At the May Meeting of the Mobile Writer’s Guild, we were please to announce the winners of the Third Annual Tracy Hurley Memorial Writing Contest for middle and high school. Writing can be a lonely endeavor and also it can take courage not only to put your thoughts and imagination into words, but also to share it with others. We salute all those who participated for their courage, hard work, and dedication, and are pleased to share with you today the winning stories for middle school.
FIRST PLACE
EL BOOM BOOM
By J.T. Lastorka
Grand Bay Middle School
I came all the way from a piñata factory in Mexico City, Mexico to a suburban backyard in Chula Vista, California. My name is Alejandro Jose Quesadilla Estefan Antonio Taco Pepe Lopez the fifth, but you can call me…..El Boom Boom! I am in the piñata army. I specialize in recon, stealth, spying, and making an amazing jalapeno and cheese quesadilla. My brother, Felipe Chimichanga Pedro Miguel Juan Lopez, and my other brother Steve went MIA (missing in action) back in 2012 are now thought to be POW (prisoners of war). No one wanted to step up and go on a rescue mission except for…..El Boom Boom!
August 15, 2024
As the summer breeze blew past my ears, I was parachuting down from the plane to the ground of enemy territory and became frightened. What if they were dead? The thought of candy everywhere and Felipe on the ground was horrible. The Piñata Army was at war with the scariest things ever on the face of the earth….5 year olds. They are terrifying with their Nerf guns and their action figures but don’t even get me started on the things that are just unbearable to look at….. Barbie dolls!
August 16, 2024
I am infiltrating their evil lair. My sources have told me that my brothers were being held in what humans call the attic. Once I got up there, I couldn’t see anything and before I know it a band of dust bunnies put a bag on my head and took me somewhere. When I woke up, I saw Steve sitting in a throne and Felipe chained up. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
August 17, 2024
I was put to trial. Steve was strutting around me. He was making me nervous. “Well brother, I’d give you some assistance, but it looks like you’re having some fun just hanging around.” He stated. “Why would you do this?” asked Felipe. “Because ya’ll have the cool names and I’m just boring old Steve. That’s not even scary! Look out here comes Steve! See that doesn’t even strike a little bit of fear in anyone.” He exclaimed. After going on and on about names I was sentenced to execution.
August 18, 2024
I had two choices death by stick or death by bat. I chose the stick. My death was supposed to be at 3:00 pm sharp. As the pitter- patter of little feet hit the patio, I realized my time has come. The little boy struck me right in the leg. Then his sister hit me square in the jaw. Before she did that, I mouthed two words to Felipe “Boom Boom”. Yes it was suicide, however my brother called for an airstrike before the words came out. Then she struck me and when she did I exploded and my guts went everywhere. Good thing they were Jolly Ranchers and candy. Momma always said I was a sweet piñata. My brother Felipe and his squad ended up winning. He said “You will not die in vain my brother!”
El Boom Boom 2.0: The Return?
August 15, 2027
It has been 3 years since my uncle Alejandro Jose Quesadilla Estefan Antonio Taco Pepe Lopez fifth died. My name is Fruiti Tutti Lopez. My dad is Felipe Chimichanga Pedro Miguel Juan Lopez. My mother was taken hostage by Uncle Steve’s son Javier Queso Chili Salsa Lopez. I decided to rescue my candlewick mother. Yes, yes, my mother is a candle and my dad’s a piñata don’t even ask me how that happened. All I know is that I’m a birthday candle.
August 16, 2027
My dad and I went to Party City. That’s where my mother is being held hostage. A bunch of other toys were there too. So we decided to recruit an army. After going through 270 toys we ended up with six. Hulk is the strongest. Brains is the smartest (his real name is Layton but we like brains better). Sonic is our fastest. Tiny mite is the shortest. Big Belch….. Well it’s pretty obvious what he does. Finally Carlton Banks is our distraction.
August 17, 2027
We had to infiltrate the break room. Javier was lowering my mother into a cup of espresso. I gave my commands. “Belch burp the cup away, Sonic run around in the coffee to create a vortex. Hulk grab 100 lbs weight while brains grabs the rope. Carlton…. It’s show time!” Carlton started dancing to distract Javier. Belch blew the cup away, while Flash was creating a vortex. We defeated Javier and hung him to a pole and destroyed him like he did my uncle. Dad told Uncle Alejandro he wouldn’t die in vain. It looks like he was right.
