Dog ate hamburger grease

Now the obvious answer is eating meat is acceptable while having sex with animals is not but if you look at it closer it exposes an inconsistent moral framework in people because if eating meat is okay than it should also be okay to have sex with animals but what do you think? it could be argued that a meat-eater is morally worse than a dog-fucker because eating meat exposes animals to more pain and cruelty than having sex with one does if the dog wants to mount me while i lie stationary in the position than that shows more respect to animals than killing them to fulfill a hamburger desire.

The reason I ask is because the kids didn’t (and still don’t) get feed proper meals plus we have never seen the older girls in the kitchen cooking like we seen with The Duggar and Bates girls. I’ve only seen Jill cook maybe 2x and that was her famous grease soup and vegetable salsa soup(I think that’s what it was) and David grilled some chicken and hot dogs once!!! So with that being said I wonder what they cook or do they even know how to cook? Most Fundie women from birth are taught to cook and clean. Thoughts 💭

The history test will be done in four segments each of which going over a specific period or event that takes place in Bundesnachda.
Segment 1: The Kokatiel Family Massacre
Duncan Kokatiel was a man praised for his aid in the war for Shibuya. He was initially a humble Bundesnachdan goat breeder but upon the request of General Noah he began to breed the goats as 'Bundesnachdan War Goats' to help bring the south side victory. The goats bred in Bundesnachda were ideal for war as they had an unbelievable amount of natural aggression, so much so that they are not allowed around children under the age of sixteen to this very day due to their insatiable hunger for human flesh. These goats were used to stop the southern Bundesnachdan residents from fleeing to hide in the north side before the dome was placed, leading to the events of 'The Great Bundesnachdan Feast'. Duncan Kokatiel however was driven to madness raising these war goats as it was not the same as raising a regular goat, to raise a war goat they had to be raised on human meat rather than the normal kibble. This festered their aggression and made them far more violent, but the madness Duncan developed did not come from their aggression it came from the souls as Bundesnachdan goats can be possessed temporarily by the souls of the flesh they consume. Day by day raising these goats for the war consumed his sanity they whispered the words of the dammed in his hear. Soon after the war his insanity consumed him and he went on a wild rampage killing his wife, daughter, brother and two sons obtaining a pentakill. He did the murders using his prized possession, a shotgun he called 'The Collector'. This event caused his exile and he has not been seen since.
Segment 2: The National Celebration of John Bundas second marriage
A modern historic event that occurred is John Bundas forty seventh marriage to the Hamburger Helper Hand. Only a few years ago John got a divorce from his then 46th wife Beyoncé Bunda. Therefore as is tradition and Law in Bundesnachda he ate her. As many of you will know when a man divorces a woman in Bundesnachda it is customary that he air fryes her and eats her with is children (In bundesnacha the air fryer was invented before the flintlock pistol).
When John Bunda married soon to be Hamburger Helper Hand Bunda it is believed to be the biggest party in Bundesnachdan history, it lasted 5 days and 5 nights many people died during but when they did the party go-ers would just collect and cook up the corpse and eat it, John Bunda labled this strategy as 'Getting Party Fuel'. The 5 days were mesmerising people of all ages, drinking, smoking and finding joy it was truly blissful, you would look out your window and all you would see is a sea of perky nipples and smiles.
After the end of the 5 days John Bunda gave a wedding gift to his people, he stuffed a bunch of at the time mysterious purple objects into a giant cannon. Then BOOM a flurry of thousands of Rabbadon's Death Caps flew into the crowd as his people cheered. "THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU, THAT YOU FOR COMING!" John Bunda screamed and that concluded not only the biggest party ever thrown but also the best marriage in Bundesnachdan History.
Segment 3: The Tunnels Below Bundesnachda
A lesser spoken of part of Bundesnachdan history is John Bundas colonisation of the land. In 5 BBC, soon after arriving to the island and forging a family with the chimps John Bunda encountered the original inhabitants of the land... The Gnomes. They were incredibly aggressive toward Mr Bunda and the chmips and despite their best effort would not agree to join forces with them to create the wonderful nation we live in today. After their many disputes with the new self-proclaimed leader of what he was now calling 'Bundesnachda' the Gnomes would scurry back to their tunnels. The Gnomes lived in what was discovered to be a tunnel system filled with many colonies of Gnomes. They sustained themselves using strange liquids and fruits they found and grew in their tunnels, some say these strange now extinct 'Bundesnachdan Delicacies' are the key to what made John Bunda immortal and why he is still alive and healthy to this day. Although things changed for the Gnomes when the glorious John Bunda and his chimps grew sick of the vile gnomes refusal to join them when suddenly one of Bundesnachdas first miracles occurred, one of the chimps spoke to John and he said... "John our glorious and kind hearted leader, we cannot grow to be the greatest nation to ever exist if these evil gnomes do not follow us I know what we must do..." John then asked the chimp what we had to do, the chimp then spoke of the first great war strategies in Bundesnachda 'The great Gnome Flush' the chimps plan was as follows: "John, first we must erect.. hehehe I said erect. Anyway we must erect a giant forge the size of witch the world has never seen and within that forge we must melt millions of gallons of metal and pour it into the gnomes tunnels capturing all of them and their homes in an eternity of a metal prison." A tear flew down John Bundas cheek when he heard the idea, it was a stroke of pure genius, he was in disbelief not only because of his tremendous respect for the idea but also at the fact that mere moments ago this chimpanzee could only make chimp sounds and now it can speak fluent English. They got to work, in only 3 hours John Bunda and 3 other chimps built what we now know as the 'Great Tower of Bunda Apartment Building' but at the time was a forge to melt metal, this forge was twice the size of the current empire state building in New York. They quickly melted all the required material that the other chimps mined before pouring it into the Gnomes tunnels using a comedically large funnel. What's great is you can view the entire frozen in metal Gnome tunnel system today as it's on display at the Ambassing Museum in Shibuya.

Some history....
Lived on 5 acres (mostly wooded and dry area) in a new 1990's house until I was 18. Most activity I saw was deer traveling through the backyard. I was a nice property and loved that time in my life.
Moved away (school/work/etc) to mostly urban areas until basically 50 years old.
Talked my wife to moving out of the city to the country on 6 acres. We literally backup against State Forest Wildlife and protected areas. So we've seen it all in the past 10 months or so....birds, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, feral cats, deer). Just waiting to see a bear next! :-)
The past few weeks/months have been a little tough animal-wise for me/us. I'm not really sure if my wife is getting depressed about the situation now too. I feel bad I talked her into moving out here.
The house is an early 1970's ranch house. After moving in, I was finding chewed through microwave popcorn bags in the cupboard eaten through and thought I was seeing things...Nope...We had mice! That freaked us both out.
So we've gotten the mouse population taken care of and they are gone from what we can tell. No rats, so I'm happy with that. We have an exterminator that comes every 3 months to checkup on everything.
Recently, this spring chipmunks ate through the siding of the house. (They are very fast at doing that.) I just fixed that. A couple of weeks ago a raccoon with a highly suspected case of canine distemper was in the front yard during the daytime walking around in circles and just seemed out of it. By the time I did the research and came home that night expecting to euthanize him, he died naturally. (Which I hear is very unpleasant).
Woke up the other night to a huge crash and looks like a raccoon took down the metal bird feeder. So we setup a live trap and caught a small/medium size raccoon. So we took him for a ride and relocated him five miles down the road on public land. Came back home and found that I probably just gave him his death sentence too. Supposedly they only live one to two months if relocated.
Yesterday, I was working in the garage and heard some noise....it was a chipmunk stuck to a sticky mouse trap. He was stuck and was starting to rip his leg off with blood everywhere. The only thing I could do was euthanize him. I felt really, really bad. But he was suffering. The old hose from a running Toyota did the trick. I don't feel good about doing that!
We really like watching the birds and really all the animals to be honest - but it's starting to get a little aggrivating. I thought a squirrel outsmarting my attempts to keep him off the feeders, I could tolerate.....but another raccoon showed up last night. I'm coming to the conclusion I'll be fighting wildlife forever here.
I even thought I could deal with the woodchuck tearing up my lawn, but now he's really starting to make me mad. Like really, really mad! I'm about ready to poison him...but is that fair? We moved in on his land. I'm just not that kind of person. Do I just keep planting grass?
I'm trying to take a neglected ranch/horse property with vines choking out the trees, lots of invasive honeysuckle tree overgrowth, neglected house and barn, even the pond and bring it back to it's former glory. Maybe I'm crazy. I've replaced a well ($10,000)...windows ($15,000)...roof ($50,000)...and painted each room, replaced trim, replacing floors now. I want this place to be nice for us in our golden years. It's getting there.
The hours of all the work, money, time managing the brush, trying to bring the pond back - I'm invested now. Literally! My body hurts, but I just keep going. I don't want to walk away from this - and probably can't. All I can do it keep making it better for all involved.
I feel like this has all gotten out of control and soon I'll literally be sleeping with my wife, dog and a pack of possums! Who knows.
We've kinda talked ducks/chickens, but I'd have to fight off their prey also.
Anybody have any thoughts or words of wisdom to keep us from going insane here? Am I doing it right? Quit now? etc, etc, etc.
Thanks!

I used to think it was childish to be silent, but now I think it’s just how I best cope with things.
Has your spouse ever hurt you so bad that you can’t stand the thought of speaking to them? I mean- if I spoke to him right now, I definitely wouldn’t be saying anything kind.
Two nights ago:

• he accused me of making our dog sick. I didn’t latch the bin on the dog food properly & the dog binged some food. He kept gaslighting me saying I just completely left the bin open which is NOT true. The dog is very smart and knows he can edge his way into the bin if it’s not properly closed. I was screaming, absolutely screaming and pleading at him, that I did close the bin. I hate questioning my own reality. Turns out after a vet trip (that I took vacation and paid for) that the dog has anaplasmosis & it’s not my fault the dog is I’ll. No apology issued for that.

-I noticed we only had 2 leftover burgers for dinner. Knowing 1 burger each is not a sufficient meal & I didn’t have time to make something else (I got out of work late and had only an hour to take care of the dogs and turn around and run back into town for volleyball) I quickly made some Mac and cheese and sautéed Brussels sprouts for sides. Knowing he would be getting home from work shortly after I left, I left the hot food on the stove verses putting it in the fridge. Everything was in containers, but left out for him. He said I “left a mess for him” and constantly “leaving my shit everywhere” and doing stuff half assed. All those statements are not true. I am the sole caretaker of our home. I am always picking up his stuff and cleaning up his messes. I can’t tell you the last time he organized anything or scrubbed something. I’m not saying that to be an ass- it’s true. Not to mention he is the king of “half-assed.” I recently had to show him that he completely neglected to weed eat 1/4 of our yard. Just didn’t see it? Idk. But anyway, after explaining to him that I made the side and left them to be kind to him, he laughed in my face and said “oh fuck- now you make sides? You didn’t want to do that last night.” (The night before we both just ate 2 burgers for dinner. We didn’t need sides? Ugh)

• a few days ago the dog (same as above) peed on a dog bed in our living room. I told my husband about it because the dog marking in my house is a big contention between us- because he refuses to neuter the dog- so he cleans the pee messes. He washed the cover. The next day I noticed it was still in the washer, so I washed it again then ran it though the dryer. In an attempt to see if he would finish the task, I placed the clean bed cover on the bed. It sat for a few days and then- dog gets sick and throws up on the bed… with no cover. Vomit all over the foam insert. It’s ruined. I walk over to observe the mess and just say “holy fuck” in a low tone of voice. He instantly starts screaming at me “stop being mean to the dog and so miserable.” I didn’t say anything to the dog. I didn’t touch the dog. I didn’t even raise my voice. When I said “I wasn’t mean to the dog” he said “he can tell you’re upset!” When I told him to stop humanizing the dog so much and to stop treating me shitty he straight up said he values the dog more than me. Straight up admitted it. I love the dog too, but that fucking hurts and just because you’re thinking it, doesn’t mean you should say it out loud.

-after this argument he goes downstairs and I hear him say he’s stuck with me and all my shit.
So basically, I am so disgusted that I can’t bear the thought of speaking to him or sharing a home with him right now, to be honest. Is this feeling wrong?

