Rubical discussion

Here's to our first ever short story contest!! I'm super excited for this one especially, and it'll be a little longer than the others just to make sure everyone can participate if they like.

1. Same rules throughout the group matter here too.

2. Keep all entries between 1000-4000 words.

3. Contest starts NOW (1/13/20) and will end in two weeks (1/27/20).

4. You must use one of the prompts below in order for it to qualify.

© There will be no stealing of anyone's stories/work. We should all be mature enough to respect that if we are entering a contest. ©



PROMPTS ~~I didn't create any of these.~~

1) It's 3 A.M. in the morning, and an official phone alert has just woken you up. It says "Do not look at the moon." As you scroll down on your phone, you see that you've received thousands of messages from numbers you don't recognize. Each of them says, "It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."

2) The moon doesn't really exist. It's a hologram, put there by beings unknown. One night it says "error" in flickering red letters where the moon should be. You go to tell your friend who lives in the room across the hall but all you find is an "error" flickering above where they should be.

COOL

What a great contest this is. The prompts are very creative, I've got a couple weeks to think of something and a nice big wordcount so I can ramble on. I might just forgive you for the Haiku fiasco. 😉

Love LL

Whoa. I actually got shivers from reading that first one. That's a book I'd like to read :P

I KNOW SAME HERE LANA

So because of that I wanted to see if anyone wanted to write something like that!!

Title: Ari's Story.
November 23, YEAR: 2069.
Los Angeles.
Arielle Torrentes; age: 16.
Section: 27
Sex: Female
Classification: Bender

I stretched my hands above my head and yawned, accidentally knocking a few books off my nightstand.
It had been a loooooong day.
One that involved my getting so angry, I screamed and yelled and basically threw a fit in front of the entire school- and that's when the lights decided to go out.
No, not just in the school; A complete 5 blocks away too.
People were laughing about it for the rest of the day, I knew I would never live it down, they started calling me "Power-out Ari".
Uhm, that doesn't even rhyme. How is that so catchy?
I grimaced and sunk back into the chair, listening to my dad's snores from the next room, trying to fight the sleep that was pulling me in.
Squinting back to the page where I left off, I picked up my pen and placed it on the page tip first, where it hovered there rigid and awaiting my instructions.
"..And that was the last spy of World War four," I drowned on aloud, watching the pen copy my every word as I placed my head down on the table and continued to mumble.
"Forced to find a way to fight even less powerful then the outdated method of atomic power and radiation, we reverted back to fighting by hand, creating..."
DING! My phone buzzed on the table beside me, jolting me from my dreamy state.
Groggily, I leaned over and picked it up, the screen illuminating my face in the darkness.
The time read 3 A.M. Who was I getting a message from this late at night?
"Do not look at the moon".
It was an international alert! I gasped, and my eyes snapped to the window. The curtains were drawn. . . Why was I not allowed to look at the moon?
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
My gaze swiveled away from the window and fell back on my phone.
"It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."
"It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."
"It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."
"It's a beautiful night tonight. Look outside."
"It's a beauti-"

"AHH!" I gaped down at the messages, numbers I didn't even know!
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
"Alright, alright!" I scolded my phone angrily.
Slam. I heard the sound of the front door downstairs.
Dad? He must've gotten the same text.
Suddenly very awake, I slipped through the bedroom door, resisting the urge to rip open the curtains and look outside.
"Dad?" I called into the darkness.
Silence. . .
Something brushed against my legs and I yelped.
"Mrrw?"
"Muffin! Oh- you scared me. . ." I whispered shakily, reaching down to scratch my fat cat on the head.
She padded across the kitchen, where moonlight shone in patches across the floor.
Moonlight...
"Muffin! WAIT- don't- wha. . .?"
The light hit her face- and her eyes flashed bright orange.
"Muffin!" I whimpered, watching her body go stiff. . . and she started swaying, moving dumbly towards the window.
CRACK!
With a tremendous leap, she launched herself at the screen and it gave way.
I screamed, watching her fall from sight.
"AHHHHH, DAD, ANYONE, HELP!"
Silence met me once again.
"Okay. . . moonlight = bad, freaky control thing, zombie. Got it" I blanched, sinking to the floor, my back against the fridge.
"Okay. Okay. You've got to stay calm, Ari. Stay calm." I rasped barely above a whisper.
Wait.. creepy light, Muffin's eyes went orange.. hmmmmm... Tentatively, I pulled off my slipper and stretched my foot forward. . . putting the tips of my toes into the patch of moonlight.
Nothing.
I stuck my entire leg into it.
"Ohhh, oh my." I breathed. "It's when you LOOK into the moonlight, yes."
My phone started dinging with more texts "Look outside ;)" and I quickly silenced it again.
I let my breath in a steady stream. What was I going to do?
The moonlight was. . . moving! TOWARDS me, ever so slowly, drifting, almost like the clouds outside.
"Ahhhh. . .AHHHHHH!" It almost looked alive, crawling towards me.
"STAY. BACK!" I screamed, and threw my hands in front of my by instinct, squinting my eyes shut.

