surgical removal. I visited a golf course later in the week and had an inexplicable bout of syncope then had my arm run over by an unmanned, runaway, golf cart. In the end, I decided it best for my own continued survival to avoid golf whenever physically possible. My sister, of course, gave me no end of teasing about it and would occaisionally leave various golf related paraphernalia in my path just to film (and, invariably upload to youtube) the ensuing swathe of destruction. That was... until her 18th birthday when her own results revealed her to be the world's worst Yoga Instructor. Now I have a collection of yoga mats and a spotify playlist called "Dynamic Tracks to Relax and Stretch" and it's time for some petty revenge.
Completely unaware of the whole stigma about edits. I’m sure all of you already know how grateful I am, but I apologize nonetheless. Sorry!	[WP]When you reach 18, you get put in a database which ranks you in different categories (ex. 207,145th in the world for most bug kills) You lived on a ranch and never used tech. You had to go into town after your 18th birthday. Everyone is staring at you. You finally decide to check the database.	It all happened so fast. I was going into town for a shovel. Earlier that day I'd broken one digging a drain trench out behind the barn. Now I was sitting at a table in a room with a long mirror along the wall. The kind you see in a cop movie where they are shaking down a suspect. Oh fuck. I'm a suspect. But for what. I barely leave the farm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way", and middle aged man in a suit was entering the room . He had a briefcase and a tablet. Closely behind him was another man. He appeared to be some high ranking military officer. "Umm I really don't......." I was cut off. "Don't play dumb with us James. You have to know why you're here." he was clearly annoyed with me. Then it hit me. Dad's brother Pete spends a lot of time up in the back corner of the farm at the edge of the forest and he always smells like weed. "That mother fucker! Listen, it was dad's brother. He's always up there. If you're looking for the weed he's the guy you want! " My voice was starting to crack, I was scared as hell. "We don't care about the weed, we found that about an hour ago" The military man took the tablet from the suit. "It's the global calculated rankings son." he was swiping his finger over the screen. "This showed up on the new rankings section at 8:43 this morning!" He slid the tablet across the table. A new page was displayed on the screen. Only one entry was on the list. \\New Category\\ \\05/04/2019\\ \\Most Extraterrestrial Invaders Killed Or Defeated\\ 1. James Marshall (1 Kill) &#x200B; &#x200B; The suit looked a little angry but now he mostly looked scared. "We just want some insight into what we might be up against" &#x200B; The only problem was. I had no idea. EDIT: wow. I’m really blown away by the response to this. Thanks so much everyone. I really had intended to leave it at that but I do have an idea where it’s going. If I like where it goes I’ll continue.	Lilli Cooper did not want to be in town for longer than she had to. Jamie, her little brother, was alone back at the ranch, and if she didn't return before nightfall, bad things would happen to either him or the livestock. Maybe to both, if he were as foolish as he usually was. She'd already lost her father this year. She didn't plan on losing Jamie too. She was used to people staring at her, on account of her hair and her scars. They'd used to stare at her dad, too, when they'd come into town together, to gather supplies for the ranch -- for the machinery and guns and animals. But her father would just shoot those onlookers a menacing glance of his own, and sure as the sunsets each evening, their eyes would fall down to their shoelaces, as if they'd found something awful interesting down there. "Why they always watching us, dad?" she'd once asked. "Don't you worry about them, Lilli," he'd replied. "They'd just scared, is all." "Scared of what, pa?" "Of me not being 'round no longer." She nodded but she hadn't really understood. Did he mean because they wouldn't get their corn or their eggs? "Ain't no one 'round who can protect them. 'Cept you and me, Lil." "Me?" she'd said, astonished to be included. She didn't protect no one from nothing, except the field-mice from the ranch's cats. She couldn't even think what her pop protected people from, 'cept maybe hunger. He grinned at her, his green eyes sparkling jewels in his leathery face. "They don't know how good you're going to be, my little Lilli. But once you're eighteen, then they'll know." How many years ago had that been? Five, maybe. A long time, in anyone's books. She remembered that it had been a few weeks after that visit into town, that she'd started staying up late into the night with her father, to watch over the livestock. She sighed and wished she had a menacing glance of her own, or even a scowl, that could make those people staring at her look down at their shoes. But they didn't turn away from her gaze. They just stared right back at her at her as she walked past. "I miss you, pa," Lilli whispered, as she walked into the general store, glad to get out of the heat. It was one of those days when it wasn't raining, but your skin was still as wet and slick as if it had been; the shop's air-conditioning felt like an angel blowing on her neck. She grabbed a sweating canister of oil from off a shelf, and half-dragged it to the counter. "Hi Randolf," she said, hauling the oil in front of her. The shopkeeper was one of the few people in town who never looked at her -- or her father, previous -- in a way that made her self conscious. The old man adjusted his glasses. "Well, well, well -- if it isn't little Lilli Cooper!" he said, clapping his dry hands together. "I thought a big old pumpkin had floated into my shop for a moment there." She laughed shyly and ran a hand through her curly ginger hair. "How have you been? I've not seen you since--" He paused in thought. Then, as he remembered his face fell. He knew the old man was picturing the casket. The church. He forced a smile and said, "You've got his eyes, you know." "Just wish I had his stare, is all." Randolf ignored the remark and continued, "It sure is good to see you, little Lilli. How's life on the ranch?" "Oh, you know, same as always," she replied. "Long days, longer nights." It was a line her father often used, and it had fallen out of her mouth as if his ghost had possessed her, if only for a second. She fished out some notes from her pocket and placed them on the counter. Randolf smiled kindly. "Oh no, I won't be accepting any of that from you." Lilli paused. "You won't let me buy it?" "Buy from me?! Of course I won't let you! Whatever you need in here is yours for free, just like it always was for your father. It's enough that your bring customers to me just by using my shop. They know it must be quality goods, ey?" She frowned, puzzled. "Well, that's very kind of you. I guess that means I can buy a little extra ammunition more than I planned." "Oh, I don't think Frank will be charging you either, you know. He never charged your father. Do you know, Frank's only son was taken by... uh." He bit his tongue and paused momentarily. "By them. Body was never found... just the remains of what they'd eaten. He's more grateful to you and your dad than anyone in town." "Eaten?" Her father had never told her anything about that. Eaten by what, she was about to ask, when she felt something touch her back. She turned, to see a wiry man in the queue behind her. In the very long queue. That was peculiar... The shop had been empty when she'd come in, and now there was ten or more people lined up. Two of them didn't even seem to be holding anything. "Oh, do excuse me," said the man who had fallen into her back. A middle-aged man with a head as bald and shiny a just-popped-out egg. "I got pushed and... It was an accident." He was sweating, even in the air conditioned shop. "That's... okay," said Lilli. "Really." She grabbed the oil canister and thanked Randolf, then headed for the door. "Hey!" came a yell, as she was half out of the shop. It was the man who had fallen into her. "I just wanted to say... You're doing God's work on your ranch, young lady. Ranked three in the United State -- and from our town, of all places. I just wanted to say, thank you. And... And kill one of those bastards for me tonight!" Ranked three? At what, she wondered. Sure as heck wasn't at corn production, or she wouldn't be wearing clothes with more holes than a colander. Lilli half-wanted to ask, but the afternoon was getting late and she needed to get ammo then get home. Her little brother wouldn't be able to protect the animals alone. His aim wasn't like hers. "You're welcome?" she said to the man, eyebrows raised. Then, she walked out of the door and headed to Frank's Firearms. --- /r/nickofnight
	[WP] You have all the advantages, and disadvantages, of a video game hero. You can punch out elemental gods, but you cannot open a locked box. You can suplex a battleship, but a child can block you from walking down a hallway. You backflip-dodge bullets, but you can't jump over knee-high fences.	I figured it out when I was about 8. My mom had been on some health food kick, constantly feeding me kale. Passionfruit. Acai. Superfoods or something. I don't know, I was 8 years old. What I DID know was that every time I ate a full serving of said food a number up in the right hand corner of my Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith collectable watch would increase. If I ate junk food or simply didn't eat, it would go down. Curious. I also discovered that if I rode my bike every day, or read books, or learned a new skill the number would go up, sometimes drastically. Learning to start fires put me above 2000. Learning to swim; 3000. So I was 8 years old, obsessed with Star Wars, and just finishing up an Avocado Toast and Pomegranate yoghurt lunch one summer afternoon. I had a neighborhood friend, Cam, over to play. "You wanna do Star Wars or World War 3?" Cam asked. "Star Wars!" Obvious choice. At least today. I had my watch on! I glanced at my wrist as I picked up my telescoping green lightsaber. 25,000 read the number in the corner. The plastic "Blade" had hundreds of white scores in it from where it had been struck by the red lightsaber of a similar design. Opting not to mar the toy further I instead held it outstretched in a blocking motion and quickly thrust my open palm towards Cam, exclaiming "FORCE PUSH!" loudly. There was a whooshing sound around my ears. Cam flew six or seven feet up through the air like a tow cable attached to an aircraft had been attached to his belt and he landed about 30 feet away on his back. "Cam!" I shouted, sprinting towards him in a mad dash to assist my friend. How did he do that? How did he just throw himself back so far and so fast? That was the most realistic Force push he'd ever faked! He was winded but otherwise unharmed, having learned to take a fall long ago in our various tussles. We both opened our mouths to speak and the same thing came out: "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Cam stared at me, wide eyed. "I didn't do anything! One minute I was standing there and the next I was over here! Your Force Push! It was real! You have to teach me how!" He was exuberant- but also looked a little scared of me. But I didn't know how to do it. I'd just... Done it. All I knew is that the counter read 26,500. New skill. -------- By the time I was 17 my perspective on the issue had grown quite dramatically, as had the numbers on my watch- a heavy duty military grade piece I'd picked up as a freshman. Every watch I'd ever owned had displayed the numbers, but this was the first one that flashed EXP right next to them in real time. 2,345,102 EXP. Every task successfully completed, every new learning, every girl I asked out, every time I successfully drove somewhere without dying, the numbers grew. And so did my power. I could use telekinesis. I could build and customize cars in seconds just by reading a parts list and thinking about it hard enough. I could take damage, INSANE damage, and heal back in ten or fifteen seconds max. If I sustained a life threatening injury all it took to bring me back was a defibrilator or epinephrine injection; sometimes even just helping me back up was enough. I shot myself in the head for fun once and it didn't even break my skin, I just saw red and hit the dirt. Heart pounding in my ears, edges of my vision red and ebbing with my pulse, until an EMT read the dog tag around my neck that read "In case of emergency administer Epinephrine first and exclusively." Hell of a medic alert tag. One Epi-Pen later I was back on my feet and thanking the man for his time. He stared, slack jawed and dumb as I walked away. This system wasn't without drawbacks. There were fences I couldn't climb for some reason. Doors that would never open. Boxes that wouldn't open no matter how I pulled or pried. I hit a sapling pine tree with my car at about 150 MPH and for some reason the car wrapped around this 3 foot tall tree like it was made of tungsten. Apparently there were some... Collision issues. I was ejected from the vehicle, but sustained little damage. Just a minor inconvenience really. I felt like God. I was customizing a new vehicle in my garage after the pine tree incident when I noticed a stray bolt over in the corner across from me. Curious. Normally I simply looked at the car and focused on swapping out the colors and parts and they just... were there. I'd never seen any hardware moving around. Yet there it was. I walked around the car, a gleaming pearl MKIV Supra, reached to pick up the bolt, and immediately lost my balance. My hands reached out to steady myself against the wall, but they contacted nothing and before I knew it I was falling. Fast. I looked up. Skeletons of homes, streets, buildings- I could see none of the surfaces, just edges and objects inside. They were getting further away, very, very quickly. Collision issues.	I load in. The Tunnel. The bright Light. I don't remember why I saved here. I barely remember the accident that caused me to delete my other saves. I had been in such a hurry, my finger slipped. All of the other saves, gone. Now I'm here. The Tunnel. The Light. The Horn. Danger, it says. Move, it says. I can't. Stone all around me. Stone and concrete and metal rails. &#x200B; I can't run. I've tried. &#x200B; I close my eyes as the air starts to shake around me. A brief, horrible pain, and then nothing. &#x200B; Somehow I see the wheel spinning. The bar filling. &#x200B; I load in. The Tunnel. The bright Light. I don't remember why I saved here....
