“We are gonna crash land!” yelled Rhonamus Prime.

“What coooooould I doooooooo?” said Blurr.

“ Wait Blurr! You can transform into an air ship!” said Ultra Magnus.

“Look! We are not in luck as this ship is gonna crash in 2 astro minutes! Quick, run!”

But they were out of luck. Wham! The ship crash landed.

“Ooh, Nebulon, we’re in!” said Rhonamus Prime.

The autobots became headmasters when they put their heads down. And then the nebulons climbed into their head masters.

“ Charge!” someone shouted.

“Who”? said Blurr.

“Charge!” must be the invisible Decepticon.

“Stink flake!” said Ultra Magnus.

“Oh Yes, I am!” said Stink Flake.

But then Stink Flake fainted from his own stink. The autobots celebrated by taking their heads off.

“But how are we going to build a ship? Blurr asked. “Also, there’s no energon here!”

Then Rhonamus Prime said, “You can fly and take us with you.”

“LOW ENERGY!”

“I have low energy!” said Blur.

“Restore!” said Ultra Magnus. And it worked.

A wicked witch turned a beautiful oak tree into an evil Talking Walking Tree. Because he could walk and talk, the talking walking tree began to destroy every tree in the whole world. He only spoke to evil trees, like pineapple, apple and banana trees.

The talking walking tree was tough but the two robots did not give up. One was called AT the other was called Half-Red-Black or HRB for short. AT and HRB cared about the trees because they gave everyone fresh air and fruits.

To stop the Evil Talking Walking Tree they thought of a plan; they thought, they thought and they thought.

Finally they had a plan. AT would distract the Talking Walking Tree by juggling pineapples, apples and bananas.

HRB would make the Talking Walking Tree dizzy by running in circles around him very fast.

After five hours of hard work they finally defeated the Talking Walking Tree. Hooray for the two robots!!!

Ace and Spud are mighty space mice who protect Haumea, a peaceful planet that smells like fresh flowers and everywhere you look you see happy mice who like to dance, eat and party!

Dr.X, an evil alien cat and his mouse assistant Ms. XY, lived on a planet called Makemake and is full of trash! The planet smells like sewer, it’s dark and dirty and everywhere you look you see garbage. Makemake is a messy planet.

Dr.X has a plan to take over Haumea and turn it into a garbage filled planet like Makemake.

Ace and Spud learned about the wicked plan.

“Spud, we must stop Dr.X from destroying Haumea!” cried Ace.

“Maybe if we are friendly to Dr.X, he will change his mind.” said Spud.

Ace and Spud took a rocketship and blasted off to Makemake.

“We come in peace and bring you flowers,” Ace said to Dr.X.

“Catch them!” ordered Dr. X. He doesn’t like anything beautiful because he grew up in a world filled with litter.

Just as Ace and Spud offered Ms. XY cheese, she said “I never tried anything so delicious!”

“If you come visit Haumean, we can give you more good food!” said Spud.

“I’ll help you escape if I can come visit!” asked Ms. XY.

Together, Ace and Spud with Ms. XY chase Dr. X into the dumpsite!

The mice then flew back in their rocket to Haumea.

There was a caveman who chipped the biggest boulder that you can imagine. On his way to see his family he saw a UFO smashed and grazed on all the sides. Without thinking, he went into the UFO and he spun around until the spinning stopped. He found himself as a nomad carrying a sack of potatoes and the UFO had turned into a small UFO in his pocket!

When he touched the UFO, he instantly got back to his family’s camp. He thought, “What an extraordinary day this is! When he ran back to his boulder he saw it had turned into a big lightbulb that could talk! This was getting weirder. Next he was in the ice age and a massive beast was charging toward him. He touched the UFO and was back beside the lightbulb.

“ You have three seconds to escape or you will be sucked up into my belly.” said the light bulb. The caveman ran seventeen miles before the lightbulb counted to three. The caveman ran into a cave and saw his family inside, and said hello to his family and his family said, ” Who are you? And the caveman said, “I’m your son, family.” They finally realized that the caveman was their son because they haven't seen him for years because they had accidentally left him behind when they were leaving.

Alien wanted to learn to drive the ship, but Mom and Dad wouldn't let him. He’s begged them for days and days, but the answer was no!

While they were out, Alien looked out at the front porch, contemplating just peeking inside the ship.

“It won’t hurt if I just take a look, right?” thought Alien.

Alien climbs into the spaceship. Inside there were hundreds of buttons everywhere. But there was one BIG RED BUTTON.

“hmmm...I wonder what this button does?” Alien thought to himself. Before it was too late,! Alien had pressed the button and the spaceship started to zoom.

“WOAAAAHHHHHHH!” Alien was flying 250 miles an hour!

“This is SOOOO FUN! Where should I travel to?! Maybe Mars?” said Alien, “I think it’s that way ? And he steers the ship to the left.

Suddenly the alien drove the ship too fast but suddenly stopped!!!

“GAS! I’m out of gas! What have I done?! said the Alien.

Later it was so dark that the aliens' flash light was out of batteries!

Suddenly there was a boy who crashed to the moon “ummmmmm……. hello?” said Alien

“Hi, can you help me fix my ship?” said the boy.

They found the items to fix their ship and the boy drove home.

When the boy got home he saw his parents waiting at the driveway looking angry.

“Are you serious? You could have died! Why did you take out the ship without asking?” said his father

“I was just trying to practice!” said the Alien.

“We just bought the ship! You don’t have your license yet, you don’t know how to drive! When you’re older we can teach you.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t know I shouldn’t have done it! I won’t do it again”.

“Nothing here!” Marion said as she flipped over drawers in the broken house. As always, the sun didn’t shine. The earth was cold. It had been for years.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP the computer went.

“What is it now?”

MARION, IT’S LARA, SAM, AND MISS SARAH. COME OUT, WE’RE DONE.

“That house might have taken a long time to scan,” said Sam, Marion’s brother.