A rumble swirled around the room.
I peeked open my eyes ever so slowly.
The moonlight was gone from the floor.
Instead, I felt a weird warmth in the palm of my hands.
I lifted them up and gaped, staring at the little orbs of light that was hovering just above my palms.
"What?" I gasped. "THEY'RE STUCK. Ohh no, OH NO HEELL-"
"Oh, shut up."
A weird, crisply accented voice spoke from behind me.
I whipped around, my mouth falling open stupidly.
A teenage boy sat in MY house, his arms crossed over his chest.
Relief poured in my just at the sight of a human, I didn't care to notice the cocky look on his face as he leaned casually against my living room wall.
He was rather short, with eerily pale skin, contrasted with his thick black hair, ripped black jeans and a black t shirt.
I stared into his eyes, which were a pale, milky blue, forgetting all about the weird light stuck to my hands.
I was mostly noticing just about how handsome he was.
His eyes widened as he stared back at me, and opened his mouth several times as if he was about to speak.
I cleared my throat.
"Uhm, hullo."
Nice one, I thought. Where did you decide to get a British accent from, Ari?
He brought his hand up to his face and put his fingers together, making them chomp at the air like an angry alligator.
"Yes, yes, blah blah blah." He rolled his eyes high towards the heavens, and I narrowed mine in return.
"Yes, you're so shocked. Just get over it and come with me, and we can skip the lecture."
" Excuse me?" I spluttered.
"You're a Lightbender, darling. Now please get a move on, we can't stay here long. The moon enchantment only lasts so long, you know."
He shot me a particularly dirty look, as if I were to blame for whatever-the-heck-was-going-on.
"Um, care to explain, darling?" I said through gritted teeth, not liking the fact that he didn't seem that much older then me but was clearly enjoying treating me like a child.
"You're a Lightbender. You are a child of the moon, and therefore unaffected by the moon's powers. Once a year, we gather everyone around, and the people that are not affected get picked up by us. Unfortunately, the old Government figured out somewhat what was going on, and so now here we are. They sent everyone alerts, but YOU, clearly are a light bender." He frowned and glanced back at my palms.
I uttered another shriek as I stared down at the little orbs of light still hovering there.
"Uh, get them OFF, please!" I yelled at him.
"Uh, you get them off, darling." He smirked, mimicking my tone. "Send them away, they'll listen."
I gulped and pushed my hand out in front of me, fingers splayed.
Go... go... GO.
WHOOOOSH.
The light spread back into the room, little bits going everywhere.
"Huh. So if I'm a Lightbender, what are you? Child of darkness?"
I smiled, having clearly touched a nerve.
"I'm also a Lightbender, but I prefer to not- if you would just-" He sputtered.
"Enough talking, we have to go. I wasn't called up on this job for prissy little tweens to tell me what I am and what I'm not, clearly since I just had to tell you that you were a Lightbender in the first place. But yes, there are other Benders, and the powers only work when you release great stems of emotion."
Huh. He had a point.
We started walking out, headed outside to who-knows-where.
"So where's the other one?" I asked casually.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know. Dramatic rescue, guy saves girl. But there's always two, you know, so they can both fight over her. So where's the blonde one?" I snickered.
He looked enraged.
"Over my dead body." He growled.
I was about to reply back when... we were outside.
I saw the streets flooded with people, from all over town. Moving slowly towards the light of the moon, their heads held high as they stared transfixed at it.
"Let's go, we might be almost out of time"
He wrapped his fingers around my elbow and before I could say anything, we were lifted off the ground.
"AH. Ahhh." I squeaked, trying my best not to show my surprise.
We were floating, going higher and higher, heading right for the bright moon in the sky. I watched my city below, swarms of people crawling like cockroaches to once big mass in the middle, their eyes staring straight above them.
Was that my dad? I could see my friends, Leyla and Alex and Charlie, the same as everyone else.
Reality hit me that I didn't even know that I made the right choice. How could I even trust him? But it seemed like I could, I never even knew about any. . . Light bending until he came.
"So.. what's your name?"
He frowned slightly as though irritated by this question.
"Lennerd."
"Okay Lenny! I'm Ari, and how are you doing today?"
He heaved a big sigh, but I tried not to look down as we floated higher, my nerves feeling frigid.
"I'm doing fine, thanks." I answered myself pointedly.
"We're here. The portal will open in a few seconds, and you're going to have to walk through."
"Wait, what? Aren't you coming with me?" I asked, suddenly scared at the thought of being left alone.
All of this was so weird, so unREAL, but with what I had seen tonight, I was so numb to just go along with it all and not question.
"Nope. You'll go through the portal and be transported the the viewing room. You'll get tested by the Masters, and maybe you'll get a dorm room. If all goes right, you're going to have to start training."
"Will I see you there?" I dared to ask.
His eyes flashed with a smile for a second.
A real smile.
"Maybe. We'll see." He raised his eyebrows and stared ahead, but I could see he was pleased.
All of the sudden, a burst of blue light exploded a few feet in front of us, an explosion that seared the sky.
"There it is! GO, before it closes!" He yelled.
I could feel his arm slipping out of mine, and I looked back one more time before I fell forward into the the blue explosion.
Into my destiny.