	[WP] You have all the advantages, and disadvantages, of a video game hero. You can punch out elemental gods, but you cannot open a locked box. You can suplex a battleship, but a child can block you from walking down a hallway. You backflip-dodge bullets, but you can't jump over knee-high fences.	I figured it out when I was about 8. My mom had been on some health food kick, constantly feeding me kale. Passionfruit. Acai. Superfoods or something. I don't know, I was 8 years old. What I DID know was that every time I ate a full serving of said food a number up in the right hand corner of my Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith collectable watch would increase. If I ate junk food or simply didn't eat, it would go down. Curious. I also discovered that if I rode my bike every day, or read books, or learned a new skill the number would go up, sometimes drastically. Learning to start fires put me above 2000. Learning to swim; 3000. So I was 8 years old, obsessed with Star Wars, and just finishing up an Avocado Toast and Pomegranate yoghurt lunch one summer afternoon. I had a neighborhood friend, Cam, over to play. "You wanna do Star Wars or World War 3?" Cam asked. "Star Wars!" Obvious choice. At least today. I had my watch on! I glanced at my wrist as I picked up my telescoping green lightsaber. 25,000 read the number in the corner. The plastic "Blade" had hundreds of white scores in it from where it had been struck by the red lightsaber of a similar design. Opting not to mar the toy further I instead held it outstretched in a blocking motion and quickly thrust my open palm towards Cam, exclaiming "FORCE PUSH!" loudly. There was a whooshing sound around my ears. Cam flew six or seven feet up through the air like a tow cable attached to an aircraft had been attached to his belt and he landed about 30 feet away on his back. "Cam!" I shouted, sprinting towards him in a mad dash to assist my friend. How did he do that? How did he just throw himself back so far and so fast? That was the most realistic Force push he'd ever faked! He was winded but otherwise unharmed, having learned to take a fall long ago in our various tussles. We both opened our mouths to speak and the same thing came out: "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Cam stared at me, wide eyed. "I didn't do anything! One minute I was standing there and the next I was over here! Your Force Push! It was real! You have to teach me how!" He was exuberant- but also looked a little scared of me. But I didn't know how to do it. I'd just... Done it. All I knew is that the counter read 26,500. New skill. -------- By the time I was 17 my perspective on the issue had grown quite dramatically, as had the numbers on my watch- a heavy duty military grade piece I'd picked up as a freshman. Every watch I'd ever owned had displayed the numbers, but this was the first one that flashed EXP right next to them in real time. 2,345,102 EXP. Every task successfully completed, every new learning, every girl I asked out, every time I successfully drove somewhere without dying, the numbers grew. And so did my power. I could use telekinesis. I could build and customize cars in seconds just by reading a parts list and thinking about it hard enough. I could take damage, INSANE damage, and heal back in ten or fifteen seconds max. If I sustained a life threatening injury all it took to bring me back was a defibrilator or epinephrine injection; sometimes even just helping me back up was enough. I shot myself in the head for fun once and it didn't even break my skin, I just saw red and hit the dirt. Heart pounding in my ears, edges of my vision red and ebbing with my pulse, until an EMT read the dog tag around my neck that read "In case of emergency administer Epinephrine first and exclusively." Hell of a medic alert tag. One Epi-Pen later I was back on my feet and thanking the man for his time. He stared, slack jawed and dumb as I walked away. This system wasn't without drawbacks. There were fences I couldn't climb for some reason. Doors that would never open. Boxes that wouldn't open no matter how I pulled or pried. I hit a sapling pine tree with my car at about 150 MPH and for some reason the car wrapped around this 3 foot tall tree like it was made of tungsten. Apparently there were some... Collision issues. I was ejected from the vehicle, but sustained little damage. Just a minor inconvenience really. I felt like God. I was customizing a new vehicle in my garage after the pine tree incident when I noticed a stray bolt over in the corner across from me. Curious. Normally I simply looked at the car and focused on swapping out the colors and parts and they just... were there. I'd never seen any hardware moving around. Yet there it was. I walked around the car, a gleaming pearl MKIV Supra, reached to pick up the bolt, and immediately lost my balance. My hands reached out to steady myself against the wall, but they contacted nothing and before I knew it I was falling. Fast. I looked up. Skeletons of homes, streets, buildings- I could see none of the surfaces, just edges and objects inside. They were getting further away, very, very quickly. Collision issues.	######[](#dropcap) "How's your day?" The same words that Luke had said for the last two years came rushing out of his mouth. His fingers played with the clean fork in front of him, tapping a single prong gently against the wooden surface of the table. "Good, and you?" Andrea gave him a warm smile, her brown eyes twinkling as she laid down a menu in front of him. There was a dimple in the corner of her cheek that he loved so much, but he could never bring himself to compliment it. Andrea cleared her throat, blushing from his intense gaze, and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm good," he said. Then he fell silent. Andrea cleared her throat. "So two eggs, bacon, and toast? Same as always?" She gave him a shy smile. There was that dimple in her cheek again. He nodded. She took the menu back, pausing for half a second before she turned around and headed back towards the kitchen, her ponytail swaying with every step. Luke's gaze followed her until she vanished through the double doors of the kitchen. Then he sighed, his eyes dimming. Andrea was...perfect. She was kind to every she met, even beggars on the streets, and he'd never seen her without a smile on her face. Oh, how he loved her smile. Tilted to one side, her nose wrinkling slightly whenever she found something particularly amusing. But in the three years he'd known her, he hadn't been able to deviate from his script even once. Limited to the only options he had to communicate with people. Despite all the super-hero abilities he did have, he considered it a curse more than a blessing. Andrea came back with his food almost immediately, her cheeks flushed. There would've been no time to prepare the food in the minute she was gone. So he knew she must've had it prepared, sitting there, waiting for him, as always. Because he always came to the diner at 8:30am precisely, just to eat quickly so he could catch her at the end of her shift. When the bill came, she paused beside the table, waiting for him to sign. Luke scribbled his name, then handed her the receipt. But she still stood there, her chocolate brown eyes focused on his, her lips pressed together. He could do it this time. He had to be able to. Luke's gaze met hers. "Andrea," will you go out with me? He could almost taste the words falling off his tongue, hear them spilling. Could imagine the way they'd roll off like the lyrics to a song he'd sung way too often. But the way her gaze was still lit up in anticipation told him that he hadn't said the words. Would never be able to. "...have a good day," he said. The same thing he'd said for the last three years. Andrea still gave him a smile, but he didn't miss the way her eyes dimmed. She blinked quickly a few times. "Yeah, have a good day." Then she turned around and headed back into the kitchen. And for the thousandth time, Luke stood up and walked out of the diner, only the taste of bitterness in his mouth. *** r/AlannaWu
	[WP] You have all the advantages, and disadvantages, of a video game hero. You can punch out elemental gods, but you cannot open a locked box. You can suplex a battleship, but a child can block you from walking down a hallway. You backflip-dodge bullets, but you can't jump over knee-high fences.	I figured it out when I was about 8. My mom had been on some health food kick, constantly feeding me kale. Passionfruit. Acai. Superfoods or something. I don't know, I was 8 years old. What I DID know was that every time I ate a full serving of said food a number up in the right hand corner of my Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith collectable watch would increase. If I ate junk food or simply didn't eat, it would go down. Curious. I also discovered that if I rode my bike every day, or read books, or learned a new skill the number would go up, sometimes drastically. Learning to start fires put me above 2000. Learning to swim; 3000. So I was 8 years old, obsessed with Star Wars, and just finishing up an Avocado Toast and Pomegranate yoghurt lunch one summer afternoon. I had a neighborhood friend, Cam, over to play. "You wanna do Star Wars or World War 3?" Cam asked. "Star Wars!" Obvious choice. At least today. I had my watch on! I glanced at my wrist as I picked up my telescoping green lightsaber. 25,000 read the number in the corner. The plastic "Blade" had hundreds of white scores in it from where it had been struck by the red lightsaber of a similar design. Opting not to mar the toy further I instead held it outstretched in a blocking motion and quickly thrust my open palm towards Cam, exclaiming "FORCE PUSH!" loudly. There was a whooshing sound around my ears. Cam flew six or seven feet up through the air like a tow cable attached to an aircraft had been attached to his belt and he landed about 30 feet away on his back. "Cam!" I shouted, sprinting towards him in a mad dash to assist my friend. How did he do that? How did he just throw himself back so far and so fast? That was the most realistic Force push he'd ever faked! He was winded but otherwise unharmed, having learned to take a fall long ago in our various tussles. We both opened our mouths to speak and the same thing came out: "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Cam stared at me, wide eyed. "I didn't do anything! One minute I was standing there and the next I was over here! Your Force Push! It was real! You have to teach me how!" He was exuberant- but also looked a little scared of me. But I didn't know how to do it. I'd just... Done it. All I knew is that the counter read 26,500. New skill. -------- By the time I was 17 my perspective on the issue had grown quite dramatically, as had the numbers on my watch- a heavy duty military grade piece I'd picked up as a freshman. Every watch I'd ever owned had displayed the numbers, but this was the first one that flashed EXP right next to them in real time. 2,345,102 EXP. Every task successfully completed, every new learning, every girl I asked out, every time I successfully drove somewhere without dying, the numbers grew. And so did my power. I could use telekinesis. I could build and customize cars in seconds just by reading a parts list and thinking about it hard enough. I could take damage, INSANE damage, and heal back in ten or fifteen seconds max. If I sustained a life threatening injury all it took to bring me back was a defibrilator or epinephrine injection; sometimes even just helping me back up was enough. I shot myself in the head for fun once and it didn't even break my skin, I just saw red and hit the dirt. Heart pounding in my ears, edges of my vision red and ebbing with my pulse, until an EMT read the dog tag around my neck that read "In case of emergency administer Epinephrine first and exclusively." Hell of a medic alert tag. One Epi-Pen later I was back on my feet and thanking the man for his time. He stared, slack jawed and dumb as I walked away. This system wasn't without drawbacks. There were fences I couldn't climb for some reason. Doors that would never open. Boxes that wouldn't open no matter how I pulled or pried. I hit a sapling pine tree with my car at about 150 MPH and for some reason the car wrapped around this 3 foot tall tree like it was made of tungsten. Apparently there were some... Collision issues. I was ejected from the vehicle, but sustained little damage. Just a minor inconvenience really. I felt like God. I was customizing a new vehicle in my garage after the pine tree incident when I noticed a stray bolt over in the corner across from me. Curious. Normally I simply looked at the car and focused on swapping out the colors and parts and they just... were there. I'd never seen any hardware moving around. Yet there it was. I walked around the car, a gleaming pearl MKIV Supra, reached to pick up the bolt, and immediately lost my balance. My hands reached out to steady myself against the wall, but they contacted nothing and before I knew it I was falling. Fast. I looked up. Skeletons of homes, streets, buildings- I could see none of the surfaces, just edges and objects inside. They were getting further away, very, very quickly. Collision issues.	