Quote #1:
1." 'Yo freak, where you from?' I turned and told him I was from Sudan. 'You know,' the teenager said, tilting his head and sizing me up, 'you're one of those Africans who sold us out.' He went on in this vein for some time, and it became clear he thought I was responsible for the enslaving of his ancestors. Accordingly, he and his friend followed me for a block, talking to my back, again suggesting I go back to Africa" This was said on the end of 18 until the end of the first paragraph on page 19, by a random African American teenage boy and his friend who were telling Valentino this and following him on his way home.
2. The important thing about this quote is that Valentino (the protagonist) can't even turn to people of his own race, that they also will say to leave America. It's sad because it shows just how much hardship Valentino along with many many other African refugees and/or immigrants went through. It also shows something about Valentino's personality in particular. There are many different ways people could react to this. Somebody in Valentino's position could choose to call the cops, yell at the boys, punch them, etc. etc. What Valentino did though, was ignore them to the best of his abilities, and carry on with what he was doing, and this shows he can be peaceful and ignore people like those boys.
3. (Personal Connection) Something along those lines has happened to me before, where a person was being unnecessarily annoying. Just like Valentino, I continued what I was doing and ignored them. Unlike Valentino's experience though, they didn't follow me anywhere (which is a good thing).
4. What do you think Valentino should have done, and why?
Quote #2:
1. " Under the cover of night they are now brazen---they take two trips each to bring all of the apartment's valuables to the car. And now they are standing above me. 'Well, Africa, I hope this has been educational,' Tonya says. 'Thanks for your hospitality, brother,' Powder adds. They are ebullient with the possibility of their clean and imminent getaway." This was said by Tonya and Powder, two partners in crime robbing Valentino. It can be located at the end of page 22.
2. This is when the robbers Tonya and Powder are about to escape, and it's really quite horrible because all of his valuables (most of which were donated by generous people) will be stolen. As if that's not enough, these despicable thieves are being smug about it. It also signifies that this detestable event is almost over, and while Valentino will have to recover from it, at least he is alive and almost out of this situation.
3. (Personal Connection) I once saw a news report where a trio of burglers did something along these lines to a man living alone in his apartment. They tied him up and gagged him, then stole a lot of his things, and that shows that the kind of things like this in this book, can happen in real life (unfortunately).
4. If Tonya and Powder were caught and sent to court, what would you do if you were the deciding judge, to make sure there is justice?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Liberty Station Musuem Field Trip Reflection
From Haven to Home exhibit:
The point of this exhibit was to teach us everything about Judaism in America. The history, the politics, the famous people, the laws, the landmarks, events like the Holocaust, all of that was covered in this exhibit. For instance, the start of the Jewish religion in America was in 1654, where 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam. This was something totally new to me as I had never thought of when or where Jews came to America. When we looked at the famous Jewish people section, I noticed that renowned inventor Albert Einstein was Jewish, as was Ruth Handler, more popularly known a the inventor of the Barbie doll.
Another interesting fact about people and the Jewish religion is that Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were anti-semantic, which means they were prejudiced against and discriminated Jews. I was very surprised at the famous people who I've heard of all my life but never known they were practicing or against Judaism. Speaking of prejudiced, the tour guide told us something you won't find written in the exhibit. She told us how there was prejudice towards Jews inside the religion. By that I mean, the German Jews who came earliest, were prejudiced towards the more eastern Jews who came a little later.
A famous Jewish landmark in America is the Touro Synagogue, which is the first synagogue to be built in America. It was opened over 200 years ago, in 1763. In the early 19th century, the state of Maryland passed the "Jew Bill". In that state (along with Massachusetts) Jewish people couldn't run for office because if they won they would have to take thier oath on a Christian bible, so the Jew Bill fixed this and stated that Jewish people in office did not have to go through that (although they still had to make their oaths). The bill passed in 1825. Also in the 19th century, a Jewish poet named Emma Lazarus wrote lines that to this day, are engraved into the base of the statue of liberty.
Times like the Holocaust were horrible. During the Holocaust, only 200,000 Jews were able to be safe in America. The number may sound like a lot, but compare it to the six million other Jews who fell victim to this time outside of the U.S.A. The last thing I learned from this exhibit before we left was that Yiddish, a Jewish language, was made up of German, mixed with Russian and Hebrew.