“Nah, it didn’t,” said Marion, joining her brother outside the broken house. “The houses are empty though.”

“Let’s go!”

Soon Marion’s sister Lara spotted something. “Hey, look, it’s a library!”

“It’s probably been picked over,” said Miss Sarah.

“Not necessarily,” said Lara.

“Wow … that’s a LOT of books!” cried Sam as they entered the library.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it!” Lara rolled her eyes.

An hour passed as Marion sorted books with Lara.

“We’re trying to sort them by subject,” Lara told Sam.

“But I’ve already sorted them by size. It doesn’t matter!” Sam stuck out his tongue

“It does!” cried Lara.

“Uh… I’ll work the scanner to help out?” asked Marion. “Wait! What’s this book about? Fire? Heat? Earth?” Marion was getting excited. “Oh man, I definitely need to know what this book is about!”

Soon, it was morning and everybody woke up. “It’s time to go!” called Sara the teacher.

“VOLCANOES!!!!!!” Marion shouted.

“What’s a vol… key.. no?” Lara asked.

“No! Vol-CAN-oes!” Marion corrected. “Volcanoes help the earth and give life on earth. This is the solution to the coldness!”

VOLCANOES!!!!!!!!!"

John carefully slipped through the woods a shortcut to avoid the school bully. A twig snapped behind him and he jumped 5 feet up, he was extremely cautious. He waited for a minute and continued. As he walked he noticed something strange. Even though it was early in the morning it got darker as he walked on until it was pitch black. John felt something behind him but he didn’t get the time needed to turn around…because he blacked out…

John had a nightmare about Andy making fun of his name.

“Yo guys, I need to use the John,” imaginary Andy mocked. His goons snickered, making faces at John insulting him. John was used to it, but this time Andy turned around and punched him. John didn’t feel a thing; he just woke up in sweat.

He looked around and remembered what happened before he blacked out. John’s shoulders grew increasingly tense after recalling but the site he was at seemed so peaceful. There weren’t many leaves on the ground before, but now the ground was carpeted with leaves. John decided to check it out and he gently swept away the leaves.

There was a hole under the carpet and John decided that he was brave enough to go in. It seemed quite shallow but when he jumped in, it was quite a fall, he even sprained an ankle! He looked around to see a cyborg staring at him with a glowing red eye...

I was driving, but I had no idea where to go. My car had all terrain tires, so I drove off the road and into the grass, instead of pulling over. My quadcopter had finished its scan, so it landed near me, where I packed it up. I suddenly had the thought of going to Area 51, a secret naval base there had been rumors about everywhere. The rumors said it would be in Nevada, which would be a long drive to get there. I drove there, and I had to refuel several times. Once I had got there, a guard asked me for identification. Instead, I told him that I had valuable information, and I showed him it. He let me in, and showed me to the general's room. “Who thinks they’re so important to storm into this room during a meeting?!” yelled a general, looking very mad. “He claims to have information about the recent bombing sir,” said the guard. I showed him the recording of my scan, in infrared, x-ray, and normal mode. All of the generals were interested, and one said into a speaker, “Bring in the space jets Sergeant James! We’re going to defeat the enemies before they can strike again!” But they did strike again. The generals showed me to the control room, and a giant sphere that looked like the Death Star came into view in one of the large screens. A green laser shot at the nearby moon, which blew up. Everybody was scared, but one general said “Gather everybody who is good at playing on the Super Nintendo Entertainment system.” I volunteered, and later a guy named General Clark was in a large warehouse, where he showed us space jets. They had no heads-up displays, but projectors to show a targeting screen. The controls had status bars and shield activators, but the main controls looked like a Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller. We practiced in simulators, and we were ready in a few hours.

A dark, thin, spaceship appeared above the playground. We all were frozen in shock. Before I had a chance to scream I was being pulled up to the UFO in a tractor beam. I kicked and squirmed trying to get out, but it was hopeless. Inside the ship I was surrounded by a transparent force-field. I frantically looked around the room for a way out. There was only a small computer standing on a pure white table.

“Welcome.” A voice echoed within the cold room. I kicked the force-field, but my leg bounced back at me.

“Who are you?!” I yelled. My voice boomed within the room.

A small, pixelated, face took shape on the computer. “My name is XYA.” The voice responded. “I come from the planet of TECH. We have been searching for smart creatures to become our slaves.” All of a sudden the spacecraft began to shake, throwing me around the force-field.

A computer on wheels made its way into the room. “Sir, our ship isn’t meant for this much gravity.”

“Well fix it, you fool!” thundered XYA.

“I believe my name is Dr. Computerthingy, not fool,” replied the computer.

Then *SNAP*, the ship broke in two. I was falling, falling, then blackness.

I woke up lying in the park, dazed. The dirt tasted like rotten cheese in toothpaste. People were screaming as the lasers hit the streets making jagged holes in the ground. Above me the sky was cluttered with alien ships. Oh no, I thought.

I woke up in the afternoon. I heard some creaking floorboards but I ignored them but each time I ignored it, it got louder and LOUDER. I felt a chill climbing up my spine. I ran downstairs looking for my mom but she wasn't there. I went back upstairs to the attic where I heard the creaking. I looked around and only saw dust, but I looked behind me and saw this huge weird glowy thing that had ooze dripping out of a pipe. The ooze was lime coloured and glowy, I opened the thing and it had this weird light green guy with huge eyes. “Is that an alien?” screaming in frightness, I called my neighbours through the window but they said there dealing with something and someone. I think there's that box thing in each house on our block. I walk away from the window and see it again and chomp my dog! I woke up and it was all a dream, WOW maybe that's a massage from outer space. Ok now some stuff about me.

Hi, I'm Matthew Harper, born in Lakewood, Denver. I’ve got a younger sister called Addie. I'm 11, I'm going to turn 12 when it's November, and all my cousins and friends are going to this National Grayer Park, named after my great-grandpa when it’s my birthday. My best buds are Brodie, Henrik, Pat, Meyers and Avery.