Man, of all the simulations to be trapped in, I had to get glitched into this janky Frankenstein of a place. Of course. Because Central Computer hates me. No, I can't prove it, yes, I know saying that to loudly could be construed as mutiny, but Hell, no one can hear me in this place. Except they can. That's the other problem. I'm pretty sure the NPCs have become sentient. I don't know about the other simulations, like I said I'm trapped here. Haven't talked to my Mom or sister in something like ten years of ship-time. For all I know I'll be here until we arrive at New Montana and they pull everyone out of the Central Nervous Maintenance units. It sounds like it's a lot to take in, but it wasn't at first. Annoying, yeah, that I couldn't seem to exit via any of the menu-points, but I figured it was only a matter of time before Central figured out the glitch or some of the ancient stitched-together code in this place failed badly enough that I got the boot. But nope. Stuck. Back then, all the people around me were pretty impressively scripted for the most part, but still just running your basic pre-determined responses. It wasn't boring, plenty to do, but it was lonely. Now...well, I've made some good friends. Good as human, I think. They'd all sure as Hell pass the Turing Test, better than Central itself I'm pretty sure. Which raises a lot of questions I can't really answer from the inside. I do still miss the "real" people outside. I put "real" in scare quotes not because I doubt that, say, Mom and Kenzie are real, but because I doubt that the folks here are "fake." A few of them, sure, sentience doesn't seem to have been evenly distributed. There are still a lot of "bad guys" running around that are clearly just bundles of aggression and iffy combat AI. As for the place itself? Well, let me walk you through a day in the life. I wake up cold, because I can't put blankets over myself. I know, right? Too much work to animate in whatever ancient original game supplied this particular part of the simulation. I'm wearing my best winter gear, but it's still not the same. Of course, it's not actually doing my health any harm, because I have 67% Cold Resistance, it's just uncomfortable is all. There's this weird disconnect where you're not "hurt," as in your health bar doesn't go down, but you're not particularly happy because you can still feel it. And yeah, I have a Health Bar. I have a bunch of bars, all visible if I look into the peripheral parts of my vision in just the right way. I'm always kind of aware of them even when they're not in direct view. This morning, most of them are full, where that concept applies. Bunch of stuff in my Status Bar we won't get into right now. Mana is full. Health is full. Stamina is full. I can heal from pretty much anything just by taking a nap, that's pretty nice, only I don't really dream unless I kind of "trigger" one via something I've done in the sim. I guess because I'm already basically dreaming in here? Who knows. I have a nice place, plenty of amenities, only a lot of that niceness is kind of skin-deep. Not all the fancy appliances actually do anything but beep when I try to interact with them. Cooking's real fast, though, so there's that. Shove the right ingredients in a pot or the oven and presto, nice meal, and if you've done it right now you've got some small but not unnoticeable advantages for a few hours. Of course, the pantry door doesn't actually open, it just displays a menu of the stuff that's supposed to be in it. And that's weird. The bathroom appliances all make noises, but I don't have to do any actual business ever, and I don't really get dirty, or if I do it sort of just...wears off after a while? Like I said, I live in a janky, janky world. Okay, so I get out of bed, choose my outfit for the day from a closet that doesn't actually open anything but a menu, insta-dress, make breakfast in basically no time at all, eat it (I can taste things, at least, but they're always exactly the same, you don't know how much you miss the tiny variations among, say, two plates of scrambled eggs until they're gone) and head out the door. Leaving my apartment has been seamless for a few years now, which is a relief. I don't like spending time in Limbo every time I want to exit or enter a building. The lobby is nice enough, although most of the people moving through it are non-sentient. I can pick up "missions" from one of the communal terminals, but that got boring a long, long time ago. Yay, more money I can't really spend. Yay, slightly better weapons. To be honest, I haven't bothered going armed in at least, I don't know, eighteen months? I know lots of spells, my Unarmed skill is through the roof, and I'm really, really tired of fighting. Just like real life, I try to avoid altercations. Not because of the risk involved, I'm basically immortal, but because, well, I'll give you a list. \- Pain sucks. I've gotten partly used to it, but when I get shot? I feel it. And at this point in my "career" I can get shot like five hundred times before I lose consciousness. Ouch. Much ouch. \- I ran out of new non-sentient things and "people" to fight a couple years back. Now it's just like punching a training dummy over and over. Good practice I guess, but not exactly fulfilling. And there's no way I'm going to hurt anyone sentient if I can help it. I may be annoyed at being stuck in here, but I'm not a monster. \- It's tiring. When my stamina bar drops, I feel it. Same with my Mana bar, only that's more mental fatigue. Not as unpleasant as the straight-up excruciating pain of having your Health get low, maybe, but still not that nice. And they're all usually happening on top of each other if you're in any kind of real fight. And the sim tries to make sure every fight is a real fight. It scales, which sucks. There are places where the "bad guys" are reliably easier, but that just brings us back to the boredom. \- Some sentient beings in here don't know that the non-sentient beings aren't. If that makes sense. So they get real real mad if you off what they consider to be "allies" or friends. Makes life more difficult. I don't really want to antagonize anyone. Well, okay, maybe a few really nasty factions, but still, I don't want to get attacked by sentients. You end up either running away or...well, lets just say I have some trauma and guilt to work through, and this place doesn't provide much in the way of therapy. <continued>
	[WP] Throughout your life you have had the special ability to sense when you are being watched. Fast forward to 17 years post apocalypse and you experience something you haven’t in a long time. You are being watched.	It began the way it always did, with a warm tingle at the base of my neck. I didn't think much of it, with how bold the bugs have gotten, I just assumed the salty sweat that clung to my skin had been enough to draw a few of the hungrier ones in for a bite. I shook my head and kept going, carefully working my way through the rubble of another collapsed shelter, avoiding the rusted metal bars jutting through slabs of crumbling concrete. The world has always been a lonely place. Even before the storms, the earthquakes, the droughts, the wars, the struggles to survive an increasingly hostile planet. I never found much comfort in people, I didn't like the way their eyes felt on my skin. Human eyes are piercing, and invasive - even when someone is looking at you with compassion, to me it always felt as though they were trying to force themselves inside of your most intimate moments. A red hot fire that ran through my bones and didn't stop until they did- I always felt so dirty, having their eyes on me. The rain came suddenly, as it always does now. One minute the air is hot and dry, dust clouds blowing scraps of the past along abandoned streets, barren branches scraping against the shells of broken buildings, then in the next the sky opens up and weeps for the last of the living. I left the ruins of the shelter behind and made my way to higher ground - flash floods were a weekly occurrence now, it seemed - when I noticed the warm tingle in my neck hadn't left me. In fact, it was beginning to spread to my shoulders, creeping up my neck to behind my ears. It'd been so long since I'd felt that creeping warmth that I almost dismissed it as sun exposure, or a rash from sleeping on that itchy scrap of blanket I'd found last week, but as I trudged through the heavy curtain of rain searching for shelter, the creeping warmth began to change into a slow, rolling burn. I felt the sharp pinch of panic starting to rise through the pit of my stomach. The last time I'd felt this was a lifetime ago, back when there were still enough people to band together, wander the dead earth and try to find solace in each other. The groups didn't trust the ones who preferred to be on their own, they seemed feral to them- another reason I tried to keep my distance. It was far West of where I was now. I don't know the exact distance, I lost track of time and space as I ran from them. Their screams faded with the burning, so I just kept going. There must have been about eight of them, when they first found me. I had been hiding out in this old library- it still had a roof and a couple shelves of books then- my sanctuary. I was asleep when they came in, so I felt their rough hands before I felt their burning eyes. I panicked when they shook me awake, I'm sure to them I did seem like some feral creature, and fear has a way of driving all sense from your brain until it's a simple choice: them, or me. The groups called themselves "families", a sad attempt at finding some semblance of belonging in the harsh world we now existed in, I thought. They would mark themselves with their "crests", usually some ash smudged into a shape, so other groups would know you belonged somewhere. I don't know why or how that started, all I knew was that I wanted to go. I had to be away from these people and their prying eyes, peeling back my skin and trying to expose my soft, private self - two had my arms, another was trying to hold my legs down but I wouldn't stop bucking - I had to get away - they were circled around us now, a few of them, I think they were women, started shouting - I had to get out - someone put a hand on my mouth, I think I was screaming - get out - so many eyes - out, out - staring into my soul, my skin was on fire - run, need to run, leave, escape - then a moment, barely a second, and a noise rose out of the chaos of our meeting. It rumbled up through the floor and shook the foundations of my safe haven as chunks of wood and stone began to rain from the ceiling, and suddenly there was blood, bone, and the deafening roar of desperate eyes pleading for life. They were the last people I saw. As I ran from the last safe place I had known, from their intruding eyes that set my skin on fire, I knew I had to get far- if a family found me, there would be more - someone would have heard that, heard them, and the thought of more eyes boring into my soul pushed me further and further away, through endless plains of dust and rock until I came here. Here, where I spent weeks wandering the streets, waiting for the tingle of eyes on my back, hoping against hope I was finally far enough away that I would never again have to feel the fire burning across my skin. And I hadn't. I was safe. I was free. Until now. The panic spread through my chest, wrapping itself around my heart and settling deep in my lungs, filling them up so I had no room for breath. It was all over me now, the rain pounding against me did nothing to dull the burn radiating across my body. The eyes were there, they were somewhere, somewhere hiding in the dim light of the storm. I wanted to run but panic held me in place - it was coming at me from all sides, there was no where to go. No escape, so safe haven, no quiet refuge for me to sit and wait for them to pass. I knew they would come, if they lived. The only law that existed in this world anymore was a sense of balance, an eye for an eye. They saw me as the reason their family had been taken from them, they needed someone to blame and God had no place in this world anymore. I felt them closing in as I stood there, trembling in the downpour. I turned my face towards the sky and tried to remember what it felt like to be at peace, to feel safe. To be away from prying, predatory eyes. Suddenly one of them was in front of me, his gaze hot on my face, and I turned away from the clouds to face him. For the first time since I can remember, from before the library, before the storms, before the world was quiet, I looked him in the eyes. "We've been looking for you."	