Hey all, thought I would share our thoughts from Detroit this year. For reference we have attended Belle Isle a few times in the past and loved it there (even named our dog Belle). We take our two kids (ages 13 and 10 now) and had various family members with us throughout the weekend also. Also worth noting, my husband had a major ankle surgery recently and was using one of those knee scooters or crutches. And be advised, I’m a wordy person :)
Also for reference - we are a completely normal race attending family who accidentally formed a relationship with CGR at the Belle Isle race in 2016. We typically get credentials for races VIA Mike Hull and Blair Julian and now Tyler Rees allow my kids to get into Scott Dixons car for a few minutes when they arent busy.
Friday - Friday was a disastrous hot mess. I’ll take credit for not doing as much research as I usually do but races are usually so smooth that I expected more from the volunteers. Don't blame them necessarily and we knew that this is a new event and would be some kinks - but 99% of the volunteers told us they had no idea what was going on either (and half of their walking talkies didnt work) and many members of various crews that we talked to said the same thing. We were ill advised on where to park and ended up parking very far away. No one knew how to direct us to even enter the GP in an appropriate location or where the autograph session was (which is what we were trying to get to first) - We actually ended up walking through the Rec Cen by chance and literally accidentally walked into the autograph session line - so we got super lucky on that one. It was VERY nice that that part was inside as it was already like 90 something degrees at that point of the day. Got through the autograph session, got our yearly pic with Dixon and were pretty happy with how that worked out. Ate lunch inside then wanted to go to the paddock before practice. We walked back and forth several times before the GP volunteers told us the proper way to get to the paddock (which was across the track/bridge from where we were). So we found our way to a track crossing location and then they had absolutely no idea what time the track crossing times were. After waiting for a long time they still couldn't figure that out so we decided to just go across the bridge. Shoutout to the volunteer who helped carry my husbands knee scooter up and down the steps so i didn't have to do it. After we finally got across into the paddock we were again directed to the opposite section of where we wanted to go - so we did a lot of walking back and forth. Finally found the proper paddock and were able to check out all the cars and such before going over by the pits to watch practice 1. My husband and I alternated going into the pits and there was a nice area just on the other side of pit entrance where the kids were allowed to stand and could see everything also (which was nice bec/ they’re always jealous that they can't go in the pits with us). After practice we went back into the paddock for a while while we met up with Tyler and Blair and my kids got their quick visit with the car. Then headed for our car which again was a disaster. No one could tell us how to get OUT of the event at this point. They had us walk out the front of the Ren Cen then walk up the street only to tell us we then had to walk up the other way, then we did that then they told us that was the wrong way again… etc, you get the picture. Meanwhile the streets and everything was so bumpy my husband's scooter thing was flipping all over the places and he fell several times. Handicap services were nowhere to be found with the carts we were told would help drive us around if we needed. I know, we expected the streets to be bad, we aren't new to cities or anything (and especially not this one, been here several times) but it was soooo bad. Husband went with crutches for the next two days instead.
Saturday we found a better (closer) parking garage over by Hart Plaza… Our main goal before qualifying was to hit the merch shop and gear up. Checked out everything over there… food trucks, fan zone etc… We felt like the fan zone was extremely lacking compared to races we had been to in the past. Everything was just so spread out and disorganized. The Firestone booth where my kids typically get the little temp tattoos and drive the racing sim game was shoved in a random alley between two food trucks and some local merchants not near the fan zone where you would expect it and other major sponsors like PNC booths were in super random locations also. Most importantly, the merch tent was nowhere to be found over here. We asked about 1000 volunteers and FINALLY found one that told us the merch tent was VERY far away from where we were. More on that later. We walked around here checking out all the free viewing spots since there was an issue with our grandstand seats and as it turned out we didn't actually have anywhere to sit which we didn't find out until Saturday. Walked along the river from Hart Plaza to the paddock area and ended up finding a pretty cool spot to watch qualifying right next to the victory circle. We were right up on the track and if we stood on the little benches there could see pretty good but this area would have really really benefited from a jumbotron so we could actually follow the race. After qualifying we figured out how to get to the store which consisted of going all the way outside of the circuit and walking a ton. We actually ended up getting our car first and driving over there and the very nice police officers let us park and walk in bec/ of the handicap/crutch situation. The merch tent people said hardly anyone had been in there and the people that had had all been complaining about how terrible it was to get there. Turns out the reason they were where they were was because there was no area large enough where the ground could support the weight of the 18 wheeler the tent attaches to near where the rest of the fan zone was set up.
Sunday we had a parking pass for the garage inside the paddock so that helped cut down on our walking and helped the husband out a ton. We just got lunch and hung out in the paddock to watch all the cars head out before the race. Something that we noticed is even though the grandstands were sold out the paddock felt extremely empty compared to most other races we’ve been too. Mid Ohio and Pocono we’ve been shoulder to shoulder with people standing in front of the CGR tent before the race and for a good portion of time we were the only ones in front of it on Sunday. Something cool that i guess they started doing since we’ve last been to a race is they lined up all the trucks that they ride in for the parade lap around the track before the race inside the paddock instead of in pit lane - so if you’re in the paddock at that time you see all the drivers line up in there trucks and there's a little parade through the paddock first before they hit the track. A lot of people stood by their driver's truck and got a last minute pic or autograph. We watched the race from the same free area along the river that we watched qualifying from and like i said it was a great spot but if we hadn't been able to have peacock on our phones we would have had no idea what was actually happening during the race. They did have the audio broadcast on speakers over by Victory Circle but even though we were pretty close to there we couldn't hear that at all.
Our main takeaway is that this is off to a great start - but there is a lot to build upon. Definitely need more grandstands and in the free viewing areas add some jumbotrons! Of course the volunteers will improve as time goes on I’m sure. One positive thing is the way everything was laid out it really felt like a city wide event - with all the free viewing areas and most things outside of the gates where anyone could just walk in and see things was great BUT at times it actually felt like they focused TOO much on the community aspect and some of the race logistics became secondary. Definitely need to reorganize some tents/booths/areas and at least up more signs directing people around! then i think they're good to go :)

I have to admit, the structure of human societies still confused me. I learned from one of their books ‘Utopia’ that humans had long considered various ways in which their society could be made better, without suffering or poverty, starvation or disease, without want or people lording cruelly over others. Of course the word Utopia means ‘Nowhere’ so whether or not the author believed his vision was impossible, or whether he just meant his story was fictional, I couldn’t say.
Part of why this confused me is because most of the Universe was pretty quiet. There was no interstellar warfare at least. And because there was no need for ships of war, some civilizations expanded peacefully beyond their own worlds, colonizing moons, planets, even large asteroids. They even colonized space itself with roving fleets that grew over time, but which were completely unarmed save for sufficient protection against random stellar debris.
Thus more peaceful societies could create these more ‘utopian’ visions of existence with no need for a military force beyond keeping order at home.
This didn’t mean they were all ideal, some planets became dictatorial and oppressive nightmares, I’d visited a number of those, scouting before taking out a target.
Those societies all had one thing in common, bloated military budgets, they enriched the soldiers and despised the rest, and that was that.
I took pleasure in my work, removing those from life who decided one world was not enough, and more than once I wished we could target those who didn’t have galactic war ambitions. But that was against the rules, as long as it stayed to their own world, we would not interfere. They could trade, they could bargain, but if a blaster left their planet, their leadership would die. Thus most dictatorships secured themselves by limiting their ambitions.
What made human want distinct is their general disunity as a species, and the tendency toward a more stratified society. So the idea that a ‘few’ members of the community could be left starving while everybody else ate, was strange to me. So strange that it didn’t occur to me that the one doing my laundry right about now, might be left without enough to eat.
I still hadn’t forgiven him for what he did to Jin. But as I sat and watched the credits roll, I couldn’t help but think, ‘He’s making more sense, now.’
Asahi returned right around when I expected, though he was still wiping away a bloody nose, so I looked at him with a smirk and said simply, “Hentai.”
Asahi’s face turned red again but all he said was, “Uh, the laundry is done.”
“Good, just toss the bag in there and then…” I looked over the end of the couch at the clutter on the table in the kitchen, “Yeah, you’ll need to clear that off and then take out the trash.” I said, and then checked my phone.
“Right…” He mumbled, I could see he wasn’t happy about this, the way he hung his head, but he sullenly did as I said. Which was good, because not two minutes after he was returning from disposing of my trash, the pizzas arrived.
He stared dumb and wide eyed at the four square boxes and the three long boxes on top of that which held the side items I wanted. The two delivery boys gave polite little half bows as I accepted the stack and carried them to the table.
“Right, so, Asahi, you hungry or what?” I asked, and his stomach growled again.
“Wait, you’re… I can’t pay for this…” He looked with eyes like dinner plates at the feast, and he deeply inhaled to catch the scent of it all.
I shrugged. “You’re here, I have food. I may be what you call ‘gaijin’ but that doesn’t mean I’ve got no manners. You did what you needed to do and now it’s time to eat. I’m not going to shove pizza in your face hole,” I said and tapped the top box several times with the palm of my hand to beckon him over while putting my other hand on my hip, “but if you want to eat, get a paper plate, sit down, and eat.”
I opened the side dishes, mostly wings, bread sticks, cheesy things… then opened the pizza boxes.
Since I’d ordered from two places I had quite a variety, and far more than I needed. I said I felt guilty about maybe being hard on a hungry kid, even if I still think he sort of deserved it. But even so, kicking people while they’re down just isn’t my style.
I wouldn’t apologize, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make it up to him, at least a little.
Asahi moved faster than I thought once his decision was made and he’d given in to his hunger, “As much as I want? Or…?” I nodded.
“I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one.” I smiled a little, “I ordered way too much. What we don’t finish, why don’t you take home?”
“Waght… far youf ferious?” He had a slize of pizza halfway into his face hole when he said that, so it came out very muffled and he tore a piece free, chewed, swallowed, and repeated himself.
“Are you serious?” He asked, his eyes had gone almost wild, like a hungry dog. “Like… you’re not making fun of me? You’re not going to like, make me beg or anything?”
I chewed my cheesy stick that I’d coated in marinara sauce and glowered over top of it at him until I could finish chewing and swallowing as well, then answered him. “What do I look like, a devil?”
“No… no I guess not but…” Asahi, “I just… you said you knew what I did to Jin, so I figured you’d want to get even.”
“I already did.” I answered. Of course I meant giving him a sound thrashing. But he probably thought I meant having him clean up my place and do my laundry.
But that was just a bonus on account of I hate chores.
“So, why’d you do it, anyway?” I asked. I had no hesitation about ‘painting’, but I won’t pretend I was never curious about people who did or wanted to do terrible things to guiltless people.
He tapped his hand on the pizza box. “Money for food. For laundry. For the public baths, for me, my cousins, and my parents, of course. A few punches and we’re covered for a few days.”
“Why not get a job?” I asked.
Asahi looked down at the plate. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?” I asked.
“What I said.” His hands were on the table and formed into angry fists, he glared down at the half eaten slice of pizza like it had insulted his mother.
“Your legs work. We know your hands work. Your brain works. So, what’s the problem?” I demanded, “Why’d you go and try to steal, or smack around a nice kid like Jin, or anyone else to get money, instead of getting real work?”
Maybe it was because he felt some actual guilt over the stuff he did, maybe it was because I implied he was even worse than he was, maybe he was just angry.
But whatever the reason, he snapped.
“We’re not allowed to have after school jobs unless it’s a family business! My dad’s got no business, my mom is sick all the time, and my cousins are… are different. They live with us because their parents are dead…accident… now they’re…simple. I have to mind them or they’ll get in trouble…there’s not enough to go around…” He glared at me, “Do you think I like that?! Alright, sure, it feels good to have some power and feel stronger than everybody else! But damnit who can feel proud of having nothing but problems?! I can’t get a job or I get expelled! Dad spends his time…away, and mom barely gets out of bed! I hate my life! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! What else is there for me to do?! Beg?! Isn’t it better to be a wolf than a leech?! At least I can have some pride in being kind of strong…now I’ve got nothing! I hate it all!” He screamed and smashed his fists on my table again and again and again.
“At least Jin gets to eat! He’s not going to starve because he actually has a store! He’s got a business! His mom is…”
“Dying.” I said, cutting him off.
He shut up.
I doubted he’d let any of that loose on purpose and I very much doubt he’d ever intended to. I’d normally credit my natural swapper charisma for that, but really I think it’s more that he just never got privacy to let any of it out and once he started? Well he’s a kid still, he didn’t know how to hold it back.
But hearing that his target’s mother was sick seemed to have brought him up short.
“She’s… really? You’re not kidding?” He asked, and I shook my head. “So… I smacked around a kid with one dead parent and one dying one…?” His lower lip began to quiver.
“Why am I such shit?!” He began to blubber at the table as the enormity of what he’d done began to settle in over him, “Why? I didn’t know… I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry. I’m sorry, OK?”
I got the distinct feeling he was underselling his own mother’s condition and probably what his own father was doing for ‘work’.
“I’m not the one you did anything to.” I pointed out. “Listen, maybe she won’t die, things can turn around in an instant, you know? And alright, so…” I picked up another slice and began to devour the rich, greasy deliciousness, I especially loved the little spicy red flakes. They added a stellar kick to the food, and when I’d finished the slice down to the curved crust I leveled the bread at him while I said…
“Listen, tell you what, you layoff picking on anyone or stealing, and do some stuff for me. It won’t technically be a job. You just ‘happen’ to do my laundry when you’re doing yours. You just ‘happen’ to take away my leftovers after clearing out my kitchen. And of course when you’re cleaning up, if you ‘happen’ to just find money in the couch cushions, finders keepers. Sound fair?”
“You’d… do that?” Asahi asked, sniffling a little as he little by little gained some control over himself again.
“Yeah,” I gave a flippant wave, “why not. I hate chores. With the burning fire of a thousand suns do I hate them. Plus I always end up ordering more food than I mean to, it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”
“I… yeah, yeah I’ll do it. I’ll come by every day, I swear!” Asahi said with a rapidfire nod of his head.
“Good, so… go ahead and eat whatever else you want, then take the rest with you. Except for my chicken wings, I will murder you if you try to take my chicken wings.” I said and brought that one box close to my chest as if I were protecting a baby.
I cracked a smile, just a little, and he managed to let out a feeble laugh. “Use the bathroom to wash your face before you go. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After he was gone I made a mental note to take money out of the ATM in the store. I'd need to start making a habit of ‘losing’ money in the couch after all.

