Our Stories 2016-2017

Our Stories

2016-2017

Front Cover Art by Faith Borgeman, Dominique Trujillo, and Zach Martinez

Stories Table of Contents

“No Face” Untitled
Zach Martinez Tyler Drake

“The Witching Hour” “Football Sunday”
Shade Davis Angel Rebollozo

“Cat and Dog” Untitled
Koneisha Ray Dominic Laugharn

“Attack of the Hollows” “Path”
Raul Beltran Naomi Chia

“The Cornfield”
Tye Woodbury

Drama

The Lamp
Dallon and Dawson

Humpty Dumpty
Caden Jenks

Hansel & Gretel
Anthony Huerta

Poems

“Sadness”
Dominique Trujillo

“Paper”
Faith Borgeman

“The Human Life”
Lance Rider

“Confusion”
Joel Rodriguez

Stories

“No Face”

by Zach Martinez

It was a dark and snowy night. Jake was driving from his parent’s house, since the
holidays were over, when the heater in his car shut off. He couldn't make it all the way to the
airport without heat, because it was too cold, so he planned to stop at the next house he saw, just
for a few hours so he could get some sleep. He ended up finding a large log cabin, a ways away
from any other civilization.

At first, he wondered why it was so far from any other house, but he pushed away those
thoughts because he needed somewhere to stay. He parked his car outside, and knocked on the
large wooden door three times. No answer. He tried again, this time calling out, “Hello? Is there
anyone in there?” Still no answer.

He called out again, “Hello? If there's anyone here, could I stay for a few hours? I'll be
gone by morning.” He began to wonder if anyone even still lived there, so he tried the doorknob,
and it was unlocked. Just in case there was anyone in the house, he said “Okay, I'm coming in
now. If there is anyone here, know that I just need to stay for the night.” There was still no
response, so he went in.

He walked in to find himself in a small living room, with a couch, fireplace, and pictures
on the walls. He noticed there was a picture that had a family of five--two adults, two girls and a
boy. Nearby, there was a small kitchen, with a fridge, and a wooden table. He went down a short
hallway and found a bedroom, with a drawer and a small table next to the bed.

Coming to the conclusion that this house was abandoned, he put on a bandana, to keep
his face warm, and set an alarm for 4:00 a.m. so he could get back on the road early the next
morning, then climbed into the bed and fell asleep.

He woke up feeling like he hadn't been asleep for very long. He was wondering what had
woken him up, when he heard a noise. He looked towards where the noise was coming from, and
saw the doorknob on the closet against the wall was moving. This startled him, and he wondered
what could be moving in there, when the door opened. It opened very slowly, and when it
opened, Jake had to give his best effort not to scream.

A tall, disturbing looking thing came out of the closet. It looked like something out of a
nightmare. It was tall enough that its head almost touched the ceiling. Its eyes were completely
black, and it had no hair anywhere on its body.

In one swift movement, it got to the side of the bed, and just stared. It felt like it was
there for almost an hour, when it started to move again. It reached for Jake when it recoiled in
fear. It said, “No face,” and started to look scared. He was confused, until he realized he had his
bandana on, and it thought he didn't have a face. “No face, no face!” It kept saying those words
over, and over again.

Then it reached for him. Its hand was inches from his face, and he could feel the cold
from its body, as if it didn't have any heat, when a loud noise startled him and the monster. The
monster shrieked loudly, and Jake realized that his alarm was scaring the thing. He realized he
might not get another chance, so he got out of the bed quickly, and grabbed his phone. He turned
on the flashlight, and played loud music, to further scare and disorient the thing. It ran out of the
room, still screeching loudly. He could tell that it was going downwards, most likely to a
basement of some kind.

He immediately ran outside to his car, started it, then drove as fast as he could towards a

town. He stopped in a parking lot outside a small store. He then started to laugh and cry at the

same time, because he was still alive, because of pure luck.

He then calmed down, and went into the store. The only people he saw in the small store,

was a cashier, and an old couple. He grabbed a bag of chips, and a bottle of water, then
proceeded to the checkout. As he got his items scanned, the cashier said “I saw that you were
crying in your car a few minutes ago. Did your girlfriend dump you last night or something?”

He didn't know if he should tell him about what happened, because he didn't think he

would believe him, but he decided to just tell the truth. He told him about everything: the house,

the monster, and how he made an escape.