Children of Immigrants Exhibit:
My favorite picture was "Boy from Albania is fingerprinted upon arrival", taken in 1999 inside the O'Hare International Airport. The main reason I like it is because the little boy looks unhappy and confused, which are the common emotions for most of the immigrants and their children. It also helps I'm proud of my Albanian heritage.
My favorite quote was "I believe as an individual I can help America achieve it's goals. I remember last year I helped collect canned foods for the soup kitchen. Also I raised money when the Twin Towers fell. I believe thins like this may seem little, but they can amount to larger and bigger things". This really stuck out to me, because it had a lesson, that every person makes a difference, and I liked the philosophy this quote contained.
I liked the essay by Roger Yan, called "The Untold Story of a Chinese American". It was a boy talking about his immigrant father, I liked it because it was very unique, descriptive and harrowing. It involved his dad dealing with communism to pirates to opening a liquor store in our very own San Diego.
The point of this exhibit was to teach us everything about Judaism in America. The history, the politics, the famous people, the laws, the landmarks, events like the Holocaust, all of that was covered in this exhibit. For instance, the start of the Jewish religion in America was in 1654, where 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam. This was something totally new to me as I had never thought of when or where Jews came to America. When we looked at the famous Jewish people section, I noticed that renowned inventor Albert Einstein was Jewish, as was Ruth Handler, more popularly known a the inventor of the Barbie doll.
Another interesting fact about people and the Jewish religion is that Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were anti-semantic, which means they were prejudiced against and discriminated Jews. I was very surprised at the famous people who I've heard of all my life but never known they were practicing or against Judaism. Speaking of prejudiced, the tour guide told us something you won't find written in the exhibit. She told us how there was prejudice towards Jews inside the religion. By that I mean, the German Jews who came earliest, were prejudiced towards the more eastern Jews who came a little later.
A famous Jewish landmark in America is the Touro Synagogue, which is the first synagogue to be built in America. It was opened over 200 years ago, in 1763. In the early 19th century, the state of Maryland passed the "Jew Bill". In that state (along with Massachusetts) Jewish people couldn't run for office because if they won they would have to take thier oath on a Christian bible, so the Jew Bill fixed this and stated that Jewish people in office did not have to go through that (although they still had to make their oaths). The bill passed in 1825. Also in the 19th century, a Jewish poet named Emma Lazarus wrote lines that to this day, are engraved into the base of the statue of liberty.
Times like the Holocaust were horrible. During the Holocaust, only 200,000 Jews were able to be safe in America. The number may sound like a lot, but compare it to the six million other Jews who fell victim to this time outside of the U.S.A. The last thing I learned from this exhibit before we left was that Yiddish, a Jewish language, was made up of German, mixed with Russian and Hebrew.
Children of Immigrants Exhibit:
My favorite picture was "Boy from Albania is fingerprinted upon arrival", taken in 1999 inside the O'Hare International Airport. The main reason I like it is because the little boy looks unhappy and confused, which are the common emotions for most of the immigrants and their children. It also helps I'm proud of my Albanian heritage.
My favorite quote was "I believe as an individual I can help America achieve it's goals. I remember last year I helped collect canned foods for the soup kitchen. Also I raised money when the Twin Towers fell. I believe thins like this may seem little, but they can amount to larger and bigger things". This really stuck out to me, because it had a lesson, that every person makes a difference, and I liked the philosophy this quote contained.
I liked the essay by Roger Yan, called "The Untold Story of a Chinese American". It was a boy talking about his immigrant father, I liked it because it was very unique, descriptive and harrowing. It involved his dad dealing with communism to pirates to opening a liquor store in our very own San Diego.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Book Review #1
The Color of Water by James McBride
Reviewed By Kevin Dervishi
The Color of Water is a very unique book about and written by James McBride. It is not an action book or a large bundle of emotions. It’s a memoir of a man’s life, James McBride. And his life, just like the book, is very unique. The book shows the entire path of his life; and the life before him. Around half the book is told by his mother, Ruth McBride whose tale is just as interesting. They both show the roads they took, all the stones they passed, and what lies underneath them.
Ruth McBride is a different woman with a strange tale. She's a white Jewish woman converted to Christianity that had two husbands, both black in a time of segregation and racism. As a young girl she ran away from her sick mother and cretin of a father. After dealing with trial after trial she finally manages to get a home, and raise a family with her husband. She has a baby. And then another. And another. And another until eventually she had 12 kids.