Oh my gosh, THANK YOU ANNA, this was SOO much fun to write even though I know I am a crummy writer, the prompt had so much possibilities!!!

Oh yeah, and I was having fun going cliche in this one guys ^^ Just saying.

It sounds super cool! I'll have to read it fully soon!!

Lana wrote: "Title: Ari's Story.
November 23, YEAR: 2069.
Los Angeles.
Arielle Torrentes; age: 16.
Section: 27
Sex: Female
Classification: Bender

I stretched my hands above my head and yawned, accidentally k..."


Lana, Lana, Lana.
YOU ARE NOT A CRUMMY WRITER, YOUR STORY WAS AMAZING! Like, "please make a sequel" kind of amazing.

Cherie wrote: "Lunar Problem?


   Wow! Some kind of scam messages….. My thoughts blurred as I left the realm of sleep. Perhaps I am still asleep though and this is some kind of funny dream? Maybe it is, maybe it..."


Wow, your story is SO GOOD!

I'm still working on mine.

Ahhh I can't wait to read these!! (I usually wait till after I write my own so I don't unconsciously copy and ideas😅)

Lana wrote: "Oh my gosh, THANK YOU ANNA, this was SOO much fun to write even though I know I am a crummy writer, the prompt had so much possibilities!!!"

Your writing is not crummy. You are not crummy. This story is amazing. You are amazing.

Title: Moon dreams
Author: Shayna
Main Character: Amber Choi
Age: 15
Gender: Female

I always feel the flames of a fireplace flicker in my dreams. It was one of my favorite words, dreams. Such a nice thought. Until you have a scary dream at night that has you suddenly feeling like a total baby, wanting to be in your mother's arms. So when I woke in the morning around 3am, wanting to be wanted, I supposed I had a bad dream that I couldn’t remember. But I realized I woke to a loud phone notification. I rubbed my eyes sleepily.
“Crickets.” I muttered, most likely half asleep, half awake.
I grabbed my phone and checked my alert.
I laughed, my eyes threatening to shut and never see the dawn of day again.
Official alert.
Don’t look at the moon.
“Don’t look at the moon,” I read aloud. “Nice joke, Kaylee.”