After telling him what happened, he looked up at the cashier, and he looked shocked. He

looked pale too, as if he just watched something get hit by a train or something. He then started

to look scared and sad, and he told him why.
The cashier said, “I had a friend who always liked to take risks. One day, he got a dare to

stay a night in that house. I told him it was a dumb dare and a bad idea, but he just smiled and

walked in. The next day he went missing. The police searched the house and found his body in
the basement,” he continued. “He was found mutilated, with several pieces missing from his
body. They never found out who killed him.”

Then Jake received a tap on the shoulder, and he turned around to see the old couple from
earlier. He realized that they must have heard his story. The old man told him, “Most people that

go into that building never come back out alive. If what you say is true, than you are the luckiest
man alive.”

Nowadays, Jake makes sure to lock every door before he goes to bed. He makes sure to

never get houses with basements in them. He also makes sure to put a padlock on his closet, and

lock it before he goes to bed. He also wears his bandana while he sleeps, just to be careful. Some
nights though, he swears that the doorknob on his closet moves, and that he can hear “no face”

quietly from within.

The Witching Hour
Shade Davis

3:12AM, A peculiarly drab, cold, and rainy eve. My bedroom window was open and
nobody was home. Just me in my room. The wind gusted, and the cool breeze whipped my
curtains and cooled the room. I lay dormant waiting to fall asleep once again, but to no avail.

I heard what seemed to be a growl and my entire body locked tighter than a bank vault. I
could not move, I could not speak, and I could not understand why I was so petrified to the point
of where I couldn’t even talk. But I managed to mutter out a silent, “What is that?” I sat up and
heard the growl again.

Looking into pitch darkness, I could not find out what was there until I looked at the
door. There was a solid black silhouette standing in a small crack behind my door. I looked up
and saw one shining red eye staring intently at me with a terrifying grin. It looked like a human.
But all I saw was a massive black figure with red eyes.

My heart stopped and my survival instincts kicked on. I watched as it backed away from
the door slowly and decided that I would sprint to it and close it, then lock it. I walked to my bed
and lay down. I heard noises again and when I opened my eyes, in the corner I was met with an
ear to ear grin. Then before I knew it, it had ended my life.

The Storm
By Alexander James Moor

The waves crashed against the sand and I knew the end was upon me.

The storm, a deadly ferocious force, beat upon the house like it had a score to settle.
The house shook, the storm was so angry it hit holes into the roof, and water came flooding in.
The water pushed over furniture and walls, making it look as if a fight had occurred.

Soon the water filled to the top of the ceiling; it rushed in as a mouse would run into a
house from the cold outside. As the water began to fill my lungs, I felt a sense of fear of what
was to come.

Soon though, soon, I would know, I felt it in my bones. I felt my life drift away as I
struggled for breath.

CAT AND DOG

Koneisha Ray

It was a dark and scary night. We were alone. Suddenly, we heard a noise come from
outside.

“What was that? What was that?” Rufus, the dog, barked excitedly.
“Calm down, boy. It was probably just the wind and trees.” I, the wise cat, exclaimed.
“No, it wasn’t. I can smell something. Someone is out there, I know it.” Rufus went to the
closest door in the direction the noise came from started barking.
“Dog, shut up. There is no one outside. You are just being stupid.”
He continued to bark and bark and bark at nothing but the dark. He finally stopped.
“What a relief to my ears.” I sighed.
“Whatever was out there is gone. I don’t hear them anymore, nor do I smell them,” Rufus
said walking away from the door.
Hours went by and nothing happened. We sat there, in the dark, once again all alone.
Then, we heard it again. But this time it was louder, closer, and maybe even in the
house. This time, Rufus, did nothing. He sat there, shaking.
“Stop being so scared, Rufus. I’ll go see what it was this time,” I exclaimed.
The noise came from upstairs, so that’s where I went. As I climbed the stairs, it got
colder and colder. When I hit the top, I could see that it was storming outside.
Then it hit me.
All the noise we were hearing, was the wind blowing through the branches of the trees
and through the cracks in wall.
“I told that dumb dog he was barking at nothing. It was just the wind.” I said to myself.
“He gave me a headache for no reason. Ohh wait till I tell him how stupid he is.”
I got downstairs, to find Rufus shivering under a blanket, curved like a ball.
“Hey dog!” I yelled.
“W-W-What?” he said in fear.
“It’s storming outside. The noise we kept hearing was just the wind. I told you that you
were just barking at nothing.” I explained proudly.
“B-B-But I heard and smelt something. I was sure of it,” now sounding sad.
“Sorry Rufus.” I apologized
“It’s ok, cat.” he confirmed.
The rest of the night, we sat there waiting for our owners. The noise came and went, but
we paid no attention to it.