James McBride is one of those kids. All 12 kids (including James) had to deal with racism and everything it causes. As you can imagine his family was incredibly poor, and adding that to the struggles they've all been dealing with, well, that might just drive everybody crazy. James has to cope with this all, and make a future for himself in the chaos of his crowded house.
The Color of Water is a book many people wouldn't like. Anyone under 13 probably wouldn't be interested, and it does contain some mature themes, but aside from that, the main reason is that this book is all about life. It doesn't have some lesson out of a made up situation, because it's real, the whole book is real, and it's them is life. It's theme is life and nothing but. It's a riveting tale of a mother and her son's life that deals with all the elements of life itself, and you have to be the type of person that can enjoy that and appreciate it. I did, and I give it a four out of five.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Journal #8
Chapters 11 and 12: ...
Piggy
Words cannot express my numbness from the past 24 hours. I'm not going to hide the truth. The journal you are reading is that of a dead man. At the moment I'm not even sure how my ethereal self is able to write this. Alright I realize this journal is starting to make as much sense as the past 24 hours so I'll explain what happened. "You were supposed to be the intelligence of this group, the lone voice of reason replacing their absent conscience. And now look what you've done, they've all fallen apart into savages and you've even bloody broken your specs." Auntie tells me. Suddenly she starts fading away, her sternness never departing from her expression. "Don't leave me Auntie!" I cried. I sat up suddenly, realizing I was having a nightmare. As much of a nightmare this island was itself, I wish I could see. See the barren never ending horizon, see the vibrant hues of the sun rising unopposed by the gray dim clouds. But I doubt I'll ever see again. Yes, I'm afraid my sight has come to a cessation I told myself. It was depressing but true. I felt like yelling an ululation, one that would go past this puny island and be free, free to stretch across to the heavens. Too bad I can't scream that loud. I sit miserably and wait, until eventually Ralph wakes up. He calls a meeting. "We're going down to Castle Rock boys"
Piggy
Words cannot express my numbness from the past 24 hours. I'm not going to hide the truth. The journal you are reading is that of a dead man. At the moment I'm not even sure how my ethereal self is able to write this. Alright I realize this journal is starting to make as much sense as the past 24 hours so I'll explain what happened. "You were supposed to be the intelligence of this group, the lone voice of reason replacing their absent conscience. And now look what you've done, they've all fallen apart into savages and you've even bloody broken your specs." Auntie tells me. Suddenly she starts fading away, her sternness never departing from her expression. "Don't leave me Auntie!" I cried. I sat up suddenly, realizing I was having a nightmare. As much of a nightmare this island was itself, I wish I could see. See the barren never ending horizon, see the vibrant hues of the sun rising unopposed by the gray dim clouds. But I doubt I'll ever see again. Yes, I'm afraid my sight has come to a cessation I told myself. It was depressing but true. I felt like yelling an ululation, one that would go past this puny island and be free, free to stretch across to the heavens. Too bad I can't scream that loud. I sit miserably and wait, until eventually Ralph wakes up. He calls a meeting. "We're going down to Castle Rock boys"
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Journal #7
Chapters 9 and 10: The Dance of Death
Simon
I woke up, to the sound of a voice. "Simon. Simon. Wake up. You don't want me to get mad now Simon." I looked up. All the terror that was purged by my restless faint immediately returned three-fold. "Get away!" I shouted at the skull, wondering if the answer to this strange was theological. That was the skull that started all this, the one that brought us here, for before I fainted in the middle of it's illumination. It wanted me dead. It was evil and nothing but. As I stared into the black, cold tunnels of it's eyes, it's jaw grinned with an evil malice. "What are you looking at?" it said flashing a grin. There was nothing left of me in that spot but footprints. "HAHAHAHAHAHA" I could hear it's evil laugh as thorns whipped at my corpulent, beat up body. I was gone, a blur through the trees, not caring where I was going, just running away from the evil of the Lord Of The Flies. Panting, I stopped to breath. A rock at my feet started to move. It looked as if bugs were crawling under it, sending the rock into a wriggling movement. Suddenly it shaped itself into...the LOTF, "HAHAHA RUN SIMON RUN, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR DOOM." it's hollow eye tunnels burst into flames. My feet ran once more, pain and thought replaced solely by adrenaline.