~


A ringtone was what I thought had woke up my friend, a ringtone that was from me. I had called my friend. But she was already awake.
“Hey, Amber.” A familiar voice said to me over the phone. “Why are you awake too?”
I laughed. Eerie silence. “Remember? Prank, telling me not to look at the moon?”
“You got that too?” She said.
Wow. Double prank. “You’ve really outdone yourself tonight, Kaylee.”
“It’s morning, Amber,” Kaylee said.
I pulled my ponytail out, my hair the definition of “mess”. I blinked twice, attempting to wake myself up.
“Hold on a sec,” I said, walking over to my bathroom, feeling in the mood to splash some cold water on my face.
Kaylee started rambling on. “I was so scared when I got that notification, y'know? Like, what if something bad happened if I look at the moon?”
I was in the middle of washing my face.
“This isn’t a fairytale, Kaylee,” I said, accidentally getting soap in my mouth. I spat into the sink.
“I know. Just, don’t look at the moon tonight, okay, Amber?” Kaylee said.
“Okay, whatever.” I said, not really paying attention.
“I was just like you,” Kaylee continued. “I didn’t think anything of it. But then I got a good thousand texts saying to look outside, and then--”
“Wait, what?”
And I had just finished drying my face when, Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Ding after ding after ding.
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!

And......
They were all from anonymous numbers.
That was a little bit creepy. What is going on?
“You can even ask my dad! He’s super creeped out too,” Kaylee said. “Here, I’ll have you talk to him.” There was silence and footsteps coming from the audio, Kaylee walking to give the phone to her dad. Then there was a high-pitched yelp.
“DAD! What are you DOING?" Kaylee yelled. "Get back in the house! I told you not to look at the--” Then the next scream that came was from Kaylee. I ended the call. If this was a prank, I swear, my friend is ...I don’t even want to think about it.
I was full on trembling. I was starting to feel my asthma come on. I was starting to really worry. I was--
My guinea pigs started to wheek, giving me a cold, hard slap back to reality.
“Sorry, boys.” I said, petting them in the cage. “I know you hate screaming.”
My guinea pigs went back to their hideout and started trembling.
“Are you cold, boys?”
I checked the temperature. It was 80 degrees. HOW were they cold?
A huge gust of wind flew in from the window, and I did what any teenager in their right mind would do…….go to their parents room.
And maybe, just maybe, this was all a dream. Dream. My favorite word.

~


“Mom?” I whispered, lightly taking steps into their bedroom.
My mom groggily rubbed her eyes. “What?”
“Can….” I felt silly asking. “Can I sleep with you for a little bit?”
My mom sleepily replied, “Sure, honey, but your dad takes up the whole bed.”

I finally got a little bit of sleep, until it turned 4am and my dad woke up from a phone notification. He didn’t check his phone though. I didn’t pay attention to what he was doing. I just wanted to go back to sleep. And maybe even dream. But then I felt moonlight shine on me and…..
I jolted up and screamed. My dad had opened the curtains. I covered my eyes from the moon and quickly ran out of the bedroom and shut the door. “Don’t look at the moon!” I screamed through the door to my parents.
“Why--”
Then there was silence.
I peeked through the door. My parents had their face under the covers. I muffled a cry.
I didn’t know what to do.
My phone started ringing with more texts.
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
It’s a beautiful night outside. Take a look!
Covering my eyes, I went to my bathroom to grab my inhaler. I inhaled quickly 3 times, and even more quickly 4 times more. I stuck my inhaler in my pocket, where I felt a piece of paper stick out.
LOOK OUTSIDE! It read.
I tore the paper to pieces and threw it in the trash. I put a blanket over my guinea pigs cage to help them go to sleep. I stepped down the hall and--
Broken glass was one foot in front of me.
I ran down the hall, and made a bolt for the stairs. I missed a step and tumbled down. “Frick, ouch, what the hec--”
I tried to stand up, but I could barely walk. I was sure I broke a foot. I went to take a step but galaxies covered my walls, distracting me. Everything now was a distraction. I rubbed my eyes, sure I was hallucinating, but I couldn’t make myself move. There were galaxies on my wall?
I was frozen. And I was falling.
Down, and down, and down, and down, where nothing else existed. I had no stabilizer. Nothing to hold on to as I fell. I screamed and closed my eyes. Then I felt heat on my bare shoulders scorch me.
Then, I was hovering on a gold platform where everything around me was shimmering bright blue. I screamed. Louder and louder my scream grew. The little kid inside me said, sweet echo. I reached down to grab my inhaler but it wasn’t there.
Then, everything was silent. There was no moonlight. There was no sunshine. There was no day. There was no night. There were no stars. There was no sky. And most of all, there was no moon.
There was only silence.
I heard footsteps and I froze. I wanted to scream. I wanted this to be a dream. Oh, so badly.