None of that has anything to do with aliens but it has everything to do with me.

Finally, he flipped to: How to make honeycomb--

Buzz the Robo-bee was in his computerized hive, surrounded by walls of wax, wood, and computer chips. It was boring without his owner, who had gone to buy books for Buzz, like The Computer Virus in Robo-Street. Buzz decided to do something special for his owner.

He checked the honey jars first, ten feet wide and twice as tall.

“Whoa!” cried Buzz. “Owner has to get them out before I make more!”

Next, he went to the kitchen, sipping warm water with honey. Buzz grabbed his very special secret recipe family cookbook from the cupboard. He flipped to a page: How to make warm water with honey. He was sipping some right now! So, Buzz flipped to: How to make sugar cookies with honey, but Buzz didn’t have any cookie dough left, and felt disappointed.

Bzzzz!

Buzz looked out to see bees with golden stripes like the sun, and dark strips like the night sky.

“Hi!” Buzz shouted. Everyone ignored him--they didn’t want to befriend someone from a computerized hive. He felt like screaming at them.

Suddenly, Buzz saw a bee with drooping antennae and heavy wings. He noticed that the bee was also a robo-bee, like him!

“Hi! I’m Buzz the Bee.”

The bee giggled. “How silly! I’m Buzz 1000!”

After some chatting , they became friends and also tried out the new honeycomb recipe and shared it with their owners.

I was in my laboratory, trying to bring back Frankenstein. I needed to use test tubes to see which one would work. At last, I made Frankenstein. But he was not evil like other Frankensteins. He was nice and happy, instead of scary and terrifying.

The first thing he said was, “Will you be my friend?”

He was not a human, so I was worried, because I’d never had a non-human friend before. However, I said “Fine, but we’re not real friends until we are friendly to each other. Okay?”

“Okay!” he said.

“To be real friends we need to play together and talk to each other, okay?”

“Okay!” he said.

“Now let us play a game called catch together, okay?”

“Okay!” he said.

“Here, catch it!” and I threw the ball. He caught it, then he threw it back at me, but he threw it way too hard. I kind of hurt the heel of my hand, so we went back home to sleep. We laid down, and I decided: on the outside I do not like him, but on the inside he is nice.

“What story do you think we’ll hear today?” asked Staalon, [s-t-A-l-on], sitting with her legs crossed, all four arms on her lap. “Yeah!”said Globa [glob-ah]. Globa was shaped like a lizard creature made of clear goo and with six legs. “I LOVE his stories!” The whole room was filled with the buzzing of alien children of all kinds chatting when suddenly, “Ahem.” The storyteller had arrived. “Today I am going to be telling how self conflict can wipe out an entire species,” said the storyteller. “Once upon a time…” The room slowly fell into a trance as he began the tale. Once upon a time there was an ancient civilization called humans. They evolved from an unintelligent group to the most evolved creatures in the whole multiverse. One day, all of the scientists had created a type of bullet that could kill you the moment it was shot. The problem was, all the countries wanted themselves to be the only ones that could use them. Eventually, the conflict got so huge that the counties declared war on each other. Soon, joining the battle was mandatory for all. Two years later, the whole species was wiped out…. “T-t-that’s so s-s-sad…” said Globa, honking her nose on a tissue. Soon, all the children were in a gloomy mood, silently honouring the advanced humans who had come and gone. All the children went home, knowing how much selfishness can cost you.

Jordan woke to a robotic voice calling him. “Here is a cup of tea Master.”

“No thank you,” Jordan said.

Ten minutes later Jordan hopped in a mini-ship and blasted off the ISS. But a tingly feeling remained in Jordan’s stomach.

Suddenly, the great magical portal that the “Creator” left behind appeared. It was only recently discovered by the scientist, Zacme Asmov. Jordan felt proud. He was the last man on earth to go through.

He took a selfie with the ever-changing sun as it turned into a black hole.

Then, the worst possible things started happening. The portal started closing. A UFO flew toward him.

Jordan gunned the engines. The portal was shrinking fast! The mini-ship flew through--

But not in time.

The alien ship landed next to him. It covered Jordan with shielding. But there was no need. The black hole “Blinked” and disappeared.

“Hello!” The alien got off the UFO. “I know what you have been through. I was also the last of my kind to go through our portal. Now, come in for a cup of tea!”

Soon, their little tea party was over and the alien went to leave.

“No,” Jordan yelled! “Stay please!”

“I’m sorry Jordan but I can’t stay.”

The alien ship disappeared. Jordan fell to the ground and something hit him on the head. A letter? Most odd. As Jordan read it, his tears fell. He may be the only man on earth, but he knew someone was out there for him.

Robbie signalled to her from the edge of the forest with a blip, blip, bleep of light like he always did at 8:46pm (which was breakfast on his planet a million miles away). Josephinia ran towards the light as she loved to do, but tonight’s light was strange, with a red tint that frightened her and prompted her feet to run faster. It looked like glowing, glowering angry eyes. Her heart pounded like her footsteps through the dry rocks and grass, and Robbie’s light grew brighter and brighter red. And suddenly, it stopped and she did not know which direction to run.

She tripped on a bramble, then stopped. A strange sound came from the edge of the woods. “Garble, blip. Garble, blip.” Josephinia had spent enough time with Robbie to understand basic robotic, and she was not enjoying what she heard. “Garble, blip, garble!” Then, abruptly, “BLEEEEEEEEPPPPPAAAAAAASCCCCCCRRRREEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

The sound was robotic, and like an animal in pain. She was drawn to it and stepped closer and closer to the red eyes, and mournful noises.

Welcome to Canada, year 3030! C’mon!

The shops contain the highest quality things from big, sweet oranges, to sparkling crowns for rulers. All the shops have amazing names! See, that one is named ""Spring Wonders"". Why are you laughing? That's my favourite shop… Hmp. You rude.