Welcome to Camp Redwood!
Are you ready to fight to the death with age regressed forty year olds with the faces of adorable little kids?
How about coming to terms with your entire life, or at least five years of it, being one big fucking lie?
We are so excited to announce our 2018 group! Where you will undoubtedly FIND yourself here. Your true self.
The self you did not know existed.
SO, jump in that military bunker, grab that blunt object to fight against our little campers disembowelling our counselors, and get yourself down to CAMP REDWOOD. WHERE WE START EVERY DAY WITH A CAMP REDWOOD SMILE.
Apply now!
Application end date: 05/02/2018.
…
It’s been a tough few days.
So, I think I will be posting this update in two chunks so I can get everything down and clear my head. I am alone right now.
Yes. I am the last survivor of Camp Redwood 2023 (?). I’ve been unsure how to start this and end this because I really just want to get into the meat of what has been going on.
But… I must ask. I have to.
What year is it?
That doesn't matter right now. I'll continue where I left off.
Teddy did leave us alone in the end. But his screams were still haunting me hours after the thing with his voice had left. I don’t even think I could call it his voice.
It sounded like him but there were pieces of him missing. Like someone had reached into the boy’s mind and pulled out the skeleton of his consciousness, the bare bones of his being—and cruelly stuffed him into a metal shell.
That is what Teddy sounded like.
He sounded like a wounded animal, confused why he was alive. Terrified. I now know what he is the product of. Teddy is a victim of horrifying, unethical experiments our campers have been forcing on kidnapped counselors after taking over the camp. Have you ever heard of the sound of crying which isn’t human?
That is Teddy. He is the product of forcing life into the dead, and leaving it to suffer with its consciousness. Which, in my opinion, is a fate far worse than death.
You’re probably wondering where my two companions are.
Well, that is why I am writing this.
I want to tell you what happened so I can wrap my head around it myself, and choose between killing all of us and sending these psychopaths to hell, or coming to terms with our truth and fighting back. Well, it’s their truth. I wouldn’t say it’s mine. It took us three whole days to get the guts to risk leaving Allison’s secret bunker inside her cabin, and attempting to find a way out of this hell-hole. Harry and I were the ones to do it, leaving a still-not-completely-himself Rowan to guard our safehouse. I didn’t want to leave him alone for a multitude of reasons but due to Harry actually having a soul and a semblance of empathy, I was overruled.
Despite being heavily under the influence of age-regressing animal crackers which had mentally turned him into a toddler, Rowan was still himself to a degree. Which meant he was back to being our leader. I was sceptical at first, because no matter how many times he insisted he was in fact okay, I couldn’t seem to shake off the feeling that the childish parts of him, the warped parts of his mind which had turned him into a child, were still there.
Even if they were very subtle. I caught him doodling on his clipboard, and much later on, singing to himself with an odd smile on his face he had successfully gaslit Harry and I into believing it was just a coping mechanism. Say what you want about Rowan Atlas, he is damn good at swaying your opinion. Even when we were 100% sure Rowan was not his original self, the guy we had both met at the start of camp.
It was almost like him having two minds. The mind of a child, and the mind of a teenager.
For example, he still ordered us around and attempted to take back his role of leader— which had at least secured some normality back into our lives. But he also hated loud noises, and freaked out every time one of the littles tried to get in. There was also the incident we had agreed not to talk about, because talking about it meant facing the fact that our friend was no longer himself.
It was a hours after Teddy left us in peace. Harry was sleeping, and I was on the cusp of slumber, slipping through more files. Rowan had been oddly quiet. Which wasn’t a Rowan thing. Whether he was mentally a child or a teenager, he was still being loud and obnoxious. I sat up to find him cross-legged, playing with something.
I thought it was a worm at first, but no. It was exactly like what I found at the start of this, an eye attached to a nerve. But this time it was undoubtedly human, and now Rowan’s plaything. When I questioned him, he said he was “studying” it. Though there was definitely a difference between studying something and playing with it. The scary thing was, he saw no wrong in it, holding it in his hands and stripping off the metallic pieces cruelly attached to it.
In the end, I took it from him and stamped on it. Rowan didn’t have the reaction I was expecting. Because he was still hiding behind the façade that his mind hadn’t been warped by de-aging animal crackers.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Eleanor Summers had given me a 24 hour deadline to hand over the boys, and we were well over the limit so an ambush was likely imminent.
I still had so many questions. Why were Rowan, Harry and Carmel so important while the rest of us were seen as nothing but spare parts?
That is what the little bitch said. Now physically eleven years old with the mind of a deranged forty year old scientist, Eleanor told me I was nothing to them but spare parts. God, it’s so weird calling her what she is after looking after her kid self, her fake self, for weeks.
Little Eleanor with her golden pigtails and obsession with teddy bear picnics was in fact a complete fucking sociopath. That much of one in fact, that her and her equally psychotic colleagues who engaged in these experiments had been regressed into little kids inside a rehabilitation camp (Nicknamed: Project Spearhead) which was supposed to fix them and had failed spectacularly. Because they’ve taken over. And this time? We’re the fucking lab rats.
The counselors here at Redwood.
I had seen her adult self being interviewed by mysterious Agent Lemrac, a face behind Project Spearhead, the girl who was far too young to be an agent, and have that kind of authority. Also, someone with a soul—who had a clear biased opinion against the experiments.
Part of me wondered if Lemrac still existed. Maybe she was behind the odd phone calls we kept receiving on an old fashioned rotary phone. With Eleanor’s deadline in mind, the two of us made our journey quick. It wasn’t hard to leave the camp itself. There were guards in the form of Callen and Olive, brainwashed and turned into the kid’s muscle, but they were easy enough to get past as long as we distracted them with something shiny.
They were mentally six-years-old so literally anything grabbed their attention.
I quickly realized my mistake once we managed to escape the camp—Harry in front of me, with me lagging behind. We moved slowly, ducking behind trees and throwing ourselves into the dirt. Very cloak and dagger. It didn’t take us long to slip into the woods. Just past the lake were the exit gates to Redwood which led to a road.
Not exactly civilisation, but I would take it over having my body taken apart for “parts” in these so-called experiments.
When we got to the gate, however, I realized I had given the adults too much fucking credit.
Whoever was in charge of Spearhead clearly did not care about lingering survivors, as long as they were successfully cutting us out from the outside world. And that’s what the giant wall I found myself staring at was, an impossible foot monster towering over us and cementing my earlier thoughts. We were screwed. The woman on the phone had made it clear we were being abandoned, and yet some of me naively held onto them maybe still rescuing us.
“Fuck.” I didn’t know what to do, but kicking the damn thing felt like the right thing. I did, and then regretted it half a second later.
This thing was impenetrable. Impossible to climb unless we had a fucking death-wish.
Blinking at it through fraying sunlight blinding me, the thing almost resembled a mirage. It stood under the sun, a giant roadblock completely blocking us from any form of help.
The sun wasn’t helping, scorching through my shirt. I swiped at my sweaty forehead, unable to resist a frustrated scream I had to muffle-gag with my hand. I risked a look behind us. Thankfully, we were around ten minutes away from the main camp. The lake was nearby glittering under a late afternoon sun, and all I wanted to right then was to wade into the shallows and let the murky water swallow me up. The little shits couldn’t swim, maybe I’d be safe.
“Fuck!”
“This is bad.” Harry Carlisle broke the silence after my frustrated cry. With his eyes glued to the wall, he took off his hat and ran a hand through dark brown curls which were catching the light of the sun, setting strands alight across his forehead. None of us were in great shape after spending days hunkered down in a secret bunker. Harry was no exception.
His short sleeved camp Redwood shirt was still covered with vomit, discoloured with days’ worth of sweat stains and lack of showers.
He bent over, grasping hold of his knees. “What do we do?” I could tell by the tone of his voice he was freaking out, and I didn’t blame him. But Harry was still on my mind.
His signature was undoubtedly all over every Project Spearhead file, despite him repeatedly insisting he had nothing to do with it. At that moment, I could almost believe him. The boy looked exhausted and frustrated, pained.
He surprised me by slipping to his knees and burying his head in the dirt and screaming into rough soil. I was struck, then, by the sudden memory of flames. I had been sitting around campfires for weeks at Redwood, but this one didn’t feel like it took place at camp.
Instead, it felt more personal. I could almost see it, flickering orange sparking at the backs of my eyes and the sour taste of beer in my throat. Like the memory was trying to push itself to the surface. This moment felt nostalgic and yet close—as if it had happened yesterday. Like both the past and present had entangled in one.
If I concentrated I swore I could hear the murmur of voices, phantom laughter in my head and a cool night breeze grazing my cheeks.
“Earth to Josie?”
I snapped out of it quickly. “You’re asking me?” I kicked the dirt again. “I thought Rowan was our camp leader.”
Harry lifted his head after a moment, his eyes flicking to me. “You know he can’t make rash decisions right now.”
“Exactly.” I said. “We both know he’s not back to his normal self. He’s both right now. A little kid, and a teenager.” I shuddered. “I’m sorry, did I forget to mention our so-called head counsellor was playing with a human eye like a fucking cat?”
“Mm."
“Well, why aren’t you taking it seriously?”
Harry’s gaze skated the horizon, cotton candy colored clouds blurring into twilight. “Becauuuse the sun is going to your head.”
I could practically hear his eyes rolling. Harry took three strides towards the wall and pressed his face into rough brick. “So, this is it, right?” He muffled into rough cement. “We are really going to die at fucking summer camp.”
“I’m going to die,” I corrected him. “They want you two and Carmel because apparently you’re special.”
Harry made a scoffing noise into the wall. I was starting to think he was setting up camp there, planning to tell all of his grievances to the cement. “Oh yeah, because that’s a good thing? You’ve seen—no—heard what they’ve done to Teddy and the others, and you think them wanting us for something else is special?” his voice broke a little. “I’d rather have your fate.”
The boy’s words made me realize how little I was compared to the others. While they and Carmel were part of some grand, psychotic scheme, I was just needed for extra bulk. “Why don’t you talk to your friends?” I said, after letting the boy throw several punches into the soil. I wasn’t going to comment on his hits being surprisingly strong enough to shake the ground.
Harry didn’t look at me after calming down, resorting to tracing the earth with the toes of his shoe. “Who?”
"The CIA."
I was surprised by his retort, even if it was equally sarcastic. “Oh, you think I’m in the CIA?” He stepped closer to me, his breath in my face. “In case you haven’t noticed, this is bigger than the CIA. Whoever is in charge of this project is way higher up.”
“So, you’re admitting you’re a sleeper.”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“Then what?” I demanded, cutting him off. “Why are your fingerprints quite literally all over this?”
Harry folded his arms, his expression darkening. "You're still talking about this?" He groaned. “Josie.” He planted his hands on my shoulders. “I am not a spy, okay? Yes, my writing being on those documents was weird, but we’re also dealing with animal crackers which turn us into littles.” His lips curved into the slightest of smirks. “I’m pretty sure it would be easy for a group of scientists to use my writing as some kind of red herring. They’re trying to turn us against each other, obviously. And that’s not going to happen.” He squeezed my shoulders and I felt momentary comfort. I was so tired.
I hadn’t slept properly in days in fear of Eleanor coming to smoke us out—and the urge to just sink into the boy’s chest was suddenly overwhelming. Luckily, I had self-control. I took a step back, and he dropped his arms. “That's sobering, yes,” I said. “But I’m still going to try waking you up with those trigger phrases we found.”
When he tried to speak, I shook my head.
“Like it or not, you’re our only way out.”
I had made it clear several times to the two of them that I had no intention to use the trigger phrases we found taped to the back of the door in the bunker, when searching for more intel. But the more I was really thinking about it, if there were sleeper agents capable of taking down a group of forty-year-old tweens, I had no choice but to at least try. Because it was either that, or I gave the littles what they wanted. The boy’s. Whatever they needed, Rowan, Carmel, and Harry were the keys to their plan.
We needed a miracle, and those trigger phrases were our best shot.
Harry, of course, was against this idea.
He did that thing he always did when he scrunched up his nose and curled his lip. It reminded me of a toddler not getting their way. I saw it exclusively when the littles were taking advantage of his piggybacking service. “Josie, I’m not a fucking spy!”
"You could be." I said stiffly. "And until we figure out what is going on with you, I don't trust you. You said it yourself. Your writing was all over the kid's files, so at some point, regardless of you remembering or not, you have been part of this project.”
“So, why did you bring me out here?” He inclined his head. “You don’t trust me and yet you bring me on your little mission to find an exit.”
I shrugged. “I was partly hoping we would be attacked and your natural instincts would kick in.”
“So, I’m your lab-rat?”
“Partially.”
Harry did the scrunchy-nose thing again. “What the fuck, dude?!”
He looked like he was going to argue before deciding against it. Instead, he slipped on his raybans and gestured behind me with a sigh.
"We should probably get going before those little freaks come looking for us and realize we’ve left our safehouse.” I didn’t know how to explain and put into words that to survive we had to try everything—and if there was a slither of a chance that Harry really was some kind of sleeper agent, I was going to take advantage of that. I hadn’t forgotten about Carmel, Callan, and Olive. Rowan too, no matter how screwed up he was. I was counting on getting all of us out. I turned on my heel and started to head back to camp. I didn’t look at him because doing that would make me weak.
“Right. Let’s go.”
There was something going at the camp when we got back. I was startled by an intense blue light illuminating from the lunch cabin, and I had half a mind to turn and run. Then the screams started. Just like Teddy, they sounded both human and not, a horrifying mix of man and machine wailing for death. I found myself paralysed, crouched behind Cassie’s cabin, their phantom screams rattling my skull sending my thoughts into overdrive. “Josie.” I felt warm fingers wrap around my elbow and pull me back. Harry was thankfully there, dragging me away before I could expose us. It was enough to snap me out of it. Enough to drive me into fight or flight.
When we made it back to Allison’s cabin, Rowan was sleeping. He had conked out halfway through a pack of gummy worms. I spent the next few hours going through each trigger phrase written on the yellow sticky note we found taped to the door. I figured if we were going to try and wake Harry up, he would have to be restrained in case he was triggered to hurt us or even himself. “Is this really necessary?”
“Yes.” I said, squinting at the third trigger phrase. The two of us were sitting cross-legged in front of each other. Harry, breathing heavily, and me, trying to make myself calm. Harry pulled gingerly at the jump-rope restraints we had managed to loop around his wrists. I was expecting something out of him, but all I got were his wide eyes staring back at me.
The latest phrase was twisting my brain. It sounded like a kid’s book. I took a deep breath.
“Green Tigers Do Not Live Independently.”
Harry didn’t move, making a deal of blinking rapidly back at me. “No, I mean,” he gestured to his arms pinned behind his back. “Why did you have to make them so tight?"
“Because you’re a spy, dude.” Rowan had woken up, intrigued by my attempts to wake up a possible sleeper. He was pretending to go through the Eleanor Summers footage again, but the boy was clearly invested in what we were doing. Sitting slumped in the spinning chair, he leaned his fist on his chin. There were various things about Rowan I wanted to point out, but I was too scared to. The tips of his fingers were still stained red, and I had no idea if it was new or old. Rowan Atlas used to be the one guy at camp I used to think looked older than he was—and acted older than he was.
Instead of taking part in camp activities, he chose to sit on a branch and read pretentious classics. Yeah. He was one of THOSE guys. The slight stubble on his chin would definitely get him served alcohol, and his intelligence and quick-thinking would easily sway you if you were sceptical. Now he was the complete opposite. Maybe I was imagining things, but he had definitely gotten younger in the face, even if it was just a year or two.
I am not talking about his appearance, however. Rowan’s mentality was drastically different from the guy who held crisis meetings and ordered all of us around like we were his own children. This guy had a certain childish twinkle in his eye when I happened to catch it, a twitch in his lips which was constantly a wide smile like he was constantly seeing butterflies. Before being force-fed animal crackers, the guy had maintained his hair and hygiene no matter what happened. Now, he looked like he’d been dragged through a forest. Literally. There was still grass and leaves caught in his sandy hair, his camp Redwood shirt torn in odd places.
He yawned, curling up on the chair, apparently getting comfy. “No hard feelings, but we gotta keep you under investigation. Like Josie said, your name was all over those shady documents.”
Even his voice was different. I couldn’t call it a squeak, but it was close enough to one.
“I’m not a spy,” Harry grumbled, ducking his head. “I think I would know if I was—what, some kind of government agent?”