SECOND PLACE
KNEE DEEP
Danielle Roberts
Colmer Middle School (lives in Grand Bay, AL)
I heard a vicious howling sound. Was it the wind? Or was it bloodthirsty wolves waiting for me to freeze to death? The Evergreen monsters’ limbs blocked my view of the sunlight. Is my stepsister even alive? Did she die? The only sound I heard was my coal-colored boots crunching in the snow, as the trees grow thicker. I should have brought more supplies to help me find my stepsister. I should have been watching her, and none of this would’ve happened otherwise. I heard a loud giggling sound. Was it my stepsister Lahela or was it something else?
The heavy snow fogged my vision, and the only other color I saw was green. I thought I might go insane if everything was white. I glanced over to my right. There was a crimson color, so I rushed over. It looked like blood. Once I got there, it was gone. It seemed that now I saw evil in the snow where there was once peace. Blood now stained my serene memories of snow, but whose blood? The silence taunted my mind and the darkness threatened to delude my sapphire eyes. I heard the giggling again, and it echoed throughout my mind. I held my head and started to shake it.
Get out of my head, leave me alone! I thought.
I started to stride forward, but I sank in the snow all the way to my icy knees. So I was literally knee deep. I started to feel drowsy and I remembered something from class. I could possibly have hypothermia. I could have been hallucinating earlier when I saw the blood. I should start making a fire. If I kept going, what was the point if I was dead with the crows picking at my eyes? I glanced around. The sun was still out. Maybe I could do something I saw in a movie. I dug into my pocket until I could feel some lint and I whipped it out. I put the lint on the ground and took off my glasses. I pointed my glasses at an angle from the sun at the lint and wait.
After a few minutes, I saw a spark and eventually the fire sparked to life. I watched as the fire began to reach for the stars, and the ashes floated up into the dark night. The stars accompanied me at the huge bonfire. I gathered sticks so it could stay like this. I felt my cheeks warm and my knees were toasty. I could just lie down by the fire and drift into sleep. But I can’t. I still need to find my stepsister. Hopefully she’d see the fire and come running. I heard the giggling sound again. It was much closer and much more boisterous.
“Want to play?” what sounded like a little girl said.
“That is a weird question. Shouldn’t you be with your parents?”
She giggled. The trees swayed and the wind whistled. She was sprinting along the tree line around my camp.
“Who are you?”
She stepped out of nowhere into the light of my fire. Her long red hair was a fire itself on top of her little head. Her green eyes pierced through my skin and it was like she can see into my soul. She couldn’t be more than six, maybe seven.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“What is your name?” She asked.
“My name is Ulric Baines, but you can call me Rick.”
“My name is Erin.”
She walked toward me and messed up my shaggy brown hair with her tiny hand, but when I looked up she was gone.
“Want to play Hide and Seek?” she asked from somewhere in the woods.
I could hear some twigs breaking behind me then I hear footsteps. “I really shouldn’t. You see, I ‘m looking for my stepsister…”
“Lahela?”
“Yeah but how did you know?” Something about her frightens me.
“Well, she is playing Hide and Seek. You need to play if you ever want to find her.”
A sliver of hope ricochets through me. “Really?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. Erin was in front of me now and I could see a glint in her eye. Alarms went off in my head but this was my chance to find Lahela.
I ignored the alarms and follow Erin. She held out her hand so I took it. She pulled me forward with an unusual amount of strength for a six year old.
“Ok you’re it, so lean on this tree and count to ten.”
“Is this really necessary?”
“Yes it is.”
I leaned against the tree and counted to ten. When I got up I heard a cry.
“Brother, help me!” It was Lehela’s voice and I scrambled to where I heard the voice.
“Lahela!” I turn and see Lahela covered in blood and she giggled, then vanished. I wiped my eyes and checked to see where she was; there was nothing there. Maybe I really am going nuts. I turned and saw the little girl.
“Am I really seeing you?”
“Yes you are.”
She turned to look up at me I saw cracked skin like she was a broken porcelain doll with glowing red eyes. I panicked, as she smiled what was once a friendly smile. Now a sinister smile full of teeth sharpened to look like someone jammed a row of spikes into her mouth flashed in the firelight.