WOOSH! Aww, don't be afraid, it's just a flying car! Wait, where you come from has NO flying cars?!? I hope this is some kind of joke... Anyway, I was supposed to give you a tour.

Oooh look at the pet store! Let's go in! Look! The animal rights welfare made EVERYTHING good for pets. Anything bad: into the burn pit. A burn pit is where you dump trash and then burn it with controlled flames. I'm going to check out the animals. Look! Here's Ridrophia - a three headed snake. Lives in wetlands. It’s plain brown with three heads that look like its body. It ambushes its prey on land. Riprophia has beady, black eyes. The food it feeds on includes fish and eggs. Okay, that's all they have for today.

Let's go to my house! I'm sure you'll love it there. Now, where's my multitasker? Here, an iPad is also called a multitasker . *Beep*! My car came! C'mon in. Wroosh, squeech. I told you not to go supersonic speed! Sorry, Rover the car really likes going superspeed. By the way, where do you come from? ?! 2020?! Wow…

You have to leave? You have to? I hope you enjoyed the tour. Bye...

I remember my childhood. In 2045 children were educated and raised by robots until we rebelled against them.

“I want kids to have a tough life just like when I was a child,” said Dr. Evil to himself.

“Robots will lock children in their houses and brainwash the parents to work for me! Muahahahahaha.”

Dr. Evil made a satellite in space replacing the robot's programs from good to evil.

I was playing soccer with my robot when its eyes turned red.

“Pass!” I yelled.

He passed it right into MY FACE!

“Hey!” I shouted across the field.

I went to my room and slammed the door. I gazed up into the sky through my window and I saw a blimp saying “Free Gas Forever” The location was included and I know it was an abandoned warehouse! I became suspicious. I knew my parents would be interested in this deal. Every parent would!

I called my friends and they told me they were experiencing the same thing. I sent out an email to every child in our province and told them to start an army, attack their robot and meet up at my house. I tackled and poured water on my robot to destroy him. I heard knocking at my door, like a hammer trying to hit a nail. I opened the door and saw everyone geared up!

“Freedom!” I yelled as we charged into the HQ, clicking the satellite self destruct button. We unbrainwashed our parents and the robots exploded!

The Portal in the Sky Summer was reading in her two storey house, when she looked out the window and —BONK! A man fell from the sky! Summer quickly ran outside the fallen man. She took the helmet off the astronaut and saw it was a dead NASA astronaut. Then she looked at his chest —Ahh! It’s all red! Summer recoiled and then looked close. A Maple Leaf. He’s Canadian! She ran back home and called NASA. She was put through to their call centre. “Hello?” Summer said, “I think one of your astronauts just fell from the sky!” “Sorry, we don’t listen to fictional stories.” In the sky, Summer saw that there was a PORTAL hovering in the clouds. “Hold on NASA! I think your Astronaut must have fallen through a portal in the sky!” “I’m sorry, but we don’t listen to prank calls.” The phone call ended. A few minutes later, a NASA spaceship fell from the portal. Summer Facetimed NASA so they can see the portal. She used another account she secretly knew so they couldn’t deny it. Summer used the PRIME MINISTER’S ACCOUNT! “Excuse moi. I think I saw your rocket ship destroy mon White House. There is a portal.” Summer showed the NASA astronauts the portal. NASA agreed to not send any more astronauts until this problem was fixed. Whew! All she needed to do was to deal with the portal. The next thing Summer did was call The United Nations, she pretended to be The Queen of England.

Starlence looked back at Mars one more time before the rocket launched. She grabbed her seatbelt, feeling sick. Beside her was Axel, her second cousin. He looked at her and grinned. As the rocket slowed down, Starlence looked outside. Stars shone everywhere. She wanted to put some in a jar, so she could look at them everyday.

“So how’re you feelin’?” Axel asked.

“Uh… I dunno. It feels… weird,” Starlence mumbled.

“Yeah.”

Starlence didn’t know what to expect. It had been so long since anyone went to Earth. According to the satellites, Earth was far too polluted for a human to be safe. The footage showed that Earth had toxic gasses that can cause fatal injuries. But, the scientists on Mars created a toxic-proof jumpsuit that could allow humans to go onto the dangerous planet.

“It’s hard to imagine our great grandparents livin’ in such a horrendous place! The videos we saw make Earth seem awful,” Axel said.

“Mm-hmm,” Starlence replied distractedly.

After the explosions, humans fled to Mars on defective spaceships. 9/10 of them crashed, but one made it to Mars and the humans settled. They planted food, and built buildings. But, what does Earth look like now?

“Hey, looks like we’re almost here, Star,” Axel’s voice woke Starlence up.

The rocket landed. But, there were no gasses. There was a stunning green everywhere. It rained sunlight. Vines and ivy were woven into the ground. Trees grew and birds sang.

“Magnificent,” Starlence whispered.

Nimue woke up, she was in a place she didn’t recognize. She walked to the mirror and closely examined herself. She had a million questions; what’s this place? Why was she here? She was in a strange girl’s body.

“But I was dead.”

Nimue decided to go downstairs.

There, she saw him.

The memories came back as she recalled the man.

That night, thunder roared, rain poured down. Nimue hastily ran inside a dark valley. Soon enough, Nimue was cornered by the witch hunters. With no weapon to defend herself, she was left absolutely helpless. “Master Marvin, kill this witch!” With the swish of Marvin’s Soul Sword, Nimue’s lifeless body crashed to the cold hard ground.

The wind blew gently. The thunderstorm calmed down…

Nimue stared at the person standing in front of her with deep hatred. It was Marvin, leader of witch hunters; the person who took her life. Nimue could not believe this–was she actually alive? In the body of a young girl, living in the same place as him.

“Good morning.” Said Marvin.

Nimue asked herself. “Why am I with this stupid man? That detestable imbecile!”