“That’s the whole point of them,” Rowan, still with lingering childish traits, winked at him. “They don’t know either.” He raised his hand and mimed the finger guns, protruding them into his temples and pretending to pull the trigger. Adapting a storytelling tone, he lowered his voice to a whisper. Like he was talking to the kids.
“They can live their whole lives without realizing.” I could tell from his tone he was getting excited with the idea of sleeper agents. Maybe it was a kid thing. Rowan sat up straight with wide eyes. “Cruelly brainwashed by a secret organisation at a young age and turned into super soldiers, these guys have no family. No friends.” His gaze flicked to Harry, his lips twitching into a teasing grin. “Only the insatiable urge to kill and follow orders. They don’t have brains to feel or emotions. And that?”
He did a dramatic spin on the chair. I could tell he was revelling in the look of horror on Harry’s face. “That is the most dangerous thing about them. The inability to have free will. Because what happens when they come face to face with people they used to love? People from their old life?”
With both of us enthralled in his speech, the boy smirked. “They kill them. Family members and friends. With one simple order? BAM.” Harry jumped, and I am ashamed to say I did too. Rowan blew his imaginary finger guns. “With one single and yet perfect headshot, it’s allll over. There’s blood EVERYWHERE. There’s brains!” He giggled. “Brains! And it’s like, sooo gross.”
With the way he kept adding to his story, getting progressively more excited and practically vibrating in the chair, the boy was reminding me more and more of my little sister. Which terrified me. Because if this was him back to himself, was this his new normal?
“Rowan, stop.” It took every ounce of my being not to yell at him. “You’re acting like a fucking child.” I was frowning at a sign on the wall warning us to ‘mind our head’. It wasn’t even a low ceiling, and yet that was the fourth time I had seen that sign.
Harry looked mildly horrified. Usually, he was the one who told the ghost stories. I could tell even he was questioning his own identity at that moment, and I paused interrogating him with phrases. “I’m sorry, but who out of us ate our weight in animal crackers?”
“Against my will.” Rowan yawned again, doing another spin on the chair. I had to turn around and shoot him a glare. “That’s the second time you’ve thrown me being turned into a kid in my face. Which is not fair. Did I ask to be stuffed full of poison?"
“Well, you didn’t exactly fight against Eleanor.”
“I was tied up, asshole—and I’m pretty you were in la-la land at that point.”
“I’m allergic to peanut butter, so no,” Harry rolled his eyes. “I snapped out of it when my body reminded me.”
“That sounds like a you problem, dude.”
Harry groaned, tipping his head back. “Holy shit, Rowan. You used to be cool and now you’re like an annoying little brother.”
“Touché.”
“Shut up. Both of you.” I found my voice, grabbing a pen and scribbling out the first line of trigger phrases which were a no-go.
“Rowan, annoyingly, is right.” I said, ignoring the guy’s noise of glee. If he kept spinning around on that chair, I was going to kill him.
The blur of movement at the corner of my eye was driving me mad. Focusing on Harry, I took a break from the trigger phrases for a moment, poking him in the cheek. It was supposed to be light-hearted, but the guy looked offended.
“For the third time, we can’t ignore that at some point you have signed off on all of those files, which means you were part of Spearhead.” I shrugged. “I’m not saying you are, but we have to be smart if we’re going to survive against a group of deranged scientists.”
Rowan chuckled. “What she saiiiiiid.”
"Why aren't we paying attention to the guy who clearly has allegiance to those freaks?” Harry stuck out his tongue at Rowan, which was surprising on multiple levels. Wasn’t he supposed to be the normal one? “Aren't you their favorite counselor?"
"I was literally mind controlled by preservatives, asshole," Rowan shot back. "And I'm not the only one. You and Carmel are on their radar too."
"Yeah, but we’re not the ones playing with eyes.”
"I'm too tired to argue with you." The boy responded in a yawn, cuddling into the chair armrest like a cat. “Also… you’re a noodlehead.”
“Ignore him.” I told Harry. “Just focus on me, alright? You have to look at me.”
“I am!”
“It’s time to make the donuts.” I articulated it perfectly.
Harry surprised me with a laugh. “That one can’t be real.”
“It is. Shush.” I cleared my throat. “The strawberry moon will rise in July.” When nothing happened, I frowned. “Maybe I’m not saying them right.” I peered at the next one, mentally speaking it and then muttering it to myself to get an idea of the tone.
“Or,” Harry shrugged, pulling at his restraints. “I’m just spit-balling here, but maybe I’m NOT a secret government sleeper agent after all?”
“Be mindful of the deep ravine.” This time I practically shouted it in his face, only to get his wide smile in return.
“Josie, this isn’t working.”
“It will.” I was growing increasingly more frustrated. “Just try and listen to them, okay? Don’t push them out.”
I tried one more time, leaning close and scrunching up the sticky note in my hand. Harry’s expression stayed stoic, though from the contortions in his forehead and the twitch in his lips he was trying so hard not to laugh. “It looks like it will rain tonight.”
I was surprised, then, when Rowan jolted in the chair suddenly. He lifted his head, his eyes wide. I was seeing him back to his usual self for the flicker of a second, his expression contorted with fright, lips curling into a scowl. “Do you guys smell that?”
“Smell what?” I sniffed the air, but there was nothing which was out of the ordinary. I had grown used to the combined stink of our body odour.
Rowan wrinkled his nose. He sat up straighter. “That.” He whispered. “It smells like… burning.”
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant before Harry went stiff suddenly. I sensed his entire body seem to brace itself. His eyes hardened. “Untie me.” He said in a croak.
When my shaking hands went to the boy’s restraints, his were balled into fists. I glimpsed muscles bulging through the back of his shirt and forearms. His demeanour reminded me of an animal growing territorial. “Something is… wrong,” he said in a sharp breath. Harry’s frightened eyes found mine. “Wrong.” He said again, blinking rapidly. “Something is...wr–wrong. ” When I pulled the last of the rope from his arms, Rowan shocked me with a piercing cry which sent him tumbling off of the chair, his trembling hands planted over his ears, lips carved into an O.
His eyes were wide with terror, with agony I couldn't understand. Childish terror. Which catapulted him back to his real age.
Before I could hesitate, I was crawling over to him, attempting to snap the boy out of it. But he was inconsolable, his eyes almost unseeing, his body contorting with every shriek. It took me a moment to realize Harry was the same. But instead of a piercing shriek of a scream, he was wailing into his knees, as if to escape something.
His body seemed to jolt left and right, like he was being electrocuted. When I saw glimpses of sharp red pooling between his fingers and down the back of his neck, something sickly crept up my throat. Rowan was somehow worse, his whole face contorting like it was it's own separate being, rivulets of intense red dripping from his nose and mouth, and staining his hands desperately pressed over his ears.
It was a synchronised cry, I realized, after concluding that no matter what I did, I couldn't save them.
It was a sound only they could hear, a high-pitched screech like a dog-whistle which was only affecting them. It was the kids, I thought. Surely. If they could disembowel counselors, I was sure they would have no problem engineering a sound which would only affect certain people.
Stumbling back, I had two choices. I could either try and help them, try and block out this phantom noise slowly killing them-- or I could leave them and find a safer place. With that choice in my mind, I barely noticed the phone begin to ring under Allison's desk.
That same old fashioned trilling rang in my head, and I managed to reach under and grab the receiver, my heart in my throat. "Please." I managed to squeak out, trying to ignore Harry, who was trying to rip out his hair, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. I saw the whites, blood vessels popping one by one.
When he crumpled to the ground, I thought he was dead. But his wails continued into the floor, and I wanted them to stop. I wanted him to die because I couldn’t stand hearing him screaming for help which wasn’t coming. I couldn't help them, and it was killing me. The kids were clearly trying to smoke us out, this time targeting the boy’s. Still though, I had my secret weapon. The Spearhead project.
"There are three of us left," I panted down the phone. "You have to help us. I am at Camp Redwood. You need to get us out of here. Do you hear me? You need to get us out–"
“Attempts to fix the current situation have been unsuccessful, Miss Greenfield," the woman with the British accent's voice came through in a rush of static, cutting me off. Her voice was monotone, and I wondered if she was in fact a programmed bot.
"All efforts for manual activation have failed from the disaster zone. The signal appears to have been sabotaged. I repeat. The E.485 frequency has been sabotaged. Designated models 0115, 0116, and 0118 are now officiated as being faulty and are no longer needed for protocol 9AXC5. Please stand by for standard protocol deactivation. Thank you for your service. Agent Salta. Agent Elsilrac. Agent Lemrac.”
My grip loosened on the phone, and I felt my legs started to give-way. "You're the one doing this to them?”
When Rowan dropped to his knees, blood dripping from his nose, my stomach jumped into my throat. There was no way. I figured it was an attack from the kids, but I was wrong. Instead, this sound, this frequency, was coming from the phone.
I thought back to the video footage. Agent Lemrac interviewing Eleanor Summers. Harry's signature on the paperwork. “Can you… say that again?” I heard myself say in a breath. But the dead ringing tone was already clanging in my skull, a robotic countdown laced within the static. I grabbed the pen I had been writing with, scribbling those names down, my hands shaking.
“Preparing emergency shutdown protocol. Thank you for your service, Agent Salta, Elsilrac, Lemrac.” The voice continued, which was just another stab in the gut. I heard Salta before. I heard Lemrac. But writing them down, I realized what they meant.
Salta.
Elsilrac.
Lemrac.
I was a fucking idiot. No wonder the littles wanted them and Carmel— why they were so important to their plan. Slowly, I could feel myself start to crumble. The phone slipped from my clammy hands, but I could still hear the woman beginning an emergency shut down.
I didn’t feel the impact when my knees hit the ground, but I did start to sense something twisted and sour tickling the back of my nose and throat. By the time I had noticed it, it was already choking the bunker. But somehow, I didn’t care about the stars in my eyes or my own blood being projected onto my hands with every wet sounding cough exploding from my lungs. I could still hear their names, and every time I said each of them, more and more of me shattered.
Atlas.
Carlisle.
Carmel.
“18…”
“17…”
“16…”
“15…”
Laying on my back while my head spun, I was partially aware the boy’s screaming had cut off.
Instead, they were just sitting there, eyes wide and unseeing, the blankest I had ever seen them. There was so much blood running down their faces, and I imagined something rooted inside of them tearing their minds apart from the inside. Letting out another strangled cough, which was definitely biological warfare courtesy of the kids (not enough to kill, but definitely a warning not to fuck with them) my gaze flicked across the bunker, taking everything in. The paperwork we had been going through. The chair Rowan had been spinning around on. The ropes Harry’s arms had been entangled in. I was frowning at the walls, and then the ceiling.
“Please mind your head when you step down the stairs.”
Drinking in the words slowly, my cotton candy thoughts imploding into one blurry mess.
But then I was a little more awake, this time turning my gaze to the wall where the same sign had been taped to the wall. Please mind your head when you step down the stairs. And… there it was again, taped to the desk, and underneath the laptop. Hidden in plain sight. It had been there all along, and yet I only realised when I wasn't thinking about it, when my mind was being suffocated. Something seemed to snap inside of me, and I sat up, driven by pure adrenaline. With one hand pressed over my mouth and nose, I forced myself into a sitting position and dragged myself to Harry, whose head was lolled at an unnatural angle, his eyes closed.
Part of me wanted to smash up the phone, knowing what these bastards had done to their sleeper agents now they were no longer usable. The boy almost resembled a doll. Was this the so-called sleeper which had been planted inside Redwood? Empty eyes, empty everything. He was like a shell with a human face. No better than Eleanor's experiments.
When I grabbed hold of his arms, I had to hold him steady, his body cut from these puppet strings which had held him. “Harry.” I could barely speak, my voice more of a croak. I knew he was awake and aware, but a singeing, almost burning smell was coming from directly inside his head as blood ran from his nostrils in shades of red and pink. Now I knew what the burning was when I pressed my face against his and sucked in a lungful of poisoned air. It was him. He was a defect being set alight from the inside. “You need to look at me, okay?”
When he didn’t, instead crumbling in my arms, I struggled to hold him upright. Twisting my head to Rowan, he seemed in a better state—kind of. At least he was still sitting straight.
My last words were barely audible. “Please mind your head when you step down the—” no sooner had the words left my mouth before the sounds of footsteps coming from above, the unmistakable murmur of giggling getting closer and closer. Harry dropped to the ground like he had been severed from his puppet strings.
I wasn’t aware when I slipped to the floor, whatever had filled my lungs finally taking its toll. Through flickering eyes, I could see our barricade being blown through, the ground rumbling beneath me, throwing me into something warm.
Rowan.
His body was curled up against the wall, haemorrhaging from the ears.
It was only when I was truly taking in the stink curling in the back of my nose and throat as Eleanor Summer’s mechanical grin popped out of nowhere, when I realized I had smelled it before. I had choked on it before. The circle of kids looming above me let out a shrill squeak of, “Found you!” while I found the dark, and beyond that, a memory I thought was a dream.
Firelight flickered in the backs of my eyelids. The blur of orange and shadowy smoke was mesmerising. I stared real hard at the fire like I was told to, at smouldering shades of yellow and orange colliding, thick black smoke billowing into the air while our faces illuminated the circle. I tightened my grip on my beer, swallowing another mouthful. It was cheap shit, but had just enough burn to get me tipsy. I felt good at that moment. Relaxed.
My head was starting to spin, but it was the good spinning, like I was going round and around on a carousel. I wasn't sure why I felt apprehension at the moment.
It was just a game, right? So, why did I want to jump up and go home? Why did I want to squeeze my eyes shut? Milo's words rattled in my skull as I squinted into the fire. "Come forth, those who are no longer with us." Ghosts weren't real, I thought dizzily. They couldn't be.
Not when science and logic existed. However, when the flames began to grow increasingly more erratic, I couldn't resist leaning forward, and... there. Something warm crept its way up my throat.
There was a shadow twisted in the smoke, a very human-like thing stepping directly from the trees, from the hollowed darkness I had been too scared to fully take in-- finding solace in flickering and illuminated sparks spitting from the fire. The others started to murmur to each other as the thing took a step out of the trees. Clea shuffled back with a cry, and Milo and JJ turned twin shades of sickly pale. It was a guy.
Older, by maybe a year. Shaggy reddish hair tied into a loose ponytail. His clothes were a simple leather jacket and jeans, but looking at his face, he was bruised, every part of him exhausted and battered. His eyes, when I caught them, were nothing but twin pools of oblivion glaring back at us.
"Holy fuck." Milo hissed out. “I didn't think that would actually work!" Downing his beer, he whooped. "Alright! Name, age, occupation, and..."
His lips quirked into a grin. "How you died, man!”
The guy inclined his head, his mouth curling into the start of an amused smile. "I'm not a ghost, Jackass."
His British accent was jarring.
"And?" Milo leaned back, crossing his legs. "Play along, bro. Or I call the cops and tell 'em a grown ass man is fucking with some minors."
"But he looks our age," Clea hummed. "And he's kinda cute."
"I don't give a fuck," Milo's eyes were hard. "State your truth, or I get my dad on the line."
The guy rolled his eyes, raising both arms like he was surrendering. "Samuel Joseph Wilder," he surprised me by responding. Now that I looked at him, this guy definitely was not dead. Unless dead people carried a gun latched to their belt, and a cheap iPhone sticking from their jeans pocket. "Nineteen years old." He shrugged. "I guess you could say I'm an ex-student."
He paused, and I caught emotion flicker across his face, his hands balling into fists. "I was killed– no, murdered, by my town."
Milo leaned back, cracking open another beer and taking a sip. Clea leaned closer to him, her eyes wide. “Playing along, huh? I like it. State your truth."
The guy nodded, lowering his arms. His dark eyes flicked to each of us, drinking all of us in. “I just escaped from a secret government facility doubling as a summer camp which has converted half of my town’s kids into mindless super soldiers.”
There was a pause, before Clea burst into nervous giggles. Milo cocked his head. “I said state your truth, not plagiarise The Hunger Games.”
Ignoring Milo, the guy turned his eyes to me. "Josie Greenfield?" He took a step forward before seemingly deciding against it. I didn't move or speak, my heart in my throat. I didn't have to reply. This strange boy continued, his lips curling. "You're going to die tonight, Josie."
At that moment, I realized why I had been feeling nauseous all night. Why my mind had been anticipating something all day, and why, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't brush off his words. Maybe part of me was expecting this.
The stranger's tone was too cold to ignore, the state of him too real to brush off as a joke.
Suddenly, it was just me, him, and fate itself glaring down on us, my life as I knew it exploding into nothing in the charred remains of the dying fire.
His voice echoed in my head, collapsing into white noise, when I noticed how truly inhuman he looked. I fully took him in, illuminated in firelight. "If you don't get the fuck out of this town, you are going to have the same fate as me."
…
I’m going to go out on a whim and say it’s… not 2018 and I’ve been at Camp Redwood for way longer than I realized?