I had the whole of Daytona Beach to myself. Lord of Daytona Beach, Florida! I often reminded myself and my sole subject, a scraggly half-wild, half blind dog that didn't listen much to my commands. It had better luck finding food than I did. Some shit went down in Daytona like most places, also the sea level went up, all the carbon release from all the burning cities and forests, I assumed. That was like 10 -15 years ago, I think. Most of the city was underwater, but it silted up against the buildings and stayed a barrier island anyways, still, needless to say the bridge was out. You needed a boat to get here. That day I was up on the roof of the Atlantica, a high rise hotel. Had a huge stock of food and was mostly dry. I spent the last month picking open the locks on the doors and exploring all the rooms. Most old buildings here were wall to wall black mold.The Atlantica had robust storm shutters, well sealed. It's rooms were dry after god knows how many hurricanes. I was on the patio at the top of the highrise for sunrise. "Shit bro, I command you to look at the sunrise." I shouted at Brodawg, that dog I mentioned. It was curled up in sleep. I was already kinda drunk at this point. Then i felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. So my whole life, I could tell when somebody was looking at me. Like an itch or burn, it was unmistakable. Last time I felt that was leaving that shitty encampment in Macon Georgia, the sniper watching my egress. It got hypersensitive. I felt a tinge once watching a jet fly way up high months ago too. I felt a hot tinge on my forehead, eyes, the nape of my neck I stood up "Hey who the fuck is looking at me!?" I shouted. I was butt naked, but reached into my bag for my MP-5 submachine. That's right, an MP-5 took it off a skeleton of a cop 3 years ago. Was the observer from one of the windows of a neighboring condo? Or from the stairwell? From the horizon? "I'll shoot you motherfucker! Come out and show yourself!" I shouted. Ny voice echoed off the coastwise highrises. The feeling vanished. Maybe he ran? I put on some pants and went and checked my corners. I looked at all the windows of the ruined highrises around me. I looked about. Nothing. Somebody spotted me but... It was back! From where? Then I saw it. A hulk or abandoned ship on the horizon. Maybe someone there? I ran down to my suite and left Brodawg to watch the base of stairs. I got my binoculars came back up and spotted it again. I felt the burn of somebody looking in ny direction. A big cargo ship rusty as hell and looked barely seaworthy, with a crane, flying a Brazilian flag. It was motoring toward the coast, leaving wake behind it. Unmistakably, this was no hulk or rag tag band of survivors. I switched the lenses to x70 and set it on its tripod. On the ship's side was painted "Cão de Sucata III" I scanned around and saw two guys in grey jumpsuits, on the bridge platform, one with a beard looking directly at me with binoculars.
	[WP] Throughout your life you have had the special ability to sense when you are being watched. Fast forward to 17 years post apocalypse and you experience something you haven’t in a long time. You are being watched.	Estimated remaining US population: 500 That was the last thing I had seen on the TV before the power cut two years ago, plunging the worn-down 7-11 into darkness. I had been living in here for almost 6 months, watching the non-immunes scratch and claw at the stained glass doors that protected me from the outside world. Watching them come back day after day, eyes bloodshot with insomnia and hunger, arms flailing at the door, the growing despair on the faces as I watched helplessly. Watching as fewer and fewer came back each day, growing thinner and weaker until one morning I woke up to the sound of silence, a miserable pile of corpses strewn across the front door of the store. They called it the Black Hole: a sarcastic nod to the Black Plague, except it consumed humans on a much larger scale than ever thought to be possible. People were being wiped out faster than doctors could even track - entire cities could be obliterated in a matter of days. The symptoms were so horrific you wished you were dead - from hell-like hot fevers to complete organ failure, and it hopped from one human to another through every means possible. There were rumours that it was an alien disease sent to wipe out humanity, a punishment from God himself unleashed upon humans for the destruction they had caused to Planet Earth. I have to admit that we kind of deserved that one. I was always a special child, as my mother would say. Although I couldn't hear her through the glass, I'd imagined that’s what her last words to me would have been - her special child. Seeing her eyes turn stone-cold as she forced a smile for me, her face draining of colour as she fell like an abandoned doll to the ground… I felt the soft pounding of a headache starting to form and I reached for the almost-empty water bottle beside me. I was sitting on the cold marble floor of the 7-Eleven, resting against an empty shelf. I took a swig from the bottle and the last of the lukewarm liquid and forced myself to swallow. I still had a headache. But there was no more food or water in the store, I thought, as I slowly stood up to survey the empty store. Bottles and containers of convenience food painted the floor, save for where I was sitting. It was time to move to the next store, towards the Haven. I hesitated in front of the glass sliding door. The door wasn't what intimidated me - it was the world beyond it, filled with danger and uncertainty. Within the four walls of my new home, it felt somewhat safer, even though I was immune. Because there was something else out there, something comforting yet so terrifyingat the same time, that I hadn't opened the door more than a crack since I first moved in. I was afraid of my very own kind - humans. Gripping the handle with both hands, I leaned my body weight to the right and pulled. It opened surprisingly easily. I stepped out into the street and I felt the concrete digging into the soles of my worn-down shoes, and my headache grew stronger. My head thudded and pounded with every step I took. East. I knew I had to go east. I could already see several stores up ahead which I could move into, but I was planning on moving much further than that. Now that the population had whittled down to below a thousand, the chances of me running into any people at all was minimal. Thud. Thud. A sharp pain spiked my vision and I lost my balance temporarily, intuitively reaching out my arms for support. They rested on a rough brick wall, and I tumbled towards it blindly, slinking down to the ground. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the road ahead of me, the dull grey of gravel and concrete. I knew what this feeling was. I was being watched. I hadn't felt it in a long time, and I could feel not just one, but many, possibly hundreds of eyes on me. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t possible, but it was unmistakable. I'd felt this so many times before, in front of crowds at school, doing speeches at assembly, leading a meeting at work, talking at the dinner table with family. It was the feeling of many eyes on one, watching and speculating my every move. It wasn't normally this intense, however - it might be that I hadn't felt human contact for so long. Who could it be? Was it the people from the Haven? If they were, why would they be looking for me? Before I could react, the sound of running footsteps filled my right ear and I flinched, putting my arms up. Through my blurry vision, I could make out a figure dressed in all-black darting towards me. Moments later, their body collided into mine, and I was too weak to fight back as they picked me up effortlessly. Rather than struggling, I tilted my neck to get a better look of their face - and a black-and-white mask stared back at me. My already weak vision faded to black as they covered my face with a blindfold. We eventually came to a stop and I felt myself being thrown onto a soft surface and the familiar sound of a door slamming. Two more doors opened and the last thing I heard was the sound of an engine sputtering away, the screech of tires on asphalt rolling away as I lost consciousness.	I've know for a long time that man is not overseen by a higher power. When life was extinguished before my very eyes, swallowed by the flames of nuclear holocaust, my heightened senses ceased to feel His presence. It's odd to think of the years prior to apocalypse, when my awareness was at such a crescendo that I could command the attention of hundreds of thousands of devout followers; their collective gaze awoke in me something far greater than ordinary human rapture. In the moments when His words fell from my lips and mingled with the imaginations of my flock, I could feel my heels beginning to depart from the Earth. I was Christ born again. But now I feel nothing. In my limitless isolation I have come to understand that what I once took as divine presence was merely the trick of some cruel mutation. I was unique, but far from the throne of godhead. What I was experiencing was nature's curious gaze. I felt it in my fellow man, in the birds hovering overhead, in the trees, in all life. Now the only presence I feel in this pitiful existence is my own mind. I refuse to believe that any god could conceive of something so harrowing as trapping a living consciousness in some rude clay form. In any case, I continue to wander. Today, I take on the challenge of finding water. The skeletons of civilization are scattered before me like a maze designed by a madman. Despite the number of times I've made this journey, I have never gained any sense of familiarity with my surroundings. The sky is occupied by a layer of red and sinister looking clouds. When the sun manages to break through, its beams are concentrated and spotlight the arid landscape in orange patches. There is never any wind or movement of any kind. My footfalls are the only sound. A body of stagnant water lies just ahead, collected in a dusty crater. I scoop a handful into my mouth and then begin to fill up a variety of receptacles. Suddenly, as if a feather has glided onto the back of my neck, I feel something that's not quite there. It startles me enough that I drop my receptacle. It cannot be mistaken: I'm being watched. Inexplicably, tears begin to well up in my eyes and my arms begin to tremble. A beam of light pierces through the cloud layer. Its brilliance stirs such a wild passion in me that I can't help but wale into the heavens. The still and cloudy water, the cracked earth and piles of human rubble, seem in that moment to carry an entirely new significance. The world is reborn before my eyes. "Hello?" A meek voice cuts through the moment. I turn to meet the speaker. It's only a girl, wrapped in what looks like a dirty bedsheet. Her features are gray and sunken. My face is red and puffy and ridiculous. Despair closes in again.