Twins, a boy and a girl approached me. I trembled. The girl had long, pitch black hair, and so did her brother. She held a bow and arrow in front of me, as if she was about to kill me.
“Who are you!” She demanded. “And are you the one who took our precious moon?”
I was silent.
“You took it, didn’t you!” She demanded.

~


I woke up, sweating.


That was when my opinion about dreams changed.
Because even when you think it’s real,
You wake up.

I willed my eyes to close.
I clasped my hands together.
And....I prayed.

Thank you, God.

And goodbye, moon.

“Legend says when you can’t sleep at night, it’s because you’re awake in somebody elses dream.” -Anonymous


The End.

(view spoiler)[ Why did that take forever to write? I have no clue. Sorry for the people read that long thingy;] (hide spoiler)]

Woah. Leyla, I read your story after I posted mine.
Wow, ours are very alike! Woah.

That was great Shayna :O I especially LOVED the quote you added at the end!!

Lana wrote: "That was great Shayna :O I especially LOVED the quote you added at the end!!"

Aw Thank you! Your story is legit awesome tho so......;[]

Ikr ;D Yours is great tho<3

THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

“Psst. Psst. Testing 1, 2, 3.
Okay. Good. It’s old but it’s working.

My name is Teva, but I don’t think that will actually matter in the long run. I’ve got some things I’ve got to say and I’m not sure how long I’ve got. I found this old dictatape recorder and I’m going to try and say what I know before they find me.
WAIT. Don’t shut me off. I know I sound insane and maybe I am but it won’t hurt you to listen. In fact, it might actually save your life.

This all started a few days ago when I went on that blind date with the photographer.
No. Wait. It started before that with the Holographic Moon Prank.
Or, … did it happen even before I was born? Just give me a moment. I haven’t slept for a couple days and I just need to gather my thoughts.

Okay. Yup. [sigh]

If you’re like me, you have no memory at all of when man first walked on the moon. Neil Armstrong was his name. The first guy. I remember because I got that answer right on my Grade 9 history test.
But in my family, we also have a history attached to the Moon landing. In fact, it’s always been more of a family joke. Hmph. It suddenly doesn’t seem so funny right now.

Apparently, in the 1960s before I was even a hope of my mother’s, three men took a spaceship to the moon. Our moon. The one we see at night. It took years to accomplish, but when it finally happened it was broadcast on TVs all around the world.

My mother, her mother and her mother’s mother were all sitting around the TV, along with several other family members and neighbours who didn’t have TVs of their own. Now you’ve got to remember at this time, nobody knew anything about space or the moon. Every eye was glued to the TV screen. Mom said they weren’t even sure if their were a bunch of Aliens living on the moon. Who knew what these three men would find Out There?

They watched Armstrong take his first step onto the surface and say his famous line, “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” And when that day was over, the world, the earth that we had lived on, it was a very different place. We had decided to go to the moon. And so we went. No miracles. No supernatural. We just wanted it and we did it.

And just as the broadcast finished and Walter Cronkite wished all “good-night” and told us, “That’s the way it is.”, my great-grandmother said her own lines, which became famous in my family.

“I don’t believe it.”

Oh. How we laughed about that through the years. For the remainder of her life she was the butt of our jokes because she didn’t believe we had actually gone there. She had figured it was just some Hollywood people making a movie. She would sit quietly and be made the laughing stock of her family and then just gently say, “How do you know I’m not right?”

And now, I sit here with this little tape recorder and I think, my sweet Memere, you were sweeter and smarter than all of us put together. Please forgive me my arrogance.