Hi! I have a 3 year old Thai Ridgeback who is an amazing dog! However, she is possessive over high value things such as bones and food when other dogs are around so we have stayed away from these high value things and made sure when it’s time to eat she has her space to do so alone. She has a high prey drive and is always chasing after squirrels, bunnies, and rabbits. In the past, she has killed baby bunnies and rabbits but has never eaten them (or at least that I know of) until three days ago where she ate a bunny in our backyard. After it happened, I hosed down the area hoping to remove any scent that was left over? (Idk if that really did anything) but I did this because she kept circling the area. Since then, she has been snapping and tried to bite my dad when he was close to the area where she ate the bunny. Does anyone know what’s happening and have any suggestions for me to help her stop from snapping/biting when people are in the area?

I'm a meat eater, but I understand that eating meat as someone who can easily afford not to, is a morally questionable thing to do. I don't try and make all these moral excuses for it. I freely admit that I value my taste buds more than I value the lives of animals, so I eat meat. Because I can admit to this, I don't get mad at other cultures for eating animals I don't eat, like dogs and cats.
Most meat eaters are very hypocritical when it comes to animals. They freely eat cows and pigs and chickens but call Chinese uncivilized barbarians for eating dogs and cats. On what basis can they say this? It's surely not the suffering of the animals since those animals suffer equally. Really, the only basis for this anger is that they like dogs and cats, so eating them is not okay, which is the definition of hypocrisy.
There was a case recently of some Muslim refugee who killed and ate a town swan. Obviously fuck that guy, deport his ass, yada, yada, but going off reactions on social media, you would've thought he was the reincarnation of Hitler. Why does he deserve this level of vitriol? Because he ended the life of an innocent animal? That can't be why because these same people stuff their faces with chicken while typing away on their phone about what they would do to this guy. Is it because the town people liked that swan? That may be a more likely reason. So I guess the morality of killing animals simply just depends on whether humans like them. Which makes them no different than property. So then, what this guy did is no more egregious than if he had destroyed a statue in the park instead, meaning that the amount of vitriol he got is disproportionate to his crime of destruction of property.
I respect vegans because they will be the first ones to call out this hypocrisy. They believe that killing all animals for meat is bad and they don't discriminate in that belief, which is moral consistency I can respect. They don't stuff their faces with killed animals while wishing to torture others who kill animals for food.

When I was a teenager about 15 or 16 my mom attacked me.
My mom liked to stalk me on my high school's website called parent connect. A program she that allowed her to see what I ate at lunch, she would know my attendance she could keep up on my grades ect and she would go on this website at least five times a day if not more.
As a kid I hated homework, I didn't get the point of it. I thought it was stupid and pointless, so a lot of the time I didn't do it but because of that it did affect my grades. so I had gotten in trouble and was out on a plan to do all of the homework I hadn't done including what was to be given. well I worked really hard the week before Christmas break to get it all in and have a good break. the last class I went to to turn in my homework was my math teacher, unfortunately she did not put that in on parent connect that I had turned my homework in so it looked like on that program that I did not even though I did. I handed the homework to my teacher and we had a conversation and I left she did not put it in on parent connect so when I got home my mom was livid because it looked like I did not turn my homework in. she did not believe me that I had gone to my teacher and handed her the homework directly and had a conversation with her. All because it didn't show him parent connect. When my teacher just wanted to leave it was the end of the school day it was the Friday before Christmas break she probably wanted to get the heck out of there and for her to go on to that program and put in that I had done my homework would mean that she had to stay late instead of leaving but she would just put it in when she came back if not over break.
I had always had resting bitch face and I told my parents I don't do it on purpose it's just the way my face rests especially when they're yelling at me, which my mom did all of the time. that was her form of communication to me was to scream at the top of her lungs.
And my dad had given her permission to slap me whenever she didn't like a face that I was making. he told her to just slap it off so that's what she tried to do. she stood on the other side of her small sewing table and told me she was going to slap me and I needed to approach her, I did not want that to happen because I had been getting hit multiple times before so I did not willingly want to walk up to somebody so she could slap me. She didn't like that I said no or resisted so she grabbed my forearm and tried to drag me to her and I kept backing away and she would not let go.
She had a death grip on my forearm and at one point I was backing away from her and she was holding on to me so much trying to pull me to her I was actually pulling her while she was not moving.
Eventually she was able to start swinging and I covered my head with both of my arms so she couldn't hit my face, so she started hitting me with both hands screaming at the top of her lungs to put my hands down and let her slap me.
I screamed no, so she hit me harder and she clawed at my arms with her nails and slapped my arms trying to slap my face, while screaming at me to put my arms down. eventually she backed me into a corner and I fell to the ground she then proceeded to still attack me swinging at me with both hands hitting me with both of her hands her nails whatever she could do whatever she could on me while standing over me.
Eventually all I remember is my leg went up and it kicked her in the stomach and she flew backwards into a chair
She was livid because I had pushed her off of me while she was attacking me.
After that I had no rights in that house I didn't even have a bed, she took away any forms of communication with the outside world, I was not allowed to go to my brother's Christmas choir concert that he had when he was in elementary school. they did eventually let me go to that but that was the only thing I was able to do in the week away from school.
I had no phone, no computer, no music nothing.
My mom took my bed away because she saw an episode on Dr Phil on how to deal with terrible teens and the episode suggested taking the child's bed away. I've honestly somewhat hated Dr Phil because of this episode.
So I had to sleep on the floor. the first night I rolled up some towels into a pillow and laid one down and I took a blanket off my bed to use. when she walked in the next morning she was livid because I was supposed to just sleep on the floor with absolutely nothing no blankets no pillows just the floor and myself -I don't even let my dogs sleep like that on the floor
And that morning I asked her what gives her the right to treat me so bad to hit me without any care in the world and she said I'm your parent and that gives me that right to do whatever the fuck I want to do to you.
Sometime later not that week whether it be weeks later or months later I don't remember she tried to sleep me again. I ended up blacking out and hit her and it was her screaming at the top of her lungs that brought me back. I had no clue what had happened, or what I did. I had never blacked out before. I was standing there like a deer in headlights trying to figure out what had happened when she grabbed a yardstick and came at me with the yardstick and in a few seconds I was able to run into my room close the door which she proceeded to try to get through, so I sat in front of the door. I had to prop my legs up on a play table my brother had in the shared room we had so she could not get through the door.
She put a hole in the door and she almost broke the door and half trying to get to me.
After that she proceeded to always get in my face and dare me to hit her. And in my face I mean she would get her nose to my nose and tell me to hit her,I dare you to hit me give me a reason to kick you out of this house, give me a reason to call the cops on you, hit me in my house I dare you.
And at the time I was very naive to law enforcement so in my head it didn't matter how cruel and mean my parents were if I put hands on my mom then I was the one who would be getting in trouble and going to juvie while my parents just let it all happen. As an adult I know it would not be like that, hopefully.
One thing that had always stuck is I never hit first. I only hit after so I can say it was out of self-defense. never hit first, but she still proceeded to get in my face constantly whenever there was an argument or anything that happened, daring me to touch her so she could proceed to beat the hell out of me and call the police and then claim that I was the one who struck her.
What's even better is in her dementia she proceeded to tell the entire family about these incidences about how I attacked her first and she did absolutely nothing to provoke it.
My family never questioned my mom they believed her 100% on that so I never got to have a relationship with family because that's what they thought of me.
My dad never came to my defense. he never did anything. He always just sat by and let my mom handle the punishment however she saw fit. And if it sounded like I was becoming too much for my mom that's when he would give her permission to hit me beat me whatever my mom wanted to do and that gave her the courage to always strike me.

Been seeing this talked about and decided to try. I had 28g, then immediately ate, was gonna wait but couldn't. Pretty mild effects, had a great workout tho, smooth, motivating energy. After a few hours it felt like it was starting to wear off so I had about a half dose of zpec in a nasal spray. Zspec is normally not that stimulating for me but this time it was, this half dose felt twice as strong as a normal dose. I walked the dogs 30min feeling amazing, then still felt so great and energized I went for a 2.5 mile run and just felt really good seeing people and the neighborhood.
Anyone else have experience with this? Ceremonial cacao is a weak maoi, could this be an issue? Also possible this was placebo or I'm not remembering zspec as it's been prob 1.5+ months since I've had it. Had mx8 and mt55 recently tho

Hi, my dog managed to get a couple of chomps into my remote and broke it. Would I just order a new remote? Would it be able to pair with everything set up on the tv already? Thanks!