Simon
I woke up, to the sound of a voice. "Simon. Simon. Wake up. You don't want me to get mad now Simon." I looked up. All the terror that was purged by my restless faint immediately returned three-fold. "Get away!" I shouted at the skull, wondering if the answer to this strange was theological. That was the skull that started all this, the one that brought us here, for before I fainted in the middle of it's illumination. It wanted me dead. It was evil and nothing but. As I stared into the black, cold tunnels of it's eyes, it's jaw grinned with an evil malice. "What are you looking at?" it said flashing a grin. There was nothing left of me in that spot but footprints. "HAHAHAHAHAHA" I could hear it's evil laugh as thorns whipped at my corpulent, beat up body. I was gone, a blur through the trees, not caring where I was going, just running away from the evil of the Lord Of The Flies. Panting, I stopped to breath. A rock at my feet started to move. It looked as if bugs were crawling under it, sending the rock into a wriggling movement. Suddenly it shaped itself into...the LOTF, "HAHAHA RUN SIMON RUN, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR DOOM." it's hollow eye tunnels burst into flames. My feet ran once more, pain and thought replaced solely by adrenaline.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Journal #6
Chapter 8: It finally happened
Piggy
Praise the lord! Happy day, oh happy day! This is the best thing I could have asked for (aside from being rescued or auntie coming of course) on this hellhole of an island. That demoniac bloke Jack is gone, no more, out into the jungle in shame and never coming back and mocking me or socking me. Oh joy, to see his face, with those two bars of ol' man river. His expression, one of utter disbelief and disgrace, was so fitting. How many times would he pick on me, not 1 on 1, but in front of every single boy present. What number of times was it that he would call me names, and discriminate me for my difference. There are still some demure issues to deal with. I'm getting ahead of myself. I know I'm the only one who's ever (going to) read this or my previous journal entries, but a reader would be totally lost with what I'm talking about. So here I am the morning after everybody except the littluns left, pulling my hair out trying to keep track of the littluns despite Barry's constant whining about his cat mittens, or Jimmy's annoying antics of inserting crabs down the back of my shirt while I'm not looking. The hope of being rescued was becoming a taboo in my head. Suddenly I see Percival point at an opening in the trees. I nearly fell over in releif. Through those trees came Ralph, Simon, all the other biguns, and that pigheaded Jack in front of them. Finally I could be done with this hellish babysitting job, AND find out news about the beastie. I never saw any babysitters on that one American show, what's it called...Gilligan's Island, that's it. Those Americans are too misleading with their sitcoms. Anyways, as I neared them, I saw they had expressions that were angry, fearful, or both. That conceited Jack was boiling mad, perhaps worse than the time he got me in the gut. I swear the prefects at his old school must have to set somebody to watch him every day. Jerk. As it turns out, everybody waited at the bottom of the mountain, and only Jack, Ralph, and Roger went up. I'm sure it was Jack who made the foolhardy decision to go up there at night. Their description of the beastie paled my face though. I could never imagine it had a nest of skulls, or that it had claws the size of my head. Anyways, once they saw the monstrosity, they ran back to the others and evacuated the area immediately. And here they all were. Jack, still looking waxy, grabbed the conch from Ralph, ran ahead of everyone, and started- I mean tried- to blow it. As silly as it sounded when he blew it with his mouth and his puny intellect, everyone crowded around him in light of this rushed meeting. Jack then proceeded to speak in more detail of the beast how he'd like to paunch it, and then, out of nowhere, he (verbally) attacked Ralph mercilessly. That fool called him a coward, said he wasn't fit to be our leader. That ego-maniac only wants everyone to think he's a better chief. And then, he decided to end it, too bad (for him) it ended differently than he had excepted. He told everybody to vote whether Ralph should be de-throned and he leader, or not. He shouted, "Who wants me for leader?" with the cockiness he loved. But happily for me, a deadly silence greeted his idea. He said it again, his arrogance breaking apart. This time the silence was solid and blunt. "Alright then" he said. He attempted to hide his tears under that mop of hair. He placed the conch on the ground, and ran off. I was about to cheer, but then I saw Ralph calling after him and I decided not to. Minutes later after everybody disperses, lost in their own thoughts, I see Ralph slinking off towards the pool, visibly depressed. I go to him and tell him one of the ideas I came up with when I had to telling Kernel why we couldn't go to the fire and light it again. I says to him, "Hey Ralph, don't be so down, listen, I've got an idea." For the moment he loses those tendrils of thought and is interested by the tone of my voice. "Why does that have to be the only fire area if we can't even get there? Why don't just build a fire here on the beach?" He greets my idea with a thoughtful expression, one with intellect rather than depression. "Of course it won't be as big or make as much (smoke)" I add. "But we can use them green candle plants to make some smoke and we'll be right at hand to put on more wood." Things seemed cheery. Ralph was lost in thought, thinking of my idea. As his