Attack of the Hollows

Raul Beltran

One day when Otokonoko was walking home he looked to the street next to him and

there was his friend everyone was ignoring him and Otokonoko was confused. He went to talk to

him.
“Hey Yujin, why is everyone ignoring you like that?”
“You can see me Otokonoko?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Everyone else is acting like I'm dead. My parents are crying about how they lost me, but

I tried to talk to them and they ignore me.”
“I’ll ask the group next to us.”

When Otokonoko went to ask, the people were just staring at him like he was crazy.
“Otokonoko, who are you talking to?”
“I'm talking to Yujin. He's right in front of me.”
“There's no one there, Otokonoko.”

When Otokonoko looked back, Yujin wasn't there. Otokonoko started to walk home and

he saw Yujin in an alley, so he walked up to him. When he saw Yujin, he looked at his face. He

had a mask made of bone. It was really creepy. Yuji started to transform into a monster.
“Yujin, are you ok? What's happening to you?”
“I don't know Otokonoko. I don't like it. Help me!”

Yujin was scared, but Otokonoko tried to help, full of fear of what his friend was turning

into.
“Otokonoko help me, please, I'm scared!”
“Ok, I will hold on.”

When Otokonoko walked up to him, Yuji grabbed him and started to devour his soul.
“Otokonoko, I'm going to kill you and take your soul.”
“Yuji, what are you! What are you doing?”

Yuji was now killing Otokonoko. Yuji turned into a monster of the dead, a Hollow. Now

going to feed off his soul, Otokonoko will probably die now. His face is now covered in a really

scary white bone mask.
“I don't care anymore, Yuji. Kill me now.”
“Yuji was confused and stopped for a minute. While he looked away, Otokonoko turned

into a soul reaper and took out his zanpakuto. When Yuji looked back, Otokonoko had cut his
mask in half, killing him and sending him to hell”.

“Good bye Yuji. My only friend, Death, is your friend now, and I became your enemy.”

The Cornfield

Tye Woodbury

In a cornfield sometime in May, me and my friends were camping in the woods right by

the river. Jonathan and I were going to go jump off the bridge until we heard someone

screaming.
Jon and I ran down the sidewalk by the river. Jon said, “What was that noise?”

I never answered, so we kept on running until we got right by the bottom of the bridge. I
said “I think it was a girl.”

Jon and I saw a girl’s leg. We ran to her, and we thought she was doing fine until we saw
her face. It was all scratched up and she was bleeding really badly, so I told Jon, “Go get help
and hurry!”

“I’ll get help,” Jon said. Jon went to get help, and he went to get all of our friends. Jon
said, “I brought a lot of help.”

One of my other friends said, “I’ll go call the police.”
“Yeah, go do that,” said I.
Jon said, “I’ll go protect him if the same person who did this to the girl shows up.”
“Alright,” I said. We started to help the girl up so she could get to the top of the bridge.

We eventually got her up there.
Jon said, “Why did you bring her up here?”

Then the same person who beat her up came back and tried to finish her off. My friend
David said, “Why are you here?..Leave now!”

The person who tried to finish her off said with a voice changer, “You’re all dead?” All

of our friends finally got him down, and we kept a close eye on him and the girl.

Drama

The Lamp

By Dallon Arehart and Dawson Pardun

Cast of Characters:
-Genie
-Jeff
-Chris

Scene 1

Once upon a time, in a far away and foreign land called Teran,
in an arid desert, in a dig site, an archeologist named
Christopher, is digging for ancient treasures. When he was
digging he broke through the ground and fell into a cavern. When
he got up he saw that the cavern was huge and at the end he saw
a glowing magical lantern that was at the top of a super thick
rocky spire that was over two stories high. Chris could see the
lamp atop the rocky spire. So he starts toward the spire and
starts climbing the spire with just his bare hands. When he got
to the top of the spire he walked to the lamp and picks it up
and examined it and a genie appears.

Chris- Who are you?

Genie- I am the genie of the magical lamp and you are my master
now.

Chris- So I’m your master now... I thought you were just a myth.

Genie- No, I am much more than a myth. It means you are my
master and you have three wishes; spend them wisely.

Chris- Ok, so I have three wishes to spend, and it can be
whatever I want?

Genie- Yes, but heed my warning: these wishes can be a gift as
well as a grief.

Chris- Ok, but first, let’s get out of this cavern.

Genie- Do you wish this on me or will you find your own way out?