She growled an inhuman growl and I started running. I blindlessly ran through the snow. I’d been running for a while and my muscles started to ache. The cold wind took my breath. I saw a house, but it’s blurry, almost blending into the snow. I ran up what seemed to be steps. I pounded on the door. What if she is behind me? Someone opened the door and the warm air hits me full blast. My glasses steamed up from the warm air, so I removed them.
My five-year-old stepsister, Lahela, stared at me from the doorway. “Brother, what are you doing in the cold?”
THIRD PLACE
THE THORNE OF DREVENCORE
By David Stroud
Christ the King School
The wind howled in the dark, cold night of Drevencore. No one in this winter wasteland could have foreseen the tragedy that was about to occur. This is a story of two brothers who go on an unexpected journey to save their kingdom.
“Leonardo, wait up!” shouted Artimus, the fourteen year old prince of Drevencore.
“No! I already told you I am going to refuse the throne, and give it to you,” replied Leonardo, the seventeen year old king of Drevencore. “I cannot bear to look at it after Mom and Dad were killed on their diplomatic trip to Traliquin.”
“But you have to declare war on them. They killed the king and queen, our parents!” replied Artimus.
“You declare war!” screamed Leonardo. “You are the new king of Drevencore!”
With those words, Leonardo of Drevencore twirled his cape and strolled down the corridor past his brother, Artimus, the new king of Drevencore.
…
The next day, during the ceremony, right before the coronation, Leonardo made an announcement.
“May I have your attention please? I hereby entirely renounce my royal claims.”
He turned to the knights. “Furthermore, I am here by announcing that Artimus, my brother, the new heir to the throne, will be king,” and with those words Leonardo sealed his fate.
“Excuse me sir,” said the captain of the guard. “We were thinking that, well, Artimus is not old enough to be king, so we are taking over.” The Captain drew his sword and following the Captain’s lead, the rest of the Knights of Drevencore drew their weapons.
“Artimus draw your sword and defend yourself,” shouted Leonardo as he drew his daggers and parried a blow from the captain.
Artimus has already drawn his sword and killed an approaching guard.
“Drop your weapons now, and maybe I will let you live!” taunted the Captain.
“Never!” replied both brothers simultaneously.
“You will certainly perish!” said the Captain.
“YAAAAA!” screamed Leonardo as he lunged forward at the Captain. The Captain tried to dodge the blows, but did not succeed. The daggers went clean through his chest.
The Captain slumped over and fell to the floor, dead. The doors burst open with several archers rushing into the court. After seeing their fallen leader, they opened fire on the brothers. Leonardo ducked and twisted around to avoid the arrows; however Artimus was not that lucky. He was in combat with a guard and did not realize the archers were attacking. He was shot three times in the back.
“AHHHH,” he screamed in pain as the arrows penetrated his back.
“NOOOOO” Leonardo cried as he ran a guard through with his daggers. He turned and kicked a guard out of the way, scooped up the limp body of Artimus, and ran out the blown-open door into the wintery wasteland of Drevencore.
As Leonardo burst out the door, still carrying the limp body of Artimus, he immediately spun to his right avoiding incoming volleys of arrows. Dang it, it is winter time, thought Leonardo as he was running for a hill about two miles away. How are we going to survive in this God-forsaken icy wasteland, with no supplies what so ever! We are going to die. Leonardo thought to himself. I must escape the hands of these traitors, and find shelter for my brother.
Right at the time, he saw the doors to the castle bust open with three soldiers on horseback riding out. The two princes were on the top of a hill about two miles away. They were so covered in snow that the knights could not tell the difference between them and the snow covered trees. When the horsemen were long gone, Leonardo started looking for the cave he hoped he could find. He started thinking to himself. I should really start to tend to Artimus’ wounds. That is priority number one; number two is to find shelter. After about five more minutes of walking in the freezing cold, Leonardo said to himself; finding the cave is the first priority, without the cave we will both die.
Once Leonardo found the cave, he started to tend to Artimus’ wounds. It was a bloody mess, literally and physically. He set up Artimus on a rock for a pillow and lay him down. He finished taking care of Artimus. Leonardo knew the cave, which was meant for the royal family to hide in if they had to, had firewood and water he just had to find them and bring them to his brother.