thoughts start to drift into other areas, he asks me, "Where's Roger and Bill?" This sudden question surprised me. We both realized that they along with a few other biguns, were missing. Our eyes both trailed to the jungle, and we silently agreed that they must have run off and joined Jack. This was a bit of downer. We separating, each brooding for most of the day. Around dusk, we actually went and built the fire. Rather small, but not smaller than I excpected, so I didn't really mind. Unfortunately, there as no smoke. We decided to worry about it the next day. Suddenly, and bunch of savages with painted faces emerged from the jungle of tall trees. They came out screaming, and I nearly wet myself. Ralph however, was brave, and stayed near the fire, realizing what they were after, and attempting to protect it. I'm afraid however, two smaller savages came and grabbed two pieces of burning wood, and before Ralph could stop them, sprinted away. They, along with the rest of the savages, went into from where they came, and the whole thing ended as fast as it started. Then SamN'Eric emerged from the trees, saying how they narrowly avoided the savages that I realized was Jack and the ones who decided to join him. Strange how they came out unscathed and right after the savages left. I could have sworn I even saw some red stuff next to Eric's right eye, but he and Sam dismissed it as blood from a cut when they ran away from the savages. I'll be keeping my eye on them.
*Note from the writer: The nest of skulls and head-claws comment was to show how out of proportion things got because of their fear and the blindness that ensued darkness.
Piggy
Praise the lord! Happy day, oh happy day! This is the best thing I could have asked for (aside from being rescued or auntie coming of course) on this hellhole of an island. That demoniac bloke Jack is gone, no more, out into the jungle in shame and never coming back and mocking me or socking me. Oh joy, to see his face, with those two bars of ol' man river. His expression, one of utter disbelief and disgrace, was so fitting. How many times would he pick on me, not 1 on 1, but in front of every single boy present. What number of times was it that he would call me names, and discriminate me for my difference. There are still some demure issues to deal with. I'm getting ahead of myself. I know I'm the only one who's ever (going to) read this or my previous journal entries, but a reader would be totally lost with what I'm talking about. So here I am the morning after everybody except the littluns left, pulling my hair out trying to keep track of the littluns despite Barry's constant whining about his cat mittens, or Jimmy's annoying antics of inserting crabs down the back of my shirt while I'm not looking. The hope of being rescued was becoming a taboo in my head. Suddenly I see Percival point at an opening in the trees. I nearly fell over in releif. Through those trees came Ralph, Simon, all the other biguns, and that pigheaded Jack in front of them. Finally I could be done with this hellish babysitting job, AND find out news about the beastie. I never saw any babysitters on that one American show, what's it called...Gilligan's Island, that's it. Those Americans are too misleading with their sitcoms. Anyways, as I neared them, I saw they had expressions that were angry, fearful, or both. That conceited Jack was boiling mad, perhaps worse than the time he got me in the gut. I swear the prefects at his old school must have to set somebody to watch him every day. Jerk. As it turns out, everybody waited at the bottom of the mountain, and only Jack, Ralph, and Roger went up. I'm sure it was Jack who made the foolhardy decision to go up there at night. Their description of the beastie paled my face though. I could never imagine it had a nest of skulls, or that it had claws the size of my head. Anyways, once they saw the monstrosity, they ran back to the others and evacuated the area immediately. And here they all were. Jack, still looking waxy, grabbed the conch from Ralph, ran ahead of everyone, and started- I mean tried- to blow it. As silly as it sounded when he blew it with his mouth and his puny intellect, everyone crowded around him in light of this rushed meeting. Jack then proceeded to speak in more detail of the beast how he'd like to paunch it, and then, out of nowhere, he (verbally) attacked Ralph mercilessly. That fool called him a coward, said he wasn't fit to be our leader. That ego-maniac only wants everyone to think he's a better chief. And then, he decided to end it, too bad (for him) it ended differently than he had excepted. He told everybody to vote whether Ralph should be de-throned and he leader, or not. He shouted, "Who wants me for leader?" with the cockiness he loved. But happily for me, a deadly silence greeted his idea. He said it again, his arrogance breaking apart. This time the silence was solid and blunt. "Alright then" he said. He attempted to hide his tears under that mop of hair. He placed the conch on the ground, and ran off. I was about to cheer, but then I saw Ralph calling after him and I decided not to. Minutes later after everybody disperses, lost in their own thoughts, I see Ralph slinking off towards the pool, visibly depressed. I go to him and tell him one of the ideas I came up with when I had to telling Kernel why we couldn't go to the fire and light it again. I says to him, "Hey Ralph, don't be so down, listen, I've got an idea." For the moment he loses those tendrils of thought and is interested by the tone of my voice. "Why does that have to be the only fire area if we can't even get there? Why don't just build a fire here on the beach?" He greets my idea with a thoughtful expression, one with intellect rather