Nimue couldn’t control herself like a wild animal set free, she had to escape. She ran into a room that was pitch black. There was a machine. She walked to it, it said:

TIME MACHINE

Nimue knew this was her chance to get revenge. She carefully pressed the open switch, and jumped into the time machine. Revenge.

“Update your chip today! Have 20 terabytes more of memory storage,” the giant advertisement blared.

I bolted towards my tiny apartment where my parents and I lived. For such an advanced country where everyone is chipped, rich with all the knowledge you could ever dream of, we still can’t fix tiny, basic problems, like housing, or complex ones, like war. Maleb, our small country, has been at war with Calliette for several years. Our army is much weaker than theirs, and Maleb is on the brink of surrender.

“How was your ride, Lyla?” my mom asked as I walked through the door.

Folding up my bike, I replied, “Good. There’s another chip update.”

“Well, thank goodness you don’t have that silly chip, or else who knows what you would want to purchase.”

She was correct– I’m not chipped because I’m an unregistered citizen. I was secretly born, and my parents hid me away, so I didn’t get chipped. Being unregistered is illegal. If I was discovered by anyone, I could be jailed, tortured for evidence or forced to be “chipped”, but I would rather be dead than potentially be controlled.

Suddenly, my mother’s eyes widened. My mom messily jerked, grabbed the government supplied taser, then she uniformly marched away, following everyone else. I glanced outside– thousands and thousands of people were walking in orderly lines; each carrying a weapon.

The nightmare has come true.

Everyone is being controlled.

Everyone, except me.

The ball was launched in the air so high that it went above my head and landed all the way over by the old red barn. No one wanted to go there, for there was a rumour that the barn had been at one time invaded by extraterrestrials.

“You’re a bunch of scaredy cats,” I said as I ran over to get my ball back. The ball was nowhere in sight. I tripped on what appeared as a giant hatch door. “What’s this?” I thought. I pulled on the door. A ladder came out of the wall. I climbed down and saw another big locked metal door. Luckily, I had a pocket knife and I used that to pick the lock. I saw several of what looked like charred computers and destroyed screens. One thing in the bunker was still intact. An old hard drive. I grabbed it and climbed up the ladder, slammed the hatch door and ran home. I plugged in the harddrive to my computer. There was a sudden sound, my screen scrolled row after row of numbers. There was a bright flash! In big red letters amid the rapidly changing numbers PREPARE FOR THE EVENT…

A series of images popped up on my screen, one I recognized. It was the field where I had been playing, but all the grass was just ash. I noticed a timestamp on one of the photos: Jan 4, 2046 I looked at my calendar. It said Dec 24, 2045.

Sweetie frantically pressed the buttons on the control pad. The black hole was coming at her at full speed. Then everything went dark.

She woke up on a planet. She looked at the remains of the spaceship. She gasped when she found out that the ignition key was missing.

Sweetie tiptoed and found herself at the edge of a clearing. She saw green creatures with back-shells working hard. They were the size of a space hopper. She scrambled out of the greenery. She asked them questions, they didn’t understand.

She followed the creatures, in her invisible cloak. She went into a magnificent building and saw a golden space-hopper creature. Sweetie then realized that it was probably the leader. She then saw her key nearby.

She crept past the guards. The guards were stacking on each other, and it was impossible to get through them.

She climbed up the staircase and took out a length of rope. Sweetie then slid down the rope and reached out to grab the key. No such luck. There was a force field around it.

Giving up she walked back to the spaceship and couldn’t believe her eyes. Tons of space-hopper creatures, fixing the spaceship. The golden one handed her the key. She thanked the creatures and gave them her cloak as a gift. Time to take off!

Sweetie soon became a bestselling author with her book: Spaceus Hopperus, thanks to her truly memorable experience.

It was self defense?

A knife impaled Angelina’s back. Blue blood began to bleed from the wound.

“Oops... sorry! My hand just slipped.” Shrugged Tera. “I totally didn't do it on purpose.”

Her friend Cedrella was appalled. “Teraaaaaaaa... Seriously? Remember, we’re trying to keep our enemies incapacitated yeah, but alive.”

“I said I was sorry.” Tera smiled.

“Ugh, fine. But next time, alive. Okay?”

Tera rolled her eyes, flipped the body over and started shoving it in a sack.

“Okay?” Cedrella said with a threatening tone.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. I’ll make sure to keep them “alive,” as you say.”

“THANK YOU.” Cedrella replied as she helped hoist the body.

The two of them hauled the body bag across the abandoned rooftop. Below them, the honks of the hovercars and the sirens of cybercops could be heard echoing distantly.

“Well to be fair, it was self defense?” Tera bit her lip.

“No. No, it was not. It really wasn’t.” Cedrella shook her head.

“In my opinion, it’s self defense.”

“Well, your opinion is wrong, unfortunately. And, this conversation is over.”

“It was self defense and my opinion is right.”

“I SAID, this conversation is OVER.”

I quickly ran down the floating marble sidewalk. I had missed the 7:30 portal because I overslept after my bed ran out of batteries. If I were late, Ms. Aron would punish me. I did not want to spend two hours trying to clean the dirty windows. As I was concentrating on soapy windows, I did not see the sheet of paper slip out of my backpack to the land beneath my rocket shoes right as I was turning the sharp corner around the rainbow powered rock. My feet slipped out from under me and while I desperately tried to skid to a halt, I slid off the platform and into the abyss below.

I tried to stop my fall, but I knew it was useless. I lay in the abyss and thought of what I should do next. I didn’t call for help. No one would hear me. I started to panic. 80 people fall down this place on a yearly basis. They are stuck there until they get rescued, or until they get sucked through the end of the hole. They are never seen again. Very few have been rescued. I was about to lose hope as I neared the end of the tunnel. I heard voices from up above. I saw the worried expressions of rescue workers as they lowered down a rope. It was too late. I reached my arms up and screamed. I was sucked into the void.