Chris- I will find my way out. I have my own idea on how to get
out of this cavern. Now will you get back in the lamp?

Genie- Yes, as you wish, Master.

Chris now tries to find his way out of the cavern with all of
the resources he has on him. After several failed attempts of
trying to get out of the deep cavern, he grunts then he tries
and tries one more time so he pulls the lamp out and asks him a
question.

Chris- I summon you to me, Genie!

Genie- Yes Master, would you like to use a wish now?

Chris- Yes. I've been trying for the past hour. I would like to
use a wish to get me out of here and back to the main dig site.

Genie- Your wish is my command, Master.

The genie rises into the air and starts muttering in ancient
Egyptian. He raises his hands into the air and blue wisps of
smoke come out of his fingers and whisk towards Chris and then
zips into his nostrils. The next thing he knows he’s back at his
old dig site, but not his new one.

Scene 2

Chris- Thanks a lot. Now let’s start thinking on what I want to
use my other two wishes on...but first we need to leave this dig
site and fly back to the states.

Genie- Ok. Do you want to use another wish for that?

Chris- No thanks. I want to use them for something else. I have
a car we can take to get to the airport.

Genie- All right, if you say so.

Chris enters the car and starts driving towards the town where
the airport lies at.

Chris- Alright. We're here. We need to get to the plane. I need
you to get back in the lamp.

Genie- Ok, I will do so, Master.

The genie flew towards his lamp and he went back into his lamp.
After Chris tells the genie to get back in the lamp, he walks
toward the airport so he can get back to the states. He walks up
to the pilot and asks him to get ready.

Chris- Hey Jeff, it’s time to get back to the states.

Jeff- Ok

Chris- Ok. Well, we might want to get going. It’s supposed to
storm tonight.

Jeff- Yeah, I saw it in the newspaper I was reading. It’s a
thunderstorm too.

Scene 3

Chris walks to the plane and gets into the plane and Jeff climbs
into the cockpit and starts the plane up and the party takes
off.

Jeff- Are you doing alright back there?

Chris- Yeah, it’s just a bit bumpy. I wish we could get to the
ground faster though…
Genie- Your wish is my command, Master.

Chris- No! I didn’t mean it in that way! You’re going to get us
killed!

Genie- Once you say I wish, I grant whatever you say.

As soon as the genie got done talking there was a flash from
inside lamp and then a big bolt of lightning struck the left
wing, searing it off. Then the plane was heading toward the
ground fast.

Chris- What did you just do?

Genie- I did just as you said and made it so we could get to the
ground faster.

The plane was approaching the ground faster than he would have
liked, and in the cockpit Jeff was lying there dead in his seat.
Chris did the only thing he could have done--grabbed the
parachute and jumped out of the left side of the plane where
there was once a wing.

As Chris and the lamp with the genie were falling, Chris pulled
the string on the parachute, but what popped out was not a
parachute, it was food. As Chris plummeted to his death, he made
his last wish: he wished for his death to be epic. So the genie
made it so there was a boiling lake of lava beneath him.

The curtain falls.

Humpty Dumpty
By Caden Jenks

Cast of Characters:

Humpty Dumpty
King’s horses
King’s men

There is a castle surrounded by a wall, and on the side the king doesn’t own the ground is
gravel.
Humpty Dumpty: I’m going to go sit on this wall, hope I don’t roll off.
King’s man 1: Don’t fall.
Humpty Dumpty: Don’t worry, I won’t.
King’s man 2: Ok, hope not. We’re gonna go now.
Humpty Dumpty is sitting on the wall.
Humpty Dumpty: Good thing I haven’t fallen yet.
Humpty Dumpty falls of the wall.
King’s man 1: Oh no! He’s fallen!
King’s man 2: We have to fix him.

King’s man 1: I’m afraid it’s too late. He died.
The king’s horses are trying to put him back together.
King’s man 1: We can’t put him back together.
King’s man 2: He’s dead.
The curtain closes.

Hansel and Gretel
Anthony Huerta

Cast of Characters:
Hansel
Gretel
Witch

Narrator: Once upon a time there were two children. Their names were Hansel & Gretel. They
were lost in the woods and could not find their way home.

Gretel: I cannot believe that our parents would leave us out in the woods with no way home!

Hansel: Don’t worry, we’ll find our own way home.

Gretel: Okay, let’s go.

Hansel and Gretel start to run.

Hansel: I see a house! Let’s go to it.

Gretel: It’s made of candy.

Hansel and Gretel start to eat the house made of candy.