than depression. "Of course it won't be as big or make as much (smoke)" I add. "But we can use them green candle plants to make some smoke and we'll be right at hand to put on more wood." Things seemed cheery. Ralph was lost in thought, thinking of my idea. As his thoughts start to drift into other areas, he asks me, "Where's Roger and Bill?" This sudden question surprised me. We both realized that they along with a few other biguns, were missing. Our eyes both trailed to the jungle, and we silently agreed that they must have run off and joined Jack. This was a bit of downer. We separating, each brooding for most of the day. Around dusk, we actually went and built the fire. Rather small, but not smaller than I excpected, so I didn't really mind. Unfortunately, there as no smoke. We decided to worry about it the next day. Suddenly, and bunch of savages with painted faces emerged from the jungle of tall trees. They came out screaming, and I nearly wet myself. Ralph however, was brave, and stayed near the fire, realizing what they were after, and attempting to protect it. I'm afraid however, two smaller savages came and grabbed two pieces of burning wood, and before Ralph could stop them, sprinted away. They, along with the rest of the savages, went into from where they came, and the whole thing ended as fast as it started. Then SamN'Eric emerged from the trees, saying how they narrowly avoided the savages that I realized was Jack and the ones who decided to join him. Strange how they came out unscathed and right after the savages left. I could have sworn I even saw some red stuff next to Eric's right eye, but he and Sam dismissed it as blood from a cut when they ran away from the savages. I'll be keeping my eye on them.
*Note from the writer: The nest of skulls and head-claws comment was to show how out of proportion things got because of their fear and the blindness that ensued darkness.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Journal #5
Chapters 6 and 7: Fright and a Beast-hunt
Ralph
I was woken up to a shout, realizing it was the twins SamN'Eric chattering and flailing their arms in a panicked fashion, "The beastie, Ralph, we saw it-" "big claws and teeth, nearly got me". The words took some time to register but once they did I told them, "Call a meeting NOW" This was bad, very, very bad. I didn't expect the beastie to be real. It means the littluns were right and the biguns were wrong. The thought I allowed such a thing to happen made me feel like guano. For once the dun, interminable darkness was helpful, because now I could think without interruption. The best thing to do would be to hunt it down and kill it before it would hurt one of us or more. We weren't impervious to it and we're lucky we didn't get attacked by it while we didn't know it was real. Calming myself as SamN'Eric brought forward everybody. In the darkness I announced that SamN'Eric had seen the beastie, and when the sun comes up we would go and hunt it. Some were frightened, some were excited and bloodthirsty. Jack was positively waxy about this new development, especially since he was leader of the hunters. While he was speaking and active, I asked if there was anywhere he hadn't been. He stubbornly admitted he hadn't been past the rocks near the mountain. It was decided. That would be our 1st destination, and if we found nothing we would head to the original spotting of the beastie, the mountain. Later in the morning, we all went hiking, Jack taking the lead. Once we climb almost to the top I tell Jack with a bravado, "I'm leader, I'll go ahead, you stay and wait for the all-clear." I get to the top and disappointingly all I find a large cave. "What a place for a fort!" Jack exclaimed. We was visibly interested and kept coming up with ideas for the cave. Suddenly everyone was fooling around. This wasn't the plan, we were supposed to kill the beastie and stay safe, not fool around. I walk out and stare at the ocean. The only barrier keeping us from home, a behemoth, alone yet unstoppable in it's volume. A cruel mistress, taunting us in our captivity, I felt like we'll never get rescued. Suddenly Simon comes and says, "I think you'll get back to where you came from" This cheers me up. Batty bloke, cheering up an ally. I shout at everyone and say we need to head to the mountain to hunt for the beastie, some mutinously continuing to throw boulders off the cliff some listening and some coming with me. Eventually we're all hiking again with Jack in the lead. About halfway there we take a detour into the pig-run. Suddenly a big beast comes towards us. Tusks, fur and a large husk of a body, it charged towards us with a animalistic yell. Using my built-up adrenaline, I heaved the make-shift spear and pegged it right in the snout. I shouted, "I hit it". It shrieked and ran off. We gave chase, but it got away. Again I shouted, "I hit it!" smiling happily. Suddenly, I saw everyone making a circle towards Robert. I heard the chant, it flowed through me like my blood(lust). I yelled, "KILL HIM, KILL HIM", caught up in the game. After we all calm down we continue. Everything seems unchanged for a while, but then when we start on the mountain trail, everybody leaves, aware of the approaching darkness that dusk always brings. I suggested to Jack and Roger, the only remaining people, that we sleep and wait for morning, otherwise we won't be able to find the beastie. They didn't listen, and he acted too jeeringly for me to leave them alone. We hiked up, but almost at the top, the blanket of darkness engulfed us. We persisted, and we made it to the top. Nothing could have prepared me for what i saw. I giant beast, the size of an ape, black and swinging. We all dropped our spears and ran to warn the others.