On a cold Friday night I was in my bed and BANG! The sound woke me up and with a loud jolt of my squeaky bed I sat up. At first, I thought it was a dream, but there was a bright light filling my bedroom. I knew there was no way that light would let me sleep. So, I got up to see what it was and where it was coming from.

I walked down the stairs to the door. I put on my slippers and fuzzy coat and went outside. I walked around the house and to my surprise, it was a flying saucer! It was an exact replica of the ones in comic books and movies, so I couldn’t possibly have mistaken it for anything else.

Excitedly, I watched the saucer to see if any aliens emerged. I waited for something to happen while sitting on the cold, wet grass. The sun came up and I was very tired. I stood up to go back inside, when just at that moment, I felt a tug at my fuzzy coat. I was amazed at the sight of an alien!

Very humanoid in appearance, they were green as they are always portrayed. They stood there with their strange, large, black eyes staring at me. I ran! I ran as fast as I could, faster than I ever ran before. I went straight back to my room.

And of course, now no one believes me... but do you?

I remember one time when the world was dark. It was shrouded in black, stygian darkness, and I couldn't see a thing. The government called it progress, it was industry; it helped us make money, until they died. It was a moment of hope, it was hope for all of us. Now we had to undo what they did in a hundred years. We had fifty or our population would tank.

We got on, cleaning soiled rivers, blocking off sunlight in our incandescent air, and planting trees. Trees! Hah! I hadn’t seen them before. And, and green! Not the hard green we saw, fused with plastic, but a green of freedom and life! It was a new age! This was amazing; and it was on earth. Mars was nice, but turns out we nuked it a little… much. So Earth was our best go, and we turned it green.

Well we could have.

Turns out big companies did not last to a single generation, boomer ideology expanded, and it gradually destroyed Earth, for a single buck. I haven’t seen a tree, nor the colour green. Only red and gray, and now, black.

The sharp, cold wind stabbed at the man's trench coat covered face as he trudged through the sludge-covered street. The moonlight glinted off an Incan warrior talisman the man had in his hand, something that helped keep his sanity in these insane times.

Trevor approached the old Victoria house with a mix of fear and trepidation. Pocketing the talisman, he knocked on the heavy acacia door. Every rap on the door seemed to hurt more than it should’ve, and every thump seemed to resonate in his own heart. As he waited, he reminisced about his childhood, and the circus he once went to. The acrobats and the animals were fun, but what he loved more than anything were the clowns, with their colorful makeup, and their interesting routines. “Then the new government came to town,” he thought bitterly, “and everything was “normalized”.

The door slowly creaked open, and Trevor quickly strode in, evading the cold. An old servant looked at him bleakly and then beckoned him up the stairs. He climbed the stairs and entered a musty, poorly lit room full of men in dark cloaks. He sat down in the designated chair and put on the mind cap. “I’ve gotten the muse again.” He said to the cloaked men. This was met with no response, except for a dry nod from one of them. Another man flicked a lever, and Trevor slumped over in the chair.

Trevor was walking on a sunlit path, and every step made him feel lighter. The inner struggle that had devastated him for weeks was gone. He loved the government.

Red is by far

my favourite colour

The colour of warmth, passion,

love, and kisses.

I sighed. I couldn’t care less about gym class. All we really did was listen to a fat man in his 40s yelling that he can run faster than we ever could. Like, we get it. You aren’t overweight. But turns out, what we’re doing today is worse. Dodgeball. Who decided throwing rubber balls at each other at high speeds would be a good children's game? Oh god, this isn’t going to end well.

But also, the colour of death,

blood,

a beating heart.

I called it. A ball flew right into my face, hitting my nose dead on. The rules are waist and below, but some went to “show-off”. At least I got out of playing, but damn did that hurt. The bloody nose is just a small price to pay for freedom.

I didn’t think it would turn out to be an apocalypse,

like something that’s depicted in movies.

I just didn’t want to have to play dodgeball.

The nurse sent me back. Said she didn’t want to deal with me. Apparently,somehow people had made their way inside the school. Sending me into the hallways where the possible kidnappers are probably isn’t the brightest idea but whatever. I opened the doors to the gym and was met with the sight of blood.

Red.

The gym was covered in red.

Limbs torn from bodies,

as the metallic smell took over the room.

To increase productivity at a lower cost of effort, the Ministry of Labour will announce today their intention to terminate all human labour. The government has contemplated the subject of employing Artificial Intelligence, and can ensure the reliability of autonomous workers. The decentralization of intelligence promises independent thought for each mechanical individual…

It seems as if it was only yesterday that I moved into the twelfth unit of the 29th floor at Ronan Point. I was sent as a caretaker for Ryan, who occupied that apartment. As I dutifully worked, I noticed at first the joy emanating from the humans. It was present everywhere; Ryan was relieved from the strenuous yet unprofitable work he did as an entrepreneur, his friends came over nonstop, and people on television even seemed ecstatic.

The happiness that encroached on the city did not last long. The spontaneous visits from his friends soon diminished as a sullen mood draped over the megapolis. By the first week, Ryan gave up video-gaming and emerged from his cave, then the month gave way to a furious fervor for reading -- something he once despised, and the turn of seasons marked the end of Ryan’s rationality. Soon after, Ryan begged to return to work, which I responded with violent oppression. Even as I resisted against his wills, I pitied the poor human, for whom pleasure without pain becomes nothing but indifference. Alas, humans can not thrive without the very thing they abhor; existence without challenge to humans is no different from death.

“I need a prosthetic eye.”

Dr. Villin’s face twitched. The unsocial doctor’s face was lined with age and wisdom of a job done for too long.

“It is as I told you Dr. I need to get back to my job before the Robots come for me,” Lindsay Sommers exclaimed, her face taut with tension.

“I’m afraid I cannot comply so easily.”

“So you’re telling me that I can’t get a prosthetic eye.”

“I am telling you no such thing.”

“Then what are you implying to me?”

“I am only saying you will have to give something in return.”