All of you will remember the Holographic Moon Hoax from just a couple weeks ago. We looked into the sky at night and saw the word “Error” where the moon should be. Of course, it didn’t take long for it to be discovered like any other hoax. With all the cameras in the world, it was easily proven by NASA that it was just a hacker who had gotten into the Net. If you think back, you will remember that nobody saw the “Error” message with their naked eyes.
…[sigh] But that’s not true. I did. And I’ve been running for my life ever since.

At the time, I was so busy and preoccupied that I didn’t even realize I had seen it myself. I assumed I had seen it like everyone else, on the Internet or on TV or a news broadcast somewhere. We get so busy that we don’t even notice the obvious that is right in front of us.

A few days after the Moon Hoax, I went on a date with a new guy that my roommate had fixed me up with. He was a photographer and after dinner we went to his place and I thought he would make some moves on me. However, the only thing he did was to bore me into a coma by showing me years worth of his photographs. Thankfully, I didn’t have to fake the migraine headache he had inflicted on me with his endless, “Look at this one. Look at this one.”

Now, I don’t believe in God because I believe in science and using my brain and the idea of some big old dad in the sky who loves us but would kill his own kid, is so stupid, I’m not even going to talk about it. But, I have to admit there have been too many coincidences these past days for them to be mere coincidences. No bookie would ever make book against the existence of God if they had just lived through the days that I have.

It just so happened that one of Mr. Boring’s photographs stuck to the bottom of my shoe and I found it when I got home. I recognized it. It was a lovely picture of Mist Island, which is about 70 miles away from the shore near where I grew up. It’s called Mist Island because you can rarely see it from the mainland. So for him to have such a clear photograph of it was quite amazing. But that wasn’t the only amazing thing about the photo. According to science, the earth is a sphere. And you can easily tell that anytime you see a ship depart. Because as it sails farther away, it appears to drop beneath the horizon. I stared at that photo off and on for a day before I realized what was bothering me about it. From that distance, I should not have been able to see the entire bottom of Mist Island. But I could see the entire thing. He had used a zoom lens and that allowed the camera to see what the naked eye cannot.

Since then, I’ve done that test myself at different locations and according to the mathematical equation governing distance vs curvature, I shouldn’t be able to see what I can see if the earth is in fact, a sphere. I can barely believe I’m saying these things. I feel like I’m in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from.

Anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah. Then I went to the NASA government website and found photo after photo that has been altered. And obviously so. Not just things that they use as an excuse like, “Oh. It’s a composite”, but I also discovered that we shouldn’t be able to see the Great Wall of China from space either. So how many pictures are there that apparently NASA took from a high orbit of The Wall? They are not even following their own scientific equations and theories. And now I’m sure they’re trying to kill me. Whoever “they” are.
WAIT! WAIT! Please. Don’t shut this off just yet. If there really are people trying to kill me, these may be the last words I ever speak. So I’m asking you to give me one more minute before you click the OFF button. I am telling you, the earth is not a sphere and NASA has been lying to us. We never went to the moon at all. And we don’t have a bunch of cameras in space taking pictures of the earth, because …
... the earth is flat. D*** *** ****!
I never thought I would hear myself say that. Not in a million years. I’m a rational woman. I have a brain. I know science. I’m not sucked in by old religious superstitions.

[sigh] I’m so tired. I haven’t slept for so long. I don’t dare shut my eyes.
You think you can walk away from this? It will beat at your brain too. And your soul until you MUST find the truth. MUST. MUST. must.

I told all this to a Christian friend of mine and thought she would be thrilled to discover that NASA and all the Scientists had been lying all these years. And that the original Christians were better off because they still believed the old ways of a Flat Earth.

She looked at me and said gently and calmly, almost motherly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“OUR EARTH IS NOT ROUND AND EVERYONE IN THE GOVERNMENT AND AUTHORITY IS LYING TO US! HOW CAN THAT NOT MATTER?!!!” I screamed at her.