Ralph
I was woken up to a shout, realizing it was the twins SamN'Eric chattering and flailing their arms in a panicked fashion, "The beastie, Ralph, we saw it-" "big claws and teeth, nearly got me". The words took some time to register but once they did I told them, "Call a meeting NOW" This was bad, very, very bad. I didn't expect the beastie to be real. It means the littluns were right and the biguns were wrong. The thought I allowed such a thing to happen made me feel like guano. For once the dun, interminable darkness was helpful, because now I could think without interruption. The best thing to do would be to hunt it down and kill it before it would hurt one of us or more. We weren't impervious to it and we're lucky we didn't get attacked by it while we didn't know it was real. Calming myself as SamN'Eric brought forward everybody. In the darkness I announced that SamN'Eric had seen the beastie, and when the sun comes up we would go and hunt it. Some were frightened, some were excited and bloodthirsty. Jack was positively waxy about this new development, especially since he was leader of the hunters. While he was speaking and active, I asked if there was anywhere he hadn't been. He stubbornly admitted he hadn't been past the rocks near the mountain. It was decided. That would be our 1st destination, and if we found nothing we would head to the original spotting of the beastie, the mountain. Later in the morning, we all went hiking, Jack taking the lead. Once we climb almost to the top I tell Jack with a bravado, "I'm leader, I'll go ahead, you stay and wait for the all-clear." I get to the top and disappointingly all I find a large cave. "What a place for a fort!" Jack exclaimed. We was visibly interested and kept coming up with ideas for the cave. Suddenly everyone was fooling around. This wasn't the plan, we were supposed to kill the beastie and stay safe, not fool around. I walk out and stare at the ocean. The only barrier keeping us from home, a behemoth, alone yet unstoppable in it's volume. A cruel mistress, taunting us in our captivity, I felt like we'll never get rescued. Suddenly Simon comes and says, "I think you'll get back to where you came from" This cheers me up. Batty bloke, cheering up an ally. I shout at everyone and say we need to head to the mountain to hunt for the beastie, some mutinously continuing to throw boulders off the cliff some listening and some coming with me. Eventually we're all hiking again with Jack in the lead. About halfway there we take a detour into the pig-run. Suddenly a big beast comes towards us. Tusks, fur and a large husk of a body, it charged towards us with a animalistic yell. Using my built-up adrenaline, I heaved the make-shift spear and pegged it right in the snout. I shouted, "I hit it". It shrieked and ran off. We gave chase, but it got away. Again I shouted, "I hit it!" smiling happily. Suddenly, I saw everyone making a circle towards Robert. I heard the chant, it flowed through me like my blood(lust). I yelled, "KILL HIM, KILL HIM", caught up in the game. After we all calm down we continue. Everything seems unchanged for a while, but then when we start on the mountain trail, everybody leaves, aware of the approaching darkness that dusk always brings. I suggested to Jack and Roger, the only remaining people, that we sleep and wait for morning, otherwise we won't be able to find the beastie. They didn't listen, and he acted too jeeringly for me to leave them alone. We hiked up, but almost at the top, the blanket of darkness engulfed us. We persisted, and we made it to the top. Nothing could have prepared me for what i saw. I giant beast, the size of an ape, black and swinging. We all dropped our spears and ran to warn the others.
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