Sorry it was a week late. Lisa Lizzie Richard Serendipidy Tom Norval Joe Planet Z The next topic is Pathetic LISA Sometimes the End is the Beginning. They made us wear masks, to make it seem like fun I guess, my partner was an owl; I was Bart Simpson. Sending kids out in pairs to do the dirty work. They told us what to get, nothing fresh. Stuff that would last. The door was smashed in, the store already well looted, bottled water long gone. I put a tin of beans in my bag for the group and filled my pockets with things for me: matches, some sweets and a bag of tealights. I was young but old enough to know I may be alone again soon. LIZZIE Fix fence, check how stable the tin of beans is, she typed. Stable tin of beans? Where had that come from? She continued typing her To-Do list. She shook her head. Then, she realized she was stuck. She couldn’t think of anything else to add. Tin of beans. Tin of beans. Check. Check, check if stable. She decided to check the cupboard. A tin of beans, check. Stable… Oh. It was cracked open. Something was growing inside. She took a closer look and a voice in her head said “Thank you”. The green spores were the last thing she remembered. RICHARD Campshite An owl hoots in the darkness; the forest closes in, and I don’t mind telling you, I’m starting to question why I’d thought it was such a good idea to try out wild camping in the first place. I was cold, my clothes were damp, the tent was cramped and the unsettling noises around me were giving me the shivers. “Relax” I told myself, “if those kids on Youtube can do it, then so can you.” Maybe some food would help! I fished out a tin of beans from my pack, then realised I’d forgotten the can-opener. Home time! SERENDIPIDY The patient was stable. No cause for concern, and the prognosis was good, very good. Right now, they’re peacefully sleeping as I busy myself around the room, topping up their water jug, smoothing the sheets and checking their notes. All is well. I take the syringe from my pocket and uncap it. Leaning over the patient, I screw the syringe into their cannula, before pausing to enjoy the moment. I depress the plunger, injecting air directly into their vein, before retrieving the syringe and gently brushing away a wisp hair from her face. “You’ll be crossing over soon,” I whisper. TOM In the high country There a rope bridge in the mountains that is the only stable crossing to WinterFell. Not a trip for the faint of heart, they call the winds that whip the bridge: The Hawk. My name Bucky Tou. My grandfather is leading me over the pass, teaching me the ropes. In the mid-bridge he steps to one side and moves behind me. He whispers in my ear. “Go slow. Then go slower.” I shake my head and slip one foot forward, make purchase, then slid he other. I am cold, all I want to do is get out of the wind. NORVAL JOE Without having to direct anyone where to start or what to do, they all went about the house, cleaning. Sabrina expected that with how busy and determined each person was, they would be constantly running into each other. However, they were all stable and consistent, focused on their tasks, and rarely crossing up or interfering with one another. At midnight, Mrs. Weinerheimer’s phone rang. It was Billbert, wondering where she was. Half an hour later, he knocked at the front door, then let himself in. Sabrina’s blood pressure shot up, and her ears began to ring as Linoliamanda followed Billbert. PLANET Z It’s June 21, and nobody can find summertime Sam. He’s the guy who sells pinwheels to kids at the beach. He says he donates all the money to charity, but he’s never said which charity. Something he steals the pinwheels to sell. But no one around here sells pinwheels besides summertime Sam. We asked the mailman if he delivers boxes of pinwheels and he says I don’t even know where summertime Sam lives. Nobody does. We all grew up with summertime Sam pinwheels but nobody knows anything about him. Maybe it’s a good thing that nobody has seen him yet
