Only the Dead Have Seen an End to a War

Bullets were raining from the sky. Comrades were going down one by one. Me and my more experienced partner Noah were the only two survivors in our whole squadron.  We were posted up behind a great oak tree. The enemies squeaky voices were heard in the distance saying, “Prepare to rush them”. We had to move now. There was a colorful, tall tower located not so far from where we were. We went for it, Noah ran first, and I followed closely behind. We were spotted and the enemies’ orange-tipped bullets zoomed past. Hit. I was hit in the leg and immediately dropped to the floor along with my weapon. Noah on the other hand had made it to the tower and began shooting back. He was focused. Too focused. As I laid on the grass unable to speak, I saw an enemy soldier silently sneaking up the exit shute of the tower. I could only watch as the enemy pointed the muzzle at his back and slowly released the trigger. The battle was lost. But then my mother called saying it was time for birthday cake. 

Alone

My brother left for college years ago and that was hard enough but this time it was my sister’s turn. Being the youngest child has its perks like doing fewer chores, being driven around by siblings, and more lenient parenting but no one ever talks about the bad. Being alone. Growing up, my siblings never wanted to play with me because they had their own friends and their own issues to deal with so I always had ended up playing alone. I was too small to join them on the big rides at Disneyland and not old enough to go with them to church camp. They got jobs and cars and advanced into the real world while I was still stuck trying to finish my childhood.

Now I’m in high school all grown up just like them but only they didn’t stop growing either. My sister was accepted to the University of Miami and my brother was already across the country studying at Harvard. When my sister leaves in a week I would be all alone. Fun and energetic dinner times would now be awkward “How was your day” conversations with my parents. Of course, I have friends at school but they are all fake anyway always saying they are busy every time I ask them to hang out. Siblings were the only people you could really count on and enjoy no matter what. But that would soon be gone. And I would be all alone.

The Bear Incident

We were all awake lying on our air mattresses in the cool night air of Yosemite National Park when we heard the rustles in the bushes.

“What what that”, I said aloud knowing no one knew

“A deer probably” my dad answered trying to relieve me

I didn’t buy it. I lowered my head deeper into my sleeping bag and tried to forget about it. I then heard a groan that sounded like a dragon exhale you would hear at the movies. I turned to my older brother and started to look uneasy. 

“Dad?” I said starting to get a knot in my stomach

“Shhhhhhhh”, he responded, “listen”

There was a crinkling plastic box noise outside the tent then I remembered that I left out the special sugar cookies we bought at Ricardo’s bakery on the way up here.

“Dang it” I whispered to myself.

“Shhhhh” my dad repeated.

The crinkling stopped, but the scuffles on the floor turned and started coming towards us. I inched closer to my dad until we were touching. He was warm and he smelled like cinnamon and raindrops. I looked up and a shadow depicting a full-grown bear stood outside our tent. It sniffed the door to our tent, let out a groan, and then made a complete circle around us taking breaks to whiff around. I was scared. I loved my family and I didn’t want to loose them. I prayed that my time with them would not end. Fortunately, God heard my prayers and after a good minute of my heart nearly beating out my chest, it left. 

“Wasn’t that neat?” my dad said

We all laughed.

The Lucky Ticket?

Ricky walked along the streets littered with trash past the burning dumpsters like he does every day to get to the gas station. After a long day in the factory, a refreshing soda is much needed. He entered the store, grabbed his drink, and walked up to the counter, placing his soda in front of the registers, but as he did, the glimmer of a Powerball ticket caught his eye.

“Ring this up too, would ya”

He left the store, and as he walked home he scratched his ticket revealing the winning numbers. 

“Ten million dollars!”

He dropped his soda, screaming about his new fortune as ran down the block disregarding his still impoverished friends and family. He ran and he ran. He did not stop. And he did not come back. 

After years of partying, he had not a cent to his name. He had no option but to return to the slums he grew up in and having nowhere to go he knocked on the doors of his family. A shadow came to the peephole and after a few seconds, it retreated back into the house ignoring Ricky at the door. He knocked again. No one.

The Last Brain

The Zombies were coming and the ships had already left Earth. It was only me. I didn’t have a plan and I didn’t have much hope either. They had forgotten me. There was a dog in the street staring at me. When I tilted my head he tilted his. I walked towards him and he scooted back. I continued on and he started walking away so I followed him because it made me feel not alone. After 30 minutes of walking, we stumbled into what was the city’s zoo. The dog walked past the entrance, all the way through the zoo to the auditorium where the animal shows happened. I was amazed. All the animals were out of their enclosures, bowing down right in front of me. The lion got up and walked up to me and all the animals behind him howled, roared, squawked, ribbited, and made whatever noise they made. 

“We will protect you,” the lion said

I was wordless. 

An eagle swooped down landing on my shoulder saying. “They’re here”

The groans of the zombies were heard in the distance. The lion nudged me off my feet putting me on his back. Bears, tigers, rhinos, elephants, crocodiles, kangaroos, ostrich, snakes, and even the ants from the insect exhibit all formed a circle around me like a force field. The zombies had shovels, chainsaws, and swords but it didn’t matter because the animals worked as a collective unit as if they could read each other’s mind. Bears were ripping off heads with their hands, the elephants trampled zombies under their feet, and the rhinos plowed through killing 10 with one move. The kangaroos kicked them to the ground, and the birds ripped out hearts with their talons. The zombies stood no chance. I love my new protectors.