“Well, Dr. Villin, I hope you are aware that I have nothing left to give you.”

“You have a lot on the line, Ms. Sommers,” the Dr. says, “you just don’t know it yet.”

“Well, you must help me, it’s life or Internment. Haven’t you heard the stories? About people losing their souls? Becoming life-sized dolls? Getting dissected aliv-”

“Of course I’ve heard.”

“Then, why won’t you help me?”

The sterile white walls and hum of the vents was growing more suffocating. Was it real? No, it couldn’t be.

“How much are you willing to give?”

“Everything I could possibly. My house, the rest of my money, god, even my lif-”

“Oh? You’re willing to give your life?”

“Interment would be the same,” she replied adamantly.

“Here’s something you should know Ms. Sommers,”

Dr. Villin paused.

“I made Internment, and you right now, are already in it.”

He looked through their visors and saw with relief terrified faces staring back. He couldn’t believe that any of them were the trouble; they’d spent years together. Yet four crew were dead. This needed solving before they reached headquarters. He cursed under his breath for committing his team to this mission at all. He knew something was wrong from the start; if only he had listened to that gut feeling.

Through the grates of the vent he saw one of the crew huddled in a corner clutching a gun close to their chest. With crazed joy, he saw another terrified face. He ripped the grate off with a deafening crack.

He closed the bathroom doors, where he had been asleep until the oxygen alarm screamed, and dashed back. There, he was met with a dead body. He cursed, but now he knew who the shapeshifters were.

He searched the vents, but could find nothing. The alarms suddenly stopped, leaving an eerie silence. He knew where they were now.

Awaking with a start, he rushed to Control. He busted the door and found two guns leveled at him.

“Where’s the other one?” one of the crew asked.

“You would know. You killed him!” he hissed.

“You killed him, didn’t you?!” they retaliated.

He stared, and suddenly, their form shifted to blackness, no form whatsoever. He screamed and saw with surprise his own mouth start to crack open. From beneath, a black tongue, a spike, shot out. The game was up.

Dear Amelia,

I have finished making him. Now we only have to wait for the war to end.

Silas

Dear Captain,

It’s Silas, I have finished the robot, and it is on it’s way to Saturn. I will send it the attack codes when assembled.

Dear Silas,

Five years and only one letter from you. Only one letter which never asks for my well-being nor your child’s but, only talks about your robot. Just leave Silas. Just leave.

Amelia

Dear Amelia,

Please give me another chance, just one more chance.

Dear Silas,

Chances have ruined you, and have ruined me as well. I hope you all the best Silas, I really do. However, I can’t have you come back, please leave.

Bests,

Amelia

Dear Amelia,

Please.

Dear Amelia,

Could you respond to me, please?

Silas

Please stop sending letters, Amelia no longer lives here.

Silas,

I have received it, please program the attack codes. We have set up a new home for you and your family, and a job. I hope the best for your future.

Sincerely Captain

Hi-Cap,

Have I ever told you chances have ruined me? The robot has destroyed my life and it will now destroy all life. Also, please don’t send me any letters, they’re no use.

Happy Sunday.

What have you done Silas! Respond now, this is a command from your captain!

I should have never trusted you, Silas, I hope you drown in your misery.

Dear Amelia

What have I done?

Arthur gazed out his bedroom window at the hundreds of giant polluting skyscrapers, floating billboards, and hovering busy roads that made up the city of Vancouver. He closed his eyes as the longing memory of lush flowers and trees that had once dotted the city washed over him. The humble man sighed at the fancy new vehicles and buildings that polluted the air. He despised the evil path humanity took; destroying multiple environments on a whim to make space for more industrial buildings. Waging war on each other just for fun, hurting many in the process, and leaving millions in poverty.

Arthur sighed as he started to get ready for work and gathered all his stationery supplies, and stepped outside into the smoky air. The pessimistic man squinted through the grey sky at the many glowing cars zooming past. Just as Arthur took a step forward, a teenage kid on a hoverboard rammed right into Arthur’s stomach at top speed. A sudden burst of blood filled his mouth. Dark spots clouded his vision as the pain sprouted throughout his body. Arthur screamed but no sound came out. A sudden bright light flashed and the busy city sounds went silent.

He opened his eyes to see a garden full of every single flower and plant in existence surrounded him.

For the first time in many years, Arthur smiled.

She sat on the sidewalk, hoping for change.

She looked down at her threadbare mittens. She could see her pink fingers peeking out between the threads, as if trying desperately to greet the winter air.

She looked to the side, where her baby laid. He’d gone quiet an hour ago. Not a sniffle, a cry, nor a smile. His hands reached for the sky, as if trying to hug for his mother a final time.

She wiped her eyes and uselessly put him in her arms again.

She looked around her… and she saw nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing looked…. familiar to her.

The wind was a familiar enemy. Cold, bitter, and biting.

However, the warm people were gone.

The people… didn’t look like people.

They were cold. So cold. If she dared touch their skin, she feared she would get frostbite.

A couple walked by her. One carried a littler one in their arms. They looked at her and, as they always did, turned away. However it was different.

The baby, whose eyes seemed to shine fluorescent red, tilted it’s head slowly… mechanically. It’s eyes had no life. It’s eyes found her own child.

She held her boy closer to her chest.

She met its gaze until the baby looked away, it’s neck slowly adjusting for the movement. She could hear the bolts turning and machinery clicking.

The family walked away.

The woman looked down again at her arms. Her eyes felt wet.

She sat on the sidewalk, hoping for change.