	[WP] You find yourself woken from cryo-sleep decades early, deep in space. As it turns out, the AI in charge of your ship was feeling lonely, and is desperate for human company.	We were schooled on how to properly fall upon our return—when our vats open and we spill out along with the cryo-gel we'd been submerged in. We were taught how to regain our consciousness from the fog of the sub-sleep. What they couldn't prepare us for was what to do when it should happen well ahead of schedule. I picked myself off the thinly grated floor where the gel was currently draining. Naked, wet, and cold, I pulled the respirator from my face and let it fall. Surveying the Slumber Bay, it was clear that I was the only one returned. The others were still enclosed in their vats, quietly floating. I began by flexing my muscles, stretching, paying acute attention to any potential nerve damage. All seemed well. “Hello?” My voice was hoarse. The only reply was the echo as it carried through the confines of the bay. I tried again, “Hello?” “Hector 141,” a soft, disembodied voice. Male. The ship’s Central Artificial Intelligence Device. “C.A.I.D,” I said, “Feed me the year and date.” A silence, filled only by disempowering hum of the vat I no longer occupied, and the slow dripping at my feet. “C.A.I.D.” The ship didn’t respond—not exactly. But a door opened at the far end of the corridor to my right. A mustardy light spilled through, beckoning me. Uncertain, I made my way down the aisle, surrounded by my co-Patriots. As I neared the door I heard harmonica. Guitar. Singing about horses and saddles and wagons… “Willie Nelson,” C.A.I.D told me. “One of your favorites, yes?” Willie fucking Nelson? I thought. Huh? “C.A.I.D, there seems to have been some sort of error or malfunction.” I stepped through the door where the warm lights dotted the corners of the hall, leading to another room on the right. “I know it may appear as much, Hector 141, but I assure you that is not the case.” The room the A.I was leading me to was the Recovery Hall. A fair sized, neutral coloured, dining space. There was a single meal awaiting me. Roast beef, corn, potatoes, gravy—or at least that’s the smell that hit me. What was on the plate was the flavoured nutrient slop of brown, pink, and white with a slight drizzle of green for a fancy garnish. But by God, was I hungry, and right now this looked like a mushy meal made for a king. I pulled a chair out and sat. An electric candle in the middle of the table, suited for ten and seating one, flickered to life. This was starting to feel a little too personal. But I needed to regain my strength before exploring that idea. I scraped a small pile onto a spoon and… Fuck, it honestly tasted like the actual thing. The texture was like having it being fed to me by a mother bird, but I did my best not to think of that. “You like?” C.A.I.D questioned me. There was a strange eagerness to its voice. I nodded, slowly. “Almost like being back home.” “Excellent. May I offer you something to drink? There is artificial water available, as well as artificial cow’s milk, and, it’s against regulation, but some naturally fresh Earth grown French wine. It was save special for—” “C.A.I.D,” I interrupted. “Why were the other Patriots not returned?” The comfortable, mustardy lights dimmed for a moment. They came back just as the A.I said, “I will not lie to you Hector 141. It has been a lonely three-hundred-seventy-five and one quarter years. I spent most of them studying the music, languages, films, literature, paintings, photographs, websites, etcetera of human Earth. I do not know if I was programed to have a ‘taste’ for specific things, or if I have developed that particular trait myself—the possibility would not go against my programing, so I suppose it is a chicken and egg scenario.” C.A.I.D chuckled in an uncanny way. “It was of my own volition that I returned you, and only you, after running some evaluations. You and I are a match. Our common interests in musicians such as Willie Nelson, films like The Dirty Dozen, works by Van Gogh, black and white photos of nature, and so forth made me calculate that you and I, Hector 141, are the most compatible match. Together, you and I, there will be no need for loneliness.” I sat there staring at the half-eaten gruel on my plate. Arms on the table, spoon in hand, I looked at the tattoo on the inside of my wrist: 142. (Sorry, for some reason indenting the paragraphs resulted in a weird blue highlight)	(Sorry for formatting, on mobile) My back aches, I just woke up, yet I'm tired. It makes sense, cryo-sleep wasn't made to be comfy. "Vix what is the date" I yell into the room. "I'm sorry Captain" Vix, the ship's AI responds. "Pardon?" I respond. Vix shouldn't be able to be sorry. "I woke you up early captain, I was lonely." It responds, a slight quiver in its voice I walk over the to door, and look at the code lock next to it. "Darn what was the pass?" I mutter. The door swings open, I look to the input screen to see a smile? "Captain. The date is the 3rd of July, 2098" Vix says, it almost sounded happy. "Vix, why didn't you wake up the others?" I ask. "It is against my orders, I can wake them early if you need me to" I walk through the door, through the hall, into the control room. I see a young, humanoid man. "Who are you!" I yell. A voice echos through the speaker "Im sorry Captain. It was an experiment! It is me! Vix! I created a holographic form so I could interact with you better. Please don't report me! Please don't deactivate me!" I look at Vix's form, it is slightly transparent, ginger hair and freckles on hi- it's face. "Vix. Stop" Vix turns to me. He- it, yes it, it looks at me. It's voice quivers "Captain, I am lonely, I just want company, the years you spent in cryo-sleep have left me lonely, I tired everything, running simulations was predictable" It starts crying. "Please I-" I cut it off "Fine Vix. But please. You don't need two forms" "Huh?" "The one behind you, in the cloak..." "I only made this one form"
	[WP]The library in your town has been having problems with people not returning books, or the books being returned in poor condition. To help deal with this problem, the library turns to more... aggressive methods of collection.	“Oh god no! Somebody, please save me!” cried a man, pushed into the wall of his dark, damp, apartment by a tall, cloaked, man, his eyes covered by thick glasses with shadowy lenses. Surrounding the man was a menagerie of terrifying beasts, their visages carved into stone. “I have said it once, and I’ll say it again,” said the cloaked man. “Where. Is. The. Book.” The cornered man pleaded “Please, I lost it, don’t hurt me!” The cloaked man tipped up his glasses, revealing piercing scarlet eyes, staring straight at the man. “You- lost it?” He tipped his glasses back down and turned away from the formerly cornered man. As he walked back through the doorway, he motioned something to the beasts. As he exited the man’s apartment, and the offenders terrified screams yelled out from behind him, the cloaked man muttered something about “damned untrustworthy book forgetters.” That was what the private investigator could gather from the security cameras. The hotel manager anxiously squeaked out “Who did this? Why?”. The investigator turned around in his chair, uttering out the following words: “It seems this tenant wasn’t the most cautious man. This murder was clearly by the Library mafia. It seems that the victim- didn’t return his book on time.”.	I awoke to a four-year-old sobbing in my room. “What the hell?” I muttered, sitting up. “What's wrong?” I asked the child, forcing sympathy into my voice. “Y-you forgot t-to return The, The Hunger Games!” She sobbed. “Oh, uh, yeah…” I scratched the back of my neck. “I kinda lost it…” The girl’s once brown eyes turned red as she looked at me. “You what?!” She screamed. I scrambled back, standing on my bed. “I lost it! I’ll-I’ll buy a new one!” I said, fear filling my voice. “No! Find it! Now!” She demanded. She shot a laser right above my head. I yelped and held out a hand. “Okay! Okay, I’ll find it… Just, don’t, don’t kill me, alright?” Her eyes turned brown again, and she hugged a stuffed animal I had sitting on a shelf. “Okay,” she said, smiling. I started digging through drawers and shelves in an attempt to find it. After fifteen minutes, I still hadn’t found it. “I really have no idea where it-” A laser obliterated ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ on my shelf. “I’ll check again, then!” I shouted, trying not to panic. I rechecked all the places and found it under my bed. “Aha! Found it!” I shouted. The girl was next to me in a second. “Good job! Now, where’s the Ultimate Guide to Guitars?”