Witch: (from inside) Who is eating my house?! The witch goes outside

Narrator: The Witch grabs Hansel and Gretel. She puts Hansel in a cell and she treats Gretel
like a slave. The witch is blind, and she is trying to make Hansel fat to eat him. She checks each
time to see if he is fat enough to eat. She would tell him to put his finger out, but he would stick
out a chicken bone to fool her. Until finally...

Witch: I don’t care how skinny you are, I am going to eat you! Little girl, get the firewood! Gretel
gets the firewood. Is it hot enough yet?!

Gretel: I can’t tell if it is hot or not.

Witch: Dumb little... you need to lean over. The witch leans over the stove.

Narrator: Gretel pushed the witch into the oven! Gretel got Hansel out of the cell. They both
went home, where they saw their stepmom and dad. Their stepmom was not happy to see
them, but there Dad was really happy to see them. They lived happily ever after.



Sadness

Sadness is….
Sadness is losing someone you love.
Sadness is never being able to talk to your mom.
Sadness is seeing one of your best friends missing photo everywhere and not
being able to help.
Sadness is seeing your gramma in pain and hurting.
Sadness is seeing your little sister cry when they have to leave you.
Sadness is no one believing you even when you’re telling the truth.
Sadness is sitting up at 2am in the morning crying because you feel like you did
something wrong.
Sadness is someone else eating your food.
Sadness is seeing someone having to put something back
at the check stand cause they don't have enough money to buy something.
Sadness is many things to many people, some the same, most different.

Dominique Trujillo

Paper

The ripped up thoughts of authors,
The passed around notes of students,

The plain paper you stare at;
Your ultimate grade in your younger years,
The paper that holds the words of your thoughts and deepest secrets.
The paper, it kills trees, slowly killing mankind.

Faith Borgeman

Confusion

Confusion is as grey and black as the road is, it’s long and feels never ending like
confusion and you just don’t know what to do. Confusion happens when you find
yourself stuck between two options but you don’t like either option and you just feel
stuck in the middle. Confusion is that empty feeling inside, confusion is what I get when

I’m doing something bad and I feel like I shouldn’t do it when I’m doing it.

Joel Rodriguez

The human life

The human life is so crazy,
So much love and hate
On every single date.

Life changes, goes up and down
You will never know until it comes around.

But don't waste a day in anger
Or regret, keep joy in your heart,
Your needs will be met.

Lance Rider

The Raven

A fat furry animal
With sharp filed claws with big eyes

With long skinny legs

A scary black raven
Screams at the sight of people

And people fear the raven

A new moon shines bright
As bright as anyone's future
But come positive as the bright moon

Naomi Chia

Haiku?
Joel Rodriguez

Small and brown with dirt all around it
Never moves but is part of life

Water moves above it as if it was alive

Falling from above
But not from the sky above
Once was green but now it’s orange

Long and pointy horns
Running through long dry grass

Scratching its belly on a post

Tyler Drake

Nature’s an amazing place
Cherry blossoms swaying in the wind
The smell of cut grass

The yellow buzzing bees
The loud, mighty dogs barking and growling
Wind whistling through tree branches

The orange tough brick wall
The hot black tarry asphalt
The birds chirping in the evening

Football Sunday

Sunday church day funday game day
Football Sunday Cardinals vs Cowboys
Family serious before and after dinner
Waiting to see the winner
Next day Monday Night football
Brown football Playin with older cousin

Angel Rebollozo

Dominic Laugharn

Sadness and anger builds up as you find out the one you loved the most passed away.
Anger is as red as stop sign, sadness is as blue as an ocean.
Anger happens when you go to do a trick and get hurt

--it doesn't hurt, but you get really angry.
Sadness sounds like something breaking that was important to you.
Sadness and anger are two difficult feelings to deal with at one time.

Path

Shoes, you walk in them. We walk into the path we may trip over our laces. But we get up and
tie our shoes.

Whiteboards, we write on them. But we erase our mistakes. And we shouldn't do that because
that's our past. We have to look back to move forward in the future.

Naomi Chia

Back row (left to right): Alex Moor, Caden Jenks, Tye Woodbury, Tyler Drake, Koneisha Ray, Zach Martinez

Front row (left to right): Raul Beltran, Dallon Arehart, Shade Davis, Dawson Pardun, Dominic Laugharn, Angel Rebollozo, Anthony

Huerta, Naomi Chia, Faith Borgeman

Kneeling: Joel Rodriguez Not in the picture: Dominique Trujillo, Lance Rider