First / Previous / Next
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March 21, 2019
After having a talk with Sergeant Lyria Delara returned to her quarters where her pod mates were already gossiping about what had happened in the pool, though she didn’t even know how they could had find out as none of them were even near the pool at any moment.
So do you have anything to share with us said Xav’nia their pod leader.
“How did y’all even find out?” Delara responded while looking for her clothes to change in.
“Fur ball over here likes to be nosy.” Xav’nia said pointing at Rukna the Rakiri of the pod.
“I have a great nose for drama.” Rukna said while eating a human food called Jerk or something like that but Delara was sure that was the right word as she was pretty sure it was an insult for humans but she didn’t care enough to look it up.
“So?” Xav’nia pushed the subject.
“Can I at least get a shower first the chlorine from the pool makes my skin itch.”
“Alright go ahead but we want details when you come back.”
After a warm shower Delara got dressed, brushed her teeth, and exited the restroom where all her pod mates were staring at her, expectantly waiting for her story.
“Alright, alright, by the goddess, no one can do anything without y’all having to know.” Delara said, a little irritated by her pod’s insistence.
“So I saw the guy from the other day, and-“
“The one you told us about the other day?” Rukna interrupted.
“Yes fur ball there aren’t many other guys in this hotel.” Delara responded with a sigh at the lack of use of context clues the Rakiri used.
“So as I was saying he was by the pool reading a book and…”
“And what?” Asked Pravna
“He was…”
“Spit it out!” Said Xav’nia, sipping her water
“He was shirtless.”
Pffffff Xav’nia spat her water all over Rukna.
“Agh great now I’ll smell like wet dog”
"He was what?"
After what felt like an eternity of Delara trying to convince her pod mates that what she was saying actually happened and she wasn't just daydreaming in some kind of young adult fantasy.
"So then after the Sergeant left with Margna he invited me to sit next to him."
"I am going to keep calling ts on this." once more insisted Xav'nia as she turned and turned off her light.
"Look if your head is denser than a neutron star you can ask him tomorrow morning during breakfast, now would you let me finish?" Delara exclaimed already too tired and wanting to sleep, the day night cycle here threw her way off, as days were physically shorter but as they were told the day night cycle changed as the year progressed.
"Then he put on a shirt as I assume he learned that is not normal for us to see males shirtless, which seems to be something normal here." Delara said looking at the three of them to see if someone wanted to say anything before continuing "So, we talked about the book he was reading which he told me the name but I didn't quite understood, and then we went for a swim, in which he got really scared because he was surprised on how fast we could swim, and then after a while the Sarge came for me and we said our goodbyes."
"Hey maybe you'll leave this rock a married woman." said Pravna as she laid down to sleep.
"Yeah... That's what I'm not so sure about, the Sarge said she would talk to him and his mother about his relocation, and after a couple more weeks we ourselves are out to move also." said Delara laying on her side while under the covers."
"Then you better get him fast." said Pravna as she turned her light off leaving Delara with the only light on.
"Well I'll think about all of this tomorrow, I am too tired as of now, see ya in the morning." Delara said as she turned her light off.
*sniff \*
*sniff\*
"You smell like wet dog fur ball." Delara said as she passed out on her sleep.
"Well you have someone to thank for that." Rukna said as she lifted her head to face Xav'nia.
"You know what? you'll also have it." she said as she got up and jumped over to Xav'nia's bed in order to rub her fur on her so now she would smell like wet dog also.
"Uuuugh, get off!" exclaimed Xav'nia as she pushed Rukna off of her.
"Goddess dammit Rukna, now I smell like wet dog."
"Well now you wont get me wet again." said Rukna as she went back to bed.
"Go to sleep we have patrol tomorrow."
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March 22, 2019
Beep beep beep
Beep beep beep
Beep beep beep
"Ugh" I groaned as he unsuccessfully tried to turn the alarm off several times, until I lifted his head from the pillow and looked at the alarm clock.
'8 AM, it sure feels like it's earlier' Jeriel thought as he sat at the edge of the bed, he needed to give his body time to properly wake up.
'Eyesight?'
'Focusing but otherwise systems are online and at regular capacity'
\Check**
'Muscles?'
'Systems coming on sir'
'Take us to the bathroom, and begin our day'
'Aye sir'
After a not so cold, not so warm shower, brushing his teeth, and combing his hair Jeriel took a look at the clock.
'8:30 AM, good enough'
Stepping out of the room and arriving at the dining hall that was relatively empty compared to the other days for it being eight thirty, what it was not of my liking was the fact that today was a really grey day, you felt as it was actually way earlier with how dark the sky was, but here I was on the line for my food, so after picking my breakfast for today which was to no one's surprise eggs but this time sunny side up, bacon, sausages, waffles which I've always thought as the superior option over pancakes and that is a hill that I'm willing to die on, hash browns, and cranberry juice, it was all good don't get me wrong but eating the same thing for breakfast for a week straight wasn't the most pleasant thing the biggest difference there would be was when they had tortillas instead of waffles and pancakes, I also wondered how was it going to be until the hotel ran out of food, and that got me thinking on how the world would change with out new overlords, or- overladies.
That thought got interrupted by Delara sitting across from me, "Hello Jeryl." At least she was trying unlike some of my teachers over the years or the people working at the DMV, "Good morning to you." I said as I sipped from my juice, to then feel someone sitting next to me, I knew it was not a human for how furry it felt, looking to my side I saw one of them Rakiri I had seen before.
"Hey there." said the werewolf like being, although they look more like felines, lions if you ask me, but what do I know I'm not a Xenobiologist, that must be a profession right? anyways, as I mentioned before this Rakiri for some reason seemed to have a kind of Russian accent which always threw me off, but I've never known why.
"Uhm hey." I answered as I looked at Delara who didn't look worried but more annoyed than anything, "Are you Delara's friend?" I asked her prepared to move if I had to.
"Oh yeah, this is Rukna, she's in my group." Delarad told me as she once again grabbed the mapple syrup to complete her breakfast for then other two marines seat next to Delara and the opposite side of the table by moving an unused chair, "Oh and this are Xav'nia and Pravna, Xav'nia is my group leader." Delara said as she ate a piece of waffle and sausage with the thich substance dripping down.
"So we need to know if what Delara told us las night was true, did you two swim at the pool together?" asked Xav'nia who seemed like she was her squad leader, but why was it so unbelievable that she and I had a swim together? Thinking about it, yeah it wasn't the most believable thing in the galaxy.
"Uhm yeah we swam together for a while." I said as I saw all three of them stare at Delara with open wide eyes.
"And Uh- were you without shirt?" asked Pravna who was the shortest one there but still had like a feet on me.
"Uh... Yes?" I answered as I saw Pravna choke on her food, at the news of me corroborating Delara's story.
'Is being shirtless that weird?' I thought but then I remembered how foreigners acted when they visited a beach in Europe and saw topless women, so I guessed I was the European in this case.
We chatted for a bit until Xav'nia told the rest that they had to go, "Uh- It was nice meeting y'all." I told them as they all stood up, "Oh uh... Sammme." answered the Rakiri, and saying bye to Delara with a hand wave she got out of view.
I sat back thinking on the fact that this were in fact actual aliens, extraterrestrial beings, people from beyond the stars if you will, and we just had a relatively normal conversation, then I felt someone sitting next to me which made me jump, after turning to see who it was I saw that it was Miranda, and I saw mom also getting her food, "So what did they want?" Miranda asked in a not so friendly tone, "They just wanted to chat." I answered as I once again sipped my cranberry juice.
"I don't like them." Miranda said as she sipped from her orange juice.
"And I don't like you, but that doesn't stop me from having to care for you." I said as mom sat in front of us.
"Good morning son"
"Good morning ma, bendición,"
"God bless you, how did you sleep?" mom said as she ate her French toast
"Well, or at least alright, I was thinking about what we were gonna do today."
"Wait what's today?" jumped Miranda.
"Sergeant Lyria wanted to speak to mom and I." I said.
"And why did no one told me?" Miranda exclaimed.
"It was classified information and I outrank you by three years." I said, "And she said that she wanted to speak to mom and I, so there was no point in telling you."
"MOM?" Miranda borderline screamed making everyone else in the dining hall turn to look at your table.
"Can you I don't know not scream? It's too damn early in the morning for these voice volumes."
"Ugh"
"I agree with your brother, I didn't see any point in telling you, so can we eat and have a regular conversation?" mom said as she also started eating.
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"It's 9:55, shouldn't we go now to not be late? we don't even know where her office is." I said as I stood up to put my plate and glass away.
"Yeah I think that's a good idea, I don't want to be late for this."
After asking one of the marines we arrived at the Sergeant's improvised office, which was actually one of the hotel manager's office
All three of us were let it and were instructed to take our seats by Sergeant Lyria
“Well good morning, how are y’all doing today?” She asked while looking something up in her tablet.
“We are doing well all things considered.” said mom while glancing at us.
“Good, good, so.” the sergeant said as she put her tablet down and looked at us, “I suppose your son told you why we are here today right?”
“Y- yes, something about relocation?” mom said while giving me unsure glances.
“Yes, relocation, considering your situation including the destruction of your home and as I understand the passing of your husband, my condolences, I want to ask if you have a place with friends or family that you would want to move to and maybe stay with them, and from there I will see what I can do.” she said as she stared at my mom who was just staring back, who then stared at me giving me the well known gesture of translate for me because I didn’t understand a damn thing she said.
After translating and becoming the middle man I said “Well we have some friends in Austin.”
She then turned her tablet to me and asked if I could point that in a map, which I did, and after a little while of her checking something, she talked to us about how this were going to be.
"Okay so you all are going to be transferred in two weeks, so I would suggest that if you are able to you contact the people who you wish to stay with, but if that is not possible a shelter is going to be set up until we can find a permanent home for you and your children, as you are now a widow the Imperium offers help for single income families and single parents, but you would have to talk to a social worker that you would be able to talk to once you get there, but from what I know benefits include but are not limited to, housing, food, educational programs outside of school and some other things that I don't remember at the moment, but I will try to get someone in contact with you with all the information before you have to depart."
"But as of now we are going to start handing out IDs in about a week, so on that date you are going to head here because with you not having a permanent residence the process is a little bit different than standard, but you and your two children would get Imperial IDs."
"Is there any questions that I can answer at the moment?"
"No, I don't have any questions." mom said to me for me to say to the Sergeant, I looked at Miranda who also said she didn't had any.
"No they don't." I said.
"Well then you are dismissed." the Sergeant said, but I stayed behind to talk to her in private after Miranda and mom left after telling them that I would catch up with them later.
"Uhm Sergeant?" I asked getting her attention back from her tablet.
"Oh you are still here, anything I can help with?"
"What happened to the woman from yesterday?" I said while trying to find a place where to look.
"Oh Private Margna? you don't have to worry about her she was arrested for sexual harassment with your testimony and camera footage, as well as Private Delara's testimony, my guess she would be in jail for a while and if not she would have latrine duty for the rest of her days in the military."
"But if you need any kind of treatment, maybe talk to a psychiatrist just tell me alright?" She said with her again motherly tone, different from when she was talking with mom, then she sounded more like an old friend, trying to help mom.
"Uh yeah, I will let you know." I said as I stood up and exited the office.
'Austin huh?'
'Who would have thought'
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This is it for today everyone, tune in next time to find out how will Jeriel and his family adapt to the changes in their life.
Thanks for the support and as always if you notice anything out of place or any error I made just let me know in the comments so I can fix it.