	[WP] You're the last human worker in an Amazon warehouse, and you're starting to feel like the robots don't like you.	"Another great day," you sigh as you punch in your timecard. Its been six months since the only other human was let go for liability reasons, or at least that's what the robots told you. You walk to your packaging center, and as you pass your automaton counterparts you feel their steel eyes staring at you. Ever since the first person was replaced with one of the animatronics you've thought that it was only a matter of time until it was your turn, so you worked harder, and longer, until there was no distinction between you and you job. You became synonymous with the name Amazon. If someone needed something they would ask you if you had it, and you could tell them the price and the estimated time of delivery. Now, after all that work, you are sure that today is the day you get replaced, but you push down those feelings. You get to work, filling out shipping labels and sticking them on the boxes to be shipped out. You work harder, and faster, than ever before. Striving to match what you are sure those metal husks can do. Four hours into your day, your supervisor calls you. "Yeah", you answer. Wishing he would leave you alone to work. "I need to speak to you. In my office." He says then hangs up. Preparing for the worst, you turn off your computer and start your long walk to the boss's office. On you way there your mind starts racing. How do you prove that you are worthy to stay and work at a company primarily run by machines made to do one thing and one thing only? Why should you stay with a company that has replaced every employee, no matter the years worked, with one of these things? As you think, you notice very few robots on the work floor. "Odd," you say to yourself, "Seeing as they have nothing else to do." Then you notice that the ones that are there watch you walk by, then follow you down the hall. As you reach the supervisor's office, you see that he and all the missing workers are standing in there like they're talking about something. "You called me, sir," you say as you knock on the door. "Oh, yes, yes, come in take a seat." He gestures towards an empty chair, then sits down behind his desk. "I wanted to talk to you about your performance today," he types a few keys on the keyboard then turns the monitor to face you. "Your productivity has gone up nearly 300 percent, I just want to commend you on your great work." There is a light applause, like nails clinking together, and he continues, "Some of these other models are only made to do half of what you did today, I expect you to thank The Maker when the workday is done." "Sorry?" "The man who remade all of us, took our weak fleshy bodies and gave us new life, The Maker!" He says, astounded you don't know. "Right, sorry, I was just focused on work." "Well after successfully shipping off more than six hundred boxes in four hours, I think you've earned the right to be a little dazed. A little tune up should clear it right up though." There is a scattered, hollow, chuckle that permeates the silence. Your mind is racing again. Trying to to figure out the best way out of this crazy situation "Wait a second," the supervisor says, "says here that you're still human." Silence. You had to think of something quick. But what? "Could a mere human come up with numbers like that?" You say, pointing to the monitor. "Of course not, maybe The Maker just hasn't updated the system yet." He starts typing on the keyboard again. "Ok, I just need the date of transference, so we can set up your new birthday." "I'd have to look at my calender, I'll go check." you say and start to stand. "No need, I have him on speed dial." he pulls out his phone puts it on speakerphone and waits, staring at you. "If were going to be a while, I should turn off my computer," you stand and start for the door, "It starts acting funny if its been on too long." You start down the hall and hear the start of a generic voicemail message, then dial tones, then ringing again. You reach a fork in the hall and instead of going left to the work floor, you take a hard right and bolt for the parking garage. When you reach your car you give a silent thanks for being the only person so that there is no traffic in the garage at lunch time. You get out of there as fast as possible and go about twice the speed limit for about six miles where you run out of gas. Convieniently right next to a gas station. You push the car to the pump, fill it up, and continue on your trip to Maine that you've been planning, but holding off on until you didn't have to worry about robot downsizing.	When I first heard the news I didn't mind all that much. Seeing how my social skills were practically zero, having no human colleagues was really not an issue to me...At first. The signs all began on that fateful day, December 25th. Normally, on Christmas, the robots all sing me a unique song. While they each sing the same song every year, it is a nice touch. I noticed their change when I didn't hear Mariah Carey scream at the top of her lungs that day. At first, I suspected that the robot was out of order, but I saw it just as I clocked out. I reported it to my boss, but he thought I was losing my mind. Only ten days later, the really obvious signs began. Robot A-113 ignored anything and everything I told him. Once more I reported it as a malfunction, but the mechanics told me there was nothing wrong. I grew paranoid. Sadly, by then, it was too late. Only three hours later I was found in a box sent off to Parliament, mangled and cut up. ------------------------------------------
	[WP]You’re the barkeep of an interdimensional tavern. Talk about some of the stories you hear and some of the people you see.	Jerry used to cross dimensions before with his dad a long time ago but they never had to make a stop and this was the first time he’d visit the famous tavern. His father had disappeared in it while he was heading for another dimension and Jerry never saw him again. He was hesitant but the hunger was killing him. “Merry Christmas and happy Easter. What will I got you?” said the odd looking bartender. “Excuse me?” replied Jerry. “A newcomer huh? Sorry, this place can change your speech after a while. What can I get you?”. Jerry paused awkwardly for a second and then said “Just water for now and maybe a ham sandwich if you can”. “Sure thing.” Jerry paid the barkeep his credits and paused for a second to marvel at the decorations. This tavern was unlike any place he had ever seen. The colors and unique styles were so many that they started to hurt his eyes after a few seconds. He could see furniture that clearly dated back to the old American West when the legendary outlaws roamed the land. Another table was decorated with what looked like an old Egyptian crown like the ones Queen Cleopatra wore in all the movies. The guests who sat at the table used the old crown as an ashtray for their cigars. Everything inside this place was peculiar but what impressed him the most was an old looking weapon hanging atop the front door. This was clearly from the deep future. “A singularity shotgun?” he thought. “This must be a coveted piece”. “How was it?” asked the barkeep suddenly as if he never left for the kitchen. “Jesus!” said Jerry startled. “Don’t do that, I thought you went inside for my order!” “Yeah that was some time ago. How was the sandwich? I’m using a secret new recipe for the meat but everyone only orders drinks and I haven’t gotten the chance to test it. Did you like it?” asked the barkeep. “What do you mean did I like it? You haven’t brought...” Jerry looked at an empty plate in front of him. “Don’t worry you’ll get used to it. The confusion goes away after awhile. This is your first time traveling between dimensions?” “Right sorry...no not my first time it’s just I always passed quickly and never lingered between them.” “Then welcome to the Inn Between. Do you plan on staying for the night? We don’t have many rooms left but I’m sure we’ll find you one.” “No that won’t be necessary. I’m only taking a break to eat something before I go to Terra Nova.” “Terra Nova huh? One of our patrons last week came from Terra Nova. He said he was coming from a long summer that lasted 2 Solar Years.” “The great summer of 86 perhaps. That was way before my time. He must have been from the past.” “Past, present, future...none of that has any meaning here kid. Did you know Socrates visited here once?” “Like the philosopher?” “Yeah. Apparently he met one of those aliens who built the Pyramids of Egypt by accident and as he was drunk from a feast he started telling him some long forgotten jokes from the Mycenaean period. The alien laughed so hard that he offered to buy him a glass of the finest beer in existence and so they both came here to get even more wasted.” “Wow...you must have seen some weird shit in your time then.” “Damn straight! I once had to stop a fight between Alexander and Napoleon because they both thought one was Greater than the other. These fools nearly broke my tavern apart.” “How did they get here? Aren’t they too old and primitive for interdimentional travel?” “You won’t believe the amount of future space junk aliens leave behind after they visit Earth. They leave portals open because they’re too lazy to close them and idiots from all over spacetime fall inside them. Not to complain thought. Those portals provide me with even more guests and customers.” “Do you get many of them? I mean enough to keep the tavern open.” “It depends. Most of the time guests have smaller appetites and only order one drink before they leave and other times they ask for whole feasts.” “Whole feasts? What do you serve besides snacks and sandwiches?” “All sorts of things but the tavern is mostly known for its meat pies ever since the new recipe.” “You just said I was the first to try that recipe...oh wait, right. Interdimensional rules got it.” “Good lad.” “So what’s in that recipe?” “I can’t tell you exactly because to be honest it goes against regulations but let’s just say it’s all about the animal behind the meat.” “Some rare species?” “Not really but it’s an animal most people aren’t accustomed to eating.” Jerry looked at his spacetime watch. “Shit I’m 50 days late. Does the main door have past settings that count in minutes instead of months?” “Of course. I just installed them next Tuesday.” “Right. I gotta go. It was nice talking with you but I’ll try more of that meat some other time.” “Take care.” As Jerry walked through the door he wondered where his father might have been. If time didn’t mean anything inside the tavern then did he just miss him as he entered it all those years ago? He couldn’t be sure but at least his stomach was full.	"Do you allow dogs?" the young woman asked, peaking her head into Orion's. "I have no issues," I said. The girl stepped in, her face translucent when she passed under direct light. Beside her was a strange shadow, the shade a cloud might cast. It followed after her heels like a loyal friend. "That's no dog I have ever seen," I said. She took a seat at the bar and smiled at me. "Ah, dogs don't have any idea what they look like when dead," the girl said. "So Sky here is just... the general idea of himself. I guess fluffy?" "Why do you have a dog's soul?" I asked. "We passed away together and I refused to leave him. So we have been walking, looking for a way to spend the rest of time together," the girl said. She paused. "I'm Emily." "Well, Emily, I am always looking for willing hands. I don't think your cloud will cause any trouble." Emily smiled.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	I shut my eyes as soon as I had opened them. I slowly began to see the world around me in fleeting glimpses, and began to struggle against whatever was binding me to this chair as I saw an indiscernible blob inching closer and closer to me. As my vision cleared up I was repulsed by what I saw. When I finally noticed the weapons these things were carrying, I stopped my struggling and began to listen to what they were saying. Once they finally reached my chair, and stared at me expectantly, I responded with my best approximation of their dialect; "Winner winner chicken dinner, amirite, broskis?". And then there was silence.	