She answered me with such a look of compassion.
“The governments have lied to the people since they were first set up. Science changes what it calls the “truth” almost every day. The poor are always with us and each human being will die and have to face God someday. The reason this doesn’t matter is because I know Jesus personally. Jesus. The incarnate God in human flesh sent to us. He made the world and He definitely knows what shape it is. Nothing is a surprise to Him. And my God will meet all my needs and your needs too through Christ Jesus. Jesus, who is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Whatever the shape the earth is, or whoever lies to me, we will all face Jesus and when He comes it won’t be to die, it will be to rule and reign. And EVERYTHING will be made right and perfect. All sin forgiven. Death conquered. Eternal life offered.These things will remain unchanged even if the world looks like a Tootsie Roll. The only Truth you need to know is Jesus and whether or not He is who He says He is. God. And if you don’t know that, no answer will satisfy you or make you happy. Because it’s only in God’s presence there is fullness of joy.”

Gee. I can’t believe I remembered all that she said. I usually tune her out while she’s still talking.

But that’s what she told me. Ya know? It made me feel better, although I don’t know why. I suppose that all great answers begin with a great question. Maybe by telling you my story into this little recording machine I’m passing on the Search. I don’t know what will happen to me. I know I’m being followed. Three times someone has tried to run me over. I don’t know the answer to “Who is Jesus?” but for the first time I think I want to know. But I suppose where you go is ... ++++++++++++++++++++++++”

I'm something called a Behaviorist, but more specifically a Social Behaviorist which means how people react within their society. And at the risk at getting all boring and analytical, what is MASSIVELY fascinating is that you all picked the Phone Alert Prompt. I picked the Moon with the Error Message, but the reason I did that is kinda boring. But it shows the difference between generations and the technology that effects us. You are much more comfortable with technology, especially your phones. If my phone did that, I'd flush it and go back to bed.
You deserve a bit of teasing! I meant to shut down two hours ago but you kept me up reading your brain blasting stories.
Cherie went on an adventure with Faith as they solved the puzzle and now we even know where their Dad and Mama keep their phones.
Shayna just had to include her rats (excuse me guinea pigs) while Lana sacrificed poor Muffin for a cute guy, but not before knocking over a bunch of books by her bed. (No surprise there!)
Le'Kiss was so sweet because she KNEW she'd never be alone and Jesus had made her a real Light to fight against darkness. Both, absolutely true! But I laughed that she was going to bean someone with a 500+ hardcover book!
It's good to know people and then you can appreciate their imaginations. You guys are awesome! Better stories here than anything waiting for me in my Kindle app.
God bless you, my Sweet friends. Enjoy your Sunday.
Love Laura-Lee
Alright. I'm getting silly, so I'm going to bed. But first I'm going to go and stare at the moon and see if I can't get "Moonblinked" (You know. From the "Guardians of Ga'hoole" by Kathryn Lasky)