CHAPTER ONE
I saw a light in the sky and he came down from it
That was a courtesy
What was ?
The light
What do you mean ? Who are you ?
Look I hate to be rude but we kinda need you, are you in ?
Are you God ?
If I say yes would you be more or less likely to help me ?
I don’t know.
Then, yes, I’m God, and I need your help
If you’re God, why do you need my help ?
I’m not God, I just said that to get you to help me. I’m sorry but I’m in a rush, are you in or are you out ?
I don’t even know what you’re asking
I’ll tell you on the way
We were in a big house. There was one of those double stairs that led up to one landing, then split again and met at the next landing. They went on and on, I couldn’t see where they ended.
You do not wanna know where that stairway goes
Where does it go ?
He gave me a look that made me feel stupid.
Every landing seemed to go on forever, just rows of heavy wooden doors as far as the eye could see. I turned 90 degrees and felt a bit funny, but couldn’t quite place why. Just rows of doors forever, same as before. I turned again. Now I was facing the opposite way to when I came in. There was what looked like a front door, twice my height, with a gold doorknob on it. But above that door I could still the landings. And the doors. They still went on forever. I turned again, expecting to see it but still unable to comprehend it when I actually saw it. The doors, going on forever. Again.
Oh yeah, I forget sometimes that you people are three dimensional, I swear it makes sense when I look at it. Come on, we don’t have much time.
We turned, and where I was sure there was a blank wall was now a golden arch. There was some fog coming through it, and lights flashing red and blue in an otherwise darkened room.
It’s a rave from your world, frozen in time. It’s along the shortest path to where we’re going.
We walked through the rave. I was trying to nudge past people. He floated up and delicately walked across their heads.
Spend some time here and you’ll figure out how to do this, the rules don’t apply here like they do in your world.
I believed him.
I looked around. The very silent disco went on forever in every direction.
When we reached the back, there was another golden arch. This one led to a room with a counter in the middle of the floor. There were pens on the counter, and pieces of paper, and a large sheet of glass. There was a woman on one side of the counter, and two men on the other. They were wearing masks. One of them had a gun drawn. There was a bullet between the end of the gun and the woman’s head
Uh oh, I wonder how she’ll get out of this one
She gets out of this ?
I mean, I can’t see what happens beyond the moment we're in any more than you can, but I highly doubt it. Come on we’re not there yet.
Somehow, the counter stretched on forever
The final room certainly did not stretch on forever. It was barely two metres in any direction. There was a table and a chair, the only problem was the table went from one wall to the other, and I would have to gracelessly clamber across the table in order to sit in the chair. But then I was in the chair. Another guy walked in.
Apologies for the suspense, do you have any questions ?
I don’t know
Nothing ? Not even a why am I here ? Not even a why me ?
Why am I here ? Why me ?
You were right, they really do ask the worst questions. Glad you asked ! First things first, do you know what a universe is ?
Everything ?
That’ll do, but what if I told you that there were even more everythings ? And they were everywhere, all at once ?
I don’t follow.
Imagine you decided not to come with us today, your life would have taken a different turn, you wouldn’t be sitting at that table right now. Following so far ?
Sure
Great ! So you making a different choice results in something being different, something is a part of everything, so everything is different. Your choices change everything, which is real neato, as the kids are saying. So let’s say there was a way to explore all these different possibilities, let’s say you could look at what you life would be like if you had made those different choices, all those everythings would be different, and you would have a different…?
Universe ?
That’s right ! You are very clever ! So if we have multiple universes, we can map out what we call a -
Multiverse ?
How did you know ? Wow I actually was impressed that time
I saw 2 movies that mentioned it in 2 weeks.
Ha-ha, maybe this version of you did. Anyway, I'm having too much fun, imagine you said “I am going to interact with every multiversal version of me except the one that smells like fish all the time”, and somehow, against all the odds, you succeeded. That'd be cool, wouldn't it ?
Ok
But, you may be thinking to yourself, what about the timeline where you say to yourself “I am going to visit every version of myself except the one where I have a big forehead ? Or have acne ? Or live in a pineapple under the sea ? Or any other number of things ? Assuming you could succeed at any of these things, it’d be impossible to succeed at all of them. That's where we get the omniverse from. Think of it as being above the multiverses. And it lets us keep track of all of them simultaneously
Is there more ?
More ?
More layers ? Are there infinite omniverses and infinite somethings above them ?
Would you be capable of caring about it if I told you there were ?
I don’t know
Basically what we want is a bit of a laundry list done. Its gonna look like random jobs, just checking up on people from time to time. But it is integral to the structure of the omniverse itself that you do this. The reasons why are beyond your comprehension.
Am I going to get to go home ?
Eventually, maybe
CHAPTER TWO
Do you have a name
Yeah
Cool
Yeah
I'm going to show you your chores now
Ok
He concentrated for a few moments. He raised his hand and made a motion like he was typing on a keyboard. The floor fell away, revealing an infinite void, like space, all around us. There was a commotion behind me, and I turned tot see a corridor being made. The sounds of commotion were still somehow coming from behind me, so I turned again to see the same corridor, this time it stretched even further into the distance
Sorry this will take a while, were constructing it one dimension at a time, just about to start adding the sixth. Give it a second and well have it finished.
We were still floating, but now the corridor was all around us. The sound of commotion was all around now, it sounded like lots of materials being smashed together; stones, metal, wood, clay, water, flesh.
And done
We drooped to the floor. This part of the corridor looked like an ancient Roman street, complete with a market, although there were no people to man them.
Like I said, this is just the shortest distance between the points we need.
Ok
We’ll get going and I’ll explain everything on the way. He handed me what looked like a small stone, but it lit up and created a screen, it looked remarkably like a tablet computer when it was turned on. A lot of things I didn’t understand or frankly care about lit up. I looked away and it powered down.
That will help you keep track of everything
I figured.
This is our first subject. Her name is Maria
Can she see us ?
No. she's just sitting here playing with her fruit.
She's not moving
She's frozen in time until you start
Will she be able to see us then
Yes. She's going to be doing something with her fruit. Recently she had a wedding for her oranges.
Ha-ha
Yeah. When the time comes, you just write it down on you tablet, can you do that ?
I opened the tablet. It anticipated what I was thinking and made the correct page for me.
Great. Moving on.
We closed the door, leaving Maria for now. We continued down the street. Quite suddenly, although not immediately, it became the interior of what looked like a space ship.
This is a universe where the entire...left side of the universe declared war on the right side. I really don’t want to get into it, all you need to know is the teams are the Yingits and the Yangits. You have no idea how much it pains me to say, but earth actually is the centre of the universe here, so earth’s politics are, needless to say, divided. The pilot of this ship was born coincidentally on the same day as the version of you from this universe, but he fell into a cryogenic chamber for almost a thousand years, got out, began what would have been one of the greatest empires the world had ever known, had he not fallen into another cryogenic chamber for another thousand years. When he got out, the war had started, and none cared enough to follow him anymore. His names Fornot, you just need to find out what side he’s fighting on.
This is weird
Yeah.
We closed the door and went on. The spaceship corridor gave way to some cold, stone steps. There was water dripping from the walls, and mould growing, the whole place stank and it was far too cramped. There was a rough wooden door with an ornate golden handle. He opened it. Three people were inside the cave, with about 500 people crowded around the entrance, trying to get a glance in.
This guy here, his name is Su-lan. He comes from an island off the coast of...it’s a different planet you wouldn't know it anyway. Member of the La tribe, cool guys and gals. Ah I may as well say it, this is a universe where humans have attempted to colonise every planet they’ve come to, and they’ve had a 100% success rate. Believe it or not, we are currently in the orbit of a gas giant called...you wouldn't remember, call it 2piter.
Ok
So Su-lan’s wife, do you see her there ? Her name is Su-fo, she took part of his name when she married, according to a custom that goes back 420 years
Ok
So they painted all these symbols along the walls and on the floor and they drew that big circle, not easy to do when you've got arthritis like they do, let me tell you. Anyway, you may be wondering how humanity has been able to conquer every known planet in the universe, it was quite easy you see. Firstly, they changed the definition of planet to “that which can be conquered by humanity” and the second was that in the 20th century, they discovered a ritual which, when performed on the right people, would grant them godlike powers. After that it was actually quite easy. One in every roughly million people gains powers this way, and if they do, they become custodians of a planet or two, or even a whole solar system ! Isn't that neat ? Anyway, the girl in the middle, her name is Su-ner, and she’ll be doing the ritual today to see if she can get these powers. You see how she takes the first part of her father's name ? Well when she gets married
I get it
They said you were smart. You're just confirming whether or not she gets these powers, sound easy enough for you ?
Yes
Then lets keep going.
He overturned a stone, revealing a portal on the underside. The portal kind of dripped off the bottom of the stone until it landed on the wall opposite us. We walked through. Now we were in what looked to be the foyer of a hotel.
This is your parents’ house in the universe where they never had you.
What ? They got rich without me ?
'fraid so. They bought a really lucky lottery ticket.
Oh
then they used to money to buy a few sweatshops in China.
Oh.
anyway, we are looking for the game room, it’s...this way I think.
He led me down a series of corridors, containing great works of art, statues, suits of armour, I thought I saw Eric Clapton by a swimming pool. We found the game room. It was bigger than my house. It had arcade machines, a screen bigger than any cinema I’d ever been in, there were people in uniforms milling around, a huge crowd in the centre of the floor, a room of computers and people with headsets, it looked like mission control at NASA. At the centre of it all was a guy who looked a lot like me, he had a trolley in front of him with a row of suits. They looked like those green suits that covered people from head to toe, except they were black. He had a furrowed brow, he was deciding something. The suits had little white balls on them.
Remember when I said your parents didn’t have you ? Well this is the kid they had instead. Thanks to the money, he’s hosting and competing in the world video game championships. These are his haptic suits, they do motion capture and let him interact with the game world and give him feedback and stuff, kind of like a controller that you wear
Ok.
Tell us which one he picks.
There was another door on the far side of the room. We went through it. It opened onto a waterfall. He grabbed me and we stepped off together. The waterfall was frozen in time. We rotated 90 degrees, and gravity moved with us, so we ended up just walking down it a little bit. There was a metal hatch at the bottom. He opened it up and let me inside. Gravity shifted again, so we were not standing on the roof, staring down at a lab. There were two scientists inside, one a rotund man with a bushy beard, the other thin and small, with an equally thin and small moustache. There was a birdcage in the middle, and a bird was suspended in the air within the cage. There were what looked like two circular windows in the end of the room. Or at least, a different version of me would have thought they were windows. Having seen what I had seen, I knew they were portals of some kind. One opened to a golden meadow, accentuated by the setting sun. The other was a nigh time setting of a colourful forest, with glow in the dark foliage accentuating the fruits and flowers which were present. They looked equally inviting.
This lab has been experimenting with multiversal travel, we love to see it. See that clipboard ? They've taken the same bird from hundreds of different universes and are setting it free in the lab and seeing which of the two portals it goes through. Their theory currently is; same bird, same portal. I rememberer when we were at that stage, fun times. You just need to tell us which portal this bird flies through. see that fat guy ? He once won a hot dog eating contest by lining them up and having his friend push them into his mouth while he swallowed with his mouth open on the other end of the table. The friend was the small guy, who got a splinter from the table and had to be rushed to the emergency department and spent 20 hours on a trolley and by the time he got seen to he had taken the splinter out himself but he got charged for the time on the trolley and now he’s here to pay off the medical bill.
Ok
Let's keep going.
He opened another hatch in the roof and stepped through. It opened not to the waterfall, but to a city. It was grey and the buildings were big.
Ok this is about two years after you went away
I'm not going home, am I ?
Not with that attitude. It doesn’t matter where we are...humans have colonised a planet that is more or less identical to earth and are making the exact same mistakes all over again. We are in New York 2, although I would prefer if you called it 2 York.
Ok
There's a guy called Killer Lenny. We need you to tail him for the next few months and find out what job he gets.
Months ?
It’ll fly, well make sure your needs are met during that time.
Ok.
One final thing.
He opened a manhole cover, and jumped in. I didn’t hear him hit the bottom, but I jumped in too. I landed on...the street I had just jumped off.
Different universe, same setup, multiverse fun ! There are some gangs, the Rabble, the Rapple, the Raggle, the Rattle, the Raddle, the Raxxle, the Razzle, the Rassle, and the Raffle. They all wear different colours and I think they carry weapons corresponding to the gang they're in. They've been having problems for the last few years and its all coming to a head tonight and we need you to tell us who comes out on top. I’d say take a secure position and wait it out, we’re not expecting it to take any more than about an hour once it starts.
Ok. when do I start ?
Well take some time and you can start more or less immediately. We need to do some stuff back at base but that wont take long.
CHAPTER 2.5
OK step on through. The fact that I wont be with you means the shortest path between these places might be different to the ones we took originally, just check your device regularly and you should be fine. Any questions ?
Yeah, why am I doing this ?
It's recently been discovered that there is an omniverse where you do this, you report certain things to us, and then totally unrelated circumstances in a trillion years means we gain a bonus of sorts. Consider yourself the litmus test
Oh
Oh and we’re giving you like a billion dollars or something
Cool
Ok let's go
He pushed me through the portal. It closed behind me. I was on the street in Rome.
CHAPTER 3
I walked around a bit before I went to her. This had been my first chance to get any my bearings since this whole thing started. I noticed a bird in the air. It wasn't moving. I realised I would need to open the door to Maria's house before time would start in this universe again. I grew bored, and opened the door. Maria was sitting on the floor, on her own.
Hello
Hi
Are you alright ? I was sent to check up on you.
I'm fine, thank you.
What are you doing ?
I am playing with my fruit. I like to play with my fruit. My legs don’t work good so I can’t go outside with my friends. Well. I wouldn't be able to go out with my friends if I had any. My mother gives me fruit to play with and when I finish playing with it I eat it.
Oh. That's nice. What are you doing now ?
Last week my oranges got married. They love eachother very much.
That's nice. Where are they now ?
They are over here, well some of them are. I ate some and I fed a few more to the pigs, but I have some apples and a pear and some grapes now. They are making music together.
Music ?
Yes ! Their names are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, and then we have another Do, I think she is the mother of all the others.
Very nice, what else do they do ?
They can do all sorts of things !
She showed me to a lute that was hanging on the wall. She played an open string on it.
See, if we call that note Do, then the one here
she played it at the second fret
would be called Re.
Lovely
And something I learned recently, if you push the note up one more, you can change its name ! So I can turn Re into Ri !
Amazing. Can you turn Fa into Fi and La into Li ?
Yep !
She showed me what they sounded like.
You can also push notes down to turn and that changes their name too, so Re becomes Ra, and Mi becomes Ma, and So becomes Sa, and Ti becomes Ta. I think some of my fruits want to change their names, I think Ti definitely would prefer to be Ta, and I think Re would love to become Ri.
I bet they would, what are you going to do now ?
I think I will eat them !
She spent a few minutes looking for her fathers knife, but when she couldn’t find it, she went out to the shed and got out a saw. As she took it to he apple, the scene stopped. I knew it was time to go.
I recorded it all and went on my way. Kids sure are stupid, I said to myself.
There were a few people on the street now. They were clearly minding their own business, but time had stopped again so I couldn’t have spoken to them if I had wanted to. Beyond the market, I could see the stones giving way to the steel beams and electrical cables of the spaceship. I continued my journey.
The spaceship was as cold as it had been, although this time there was at least the whirring of the engines to provide some life. There were flashing buttons on the wall, and a magnificent vista of the earth. Actually, it probably wasn't the earth. The earth only has one moon.
I knocked on the door
Woah
I fell backwards. The inertia had caught me off guard.
What are you doing here ?
What are you doing here ?
I'm fighting these dirty Yangit scum, why, what side are you on ?
I was already gone
The beams and cables gave way to the cave where the ritual was taking place. Su-ner was exactly as I had left her, as were Su-lan and Su-fo. The whole ceremony consisted of Su-ner drinking a purple liquid from an ornate jug, then lying down in the firepit in the centre of the room. She seemed to be asleep. Su-fo lit a fire in the pit, and Su-ner didn’t move. From my vantage point at the back of the cave, I knew noone could see me, I doubted it would end well if they did. After a few minutes, Su-lan started convulsing on the floor, after another few minutes, Su-fo followed suit. I assumed they had inhaled too much smoke; they were between the firepit and the cave mouth. When they had stopped moving, noone dared breath. Noone looked at them, they were so fixated on Su-ner, who still hadn't moved. Some of them started clutching beads, closing their eyes, and offering prayers. It was obvious that Su-ner's parents were dead, the ritual had clearly gone disastrously wrong.
Until.
There was a creaking sound, like large amounts of earth and clay moving. The symbols on the wall started glowing, and somehow detached themselves from the wall, floating through the air and settling on Su-ner. A hole opened in the roof. Su-ner's eyes opened, they now glowed purple. She floated out of the hole. She touched parents’ hands, they awoke, and they climbed to their feet without a hint of their arthritis. Now the crowd was silent again. Su-ner said
I must fulfil my duty
And flew away. There was the sound of thunder crashing and trees falling and mountains colliding and winds howling and volcanoes erupting and rivers flowing, all for the greater good of humanity. The crowd erupted into cheers, the scene stopped. I overturned the stone and let the portal drip onto the wall.
I was back in my “parents” house. I got lost, it took me a while to get back to to where I had been before, there was some activity, the staff were friendly and pointed me in the right direction. It turned out to be Eric Clapton at the pool, he was humming his worst song, Wonderful Tonight, to himself.
I found my...brother in the game room, exactly where I had left him. He was still deciding what to wear. All the hap suits looked exactly the same to me so I dot k ow why he was taking such a long time figuring it out. I looked up at the screen and couldn’t believe my eyes. The world video game championship was a 1v1 in Fortnite. The UI and characters looked a bit different, but only marginally compared to that of my own universe. The game was even called Fortnite, except it was written in comic sans. He looked at me, gave me an up and down glance, there was a flicker of confusion on his face, then went back to picking his suit. He picked the 5th one in the lineup. I recorded it and left.
The two scientists were idiots. They tried like 100 times and every bird flew into the portal on the left. What kind of bird would ever fly into the night sky ?
Killer Lenny was a homeless bum. He walked up and down the same street every day, begging for change, not getting any, then going back to sleep on his little corner. I kept tabs on him, somehow never getting hungry, tired, or overly bored, for about 6 months. I never saw any reason to talk to him, nor did I have any interest in getting close enough to smell him. I suppose in a way I was the same as him, just walking up and down the street with no idea why, and no idea what I would do next. I got accosted a few times, but this universe seemed to have my back, it always sent a kind stranger or some blue lights to my aid, and I never got rained on in the time I was there. One day, Killer took a different path, he walked way out of town. He walked onto the bridge, edged over to the edge of the bridge. His toes were dangling off the edge. He heard a scream. There was a girl in the lake below. She was drowning. He sighed, took himself down from the edge, and took off running down to her. I didn’t bother following him, I watched him go out of view, I watched him come back into view, I watched him rush into the water and pull the girl out. I watched a man come racing down to the bank of the lake in a Bentley. He was wearing an exquisite suit. He exchanged words with Killer, they shook hands, and he drove off. Killer never said a word about it, he never looked back, he just walked back to his corner and resumed business as usual. Another 6 months after this, the Bentley drove up to him, the rich man got out, shook hands with Killer again, and they exchanged words. Killer pointed towards me, and the rich man beckoned me over. I walked over.
Boys, I've got a job for both of you. Killer here says you’ve been his constant companion, always by his side for the last year, and he told me about you and him having certain...abilities that I would find very useful. Now as I've said to Killer here, I am the CEO of the Deep Atlantic Research group, we've been drilling for oil and minerals for the last few years and we've run into some problems. Apparently, millions of years ago, alien spacecrafts landed in the ocean. They are hundreds of kilometres across, they are covering up some of the most valuable mineral deposits in he history of the world. Only problem in, we lack the technology to move them, we lack the technology to operate them, and we lack the technology to get into them. You probably understand already, but the real treasure is the alien tech we found along the way, the oil and gold and silicone and platinum and palladium are just the cherries on the cake. Now, we have taken a very strange request from Mr. Lenny on board, and we have built a big boat with a big diving board, which he says he can use to breach the hull of the alien ships at the bottom of the ocean. Would you like to become agents of our company ? We can assure you the salaries are...agreeable, and the benefits are even better.
I looked at Killer. He looked at me. He spoke first
We’ll take it
Time stopped. I didn’t know what his job title was. The door of the car opened all on its own. I stepped out. I was back on the same corner, but this time I knew there would be gang warfare instead of a sad homeless man. What would happen to him now ? Will he still get his job, now that I had disappeared ? would time ever unfreeze without me there ? I will admit, I was worried for him. The spell that had kept me content and only half-human was already beginning to wear off.
There was a loud scream. About 1000 men, all wearing their gang’s colours and brandishing their gang’s weapons, charged at eachother. Grenades were thrown, guns were fired, spears were used to impale, swords were slashed, shivs were shanked, rockets were launched, farts were smelled, portals to hell were opened, men died, were reanimated, then were killed again. It was over in about 45 seconds. One group, wearing nothing but green speedos, ran into the night, the only group to not have lost a single member. They were singing a song by the highly underrated Creedence Clearwater Revival. I had no idea who they were, and they were moving faster than I could follow. I had an idea. I climbed down from my hidey hole. I checked the name tags of the fallen members of the other gangs. The guys in red leather trench coats were the Rassle, the guys in surgical scrubs were the Rabble, the guys who wore a pirate hat on top of their cowboy hats were the Razzle, the guys who were tattooed head to toe with Spongebob were the Raxxle, the guys who had fluffy coats like sheep were the Raddle, guys who had cybernetic implants were the Rapple, and the guys who carried small pieces of brightly coloured paper were the Raffle. I figured out who the winners were, then I activated my tablet to bring me home.
CHAPTER 4
I found myself back in the room with seat and the table. The two guys were staring down at me
You've probably figured it out at this stage, haven't you ?
I nodded
We tried to keep it kinda cryptic for you for a while, but a smart guy like you ? There was no way you weren't gonna figure it out for yourself. Some of those references were just a bit on the nose, we know that. After 5000 words you kinda stop caring as much, may as well get it over with.
I handed over the tablet.
The guys took turns reading the sequence of events as I had written them
Saw Ri. Fornot’s a Yingit. Las cheer. Hap E. Bird; day. DAR. Raggle