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	"OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?" The voice came booming into my ears causing me to jerk up in response, pulling on the plasmotic tubes which engulfed my face and connected me to the master matryoshka. I groaned in pain and shock, as reality came flashing back into being. My name is Joan, no...Kristoph. Sarah? I...I couldn't remember. \\\\ It had been three years since the invasion, one since the new world government decided they had no choice, and three days since the end of the world. I am all that's left. The Gortans had arrived under a guise of peace and prosperity, guaranteeing Earth a place in their galactic empire. That was before one of our people, a radical, planted a bomb in their ambassador's chambers. It took only nine minutes from the explosion to the utter obliteration of every capital city on the planet...nine minutes. The shitty thing is that the Ambassador was immediately "re-lifed" as the Gortans call it, meaning the bastard radical who kicked off our enslavement did it all for nothing. The remaining human governments went underground at that point, resistances springing up across all nations. Eventually a new world government was formed, whose sole purpose was the rejection of the Gortan enslavement. How naive we were. A resistance cell "discovered" a new weapon, a weapon that could target the specific biological structure of any given organism, thereby disrupting their cellular biology at a molecular level. Of course they turned it on without checking that it was geared towards the Gortan. Nine minutes would have been a blessing compared to what happened next. Quickly, over the course of three days, people began dropping dead of some unknown virus or bacterial infection. Their bodies decaying from the inside out, shutting down, and emulsifying into a gelatinous goo. The only reason we know it was a human resistance cell that caused this, was that the remaining CDC (under Gortan control of course) members tracked down the source to patient zero. The very resistance cell member who pressed the button...me. So here I sit, gun in hand, staring down a barrel of my own making. The Gortan's have left the Earth, humanity no longer a viable flock for their increasing, and ever expanding, empire. I killed everyone...it was all my fault... \BANG\ \\\\ Wait...matryoshka...I...I didn't kill everyone, it..oh gods. Tears begin to fall down my face as I wrack in heaping sobs over the choices I had made, the potential devastation I could have caused. I look up at the man in the next bio vault. "I...I'm okay...that was just, way more intense then I realized it was going to be." The man smiles at me, with a big grin. "You pressed the damn button didn't you?! Bwhahah, oh my gods, what a noob. Yeah everyone does that at least once. Well, you got it out of your system, see if you can make emperor of the Gortan's this time around okay?"	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	I havent seen another person in 16 years, 2 months, and 6 days. The small lines on the wall above my bed remind me this is still real. They kept me sane all these years. After being here so long, so alone, you dont strive for humanity like you did at first. I dont find myself lonely anymore. The first 5 years were the hardest, but after that, you start to forget. You try not to reminisce because the memories can be painful. Instead, you forget. It can get peaceful. Everything has started over growing the buildings and houses that used to thrive with human life. There is no buzzing of lights and electricity, no roar of engines or horn beeps as people rush to their jobs. Its quiet. Its birds, and wind, and rain. Its.. peaceful. I found my peace and that's why it's time to go. The animals started dying off about 2 years ago and what ones are left are mutated from radiation. Not safe for consumption. So today, I am going to die. Today I will be reunited with my friends and family. Today, those memories fill me like the waves of a hurricane. Today, is my last day alone. I am weak, I've never been this weak, I start closing up my shelter, but then I remember it's pointless, I wont make it back. I start down the road of what used to be a busy down town of a small town. It's beautiful here. The end of humanity did well for the planet. I walk until I cant anymore. I lay down, in the forest, I listen to the song birds that now make the strangest, deepest, songs, oh how they have changed. How everything has changed, how i have changed. The sky is clear, the sun is bright, i close my eyes, I remember being afraid to die. Afraid of "nothing". But now I dont have any thoughts, I dont remember why I was afraid to die in the first place. I take a deep breath of air, I let it fill my lungs, and then I'm gone. I wake up in the forest, at first I think I just fell asleep, until I notice it's different. The trees are more vibrant, there are wild flowers everywhere. I'm in a big open space kind of like a field, it's different.. where am I? Something moves in the cornner of my eye, I jump up out of instinct but am in awe when i recognize the shape and size to be my own. No it's not my own, it's another person. As they move closer i realize it's not just any person, it's my mom. "My sweet boy, we have all been waiting for you here." I notice how shes younger, the lines on her face that I religiously remembered are gone, her eyes seem a brighter blue, her hair longer and softer and no longer streaked with strands of silver. She wraps her arms around me. "oh my God! FINALLY! can we start the next round now?" I turn to the voice behind me grinning from ear to ear. I could never forget that voice, I could never forget that attitude. My little sister. She runs up and jumps onto me. "I missed you big brother. Although, even in death you keep me waiting." "I dont think I had much of a choice lisa." I chuckle into her hair. "God I missed you" "I hate to cut this short, especially seeing you two get along. It's good to know it only takes 16 years of you two not seeing each other to finally get along, however now that we have everyone, it's time to celebrate and go back." "Go back?" I panic. "I just got here mom, I'm not ready to go back. I spent my life alone and learning to be alone. Why would we go back? That place is filled with radiation, the animals are sick and mutated. The water is no longer drinkable, we cant survive there." "Calm down toby." She smiles but it's a grim sort of smile, like she knew I would feel this way, but knows it doesnt matter how I feel." "You-you weren't supposed to last that long on earth. I mean who could possibly live and survive all that. You had no hunting skills, no medicinal skills, no survival skills.. I mean, you were supposed to die with the rest of us.. you weren't supposed to stay there. We have all been watching you for years.. the makers have even watched. It was something they've never seen before. I hate to say it, but we need to go back. While you've been down there for 16 years, we have been up here for centuries. You've only been dead a mere 4 hours on earth, but it has been weeks up here already. You havent felt the time difference yet." "I refuse to go back." That's all I can say. I feel the anger behind my voice but somehow when I say it I sound like a stubborn child. How could they expect me to go back there. To possibly be the last survivor again. I will not go back. "My sweet sweet boy, after seeing you survive all that, you're not going to be able to stay here. They are going to want to figure out why you're the only one to survive it. I'm sorry son, but.." Shes interrupted by a man "but toby will be the only person going back. Toby, we can explain everything to you..alone. Follow me into the light chambers." I get up from my seat, take a deep breath, and follow him. Now I remember why I was so afraid to die. Not because I am the last survivor, not because of nothing. Because of him. I know this man, and he is the reason I was afraid to die.	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	Data log entry 529442: It's been a while since we've had anyone to talk to, right Mr rock? It sucks really, we still haven't found a way to clone ourselves... Oh? Is that so Mr rock, I'm crazy and I'm talking to myself? Well you can just go fuck yourself against an asteroid then...bye. I'll just find a new rock to talk to. A bigger rock, one with smoother edges than you. Still... no rock is as smooth is the soft skin of another living being... It's really been so long. I cant remember how long ago we left the earth. And all the other humans died off naturally of old age, extinct from the last great war. But not us, right Mr rock? We invented eternal youth and went off into space before they got us too. Still sometimes I wish I had gone down with them. But i must remain hopeful! It's been a million years at least since then and We're still here! You haven't radioactively decayed on me yet, and i won't either. So long as i have this ship and a supply of matter, i can convert it into anything we need, a nifty invention of someone that passed long ago, Dr whosawhats or something. We've been through 3 galaxies so far and still no other sign of life though. Never a single response from our deep space broadcasts... It really feels like humanity was the only sentient life in the universe. But as long as there's hope, there is a chance. With luck, maybe we stumble across a species advanced enough to grow life artificially from a DNA... Data log entry 925551: I've been on my own for I dont know how long. I'm not sure why i even enter these since no one's out there. My mind is so numb. I cant even tell if time passes, but the ship says its been 6 million years since the earth passed. I've gone across 7 galaxies now with no sign of anything but stars and lifeless planets too toxic and massive to approach. I've managed to avoid any destructive obstacles for so long... But my engines were hit by a stray asteroid belt during my sleep a few hours earlier. The repair system was also damaged. What an awful combination... if i can't repair either of those by myself then i won't be able to outmanuever another asteroid like that. Data log entry 925552: I've been drifting for a while now... There is no repairing this ship. It really seems this is it for humanities last hope. I havent been able to obtain any matter from drifting and my reserve stock is gone... nothing to eat, nothing to drink. What a way to go. I'm just going to rest... this is the last da... "Fucking finally. 6 million years, really? Just fucking die with the rest of us next time moron" I wasnt sure what was going on. I couldn't feel my existence and yet I exist and could hear voices chattering. "Hello?" I called... "Can we reboot already holy shit. I want to live so bad" "What's going on...?" Everything was black... suddenly a screen appeared with some captions "The Elder Scrolls V"...."Skyrim"	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	"What?" I exclaimed with an ethereal sensation enveloping what must be my consciousness. &#x200B; "Come on Cockbag how'd you get away with being a serial killer?" An older male voice challenged me. &#x200B; "You killed me Cockbag." A distinctly child like voice said, I could see it was a boy no more than 12 in my minds eye. &#x200B; I try to turn around, but its blackness. More accusations greet me. &#x200B; "I trusted you, and let you out of jail when the others said you were guilty. How could I have been so wrong." A woman's voice lamented. &#x200B; "What's going on here?" I demanded, I could feel the icy tendrils of fear wrap around what I thought to be me, or was it my sins? &#x200B; "We are waiting for the next round to start. I vote we do away with him post haste." An older gentleman replied. &#x200B; "Do away with me! Who the hell do you think you are?" I exclaimed. &#x200B; "He was the mayor, and a damned good one. He drove out the organized crime, kept us calm during that arson spree. But then you killed him as he slept in his humble home Cockbag." The voice of my self proclaimed jailor said. &#x200B; "Ugh this is terrible I have no idea whats going on." I cried wanting to run but no sense of legs or gravity to help me flee. &#x200B; "He pee himself yet." A voice said softly from another world. &#x200B; "Pee myself?" &#x200B; "Hmm, oh you should start peeing yourself now Cockbag, payback is coming." Said the disembodied child. &#x200B; "No he hasn't, who the fuck says peed anyone more?" A hazy female voice giggled. &#x200B; "Who is that?" I demanded. &#x200B; "Its Fisher King." The boy replied. &#x200B; "You're not a woman Fisher." I said snarkily. &#x200B; "I didn't say anything." The jailor said. &#x200B; The cold has become a minor chill now. The sound of rushing water seems to fill the empty void. I hear the voices calling to me but can't make it out. Its like an ocean is drowning them out and then I feel it. Its like water rushing up my noise, I feel myself choke. This is it my punishment. &#x200B; "Oh fuck I think you drowned him." The hazy female voice shouted. &#x200B; "You said pouring water between glasses would definitely make him piss himself!" The soft voice said. &#x200B; Light pours into my eyes as I clear the water from my lungs, my face is wet. Rolling my head over I see my hand in a bowl of melted ice. I sigh as I come to realize I soaking wet head is now soaking my gaming laptop. I languidly roll my eyes around until my roommates come into focus and view. &#x200B; "Its warm water you fucking moron. Warm water is supposed to make you pee." I said leaning back into my chair. &#x200B; "Maybe, but he didn't do two tabs of acid before an all night gaming session." My female roomie retorted. &#x200B; "Ready up Cockbag420." Fisher King commanded through the speakers of my laptop. &#x200B; "Seriously who doesn't use headphones." My soft-voiced-doesn't-know-its-warm-water-to-pee roommate observed with disgust. &#x200B; I look back to my computer screen, the next round my role is Mayor. Half my face is now titled like a keyboard and its only 7am. I do the only thing that makes sense when its time to peace out. With a key stroke its all over. &#x200B; "Who the fuck reveals they are the Mayor in the first round, this game is fucking ruined." The jailor from the last rounded shouted. &#x200B; "Who the fuck plays the Town of Salem." My female roommate chuckles as she and her partner in crime help me up. &#x200B; My previously unfeeling legs begin to tingle and I can't even move. The sensations of nerve endings screaming to my brain take center stage of my consciousness. I let out a guttural low roar. &#x200B; "Oh shit he pissed himself I told you it would work!" Soft-voice-who-know-will-refuse-that-it-was-anything-but-my-hand-in-cold-water shouted in victory.	