Title: Dancing and the Moonlight
By: Penny

Her feet were aching, back sweating, and heart racing, but Ashlynn had the biggest smile on her face for the first time in months. She laughed aloud as her dance partner led her into a round of complicated steps to sound of Benny Goodman blasting on the speakers. Swing couples all around the two spun and kicked and turned with the beat. The song ended, and all the couples laughed and said their goodbyes. Ash made my way through the crowd to find her older sister, Retta.
“There you are! I was looking for you. So who did you dance with this time?” she asked Retta.
“That short guy over there by the lady with the flower shirt,” she pointed into the crowd. “Pretty sure he’s never danced a day in his life, but hey, at least he didn’t smell half as bad as the last guy.”
“Retta!!” Ash chided her, laughing.
“What? It’s true,” she shrugged unapologetically, laughing with her sister.
Ash shook her head. “You’re impossible.”
The older sister lifted her chin and winked. “Yes, yes, it’s one of my finest qualities in fact.”
Ashlynn giggled in return. They spent a few minutes joking around till Retta glanced at her watch and said, “All right, we better head out now.” She headed to the door and then turned back to look at me.
“I’m pretty thirsty, so I’m gonna grab some water really quick,” Ash said.
“Well, I’m gonna go ahead and warm the car up, just meet me there,” said Retta as she pushed open the door.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a sec!” Ash walked over to the vending machine, bought a water bottle, chugged half of it in two gulps, then sighed and made her way to the exit.
She stepped out of the dance hall and felt a rush a cool air. She paused, closing her eyes and welcoming the relaxing evening breeze. Her feet were still throbbing, so she slipped off her low heels and walked barefoot on the asphalt. It was a lovely night, albeit rather dark. It ought to have been a full moon tonight, but the moon seemed to be playing hide and seek behind a single cloud. Still, she smiled and craned my neck up at the sky to admire the stars, a favorite past-time of mine. They twinkled happily, like little fairy lights in outer space. Another gentle breeze fluttered through my hair and lazily moved the clouds above. Ash tilted her head back even more hoping to catch a glimpse of that bright, gorgeous nighttime orb. The cloud moved to reveal...more darkness? And…
“What is that?” she asked aloud, squinting up into the still-dark sky. A red message seemed to be spelled out in the place of the moon. ERROR. She frowned, then looked around the parking lot. ”Is this some kind of joke?” she wondered. Still glancing up at the strange message in the sky, she jogged over to her car. Opening the passengers side and sliding into the seat, she asked, "Hey Retta, did you see that weird error message where the moon…" Ash’s breath caught in her chest. There, floating a couple feet over the driver's seat, was an identical red ERROR message. She said slowly, voice beginning to tremble, "Retta?? Where are you?" She glanced around the car. "I swear, if this is some kind of ridiculous prank you're playing trying to scare me, just come off it already." No one answered. Her heart was racing now. She carefully reached out and swatted at the glowing letters. They merely flickered slightly, then reappeared brighter than ever. She stepped out of the car and scanned the parking lot with wide eyes and a furrowed brow. The music still seemed to be bumping in the dance hall, and the lot was empty. She ran to the door. "Maybe Retta went back inside??" Ash burst in, calling, "Retta?? Are you in here?"
Ash froze, blood suddenly running ice cold. The room was empty. The countless people who were in there not minutes ago had seemed to have disappeared. All that remained were red ERROR messages floating everywhere. One behind the front desk. Three behind the DJ stand. Countless more scattered all over the dance floor. The song that she had heard blasting faded to an end, and with no DJ to play more songs, an eerie silence settled over the room. She felt her lungs burning, then sucked in a sharp breath, realizing she had forgotten to breathe in her shock. Her chest was heaving and her heart was pounding, but this time it had nothing to do with swing dancing. Waves of fear crashed over the shaking girl. She stumbled back outside.
“RETTA!! WHERE ARE YOU?! AURETTA!! AURETTA!” Ash screamed at the top of her lungs. Her blood was roaring in her ears and her head started spinning. Random things were now disappearing, being replaced by the red messages. Lampposts, cars, bushes. She sprinted back inside, feeling hysterical. The chandeliers were now gone too, shrouding the room in pitch black darkness. She shrieked her sister’s name into the empty room.
“RETTA! Where did you go?! What’s going on, why is this happening??!” Ashlynn began to sob, sinking to the floor as terror and tears overwhelmed her. She was so overcome with panic she didn’t notice the figure moving silently towards her until she felt a light touch on her shoulder. Ash shrieked and scrambled away. The figure lowered her head and knelt down next to her. Ash squinted. The strange figure seemed to be a young, pretty girl, no more than 12 years old.
“Who are you?” Ash asked in a teary voice. “What’s happened to everyone?”
The little girl just held a finger up to her lips, then pointed to Ash’s chest. She looked down and saw a red message on her shirt. LOADING. . .LOADING. . .LOADING. . . INCOMPATIBLE
Ash shook her head slightly, not comprehending what that meant. THe young girl smiled and said, “You, Ashlynn Mahina Castor, are one of the few were part of the original Glows to be sent here as part of the Holographic Experiment. Your 120 years are over, and I am here to take you back to Zio.”
Ash’s head spun with all this strange, new information and she had no energy to resist when the young girl placed her fingers on Ash’s temples. Bright white lights blinded her for a split second, and she felt a rush of energy. Finally she got a clear view of the other girl's face. Familiarity hit Ash like a train and she gasped aloud. The girl's eyes were closed in concentration, but she was the spitting image of a younger person Ashlynn knew without a doubt.
Her last thought before feeling her feet leave the ground was, “It's Auretta!”

((So sorry I got this out so late!! BIG thank you to sweet Anna, who let me put it up even though the competition is technically over!😅💜))

That's good! Okay!

Now it's over! XD