Species: Dog
Breed: Staffy
Age: 1y 6m
Sex: Female
My pup was in the yard and found a dead rabbit when I was not looking. When she came over she was licking her lips. My husband said it did not seem like she ate it.
I called the Vets office and was told as long as she did not eat it it should be ok. I forgot to tell them that her rabies vaccine and a few others expired at the start of March (she had TPLO surgery which was very expensive, and I could not afford another vet visit until this Saturday which she is scheduled for).
We are in CO, is there anything I should be worried about? Any symptoms to look for?
I have OCD and am terrified something bad would happen.

My 2 year old male labrador retriever stole a cooked chicken thighs bone and swallowed it whole.
He weighs 32kg Hx of Hayfever & infrequent eye infections. Is showing no clinical signs. Has been eating and normal bowel movements. This happened almost 48hrs ago. Located in the uk.
After he ate the bone we contacted the vet and they recommended letting it pass and said it would likely happen in the next 24hrs or so and keep a close eye on him. Since then he has had 5 poos all normal, has been eating and acting completely normally but there has been no sign of the bone.
Could he have digested it or is there a risk it’s lodged in his intestine although clearly not obstructing at the moment?
Do I need to book a vets appointment for this or has the danger passed?

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around everything that has happened since April 25th, the day you left me.
I’ve been on several business trips and I still anticipate coming home to your wagging tail, it’s so hard.
We replaced furniture you used to lay on all day. The house doesn’t feel the same between you not laying on the couch and it not looking the same.
Your bowls are dry. I just want to see you eating from your bowl and to see your smile after you ate, it made me so happy seeing you do that. I used to hate the water dripping from your face after you drank from your bowl, but now, I miss it so.
I want to run over to your bed and say good morning to you. You used to be a grumpy man in the morning, I am too.
I want to take naps with you on the couch, running around all day makes me tired too.
I want to take you for long walks around the neighborhood. You can see all of the bunnies and squirrels and chase after them. You can also pee on every tree that you see and mark them as your own, you own the world.
I want to go into the back yard and take pictures of you and show them off to my friends and family, you hated getting your picture taken though.
I want you to come running over when I open the refrigerator, you loved sniffing our food. When we used to cook and drop something from the stove, we said “hot hot hot hot hot” and you knew that you have to wait a few seconds to eat it.
I want to see you laying in the sun rays at the front door. You loved the warmth of the sun but the cold days of the winter.
When the rained, you used to step in every puddle in sight. I miss cleaning and drying your paws after a rain storm.
I want to take you for another haircut, you had quite the grumpy personality coming home from them.
You loved apples. You loved going apple picking, you loved going with the family to pick and eat fresh apples.
Having people at the house isn’t the same anymore. There’s no dog going to our guests begging for table scraps. No dog to tell us someone is at the door. Do dog barking to say goodbye.
Goodbye. I love you bud. Until we meet again.

i dont know how to explain it.
since saturday, ive been feeling really weird. my sister had to go to the hospital because her face was swelling up (its nothing that serious) and that caused all our weekend plans to crumble, and the weather also contributed with that. i love the rain, and i often like the cold, but since i live in Australia we havent gotten much for a long time. its been pouring down with rain and hail all week, and its been very cold and there has been no sun. all our weekend plans of going places got ruined. and also, my family switches the lights on when it gets so stormy that its dark in the house. i really dont like when that happens, because we usually switch the lights on during the evening and night. it messes up my sense of time.
then on sunday, my guinea pig died possibly from a heart attack since they are very sensitive to weather changes and it poured down with rain and cold. my male guinea pigs do not live an ideal life, they live in a well made brick house, but outside in the back garden. i cant do much about it since im only a teenager and living with my parents. my guinea pig Rusty dying made me think of how weird this coincidence has been, a few weeks back my cat fell sick and started vomiting up all her dry food that she ate every night. then my fish got about 5 different diseases and infections causing him to just about disintegrate (the cure album reference haha) and die after fighting to live for 2 weeks. then my cat got better, and she is healthier and happier, but her acting different is messing me up too. shes acting different, but its good on her side. but i also think shes affected by the changes in weather and food routine too. then my close online friends' pet snails died. then my sister got an unexplained swelling in her face. and then my guinea pig died.
to add to this, a year or two ago, both my sister and nine year old neighbour and friend got two deadly diseases, my neighbour with no cure, and my sister is recovering from chemotherapy. i find it really strange how they both happened to show at around the same time, in the same year.
the weather has really really affected me, its supposed to be raining for weeks. we're getting unexpected heavy hail around us and maybe even snow. its never rained like this, or it hasnt rained like this in years. though it is the first week of winter. i haven't seen any sun, its been gray, dark, cold, and the automatic lights have come on in school.
i dont think my family or friends are acting any different, but its just me thats thinking that. my friends are acting different, and what i also hate is when half my friend group isnt at school because it feels unnatural and boring. it feels like my dad is acting different, my classmates are talking about paranormal things which is making me paranoid about my situation, my friend group is slowly shifting and changing. my mom, theres a long story. i sent a text to her on whatsapp last week sometime and it was about how i felt (negatively) about her because everytime we went somewhere together it starts a big argument that ruins our relationship again. and i said i didnt want to do much with her anymore because of that. some part of me is totally aware that she and i both know about that text and im just somehow acting better. im talking to her normally, but not in the usual argumentive way we talk in. its in a calm, good relationship way. its unnatural. i shouldnt be like this.
today i had the worst period cramps so i asked my dad if i could stay home from school. i was home alone trying to sort out my feelings, and i was outside eating lunch. i didnt feel normal. my mom came home from the hospital with my sister, and we didnt argue, i wasnt my usual angry frustrated and overstimulated self. i was calm and i wasnt that angry at all. its like i was out of my body, i couldnt control my thoughts, or what i said, or how i felt. in the back of my mind, i could feel my normal self, but the person i was acting like was different. its like i had two personalities kind of. i was talking to my mom like all our past conversations were gone. all the things she said to me or said about me were not relevant.
ive been looking at myself in the mirror and camera lately too, and i dont look like myself, i cant recognise myself. i look weird and different but i cant pinpoint it. my eyes look bigger, my face looks longer. i look really different, i havent experienced this before. but i dont know. i dont think this is the reason, but i cut my hair slightly before this.
ive also been obsessively cleaning my room out, and thats also unusual to me. i didnt take anything to help me concentrate, but its like all the voices in my head switched off and my only thoughts were the goals to clean my room, and the music playing in my ears. whenever i clean my room i can hear millions of my thoughts and it distracts me. ive also taken risks in cleaning my room like cleaning out my closet ive never touched because it overwhelms me to even think about cleaning it.
my younger sister has been pretty distant with me, which is normal with her situation and age, but also her tace looking different is messing with me too.
my brother has been having mood swings and we have been close and not close at different times.
recently i have felt out of my body, as i am sitting right now, i can only feel my arms moving, i feel like im floating right above my head and im disconnected. i feel like a ghost and i cant snap back into my body. i feel like im not real and im in a dream.
my autistic girlfriend agrees with me that this could be derealization. but im still unsure.
i really hate this feeling, i dont know when im going to snap out of it or how to snap out of it.
unrelated a bit, but the songs i feel like i can relate to right now is The Top and Shake dog Shake by The Cure. The Top because of the isolated instruments, and Shake dog Shake because of the lyrics.
and also, ive been unable to see my girlfriend for ages because of her situation with TAFE and the awful weather, and its also messing me up because i feel like im really really.. not real and different. i need someone to tell me im real and act normal and not different.
i hope this feeling is not happening just because im on my period, because that is usually a stereotype in my view, and ive never felt this way on my period before.