After a little while, Leonardo started to hear the sound of water dropping from the top of the cave. He looked up and saw a crack in the top of the cave, and since the cave was warm he decided that the snow must be melting. He looked down and saw a pond about ten feet in diameter. Water! He thought. Leonardo bent down and started to drink some of the water. He was there for about ten minutes just drinking. Soon Leonardo found the cords of wood he and Artimus brought to the cave during the summer months. They had used the wood for their campouts. He went back to the spot that Artimus was resting, bringing water and wood, he started a fire by striking his two daggers together. He checked on his brother. Artimus seemed to be recovering quite well, so with a heavy sigh Leonardo lay down and fell asleep.
…
Leonardo was awakened by the sound of a horse clopping loudly into the cave. His hand instinctively went to his daggers. The rider dismounted and went over to the “sleeping” Leonardo.
He heard the mysterious rider draw his sword and say “I am going to kill the fugitives and they will not even put up a fight.”
“Think again” retorted Leonardo as he hurled one of his daggers at the rider. The dagger caught him square in the chest. The rider never had time to scream because he was dead before he even hit the ground. The horse whinnied as it saw its master die. Leonardo ran over to the horse to calm it. After he calmed the horse down he checked out the gear that was stored on the horse. There were three weeks’ worth of food, and a bow with arrows. Wonderful, Leonardo thought, we can live here until Artimus recovers. Then we can take back our kingdom.
During the next three weeks, the brothers formed a theory. Their uncle Verrater, Grand Duke of Drevencore, who was also the ambassador to Traliquin. He had always had a desire for the throne, might have plotted with some assassins to have their parents killed on the trip. He had also probably conspired with the knights and bribed them to work for him.
They were discussing a plan to get into the castle when Artimus thought of the secret passage only they knew about. It was about four feet above the moat, which was currently frozen due to the harsh winter; it was a four by four secret door. During the summer the boys would usually go through it during the night to go fishing or swimming. Now they were going to use it to get back their home.
They waited for a moonless night to camouflage themselves from the tower guards. The night they were waiting for came two and a half weeks later. They snuck past the guards to the frozen moat. From there they crawled across the moat on their bellies.
After they had crossed the moat they opened the secret door and Artimus whispered “Leonardo. We are going to get our home back.”
Leonardo just nodded in reply. It took them about five minutes to go through the passage; when they finally got to the top Leonardo, who was leading the way, lifted the floor board that covered the entry. When they had both gotten out Leonardo replaced the floor boards, and they were in. When they arrived at their uncle’s room they found two guards standing watch. Leonardo signaled Artimus to go forward.
Artimus went into the hallway and said “Would one of you kind gentlemen please go to the kitchen and get me a midnight snack?”
“Hey!” shouted one of guards. The guards started to chase Artimus but as soon as they turned the corridor they knew it was a trap. They saw Artimus roll out of the way as two arrows closed on them. One arrow hit one guard and the other arrow hit the other guard. They both dropped dead to the ground.
“Nice work,” said Artimus. “Now let us finish what we have started.”
When they opened the door, Leonardo went over to the uncle Verrater and simultaneously put his hand on his uncle’s mouth and put his dagger on his throat. The uncle immediately woke up.
“I will kill you if you scream,” threated Leonardo. Uncle Verrater nodded. Leonardo continued, “I am going to remove my hand from your mouth and ask you a few questions, understand?” Again uncle Verrater nodded. Leonardo lifted his hand and asked “Did you do it?”
“Do what?” replied uncle Verrater.
“Did you have my parents killed, break your oath, and take my throne?”
“Yes, I did, because your parents were in the way of me being king and you would have been easy to deal with.”
“Well, you were wrong, and tomorrow you will publicly announce your crimes” Said Leonardo.
The next morning uncle Verrater confessed his crimes publicly. He was taken away; his penalty would certainly be death by the sword. Justice had been served.
Right before the coronation ceremony Leonardo asked Artimus a question.
“Can I have the throne back?”
Artimus replied, “Of course you can, it was always yours.”
The brother went on with their lives, but their adventure together would never be forgotten. Leonardo ruled as a just king. He eventually got sick of being king and took a leave of absence for one year. He currently gave the throne to Artimus. While he was gone, Leonardo had many adventures of his own, but that is a story for another time.
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