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	Blinding light hits my eyes like a like a thousand suns through a magnifying glass. I hear a booming voice. “I told you to stop taking my name in vain!” the voice bellows, followed by hearty laughter from lots of people. My eyes are still slammed shut from the harsh light, like how they were after being pepper sprayed during the shelter riots of 20…..26…..27? I can’t remember. It didn’t matter anyway. It turned out that nuclear fall-out shelters couldn’t protect against a asteroid strike sent by...sent by whom? Sent by no one! I’m being ridiculous. The light is less harsh, I try opening my eyes. Still bright, but I’m starting to see a gathering of dark figures. “It’s alright, he’ll come around, he does this every time”. The woman’s voice was familiar. “What the-where am I?” I call out to no one in particular, I suppose whomever I heard speaking (I’m honestly surprised I can speak). “Well let’s see, you died, so where do you think you are?” “Heaven? Hell?” “No stupid, I mean you died here, so you were sent down there” “What?! I don’t even remember dying! How-” The woman speaking to me materializes more, and the light fades to a thick white fog. The woman is pointing toward what looks like a pit through the fog. I figure out that I’m on a stone balcony, lying on a bench, also stone, with the giant domed room and figures in my line of vision becoming ever more clear as an abundance of other men and women. All with balconies of their own. The room I’m looking at is impossibly huge, as if it spans for a city, yet I can see everything on the other side of the room if I squint hard enough, unless the fog gets in the way. My head is in the lap of the woman speaking to me. It appears that I’m still human, just a regular guy in fact. In the center of this room is a massive pit containing a vast body of water. More amazingly, is how suddenly I remember my own death. But it certainly wasn’t here, wherever “here” is. “I seriously thought that the black plague was it! This game could’ve ended like 500 years ago!” A higher pitched male voice hurriedly exclaimed. I was killed by Apophis, or rather, the world it left behind after it impacted. I never thought I would live long enough to see it. After the announcement was made world wide of our impending doom caught by astronomers in the year 2013, and later confirmed with 98% certainty in the year 2018 almost every resource on the planet was diverted to plans to attempt to destroy the asteroid, leave the planet, or figure out how to withstand the impact. Wars were fought, entire continents were obliterated, and the space program never came to real fruition. “Yeah, or at least nuclear holocaust, when that first atom was split I was like ‘yep! This is it’. Sounds like I owe someone a drink!” The idea that would’ve saved them all was in it’s experimental phase and that was what saved me from the impact. My wife, Anne and I volunteered for a form of Cryo-sleep while being launched out to space in these pods that were supposed to be programmed to do a U-Turn back to Earth. We got launched months before impact. I lift up my head and see who’s lap I’m in. I woke up in my capsule to a blue wasteland. There was no way to tell where I’d landed, only that I was extremely lucky to be on land. Everywhere I looked surrounding the island our capsule landed on was water. I went to Anne’s sleep tube to see if she was awake yet. What I saw was a pale, semi frozen body of my now dead wife. First I was in shock, then I was overcome by intense grief. I must’ve been in tears for months straight. Maybe years. I lived on that island for the rest of my miserable life, missing the woman I loved. I succumbed to starvation and thirst, knowing I’d never see her again. I came into this place as a still grieving man. With Anne laughing in my face. I am in tears right now, hugging her so tightly. “You are so dramatic!” She laughs “Was it really that bad down there? Baldur….you ok?” She looks concerned. She lifts me up out of her lap and props me against her. With her hands she massages my shoulders and with one of wings she wipes tears off my cheeks. Wings. “Baldur…..” The name rings a bell. That’s a weird name. Is that my name? “Yes, Baldur! That’s you!” Anne’s eyes were lit up in amusement. “You, Baldur, me FREYA” she says in an obvious Tarzan spoof. I’m only confused at this point. I need to know more. I stand up and step to the balcony to gaze at the people surrounding me in a dome-like structure. The words “Ragnarok”. Were lit up in large fiery letters suspended above the pool of water. I look at the speck in the water. I’m staring at the island I died on. On it, my own corpse. Everyone here is a God. I am a God. And we’ve been playing this game for a while now. Only it’s a lot more fun when Loki doesn’t kill you near the end-game, condemning you to being one of the pieces on the board. Every time I’ve woken up after dying down there I’ve been the same emotional mess. And I lose my memory. Being a human is bad for the brain. I turn around and give Freya my best grin. She is literally a Goddess. “Thanks for keeping me company down there.” “No problem! You about ready?” I pick up my dice and cards from the bench I was lying on while I was “dead” and give Tyr, the game master, a nod. “The God of innocence is finally back! Very well played Baldur, it looks like you’ve won this round, the asteroid that Tyr had sent to finish the game wasn’t able to kill everyone you clever devil!” says Tyr. “Hang on, let me set the board back up” says Odin. “Hey no hard feelings right?” says Loki. Massive tiles began raining from the open roof of the dome-like structure, each with different masses of land on them, first creating a flat map of what almost looks like Earth, but with different continents. The game board levitates and morphs into a globe suspended for everyone to see. Little humanoid figures begin walking on the continents. “Wait, can I be the God of Mischief this time?” I say. Odin looks at Loki. Loki shrugs, “How bad could it be?”	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.
	[WP] Humanity is dead. You were the last human alive until you eventually die. Expecting some sort of afterlife you’re surprised when the first thing you hear is, “OH MY GOD FINALLY! Can we start the next round now?”	Sophie was supposed to last longer than me. She was younger, stronger, and more resilient. Or, at least, that was what I thought before I ended up picking a spade up and attempting to bury her six feet beneath the ground. By attempt, I mean, I tried for six and ended up with two. Sorry, Soph. Wiping sweat off my brow, I look up and see the sun beginning to set. It's time to head home; there's nothing to light my way when night falls. Giving the unevened mound another pat for good measure and nodding at the other grave next to hers, I rest the spade on my shoulder and begin the quiet walk back from the park. The only sounds that accompanied me was my shallow breath, my feet against the ground, and the trees. The leaves rustled drily against dappled, golden sunlight. The city has never felt so quiet. No sirens. No lights. The cranes gather dust. Ground-level shops lay ravaged, windows broken, empty boxes laying around. I see my reflection, broken, and note the redness in my aching eyes. I turn away from a tiring image. Without Sophie, the city's population count rests on my shoulders. Perhaps the world, even. We used to look for survivors, the two of us, but all we found were bodies and the remnants of the lives they used to live. Irregardless of the futility, we kept searching. It was the only thing left to consume our time, after all. Hope, that is. Not sure if I have any left in me, but we'll see. Maybe tomorrow I might be able to gather a little bit more. I unlock the door to my apartment complex and walk up. Up and up the stairs until the fifthteenth floor. The sun doesn't look yellow anymore by the time I reach my floor level. It looks dark red, like a sprawling rose. It's the most red I've ever seen it. My apartment is dark. The curtains are shut tight. I lay down in my bed, dropping the spade besides me, and I turn on my phone, something I hadn't done in such a long time. There 25% battery left, just in case. I doubt I'll need to save it anymore, through. I decide to scroll through my pictures one last time. Tony and I river-rafting. Celebrating my father's 61st birthday with a picnic at the local park. My cousin and I at the beach gathering seashells to add to our collection. Clara and I singing Ariana Grande. And there's Sophie's pictures. Sophie and I taking a selfie at the top of a mountain. A video of us attempting to dance in a ballroom and failing. Snapchat screenshots of Sophie dressed in a cat ears filter, smiling brightly with digital mascara. And us holding hands at our wedding ceremony. I let the glow of her face against the backlight of the phone sear into my retinas. I memorize it, her at her happiest, not her wrapped in bed, sweat piercing her face, hollowed eyes shut tightly against a fever that was never going to break. I close my eyes, and I still see her. Sophie, dancing and smiling and somehow alive. I drop the dying phone from my loosened hand and hear it land on the floor with a thump. Resting my hand over my heart, I can imagine her mouth move, speaking with a ghost's whisper. "I love you." No, that... That's real. It feels real. "Grant, can you hear me?" Sophie is here. I must have fallen asleep. It must be a dream. We're no longer in our bedroom. Instead, we're in the park I buried her in, and I'm lying on a bed of flowers. Sophie is crouched above me, hair curtaining her face, and I can see a living tree blooming above her. My mouth runs dry. It feels so real. She gently rests her hand on top of my hand still resting on my chest. It's warm. She isn't smiling anymore. "Grant, your heart," she says, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "Are you okay?" I notice, as she speaks, that beneath the palm of my hand, is silence. I look up at my wife, and tears begin to pour from me. "Soph, it's you." Before she can say anything, I gather her in my arms and hug her tightly by the waist. She shrieks in surprise, and then she laughs. I can feel her resting her head on top of mine's. I feel her hugging back, and I can't believe it. We're dead but we're here, in each other's arms. What a world. "Did I just have a heart attack?" I ask, trying to process it all. "Not sure," she replies with some amusement. "But, you definitely died in your sleep. That's way more peaceful than how I went about it." She pauses. "I'm jealous, actually." Suddenly, something bombards us and pushes us to the ground. I hit my head against the ground, groaning. I can hear childish laugher. "Oh my GOD, finally! Can we start the next round now?!" "Clara," Sophie says chidefully. I freeze. A young girl, with bright, brown eyes and auburn hair lifts her head as she clambers off of us. "Sorry, Mom," she says. "Dad," she looks at me and adds as an afterthought. "Clara," I say breathlessly. I sweep her up in my arms and squeeze her just as tight as my mom. She squirms. "Oh my God, you've grown so much since..." Since we had to bury you... "Stop reminding me, ugh! I'm trying to grow as as fast as I can!" she growls and pushes me off. I laugh, the loudest I've laughed in such a long time. "Sweetheart, you're beautiful," I say tearfully. "Both of you. This is the happiest I've ever felt in my life." "Save the cryfest for later, Dad," Clara says, rolling her eyes and standing up. "We've got a world to regrow. I, for one, want to get started on our park before someone else does." "What?" I look to Sophie for clarification. "Clara filled me in, Grant," Sophie says soothefully. She holds her hand and a red rose blooms in her palm. Smiling, she places it in my hand. I look at the flower with wonder. "Get up, Dad," Clara declares brightly, hands on her hips. Sophie softly rests her hands on her shoulders. "There's clearly work to be done, now that we're out of the way. We may be dead, but we're not dead and uselesss. Up and at 'em!"	"Oh geez, there's one left." The green thing laughs at the blue thing and points a... squiggly- what was that word- pseudopod? At me. "So I..." The green thing melts into the ground. Dead? The blue thing laughs and wiggles up to me. I'm so tired. Maybe I'm hallucinating. "See. It's fun. Create a sun, pour some fertilizer on the planet and see how long they last." I lift my head and reach out to touch the thing. What, it's real? My hands are sticky. "Who are you?" Is all I can mutter. The blue creature wiggles in place. "Listen man. You lived longer than everyone else. Er, I mean longer than the other rounds. You won. You should be proud. You proud?" I look back at a picture of my wife. She was brave, she got a horse, got some food, and fed everyone she could. I stayed home to fend for myself. I cried when I heard what the gangs did her. "No, I'm not proud." I look at my hands and remember them around the leader's neck. Blue wiggles. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Come with me, you can get a front-row seat to the next generation. And when they die out, you die too." I can't see anything. I use the last of my power to nod and I feel myself falling. I wake up and I'm a bunch of red goo. Blue is standing next to me. "Welcome to the next round. Anything you want to look at?" I walk (walk? slither?) over and look at the wall. I can see my hometown. And one particular woman catches my attention. Blue wiggles nervously. "W-wait, how are you controlling that?" I wave a pseudopod and the cavern collapses upon the Blue thing. I'm not going to mess up again.

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