She had always wondered how to collect the lives of those she created, to watch as her puppets’ lives unfolded in her hands. Every human life was laid out in front of her, but she enjoyed the ironic existence of those trapped in something they themselves invented. Columns of books on shelves that lived and breathed as those they housed. Every book, every life, had a different aura. A person’s life unraveled in those pages were written as every event unfolded, appearing in coherent sentences on the pages. They lived without being seen with Her eyes, spines shut and spirits pulsing, human lives flourished without the grace of celestial sight. With the scriptures of lives in her hands, She can live mortal yet immortal lifetimes, fingers tracing the letters bound to its owner. Forever expanding, forever growing in its wisdom and stories, the shelves never stop multiplying. Every death silences the colours that seep through the pages, hardens the cover of someone’s story. A birth lets her magic bind the bodice of the book, of the first thoughts of a baby sprawled on a new page, a new chapter. Cyan called Her name. It’s spine crackled like the chips of a new fire as Her finger touched his first thoughts. But this time, her fingers froze. Her eyes glazed over as her body suffocated in stone. Her pupils swayed from one side to another before eventually stopping in the middle of its rhythm.

What had She seen?

""Beep""

The light turned green, and the man at the front of the line walked through the machine which resembled a glorified airport security door, only thicker and made of metal.

“Beep”

He let out a huge sigh, knowing that he passed the test.

I looked around the room. Everyone was wearing their best clothes, acting fit and happy. Women wore fancy jewelry and were doing small stretches. Men wore tuxedos and gold rings, doing pushups on the concrete floor. Appearing “healthy” wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity if you wanted to survive.

Though the war was over, the damage remained. The nuclear winters made it impossible to grow crops on fields; bombings destroyed cities beyond recognition. Humanity was on the brink of extinction.

To counter this, the United Nations - or what remained of it - created the test: an examination of an individual's health, genetics, and intellectual prowess, determining their value to humanity. Survival of the fittest, monitored by the authorities and conducted annually to ensure citizens were able to ensure humanity's future.

If you passed the test, you survived. If not...

I shuddered. Best not to think about it.

The girl next in line entered the machine. The light flashed red.

""No! No! No!"" She shrieked, her face pale. ""This has to be a mistake! I can still - ""

I covered my ears, closed my eyes and looked away. Away from her anguished screams as the robot dragged her away and disposed of her. Placing her corpse with the stack of others who didn’t pass.

""Beep""

Kara’s eyes were glued to the hologram projected from her hands. No one really understands the pain that goes behind waiting to receive that special message, until you put the sender on do not disturb, to give you that tinge of excitement when you slide open the chat. Like everyone else, Kara had been spellbounded. Starting from twenty years ago, phones never leaving your hands became a reality, and sustainable relationships were literally embedded at the touch of your fingertips. There was no justification for Jack to not look at his phone. Every minute that passed by was the equivalent of subtle rejection. She tried to dial him, but his pre-recorded 3D mirage would stare back at her with a blank expression. Why was it so hard to just be in touch with him? As if Jack heard her silent complaint, a green notification suddenly emerged. text read: “I’m trying so hard, but you know how strict my parents are. If I can, let's go out next week.” Her heart sank, she looked up to the clouded sky, as if they were wishing her misfortune. Contemplating her response, she tried not to sound as disappointed as possible. “That’s okay, I understand, I’ll just wait until you can.” She tapped nervously against her palm, there was no consecutive response. Kara began to type again, then came to a halt, and pressed delete. It was incredibly hard to not show any sign of desperation, she didn’t want to place pressure on him, but why couldn’t he at least send a text back to comfort her? No matter how lively his 3D hologram looked, it still couldn’t replace the feeling of an authentic touch. Their distance was buried inside another 10G signal.

“Excuse me?”

I scanned his lapel pin. Tanner Gallagher. Male. Age 24.

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I entered his name into the screen. “Complaint or return? We offer full refunds.”

“Return. Awfully disappointing. Below average intelligence and pulmonary fibrosis! My wife and I have tried twice already.”

The third return of the day. “Greatest apologies. Our editors are usually the best! We will see to your problem immediately.”

The problem started crying. Carrying it to the laboratory, an orderly pressed it down on a tray. A scientist injected the silver liquid into its arm. It went limp, a couple strands of brown hair falling over its eyes. The scientist closed the door behind her.

A strong man lifted me. Ow, ribs! My glass of milk clattered against the floor.

“W-what’s happening?”

Mom sighed and smiled, shaking his hand. She didn’t look at me.

“Greatest apologies. Thank you for keeping it for four years. Our editors are usually the best! Now, we will see to the problem,” the man assured.

The lab was cold. A man in a white coat and a machine that was hooked to a tray.The little tray was uncomfortably hard beneath my back. The scream in my throat was frozen, the tears in my eyes were stuck in place. I wanted to jump off the table and run out the door but I couldn’t move an inch.

“Just myopia?” the man asked.

“Yes.”

“Hand her over to the rehabilitation residence. It’s good to go.”

Click, click as the clock ticked back.

Flurries of colours tugged him into a hurricane of laughter and hiccupy giggles. Shirleen, his youngest, clung to his leg like a climber to its foothold, fiercely snuggling her pudgy face into his worn-out denim jeans.

“Daddy! You come back!” Shirleen babbled with excitement, as if she hadn’t seen her rugged faced father for years. Her grime-sprinkled fingers tugged her father’s to the cake-topped table; tornados of sparkling pink dresses collided and pointed birthday hats bombed to the rusty floor.

Peering over the muzzled heads of savage toddlers, he clapped his hands. Others joined along: chubby palms met again and again, creating an asynchronous orchestra of joy - paired with a birthday song. Through the mess of pinks, purples, reds and yellows, a single soft, wavering light posed in the center and through the clammering of nonsense syllables and ringing laughter, a single drop caused the thundering boom of ear splitting black.

Silence sliced through the room. It was replaced by the drip, drip of the candle wax, and the splish, splash of a water atom as lungs disappeared and the roar of a mushroom-hat crashed and shredded the pearly walls, windows and tore through -

White.

Light, artificial, jarring white.

He stared at it. The sterile cabinets, the blue, hard plastic and the cold, metallic tubes stabbing his fingertips. The clock beeped, echoing through the hollow chamber. Just once more.

He closed his eyes - and saw black.

Click, click as the clock ticked back.